Chapter 6: Clearly

At the Liang family's Beginning of Winter banquet, they specially invited a pastry chef to bake some of the recently popular butter rice cakes.

Tu Yumei brought a plate to the third floor to entertain Mr. Zong.

But I saw Mr. Zong standing by the railing. He said something and went straight to a place. That was the guest bathroom. Standing at the door was Dr. He.

The approaching person almost reached the figure of the person at the door and behind his ears and neck.

Seeing this, Tu Yumei turned around and went downstairs in a hurry.

The faucet in the sink was running. Zong Chi seemed to have frightened Mrs. Liang, but he had no intention of explaining anything, including the half-smoked cigarette in his hand.

He Dongli remained calm and composed as Zong Chi turned on the faucet right in front of her. He apologized, "Sorry, there's no ashtray." His voice practically brushed against her forehead.

He Dongli glanced at him and remained silent.

The smoker tossed his cigarette into the trash can and continued to mind his own business. "I don't think I've changed much. You're a doctor, healthy and persevering on the front lines. There's no reason for us to run into each other. I'll just pretend I don't recognize you."

"Yeah." He Dongli finally responded.

He just walked towards him, and no matter how calm He Dongli was, he had to take a step back to avoid it.

At this moment, Zong Chi was firmly planted in the doorway. He nodded, and just as he was about to say something, the phone in his suit pocket rang. He pulled it out and snuffed it out without even looking at it. The other party called again, and the phone owner sighed and hung up.

When it rang for the third time, He Dongli signaled him, "You go ahead and do your work. I have a friend waiting for me downstairs."

Zong Chi showed her his screen, not understanding what it meant. Then, in front of her, he answered the phone and, before the other party could say anything, he cursed, "I'll call you back, and you better be in for a catastrophic event."

His childhood playmates, a bunch of bad friends.

Lin Jiaoyu was still muttering about something on the other end when Zong Chi hung up with a cold face.

It's hard to string the broken beads together...

He Dongli admitted that she was deliberately avoiding him. She had never been an ostrich, but she also didn't want to explain her relationship with the person in front of her or her past social interactions to irrelevant people in public.

Fortunately, Zong Chi understood her, or maybe he was just used to being in control. He could only do what others told him to do, not the other way around.

He put his phone back into his pocket and seamlessly continued with what she had just said, as if he hadn't heard clearly, "I interrupted Lin Jiaoyu. What did you say just now?"

He Dongli calmed down and said, "I said 'hmm'."

Zong Chi sneered, lowered his head, and asked her, "What do you mean by 'hmm'? I don't understand."

He Dongli didn't mind answering his questions. "You said you haven't changed much, and there's nothing wrong with me. I shouldn't be so forgetful. There's no need to be so petty and pretend not to recognize me when we meet. I said 'hmm'."

This time, Zong Chi laughed so hard that he couldn't help but tilt his head back. Then he turned serious again and commented on her, "You still haven't gotten over your habit of exaggerating things, old classmate."

He Dongli felt relieved when he heard this word. Well, this is the best.

There was a row of downlights above her head. Zong Chi took advantage of his height to look her over openly, noticing the two dots on her eyes, the delicate lipstick on her lips, and the red on her earlobe from the metal allergy.

He pointed at her ear from a distance and asked, "How did you do that?"

He Dongli awkwardly touched her earlobes. These pearl earrings were a gift from her good friend Jiang Xingyuan. She hadn't known Dongli was allergic to metal, and she hadn't worn gold jewelry in years. She'd only just confessed to Xingyuan before leaving home today. She'd try them again, perhaps after all these years, she'd become desensitized.

Jiang Xingyuan slandered Dongli, which is not what a materialist fighter like you would say.

Well, the end of materialism is metaphysics. He Dongli didn't intend to explain the friends involved in the earrings and her crazy love for them, so she did it knowingly. She knew that the allergy was lifelong, obviously.

