Harbor

Zhong Yunxi wasn't quite sure what his own mindset was, because Bai Yi had casually asked him about Tiansheng and Lu Xin's mention of her arranged marriage. So he asked Xue Meng to investigate these things.

With years of experience in the financial industry, he is extremely adept at extracting the whole story from the smallest clues.

He hoped he had misjudged the situation, so as not to give himself the opportunity to do something impulsive.

Unfortunately, everything happened exactly as he had predicted. Bai Yeliang was indeed Bai Yi's father, and his superior was Zhou Kemin, the vice chairman of Tiansheng. Zhou Kemin had a son named Zhou Qi.

Zhou Kemin was quite clever. He held a position at Tiansheng, but he didn't let Zhou Qi join Tiansheng. Zhou Qi's Qingyang Equipment Technology Company was a business contractor for Tiansheng.

This is nothing unusual; it's common for a leading manufacturing company to support dozens of small and medium-sized enterprises downstream.

Zhong Yunxi stared at the documents for twenty minutes, then got up and threw the pages into the shredder. He went to the tea station, filled a glass with ice, and made himself an iced Americano.

After finishing my coffee, I put a few ice cubes in my mouth.

For the past few years, his mother forced him to work in his car and stay in hotels for months on end; the two of them were constantly playing a game of cat and mouse. He had considered a marriage of convenience, but when it came to actually choosing someone to cooperate with, he simply couldn't find anyone suitable.

But when he saw Bai Yi yesterday, he found her to be both obedient and proud, and he thought she was a good match.

His willpower was strong enough to control his hormones and adrenaline. The fleeting thought of wanting to become her marriage partner was enough for him to reflect on his abnormal behavior.

Of course, without reflecting on anything, the young man experiencing his first stirrings of love wasted his emotions and went straight to doing it.

He picked up the glass again and poured a few ice cubes into his mouth.

Two days later, at lunchtime, he saw in his childhood friends' group chat that Lu Xin was organizing a dinner party. He used to attend these kinds of gatherings very rarely, maybe once a month. However, times had changed. He unblocked the group messages and pinned them to the top. He also pinned Bai Yi and Lu Xin's messages to the top as well.

Currently, his only connection with Bai Yi is Lu Xin.

Open Lu Xin's chat window and ask him: Are you going to the party alone tonight?

Lu Xin: I'll take my junior sister with me. She's been in a bad mood lately, so I'll take her out on more blind dates.

Zhong Yunxi returned to the group chat and dialed: 1

It means he's going to the dinner party that evening to make up the numbers.

His appearance caused an unprecedented surge in activity in the group chat.

Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, Lu Xin called back with a call request, which he answered.

"I'm telling you, you don't hide anything at all."

As he wished, Zhong Yunxi was even more direct: "It would be best if you could create an opportunity for me alone."

Lu Xin was speechless: "Don't be so shameless. Didn't my junior sister say the other day that she thinks you're too old?"

Zhong Yunxi said calmly, "I'm the same age as you. Besides, you organized this gathering in your childhood friends' group; don't you know how old they are? Who are you taking her to meet?"

Lu Xin: ...

"No, tell me the truth, what exactly do you mean?" Lu Xin questioned him.

Zhong Yunxi stated frankly, "It's a win-win situation. She and I are a good match."

Lu Xin wasn't without his inner conflict; he felt guilty towards his junior sister: "You think it's appropriate on your own, right? If you want me to help you, at least come up with a more touching reason to fool me. Even if the other couple's arranged marriage isn't great, at least they've been pursuing my junior sister for years. What is this?"

Zhong Yunxi continued to "persuade" him: "You seem to know me well. Do you want to know about her arranged marriage partner? I can provide you with a list of his questionable spending records at certain clubs over the past three years."

Lu Xin remained silent for a long time before cursing, "Zhong Yunxi, that marriage partner is a scoundrel, and you're a real dog too."

Zhong Yunxi didn't pay attention, responded with an "Mmm", and then said, "I'll pick her up this afternoon, and I'll just say you sent me, so you don't give me away."

Lu Xin angrily hung up the phone and cursed, "You dog!"

Bai Yi received a call from her senior in the morning, saying that there was a dinner party that evening and he wanted to take her there and introduce her to some handsome guys.

Just as she was about to find an excuse to decline, Zhou Qi called. Distracted, she agreed.

