It was the dead of night.

The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, casting a vast expanse of silvery light upon the two of them.

Shen Ling looked up at the night sky and slowly looked away.

"Marriage..."

Shen Ling turned to Chu Zhiye: "What do you think of their marriage?"

Chu Zhi also shook his head: "I don't know."

"Let's make a prediction."

Chu Zhi also focused his mind and fell into deep thought. After about half a minute, he said slowly, "In the short term, Haoran and his wife had a wonderful married life, but as time goes on, it will be difficult for their marriage to come to an end."

"Oh, why?" Shen Ling raised her beautiful eyebrows.

"Hmm... Haoran's unrestrained personality is ingrained in his bones and cannot be changed; while his wife obviously could not tolerate his behavior, and the clash between the two ultimately resulted in their separation."

Wei Haoran is naturally unrestrained; he can endure it for a while, but not forever.

“I don’t think so.” Shen Ling’s eyes were like a vast galaxy. “I think they have a future together. Their personalities are very different, so they might be able to find common ground.”

Chu Zhi shrugged at this.

I hope so.

“If you don’t believe me, let’s make a bet.” Shen Ling tilted her swan-like neck.

"No gambling."

"pity."

Why?

Shen Ling bit her lip lightly, her smile radiant: "If it's a bet, I'll stay in Shanghai and wait for the outcome. With your refusal, I have no reason to stay in Shanghai any longer."

"I'm going to teach in a rural area tomorrow."

Chu Zhiye: "If you want, you can stay in Shanghai anytime."

"Would you want me to stay in Shanghai?"

"Would you like to stay in Shanghai?"

Shen Ling shook her head directly: "I don't want to."

Chu Zhi smiled without saying a word and strode forward.

Shen Ling remained where she was, lost in thought for a few seconds. Her eyes curved into two crescent moons, bright and deep, as if they held the stars and the sea, exuding an indescribable charm.

The two walked side by side, their shadows stretched long by the moonlight.

... ...

The next day.

Chu Zhi also woke up and received news of Shen Ling.

[Chen Ling: I'm leaving. Goodbye.]

[Shen Ling: I have high hopes for my bookstore.]

[Chu Zhiye: Goodbye.]

He got up and went to the balcony, where he could no longer see the myriad flowers in bloom, and the neighboring house was completely empty.

Chu Zhi also sent a message to Kang Bo, saying that he would be late to the company today.

He immediately started making breakfast, and after eating, he left home.

A half-acre pond.

Several waiters gathered together.

"Sister Chen went to teach in a rural area, and we don't know when she'll be back."

"At least a year."

"Sigh! I feel so empty now that Sister Chen is gone."

"What? You're interested in Sister Chen?"

"No, it's just that Sister Shen handed the bookstore over to a stranger to manage, and we'll be working under him from now on, so we're all feeling lost."

Sigh...

The waiters looked at each other and sighed in unison.

A new emperor brings a new court.

With the arrival of the new boss, the group felt somewhat lost.

Working at Banmu Fangtang is great. The salary and benefits are very high, and the work is easy. It's a typical case of high pay and low workload.

It's a great job.

If the new boss is not satisfied, then they are in for a lot of trouble.

Ding ding ding... ...

The knocking on the door pulled the waiters out of their confusion.

"Sorry, we're not open yet..."

Before one of the waiters could finish speaking, he saw Chu Zhiye's face and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

When Chu Zhiye and Shen Ling went on a blind date, the latter brought him to Banmu Fangtang, so the waiter naturally remembered it.

"Hello." Chu Zhi also smiled. "Shen Ling entrusted me with managing this half-acre pond."

Upon hearing this, the waiters immediately tensed up and quickly greeted the new boss.

Chu Zhi also signaled to the others not to be nervous, then told them to go back to work. The others left, while he went to the bookstore counter to check on the various aspects of Half Acre Pond.

From a financial perspective, Banmu Fangtang is operating at a loss, almost every month. It's as if Shen Ling is losing money to keep the shop running.

In today's world, bookstores are not a good investment project, and may even be considered a bad one.

Losing money is to be expected.

The cashier at the counter was a little embarrassed: "Mr. Chu, we are willing to take a pay cut and reduce the bookstore's expenses."

Chu Zhi also raised his eyes, his voice calm: "No need, continue operating as before."

"Huh?" Several waiters couldn't help but exclaim.

He smiled, offered no explanation, and left.

The waiters were left looking on in confusion.

"What does President Chu mean by that?"

"have no idea."

"strangeness."

Have you noticed?

"What did you find?"

"President Chu and Sister Shen have similar temperaments."

"Is there?"

"have."

... ...

Chu Zhi also left Banmu Fangtang and immediately went to Fangzheng Investment.

He had no intention of changing the business model of the half-acre pond to make more money.

He hadn't considered doing that.

He and Shen Ling shared similar thoughts: in this fast-paced era where even watching short videos requires skipping ahead, it's wonderful to have a bookstore with a slower pace.

This is quite an accomplishment.

He decided to leave the pond untouched and let things do as they pleased, figuring he could just subsidize the bookstore every month as a way of paying for his own sense of accomplishment.

... ...

Days pass by, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

As time went by, Chu Zhi also gained a deeper understanding of Fangzheng Investment and the various intricacies of the investment industry.

He has stronger control over Founder Investment.

Now, he can manage the company on his own without Kang Bo.

Even so, he preferred to leave company affairs to Kang Bo, while he spent more time doing his own things, such as reading, sleeping, and taking photos.

Chu Zhiye would only personally receive important clients.

Take today, for example.

He arrived at the K store to receive important clients.

Business K naturally has female companions for drinks; the client and the female companions left.

Only Chu Zhiye and the woman who had accompanied him to the bar remained.

"Mr. Chu, would you like a drink?" The woman serving the drinks had clearly been there for a short time, and her voice sounded very young.

"I get drunk after just one drink."

"oh."

"You must have a boyfriend, right?"

"Huh?" The hostess couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then quickly realized what she meant and shook her head hastily, "No, no..."

Meeting Chu Zhiye's deep gaze, the woman serving drinks had no choice but to answer, "Yes."

The hostess thought Chu Zhi would replace her, but he didn't. She stopped talking and just drank her mineral water, waiting for the customer to return.

Just then, the door to the private room opened, and a young man rushed in.

"Liu Meng, you really are here. I misjudged you." The young man was furious.

The hostess panicked for a moment: "Ah Jie, I..."

The young man saw Chu Zhiye standing next to him and rushed up to hit him, but the KTV security guards arrived, stopped the young man, and then took him away.

The hostess rushed out to chase after the young man.

Only Chu Zhi was left in the private room, shaking his head speechlessly.

What is all this about?

When the customer returned, he signed the contract with the customer and left the KTV together.

On the way back, Chu Zhiye saw the two people again. The young man was angry at the hostess, and eventually left in anger, while the hostess squatted on the spot, crying bitterly.

He said thoughtfully, "Is this love?"

... ...