Zong Chi stood before her, as if waiting for her to say something. He Dongli didn't respond, didn't explain, and didn't offer any greetings or pursue responsibility after years of absence.

"I have a friend waiting for me downstairs." She said lightly.

"Liang Jianxing, who is your blind date?" he asked.

He Dongli admitted without hesitation, "Yes. I came here today because I promised my teacher to go on a blind date."

Zong Chi nodded calmly, and after a moment, he spoke with an outsider's objective tone, "His family isn't suitable for you, and he's even less suitable."

He Dongli thought to himself, "A true man is someone you've never seen before. Zong Chi in the past wouldn't have said such a calculated statement. He would have only questioned her, 'If you don't want to, who dares to force you to agree? Who dares?'"

"Thanks."

"What?"

He Dongli didn't mind adding, "Thank you for your advice." She looked up at him. Zong Chi's chest rose and fell calmly.

They were only one step away from each other, their eyes never blinking.

There was a commotion at the corner of the stairs on the second floor. It was Liang Jianxing's voice. He led Chen Xiangyang upstairs. With Chen came his current girlfriend, Li Anni.

He Dongli heard Chen Xiangyang's signature good-natured voice and momentarily wanted to retreat. Her gaze collapsed, and she whispered, "Excuse me," before glancing at the mountain-like door god. He didn't budge. When He Dongli looked up at him a second time, her mind couldn't help but picture the snowy villa on Sangtian Road. She was about to leave, and Zong Chi did the same, letting her go, only to be approached the next moment by a figure yanking her hand off the doorknob...

"Zongchi, you bastard, you're vulgar and shameless. You've never truly loved anyone. Your love for me means I obey you unconditionally. You've never truly looked down on my mother, or me. You're just like them. In your eyes, women are sacrifices to men's loyalty, beautiful and glamorous appendages to stay by your side... Let me go!"

"Yes, I don't love you, so I would rather watch you and guard you so humbly all those years. Yes, I just don't love you, I just want you to obey me, unconditionally! He Dongli, who gave you the courage to provoke me? If you want me to stay, then stay. If you want me to get out, then get out, right? Forget it!"

That day, He Dongli, exhausted both physically and mentally, slapped Zong Chi. He then embraced her with a mad smile: See, once you shed a tear, my heart softens...

Even at this moment, He Dongli's hatred for him during that Spring Festival has not diminished much.

At the moment, she didn't even dare to start a fight with him. After all, this was the Liang family. If he went crazy, no one would care, not even she. He Dongli wanted to wait for an opportunity to squeeze past him.

Unexpectedly, she had momentarily underestimated Zong Chi's physique. Going head-to-head with someone like him, who had a private trainer since childhood and wore a professional oxygen-blocking mask during the swim team's mandatory oxygen-blocking training, was undoubtedly a game of horse racing. Over the years, no matter how dissatisfied she was with him, she had sincerely praised him, saying he was easy to feed, which was how he gradually developed a good physique. Zong Chi wasn't a picky eater even in ninth grade. This was what He Dongli's mother valued most about Zong Chi: she would eat whatever he was given, without any complaints. Unlike some children who put on airs. Cooking for him was fun and motivating, because even if it was a weight-loss day, he would break his vows and eat a bite just to sing a bunch of lyrics to Yu Xiaohan that were better than singing. Of course, this was a different time. When Yu Xiaohan was praising someone, she would never stop. Later, when she was extremely dissatisfied with him, she would scold him sincerely. What good is a man besides being good-looking? He has such a bad temper. He wants whatever he says. He is such a bastard who can turn against you at the drop of a hat. Does he really think that his daughter is raised for him? The surname Zong is indeed correct. It means the Zong of ancestors.

Liang Jianxing wanted to take Mr. Chen and his girlfriend to the study to meet Mr. Zong, but unexpectedly saw him at the door of the guest bathroom.

Zong Chi was standing alone at the bathroom door, looking like he had just come out. His face wasn't looking good, and it was obvious he was waiting for someone.

