C6 Chapter 6

Last time, what happened had helped him out of more than a few tight spots. He hadn’t expected Mengxin’s offhand gesture to carry that much weight—more effective than hugs and kisses ever were.

Thinking back on it, Mengxin felt a little ashamed. Her head dipped at once. “About last time… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so impulsive.”

“What happened last time is in the past.” Yufan’s tone was a little cool. He was about to add an explanation when he caught the sudden spark in Mengxin’s eyes.

“This food court brings together a lot of regional specialties. Some vendors run promotions here, and even though it’s out of the way, it doesn’t hurt business at all.” Yufan kept it brief as he followed Mengxin to the entrance of a snack stall.

“These crawfish look amazing—and they smell so good. Do you want some?” Mengxin practically started drooling, her bright eyes fixed on Yufan like a curious little deer.

Yufan felt his scalp prickle under her gaze. “Sure. Let’s eat.”

A platter of bright red crawfish hit the table. Mengxin dug in with gusto, but she noticed Yufan had only eaten a few. “Uh… you don’t like it?”

“I’m not very good at peeling them.” Yufan watched her nimble fingers pull the meat free, and the stern, imposing air around him seemed to melt away.

Mengxin burst out laughing. “Okay, I’ll teach you.”

She taught seriously, and he learned just as seriously. But as Yufan tried to copy her, something inside him quietly swung open. Every little thing she did slipped straight past his guard, like a warm breeze, and he couldn’t help narrowing his eyes slightly.

They ate their way through the night until Mengxin truly couldn’t fit another bite. Only then did Yufan drive her back to the Ye family’s villa.

When Cheng Xiang spotted Yufan’s car, she hurried downstairs from the second floor—and saw Mengxin and Yufan standing face-to-face.

Mengxin flashed her pearly white teeth and smiled. “Mr. Loong, thank you for today.”

Neither of them expected that the moment Loong Yufan left, Cheng Xiang would turn on Su Mengxin.

Su Mengxin tilted her head toward Cheng Xiang, finding it ridiculous. “So what, my life’s just over now? Respect my private life. Otherwise, I’m done helping you look for your daughter.”

Once she got inside, Su Mengxin finally calmed down. She unlocked her phone and saw a missed call—her boss.

And when you miss your boss’s call, the fallout is never pretty.

Best case, you get chewed out. Worst case, they dock your pay.

Clutching her chest, Su Mengxin called back. Her boss snapped on the other end, “Su Mengxin, you’ve had more than enough time off. Get back to work tomorrow. I lined up a major assignment—only you can handle it. I’m counting on you.”

Her boss said that every time. When Su Mengxin had first started out, she’d thought it meant her boss actually cared.

She’d been way too naive.

New Edge Magazine office.

Su Mengxin walked through the front doors in business attire, greeting a few coworkers like usual. She’d been here long enough to get along with everyone pretty well.

The ease on her face vanished the second she saw the mountain of paperwork on her desk.

“Why are there so many files?”

A sweet, soft voice came from behind her. Su Mengxin turned to see her agent, Yang Jiao, coming over with another stack in her arms.

Yang Jiao wore oversized black-framed glasses. She nudged them up as she spoke, then let out a relieved breath. “Thank goodness you’re back. The editor-in-chief has been losing it these past couple days. This time, you’re interviewing the CEO of Loong’s Group—but who that CEO actually is is still a complete mystery.”

Listening to her, Su Mengxin felt something was off.

They didn’t even know who the CEO was, yet they wanted her to interview him? That was like trying to identify a bird species by staring at its legs.

What kind of twisted assignment is this?

Su Mengxin leaned back in her office chair. “Jiaojiao, are you seriously telling me you accepted a task this challenging for me?”

“Of course,” Yang Jiao shot back, spreading the documents across the desk and walking Su Mengxin through the key points in each one. “If you pull it off, it’s nothing but upside for you. And if you can’t track down Loong’s Group’s CEO, no one’s going to blame you. Besides, aren’t you the one who loves a challenge?”

The file laid everything out in meticulous detail—Loong’s Group’s origins, its growth, and its current situation, line by line.

The more Su Mengxin read, the more unsettled she felt. Loong’s Group’s financial power was on par with a small country. And that global trade network? That wasn’t something built overnight.

That was the advantage of a family business—an intimidating kind of legacy.

Loong’s Group was interesting, sure. But this assignment? She wasn’t taking it.

It was obviously a bone-crushing job, and she wasn’t about to slam her head into it like an idiot.

“Jiaojiao, get this assignment taken off my plate. I’m not doing it.” Su Mengxin glanced at the documents with calm indifference, like they were nothing but a pile of useless scrap paper.