Continuing to give him hope was not good for anyone. After careful consideration, Ye Ziyu decided to lay everything out in the open.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Gu Xiuyu seriously. "Mr. Gu, I don't dislike you. But if you continue to have romantic feelings for me, I will begin to dislike you. You know I am already married and have children. Your constant admiring glances affect me."
Wait! Affect her?
Did she mean she might be swayed?
Gu Xiuyu's eyes gleamed with gold. "What should I do?"
His tone rose, and Ye Ziyu realized he had misunderstood her words.
"Let's keep our distance."
"Keep our distance?"
Gu Xiuyu's mood was like a roller coaster; he thought if he tried a little harder, he could win Ye Ziyu's affection.
Ye Ziyu felt the gloom radiating from him, but it was better to cut ties quickly than to suffer prolonged pain. Why harbor hope for something impossible from the start?
Ye Ziyu patiently explained again, "Yes, I don't want Mingjue to misunderstand."
To prevent her from thinking too much, Di Mingjue had cleared all the women around him. When girls on the street asked for directions, he would ignore them, fearing she might misunderstand and get angry.
If he could go to such lengths, how could she be so selfish as to have too much contact with other men?
Ye Ziyu watched him remain silent, unafraid of his anger. "Mr. Gu, your feelings for me might be a fleeting desire. It's not regrettable to give up, but it is regrettable to linger too long."
By reserving her heart in time, she could meet the right person at the right time.
"Can we be friends?" Gu Xiuyu asked.
Ye Ziyu still didn't want to.
They had only met a few times; it wasn't enough to consider them friends.
Afraid Ye Ziyu would ignore him entirely, Gu Xiuyu quickly echoed her words, "I understand. Since you've made your feelings clear, let's just maintain a professional working relationship."
Ye Shi and Gu Shi were collaborating, and she was the head of the project planning. They would have ample opportunities to meet in the future, so Gu Xiuyu wasn't in a hurry to change her mind.
Ye Ziyu was still hesitant; she was considering handing over this project to someone else.
"Even a professional working relationship isn't allowed?" Gu Xiuyu looked disappointed.
It seemed overly reserved to be so strict.
Ye Ziyu interrupted her own thoughts. "Yes, it's allowed. I will complete the cooperation with Gu Shi without any personal feelings going forward."
Finally, Gu Xiuyu breathed a sigh of relief.
If she had insisted otherwise, he truly wouldn't have known what to do.
Seizing the opportunity while Ye Ziyu had agreed, Gu Xiuyu quickly said, "Miss Ye, will you be attending lunch today?"
Fearing she might refuse, Gu Xiuyu unreservedly told her about the circumstances surrounding the project's outcome. "When I learned that Su Shi had plagiarized Ye Shi's project proposal, I decided to cooperate with Ye Shi after the bidding conference. However, my father and other shareholders were unaware of this matter. For Gu Shi's sake, and for fairness, I had a dispute with them."
With the emotional plea, Ye Ziyu found it difficult to refuse.
Without his intervention, Gu Shi might have partnered with Su Shi for this project.
After some thought, she decided to accept his invitation for lunch to repay his favor.
"I will attend," Ye Ziyu said. "We've seen most of the company; I'll take Mr. Gu to the conference room upstairs to rest."
Things were progressing step by step as planned; Gu Xiuyu wasn't in a hurry for her to change her attitude towards him immediately.
Upon arriving at the conference room, Ye Ziyu instructed her assistant to bring Gu Xiuyu coffee and pastries before excusing herself.
As soon as she left the conference room, her phone rang.
"I have to eat lunch alone today?" Di Mingjue's disappointed voice came through. He lay on the sofa in his office, picked up his phone, and saw the message Ye Ziyu had sent.
He had waited all morning for their lunchtime break and their meeting, only to have it snatched away by someone else in the end.