Chapter 27: Deny It to the Death

Li Cheng stole a glance at Shen Cenzhi through the rearview mirror. Seeing him sitting with his eyes closed and remaining silent, he immediately understood the situation. "Understood, Secretary Wei."

Wei Yang smiled, her voice light and cheerful. "Thank you, Li."

Not daring to say more, she sat upright, keeping her head lowered while casting occasional, surreptitious glances at the sharp, well-defined profile of the man beside her. The dim light inside the car softened his features, stripping away his usual air of stern professionalism.

"Secretary Wei, have you always had the habit of peeking at people?"

The man's low, cold voice cut through the air like a heavy hammer, striking Wei Yang right in the chest. She wished she could tuck her head away like a frightened quail.

After a brief pause, and without waiting for her to respond, he continued in a detached, languid tone, "If you enjoy peeking at other men so much, wouldn't your boyfriend get jealous if he found out?"

Wei Yang froze.

She was reminded of that morning in the elevator, when Shen Cenzhi had noticed the cut at the corner of her mouth.

Clenching her fingertips, she turned to face him. Her clear, beautiful eyes were as bright as stars as she feigned composure. "Mr. Shen, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn't peeking at you."

"Is that so?"

Shen Cenzhi’s tone was lazy, his expression as gentle as a painting. Wei Yang lowered her gaze, saying nothing. Neither admitting nor denying it, her heart hammered against her ribs, as if it might leap out of her throat at any second.

"It seems my secretary lacks even the most basic honesty with me," Shen Cenzhi remarked, reaching up to rub his brow, his expression appearing troubled. "I wonder if you might leak our group's secrets in the future?"

Wei Yang was startled. Her intuition told her that if her answer didn't satisfy him, he would dismiss her. And given her current circumstances, if she were fired by Shen Cenzhi, she would never find another job with such a high salary—she might even find it difficult to land any job at all.

Clenching her fingers, she suppressed her panic and said calmly, "Mr. Shen, you really have misunderstood."

Shen Cenzhi turned his head to look at her.

Wei Yang took a deep breath. Knowing she couldn't avoid it, she lifted her chin and met his dark, unfathomable gaze directly.

"Secretary Wei, we have arrived!" Li Cheng’s voice cut in at the perfect moment.

Wei Yang let out a silent sigh of relief, her voice light and fluid. "Thank you, Li." She then lowered her eyes toward Shen Cenzhi. "Mr. Shen, I’ll head out now to buy the gift for your mother."

"Mm," Shen Cenzhi replied.

Feeling inexplicably relieved, Wei Yang hurried to push the car door open and step out.

However, just as one foot touched the ground, the man’s voice, now tinged with fatigue, drifted from behind her: "Once you’ve bought it, deliver it directly."

Wei Yang froze.

"I’ll send the address to your phone," he added.

"Understood, Mr. Shen."

She had done such errands before when working as a secretary for Xie Yanli; she had plenty of experience.

After exiting the car, Wei Yang stood by the roadside out of courtesy, watching her boss depart. Only after the car had merged into the flow of traffic did she look away and turn toward the entrance of the nearby shopping mall.

Wei Yang had grown up in a wealthy family, a child raised in the lap of luxury. Had it not been for the financial crisis that caused the Wei family's sudden bankruptcy, she would still be a carefree young lady, never having to worry about money.

Once inside the mall, she went straight to a high-end jewelry store.

"Could you please take this necklace out for me to look at?" she asked the sales assistant, pointing to a jade necklace priced at 2.99 million.

Before the assistant could respond, an untimely voice chimed in: "Miss Wei, are you just playing games with the shop assistant? Can you actually afford such an expensive jade necklace?"