CHAPTER 141: CHAPTER 139: HENCEFORTH, THE MONARCH NO LONGER HOLDS COURT AT DAWN!

Gu Qimiao was the first to speak: "Brother Yan Chen?"

"Hmm?" The man quietly responded.

"Um... do you have a moment now? I want to come over and talk to you about the painting."

Shen Yanchen paused for a moment and asked, "Where are you?"

"I’m almost at your company. If you’re busy right now, I can wait for you downstairs for a while."

"Come straight up to my office." With that, Shen Yanchen hung up the phone.

Gu Qimiao paused, then smiled and put away her phone. As long as there was a trace of connection between her and his life, it was enough to make her happy for a long time.

Gu Qimiao stood in the elevator. Since it was already working hours, there weren’t many people using the elevator, and she was alone inside, which made her even more nervous in the confined space.

She turned around to tidy her clothes in front of the elevator wall. She thought she should have put on some makeup when she left home this morning. Would it be impolite to go barefaced?

Looking at herself in the mirror, she always felt something was missing.

She took the general elevator, which couldn’t go directly to the floor of the president’s office. After getting off the elevator, she had to take the stairwell next to it to go up.

After climbing a few steps, she returned. She bumped into a man in a suit, who seemed to be a staff member here, and asked him, "Hello, can you tell me where the restroom is?"

The man only thought she was a new employee unfamiliar with the environment and pointed in the direction of the restroom.

Gu Qimiao thanked him and rushed over, then took out the makeup items from her bag at the restroom sink, and began applying them. Her already delicate features became even more beautiful with a bit of touch-up...

Shen Yanchen sat in his executive chair, glancing at the time on the bottom right corner of his computer, confused. He just saw her arrive downstairs, why hasn’t she come up yet?

He lightly tapped the desk with a pen. If anyone else saw him like this, they would definitely think this was not the usually composed and unflustered business emperor Shen Yanchen.

"Knock knock—" A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He abruptly lifted his eyes, but before he could respond, the door was pushed open. Seeing He Ye walk in, his face clearly showed disappointment.

He gave He Ye a cold look as he approached and asked, "Yan Chen, no morning meeting?"

Shen Yanchen retracted his gaze, letting it lazily fall on the computer screen, "Not today."

He Ye was about to ask why when the door was knocked again. Shen Yanchen responded, "Come in." The secretary opened the door and reported, "Mr. Shen, there’s a Miss Gu Qimiao here to see you."

"Let her in."

He Ye exchanged a knowing glance between Gu Qimiao and Shen Yanchen, then sensibly said, "I’ll leave you to it then."

Turning to leave, Gu Qimiao walked in. Out of politeness, she smiled at He Ye, who commented, "Spring night ends all too soon, the emperor never woke again in the morning!"

Gu Qimiao looked at him puzzled, but he had already walked out of the office and closed the door behind him.

Turning around, she saw Shen Yanchen rise and walk to a small round table by the floor-to-ceiling window, inviting her, "Sit here."

Gu Qimiao didn’t dare to hesitate and hurried over, sitting across from him. It was her first time meeting in such a formal setting for work, making her somewhat uneasy.

Her smile was a bit awkward. While taking out the photos from her bag, she said, "Mr. Fang and I have already selected some, just wanted you to confirm."

Shen Yanchen didn’t speak, his gaze was greedily fixed on her as she looked down to find the photos.

She had put on makeup today, which made her already good skin look more transparent. Her brows lowered, and the mascara made her eyelashes longer, fluttering like they were brushing against his heart, causing a tingling sensation. Her lips had a light layer of lipstick, not too innocent nor too bold, perfectly balanced.

It was as if the morning light now shone on her and him, making everything just right.

Gu Qimiao spread the photos on the table, acting all businesslike, "Please have a look."

But Shen Yanchen was staring at her, asking, "Did you have breakfast?"

Gu Qimiao paused in her actions, "...I did."

In truth, she rarely had breakfast alone.

Shen Yanchen didn’t say more. He took two photos and looked at them.

At that moment, the secretary came in with two cups of coffee. Gu Qimiao politely reached out to take one, but before she could thank him, Shen Yanchen said, "Change it to a cup of milk."

Gu Qimiao thought he didn’t drink coffee, but then her coffee cup was taken by him. He said, "Too much coffee is not good."

Gu Qimiao nodded with a smile but silently thought, you know it’s bad, but you still drink it.

But she felt that if she showed this level of concern, it would seem overly affectionate without a proper status.

The milk was brought over after, and he had almost finished looking at the photos. Since he hadn’t spoken, Gu Qimiao didn’t know what to say either, so she took a small sip of the milk.

