From now on, Chen Zhi will belong to me.

The top-floor duplex at Wanliu House.

Pei Ningxue looked at the three words popping up on the screen, "Alright, wait for me," and gave a soft snort.

She casually tossed her phone onto the sofa and walked barefoot across the thick wool carpet, heading toward the walk-in closet in a rather good mood.

Truth be told, she had taken that photo of the suitcase half an hour ago.

The trip to Shanghai to discuss the autonomous driving system with several new energy vehicle companies was originally scheduled for three days later. The flights and hotel were all booked according to that timeline.

She sent that photo today purely to test the waters.

Chen Zhi had just returned from Changsha, and yesterday afternoon he ran off to Renmin University to see that law student. Knowing this scumbag's habit of "balancing his cups of water," he would most likely play dead in his dorm today, or find an excuse to accompany that singer.

If Chen Zhi dared to find an excuse to brush her off, she would absolutely storm into the boys' dormitory at Peking University's Yuanpei College today to demand an explanation.

To her surprise, the guy agreed so readily.

Pei Ningxue pulled open the closet doors, her fingers trailing over rows of clothes.

Since he agreed, they would leave today.

Here in Beijing, Chen Zhi's attention was always divided into several pieces. One moment he had to see the big star, the next he had to go deliver warmth to Renmin University.

Once they got to Shanghai, they would be far away from all that.

There would be no singer, and no law student.

For the next few days, Chen Zhi's time, energy, and his very person would belong entirely to her, Pei Ningxue.

Thinking of this, Pei Ningxue directly pressed the call button, dialing the administrative director of Deep Space Technology.

"Change the flight tickets to Shanghai for President Chen and me. Yes, the earliest one this afternoon. Tell Lao Zhao to wait downstairs in half an hour."

...

Forty minutes later.

Chen Zhi, carrying a black backpack, burst through the door of the Wanliu House duplex.

As soon as he entered the foyer, he saw that Pei Ningxue had already changed into a tailored khaki trench coat over a black turtleneck sweater. Her long hair was casually pinned up at the back of her head, and she was sitting on the bench, putting on a pair of high-heeled ankle boots.

Beside her sat that silver-gray metallic Rimowa suitcase.

"Hold on, President Pei," Chen Zhi said, catching his breath as he tossed his backpack onto the suitcase. "Isn't your efficiency a bit too high? Yesterday morning you said there was no rush this week. Why the sudden flight today?"

"Do you have any idea how much money Deep Space Technology burns in a day?" Pei Ningxue stood up and smoothed the hem of her trench coat. "The sooner we sign the contract, the sooner we see returns in the company's account. As the CFO, I deal with countless matters every day, and my schedule changes at a moment's notice. Do you have a problem with that?"

Chen Zhi couldn't help but chuckle at her all-business, strong-woman demeanor.

"Alright, alright, you're the boss."

Chen Zhi walked over, naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Pei Ningxue didn't dodge. Instead, she leaned into his embrace and reached up to straighten his slightly messy collar.

"Did you bring everything?"

"I did. Chargers, a change of clothes, and that 'degraded version' of the Moss demo program Dai Damai whipped up." Chen Zhi patted his backpack. "It's all in here."

"Let's go, Lao Zhao is waiting downstairs."

The black Rolls-Royce Phantom drove smoothly along the highway toward Daxing Airport.

It was quiet inside the car.

Chen Zhi had actually slept okay in his dorm last night, but the exhaustion from working non-stop over the past few days hadn't completely faded. He leaned back against the leather seat, resting his eyes.

Pei Ningxue wasn't looking at documents either. Instead, she rested her head on Chen Zhi's shoulder, toying with the red string around his left wrist.

"When we get to Shanghai, we'll go see President Li from Nio first," Pei Ningxue said softly. "They are very interested in our autonomous driving system but have reservations about the quote."

"Think it's too expensive?" Chen Zhi didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Obviously. You opened by asking for a licensing fee of five percent of the vehicle's selling price, plus an annual interface maintenance fee." Pei Ningxue pinched his arm. "Who does business like you? It's worse than robbery."

"It's a core technology monopoly. If you can rob them, why not?" Chen Zhi shifted into a more comfortable position. "How much does Tesla's FSD sell for? Even if our system is degraded by seventy percent, it's still a cut above Tesla's. If they want to overtake the competition in smart technology, they have no choice but to buy what we're selling."

Hearing his confident tone gave Pei Ningxue an indescribable sense of security.

She loved seeing Chen Zhi in command, strategizing with ease.

Although this man was an absolute scumbag when it came to romance, his business acumen and methods were undeniably ruthless and sharp.

Two hours later, the plane took off smoothly.

In first class.

Pei Ningxue ordered a glass of champagne, but just as she took a sip, Chen Zhi snatched the glass away.

"What are you doing?" Pei Ningxue glared at him.

"Why are you drinking alcohol in broad daylight?" Chen Zhi handed the champagne to the flight attendant, swapped it for a glass of warm water, and shoved it into her hands. "You've been pulling all-nighters at the company looking over financial reports these past few days. Do you not care about your stomach anymore?"

Holding the warm water, the slight annoyance in Pei Ningxue's heart instantly vanished into thin air.

She turned sideways, leaned close to Chen Zhi's ear, and lowered her voice.

"Chen Zhi."

"Hmm?"

"How about you let me hold onto your phone for the next few days in Shanghai?"

Chen Zhi's back stiffened as he turned to look at her.

The expression on Pei Ningxue's face was completely serious; there was no hint of a joke.

"What are you planning?" Chen Zhi warily covered his pocket.

"Nothing. We're going to negotiate a multi-billion-dollar deal, so we need absolute focus, right?" Pei Ningxue said unhurriedly. "What if, during a meeting, your big star girlfriend messages you to check up on you, or that little law school sister comes crying to you about not being able to write her thesis? What if it affects President Chen's performance?"

The muscles in Chen Zhi's face twitched.

This woman really was up to no good.

"Work is work, and personal life is personal life. I can distinguish between the two," Chen Zhi refused self-righteously. "Besides, Dai Damai needs to report on the technical progress at any time, so I can't be without my phone."

"Tch." Pei Ningxue rolled her eyes and leaned back against her seat. "Stingy."

She hadn't actually expected Chen Zhi to hand over his phone anyway.

As long as Chen Zhi was by her side for these next few days, nothing else mattered.

At four in the afternoon.

The plane landed at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.