Love Order From CEO: Stay With Me

"Truth or dare?" In the noisy karaoke box, someone in the crowd chose truth.

A man with a crew cut excitedly picked up a card and asked, "Who do you have a crush on? And since when?"

After drinking five bottles of beer in a row, Shelly Gu was feeling so tipsy that she could barely focus on the question. Who was the one she had a crush on? All of a sudden, a name popped into her mind.

"Come on, Shelly, answer the question. Everyone's waiting," the man with the crew cut urged.

"I... I like Harry Li," Shelly Gu slurred, speaking out of liquid courage.

"Wow, you like Harry, huh? You hid it so well. I never knew!"

"Ha, Harry is way out of your league."

"Yeah! Harry looks like a prince.

Shelly will look ugly next to him."

The people in the room began to tease Shelly Gu and crack jokes. The fact that she liked Harry Li was definitely a big piece of gossip.

Unable to bear their comments anymore, Shelly Gu shouted, "Shut up! Next one!"

Her voice cut through the noisy room, causing everyone to fall silent.

With a red face, Shelly Gu lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong.

All of a sudden, she noticed an unfamiliar pair of shoes near the door. She raised her eyes and saw Harry Li standing there, looking at her with a burning gaze. She had no idea how long he had been standing there.

When Harry Li's eyes met hers, he shot her a wicked grin. "Shelly, you like me?

I like you too. In fact, I've liked you since the sixth grade." As he spoke, he walked over to her. Shelly's heart began racing when she heard these words. "I've liked you since the third grade," she murmured and slowly stood up, feeling shy.

Everyone in the room began chanting, "Kiss, kiss, kiss..."

Harry leaned closer. Just when their lips were about to meet, the alarm rang.

The corners of Shelly's lips, which were turned up into a small smile, twitched. She picked up the phone on the bedside table in disgust, opened her eyes, and turned off the alarm. It turned out that the whole thing was just a dream!

She was a little disappointed that she couldn't continue the dream. Over the years, she had dreamed of Harry intermittently. A part of her still longed to be with her childhood crush, so whenever she dreamed of him, she would be happy all day long.

When Shelly was in the third grade, her parents had died in a car accident. After that, her divorced aunt had taken her in and raised her, along with her own daughter. Her aunt's daughter was now in Australia for higher studies. As for Sherry, she had graduated from one of the top universities in the country just two months ago. Her aunt was a strong woman and the CEO of a large enterprise. However, in recent years, corporate espionage had led to her company's downfall. The company had suffered so many losses that it was now on the verge of bankruptcy. Shelly was beautiful. A lot of guys at her university had pursued her, including the heirs of rich tycoons, but Shelly had refused all of them. Ever since the third grade, she had had only one guy in her heart: Harry. Although they had been in the same class since the first grade, they had only become desk mates in the third grade. At that time, Shelly often got bad grades and struggled with solving math problems. Harry, on the other hand, was the representative of the math class. Every day, as soon as class was over, he would be surrounded by all the female students, especially the other class monitors. Back then, Shelly had been particularly afraid of the vice-monitor, a fat girl who looked down on everyone with bad grades and had thus bullied her as well. Anyway, after her parents' car accident, Shelly had realized that she would have to work hard since she was all alone in the world now. So, she began studying harder and finally got into a good high school.

Harry, on the other hand, was born into a family with generational wealth. His family had a lot of businesses and even owned property in Europe and America. But back in the third grade, his wealthy background hadn't been that obvious, of course. Shelly had just thought of him as her desk mate, who would sometimes talk to her and tell her new things. But even then, all the girls in their class had admired Harry very much. Most of their conversations after school would be about Harry⁠-where he had gone for summer vacation, how much money he had in his wallet, and so on. But it was not just his wealth that attracted all these girls to him. Harry had been a genius since he was a child. He had participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad since he was a primary school student. He had also won the first place in several other competitions, including chess, essay writing, and spelling bee. Naturally, he had scored high marks in the primary school public examination and had been accepted into the best junior high school in A City. Shelly, who had scored considerably less marks, had gone on a different path, but ever since then, she had secretly inquired about him and stayed up to date with what he was doing. As expected, Harry had been a first rank student in his high school as well. Then, he had gone to the United States to study and obtained a master's degree from Yale University. After returning home, he had not entered the family business, but instead joined the Hui Pu Group in A City as the manager of the marketing department.