Suddenly, he pushed two photos in front of her, "Which one do you choose?"

Gu Qimiao quickly put down the coffee cup, slightly pursed her lips in case there was milk left on them, while looking at the photos, and seriously analyzed, "This one has a better angle, the painting will look nicer."

Without saying another word, he decided, "Then we’ll choose this one."

"...Okay."

He was a straightforward person and didn’t make things difficult for her, but it was almost noon by the time they finished selecting the photos.

"Let’s go with this for now. I’m not in a hurry, just work on it when you have time. Your health is most important. Once you’ve done the draft, bring it to me first to have a look."

Gu Qimiao put away the photos on the table and nodded, "Alright, then that’s it for now, I’ll just..."

Before she could finish saying "go back," Shen Yanchen interrupted, "It’s lunch time, let’s eat first before you go." Without waiting for her response, he got up and walked out the door.

Having an opportunity to eat with him was something Gu Qimiao didn’t want to miss, so she followed him into the elevator.

Her gaze seemed to be fixed forward, but she was actually watching his reflection on the elevator wall.

He was much taller than her, and standing so close gave her a feeling of pressure, especially in such a confined space, making her so nervous she could barely breathe.

Luckily, they soon reached the restaurant floor. As the elevator doors opened, Gu Qimiao stepped out quickly, only to realize that many people outside were stopping and staring at her, or rather, at Shen Yanchen behind her.

Gu Qimiao immediately started to worry. Was her makeup smudged? Did her eyeliner run? Did she look like a panda? She must look strange, otherwise why would everyone be staring at her?

As she worried, Shen Yanchen walked past her and said, "This way."

Gu Qimiao snapped back to reality and quickly followed, then heard the crowd whispering about the reason they were staring.

"Is that President Shen? Why did he come to the restaurant today?!"

"Who’s that girl? Why is she with President Shen?"

"Didn’t they say President Shen is in a relationship? Is that girl his girlfriend?"

"Really?! She’s so pretty! She looks good standing next to President Shen."

Hearing these groundless speculations, Gu Qimiao blushed. Thankfully, she wore powder today so it wasn’t noticeable.

Being Shen Yanchen’s girlfriend... she wished for that so much.

Looking at his tall figure ahead, Gu Qimiao quickened her pace to walk beside him. She stared at his large hand and thought, how nice it would be to hold it...

They walked into a private room. The environment inside was as good as a five-star hotel.

The waiter handed her the menu. Gu Qimiao flipped through it but didn’t know what to order, so she passed it to him, saying, "Umm... you eat here often, what do you recommend?"

Shen Yanchen didn’t hesitate and listed four or five dishes. Gu Qimiao quickly said that was enough.

Rich people sure live lavishly.

Waiting for the food was the most awkward time. Gu Qimiao emptied her cup of tea, then stood up and said, "I’m going to the restroom."

He nodded, "Out the door and to the right."

"Okay!"

As soon as she left the room, she took a long breath, then headed in the direction he said to find the restroom.

The first thing she did was not go into a stall but look in the mirror to make sure her makeup was intact before feeling relieved.

She lingered in the restroom for a while. By the time she returned, the food was already served, and he hadn’t touched his chopsticks, as if he was waiting for her.

Having not eaten breakfast, she was really hungry and started eating without hesitation, but her manners were noticeably more refined than usual as she worried about smudging her lipstick and leaving a bad impression on him.

The taste here was very good, but she found herself missing his cooking. She probably wouldn’t get a chance to eat it again, right?

While eating, Gu Qimiao noticed the tie around his neck. It was the same one she had given him last time. She hadn’t expected him to wear it regularly, and the thought made her happy.

After finishing his meal, Shen Yanchen looked at her and remembered seeing her having lunch with Mo Ming in the car that day.

She hadn’t been as nervous then, pouting at Mo Ming as if she was annoyed about something, like a couple playfully bickering.

When would there be a day like that between her and him?

After lunch, she left.

Back at the office, he still couldn’t focus on work. He realized he seemed to have less patience than before. He wished he could tie Gu Qimiao to his side right now.

He paced around the office, as if planning something, then called He Ye inside on the intercom.

He Ye hurried in, "Brother Shen, what are your orders?"

Shen Yanchen pointed to the corner of the office, "Here, set up a room for me."

"A room? But there’s already a lounge room."

Shen Yanchen glared at him and coldly said, "Do it!"

He Ye quickly nodded, "Yes, yes! Brother Shen, please continue."

Shen Yanchen briefly explained the layout, then returned to his desk. Looking at the densely typed words on the computer, his mind was filled with Gu Qimiao’s face.

With a self-mocking smile, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was seriously ill. He had never been this out of control before.