Chapter 352 - 10 Dates

In her previous life, Melanie and the rest took some time to get used to Matthew Xi. After all, they treated him without reservation, showed their real colors and even encouraged him to sneak to have some sleep. It was basically how they treated their colleague knowing they're on the same boat.

Therefore, Zoey wasn't surprised by the moment of silence at the moment. Still, there would be a difference with how they would take this news this time, right? If previously, they got used to Matthew Xi coming and going in Z Image Building while having a clear boundary, then this time, they didn't even get a chance to get close with him before knowing the truth.

Zoey could not help but facepalm. For sure, these people would put pressure on her knowing who was the new landlord. The terror that she would face… Zoey should've known Matthew would bother introducing himself.

Well, she didn't expect that he would. So, no one could blame Zoey if she didn't foresee this coming. After all, this man was Matthew Xi, one of the most successful businessmen in the country, affecting the country's economy at will.

Why would he humbly introduce himself to employees of this small-time company? Actually, the question was: what was Matthew Xi doing in a place like this? If it's for business purposes, he has men who could do the job for him. Yet, here he was, in the flesh.

The first person to snap back to reality was Melanie, abruptly jolting away from her seat as she bowed. "Mr. Xi!" Melanie knocked her forehead against her desk, which made her rub it as she raised her head once again.

"Ouch! Ouch!" When Melanie Xue took a step back, her leg bumped into Luigi's desk, causing a few documents and the open bottle of water to flip over. Water drenched some designs output that made Luigi Chan gasp in horror.

"My hard work of two weeks…" Shaken to the core, Luigi's hands slowly sandwiched his head as he watched his designs that were due in a few hours getting soaked by water. 

Unknowingly, the water dripped down from his table and onto his knees. As soon as he felt that the knees of his jeans got wet, Luigi finally snapped back to reality. "Holy… Mel!" He bellowed, jumping out of his chair which caused the chair to wheel back, crashing lightly into the desk behind.

Almost identical to what happened to Luigi's desk, some coffee spilled on Agatha, one of Zoey's pioneers of Z Image Group until eight years later. In other words, the train continued that Zoey felt like digging a hole where she could hide from shame.

'Really?' Zoey bore a poker face as she watched Melanie's clumsiness take over the office and was rendered speechless by the domino effect unfolding before her eyes. Her people… Were they trying to make her lose face in front of a remarkable man?

On the other hand, Matthew pursed his lips into a thin line as he witnessed literal chaos ensue. Unlike Zoey, Matthew was surprisingly amused by what was unfolding before his eyes. If this was XI Corporation… Yet, Matthew couldn't even think that such a situation would ever occur in his company.

"It seems like I troubled you again, Miss Zhou." As the employees were busy saving what there was left to be saved, Matthew turned to Zoey and offered a smile.

"Uh…" Zoey rolled her eyes as she couldn't believe that this would ever happen in Z Image Group during this lifetime. Slowly, she turned to Matthew, bearing indifferent eyes with an ugly frown. "It's not your fault, Mister." She answered, her tone insincere because deep down, she was blaming him.

"Anyway, since you're the only tenant in the building, can you spare more of your time?" Without beating around the bush, Matthew inquired. 

For a moment, Zoey arched her right brows as she stared at him suspiciously. "Sure," She said, nodding her head in agreement. With that being said, the two left the chaotic office and headed outside to talk.

"So?" As they walked away from the office, Zoey snuck a glance at him before returning her gaze back ahead.

"I'm planning to renovate the building." Matthew didn't even blink an eye as he informed her, he didn't even glance at her.

"Huh?" Zoey suddenly stopped in her tracks, using her heel to spin around and face him. She blinked her eyes many times, his previous words repeating in her mind. Not that she has the right to stop him as he was the landlord, but still, they would be greatly affected by it!

"After the incident earlier, I decided that this building isn't as safe in a few years. So…" Matthew trailed off as Zoey intervened midway.

"Can I buy it instead?" With a tone of urgency, Zoey perked up. Suddenly, the thought of the problem having a new landlord crossed her mind. Obviously, Zoey was well-aware that the building needed renovation as soon as possible.

She literally came from the future. Thus, Zoey knew that simple fact. If she followed the correct pace of her business journey, she would be able to buy the building before the year ends and renovate it as early as the year 2013.

That's the initial plan. However, Matthew buying this building was an unprecedented calculation! Zoey, in her wildest dream, had thought that her baby darling would purchase such a building for whatever reason he had.

"You want to buy it?" Matthew knitted his brows, the side of his lips crooked as his eyes glowed in amusement.

"Yes!"

"It's not for sale." Matthew replied as soon as she answered him in his previous question. In an instant, he felt guilty as Zoey's heart sunk, appearing hopeless, as if she was in a great dilemma.

She knew that it was impossible that Matthew would sell it to her. Thus, Zoey's mind went blank before it started malfunctioning faster than usual. "Gosh…" Unconsciously, Zoey murmured under her breath as it mortified her because her future plans in the building seemed to have faced a huge obstacle.

"I mean…" Matthew paused, sighing in defeat as he felt guilty for upsetting her. "That doesn't mean it will never be open in the market." Since he already opened his mouth, he continued to say what was on his mind, albeit reluctantly.

"Really?" Upon hearing his last statement, her eyes glowed excitedly.

"How about extending our arrangement?" He proposed, taking advantage of the situation. 

"Huh?"

"10 dates." Slowly, Matthew placed his large hand over her head, leaning closer to her face with a smug smirk on the side of his lips. "Let's do 10 dates — it does not include the first one." Playful as he may appear, but that was the expression that was before her.

"Wha — huh??!! Are you out of your mind, Mister Landlord?!" Zoey was shaken by the suggestion, giving her enough stress to forget her current standing at the moment. "Don't tell me you fell in love with me already??" She added, her face distorting as she felt a little boost of confidence to her charms.

"Did I take a long time falling for you the first time?" Out of pure humor, Matthew teased as he recalled that she mentioned about the silly time-traveling. However, his pure joke caused her jaw to drop, which he found funny.

"Kidding, Miss Zhou." While chuckling, he shook his head lightly. "10 dates because you might convince me then to sell the building to you." In a matter-of-fact tone, Matthew explained along with the shrug of his shoulders.

"Convince me till then, alright?" Out of instinct, since her frowning expression was adorable in his eyes, Matthew pinched her cheeks and wriggled them lightly. Zoey, who was not pleased by being pinched, remained frowning.

'God… why are you giving me extra challenges??'