This was truly driving her to a dead end. It seemed Fang Hong was already preparing for a third child.

After hanging up the phone, Fang Chuning deflated. It was just entering autumn, she was wearing a trendy T-shirt and shorts, and the night breeze gave her goosebumps.

What to do? Where to sleep tonight with no money?

Gurgle gurgle

Fang Chuning rubbed her stomach, pouting pitifully. She hadn’t even eaten dinner yet.

The only valuable thing on her was her phone. She looked at the time, it was already nine in the evening. Skipping one meal wasn’t a big deal, but where would she sleep?

Gurgle gurgle, her stomach rumbled again. Fang Chuning drooped her head, dragging her hungry and tired body along the main road like a wilted cucumber.

Maybe she should go back and admit defeat. As they say, while there’s life, there’s hope. But would that change Fang Hong’s mind about sending her abroad? Obviously not.

Fang Chuning wandered aimlessly on the street, getting hungrier as she walked. Just as she was thinking about whether to sleep under a bridge, a white Bentley stopped by the roadside and honked its horn.

Fang Chuning looked over puzzled. The window rolled down, revealing the man’s familiar face.

He looked her up and down, his eyes smiling, “What a coincidence, why are you still out so late?”

Are all men so nosy? Fang Chuning pretended not to see him and continued walking. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. She squinted at him slyly, “Oh, it’s you! What a coincidence indeed!”

The man seemed unable to adapt to her sudden change in attitude and was slightly stunned.

Fang Chuning walked over and leaned on his car window, grinning: “Just got off work?”

Li Yipeng was a bit flattered by the girl’s sudden concern. His narrow eyes widened slightly, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said: “I just left something at the company and went back to get it.”

“Hehe, oh” Fang Chuning smiled so hard her face nearly cracked, but she was too embarrassed to speak, so she just kept grinning at him stupidly.

Li Yipeng’s gaze lightly brushed over her face, the corners of his crimson lips curving up, “I haven’t had dinner yet. May I have the honor of inviting Miss Fang to join me?”

Even offering a way out was so gentle and gentlemanly.

Fang Chuning nodded hurriedly, unceremoniously opening the car door and sitting in the passenger seat, “Well, since you insist.”

Li Yipeng placed his fingers over his lips to hide his smile, quickly starting the car and taking her to a Chinese restaurant.

At the dining table, Fang Chuning was eating somewhat ravenously. The man watched her from the side, his brows furrowing in distress, “Don’t eat so fast, no one’s going to fight you for it.”

The table was full of dishes she liked, mostly spicy. He only took two bites before stopping, pushing all the dishes in front of her, and even ordered a glass of sour plum juice to aid digestion and cut the greasiness for her.

After a hearty meal, Fang Chuning let out a satisfied burp, contently holding the remaining half glass of sour plum juice and sipping it slowly.

Li Yipeng’s eyes were full of indulgence. He reached out to tuck the stray hair on her cheek behind her ear, gently asking, “Are you full?”

“I’m full.” Fang Chuning was pondering how to borrow money from him, or find a place to sleep.

Her eyes kept glancing at him and then away, repeating this back and forth, but she still couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Li Yipeng pretended not to know, “If you’re full, shall I drive you home?”

“No need” Fang Chuning refused very quickly. Her brain was spinning, and she managed to say with great effort: “I had a fight with Fang Hong, I don’t want to go back.” She couldn’t possibly say she was kicked out, that would be too embarrassing.

The man didn’t seem to doubt her, nor did he try to persuade her, “Then do you have somewhere to go? I can take you there.”

Good question, she really didn’t have anywhere to go.

Fang Chuning hesitated for a long time without coming to a conclusion. The thought of having to swallow her pride and ask for help from someone she had always disliked made her so embarrassed that her palms were sweating, but she still couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Li Yipeng was enjoying the girl’s predicament with a pleasant mood, “I have a spare room at my place, if you stay there, Director Fang definitely won’t think of it.” Afraid of pushing too far and backfiring, he continued to tempt her in a way that offered a way out.

