"Yue! You're back!"

"Yue! Are you okay?"

"Are you feeling better now? Why don't you take another day off to rest?"

As soon as she arrived, Shen Yue smiled contently at the overwhelming amount of questions from her colleagues and teammates.

"I'm as good as new now, guys. I can even challenge one of you to a duel," Shen Yue joked which made everyone laughed, "Thank you for your concern!"

"You know what, Yue. Someone was exceptionally worried about you yesterday," one of her colleagues said.

"Yeah, he immediately marched to your place as soon as he finished assigning tasks here," another one teasingly added.

Dylan—who had just arrived earlier and was silently observing their interaction—grinned widely. Shen Yue glanced at him and playfully scoffed at his prideful reaction.

"Oh, really. I wonder who," Shen Yue laughed, and everyone followed her.

"Anyway, let's wrap up our project today and get ready for the presentation tomorrow!" Shen Yue cheerfully announced.

"Yes! Let's do it!" everyone cheered before going back to work on their respective tasks.

Shen Yue was about to walk to her office, but someone suddenly grabbed her arm.

"What is it?" she asked with her eyebrow raised when Dylan handed her a paper cup and a food thermos.

"Chicken congee and lemon tea... I'm pretty sure you haven't had breakfast yet, so I prepared these for you," Dylan smiled.

"Ohhhh.... What about us, Dylan?" one of Yue's colleagues suddenly cooed when they heard their conversation.

Another one then smacked that colleague's head, "Don't you see, idiot? The food is for the special one only. Right, Dylan?"

Hearing her colleague' teasing, Shen Yue blushed, while Dylan laughed and gave that colleague a thumb up.

"Be careful. The congee and the tea are still quite hot," Dylan fondly reminded Yue who was still blushing. She still felt a bit weird with the unconstrained reaction she now had toward his action. It was as if the distance she had been trying to put between herself and him had started to crumble down. She thanked him in a small voice and immediately went to her office.

As soon as she turned her back to Dylan and her colleagues, a big smile started to appear on her face. What she didn't see was that Dylan's smile was also mirroring hers.

----------------------------

Shen Yue left the conference room with an expressionless face. She had just finished the presentation and the debate on the project. She slowly walked back to her department without saying anything.

"Yue! You're back!"

"How was it, Yue?"

"What's the result?"

Everyone excitedly asked her as soon as she appeared. However, their cheerfulness suddenly died down when they saw her expression. Shen Yue looked at her colleagues one by one until her eyes fell on a person.

"Tao Jia! You're back!" Shen Yue exclaimed and went to give Tao Jie a tight hug.

"Of course, I'm back! How's everything, girl?" Tao Jie returned Yue's hug and patted her back. Shen Yue said nothing and broke into soft sobs. Tao Jie kept patting her back to comfort her, while everyone else watched silently.

"Yue! Don't cry!" someone softly said.

"Yeah, Yue. Even if we failed, at least we gave it our best shot."

"Don't cry, Yue."

Everyone began to circle around her and Tao Jie and gave them a group hug, which made Yue sob harder into their embrace. After around a minute, Yue finally said something, but it came out as a mumble to others.

"What did you say, Yue?" Tao Jie asked, pulling away a little from their group hug.

"I said we made it!" Shen Yue shouted with a smile. Everyone suddenly backed away in daze, and the room fell in complete silence for a few seconds before a loud cheer erupted.

"We made it??"

"We made it!"

"Yes, we made it!" everyone started to exclaim happily, while Yue chuckled at their excitement.

"Where did I put it?"

"Oh yeah, where's mine?"

"Idiot! Look under your desk!"

Shen Yue started to frown a little when she saw everyone started to run back to their desks as if trying to find something. When she turned to look at Tao Jie, Tao Jie just gave her a knowing smile. However, her confusion was immediately cleared when she heard small explosions coming from all directions and confetti began to disrupt her vision.

"What was that?" Shen Yue laughed at the sudden turn of event.

