My CEO Harem Cultivation System

If what the creature said before was true, then another person who was in contact with a Mermaid was someone called Han Jing. Further assessment of the System showed that they were in part related to the Observer 'Dat Peach' and thus it made sense to further investigate on that—

But it would have to be for tomorrow.

Li Yang returned to Ying Yue He's side and greeted her, "Miss He, have I made you wait for too long?"

She pursed her lips at him and then looked away. "No, just half an hour or so, Mister Li."

"I see," It was easy enough to tell that she was in a state of distress—and so he inclined his head. "My apologies for taking that much time. Would you like to have a late-night dinner with me after this?"

Her gaze turned to him and she said, "Let's go now."

"Huh, but didn't you want to see—"

Ying Yue He grabbed his arm and dragged him along. Or rather, he allowed himself to be pulled by her. She didn't waste any time, and it was in record's time that they were out of the colosseum and soon found themselves at a convenience store.

It was incomparable to the five-star restaurant, but it was where she demanded to be at. The two of them were in a store nearby to a university, with hot food straight from the ready-to-eat section. Li Yang had a meat bun in his hand and chewed, whilst Ying Yue He devoured a vast variety of items she had taken from the aisles.

"I didn't know you were this hungry."

She wiped the corner of her mouth and said, "The portions in the restaurant were too small."

"Was it?" Li Yang raised a brow. It was adequate for him—but her constitution was really different. The CEO cleared his throat, "I thought you were stress eating, Miss He."

"I am—but also because I'm hungry." With a mouthful of food, the woman was more open to speak what was on her mind. "I got worried thinking that you decided to leave me at the concert."

"Did you really think I'd do that?"

"No… but then I saw you talking with a group of women, Mister Li." A sheepish smile crossed on her lips. "It makes no sense for me to get upset over it—"

"I did say that today was supposed to be our date, so your feelings are warranted." Li Yang finished his food. "I do not want to make it sound like I am making any excuses, but it was because I had something important to talk with Miss Lifen—she's the manager of the Heavenly Jade Pavilion."

Her shoulders dropped a bit. "Oh, so it was her…"

"Hmm?"

"I've talked with her over the phone when she was looking for you, and I guess Taiga called her a Tea Temptress." She scratched her cheek. "That wasn't very kind of Taiga to say, and I told her that. She doesn't seem able to grasp that it's possible to have a purely business relationship between a man and a woman… ah, I'm sorry for rambling about this, Mister Li."

He glanced at her. "No—it's fine. I do like to hear about what you have to say about this matter. I don't think that I've been able to do that lately with the sudden changes that happened."

"Well, you're always a busy man, Mister Li. This uh…" She glanced over her shoulder over the sleepy clerk and said. "This thing with all the stuff just made you even busier." She was wary of even dropping a single clue.

He chuckled. "It does make me consider finding a replacement soon…" He did not want to admit it, but his talks with Bai Minghua made him accept that it was a natural thing that needed to happen after some time. "Miss He, I'm not really the most fun person to be around with, am I?"

"What?" She blinked and waved a hand. "Did I make you feel that way, boss? Not at all! We did all lot of fun stuff together today—"

"Doing fun things and being someone fun is different."

"Well, I don't think you need to be fun, you can be just the way you are and I'll accept—I mean, people will accept you. There might be some who you won't get along with, but it doesn't mean that there's anything inherently wrong with you, Mister Li." Ying Yue He took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Not everyone will be the life of the party, and I think it's a reason why I tend to just stay at my apartment during weekends…"

"Ah, so you do agree with the assessment—" He caught the cup in his hands, not exactly wincing as hot drops splattered on his hands.

She smiled weakly and thanked him. She held the cup more carefully and took a delicate sip. "Well, I still think that you're great to be around with, Mister Li… and we sort of match in this way."

"Match?"

Her face tinged red. "Like… we work together because we're compatible? That kind of thing."

"Well, I did choose you to be my secretary, so it's a necessary thing between the two of us when we work. However, it's also pleasant that even outside of the work setting, you're still kind and considerate as always. I'm rest assured when I'm with you."

[ You Have Gained 100 Charm Points ]

"Don't give me too much credit, Mister Li. You're amazing on your own!" She placed her empty cup down and balled her fist. "The things I do help of course, but you're still capable of doing things with the time you have in your hands—I've never seen such a focused man like yourself and the accomplishments of the company can be said to be thanks to your direction."

"And this is where I'd say that I'm only able to do as much, thanks to you."

She pouted. "You keep deflecting the compliment."

"As do you."

"Well, let's just agree that we both think of each other as great," Ying Yue He said at last. Her gaze focused outside of the convenience's store window. "And… a couple of ghosts just leapt across the building?"

—-—-

Author Note: Thanks for reading!