Chapter 83: Chapter 081: An Invitation from a Beauty

How are you holding up with that project at the company? Li Ruo looked at Ye Chen and said, “If you really have no idea where to begin, then just switch to another one.”

“How could that be? Since I promised you I’d do it, I’ll finish it for sure!” Ye Chen immediately lifted his chin like an attacked hedgehog, bristling all at once. Li Ruo froze. She had not expected him to take that day’s matter so seriously. A faint warmth stirred in her heart. This man...

“All right, I’ll give you some time on that project.” Li Ruo shrugged slightly. “For now, there’s a harder task for you.”

“How hard?” Ye Chen blinked.

“Well...” Li Ruo glanced at the flowers nearby. Ye Chen’s eyes widened.

Li Ruo gave a helpless smile. “There’s a banquet tonight, and I need a dance partner. Come with me.”

“No way!” Ye Chen shook his head at once.

“Why not?” Li Ruo was taken aback. “There will be plenty of beauties there, and I guarantee every one of them will be a delicate little stunner.”

“I’m not interested in beauties.” Ye Chen shook his head firmly.

“Hmph, then what about fine wine?” Li Ruo let out a light snort. “Tonight’s banquet is a birthday celebration for some big shot’s daughter. There will be all kinds of excellent wine. If you don’t go, wouldn’t that be a waste?”

The moment wine was mentioned, Ye Chen’s curiosity was immediately piqued. Still, he was not fooled by Li Ruo’s surface expression. It was obvious she wanted him there as a shield, to help block those bothersome pests. But for wine, what was there to fear from a few pests? Ye Chen grinned and said, “Fine, no problem!”

“Ziwen, bring him the formal suit we bought today and see if it fits.” Li Ruo turned to Lin Ziwen.

“Okay!” Lin Ziwen nodded quickly, then turned at once and went into the lounge. A moment later she came out with an expensive formal suit in her hands, still wrapped in exquisite packaging. At first glance, it was nothing like ordinary clothing. The fabric was immaculate, and the style was definitely one in a thousand. Ye Chen’s eyes widened immediately. He could not help but stand up and touch it. “Damn, this thing must be worth at least thirty thousand, right?”

“Ye Chen, this suit is fifty-eight thousand.” Lin Ziwen said it softly.

Ye Chen’s heart lurched again. To be given a fifty-eight-thousand suit for no reason at all—wasn’t that a little... Still, Ye Chen did not care much. If you dared to give it, he dared to wear it. He took the suit and went into the lounge, then closed the door.

Inside was a faint feminine fragrance, the familiar scent of Li Ruo herself. He looked around. There was a bed, neatly made with snow-white bedding, making the whole room feel especially warm and inviting; it made him want to lie down and sleep for a while. The room had been arranged like a woman’s private boudoir.

Driven by curiosity, Ye Chen opened the wardrobe. Inside were all kinds of clothes packed tightly together, along with assorted lingerie and undergarments. Ye Chen’s nose twitched slightly. So many clothes, and so many different styles of panties.

He did not dare linger. He hurriedly changed. The black formal suit and the long, slim casual trousers fit him well. After changing into it, he really did look much more handsome. As the saying went: clothes make the man.

When Ye Chen came out of the lounge, both Li Ruo and Lin Ziwen could not help staring. This fellow really did have a few handsome features; after changing into formal wear, he looked astonishingly dashing. A glint flashed in Li Ruo’s eyes, but after a moment she quickly regained her composure. Lin Ziwen, on the other hand, looked delighted, as if she had seen her own blind date turn out this handsome.

“Mhm, very good. It fits nicely too.” Lin Ziwen hurried over, reaching out to pat and smooth his shoulders, then crouching down to check the length of the trouser legs. The whole time, she looked exactly like a capable little wife.

Ye Chen teased her, “Assistant Lin, whoever marries you later is going to make a fortune. What a wonderful woman.”

“Get lost!” Lin Ziwen could not help but spit back, then blushed and stood beside Li Ruo. Li Ruo looked at Ye Chen and was genuinely satisfied. This guy really did have a little of the looks of a pretty-boy. She pressed her lips together and smiled. “All right, that’ll do. Tonight at eight, I’ll wait for you at the entrance of Xinghai Garden Residential Complex. Go downstairs first.”

“Okay.” Ye Chen nodded. After changing back into his work uniform in the lounge, he took the clothes and left Li Ruo’s office.

...

After work in the afternoon, Ye Chen drove his little Alto back to Xinghai Apartment, preparing for the banquet that night. He had been hungry enough all day for this meal—he had skipped lunch, and he did not plan to eat dinner either. Since he was going to this banquet, he could not go there for nothing. Li Ruo would certainly have prepared a generous package for him, and he had to earn it back.