As expected, Zhou Qi simply invited her for a small get-together, saying that she had returned from Xiangcheng and her friends all wanted to see her.

Having just promised her senior brother, there was no need to deliberately find a reason to lie when she refused Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Xiao Yi, how about the day after tomorrow? Mom and Dad want to see you too."

Bai Yi felt her heart sink. She would never see his parents, no matter what. She said bluntly, "Zhou Qi, we are not suitable."

The man's voice on the phone chuckled: "You've said that to me at least eighty or ninety times, if not a hundred. It's okay if you don't love me, but can you stay by my side and let me love you?"

"What if I say no?" she asked Zhou Qi in her usual indifferent tone.

Zhou Qi sighed: "Aren't you even going to care about Uncle Bai anymore?"

Bai Yi didn't say anything more and hung up the phone.

More than two years after she fled to Xiangcheng, she returned and still rejected him, until Zhou Qi's patience ran out.

In the evening, she glanced at the location Lu Xin had sent her, opened the map to check the estimated driving time, and was still putting off putting on makeup. While staring blankly at her phone, she was startled by Zhong Yunxi's call request.

She answered the call.

Zhong Yunxi said succinctly, "Lu Xin asked me to come pick you up. Send me your location."

"No need to trouble yourself, I'll drive there myself. My senior sent me the location." Only then did she realize that Zhong Yunxi was also going to the dinner party that evening.

There was a two-second pause on the other end: "There aren't many parking spaces in the park, so parking can be a bit of a hassle when there are a lot of guests. I'll pick you up."

Bai Yi had never been to that place and didn't know what was going on, so she had no choice but to agree.

After hanging up the phone, she sent him the location of her neighborhood.

Zhong Yunxi: Okay, I'll be there in half an hour.

She then reluctantly went to wash her face and put on makeup, not wanting to go through the trouble of removing it when she got home that night, so she only wore light makeup.

Her skin is so good that she can go makeup-free, but perhaps it's an occupational hazard, she really enjoys tinkering with various bottles and jars.

She only came downstairs when Zhong Yunxi texted her that he had arrived.

After getting in the car, she thanked him, showing no particular emotion, but her manners were impeccable.

Zhong Yunxi handed her a bottle of water, which she took. He paused for a few seconds, then asked, "Do you need any help?"

She realized she was being asked to open the bottle cap, and shook her head: "No need, I'm not thirsty."

He reached out his hand again: "Then give it to me."

She handed it back, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Are you drinking tonight?"

Zhong Yunxi wasn't sure if the group of people at the dinner party drank alcohol, but he roughly knew her concerns, so he only said, "Lu Xin and I don't drink."

Xue Meng was driving in front, listening to his boss's words, and felt strange, even eerie, and almost couldn't concentrate. In his memory, his boss had never spoken to his own mother with such tenderness.

After saying that, he swiped open the screen and sent Lu Xin a message: I'm not drinking tonight, and you shouldn't either.

Lu Xin: ?

He replied: "I have to drive her home tonight. It's a closed environment in the car, and there's a man who's been drinking sitting next to her. I'm worried she might feel uncomfortable. She's only close to you at tonight's gathering, so it's not appropriate for you to drink."

Lu Xin: ...

Ask him: Did you pick up your junior sister?

Zhong Yunxi: Hmm.

Lu Xin didn't know whether to scold or praise him. He was genuinely kind to people, but also ruthless in his methods. He only commented: "Junior Sister and her arranged marriage partner are both unlucky to have met you."

When we arrived at Jiansong Garden, several people walked over from under the flower corridor in front of the garden as soon as we got out of the car.

Someone joked first: "New car? I've never seen you drive a Mercedes EQS. Tired of Maybach and Phantom?"

The others started laughing and jeering.

Zhong Yunxi casually replied, "It's been sitting idle in the garage, so I came out to run around today."

Lu Xin came out from the front yard and greeted Bai Yi first: "Junior Sister is here."

He glanced at Zhong Yunxi's car, smiled enigmatically, and said, "Not bad, looks young."

After introducing themselves to each other, the group headed into the garden.

There were several women at the dinner party. Bai Yi sat next to them, and Zhong Yunxi sat on the other side. Lu Xin couldn't win against him, so she sat next to him.

Bai Yi glanced at Lu Xin, then at Zhong Yunxi, clearly wanting them to switch places, but Zhong Yunxi ignored her.

