Sang Ning frowned slightly. "President He, is there something you need?"
It had been over half a month since their breakup, and he had never shown up before. She knew full well that, given his pride, he would never come looking for her.
After their last encounter at Cloud Peak Mountain, they had completely lost contact.
Yet his sudden appearance now was undeniably strange.
He Siyu's voice was indifferent. "There's an issue with the AI medical project."
She was puzzled. "What kind of issue?"
Ye Qian had been giving her daily updates on the product development, and everything had been progressing smoothly.
"Are we discussing this here?"
She hesitated for a moment before finally opening the car door.
Once she was seated, He Siyu turned the steering wheel and drove off without another word.
Sang Ning's phone rang—it was Uncle Zhang calling.
"Young Miss, I've arrived, but I don’t see you."
Sang Ning tightened her grip on the phone. "Ji Yan just invited me out for dinner. You don’t need to wait for me today."
"Oh, alright then."
"Sorry for the trouble."
He Siyu glanced at her, noting how effortlessly she lied without batting an eye.
Sang Ning hung up and met his gaze without a trace of guilt. Instead, she calmly asked, "What exactly is the problem with the project?"
He replied flatly, "Just a minor issue."
Sang Ning froze. If it was just a minor issue, why had he sought her out?
Did he expect her to fix the bugs for him?!
The car came to a stop, and Sang Ning looked out the window to see a familiar private dining restaurant.
Her gaze faltered slightly—this was a place they used to frequent. She had always loved the food here.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out. "We’ll talk over dinner."
Sang Ning pressed her lips together but followed him inside.
They were seated in their usual private room, the same small bridge and flowing water visible through the window, with the same man sitting across from her.
Yet everything between them had changed.
Sang Ning set down her chopsticks and looked at him. "President He, why exactly did you come looking for me today?"
He Siyu picked up a long case from the table and handed it to her. "I recently acquired a painting. I’d like your opinion."
Sang Ning was taken aback but accepted the case, carefully opening it.
As the scroll unfurled, a familiar painting came into view. Her breath hitched as her eyes traveled downward, finally landing on the small seal in the bottom right corner.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the scroll.
She rolled it back up, returned it to the brocade box, and met He Siyu’s dark gaze.
"Well?" he asked.
Sang Ning closed the lid calmly. "It’s a fake."
He Siyu’s expression flickered briefly as he studied her composed face. His voice cooled. "Is that so?"
"Where did you acquire this, President He?"
He traced the rim of his glass with his thumb. "At an auction yesterday. This painting was recently repatriated from overseas, said to have been well-preserved by the Xie family descendants."
"There’s just one flaw—an unruly child was so fond of the painting that they stamped their personal seal on it."
Sang Ning blinked. "So you spent a fortune on a painting just because of a story?"
His gaze lingered on her eyes—clear and bright, equally convincing whether she was telling the truth or lying.
But he didn’t actually care whether the painting was genuine or not.
He said lightly, "I just found it interesting. I’ve never heard of such an explanation for a seal before."
Sang Ning’s expression stiffened as she recalled the time she had playfully stamped a seal on him.
"Really? I’ve never heard of it either," she replied evenly.
Yet he noticed the tips of her ears turning red.
He smirked. "Hmm."
Hmm? What was that supposed to mean?
Sang Ning clenched her fingers around the box, her face tense as an inexplicable frustration welled up inside her.
A server entered with their dishes, breaking the tension.
She handed the box back to him, and he casually set it aside before eating with apparent satisfaction.
Sang Ning, however, found it hard to swallow.
He Siyu spoke leisurely between bites. "There’s a meeting this Friday. Don’t forget to attend."
Sang Ning replied stiffly, "I’m busy."
"It’s an important joint meeting with the project team, the hospital, and our partners. Critical information and decisions will be made. Missing it would leave you out of the loop."
His tone was casual, utterly unbothered.
Sang Ning resisted the urge to shove his face into his plate, her knuckles whitening around her chopsticks. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Understood."
The rest of the meal passed in an awkward silence.
Yet He Siyu seemed unusually at ease. The authenticity of the painting didn’t matter—what mattered was that the seal stamped on him was real.
After dinner, he drove her home as usual.
The car stopped near the intersection close to the Nan residence.
Sang Ning took a deep breath and forced a polite smile. "Thank you for dinner, President He."
He shrugged. "You helped me appraise the painting. It’s only fair. The usual fee will be transferred to your account."
She smiled tightly. "No need for payment. That fake must have already cost you enough."
He smirked. "It’s fine. Money well spent for a good story."
Sang Ning’s composure cracked, her ears burning red.
He was doing this on purpose!
With a strained smile, she said, "I’ll be going now."
She stepped out of the car, shut the door a little harder than necessary, and waved politely before turning away.
Every movement was as poised as ever—except for the force behind the door.
He Siyu’s lips curved slightly. It was the first time in a month he’d felt this pleased.
Sang Ning returned home, fuming, and barely slept half the night.
---
The next morning at nine, Sang Ning arrived at work as usual.
"Young Master Nan." Xu Yan handed her the materials for the morning meeting.
She flipped through them briefly.
Xu Yan hesitated. "You don’t look well today. Did you not rest properly?"
Sang Ning paused, then leveled him with a cold stare. "I rested just fine."
Xu Yan stiffened. "Ah. Right. Of course."
It was the first time Young Master Nan had ever snapped at him...
After the meeting, as Sang Ning stepped out of the conference room, Xu Yan approached again.
"Young Master Nan, Young President Pei from Xinghong is here. I’ve already shown him to the meeting room."
Sang Ning nodded and headed straight there.
She knocked before entering and greeted him politely. "Young President Pei."
Pei Songhan was lounging on the sofa, flipping through some documents. He set them aside and smiled. "Young Master Nan."
Since their companies had begun collaborating, Pei Songhan had taken personal charge of the Xinghong project, so they’d interacted frequently and were now well-acquainted.
Sang Ning sat across from him and handed him a file. "These are the adjusted parameters for this batch of components, modified per Xinghong’s request. Do they meet your expectations?"
Pei Songhan nodded. "They look good."
"Then I’ll have Engineer Li take you to the production department for a final check later?"
"Sure."
He studied her for a moment. "Did you not sleep well last night?"
She paused. "I’m fine."
"You look exhausted. Is the workload too much? I’ve heard Old Master Nan is grooming you as his successor. Take it slow—no need to push yourself too hard."
Sang Ning pressed her lips together. "Thank you for your concern, Young President Pei."
He looked at her: "We've known each other for so long. Must you keep such a distance between us?"
Sang Ning met his gaze, her voice calm. "Young President Pei and I are now business partners. Naturally, there’s no distance."
He seemed slightly exasperated. "Why do you always avoid me?"
She paused.
His lips pressed into a thin line. "At Gu Xingchen’s engagement party, I already told you—I called off my engagement. Sang Ning, I don’t believe you don’t understand how I feel."