After getting ready, Shelly went to her aunt's study and knocked the door. "Aunt Coco?" she called.

"Come in." Coco Gu's tired voice came from the study.

Shelly opened the door of the study and saw her aunt staring at the documents on the desk with an exhausted expression on her face.

"Aunt Coco, breakfast is ready." Shelly gently set a tray of food on the desk.

Although Coco Gu's face was covered with make-up, her dark circles were still visible. There was no trace of blood on her pale face. It seemed that she had pulled yet another all-nighter.

Ignoring the food in front of her, Coco Gu looked up at Shelly and asked, "Do you remember Jay?"

Shelly had lived in her grandmother's house until she was five years old. Back then, she had often played with Jay Luo, the next door neighbor. He had taken care of her like she was his own sister.

"Yes, I do. But it has been years since I saw him. I have no idea how he is now," Shelly answered with a perplexed look in her eyes. She didn't know why her aunt was suddenly bringing up Jay Luo now.

"Your Uncle Luo invited us to dinner tonight. It's about your engagement with Jay." Her aunt's eyes twinkled, as if this was great news.

Shelly was, of course, taken aback to hear this. Since when had she gotten engaged?

Seeing Shelly remain silent, Coco Gu continued, "This may have come as a surprise to you, but the engagement was decided long ago by your parents. You and Jay were very close when you were young, and your two families decided to let you get engaged after your graduation. Jay is a little older than you, and he's now a manager in the design department of the Hui Pu Group. His annual income is also considerable. You'll be making a mistake if you choose not to marry him."

Shelly had been about to refuse, but after listening to Coco, she swallowed down the words in her throat.

Two years ago, the design of Coco's company had been stolen, causing her business to decline. Ever since then, Coco had been having a hard time trying to make the company stay afloat. However, she refused to lay off any employees, so at this rate, the company would only last another half a year. In any case, she was short of funds. At this time, a suitable business alliance could really help her company.

Thinking of this, Shelly said, "I know, Aunt Coco." Her aunt had single-handedly taken care of her since her parents' death. She didn't have the heart to refuse her.

In the evening, a Porsche sped through the roads of A City. Shelly was sitting inside in an elegant black dress that made her look like a rich socialite. Considering that a bomb⁠-the news that she was to be engaged⁠-had just been dropped on her hours ago, she looked surprisingly calm.

The Porsche slowed to a stop in front of Sky City, which housed the most posh revolving restaurant in A City. Before entering the hotel, Shelly stared up at the restaurant that sat atop the tower with an indiscernible look on her face.

When Shelly and Coco entered the restaurant, they were immediately ushered to Room 1028, where the Luo family was already waiting for them.

As soon as Jay set his eyes on the young woman who stepped into the room, his face lit up.

"This must be Shelly. She has grown into a beautiful young woman! It's been so long since I saw her that I can't even recognize her," Jay's mother told Coco as she walked forward. She put her hands on Shelly's shoulders and flashed a satisfied smile.

"Auntie, it's nice to see you again after so long. You seem to be getting younger and younger," Shelly said. "Coco, look at her.

She is such a sweet talker," Jay's mother smiled. It was obvious from her expression that she was beyond pleased with her future daughter-in-law.

Jay took the opportunity to compliment Shelly as well. "You look really beautiful tonight." Dressed in a silver-gray suit paired with a sea-blue tie, Jay was the image of an accomplished man. He was also very handsome, with his straight nose, pink lips, and excellent features. Although the Luo family was not an aristocratic family, they were well-off, so Jay had received an excellent education in all aspects. In addition, he was a reliable and easy-going man. Needless to say, he was as popular with women as Shelly was with men. The two of them were a good match.

