"Don't you have work to do? Or do you think it's not enough?" Noelle asked flatly.

"No, no. I'll leave right now," Oliver quickly responded as he gathered his things before heading out. Her expression still unreadable, Noelle didn't pay him any more attention. But when she turned back to her computer, the content of the emails suddenly seemed overwhelmingly chaotic, and she couldn't focus on a single

word.

In the end, she stood up. However, when she reached the door, she slowly calmed herself. She then returned to her desk and resumed working.

In the evening, Hendrix sent her a text, asking if she wanted to have dinner together. Noelle didn't reply, so he sent two more texts before finally calling her.

"I have something to do," Noelle answered.

"Which is? Are you working late? That doesn't mean you don't need to eat

"I'm having dinner with Dylan," Noelle cut him off.

Hendrix immediately fell silent.

She could feel the tension and silence on the other end of the line, and the mood that had been heavy all day suddenly lightened. She didn't say anything else and simply hung up the phone.

In truth, Noelle wasn't doing it on purpose-she had really made dinner plans with Dylan. They had just spoken on the phone last night, but Dylan wasn't aware of the changes that had happened since. But as an ally, Noelle knew she needed to update him on her current situation.

"So?" Dylan chuckled. "Are you trying to tell me you want to end things?"

"Do you want to end it?" Noelle asked him.

Dylan paused. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't made anything public with him, nor will I. So, it doesn't really affect our current agreement. After Noelle finished speaking, Dylan remained silent for a long while.noveldrama

At first, Noelle thought he was angry. But since she had indeed gone behind his back, she didn't offer an explanation. She simply sat there, waiting for Dylan to say something

The next moment, Dylan burst out laughing. It was as if he had heard the funniest joke ever, laughing so hard that his shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Noelle frowned and looked at him.

Dylan realized his lack of composure, but he couldn't control himself, so he covered his mouth and nose in an attempt to stifle his laughter.

It took him over a minute for him to gradually calm down, but when he finally looked at Noelle, he still couldn't quite hold back a smile.

"So, in the end, he agreed to the condition you mentioned? He's willing to be your secret lover?" "Sort of."

"That's really unexpected."

Dylan shook his head. "Honestly, if anyone else had told me this, I would've thought they were crazy. How could something like this ever happen to Mr. Free-

"I mean, probably no man would accept this, right? But Hendrix actually agreed! I get it now. I really can't say it wasn't fair that I lost to him. Looking at it now, he really does like you."

His last sentence left Noelle momentarily stunned.

But Dylan quickly shifted the topic. "Since you've already said that, then as for our relationship... I still

hope we can continue. Of course, what I'm really curious about is how long the high and mighty Hendrix Freeman can tolerate this kind of arrangement.'