She had accepted their gifts and eaten their food; how could this possibly be right?

Although Xiao Qi didn’t quite understand why he was telling her all this, for some reason, Lin Yichen came to mind.

“Is this about him?”

“Yes.” Panson adjusted his glasses. “Yichen has a mental illness.”

Those six words struck like thunder from a clear sky, leaving Xiao Qi utterly stunned, unable to react for several minutes.

So frightening, so terrifying.

How could he have a mental illness?

“What you just said—” Xiao Qi pointed at the woman outside the window. “Will Lin Yichen end up like her?”

“Though he hasn’t reached that stage yet,” Panson said solemnly, “his psychological issues might actually be more severe than that patient’s. If not addressed soon, his condition could very well deteriorate.”

At this, Xiao Qi was convinced and deeply alarmed. She couldn’t help but imagine Yichen unable to take care of himself, and tears welled up.

She ran at once.

“Xiyang, where are you going?”

“I’m going to be with him.”

Panson breathed a sigh of relief. At last, he’d persuaded this stubborn little mule.

Xiao Qi hurried over, only to find no trace of President Lin.

He had left?

Panson walked in. “Dr. Pan, where did he go?”

Panson sighed. “Yichen is proud by nature. After you left like that, how could he possibly stay? He definitely won’t come looking for you again.”

At these words, Xiao Qi instinctively felt relieved.

But then, his illness…

“Dr. Pan, I’ll go find him now,” she said, then paused. “Dr. Pan, what symptoms does his illness usually cause?”

Panson decided to be forthright.

“His condition could be called ‘emotional incapacity.’”

“Emotional incapacity?”

“Yes.” Of course, Panson didn’t mention anything about Yichen’s mother, only saying, “But the ‘love’ here isn’t romantic love. It’s affection—family bonds or friendship. He can never be sure how long people will stay by his side, or if, without warning, they’ll suddenly leave. As a form of self-protection, he avoids the feelings others bring him.”

Was the human heart really so complicated?

But then, why does he keep chasing after me?

No—after Ye Xiyang.

Yet, recalling what Panson had said, that ‘emotional incapacity’ only involves family and friendship bonds.

But still…

But what? Xiao Qi felt something didn’t add up, and yet everything seemed to make sense.

So she decided not to dwell on it.

“Dr. Pan, if I stay by his side, will his illness not recur?”

“Essentially, yes. But if you do a bit more, then his condition will never relapse.”

“What should I do?”

“You need to help him open up emotionally and gain a sense of security.”

Xiao Qi was bewildered. “How do I help him open up emotionally?”

“It’s like this…” Panson considered. “Keep praising him, treat him gently, let him feel he’s important to you, that he deserves to be loved. Boost his self-esteem in relationships, don’t make him angry. In short, praise him, don’t upset him, make him happy.”

Xiao Qi was utterly lost.

Panson took out his phone. “Xiyang, I’ll send you some materials on psychological therapy. Take a look.”

“Okay, sure.”

“Xiyang,” after sending the information, Panson looked at her seriously, “no matter what happens between you in the future, never hurt Yichen.”

#

The next morning, Xiao Qi arrived at the company early.

But not earlier than the president.

She immediately ran to the president’s office.

Before she could take anything out, President Lin tossed her a black credit card. “Use this for any expenses from now on. You don’t have to pay it back, of course.”

…

What was this about?

Xiao Qi’s survival instincts screamed that she absolutely shouldn’t accept this. If she did, there’d be no way out… So she opened her mouth, “I don’t—”

The moment the word “don’t” left her lips, the president’s gaze sliced over, but she wasn’t intimidated.

She was used to this tactic by now. So unoriginal.

Xiao Qi was quite contemptuous of President Lin.

“What don’t you want?” President Lin asked coldly.

“I don’t…” Suddenly, she remembered what Dr. Pan had said about praising him, not making him angry.

So the word “want” stopped abruptly at her lips, almost causing her internal injury from holding back.

“What don’t you want?”

“I… can’t refuse.”

Sigh.

Xiao Qi lowered her head, frustrated.

A flash of displeasure crossed Yichen’s eyes.

Why didn’t she want anything from him?

“You can go,” Yichen’s expression cooled, but he didn’t forget to remind her to take the card. “Take the card with you.”

“Oh.”

Xiao Qi took the card and returned to her desk, gazing blankly for a long while before a thought she’d sent off to the far reaches of the universe resurfaced.

She pulled out a small bottle of essential oil from her pocket. Honestly, why did he have to give her the card? It disrupted her plans.

She hadn’t even given him her gift yet, though it wasn’t much, but still…

Wait, how much money was on this black card?

It looked so prestigious.

She thought about asking a colleague, but hesitated.

She thought about asking Fang Li, but doubted he’d tell her the truth.

Go to the bank? But that meant leaving the office.