"Thank you, Jay. You look very handsome tonight. The suit and tie match well." Shelly had majored in fashion design, so she had good taste.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two families had dinner in an amiable atmosphere. While eating, they agreed on an engagement date for Shelly and Jay, in May the following year. Thus, Shelly unofficially became Jay's fiancee.

After finishing their meal, Jay offered to drop Shelly home. As they walked out of the private room, he held Shelly's hand just like he had when they were children. Memories of her childhood immediately flooded Shelly's mind. She remembered the old man who had lived opposite their house. The old man had made his own bread and candy, which he often gave Jay and Shelly because he liked children very much. At that time, Jay would give all his candy to Shelly to make her happy.

Since the two of them were going to be engaged now, it was natural for Jay to hold Shelly's hand. She had never been in a relationship before, so she didn't know how it was supposed to feel. However, having her hand held by Jay made her feel at ease.

When they reached the elevator, Jay pressed the button, and soon, the elevator doors opened, revealing two people inside. One was a man dressed in a wine red suit and a pair of sunglasses. Although his eyes were covered, his perfect face was striking. Shelly immediately recognized him and felt her heart skip a beat. It was her childhood crush, Harry.

Next to Harry stood a tall beauty with fair skin, a standard oval face, a pair of charming eyes, and a very straight nose, which seemed to be the result of plastic surgery. This beauty was wearing the latest autumn gauze dress from Chanel, and she was holding Harry's arm. Judging by their demeanor, the relationship between them was intimate.

Shelly and Jay walked into the elevator hand in hand. She knew that Harry wouldn't recognize her, so she walked in with a cold expression on her face. Then, she turned her head gracefully, leaving Harry with a view of her perfect back.

But as indifferent as she looked on the outside, Shelly felt her heart churning with emotion. It had been eleven long years since she had last seen the man of her dreams. Of course, she had been reading newspapers and keeping up with updates about him on the internet, but this was the first time she had seen him in person again. However, she was no longer the little girl who had followed Harry around in the third grade. Now, she was a confident young woman who could hold her own.

Finally, the elevator stopped at the underground parking lot. Shelly's heart surged like the violent waves of the sea, but she calmly walked out with Jay, not daring to look back at Harry.

Then, Jay dropped her home, bidding her farewell after their pleasant car ride.

At eleven o'clock that night, Shelly was preparing to go to bed when she heard the sound of something being smashed in Coco's room.

She immediately rushed there and saw shards of broken glass scattered on the floor.

"Aunt Coco, what's wrong?" Coco was staring at the table and breathing heavily with a look of utter hatred in her eyes.

"Do you still remember your primary school classmate, Harry?"

Normally, the mention of Harry's name would have sent Shelly's heart soaring. But now, all of a sudden, she had a bad feeling. "I do. Why?"

"Two years ago, Jack stole my company's design drawings, but I never found out what he did with them. Well, now I finally know. It turns out that he handed the design drawings to the Li Group. The Li couple must have been the ones who orchestrated the downfall of my company." There seemed to be a fire burning in Coco's eyes. If it hadn't been for that incident, her company would have been doing fine now. Unfortunately, she had been betrayed by a man she trusted.

Shelly looked at Coco sadly. Over the years, her aunt had shouldered too much burden on her own.

She took a deep breath and said, "Aunt Ccoo, is there anything I can do?"

Coco raised her head and looked straight into Shelly's eyes. "I want you to get close to Harry, make him fall in love with you, and then slowly destroy the Li Group." Every word Coco had said kept echoing in Shelly's ears.

Haunted by Coco's unwavering voice, Shelly couldn't bring herself to close her eyes the whole night. She opened her desk drawer and took out the photo of her primary school graduation. In the photo, Harry stood beside their teacher with a cheerful smile on his face. Sometimes, she really missed being in primary school, when she had been able to see him every day.

Back then, the boys in school had used to play cards and trade animal erasers. Every time Harry played, he would win the game and get a lot of animal erasers. After class, the girls would surround him and ask him for an eraser. The truth was, they had no interest in the animal erasers; they just thought that it was an honor to get one from him.

