Su Xiaoxi nearly choked on her water. "What? No! We're just regular colleagues..."
"Come on," Xiao Lin winked mischievously. "The whole company has seen you two having lunch together every day, and he always 'escorts' you after work. Spill it—are you dating?"
"Absolutely not!" Su Xiaoxi's voice involuntarily jumped an octave, drawing glances from nearby coworkers. Her face instantly burned.
Just then, the subject of their conversation walked over, holding a file. The office quieted slightly.
"Su Xiaoxi, Director Wang wants the revision notes for this design draft," Lin Yi said in a strictly professional tone, as if oblivious to the curious looks around them.
"Oh, right..." Su Xiaoxi took the file, not daring to meet his eyes.
Lin Yi turned to leave but paused. "Let's have lunch together to discuss the project progress." He said it just loudly enough for others to hear.
The moment he walked away, Xiao Lin grabbed Su Xiaoxi's arm. "'Discuss the project progress'? Who's he fooling! He's totally into you!"
Su Xiaoxi wished she could crawl under her desk. She stole a glance in Lin Yi's direction and saw him already back at his seat, focused on his computer screen, his chiseled profile as cool and unreadable as a sculpture.
Was he really only getting close to her for the mission? Or… Su Xiaoxi shook her head, cutting off her own ridiculous thought.
At lunchtime, Su Xiaoxi deliberately lingered until most coworkers had left before slipping into the small restaurant she'd agreed to meet Lin Yi at. It was slightly farther from the office and relatively quiet.
"Everyone in the office is gossiping about us today," she muttered, poking at the rice in her bowl.
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Is it bothering you?"
"Of course! It's so awkward..." She looked up, only to find Lin Yi seemed utterly unfazed. "You don't care?"
"Rumors are the best cover," Lin Yi said calmly. "No one will suspect the real reason we're together."
A pang of inexplicable disappointment hit Su Xiaoxi. Right—to him, this was just part of the mission. "Oh... that makes sense."