Chapter 19 His Co-pilot (Author's Note)...

Cheng Hexi ate half of the snacks You Yue brought home, leaving only three pieces.

It was sweet but not cloying, soft and delicious, and tasted really good. However, she had already eaten until she was about 70% full, and it was quite late, so she had to restrain herself.

You Yue, dressed in a high-quality black shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up, stood to the side drinking water.

Watching Cheng Hexi eat desserts at the table, I wondered why she loved sweets so much, and what was so good about these cloying foods.

Noticing that she was wiping her hands, You Yue asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Hmm, it's too late."

Just now, when she praised the taste of the pastries, she didn't forget to thank the person who bought them. Presumably because she felt indebted to them, she even made a special explanation for not replying to the message.

You Yue seemed unconcerned, simply saying, "You're welcome."

Just moments ago she was enjoying her meal, but now, thinking about how it would all end up in the trash, Cheng Hexi felt a rare pang of regret.

You Yue, unaware of what he had eaten wrong, placed the cup on the table, sat down, and picked up a tea pastry from the box.

Cheng Hexi didn't understand why someone who claimed to hate sweets would suddenly want to try these, and she was also curious about his reaction.

"How is it?" she asked.

"...Not bad, I guess."

An ambiguous answer, the kind of answer chefs hate the most.

Cheng Hexi then thought unhappily, "I can eat sweets? Why didn't I eat the cake she baked last time?"

As I got up from the table, I realized I was actually dreaming about this, and I found it a little funny.

Is this something to worry about?

She quickly processed this inexplicable emotion, and her mind was once again filled with the pleasant feeling of eating delicious sweets. Xu Zhumeng messaged her, asking if they could video chat, so she went upstairs.

You Yue got up, threw away the remaining two pieces, and wondered what the cake she baked would taste like.

-

On the second day of the holiday, Cheng Hexi spent most of the day at the company, and after finishing her work, she went to see a concert.

Perhaps because the villa was so large, the two of them, though living under the same roof, rarely saw each other except during mealtimes.

Night had fallen when I returned home from the concert.

She drove her car into the villa gate, around the lawn and fountain, and found the beautiful Ferrari Black Knight parked in front, almost blocking the steps to the front door.

The streetlights cast a bright glow, illuminating the elegant courtyard landscape, where all was peaceful and serene.

The driveway in the villa's yard was wide enough, so Cheng Hexi drove his car next to his supercar.

She lightly pressed the brake pedal and rolled down the right-side window.

You Yue's car window was already open, and he had just noticed Cheng Hexi in the rearview mirror. Now, he leaned back in his leather seat and turned his head to look at her.

The two had only met once today at breakfast; this was their second meeting.

The man chuckled, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Cheng Hexi raised her eyebrows, not understanding why he wasn't coming inside.

"Don't want to face your family and responsibilities, so you're going out for a smoke before coming back? Mr. You?" She was in a good mood today and made a rare joke.

You Yue slowly exhaled a smoke ring, unbuckled his seatbelt, and retorted to the previous statement: "My wife gets home later than me, what family and responsibility do I have?"

When Cheng Hexi first heard him call her "wife," she paused slightly.

Then she came to her senses and thought, "What's wrong with just getting home? I clearly said I was going to a concert."

After You Yue inexplicably sent that message last time, they started reporting to each other when they went out.

Although he didn't go into great detail, it wasn't to the point that he wouldn't come home for meals or even tell his partner about business trips like before.

The cigarette burned on Youyue's fingertips.

The firelight was crimson.

The last time they went home together to visit his grandmother, he tidied himself up first, went downstairs to wait for Cheng Hexi, and lit a cigarette while checking emails on his laptop.

He didn't think much of it at the time; he didn't know Cheng Hexi hated the smell of smoke before that.

To make her feel less uncomfortable, You Yue even went back to the dressing room to change her clothes again.

He smoked half a cigarette and decided to finish it before going inside.

You Yue wasn't a heavy smoker, so quitting wouldn't be difficult for him, but he was used to it and wouldn't change his habits for anyone.

Before Cheng Hexi could drive away, she heard You Yue say, "Grandma is coming back after the holiday. Let's go see her together then?"

"Okay, sure."

After Grandma came back, the two of them resumed their loving relationship.

Sure enough, You Yue asked her, "Want to see a movie together tomorrow night? Do you have time?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Yes. But I have a dinner engagement tomorrow night, and it won't be over until around eight or nine o'clock."

We won't be able to eat there at that time, but after the meal, we can chat or play cards at the club, and the timing is uncertain.

Youyue said yes, we'll go tonight.

"Jingyao recently opened a drive-in movie theater. Let's support him."