Shelly was no exception. "Harry, can you give me one of those animal erasers?" She played with her two pigtails as she looked at Harry expectantly.

"Okay, you can choose one by yourself." Harry was always generous.

The other girls had already picked up all the beautiful animal erasers, leaving only a few ugly ones on Harry's table.

Shelly picked a small green dinosaur, because Harry had a pink one, and she wanted them to have matching erasers.

Harry had a bad temper when he was a child. When he was in a good mood, he was easy-going and willing to share everything, but when he was in a bad mood, he always took it out on Shelly. He would just focus on his homework without bothering to talk to anyone else. Sometimes, when Shelly peeked at his homework notebook, he would glare at her. "What are you looking at?" He would snap at her before firmly covering his homework notebook with his hand. He could be stingy and uptight depending on his mood. He could also be very domineering. Harry always liked to stretch his feet under Shelly's desk, leaving her no room for her own. Sometimes, when Shelly couldn't stand it anymore, she would pinch his thigh hard. Of course, Harry wouldn't let her go. He often bullied others.

That whole night, Shelly lay in bed thinking about Harry. It was four o'clock in the morning when she finally fell asleep.

The next day, Shelly didn't get up until eleven o'clock in the morning. Since she hadn't found a job after graduation, she didn't bother to wake up early.

She was sitting on her bed and scrolling through her phone when she suddenly received a call from Jay.

"Honey, will you be free at noon? I want to have lunch with you." Jay's soft voice came from the other end of the line.

"Sure. I'll meet you at the entrance of your company." Being Jay's fiancee still felt like a dream, and with the task that her aunt had given her, she didn't know if she would have the chance to get accustomed to this. Anyway, she hadn't made a decision or come up with a plan, so for the time being, she was going to go with the flow.

"I'm off duty now. I can come and pick you up." Jay had always been a gentleman. Even when he was a child, he had been polite and considerate of others.

"No, it's okay. It'll be faster if I drive there. Just wait for me," Shelly said politely. She didn't think they were on good enough terms yet for him to come and pick her up. Although the two of them had been good friends when they were children, many years had passed since then.

"Okay, sure. Call me when you're almost here," Jay replied with a gentle smile.

Shelly drove her Toyota Camry to the Hui Pu Group's office building. When she reached the gate, she took out her phone to call Jay. But before she could dial his number, she saw a familiar figure walk out of the building. Harry was talking on the phone with one hand casually buried in his pant pocket.

She already knew that Harry worked here, but she hadn't expected to be lucky enough to see him today. Anyway, if she wanted to complete the task her aunt had given her and get close to him, she would have to infiltrate the Hui Pu Group.

The Hui Pu Group was one of the top five enterprises in A City. They were involved in various industries like finance, real estate, clothing, jewelry, electronic products, and even catering. Shelly took a deep breath as Harry disappeared out of sight. Then, she finally called Jay.

A while later, a beautiful couple were sitting in Restaurant No. 99.

Shelly looked out of the window and smiled before turning back to Jay.

"Jay, how did you get a reservation here? I heard that they only serve 99 guests per day," Shelly asked curiously.

Jay flashed a graceful smile. "I didn't know it was that difficult. You see, the owner of this restaurant is a friend of mine, so I didn't need to make a reservation. By the way, honey, you can treat me like a friend from now on. After all, we're going to be engaged. I don't want us to be so formal with each other." His words immediately filled Shelly with warmth, and she slowly felt herself relax.

"It's just that it's been so long since we've seen each other. I think it'll take me some time to get used to it." Shelly smiled sweetly. Although there was a hint of awkwardness between them, the two of them were getting along very well.

When the food arrived, Jay sliced the steak and gently put a piece on Shelly's plate. "The steak in this restaurant is very delicious. You should have some."

Shelly happily ate the piece of steak and nodded appreciatively. Then, she casually asked, "Jay, is your company still recruiting employees?"