Bai Yi: ...

There were ladies at the table, but the men were quite courteous and didn't open any bottles of wine.

They are all children of high-ranking officials, and not many of them are in business.

After recognizing everyone, Bai Yi felt that Zhong Yunxi's profession was the most business-oriented among the group, yet he had the most aloof and reserved demeanor, making it difficult for him to get along with others.

Bai Yi couldn't see through him. She grew increasingly respectful but distant. Wanting a bite of eight-treasure rice, she subtly signaled to her senior brother through him.

She won't attend a dinner party with more than five people unless they are very familiar with each other. Even if she does come, she will always sit next to the person she knows best and will not take the initiative to pick up food.

When Bai Yi was pursuing her master's degree, Lu Xin was already at the Institute of Medicinal Plants. Professor Wu was busy, so he asked Lu Xin to mentor her. During those two years, she worked on many research projects with Lu Xin and participated in numerous pharmaceutical conferences and forums. Lu Xin could tell what she wanted to do with just a glance.

In these situations, Lu Xin almost always keeps serving chopsticks handy to serve her food.

Lu Xin stood up slightly, scooped a spoonful of eight-treasure rice with his clean utensils, passed it over Zhong Yunxi, and handed it to him, while casually switching the utensils in front of Bai Yi.

Zhong Yunxi: ...

After Lu Xin sat down, he said, "Tell me, and I'll do it."

Lu Xin scoffed at him: "Even if you came, she wouldn't dare to eat it."

Zhong Yunxi felt no guilt whatsoever, and even so, he did not suggest changing seats, but said, "Practice makes perfect, you'll get used to it eventually."

Lu Xin paused, then handed him the serving chopsticks: "Cai Xin (Chinese bok choy), partridge porridge, pomelo peel shrimp, sea bass, and stir-fried snow peas and yam. She only eats a few bites of carbohydrates at night."

Bai Yi was stunned when she saw that it was Zhong Yunxi who served her food.

"What else would you like to eat? Their signature dish is black truffle baked chicken, would you like to try it?" Zhong Yunxi's expression was calm and natural, not at all like someone who had just learned something new.

Bai Yi shook his head and didn't say anything.

Zhong Yunxi could roughly sense that Bai Yi wasn't warm towards him.

The first time they met, he was quite sarcastic, but today he was much gentler, though even colder. Zhong Yunxi felt that he was more lively before.

Zhong Yunxi, trying to make conversation, turned slightly to her and asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

At the dinner party, she was only familiar with Lu Xin, and Lu Xin was very talkative, so she felt more relaxed. Now, she didn't know the people sitting on either side of her, and she was much more down.

Zhou Qi's phone call today was still bothering her, and she was in a particularly bad mood.

Zhong Yunxi wanted to ask her why she wasn't speaking.

Out of consideration for her senior brother's feelings, she refrained from rolling her eyes at him and turned her head slightly to look at Zhong Yunxi, "What are you saying? You sit over there and switch places with your senior brother."

Zhong Yunxi: ...

He underestimated Bai Yi's ability to speak with such eloquence and barbedness.

Her arrogant and spoiled manner easily shattered his rational nerves, leading to unauthorized construction.

She clearly disliked him, but she phrased it with a sweet and coquettish tone, making him feel completely at ease. He almost wanted to switch places with Lu Xin immediately to make her more comfortable.

He could roughly guess how, all these years, she had been playing with Zhou Qi like a dog, all for her father's sake.

Zhong Yunxi steadied himself and said in a low voice, "What do you want to say to him? I'll pass on the message for you."

Bai Yi: ...

The older man was unyielding; even coaxing didn't work. So I simply ignored him and turned to join the conversation of the two ladies next to me.

Besides Zhong Yunxi, there were two other single men at the dinner party. They were quite outstanding, but compared to Zhong Yunxi, they paled in comparison. Therefore, Lu Xin didn't formally introduce them to Bai Yi in front of so many people.

He whispered to her through Zhong Yunxi, "Junior sister, look at the person directly in front of you, wearing a white shirt. Next to him, wearing a gray-white polo shirt, he's single. He's Ning Ye, the founder of a tech company."

Bai Yi looked up, but didn't even see clearly, and just said "Oh".

Zhong Yunxi responded seriously to Lu Xin: "Trying to draw any red line will only harm yourself and others."

Lu Xin: ...