"Hmm?" Cheng Hexi was a little curious as to why Jing Yao suddenly thought of doing this.

Although the competition is low, the target audience is also small, making it not a good investment. However, on the other hand, the initial investment is small, which is negligible for the Jing family.

You Yue thought the focus of her question was on drive-in theaters, and said, "You mentioned drive-in theaters in Brooklyn in a previous interview."

Cheng Hexi paused for a moment before remembering that this was indeed the case, and she wasn't surprised that he would look at it.

Even if he had a very good relationship with his maternal grandmother, You Yue's personality made it impossible for him to completely follow the old lady's wishes, let alone on such an important matter as marriage.

He must have considered many factors before agreeing; watching the interview was just one of them.

She also read many of his interviews and reports.

Cheng Hexi appreciated the gesture and asked, "Then will you pick me up from the club?" She spoke naturally, looking at You Yue, "I might want to have a drink; my driver is on vacation."

Upon hearing this, You Yue stubbed out his cigarette. His first thought was, "Does she want to sit in the passenger seat?"

Then I wondered, who could she drink with?

He gave a curt "okay," then, as if to confirm, asked, "Want to ride in my car?"

"Yes," Cheng Hexi smiled slightly, "It's on my way, so it should be convenient for you, right?"

"convenient."

"Call me when the time comes, and I'll leave a little earlier."

Cheng Hexi continued.

You asked, "Don't you like dinner parties?"

"I can't say whether I like it or not." There are many things that have to be done.

That means he doesn't like it.

You Yue hummed in agreement: "Then send me a message before you leave, and I'll come in to pick you up."

-

After Cheng Hexi returned to China, her identity became somewhat awkward within the He family. However, no one dared to mention it in front of her, and she herself didn't care.

However, there has been much discussion behind the scenes.

She knew all of this.

Xilin is Xilin, the He family is the He family, and Cheng Hexi is herself.

She is capable, and the board of directors at Xilin has elders on her mother's side who take good care of her.

But when I first returned to China, it wasn't so easy to establish myself abroad.

Even a young master like You Yue, who has been lawless since childhood and whose sons are unchallenged, is questioned about his ability to take over the family business, let alone her.

When she first returned to China, she was not familiar with the high society circles in Beijing, but her identities as CEO of Xilin and the eldest daughter of He Chongguang were still quite impressive. Cheng Hexi had an extra powerful position in the company compared to many pampered young masters and ladies, so she was quite popular with the flattery.

No one knows how long she can stay in this position; it's always best to do three parts of something and leave seven parts unsaid.

However, Cheng Hexi herself was so proper and appropriate in her work that it was impossible to find any fault with her.

After the retirement of the head of the well-known multinational conglomerate, Chu Ning, his daughter, successfully took over the business at the age of thirty-five among her father's three children.

When Cheng Hexi returned to China, Chu Ning had already been in charge of this huge group for eight years. Her abilities were evident to all, and she was still ambitious. Her father's other two children were sons, and she was the youngest sister. Initially, she did not receive much attention at home, while at that time, President Chu was a woman with a lot of influence in both the business world and high society circles.

Perhaps because of his own past and Cheng Hexi's similar situation, Chu Ning admired her.

-

A large area on the third floor of the clubhouse was a card and mahjong room. Cheng Hexi and Chu Ning were playing mahjong, and there were two other people at the table.

She and Chu Ning hadn't seen each other for a long time. Mr. Chu had recently returned from a vacation in the Maldives and asked her when they were planning their wedding.

It was only then that Cheng Hexi realized she had forgotten to answer You Yue's question.

You Yue mentioned it once on the day of the concert. She said she would discuss it after she returned from her business trip, but after returning to China, she was troubled by He Chu's matter and ignored it.

You Yue never mentioned it again.

Never repeat yourself.

That suits his personality quite well.

“Next year,” she smiled and casually made up a sentence, “we neither like to have a wedding in the cold.”

Chu Ning hummed in agreement: "Not going abroad? Southern France and New Zealand are both beautiful."

“No,” Cheng Hexi found a second reason, “Grandma is too old, I don’t want to trouble her.”

Chu Ning smiled and said, "You should send out invitations."

"I can forget everyone but Sister Ning," Cheng Hexi smiled. "I'll send the invitation to your company then."

Chu Ning has good living habits; he goes to bed early and gets up early, and he's always the first to leave.

After seeing her off, everyone started chatting casually.

Cheng Hexi got off the card table, and the person next to her took her place. She greeted them, walked out of the card room, passed through the magnificent corridor, and entered the bar not far away.

