CEO, I'm Not The Girl You Once Knew (Hiatus)

Fifteen

"CEO Lin, I'm afraid you might be mistaken," Shi Xiao Xi said.

Lin Zhicheng raised an eyebrow. "'CEO Lin? Miss Shi, why are you being so distant? Didn't you intimately call me 'Zhicheng' before?"

Contrary to his expectations, the woman in front of him didn't blink.

"CEO Lin, I also called your surname. But you might not have heard me."

Shi Xiao Xi gently removed his hand from her wrist. Lin Zhicheng allowed her.

Since they already interacted, Shi Xiao Xi asked, "CEO Lin, will you join us for dinner? I could call the waiter to place your orders."

Lin Zhicheng was still watching her, "Miss Shi, why don't you order for me?"

Shi Xiao Xi did not reject and quickly ordered another set of dishes. Lin Zhicheng looked at her with shock.

How did she know the favorite dishes he liked to eat? It couldn't even be a coincidence, because he deliberately lied to his interviews, stating the dishes he hated as his favorites instead. It made him aware of who wanted to curry favor with him.

But these dishes...these were the ones that he truly liked.

After a moment, he smiled and said, "Miss Shi's culinary taste is quite good."

Shi Xiao Xi's chopsticks paused for a second. In that moment while she was ordering, she had unconsciously became Ai Wei, ordering for the man in front of her. How many times had Ai Wei said his favorite dishes to the waiter during their dates, and how many times had she eaten dinner with Lin Zhicheng. At that moment, Ai Wei's memories overpowered Shi Xiao Xi's.

The force of habit was truly too powerful!

Shi Xiao Xi acknowledged his words with a nod, and returned back to quietly eating her food. Mr. Han had also returned, which eased up her tense shoulders.

The rest of their dinner was eaten in silence. No matter how much Lin Zhicheng tried to get Shi Xiao Xi to speak, she only responded with curt replies that directly ended the conversation. So he talked business with Mr. Han instead.

Mr. Han really felt apologetic to Shi Xiao Xi. It seemed that every time he tried to help her, he ended up making her feel uncomfortable instead.

But what could he do? Lin Zhicheng was still his boss.

Finally, their tense dinner ended. It was supposed to be Mr. Han's treat for Shi Xiao Xi, but Lin Zhicheng ended up paying the bill, with a heavy tip to the waiter. The waiter's smile widened and he bowed once before leaving.

Not one to forget her manners, Shi Xiao Xi nodded to Lin Zhicheng with a polite smile, "Thank you for the meal."

"Miss Shi is too polite."

He had not experienced being ignored by a girl before. Lin Zhicheng couldn't help but feel a little happy now that her attention went back to him. There were some girls that pretended to ignore him, but he could always feel their interest despite their fake act of playing hard to get. This girl in front of him, however, was truly indifferent. He had the feeling that she couldn't wait to get away from him.

Shi Xiao Xi didn't forget to give her gift to Mr. Han.

"Mr. Han, thank you for your help before. This is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

Mr. Han was surprised. He didn't expect to receive a gift from her.

"Miss Shi, it was nothing. You didn't even..." Mr. Han barely stopped himself in time. The reason why she was rejected from their company was standing next to them, after all.

Mr. Han took the gift from Shi Xiao Xi with a slight blush. "Then...I'll have to thank you, Miss Shi."

Shi Xiao Xi smiled back at him, "You're welcome, Mr. Han."

The trio walked outside of the restaurant together and stopped under its awning. Lin Zhicheng's face was sullen. When he saw that it was raining heavily, he pulled the corners of his lips downward.

Shi Xiao Xi held out her hand to catch the raindrops. She turned her head, about to say goodbye to Mr. Han, when she saw that he was talking to his phone. She didn't want to disturb him, so she waited patiently for him to finish his call.

Lin Zhicheng was watching her. Out of the blue, he asked, "Why did the two of you break up?"

Shi Xiao Xi looked at him. She sighed a little bit, "CEO Lin, Mr. Han and I were never in a relationship. You've misunderstood."

Lin Zhicheng's eyes brightened.

"So why have you been calling him late at night?" he asked, after a short pause.

Shi Xiao Xi frowned. "CEO Lin, I don't know why our relationship would be any business of yours. Please stop asking these intrusive questions."

With that cold sentence, their conversation stuttered to a stop.

The silence was broken only when Mr. Han approached them with a worried expression.

"Zhou's stuck in traffic. He said that he'll probably arrive here after an hour."

Lin Zhicheng frowned. Heavy gusts of winds drove some of the rain towards them, and one side of his clothes had already gotten wet. More and more people huddled over the awning, some signaling for a cab and others rushing down the street, trying to find another shop to dawdle in.

Shi Xiao Xi thought that the Zhou Mr. Han was talking about might be their driver. She had already opened her umbrella and was using it to shield them from wayward raindrops.

"You can call for a cab," she suggested. "You might not get any here even if you wait."

There were many taxi cabs passing by, but there were also many people waiting for a ride. As soon as a taxi cab came close, all of them would suddenly straighten their backs, and stand close to the road as much as possible. When the taxi cab stopped, there was a race as to who could grab the door handle first.

Lin Zhicheng watched this spectacle and his mood became even worse.

Mr. Han shook his head. "I already tried that. There's no taxi cab available at the moment and the next one would take thirty minutes."

Shi Xiao Xi pursed her lips. It was predictable. Since the weather was like this, most taxi cabs have would probably been booked.

The wind picked up and the rain fell even heavier. There was an all-around gasp from every direction, and the streetlights went dark. The light from the restaurant behind them also disappeared, leaving them in complete darkness.

Lin Zhicheng cursed.

It was a city-wide black-out.

The sky temporarily lit up as lightning flashed, followed by the resounding boom of thunder.

Shi Xiao Xi hesitated.

After deliberating for a while, she finally offered, "Why don't the two of you just wait for your driver to arrive at my apartment?"