Lin Banxia shook her head hard, forcing herself to stop thinking about all those unnecessary things.

Old Sir Huo had already given her a surprise; she should be happy. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lin Banxia forced herself to lift the corners of her mouth into a smile.

But at that moment, her eyes, tinged with the faint hint of a smile, fell into a pair of dark, profound eyes.

The upturned corners of her lips froze abruptly; Lin Banxia seemed startled, her whole body instinctively shuddering slightly.

"Something worth celebrating?" Huo Yanting scrutinized her with a deep gaze and asked.

Lin Banxia suddenly felt her heart pounding rapidly, retreating a few steps with the guilt of a thief, ultimately leaning against the wall.

"Why are you here? Did you come to talk work with your grandpa?" she asked, feigning calmness.

Huo Yanting glanced at the tightly closed office door, his brows slightly furrowing: "No, I just heard my grandpa called you over, so I wanted to come and see how things are."

"Oh..." Lin Banxia listened to his words filled with concern, and suddenly felt even more at a loss.

As though she had betrayed him, her heart sank deep into shame and guilt.

"What did my grandpa talk to you about? You seem quite happy." Huo Yanting made this assumption because as he approached earlier, he noticed her upturned lips. If there hadn’t been some good news, there was no way she would have been smiling.

Lin Banxia suddenly regretted the forced smile she had put on earlier.

"N-No... nothing at all." Lin Banxia’s voice was steeped in guilt; she couldn’t imagine what kind of reaction Huo Yanting would have if he found out she was about to sign that agreement with Old Sir Huo.

"Grandpa didn’t give you a hard time, right?" The man’s tall and imposing figure took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.

Lin Banxia anxiously lowered her head at this moment, unable to muster the courage to meet his concerned gaze, and simply shook her head: "No!"

The man stared down at her slightly panicked face, his sharp eyes flashing with an undercurrent of depth.

He raised his hand, his fingers brushing against a playful strand of long hair that dangled beside her ear. His fingers moved slightly, tucking that strand neatly behind her ear.

This tender, warm gesture was like a faint electric current flowing from his fingertips, running straight into Lin Banxia’s heart.

Lin Banxia, overwhelmed and caught off guard, turned her head to the other side, as though unable to adapt to his sudden display of gentleness.

"I’ll go in and have a word with my grandpa... tell him not to trouble you anymore." Huo Yanting didn’t seem to notice the odd change in the woman in front of him. Perhaps he had never imagined that the woman who had stolen his heart could one day so easily leave him behind.

Lin Banxia, hearing him say he’d go talk to Old Sir Huo, suddenly mustered an inexplicable courage. She grabbed his wrist and smiled faintly: "You better not go. He really didn’t give me a hard time, and I don’t want you to end up in conflict with your grandpa because of me."

Huo Yanting looked down at her small hand grasping his sleeve, the corners of his thin lips curling into a soft smile: "Alright, let’s go back to the office then."

"You go ahead, I... I need to use the restroom!" Lin Banxia casually hooked her arm around his, half-guiding and half-pushing him toward the direction of the CEO’s office.

Huo Yanting didn’t think much of it and simply allowed her to head toward the restroom.

Lin Banxia hid in the corridor leading to the restroom, like a thief, watching Huo Yanting’s tall figure disappear behind the door of his office.