Li Anni had met Zong Chi twice, and their conversations totaled no more than three. She knew he was Lao Chen's partner, and she also knew that Lao Chen and Zong Chi had a close relationship, especially since Lao Chen had a very prominent family background.

The more deeply rooted a family is, the more checks and balances there are between them. As a fellow Chinese, Li Anni had heard of the Zong family. If nothing else, a family that had survived for generations must have something worth recognizing, in other words, its character and even its structure.

Zong Chi was known for his quiet social life. He rarely exchanged pleasantries or compliments with the female companions brought by his partners or business partners. He seemed rather pampered and indifferent to even the slightest advances from the opposite sex, accustomed to a life of luxury. Li Anni could also see that he was a meticulous person. With such a superior, Old Chen at least had fewer worries.

Before leaving, Chen Xiangyang stood up the pigeon. Zong Chi put one hand in his pocket and scratched the wood grain on the door frame with the other. He stood at the door of the bathroom, and kept out of the sight of strangers. He first asked Chen Xiangyang, "You wanted to come here, and you brought me here, and there's no trace of me."

Chen Xiangyang, with a fierce smile on his face, was about to reach out to pull Zong Chi. Zong Chi glared at him, and Chen Xiangyang raised his hands and gave up obediently. He just talked about family matters, family matters.

Li Anni is not afraid of the family scandal being exposed. Her selfish motive is to use Mr. Zong to warn Old Chen, and secondly, to test whether Mr. Zong knows about it.

You know, men always like to cover up and protect each other in such romantic lawsuits.

So, Li Anni used the most concise summary ability to accuse Lao Chen of hiding it from her, not using any public or private account, and personally raising a sum of money with his friends to support his first love's family.

Li Anni was three parts aggrieved and three parts tea art. To be fair, Mr. Zong, what woman could tolerate a man like this? "If he's not guilty, why doesn't he just transfer the money to her? I'm not that stingy. She's been with you since you started your business. As the saying goes, a wife who has shared the hardships of life should never be divorced. The contribution she made to you back then, to accompany you and to encourage you, is irreplaceable. I know that."

Li Anni's words implied that the other party's friendship had expired. The other party had not invested in Lao Chen in the form of shares. If the money was not invested in an upright manner, she would only spare no effort to discredit and misinterpret them.

Chen Xiangyang knew he was in the wrong, so he slapped his forehead in anger and told his girlfriend to stop talking. Why is this going on and on?

Li Anni wouldn't listen. She wasn't happy, and no one else was happy. "Then tell me, why are you trying so hard to get her money? Is it true that all men in the world can't forget their first love, Bai Yueguang?"

Zong Chi suddenly asked, "How many are there?"

Li Anni reported a number.

Zong Chi looked like he was cleaning up a battlefield, and his voice sounded impatient. "It's not worth this little money."

Li Anni looked at Mr. Zong angrily. Zong Chi said again, "This little money is a waste of money for Chen Xiangyang."

Liang Jianxing, who was standing next to him, couldn't help laughing after hearing this.

Li Anni had originally hoped that Mr. Zong would be an honest official and a peacemaker, but his words seemed to be adding fuel to the fire. In an instant, her impression of Mr. Zong was shattered. What she was about to say...

Suddenly, a person popped out from behind Mr. Zong, using all his strength to struggle out.

The girl was cold but had a pair of affectionate eyes. Rather than being beautiful in a general sense, she was more distinguishable, possessing the essence of bone structure. However, her appearance was slightly… Her hair, down to her collar, was a little messy and disheveled.

He Dongli walked out and nodded slightly to them, "Sorry to bother you, please continue."

Even though Chen Xiangyang knew what Zong Chi was up to, he was still quite frightened. He widened his eyes slightly, pointed at Dongli, and before he could say hello to her, she went downstairs.

He had no choice but to turn around and point at Zong Chi. Because Dong Li's ears were red from the way he was just now... Chen Xiangyang quickly asked the person involved, "No, what did you do?"

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