"No need." I may feel the pinch from losing almost ten thousand, but I’m not that stingy. Just after confirming our relationship, asking a boyfriend for money makes me seem like a gold digger. "Spending money brings happiness, and I haven’t played cards for more than half a year, it’s a rare chance." "As long as you’re happy." Daniel Carter nodded slightly, apologetically saying, "First date after confirming our relationship and I stood you up. I was worried you might be angry. Seeing you with friends makes me feel better." "Is that why you called?" "Yes, I’m still busy now, probably will be until very late. You should go home early after dinner; your leg’s not fully healed, take it easy." It’s New Year’s holiday, everyone’s celebrating and having fun, yet he has to work overtime overnight. I felt a bit sorry for him, speaking much more gently, "Got it, don’t worry about me, just focus on your work and finish early so you can rest." After hanging up, Wennie Lane mimicked my tone, extremely melodramatic. "Is this the Lily I know? It’s like she’s a different person, like she’s possessed by the Crying Lady." I pretended to hit her, and she dodged away immediately. My phone beeped, and I looked at it. Daniel really transferred ten thousand to me. [Didn’t I say it’s not needed?] After responding with the message, I immediately returned the money. But he quickly transferred it again. [On the first day of the new year, I didn’t accompany you, nor did I buy a gift. Returning a red envelope makes me really embarrassed.] I insisted: [There’s no need, you’ve been good enough to me.] [Just accept it, enjoy dinner and keep playing, maybe you can win back what you lost this afternoon.] I held my phone, laughing softly at the screen. He’s really reimbursing me. Wennie didn’t know when she snuck over again, peeked and shouted to everyone, "Wow! Mr. Carter reimbursed her for the afternoon losses, she just got money in her WeChat! Quick, quick, quick, finish dinner and continue!" The group of girls suddenly acted like they were pumped full of adrenaline, clamoring to eat quickly. What kind of flimsy sisterhood is this! After New Year’s Day, I returned to work at the company too. Year-end is too busy, and I had been delayed due to my injury for a few days, the piled-up work made me work overtime for two consecutive days. Daniel Carter asked me out for dinner, I had no time. He wanted to see me at night, I had no time, either. On the third day, without telling me beforehand, he came directly to the office to find me. Cherry excitedly rushed in, only to be scolded by me as I looked up, "Why are you running in such a rush? Where’s the proposal I asked you to print?" Cherry said, "I didn’t have time to print it yet, saw someone coming so I hurried to... notify you." "Who’s here to scare you ?" I thought it might be some uninvited troublemaker, and my face instantly showed a bit of defense. But the office door was pushed open directly, and a tall, slender figure appeared, "I’m here." I paused, looking at him, my gaze instantly locked onto him. Cherry giggled, intentionally asked, "Ms. Lily, the proposal... can I give it to you tomorrow?" As soon as she finished speaking, without waiting for my response, she ran off in a flash. Daniel walked straight to the desk across from mine. I looked at him, eyes meeting, then looking away, cheeks flushing, "Why did you come? You didn’t even mention it on the phone." Daniel was standing, he’s so tall, his waistline is far above my desk, resulting in a heavy sense of pressure. "Do I need an appointment by phone to see my girlfriend?" His lips slightly curled up, but his tone was a bit cool. I quickly said, "Of course not." Daniel, sounding a bit like a complaining child, said, "I asked you out several times, always ’no time, no time’, I’m here to check if you’re hiding back in your shell." "..." I was speechless. Why does he always think I might regret it? "No, I’ve just been too busy, told you before." I argued, but with a hint of guilt. "No matter how busy, you have to eat. No overtime tonight, accompany me for dinner." His gentle tone bore no room for rejection. I felt a bit troubled because I hadn’t finished planned work yet. "Uh... can you wait for an hour? I’ll handle these and leave." I looked up at him, deliberately showing a pitiful pleading look. He smiled again, then leaned over, "First, give me some boyfriend benefits." He’s tall, bending over nearly across the whole width of my desk. My face flushed red immediately, understanding what he meant, instinctively glancing around. For more chapters visit N0veI.Fiɾe.net "Relax, this is your office, no one else here." I pointed to a camera in the corner of the ceiling, "But... there’s a camera." Before he finished speaking, I quickly got up and pecked him on the corner of his mouth, retreating before tasting anything. "Is that okay?" I asked nervously. Daniel maintained his leaning posture, looking up at me, speechless and helpless. Clearly, he was quite dissatisfied with the dragonfly touch of a kiss. "Ah well... just hurry and get your work done, I’ll wait for you." He finally sighed, turned around, walked to the sofa, and sat down to wait. I