Maybe she’d ask Yiyang.

So she called Yiyang.

In truth, Yiyang wasn’t in the mood for work either, playing games in his office.

He answered with a laugh, “Xiyang, why are you calling during work?”

“Uh, just wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask away.”

“There’s this black card, a bank card—it’s black. This kind of card…”

“You have one?” Yiyang sounded surprised.

Xiao Qi instinctively denied it. “No, I just saw one by accident. It looked so impressive, so I wanted to ask.”

“That card has no spending limit—very few people have it. Whose did you see?”

“Oh, I don’t know the person. Got to work now, bye!”

No way—no spending limit?

Xiao Qi felt the card was burning her hand. She had to return it immediately.

Being a woman of action, she hurried to the office, but found the president in a foul mood.

Well, after what she’d said to him at Dr. Pan’s yesterday, of course he’d be upset.

Yet, even after that, he still gave her such a heavy-weight card today.

Oh…

She felt guilty.

All the more reason not to accept it.

With a “smack,” she placed the black card on President Lin’s desk. “President Lin, thank you for your generosity, but I really can’t accept this card.”

He lifted his gaze from his documents, considering, then retrieved the card. After a moment, he took out a white box from the drawer and handed it to her. “Take this.”

Curious, Xiao Qi opened it. Inside was a simple-looking necklace, nothing extravagant.

This should be affordable, so she could accept it.

But why did he keep giving her things?

Sigh…

He looked up. “Remember to wear it.”

“Oh.”

“It’s almost ten. Go bring me lunch.”

“Oh.”

Xiao Qi floated out of the office, heading to Auntie’s restaurant for lunch.

On the way, she glanced at the letters on the white box.

Why didn’t she recognize these letters?

At the restaurant, she showed it to Xiao Bai.

“Xiao Bai, do you recognize these letters?”

Xiao Bai shook her head. “Maybe ask a colleague, or Lin Yiyang.”

“Good idea.” Of course, Xiao Qi wouldn’t foolishly bring the item to ask directly, so she copied down the letters on a piece of paper.

She returned to the office ten minutes early and showed the copied letters to her colleagues.

They said it was French, which none of them could read, but one colleague recognized a word. “That’s a jewelry brand—super expensive, usually priced in the millions.”

What? That expensive?

Hearing the price, Xiao Qi had only one thought—if only the wind would carry it away… With something so costly, she was glad she hadn’t worn it, or her neck might have been snapped by a thief.

Honestly, why did he have to give such expensive gifts?

Xiao Qi was completely at a loss, muttering, “Why give me something so valuable?”

Amid the curious and puzzled stares of her coworkers, she drifted back to her desk like a lost soul.

She sat dazed for over ten minutes, staring at the box.

No wonder he was a top capitalist, wielding both carrot and stick with such finesse.

Sigh…

Her melancholy stemmed from inner conflict.

As the saying goes, “no reward without merit.” Accepting such an expensive gift for no reason, Xiao Qi felt a heavy weight on her neck.

There was no way she could accept this.

A nosy colleague, after watching Xiao Qi’s trance for a while, was about to come over when Xiao Qi, carrying the lunch, floated toward the president’s office.

%%%%%%%

Standing before President Lin with her mind full of static, Yichen looked up, his gaze landing on her neck, and his face immediately darkened.

Xiao Qi, seeing his cold expression, felt some of that static clear away, though she was still puzzled.

She remembered when she left at ten, his mood had seemed fine—why now…

Could he be…hungry?

She glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already half past twelve.

A hungry president was bound to be in a bad mood, even fierce, so it was best not to provoke him until he’d been fed.

She opened the lunchbox at once, and seeing a dish with green peppers, she used her chopsticks to pick them out and pop them into her own mouth.

Once the peppers were gone, she handed her chopsticks to Yichen.

Sure enough, President Lin’s expression visibly softened.

Then, as before, Fang Li quietly brought in another meal and withdrew.

Xiao Qi thought, how silly—next time she’d just bring two lunches right away.

As the saying goes, when you accept someone’s food, you go soft; when you take their gifts, you lose your leverage. She was accepting his gifts and eating his food—this couldn’t go on.

With this in mind, Xiao Qi spoke up, but the president beat her to it. “Didn’t I tell you to wear it?”

Xiao Qi was momentarily confused, then realized what he meant after five seconds.

She had been about to bring this up anyway, but didn’t want to upset him, so she was tactful. She took out the white box. “President Lin, I don’t recognize this brand, so I…”

The words were in French, which she naturally couldn’t read.

Yichen pointed to each word, explaining their meaning.

But one word didn’t match what her colleague had told her.

“That’s odd. This word isn’t what Sister Liu said it was.”

Yichen frowned. “You asked someone else?”

“Yes, I copied it down and asked around.”