Chapter 46: The Previous Night

That Sunday morning Miyeon woke up with a blaring headache. Propping herself up on the bed she turned around to see Shu Li sound asleep beside her. As Miyeon recalled the events of the previous night, she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. 'CEO Lu couldn't still be..' 

Miyeon quietly made her way out of the bedroom so as not to wake up her best friend and proceeded towards the living room praying in her heart that it would be empty. However, her hopes were dashed as she laid eyes on the sleeping face of the exceptionally handsome man who currently lay sprawled on her couch. The two seater couch was obviously much too small for the 189cm tall Lu Minzhe and his long legs could be seen hanging off the edge of the sofa arms.

With a sigh, Miyeon crouched down to be at eye level with the unconscious man. 'Well he is certainly extremely good looking,' she thought as she poked at Lu Minzhe's cheek.

'If only he wasn't so….shameless,' she mused as she recalled the previous night's events. Unconsciously, a helpless laugh escaped her lips.

...….

**The Day Before**

AChromatic Coffee

After some casual conversation, the two quietly sat at the coffee shop savoring their coffee. Internally, Miyeon had been thinking of how to ditch the man seated across from her. There was a quaint little bookstore nearby where she could pass time until dinner. However, what she did not anticipate was that CEO Lu intended to tag along like a 'sticky rice cake' throughout the entire day. 

And so before she could say anything, the audacious man asked, "So, when should we leave for the supermart?"

"Ah?" Miyeon uttered with a perplexed look.

"To buy the ingredients for the hotpot," Lu Minzhe answered matter of factly.

"No...No, No, we can go to a hotpot restaurant. There's a nice one that Shu Li likes to go to. There's no need to have it at home," Miyeon hastily explained. 'Need to get things straight immediately before this kid gets any more crazy ideas,' she thought separately.

"But I don't have the palate for restaurant hotpot. Plus, to have both the CEO of Lu Corp and the Chief Designer of Le Ciel at a restaurant on a Saturday night is rather daring of you," he said flippantly.

"Ah!? Does enjoying restaurant hotpot require a certain type of palate? Also what do you mean daring? Isn't it just dinner among friends?" Miyeon asked confusedly.

"Is that how the netizens will see it? They seem to want to pair me up with any eligible heiresses. I'm sure Shu Li would hate that," he said, finishing his cup of coffee. "Hm, I quite like the coffee here. I'll have my secretary order some for the office."

'Well of course she would hate it! First of all you aren't even the correct gender! Secondly, your personality is too 4D!' Miyeon thought to herself. 

"Wait wait wait wait….but there's three of us. I don't see how there would be any gossip about CPs," Miyeon blurted.

Author's Note: CP is couple pairing. 

"Well you never know…. Netizens tend to have extremely overactive imaginations. My secretary has even unearthed some fanfictions of him and myself. I can already imagine how this will play out… it will be as if we were cast in a love triangle and were having our confrontation at the restaurant," he spoke so confidently that Miyeon was unconsciously almost convinced. She had to force herself to think logically before responding.

"A lover's confrontation in a hotpot restaurant? Truly now CEO Lu...is it the netizens with hyperactive imaginations or is it you?" Miyeon questioned tentatively.

"Yeon-ah," Lu Minzhe began, relishing the satisfaction of seeing Miyeon's eyes widen at his overly affectionate way of addressing her name. "Our Lu Corp has already expanded into the online novel publishing business. Though only in its second year, profits are already in the several millions. You know one of the many skills of a successful businessman is to be able to think like a customer, in this case the reader. Blah Blah Blah Talk Talk Talk... So, it is not that I have a hyperactive imagination. My imagination is quite standard blah blah blah talk talk talk...However, it cannot be said for certain that Blah Blah Blah Talk Talk Talk"

In fact, Lu Minzhe has completely lost Miyeon after the first sentence of his speech. Nevertheless she was still quite surprised at how much he could talk. 'I'm quite certain he could keep his own self company for an entire day,' she thought to herself.

"... You really have a comeback for everything," Miyeon commented to Lu Minzhe with a deadpan look on her face.

"Ahem. Then, shall we go?" Lu Minzhe said, straightening his legs as he made a move to stand up from his seat. He had noticed that Miyeon had been sporting her classing blank expression and he couldn't help but feel abashed. To be honest, it's difficult to stop himself from speaking in her presence. Ahhh but of course the scenarios in his mind never play out as he imagined in real life.

"..." Rendered completely speechless, Miyeon simply followed suit and walked out with Lu Minzhe after cleaning up the table with their cups.

...…..

The two ended up spending a long time in the supermart. This was because the great CEO of Lu Corp actually didn't have any experience preparing hotpot to eat at home. In fact, in his nearly 30 years of life, he could count in one hand the amount of times he'd made himself a meal.

"Minzhe-ge, we don't need 10 different types of meat for a hotpot. Four is more than enough."

"Minzhe-ge, please put that back."

"Minzhe-ge, how much alcohol are you really planning to consume? You have to drive back home after."

"Minzhe-ge, are you trying to feed a village?"

"Minzhe-ge, all that stuff won't fit in my fridge."

"Minzhe-ge, do you even know how to eat that?"

"Enough! I'll do the shopping from now on! Just follow quietly!"

By the end of the trip, Miyeon had felt like she'd aged 3 years. And so, the two exited the grocery store with Miyeon looking peeved and Lu Minzhe sporting a guilty and repentant puppy dog expression on his face. The pair made their way to Lu Minzhe's Land Rover and Miyeon's phone suddenly rang. It was Shu Li.

Lu Minzhe took a quick glance at the beautiful young lady in the middle of a phone conversation. When he was certain that her attention was completely focused on the call, Lu Minzhe finally let out the delighted smile that had been threatening to escape ever since they stepped foot in the supermart. Ah what to do?! He was so happy to be spending time with Miyeon. Watching her changing expressions. 

"That was Shu Li, she's wrapping up work. She'll be at my place in 30." Miyeon nonchalantly said looking up to the handsome man carrying overflowing bags of groceries. It painted such an incongruous sight that a soft chuckle unconsciously escaped her lips. Still wearing her signature impassive look, she quickly snapped a photo of Lu Minzhe which she forwarded to Shu Li.

**text message**

[IamIrene]: Housekeeper Lu Minzhe, formerly CEO Lu. For hire. (･ิω･ิ)

[TheStar_Stella]: How much per hour?•̀.̫•́✧

[IamIrene]: It will be premium rates even for you. [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅]

[TheStar_Stella]: Come on. Give me a discount. I got a bunch of rooms that need cleaning. ಠ_ಠ

Lu Minzhe promptly loaded the groceries into the trunk and made sure the young woman was buckled up before he started the engine. There was unbridled excitement on his face; this was his second dinner at Miyeon's place. As he stole glances at the passenger side of the Land Rover, he was delighted to notice that Miyeon, who was currently typing away at her phone, seems to be in high spirits as well. 'Miyeon must be thrilled to have dinner with me as well!'

That was how CEO Lu deluded himself.