Chapter 321 - 248: Has No One Confessed to You?

Chapter 321: Chapter 248: Has No One Confessed to You?

Chen Lin saw Shen Yan was once again engrossed in her pile of papers, so he decided not to disturb her.

He turned and walked over to his workstation, pressing the power button on the PC tower.

"WHIRRR—"

The familiar sound of the fan starting up rang out as the top-of-the-line desktop began to run.

Watching the logo bounce on the screen, Chen Lin couldn’t help but think:

’The company computers are so much better. It only takes a few seconds to boot up.’

Once the system loaded, Chen Lin opened his browser and started searching for the topics that had made him drowsy in bed earlier.

"Cliometrics..."

"Digital humanities..."

"Social system dynamics..."

Just looking at these terms was enough to give him a headache.

But thinking of the old man’s expectations, Chen Lin steeled himself and clicked on a few review articles.

Just as he was getting absorbed in his reading—

"Boss~"

A clear, bright voice came from behind him.

Chen Lin turned around to see that Yunqing had appeared behind him at some point.

She had changed out of the athletic jacket she wore while cleaning earlier, revealing a simple white sweatshirt underneath.

Her long hair was no longer in a ponytail but fell casually over her shoulders, making her look even more gentle and beautiful.

"Finished cleaning?" Chen Lin asked.

"Yep, all done."

Yunqing put her hands behind her back and said with a wide grin:

"Usually, when I finish cleaning on the weekend, I just go home by myself. It’s rare that you and Yanyan are both here..."

She blinked her big, bright eyes:

"How about the three of us get some lunch together?"

Chen Lin glanced at the time in the bottom-right corner of his screen: 11:30.

It was indeed lunchtime.

"Sure," Chen Lin nodded.

Having gotten Chen Lin’s approval, Yunqing immediately jogged over to Shen Yan’s workstation.

"Yanyan~"

Yunqing leaned close to Shen Yan’s ear, deliberately drawing out her words:

"Let’s have lunch together, okay? The boss already said yes~"

Shen Yan looked up, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward Chen Lin.

She found that Chen Lin happened to be looking her way, and their eyes met for a brief moment.

"...Okay."

She lowered her head and replied softly.

"Then it’s settled!"

Yunqing clapped her hands and then turned to Chen Lin.

"Boss, come on, let’s go to the food street next to the university. We can order some dishes and bring them back."

"Alright."

Chen Lin stood up, just about to head for the door.

"Um..."

Shen Yan also stood up from her chair, as if wanting to say something.

"I’ll go too..."

"Oh, no need, no need~"

Yunqing cut in, waving her hand with a smile:

"Two people is enough. Yanyan, you can just keep reading your papers."

"We’ll be back soon."

As she spoke, Yunqing was already pushing Chen Lin by the arm toward the door.

Shen Yan stood frozen, her mouth open as if she still wanted to say something.

But Yunqing moved too fast. Before she could get the words out, the two of them were already out the door, one after the other.

"..."

Shen Yan watched the office door slowly close, her brow furrowed slightly.

She slowly sat back down in her chair. Her eyes fell on the pile of papers in front of her, but she couldn’t focus on them at all.

In late December in Jinmen, the temperature had already dropped below freezing.

Chen Lin and Yunqing walked side-by-side on the path leading to the university’s back gate.

A cold wind blew past. Yunqing shrank her neck into her collar and pulled the hood of her down jacket over her head, leaving only her delicate little face exposed.

"It’s so cold~"

Her breath condensed into a puff of white mist in the air.

"My life isn’t easy, you know. Instead of sleeping in on a weekend, I had to come to the office and clean."

Hearing this, Chen Lin chuckled.

"You’ve worked hard, Senior."

"You’re telling me!"

Yunqing lifted her chin, looking as if she were fishing for praise and a reward:

"For the sake of our company’s cleanliness, I sacrificed my precious weekend!"

"Shouldn’t the boss show some appreciation? For example..."

She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Chen Lin.

"How about the boss treats us to lunch?"

"Alright, alright, my treat."

Chen Lin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he nodded in agreement.

It was just the cost of a few boxed lunches anyway. For Chen Lin, who was now worth over a hundred million, it wasn’t even a drop in the bucket.

"Hehe, what a generous boss~"

Yunqing’s eyes curved in satisfaction, and her steps became a little lighter.

The two of them chatted idly as they walked.

After about five or six minutes, just as they were nearing the back gate, Yunqing suddenly seemed to remember something and turned her head to look at Chen Lin.

"By the way, Boss."

Her tone became casual, as if she were just making small talk:

"There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask you."

"What question?"

"Lately, you’ve become a professor, started a company, and won a national award..."

