The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

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Li Yan found an excuse, saying he had plans tonight and wouldn't be back for dinner. He sent a message to Zhang Yurong so they wouldn't wait for him.

And tonight, he purposely chose a nice restaurant away from the company, secured a spot early, and informed Hai Fu to come over.

Li Yan was well aware that he wasn't doing well enough with the different relationships and different girls around him. Compared to Zhang Yurong, since he spent more time with her, he had more ways to make up for it. But with others, it's harder. Wanting to use one chance to make up to several people, like last time, proved not to be a good strategy. So, he decided to separate them.

Take the relationship with Hai Fu, although both of them seemed to understand each other without words; it was just a physical companionship model. But from the start until now, their relationship has clearly had significant changes. Hai Fu's concern for Li Yan has exceeded the boundaries of companions, even though she claims that once she finds her true love, she will break up with him, she hasn't done that yet. And since Li Yan is involved with her, he hasn't gone to nightclubs to seek thrills anymore.

The two of them are already mature adults in a secret lover relationship, but every date felt like a rendezvous, without having an official meal out in the open.

After arriving at the restaurant, Hai Fu saw the spot Li Yan chose was quite nice, wouldn't attract too much attention, and even if they ran into acquaintances, it wouldn't be discovered quickly. They could even see outside. Once seated, she couldn't help but tease, "With your choice of place and spot, looks like you have quite the experience!"

When she came in, she had already let her hair down and taken off her big black glasses, still in all black but not maintaining the company's stern image.

Li Yan gestured for the waiter to come over and smiled, saying, "Come on, is it you who doesn't care or me? You're a company executive, almost everyone at headquarters knows you, and many clients know you too. I don't have that kind of sway..."

"Oh, so this is to protect me?" Hai Fu sent him a message, initially asking him over to her place to have dinner and chat a bit about work matters, and of course, also some personal matters between them. But unexpectedly, he formally invited her to dine at a restaurant, even though away from the company, it still made her feel a bit nervous. Nonetheless, she was thoroughly enjoying and happy about it.

"It's rare to have dinner with you, don't be shy, order whatever you like." Li Yan specifically said to ensure she didn't consider his low salary.

For Hai Fu, how much could she eat? The two of them wouldn't eat much. The key was the atmosphere and significance. So, she quickly, under the waiter's recommendation, ordered a few dishes and then dismissed the waiter.

"Do you want to drink?"

"No, I have to drive later."

"Are you going to talk to me about the promotion?" Li Yan guessed her intention.

Hai Fu nodded, "That's right. Although taking you away from the beautiful Wen Qianyi's side might make you unwilling, but I see you get along quite well with the planning department's Jiang Lele too. The planning department has plenty of beauties; I assume you wouldn't mind, right?"

Li Yan couldn't help but chuckle, "I mean... what kind of logic is that? It sounds like I'm not here to work but to be a playboy chasing after female staff at the company."

Given the special nature of their relationship, and Hai Fu having previously explained, she wasn't petty enough to get jealous over Li Yan. Even if she felt a bit of jealousy, she wouldn't express it. Saying things like this now is purely in jest.

"Really? So last time when I saw you drive her to work and your lip was bitten... could it really have been a coincidence?"

She ultimately couldn't hold back asking, seeing it that day made her suspicious. She just hadn't had the proper opportunity to ask in these past few days.

This question was misunderstood by Wen Qianyi before; Li Yan couldn't explain it. Facing Hai Fu, he still couldn't explain. He couldn't exactly say, "It's because I kissed your company president, which was Zhang Yurong's friend's handiwork, right?"

"Haha, given that situation, even if you had thoughts of mischief, Jiang Lele was so nervous, who would have had the mind for it? Unless you forced yourself on her; otherwise, it certainly wouldn't have been like that. I believe... you must have accidentally bitten your lip yourself, worrying about being implicated by Chen Aiyuan." Hai Fu laughed, self-questioning and answering, even giving him an explanation.

Li Yan laughed too, "Smart!"

What was smart was not the reason she thought up but her attitude. Some questions can make a man embarrassed when asked. The original point of going out for a date is to have fun. Unable to hold back asking, she then circled it back, giving him a step down, and they no longer need to discuss that issue.

"By the way, with you making such an effort to treat me to dinner, is it because you want to thank me for helping with your promotion?"

Li Yan shook his head, "You know I'm lazy; getting promoted is a headache for me. Just that we haven't properly had a meal together..."

Hai Fu was quite relieved. If Li Yan really wanted to thank her for helping him and invited her for dinner, it would somewhat change her attitude towards him. Because although it's something she willingly wanted, he still relied a bit on her position, making their relationship less pure.

"Haha, I was just about to tell you, actually this time, it really wasn't because I put in good words for you, not even that I recommended you."

Li Yan was a bit surprised, even though he knew it was Zhang Yurong's intention, given Zhang Yurong's status, it would be impossible for every reason to take care of a small employee like him.