"He Xi, aren't you going to play cards anymore?" Someone with sharp eyes spotted her.

"Hmm." Cheng Hexi smiled, her high heels clicking silently on the expensive carpet.

"I'm not good at cards, so I'm not playing anymore. I've come over to talk to you guys."

"Come here, come here—I haven't seen you since your wedding, what have you been up to?"

Cheng Hexi sat down on a single sofa next to them. The bartender opened a bottle of semi-sweet Riesling. She took a small sip and smiled, "Busy with work."

Before they could ask anything else, Cheng Hexi's phone vibrated.

The last time I was at my grandma's, the old lady was right next to me when You Yue called. They had just added each other's contact information, and she hadn't even given You Yue a nickname. The caller ID was bright and cold, revealing that they weren't familiar with each other.

As soon as she stepped out the door that day, she changed his contact name to "husband" with a blank expression.

She remained completely unmoved every time she saw it.

This time, I was quite happy to answer.

The call was disconnected less than a minute after it was answered.

Someone saw her put her phone away, and after a while, they asked with a smile, "Is someone coming to pick you up?"

Cheng Hexi nodded: "Yes, he said he wanted to go see a movie."

Neither "someone" nor "he" refers to anyone in particular, yet everyone understands the implication.

This marriage tightly bound her and You Yue together in public.

When others talked about romance, she just smiled lightly and said nothing more.

-

You Yue changed to a different car.

The car had never been inside the clubhouse before, and it stopped at the entrance for a while. The doorman recognized him and quickly came over to help park the car.

Upon receiving the news, the manager came down to greet him, hurriedly saying, "I didn't know Mr. You was coming, you—"

You Yue waved his hand: "I'm here to pick up my wife. I won't be here long. You go about your business."

The manager naturally knew that Cheng Hexi was here, so he didn't say anything more after hearing this.

You Yue used to skip classes to play billiards here when he was eighteen, so he knows this club better than the current manager.

He went straight to the third floor, and after exiting the elevator, a waiter led him to the private room where Cheng Hexi was.

Just as Cheng Hexi finished her glass of wine, You Yueren arrived.

Although he would send an invitation to everyone, he rarely attended. He always gave plenty of gifts, but You Yue would only personally visit the birthday banquets of his uncles and elders with whom he had a close relationship.

The socialites and young ladies present had all heard of You Yue, but some had never met him in person.

He wasn't as arrogant as he appeared in the reports and press conferences. After entering, he politely nodded to the ladies and said he was there to pick her up. Cheng Hexi then stood up to say goodbye to everyone, expressing her apologies for leaving first.

You Yue continued, "Have fun, everyone. Today, we'll settle the score with him."

After the two left, there was a lot of discussion in the private room.

"This is the first time I've met Mr. You in person, and he's quite different from what they've described."

“How is it different?” One of the people present had worked as her father’s secretary after graduation and had seen You Yue a few times at work. She thought to herself, “How is it different?”

"If President Cheng weren't here, who do you think he would greet?"

-

When Cheng Hexi left the private room, her complexion was no different from usual, and it was impossible to tell how much she had drunk.

After entering the elevator, she raised her lips slightly and thanked You Yue.

You Yue turned his head to look at her and smelled a faint scent of sweet wine.

"How much did you drink?" he asked directly.

Cheng Hexi was very clear-headed. After recalling for a moment, she said, "I don't remember, not many."

The two walked out of the club, and You Yue led her to the car.

The car he was driving today was an S-Class Maybach.

There were too many cars in the garage, and Cheng Hexi didn't even notice this one.

She asked, "Why did you change cars?"

You Yue's favorite thing is flashy sports cars, why has he changed his mind today?

After the two got into the car and fastened their seatbelts, he said, "This isn't as comfortable as a sports car."

You're sitting in a car the whole time at a drive-in theater, and it can be quite tiring if you're not comfortable.

He's so considerate.

Moreover, it's worth mentioning that You Yue was chosen as the driver.

Cheng Hexi hadn't sat in someone else's passenger seat for many years, and surprisingly, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

She hadn't felt this way when she said she wanted him to pick her up yesterday, but now Cheng Hexi clearly realized that she had begun to trust the person beside her from the bottom of her heart.

-----------------------

Author's Note: I'm late, I'm so sorry!

Two corresponding questions follow.

4. Objectively speaking, what is the most attractive quality about the other person?

Xi: Calm, intelligent, and a thoughtful gentleman.

Yue: Confident and determined, yet with a soft heart.

5. What part of the other person's body do you find most attractive?

Xi: hand.

Yue: a mole at the corner of the eye, and lips.

Thanks for reading! Love you all, see you tomorrow! [heart]