"It's a celebration for us! Good job, girl!" Tao Jie shouted amidst the loud cheer of everyone, "Good job, everyone!"

"Who thought of this idea?" Shen Yue asked while laughing. Her colleagues then pointed to someone behind her. When she turned around, she saw Dylan leaning on the department door. Seeing everyone pointing at him, Dylan laughed and raised both of his hands to surrender.

"I mean I just suggested. They thought it was a good idea," Dylan let out another laugh.

Shen Yue laughed and shook her head, "Since when are you here?"

"For a while," Dylan smiled and walked closer to her. He then offered his hand to her for a handshake, "Congratulation, Ms. Shen. We look forward to the launch of the official cooperation between the Wang and Shanghai Bank."

Shen Yue smiled wider and shook his hand, "Our pleasure, Mr. Wang." They kept holding hands and smiling at each other as if they were in their own world. That was until someone cleared their throat.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Dylan! Don't break your promise!" a colleague exclaimed, while everyone else cheered in agreement.

Dylan chuckled and put his hands back in his pockets, "Of course, I won't! Now let's celebrate! I've already booked a restaurant. It's on me tonight!" A loud cheer was heard again. Yue laughed and raised an eyebrow at Dylan to which he shrugged and winked at her.

Seeing that, Shen Yue chuckled; who should break the news to him that he couldn't wink? Maybe not her because deep in her heart, she strangely found it cute. At that moment, she felt so happy. That was her happiest moment in a while. Everything went so well that she was afraid that something would come to ruin it. However, she decided to push that thought aside; maybe everything was not going to be as bad as she thought.

----------------------------

"Damn it," Dylan cursed under his breath when his car still wouldn't start even after multiple attempts. The party had just ended, and he had walked Yue to her car earlier before he returned to his car.

Dylan went to open his car hood and did everything he could to get the engine started. However, much to his luck, he might have to call the insurance and take a taxi home tonight. He then laughed at himself. Who would have thought that he would actually have this day?

His thought was soon interrupted by a honk. When he looked up, he saw Yue in her car with her window rolled down.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Look like I can't get the car started," Dylan shrugged, "I'll have to leave it here for tonight and ask someone to check on it tomorrow since it's already quite late."

"Oh," Shen Yue nervously bit her lip which was quite distracting for Dylan if he was being honest, "Do you need a ride? I can give you a ride home."

Dylan blinked a few times before he blurted out, "What?"

"I mean if you don't mind," she smiled, but deep inside, she was quite nervous. Her heart was beating pretty fast.

"No!" Dylan almost shouted. He was grinning from ear to ear, "I mean yeah, sure. I need a ride."

Shen Yue bit her lip to prevent herself from smiling and turned back to look at the road, "Alright. Hop in before I change my mind."

Dylan smiled. He immediately locked his car and got in Yue's passenger seat.

----------------------------

"Stop staring at me," Shen Yue finally said after she felt Dylan's eyes on her since they left the restaurant. Although she didn't glance back at him, she could feel the intensity of his stare. She would be lying if she said her heart didn't flutter. After all, it was just them in the car, with no work or her sickness to distract.

Hearing her words, Dylan chuckled but kept staring, "You are too beautiful to resist."

"Stop it!" she blushed.

"What? I'm just stating the truth," Dylan grinned.

"Say that again, and you're walking home," Shen Yue smiled when Dylan finally shut up. However, she could still feel him staring at her.

After a few minutes of silence, Dylan suddenly let out a chuckle.

"What was that?" Shen Yue briefly glanced at him before she turned her attention back on the road.

"Don't you find it funny? Normally, if this was in dramas, I would have been the one in the driver's seat," Dylan chuckled, "But it's opposite for us."

Shen Yue paused for a few seconds before she started to laugh along with him, "You're right! But what about it? Does it hurt your so-called masculinity?" She raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

When she didn't hear any response, she briefly turned to look at him. Her heart skipped a beat the moment she saw him fondly smiled at her.

"Not at all. I actually like it a lot."