Just as he reached the entrance of Xinghai Apartment, he immediately spotted a familiar figure.

“Well, if it isn’t Captain Zhang. What are you doing here?” Ye Chen blinked, then stepped on the brake at once. He leaned out from the Alto window, his comically lively little face raised as he said, “Don’t tell me there’s some... target person inside? Oh, hahaha, got it, got it. You’re carrying out a mission, right?”

“Of course not!” Zhang Yantong snorted, her face flushing faintly. A breeze blew, and the hair at her shoulders brushed across her cheeks. She quickly lifted it aside with a hand; the sight was beautiful beyond words. Her tender cheeks, her delicate little nose, and her ripe red lips all held Ye Chen’s gaze in deep fascination.

Zhang Yantong said coyly, “Dummy, what are you staring at? I came today to deliver an invitation to you.”

“Oh? What invitation?” Ye Chen blinked.

“It’s my birthday tonight, and I wanted to invite you...” Zhang Yantong had not finished when Ye Chen’s brows immediately knit together. Zhang Yantong was startled. “What is it? Do you have something on tonight?”

“Yeah, I’ve got something tonight.” Ye Chen nodded quickly.

“What matters more than this? Tonight is my birthday!” Zhang Yantong looked at him with disappointment.

Ye Chen was instantly torn. On one side was Li Ruo’s banquet; on the other, Zhang Yantong’s birthday. Both were beautiful women. Still, he had already promised Li Ruo first, so he could only let Zhang Yantong down. Ye Chen looked at her awkwardly and said, “Tonight... I—I already promised my mother I’d go out to dinner with her.”

“Your mother?” Zhang Yantong blinked. “Aren’t you an orphan?”

“Ah, no, I mean my mother from the orphanage!” Ye Chen hurriedly explained.

Zhang Yantong looked at him half-believingly, then shrugged. “All right. Since you already had plans first, I won’t disturb you. Still, I hope I can at least receive your blessing.”

“Happy birthday.” Ye Chen nodded at her.

“Thank you.” Zhang Yantong smiled sweetly, then got into the police car and quickly drove away from Xinghai Apartment. Watching her retreating figure, Ye Chen only felt strangely uneasy inside. He had lied to one woman in order to accompany another. He gave a helpless smile. He had never imagined that he would receive so many invitations from women. But matters had come to this; he could only keep moving forward according to fate’s arrangement.

After he got home, Liu Momo called him to check in and say hello. The two of them had not seen each other for several days, so Liu Momo missed him very much. When she heard that Ye Chen had engagements that evening, she had no choice but to suppress her wish to see him.

At seven o’clock in the evening, Li Ruo’s Ferrari sped over and stopped at the residential complex entrance. The security guard hurriedly opened the gate for her. Li Ruo called Ye Chen. Ye Chen was sleeping at home; his stomach was empty and he felt uncomfortable. In his dream he had been eating a feast, only to be awakened by Li Ruo’s ringtone. After answering, he realized it was already seven, so he hurriedly got dressed and tied a bow at his collar.

“I thought you’d vanished.” Li Ruo leaned against the Ferrari’s hood. A crowd had already gathered around them. She wore a glittering evening gown, and the outfit instantly caught every eye. The V-shaped neckline supported two soft, full mounds, and that chasm-like cleavage made Ye Chen’s eyes nearly pop out. Her attire was bold, almost startlingly open. Ye Chen immediately understood: this was the lively, unrestrained Li Ruo of the night.

Standing before the black sports car, she looked like a model straight off the showroom floor, as though a luxury car display had been moved directly into the garden of Xinghai Apartment.

Ye Chen could not help swallowing. “So big. So white. So proud...”

“You bastard! Get in the car, now!” Li Ruo snorted.

“Uh...” Ye Chen hurriedly tried to slip into the passenger seat, but Li Ruo reached out and blocked him. He could not stop himself in time and slammed straight into her chest, his lips pressing hard against that patch of soft white fullness. Li Ruo had never expected such an outcome. She immediately clutched her chest and stepped back, while Ye Chen stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.

Damn it, who said a woman’s chest was like grapes? Why did it feel like cotton when you ran into it?

Ye Chen swallowed and did not dare make a sound.

“You wretch, I’m going to kill you!” Li Ruo ground out through clenched teeth, glaring at him fiercely. “You’re the one driving to the banquet. Since when does a woman drive?”

“Right, right!” Ye Chen did not dare resist and hurried into the driver’s seat.

In the crowd, Feng Zhi smiled broadly. He gave Ye Chen in the driver’s seat a thumbs-up and mouthed, “Brother Chen, nicely done. Try to bring that beautiful CEO to her knees!”

Ye Chen raised his middle finger toward Feng Zhi.