```


    After breakfast, Su Chen and Lin Ruoxue went their separate ways to the Belle Corporation as they did every day, each driving their own car.


    Su Chen naturally headed straight for the Public Rtions department, where he chatted with thedies for a few minutes before having Ran Ting make him a cup of tea. He then pulled out thetest issue of "Men''s Fashion" magazine and started his leisurely day.


    Just as his eyes were sparkling with excitement while admiring the sexy images of the models, his cellphone suddenly rang.


    "Who is it? Interrupting my admiration of beautiful women."


    Muttering to himself, Su Chen took out his phone. Upon seeing the number, he immediately retracted hisint.


    Because the caller was Xia Qiuru. Although it seemed they had cleared the air during theirst meeting at the café, in reality, there was still some unease between them. Afterwards, the interactions between them were limited to enthusiastic greetings.


    Moreover, he knew that recently Xia Qiuru had been upset because her parents were pressuring her to go on blind dates. If it were anything else, Su Chen could offer some advice, but in this matter, it would be rather awkward for him to intervene, and he might be used of being self-serving.


    Although he was very curious as to why Xia Qiuru would call him so early in the morning, he answered the phone immediately.


    "Su Chen, can youe to my office?" came Xia Qiuru''s somewhat hesitant voice over the phone.


    "Okay."


    Without asking what it was about, Su Chen immediately agreed. He always felt guilt when it came to Xia Qiuru.


    After hanging up, Su Chen went directly to Xia Qiuru''s office and knocked gently on the door.


    "Come in."


    A slightly hoarse voice answered from inside, and Su Chen then pushed the door open and entered.


    "Qiuru, what''s the matter?"


    Su Chen stopped about a meter away from Xia Qiuru''s desk and asked with a smile.


    "Please, take a seat first."


    Xia Qiuru gestured to a guest chair in front of her and spoke, her heart filled with an inexplicable emotion.


    It seemed their rtionship had really grown distant. Although he still called her Qiuru, which sounded very close, his tone and gestures seemed to deliberately maintain a distance.


    This was apparent from the moment he knocked on the door. There was a time when he would simply burst into her office without knocking, his demeanor anything but respectful.


    "Qiuru, you don''t look well, you should really take care of yourself."


    Indeed, Xia Qiuru''s face was as delicate and beautiful as ever, her figure still heart-stirring to any man, but the weariness and exhaustion on her face, and hernguished spirit, were all too evident.


    Seeing Xia Qiuru like this, Su Chen felt very distressed. To say he had no feelings for Xia Qiuru was impossible.


    "Don''t worry, I know."


    Upon hearing Su Chen''s words, Xia Qiuru''s heart inexplicably lifted, thinking that he still cared about her.


    Then she stood up, poured a cup of tea for Su Chen, and sat back down behind her desk.


    "Qiuru, what''s really going on?"


    Su Chen asked after taking a sip of tea.


    "This..."


    Xia Qiuru''s expression and tone clearly showed her hesitation. In truth, she found it difficult to broach the subject.


    But when it came to helping with this favor, she could only think of him, as she didn''t feel assured with anyone else.


    "Qiuru, just tell me what it is. No matter what, we''re still friends, right?"


    Noticing her difort, Su Chen deliberately spoke in a rxed manner.


    "Well, it''s like this. My mother keeps pressuring me to go on a blind date with this guy from Jiangbei. I''ve been dying it with the excuse of being too busy with work. But today, my mom told me that the guy is actually in Jianghai and she insisted that I meet him for lunch..."


    For some reason, Xia Qiuru felt a bit uneasy discussing this with Su Chen, worried that he might overthink it.


    "Then how can I help you?" Su Chen asked.


    ```


    "I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend and apany me to meet them."


    Xia Qiuru said, avoiding Su Chen''s eyes as she spoke, her voice growing softer and her face redder towards the end.


    When Su Chen heard this, he couldn''t help but feel likeughing a bit, as he seemed to be almost bing a professional prop boyfriend.


    Thinking about it, he had been used as a shield by Tang Yun, posed as a boyfriend for Xu Xinran, and now it was Xia Qiuru''s turn. Oh, right, Xiao Yaning had also used him like this once before.


    Did he look so safe to them that they were so confident in him? Weren''t they afraid of letting the wolf into their house?


    Seeing the peculiar expression on Su Chen''s face, Xia Qiuru quickly said:


    "If it''s too much trouble, forget I said anything."


    "Eh, no problem, it''s a piece of cake."


    Su Chen quickly waved his hand, refusing anyone but certainly not Xia Qiuru:


    "Don''t worry, leave it to me, I''m an expert at this."


    "Then thank you!"


    As Su Chen agreed, Xia Qiuru immediately felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart and smiled with relief.


    "Is there a need to be so formal between us?"


    Su Chen showed a familiar smile, and for a moment, it felt like a return to old times.


    "Hmm, I''ll buy you a big meal in a few days to thank you specially!"


    "Then I''ll look forward to it."


    Su Chen stood up and said with a smile:


    "If there''s nothing else, I''ll head out first."


    "Okay!"


    ......


    As lunchtime came around, Su Chen headed directly to the parking lot of Belle Building and got into Xia Qiuru''s car.


    Xia Qiuru''s car was a Ford, worth about two to three hundred thousand, which seemed very fitting for a white-cor worker like her.


    "Where to?"


    Su Chen asked casually after getting in the car.


    "He said Western World."


    "Huh, looks like the guy you''re meeting up with is pretty wealthy, with decent taste too!"


    Su Chen said with augh, aware that Western World was a high-end Western-style restaurant with naturally high prices.


    "What''s that got to do with me?"


    Xia Qiuru said in a cool tone.


    Su Chen just couldn''t hold his tongue. Xia Qiuru was already asking him to be a prop boyfriend; wasn''t her intent clear enough?


    This showed she merely wanted to brush the other party off with no actual desire to develop anything further.


    After driving for about twenty minutes, Xia Qiuru parked in front of a restaurant filled with Western charm.


    The two quickly arrived at the entrance where, after reporting her name, the waiter immediately led them inside.


    Western World''s decor was naturally in a standard European style, making the whole restaurant feel fresh and bright.


    The arrangement of tables and chairs was skillfully tiered, creating a sense of depth andyering.


    At the back of the restaurant there was a slightly raised stage about forty to fifty square metersrge, where various artists were performing their talents, such as ying the piano, the violin, and of course, singing.


    When the waiter led Xia Qiuru to one of the tables, the man who was sitting there suddenly had a fiery light spring up in his eyes!