The autumn sun was not intense, and a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of the forest plants.

Ye Zhao pushed Jiang Che slowly inside. The small and independent guesthouse rooms scattered among the maple trees gradually came into view. He smiled and said, "They are indeed very beautiful. Staying here is a real treat."

Ye Zhao swatted away a mosquito next to her and said, "If there weren't mosquitoes, it would probably be quite enjoyable."

Jiang Che smiled faintly: "You come here often? You seem to know this place very well."

The paths in the maple forest were crisscrossed and had many steps, but Ye Zhao pushed him along the flat paths as if she knew the way well.

Ye Zhao nodded: "More or less..."

Jiang Che didn't say much more, nor did he ask any further questions.

Besides the maple forest, another unique feature of Fenglin is the osmanthus grove behind the small hill at the very back. It was the season for the osmanthus to bloom, so Ye Zhao simply pushed Jiang Che towards the back hill.

There were many tourists coming and going in the woods. When they saw Ye Zhao and Jiang Che, they all turned their attention to them. The two of them were just too good-looking. The handsome man and beautiful woman looked particularly pleasing to the eye and were a perfect match.

Before even seeing the osmanthus tree, Jiang Che could smell its faint fragrance. He asked curiously, "Are there osmanthus trees here?"

"Yes, there is a small grove of osmanthus trees on the back hill. Let's go sit there for a while."

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "There's even an osmanthus grove? This boss has a pretty good idea."

Ye Zhao replied without changing her expression, "Right? I think so too."

The Osmanthus Grove is not large, less than a quarter the size of the Maple Grove, but it is still very distinctive. Some parasols and small tables have been placed in the grove for guests to rest, and there is also a small shop that has just opened.

The shop is also a wooden building, which is very unique. The drinks and snacks in the shop are all themed around osmanthus, and are very popular with customers.

Ye Zhao pushed Jiang Che to a small table outside the shop, then went inside to get a menu and handed it to him, saying, "Take a look and see what you'd like to drink?"

Jiang Che readily accepted it, glanced at it, and then said, "The boss is indeed a clever person..."

Ye Zhao smiled but didn't speak. After Jiang Che ordered a cup of Osmanthus Oolong tea, she said, "Have a seat first, I'll be there in a bit."

Jiang Che thought she was going to the restroom and nodded with a smile.

There were quite a few guests here, strolling and taking pictures in twos and threes in the woods. Small yellow flowers on the treetops drifted down with the wind. Jiang Che reached out and caught two petals, feeling that the fragrance of the flowers was intoxicating at that moment.

Ye Zhao went inside for quite a while, and Jiang Che showed no impatience whatsoever. He simply opened his phone to reply to a few work messages, and when he saw the call from Jiang Ze, he swiped it without a second thought.

A few minutes later, Ye Zhao came out carrying a tray with two drinks and two desserts on it.

Jiang Che joked, "You've been gone for so long, did you make this cake?"

He was just making a casual joke, but he didn't expect Ye Zhao to laugh and say, "It's not a cake, but the tea is definitely made by me. Want to try it?"

This was indeed unexpected for Jiang Che. He accepted the osmanthus oolong tea that Ye Zhao handed him with some surprise and said, "You know how to make this? You should definitely try it."

The tea in the cup was mixed with pale yellow flowers, looking refreshing and thirst-quenching. Jiang Che picked up the cup and took a sip, feeling the aroma of tea and osmanthus, with a faint sweetness. He couldn't help but say, "Not bad, the aroma of tea mixed with the fragrance of osmanthus is very special."

Ye Zhao also took a sip of her osmanthus milk tea and replied, "I'm glad you like it. These two desserts are good, you should try them too."

The two sat under the osmanthus tree, chatting and drinking tea in a very harmonious atmosphere, until Jiang Che's phone rang. He saw the name Jiang Ze in the contact name and hung up without hesitation.

Just as the call ended, it rang again. Jiang Che met Ye Zhao's questioning gaze and smiled apologetically, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."

"It's okay, just answer it." After saying that, she also looked down at her own phone.

"What is it?" Jiang Che's voice was slightly cold and hard, and Ye Zhao subconsciously glanced at him.

Jiang Che frowned and said impatiently, not knowing what the person on the other end of the phone said, "Are you bored?"

"If you have some free time, go visit the company and let Uncle Zhao teach you about the business."

"What I'm busy with is none of your business."

"If you can take on all the matters in City A, I'll consider it."

"If there's nothing else, you can hang up."

Jiang Che hung up the phone, his expression still somewhat cold and hard. When he looked up and met Ye Zhao's gaze, his expression softened, and he explained, "My younger brother at home is a bit disobedient. I'm sorry you had to see that."

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "No, every family has its own problems."

Jiang Che's mood soured at the mention of this, and he asked, "Do you have a younger brother too?"

Ye Zhao shook her head: "No."

Jiang Che sighed, his expression hard to describe: "Then you probably don't know what it's like to have a rebellious younger brother at home."

Having never seen that expression on his face before, Ye Zhao asked with amusement, "Why that expression? Is he angry?"

Jiang Che shook his head helplessly, and sighed as he thought about Jiang Ze's recent actions, saying, "It's infuriating."

Part of the reason he came to Jiashui was to avoid Jiang Ze. He didn't know what possessed Jiang Ze lately, but Jiang Ze kept insisting on introducing him to potential partners, trying every trick in the book to put different women next to him. Jiang Che had no way to deal with him, so he had to use work as an excuse to hide away.

Ye Zhao smiled and comforted him, "Everyone goes through a rebellious phase. Maybe your brother is still young. He'll be fine when he grows up."

Jiang Che replied expressionlessly, "He's already twenty-five."

Ye Zhao's lips twitched: "Then forget I said anything."

Jiang Che was amused by her reaction, a faint smile on his face: "I finally managed to escape, and I don't want him to disturb my peace again."

"Then let's rest for a while and talk about it later."

At the same time, Ye Zhao's phone also received a message from the wronged son.

"Zhao Zhao, my brother doesn't seem to have any interest in women at all."

"Could he be gay too?!"

"My parents won't be able to handle this blow. Will we get beaten to death?"

"Help me!!!"

"Save my life!!!"

Ye Zhao had her phone on silent and was completely unaware that she was being bombarded with messages.

Jiang Che has a gentle personality and high emotional intelligence. Ye Zhao felt very comfortable with him. The two talked about the development of Shangyang from the osmanthus flowers in front of them, and their ideas were surprisingly in sync.

As they walked out of the maple forest, Jiang Che said, "If we had met earlier, we might have been very good friends."

Ye Zhao smiled and said, "It's not too late now, is it?"

Jiang Che was somewhat taken aback, then said, "I misspoke, but it's not too late now."

He didn't know why he said those words; perhaps it was because he felt he had met Ye Zhao too late in life!