"Could it be that Boss Zhang thinks I have talent?"

"It was Miss Zhang's decision, but it also involved other people's influence."

"Other people? Who?" Li Yan was genuinely puzzled. According to the current situation in his company, most of the people he was close to were basic-level employees, then there was Wen Qianyi. Those who could speak on behalf of him were, of course, Zhang Yurong and Hai Fu. But both of them needed to tread carefully, so who else could it be?

Ye Jiahong? Don't be ridiculous; he certainly isn't the one. Could it be Sun Qilin?

Sun Qilin was just someone he used to fool Ye Jiahong. In fact, Chairman Sun was brought in as a distant relative of the big boss at the request of his father-in-law Zhang Tianyi. He never had contact with Li Yan before, and only attended board meetings, so it couldn't have been him who recommended Li Yan to Zhang Yurong.

Seeing his puzzled look, Hai Fu smiled, "I was going to tell you, but watching you being so curious, maybe you should guess for yourself. It won't be long before you find out."

"..."

Li Yan wasn't bothered to guess. Anyway, since things were settled, it didn't matter who helped with the recommendation.

…

While they were having dinner, they kept an eye on the surroundings to avoid running into company acquaintances. Aside from the slight tension of this, the meal was quite enjoyable.

After finishing their meal and going outside, they both stopped simultaneously when they saw their cars parked a short distance apart. Both having their own vehicles, naturally, they planned to go their separate ways. Yet, each had a different thought in mind; although they became closer, they felt a bit embarrassed to express it.

"It's still early, how about... taking a walk?" Hai Fu softly suggested.

Li Yan chuckled, "What's there to walk around here, let me drive you home instead."

She had her car; she didn't need him to drive her. Clearly, his intention was for something else entirely! Since he voiced it, Hai Fu, who felt the same way, nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!"

They drove their own cars away, maintaining a fairly quick pace due to the distance to her place. Li Yan led the way ahead, but before they reached her house, he realized Hai Fu had fallen behind! Unsure of her situation, he pulled over to wait for her.

From afar, he saw Hai Fu's car moving slowly and then coming to a stop. Since the current lane didn't allow turning back, he pulled out his phone to call Hai Fu.

When he called, Hai Fu was on another call, so Li Yan continued waiting for a while.

Soon after, Hai Fu's car started again, speeding up towards him, only to park right behind him. She hurriedly got out.

"What happened?" Seeing the expression on Hai Fu's face, Li Yan instantly knew something was wrong. The only time he saw a similar expression was when he accompanied her to the casino to deliver money. Could it be...

"My brother is in trouble..." Hai Fu forced a bitter smile, "He still hasn't managed to quit..."

Li Yan refrained from commenting. Addiction to anything makes it extremely difficult to quit entirely. Years of gambling can't be stopped all at once. Although pretending to be a disciple of a gambling king previously helped Shishan Yao resolve to quit gambling, relying solely on willpower can only last for a while. Thus, he advised Hai Fu at that time to have her sister-in-law and nephew keep a close watch so Shishan Yao wouldn't have the energy to think about gambling.

"How is it now?"

"At the same casino from last time. He lost everything and owes a lot of money, asking for a million to redeem him." Hai Fu sighed helplessly, "Do you think... I should just leave him be?"

Li Yan embraced her shoulders, gently patting in comfort. He understood she was speaking in frustration, too exhausted to even be angry. Nevertheless, after venting, she couldn't and wouldn't actually ignore it.

"Let's go take a look, no matter what, ensure his safety first." Li Yan reminded, "Don't forget, he has a wife and kids."

Hai Fu tugged at her hair in distress, "He doesn't have much money... To owe this much, he must have put the house up as collateral... Such collateral won't cover the loan sharks... Where can I find that much money?" Although Li Yan helped Shishan Yao recoup some funds last time, after clearing debts, not much was left. He probably studied gambling more intensely and bet larger this time.

Hai Fu's income was indeed considerable, but that was only in recent years. Previously, starting from the bottom, upgrading her skills, and supporting her family, left her with little savings. Recent years' earnings, apart from buying a house and car, and helping her brother Shishan Yao pay off gambling debts multiple times, ensured her a comfortable single life but presented some challenges in suddenly needing a million.

"Miss Zhang... I'll have to ask Miss Zhang for help..." Hai Fu mustering her strength, took out her phone.

Li Yan restrained her hand, "Let's take a look first, maybe I can handle this." — Begging for monthly tickets!

(Thanks to the brothers who tipped these past few days: Proud Paste 123, 476656446, dongmin8061, zjun971210, Reader 100406144849005, TERRYren, kgjo, ╃傷箺憊篍╃, Little Two B; on the 17th: Live By Water, Little Two B, Stop. Little Ghost, Ruthless Wind, dongmin8061, Proud Paste 123, zjun971210, ╃傷箺憊篍╃, Ling Xiao Xuan, CP Pampas, Sea of Falling Leaves) (To Be Continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, where there are more chapters available. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)