"Which department do you want to work in?"

"I majored in fashion design, but I don't want to start off as a fashion designer. I want to start from the grassroots level and challenge myself."

After thinking for a while, Jay said, "Our company is not recruiting management personnel right now. You said that you want to start at the grassroots level, but you don't want to work in the design department, so it will be a bit hard to find a position that's a good fit for you. There's only one position that comes to my mind right now. The manager of the marketing department only joined the company a month ago, but he has already fired eight secretaries! His most recent secretary only quit yesterday, so that position hasn't been filled yet. If you are interested, I can talk to the HR department about it. You can start work tomorrow."

Shelly was secretly beyond pleased to hear this, but she just flashed a small smile at Jay. She already knew that the manager of the marketing department was Harry, the man that she was supposed to get close to. It seemed that with Jay's help, things would go smoother than she had thought.

"It certainly sounds like an interesting position," she said.

"Well, I guess. It's strange. The manager of the marketing department is very popular among women. I saw him at the company's monthly summary meeting last month, and he's indeed very handsome. He's also very capable. The company's revenue increased by five percentage points last month. I'm guessing that he works really hard and expects his secretary to work just as hard. Are you sure you want to apply for that position?" Jay asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about me. I'm confident in my abilities. Besides, I just graduated from college, so it's good to challenge myself." Shelly nodded firmly. She had to give this a shot, even if it meant getting fired by Harry in the end. This was her best chance of getting close to him.

"But don't you think it's too unsuitable for your skill set?"

"No, I don't. Besides, I want to start my own business in the future, so I want to understand the thoughts of the grassroots personnel."

Jay nodded appreciatively. It seemed that Shelly had given this more thoughts than he had expected her to. She was certainly a smart woman. "Okay. Come to the office building tomorrow and give me a call. I'll take you to the marketing department. You should be there at half past eight in the morning. Don't be late." Seeing how determined Shelly was, Jay didn't try to dissuade her further. Whatever she wanted to do, he would support her unconditionally.

The next day, Shelly confidently strode into the office building of the Hui Pu Group, wearing a tight-fitting formal dress and a pair of three-inch heels.

"Jay, I'm here." "Hi, Shelly. I have a quick meeting right now, so I can't come down. You can come to my department instead.

It's on the 23rd floor. I'm so sorry that I can't come and escort you," Jay said in an apologetic tone.

"It's okay, I'm not a child. Besides, work is more important. Don't worry." Shelly hung up the phone and took the elevator to the 23rd floor as Jay had instructed.

She had barely taken a few steps out of the elevator when she sensed people staring at her.

Some of the employees on the floor were glancing over at her and whispering to each other.

"Who is this beautiful woman? Look, she has a good figure and such nice features. She looks like a celebrity!" one of the young women murmured.

"How would I know? I've never seen her before," Mrs. Wang replied, shooting Shelly a scornful glance.

"Wait, I recognize her. She is the winner of last year's fashion design exhibition in Milan. She's known as the youngest designer in history!" an man chipped in excitedly.

As she walked to the manager's office, Shelly smiled faintly. It seemed that there was someone here who recognized her.

For a designer, skill and popularity were equally important things. Shelly had liked designing since her childhood, and her dream had always been to become a designer. She had studied at a university for four years, but during that time, she had never dated anyone. Instead, she had spent all her time designing clothes and jewelry. If it hadn't been for that accident, she would have been working as a designer now.

When she reached Jay's office, she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Came Jay's magnetic voice.

He was looking through the documents with his head down when Shelly walked up to him.

"Mr. Luo, you're working so hard," she teased.

Jay raised his head and smiled brightly as soon as he saw Shelly's face.

"Honey, you're here. I've already talked to the HR department and arranged everything. Just give your resume to the marketing manager when you see him. I'll take you to the marketing department now. Let's have lunch together later."

"Okay." Shelly had a faint smile on her face, but on the inside, she was burning with excitement at the thought of finally meeting Harry.

As she walked out of the office with Jay, the gossip among the staff became more and more intense.