Yunqing counted on her fingers, a gossipy glint in her eyes:

"A lot of girls must have confessed their feelings to you, right?"

"...Huh?"

Chen Lin’s steps faltered for a moment.

’This question...’

’It’s a bit sudden.’

He subconsciously touched his nose, and the first face that popped into his mind was Shen Yan’s.

The girl who had taken the initiative to ask him to dinner, who had brought him a souvenir from her trip, who had stayed by his side at the mathematics conference...

Ever since they got back from the Imperial Capital, the atmosphere between him and Shen Yan had been... well...

A bit delicate?

They were much closer than ordinary friends, but they hadn’t officially broken through that final barrier.

The two of them seemed to have a tacit understanding about their current status, and neither had been the first to speak up.

But regardless—

’Until the relationship is officially confirmed, I should still be respectful of Shen Yan.’

’Some things are better left unsaid.’

"Well..."

Chen Lin cleared his throat, deciding to brush off the question:

"No, no, there haven’t been any girls confessing."

"You’re overthinking it, Senior."

"Really?~"

Yunqing tilted her head, sizing Chen Lin up and down, her expression clearly screaming "I don’t believe you."

"Campus-hunk-level looks, a top-tier genius who became a professor at twenty-one, an overbearing CEO worth over a hundred million..."

"With a setup like that, in any novel, you’d be the kind of guy the female lead would throw herself at."

"And you’re telling me no one’s confessed?"

"..."

Chen Lin felt a throb in his temples.

’If this conversation continues, I’m worried I’ll let something slip.’

’I need to change the subject, fast.’

"Ahem, um, Senior."

Chen Lin pretended to be nonchalant and pointed toward the back gate not far ahead:

"I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you."

"What question?"

"Do you come to the office to clean like this every week?"

Yunqing paused for a second, seemingly not expecting Chen Lin to suddenly change the subject.

But she quickly recovered and nodded:

"Yeah, I basically come once every Saturday."

"Then why don’t you buy a cleaning robot?"

Chen Lin said as he walked:

"Those things are pretty smart now. They can sweep and mop, and they even recharge themselves."

"With a robot to help, wouldn’t your life be much easier?"

"Besides, you’re the administrative assistant, right? The purchasing and reimbursement process for office supplies like that shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?"

Although Chen Lin always called Yunqing "Assistant Yun" during work hours.

In private, he was still used to calling her by the name he’d used since they first met—Senior.

After hearing him out, Yunqing blinked, seemingly thinking about something.

A few seconds later, the corners of her mouth turned up in a cunning smile:

"Hey, you’ve got a point there."

"In that case..."

She tilted her head, looking at Chen Lin with an expectant gaze:

"How about you go with me to buy one tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

Chen Lin was taken aback.

’She needs me to go with her to buy a robot?’

’Isn’t it more convenient to just order one online?’

But on second thought—

Tomorrow was Sunday, and he didn’t seem to have any particularly important plans.

"...Alright, then."

Chen Lin nodded and agreed.

"Great!"

Yunqing’s eyes instantly lit up, and her smile grew even brighter:

"Then it’s a date! Tomorrow afternoon, be there or be square!"

"I’ll send you the address on WeChat then~"

....

「The next day.」

December 28th, Sunday.

1:30 PM.

「Jinmen Wanhao City.」

This large shopping center in the heart of the city was one of the most popular hangouts for the young people of Jinmen.

On a weekend afternoon, the mall was bustling with people, and groups of young men and women were everywhere.

Chen Lin stood in the middle of the first-floor main hall, looking at the WeChat message from Yunqing on his phone:

Yunqing: [I’m here~ Where are you?]

Chen Lin lifted his head and looked around.

Soon, he spotted a familiar figure near the escalators not far away.

Yunqing was dressed differently today.

Gone was yesterday’s casual, sporty style. Instead, she wore a long, off-white cashmere coat over a light pink turtleneck sweater.

On her lower half, she wore a pair of tight black jeans and brown ankle boots.

Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, the slightly curled ends swaying gently with her movements.

Her exquisite makeup, the perfect shade of lipstick, and those large, radiant eyes—

Honestly, in that moment, Yunqing was truly beautiful.

So beautiful that even Chen Lin was stunned for a moment.

"Hi~"

When Yunqing saw Chen Lin, she walked over quickly, her face beaming with a brilliant smile:

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here too."

Chen Lin came back to his senses and subconsciously looked Yunqing up and down:

"You look really nice today, Senior."

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a twinge of regret.

’Why did I suddenly blurt that out?’

Hearing this, Yunqing was startled for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly.

But she quickly regained her usual cheerful and open demeanor, saying with a laugh:

"Of course~"

"It’s not often I get to go shopping, so of course I have to dress up all pretty."