Oh right, why hadn’t she thought of that? The most dangerous place is often the safest.

Fang Chuning feigned a light cough, “How could I impose on you like that? It would be too much trouble.”

The man’s eyes softened, the curve of his lips deepening, “It’s just one more person, it’s no trouble at all.”

And so Fang Chuning moved into his home, with the determination to stubbornly oppose Fang Hong to the end, and unknowingly stayed for half a month.

In this half month, Fang Chuning truly experienced what it meant to have food brought to her mouth and clothes to her outstretched arms. Although she had people serving her in the Fang household, it wasn’t to such a meticulous extent. She didn’t even have to lift a finger, just lie on the sofa like Ge You, and if she wanted to eat something or drink something, she just had to open her mouth.

She didn’t even need to speak. If her eyes glanced at the snacks on the table, the man would accurately bring them over and put them in her mouth.

Except for the restrictions on food, Fang Chuning felt that staying there for half a month had made her useless. Because of the lack of money, she also didn’t go out to have fun with Gao Qiong anymore. As soon as she came back from school, she would lie on the sofa waiting for food and drinks.

Imperceptibly, she became increasingly accustomed to the man’s presence. Occasionally, when he was late from work, she would call him to ask why, completely unaware that she had already immersed herself in the man’s gentle embrace.

It wasn’t until Fang Hong called her to ask her to come back that Fang Chuning was still reluctant.

She habitually lay on the man’s lap, proudly boasting to him, “I told you Fang Hong definitely couldn’t hold out, hahaha”

Li Yipeng looked down at the girl, his fingers lightly brushing her black hair, his eyes so soft they seemed about to overflow with water, “Mm, you’re really amazing.”

“I’m not going back, who told her to kick me out in the first place.”

“Mm, okay.”

The man always supported her unconditionally without asking why. Fang Chuning looked up, just meeting his gaze, and for a moment she felt she would drown in his deep, passionate eyes. She hurriedly averted her gaze, the tips of her ears heating up.

The girl’s budding feelings made Li Yipeng’s heart flutter. He bent down, tenderly placing a light kiss on her forehead.

The next day, when Fang Chuning returned to the residence as usual, instead of the man’s daily gentle greetings, she was met with a cold, empty house, and Fang Hong sitting in the living room waiting for her.

Li Yipeng had been forced to leave Z City. In Fang Hong’s words, she wouldn’t allow such a stain to appear in the Fang family.

Fang Chuning was resentful, sad, and helpless. She was powerless; at present, opposing Fang Hong was undoubtedly like an egg hitting a stone.

She returned to the Fang family, growing up a lot overnight. She began to study frantically, no longer resisting studying abroad. It took her a full eight years to completely replace Fang Hong’s position, becoming the youngest billionaire on the rich list.

As soon as she took over the company, she publicly recruited, hiring a secretary. The conditions were: male, beautiful, familiar with the affairs of the Fang Group.

Even though the last condition was puzzling, applicants still formed long queues, almost to the point of crashing the recruitment website.

After screening through photos and then interviewing one by one, after disappointment after disappointment, Fang Chuning almost lost hope. Yes, so many years had passed, he might have already married and had children.

As she was preparing to leave the interview hall with a downcast expression, a voice familiar to the depths of her heart suddenly came, “Excuse me, is the interview here?”

Fang Chuning turned her head in a daze. The man seemed unchanged, that smile, those eyes, just like eight years ago.

The two were separated by a few meters, yet it felt like an uncrossable chasm. His eyes quietly gazed at her, his lips curving into a light smile, “Is it too late for me to come for the interview now?”

Fang Chuning replied in a daze: “No, it’s not”

Li Yipeng walked towards her, crossing the chasm to stand before her, his eyes full of emotion: “Then have I passed?”

Fang Chuning pursed her lips, her eyes bright, finally unable to resist revealing a few small white teeth, “Mm, you’ve passed.”

“From now on, you’ll be my personal secretary.”