「A few minutes later.」

He Mingxue finished freshening up, walked out of the bathroom, and began to put on her makeup. Meanwhile, Liu Ergou just sat there quietly, not saying a word, which made her feel very shy.

She reached out to push him. "Er Gou, don't just stare at me. Go get yourself cleaned up!" she said. "You're not planning to skip washing up and go straight to work, are you?"

Liu Ergou replied, "Hey, there's no rush. Don't you know? Guys get ready really quickly; it only takes a few minutes."

"You just do your makeup. I promise I won't hold you up!"

Hearing Liu Ergou say this, He Mingxue didn't feel it was right to press the issue. She simply took a bottle of foundation from her bag and started her routine.

The moment she opened it, however, Liu Ergou's brows suddenly furrowed. He snatched the foundation from her hand and held it carefully to his nose, taking a sniff.

After a single whiff, he immediately asked, "President He, where did you get this foundation?"

Seeing his anxious demeanor, He Mingxue was a bit puzzled but answered honestly. "Where else would I get it? I bought it, of course! It's not like I expect it to rain foundation from the sky!"

Saying this, she took the bottle back from Liu Ergou, ready to apply it to her face.

Seeing this, Liu Ergou immediately stopped her.

"President He, you can't use this foundation!"

He Mingxue paused, turning her head to look at him with a puzzled expression.

"I can't use my foundation?"

"Why not?"

She carefully examined the bottle in her hands. "This foundation cost me tens of thousands. What do you mean I can't use it? Don't tell me it has excessive levels of heavy metals!"

Liu Ergou shook his head. "No, it's not that."

Just as He Mingxue was about to say something, Liu Ergou's next words left her mouth agape in shock.

"While your foundation doesn't have excessive heavy metals, it does contain a hallucinogen! And its effects are extremely potent. If I'm not mistaken, this foundation is the reason you thought someone was stalking you and why you saw that shadow last night!"

As soon as he said this, He Mingxue immediately retorted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! Er Gou, you must be mistaken! How could my foundation have something like that in it? You know I bought all these cosmetics myself, and they've never left my sight! You can't tell me this is the seller's fault! If it was, other people would be having similar issues, right? I have plenty of friends who use this brand, and none of them have had any problems!"

Her words left Liu Ergou confused as well. "Sigh, President He, if what you're saying is true, then there really shouldn't be a problem with your foundation. But the fact is, it does contain a hallucinogen. There's no reason for me to lie to you about this; I gain nothing from it."

At this point, Liu Ergou suddenly started to chuckle. "And don't you go thinking I'm just lusting after you. If that were the case, I would've had my way with you last night. Why would I wait until now?"

Upon hearing this, He Mingxue's face immediately flushed red, but she quickly regained her composure. Staring at the foundation in her hands, she was at a loss for what to do.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally decided to trust Liu Ergou, tossing the bottle onto the table. "Fine. Since there's a problem with this foundation, I'll just throw it away and buy a new one later! It's not like it cost that much anyway!"

With that, He Mingxue pushed the foundation aside and decided to go without makeup.

Meanwhile, Liu Ergou went to the bathroom to wash up. Men are usually quick about it, and he was no exception. In just ten minutes, he was all done.

When Liu Ergou came out of the bathroom, He Mingxue had already changed her clothes and was ready to go.

"Er Gou, let's go. If we don't leave now, we'll be late," she said, walking toward the door.

However, just as she took a step, Liu Ergou grabbed her. This left He Mingxue puzzled, not understanding what he was up to.

"Er Gou, what are you doing?"

Seeing her confused expression, Liu Ergou chuckled. "Ah, it's nothing important. I've just never seen President He in business attire before, and I never expected you to look so good in it. So I just..."

With that, Liu Ergou lay flat on the bed.

Yes, He Mingxue was wearing business attire today, whereas for the past few days, she had worn dresses. Today's outfit perfectly complemented her figure, and paired with her stunning face, it was simply too much for Liu Ergou to handle.

The moment he lay down on the bed, He Mingxue immediately understood his intentions. Looking at him lying there, she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Er Gou, do you have any idea what time it is?! Any longer and I'll be late for work, and being late is not a good look!"

However, Liu Ergou had a ready excuse. "President He, don't you own the company? What's the big deal if the boss is a few minutes late?" he countered.

As he spoke, he had already gotten ready.

Seeing him poised for action, He Mingxue pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed in resignation. She gave him another big eye-roll before walking over to him and slowly bending down.

The next second, lying on the bed, Liu Ergou's eyes suddenly flew wide open.

「An hour later.」

He Mingxue was in the driver's seat, stomping on the accelerator. "Liu Ergou! Didn't we agree it would only be for a little while?! And it ended up taking a whole hour! Now I'm late, so late! I have a partnership meeting today, and if it falls through because of this, you're going to compensate me! A fifty-million-yuan deal! Liu Ergou! Are you listening to me?!"

At that moment, Liu Ergou knew he was in the wrong and didn't dare say much. He just sat in the passenger seat, chuckling foolishly to himself.

Seeing this, He Mingxue shook her head in frustration and shot him another fierce glare.