Seemingly finished with her internal monologue, Bessalyn slid the documents over to Ziyue. "Well then, let's discuss this project."
Love rival or not, Bessalyn wasn't just a pretty face. She was intelligent and had proven to have excellent work capabilities. That much Ziyue was willing to admit.
At the same time, Bessalyn was equally surprised about Ziyue's stature. She had pegged Ziyue for a trophy wife. And like most trophy wives, she had expected Ziyue to stay home or shop all day with no other care in the world but herself.
Now, the two women sat there with a newfound appreciation for each other.
"Alright, that's all the time that we have. Let's call it a day here." Ziyue stood up and extended a hand. Her businesslike tone no longer contained any traces of personal emotions.
Bessalyn followed suit and grasped Ziyue's hand in a firm handshake. "Pleasure doing business with you. Let's set an appointment for the next date."
Ziyue genuinely smiled this time. "Yes, let's."
After parting ways, Bessalyn went straight back to her office. She was sensible enough not to bring Muchen up during their meeting, lest it turned their relationship sour again. Bessalyn never meant any harm. She only engaged with Muchen at any opportunity she got on the pretext of work. But to deliberately reach out to him, even outside of it, would stick in Ziyue's throat.
...
Muchen sat at his desk, neck-deep in paperwork, when Ziyue walked over and plopped the completed document onto the ever-growing pile. With an arched brow, Muchen looked up before picking up the stack of papers she handed him.
"I think the plan is good," Ziyue remarked and took a seat next to him.
His other brow raised, astonishment clear on his face. "You're praising her?"
Ziyue almost rolled her eyes. "She's efficient and good at what she does..." The next sentence came out a little more begrudgingly. "But I'm sure you knew that already."
Muchen closed the document and took a sip out of his coffee. "She's good. But not as good as you."
He said it so matter-of-factly that Ziyue was taken aback for a moment. Then, her eyes lit up, and she laughed.
Satisfied with her reaction, Muchen brought the cup to the small smirk that formed his lips. But before he could drink from it, Ziyue snatched the cup away.
"No more coffee." Ziyue chided in a stern voice, like a mother disciplining her child, to which he obediently withdrew his hand. "I'll make you a cup of tea." She smiled and clicked her heels out of the office.
As she made the tea, a realization hit her. Something about Muchen's behavior was not quite right. He was acting... normal. A little too normal, given his circumstances.
Perhaps his condition has been improving, as Xiyi said?
Her thoughts wandered until she was back to the office, where she placed the freshly brewed cup of tea in front of him. "Here, have some."
She didn't miss the slight tick in his jaw as he lifted the cup and swirled it gently. But before she could process what it meant, Muchen said, "So, Xiyi left already?"
"Huh?"
Crap. She was hoping he had forgotten about that. "He's left."
A hum left his lips as he brought the cup up to meet them. His expression remained stoic, making her heart skip a beat.
She pondered a while about what to say. After a long pause, she broke the awkward silence. "Doctor Mo said he would join the MSF."
"Is that so?"
She watched as his lithe fingers now flipped through pages of documents, paying her no mind. Seeing his nonchalance only made her bolder. She took a deep breath and continued, "When he does, he's going to be traveling a lot, which means it'll be harder to get ahold of him. Not to mention, those places can be tough..."
Ziyue didn't understand why Xiyi suddenly wanted to leave and join the MSF. He had claimed it to be an impromptu decision, but Ziyue found that hard to believe. Big transitions like this usually required more thought, and for someone like Xiyi to breeze through it was more than unusual.
Bringing this up to Muchen, she had hoped he would somehow convince Xiyi to stay.
But…
"That's his choice." Muchen's voice came out blunt and cold, causing Ziyue to bite her lip in defeat. She wanted to say more, but he had already brought his attention back to the pile of documents on his desk. An indication that he wanted to hear nothing more.
Dejected, she could only swallow her unspoken words and headed back to her office.
After she walked away, Muchen finally raised his head. Obsidian eyes watched with deep thought as her figure disappeared around the corner. He had told her before that Xiyi wasn't a good person. And although joining the MSF was a matter of goodwill and contribution, that wasn't enough reason for Xiyi to do it in such haste.
No. The reason he was joining was because of Gricy. Xiyi was an expert in medicine with extensive medical knowledge, something which the K7 team of Gricy had been gunning for. He would most likely be their prime target should Muchen ever let go of him.
Xiyi knew this. Whether or not they wanted him for his own expertise or information on Muchen, he'd be an asset either way. So, Xiyi did the only thing he knew to do – run away. He left the company, and far enough so that he wouldn't end up giving himself away.
Muchen frowned as he pulled open a drawer, causing the pill bottles in it to rattle along with the motion. He picked one up and chucked it into his suit pocket, making sure to lock the drawer after he was done. It was best that Ziyue didn't find out about this.
Still, this drug that Xiyi gave him was very effective. Just one pill was able to soothe his irritability in seconds, calming him down significantly before returning to the office. The next step was to dispel any remaining doubts Ziyue might still have about his condition.
Muchen hadn't forgotten about his plan to send Ziyue back to her home country. Staying by his side had only ever put her at risk of hidden dangers, among which he was slowly becoming.
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