intended to ask if he wanted something to drink, but instead decided it was best to finish the work quickly and accompany him for dinner. So I put aside my chaotic thoughts and immediately focused on work. An hour later, I finished right on time. "Alright, let’s go!" I stood up, took a deep breath, and turned to grab my coat and scarf. Daniel also stood up, waiting beside the sofa. When he saw me approaching, he extended his hand towards me. I felt embarrassed again, "We’re at my company, could you please be a little mindful?" Without a word, he took my hand assertively, leading me out of the office. As luck would have it, just as we were passing Calvin Yance’s office, the door suddenly opened. Calvin happened to walk out, and seeing us, looked rather surprised. "Still working overtime, President Yance..." I immediately greeted him, just a normal greeting between colleagues. "Yes," Calvin smiled, "Had some things to finish up and conveniently avoided the late rush hour." Having said that, he looked at Daniel, and then—for no reason I could fathom—I felt like his gaze shifted downward to our hands, which were linked. Feeling uneasy, I immediately let go of Daniel’s hand. Given our meeting last late night, there was no need for further introductions. Calvin formally extended his hand, "Hello, Mr. Carter." "Hello, President Yance." Daniel shook his hand with the same hand he’d just been holding mine. Then Calvin said something rather unexpected, "Congratulations, Mr. Carter, for winning the beauty’s heart." My ears perked up as I looked at him, a suspicion growing within me. The way it sounded, didn’t it seem a bit odd? Daniel reacted normally, smiling graciously, "Thank you, President Yance; I appreciate your support while Lily was injured." "It’s the least I could do; President Miller treats me well, and I should make a good contribution to the company." Truth be told, there’s nothing wrong with this sort of polite flattery. Just a typical brown-nosing in front of the boss. But Daniel seemed to take it to heart. Once in the elevator, he turned to look at me, raising his eyebrows slightly, and asked with interest, "You treat him well, tell me more specifically, how well?" I glanced at him, "Well... I offer a generous salary! In that aspect, I’m a very generous boss." "What else could there be?" "Then what was the meaning of pulling your hand away just now?" Daniel kept his eyes on me, continuing to ask. I turned to look at him, smiled helplessly, and decided to reveal the truth: "Are you jealous?" "A little. You admire him; he doesn’t seem to view you merely as a boss." Daniel admitted openly, speaking candidly. I laughed again, then raised my hand to swear, "I assure you, my admiration for him is only limited to his work ability. As for how he feels about me, that’s beyond my control. Also, Second Master Carter—" I drawled deliberately to tease, "You, the exalted Second Master Carter... do you even have moments of insecurity? It’s unbelievable." Daniel said, "Of course I’m confident, but I worry you’ll overthink things and feel unworthy of me. So, if someone around you with similar qualities shows interest, you might be swayed." He was casually saying it, yet my heart skipped a beat. Could that possibly be true? Would I really feel that way? I asked myself, honestly feeling it was quite likely. But at this moment, I need to reassure him: "I wouldn’t. Ever since being with you, no other man has caught my eye. I’d rather be alone for life than settle for anyone else." These words finally comforted Daniel; he smiled contentedly and raised his hand to gently rub the top of my head. "You’re quite good at sweet-talking." "Because it comes from the heart." We went out for dinner together, then strolled leisurely along the street in the chilly wind. His driver was behind us, following at a relaxed pace. During this time, several people recognized us and even took pictures with their phones. But Daniel urged me to ignore them, confidently walking with me down the road. Perhaps his authority made people wary, or his towering figure intimidated them. In any case, no one dared to disturb us; at most, they would discuss briefly, snap a few sneaky photos, and continue on their way. Gradually, I didn’t mind either. After all, I’ve already divorced; I have nothing to be ashamed of. Currently dating someone feels neither like betrayal nor wrongdoing, so there’s no need for stealth. My relationship with Daniel is entirely different from my previous one with Adrian Gordon. But I must admit, I really love this sense of security now. A gust of cold wind blew over, making me hunch my shoulders. Daniel raised his hand to touch my face, frowning, "Let’s get in the car, don’t catch a chill." We turned and got into the car, and he drove me home. With the driver up front, Daniel held my hand the whole ride, holding until both our hands were sweaty, yet he was unwilling to release. When we reached downstairs, I took out my phone and checked the time; it wasn’t even nine. Feeling guilty for neglecting him recently, I hesitated and then proactively asked, "Would you... like to come up for a while?" Daniel appeared surprised, "Is that alright?"