"Why?"

"You want an honest answer?"

"Of course. Why would I want a lie?"

"You look y driving like this."

Dylan was almost thrown out of his seat when Shen Yue suddenly stepped on the break. Luckily, he wore his seatbelt, and luckily for them, it's already late, so there was no car behind them.

"Woah! You asked for an honest answer! Are you trying to kill me now?" Dylan laughed when he saw how red Shen Yue's face had become. He then raised his hands to surrender when he saw her shooting him a death glare.

.

"By the way, Guan, Xize, and Jingkang asked me to congratulate you on their behalf," Dylan finally said after they were on their way again.

"Oh. Actually, they already texted me about that... What's with that face?" Shen Yue laughed when she saw how betrayed Dylan looked.

"They contacted you behind by my back?" Dylan asked, feeling betrayed.

"What's with that tone of voice? You made it sound like I just did something bad," Shen Yue chuckled, "Of course, they contact me. They're my friends. By they, I mean including Yihan, Jiaqi, and Xiao Zi. We've already met at a Gala."

"Still! How come they didn't tell me about contacting you?" Dylan almost whined.

"Well, that's your problem," Shen Yue smiled, "But why do they even need to tell you?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend," Dylan stated as a matter of fact.

"Ex-boyfriend," she corrected.

He sighed. He remained silent for a few seconds before he continued, "Is it really how you see us?"

Hearing his question, Shen Yue fell silent for a while, "I don't know."

"You told me this before, Yue," Dylan said, "Let's stop running away from things now."

Shen Yue tightened her grips on the steering wheel. So many emotions came rushing inside her. She had already agreed to talk with him before, but now she could feel her hesitation return again.

"Yue," Dylan called her with desperation hidden in his voice, "Look at me, Yue."

"Please..."

Hearing the desperation in his voice, Yue finally turned to look at him. What she saw broke her heart; the person in front of her right now looked so helpless and vulnerable.

That was when she decided to make her final decision. She nodded. His face broke into a smile, and so did hers.

However, their eye contact was soon broken when they saw flashing headlight coming toward their directions. They gasped the moment they turned to the road. A truck was losing control and got to their lane. When they realized it, it was too late; the truck was already zooming at them.

"Yue! Watch out!" Dylan shouted and immediately turned the steering wheel sharply to the right.

A scratching sound and a loud bang then echoed in the silent night.

----------------------------

Shen Yue groaned as she regained her consciousness. They almost had a head-on collision with the truck, but luckily for them, Dylan managed to turn the wheel on time. Her car had come to an immediate stop as soon as it crashed into a tree on the sidewalk. The impact was directed to the passenger's side, leaving the driver's side intact. At that moment, Shen Yue immediately opened her eyes.

"Dylan!" her heart dropped when she saw Dylan bleeding from his head.

"Dylan! Please wake up! Dylan!" she desperately shook him; tears were now all over her face. When she finally saw some movement from him, she was a little relieved.

"Hold on, Dylan! I'm calling the ambulance. Please hold on!" Shen Yue took out her phone and dialed the ambulance number with her shaky hands. When she saw that Dylan seemed to mumble something with his eyes still closed, she leaned closer to his face.

"Dylan! Are you saying something?" she anxiously asked. Her heart immediately clenched when she heard what he said.

"You finally called my name."

That was the last thing he said before he finally lost his consciousness with a slight smile on his face.

----------------------------

"Dylan! Dylan, please keep holding on! You want to talk about us, right? Please don't leave me! We'll talk about us. We'll talk about us!" Shen Yue was weeping and holding Dylan's hand tightly, as the medical team was rushing him into the ER.

"I'm sorry, miss. You can't go inside," a medical assistant stopped her when they reached the ER room.

"Be strong, Dylan. I'm here. I'm here waiting for you outside, okay?" Shen Yue kissed his hand before she let go of it to allow the medical team to push him inside the ER. As soon as the door was closed, she dropped herself onto the hospital floor and cried her heart out.

----------------------------