80: A man who is obsessed with saving face

He walked to her side, and she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling close to him. Thinking of last night, her heart raced again.

"There's a problem with the tides, the tech department is working on it. Xixi, after you finish eating, you can stay home and read or go for a walk. I'll be back once the problem is fixed."

"What's the problem? Do you want me to come along?" Shang Zhi's mind instantly cleared. The Tide project was about to launch, and there couldn't be any mistakes at this time. If it couldn't be launched on time by New Year's Day, she would be laughed at by the whole of Hong Kong.

"No need, I'll go. There's a bug in the system; the lights are flickering abnormally. You don't know much about this, so you won't be able to help much. Don't worry, trust me, I can definitely solve it." Pei Yanxiu smiled and reassured Shang Zhi, trying to downplay the situation to put her at ease. However, Shang Zhi still sensed something unusual from his words; this was no small matter.

Moreover, Pei Yanxiu always requires her to participate in all aspects of the project as much as possible, to learn and understand more. If he doesn't let her go today, it must be because the matter is really too urgent and he doesn't have time to take care of her.

After Pei Yanxiu left, Shang Zhi spent the whole day at home in fear. She made a phone call to the technical staff, but the entire team was busy with rectification and didn't even have time to explain things to her.

Pei Yanxiu sought help from Yifeng Technology for this project. Their team is quite experienced in dealing with such matters. Yifeng's youngest daughter, Jiang Huiyi, brought more than a dozen people to support him, all of whom are core talents of their team.

"I've spoken with our technical lead, and it turns out to be a hidden conflict in the underlying protocol stack that only kicks in under extremely high concurrency loads."

“It’s because your team lacks experience and their response was inadequate. Luckily, I’m here.” Jiang Huiyi smiled at Pei Yanxiu. Yifeng has done many similar projects and is very experienced. Huiyi’s team found the problem in less than an hour after they arrived.

"Thank you, Huiyi. How long will it take to fix the bug?"

"One night, how do you plan to thank me?" Jiang Huiyi took two steps forward towards Pei Yanxiu, and was about to put her arm around his neck when he gently pushed her away.

“Give me a price, and I will pay your team the highest possible rate.”

"A team is a team, but what about me?"

"Why don't you come to my house? My wife and I will thank you together. Huiyi, you have really helped me a lot."

Outside Pei Yanxiu's office, Shang Zhi also arrived. She was anxious and wanted to see if things were going smoothly, but her hand stopped at the office door. She heard the two people talking inside.

"What wife or not, I don't care at all, President Pei. Judging from today's incident, I'm clearly more suitable for you, aren't I? I'm smarter and understand you better. You can't deny it. I told you long ago that if Wanjia joins forces with Yifeng, it will be more than ten times better than it is now. I really don't know what you were thinking. Why did you insist on cooperating with that half-dead Ruikang? Beauty can ruin things."

“My wife is lovely, you know?” Pei Yanxiu didn’t answer Huiyi’s question, tapping his finger on the table as if he was thinking about something.

"Are you just having a fit of madness?"

"Huiyi, thank you for helping me today. Some things cannot be measured from the perspective of profit. I know that if I cooperate with Yifeng, I will gain more in business, but I may lose my wife. I never regret my choice. I invited you here today because you have relevant experience in this matter. I have no other intentions. To avoid any misunderstanding, I need to make things clear to you."

"You'll regret it. Women who fascinate men are usually trouble, don't you know that?"

“But I’m not a problem, because I don’t care about fame, I only care about profit, brother.”

Shang Zhi couldn't listen to this any longer. If things continued like this, who knew what this woman would say next? To prevent the situation from escalating further, she pushed the door open and went in. The two people in the room looked at her. She smiled and put her arm around the man's arm, separating Hui Yi from him.

"Is this Miss Jiang? I heard from the team that you helped us a lot today. We are really grateful. How about my husband and I treat you to a meal to thank you for your help? Is that alright?" Shang Zhi didn't question anything. She gracefully reached out her hand to Hui Yi. To the other side, it looked like a loving couple.

"Miss Shang is so lucky. She only came to the company now, unlike us who do everything ourselves and are busy on the front line every day dealing with all kinds of things in the company." Jiang Huiyi secretly mocked Shang Zhi for being a good-for-nothing, while her eyes kept glancing at Pei Yanxiu.

"Ms. Jiang is right. I lack experience and there are still many things I need to learn. I drank too much last night and overslept today. Thank you for your advice. I will pay more attention next time."

Shang Zhi didn't explode, nor did she respond to Jiang Huiyi with even more harshness. Instead, she didn't wait for Pei Yanxiu to explain for her. Instead, she smiled gently at her, which made Jiang Huiyi feel speechless. Feeling bored, she turned and left.

"I thought you were going to explode." After locking the door, Pei Yanxiu gently rubbed Shang Zhi's head.

"You taught me not to be quick to argue. Their team is helping us right now, and there's no need for me to compete with her for the upper hand. Even if I win, she might get angry and withdraw her team, which would only bring us new trouble."

"Xixi, you've really grown up. You've done a really good job these past few days." Pei Yanxiu said with some emotion. If it were the Shang Zhi of the past, she probably would have already poured water on Huiyi. But now she has learned to calmly analyze the situation, to be tolerant, and to learn the things he taught her.

He was both relieved and heartbroken.

He also wanted her to live a carefree life as a child, but that wouldn't work. In this world surrounded by wolves, no one can remain uninvolved, and no one can truly live a carefree life. Being strong is the only true path.

She is truly growing up, in every way.

"But I'm warning you! Next time you cooperate with her, you'd better tell me first!" Pei Yanxiu really didn't expect Shang Zhi to change her expression so quickly. One second she was all smiles and pleasantries, and the next she directly pinched him, pinching the soft flesh on the inside of his arm, which made him turn pale immediately.

It hurts so much! How can she be so strong! I was even beaten when I was a kid practicing martial arts and it didn't hurt this much! In order to save face in front of her, he endured the pain without crying out or struggling, and just quietly endured it.

"Mr. Pei, have you remembered?"

"I understand, I'll definitely tell you first next time. I'm sorry, Xixi."

"That's more like it." Shang Zhi looked at the man's pale face and his forced attempt to appear nonchalant, and really wanted to laugh.

A man who is obsessed with saving face.