Chapter 44 Elegance, truly elegance

Inside the restaurant.

Shen Beidao sat in a spot on the upper level near the railing, where the view was excellent, offering a panoramic view of a certain area below.

"Xiao Bei, what's the matter that's so urgent?" A cheerful voice came from behind.

Shen Beidao turned his head and saw a muscular man in a black motorcycle outfit striding towards him.

The man took off his helmet, revealing a face that, though weathered by time, still possessed sharp, defined features.

"Today is Christmas Eve, which you young people love to celebrate. The traffic outside is as congested as a parking lot, so I had to take my motorcycle out."

He rubbed his hands together, looked around at the exquisitely decorated restaurant, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Why did you choose this place? I remember you don't like the sweet and cloying flavors of Jiangzhou cuisine."

The visitor was named Li Zijia, 45 years old. He was his father's former colleague and one of the few elders in Jiangzhou who took good care of him.

Li Zijia placed his helmet on the empty seat next to him, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "What? I heard from your dad that you're planning to start your own company to deal with the domestic market?"

Shen Beidao pushed the menu over, a faint smile on his face: "Let's order first, and chat while we eat."

His gaze inadvertently swept downstairs again, and the smile on his lips deepened.

Li Zijia took the menu but didn't rush to look at it. Instead, he followed Shen Beidao's gaze downwards, teasingly saying, "Hey? My dear nephew, when are you going to find a girlfriend? People usually spend holidays with their girlfriends, but you're spending them with your old uncle."

“I came with my boyfriend today,” Shen Beidao replied naturally.

"Boyfriend?" Li Zijia's eyes lit up, and he immediately looked around. "Where is he? Bring him over so your uncle can see him! Your dad was talking about it on the phone last time, saying that you're all alone in Jiangzhou, with no one to care for you..."

“My dad never asks about my love life. He’s been advocating against marriage since I was little, saying he’s too uncomfortable being controlled by my mom,” Shen Beidao joked.

“You brat, yes… I admit, this is the question I wanted to ask myself.”

Li Zijia was Shen Beidao's father's colleague when he was young, and the two worked together for many years at a top medical research institution.

Later, Shen Beidao's father chose to stay abroad and currently works at a hospital, while Li Zijia, tired of the high-intensity work pace, "retired" early and moved to Jiangzhou, a livable city, to live a retirement life.

Because they had watched Shen Beidao grow up and were both in a foreign land, the two often got together, and their relationship was both that of teacher and friend.

Shen Beidao raised his chin, gesturing downstairs: "My boyfriend is over there."

Li Zijia immediately leaned out with great interest, scanning the area downstairs.

He saw two young men, one slightly chubby and the other lean, sitting at a table in the semi-open dining area, chatting and laughing together.

Li Zijia frowned, lowered her voice, and asked uncertainly, "Is your boyfriend... that pig, or that monkey?"

Shen Beidao followed his gaze and replied somewhat helplessly, "Uncle Li, shouldn't you take a look at your eyes?"

He pointed in another direction, "It's the table by the window at the back."

From Li Zijia's perspective, the view was indeed partially blocked by the pillar.

Undeterred, he stood up, leaned on the railing, and craned his neck to look down.

From this angle, Lin Yi saw an elegant lady in a beige cashmere suit walk in through the door. He immediately stood up from his seat, went to greet her, and took her bag and a light coat.

Li Zijia's eyes widened instantly: "Elegant, truly elegant... This aura is on par with celebrities..."

He sat down again, looking at Shen Beidao with a regretful expression: "What a pity, she's already taken. Do you think these mature and charming ladies all like this kind of young, handsome guy?"

Shen Beidao: …………

He was momentarily at a loss for words, remaining silent for two seconds before speaking, his voice tinged with weakness: "Uncle Li, do you think those two people we just saw... were a couple?"

"It's obvious!" Li Zijia sighed and shook his head. "On a day like today, what else could they be but a couple coming to a restaurant like this?"

A hint of amusement and helplessness flashed across Shen Beidao's eyes. "The couple you saw, one of them is my boyfriend."

"Huh? You're playing this fancy game?" Li Zijia was greatly shocked.

Shen Beidao: ......

"Never mind." He picked up the teapot and poured hot tea for Li Zijia. "Let's talk about serious matters. I plan to resign from the school and officially take over my father's business in China."

Li Zijia's attention was indeed diverted, and his expression became more serious: "Oh? You finally figured it out? Your job as a university teacher is easy, but it's really not very meaningful. You should have left a long time ago."

"Hmm." Shen Beidao nodded and took out a document from his bag. "The drug that my dad's lab led the research and development of is mainly for type 2 diabetes. You should remember it."

“Simegrapeptide?” Li Zijia, being an industry insider, understood immediately. “I remember the clinical data was quite good. What, has it been approved in China?”

"Phase III clinical trials are over, and the marketing application is already in the process. My dad's point is that the domestic market has huge potential, and..."

Shen Beidao paused for a moment, "I did some market research and discovered an interesting phenomenon."

Beyond traditional medical needs, the potential demand for these drugs among people who value body management and have the financial means to purchase cosmetic or health products may be underestimated.

This could be a differentiating angle for us to enter the market.

Li Zijia listened attentively, rubbing his chin with his fingers: "That makes sense. The pursuit of 'thinness' has created a huge consumer market. If we can accurately target this group while remaining compliant with regulations..."

He looked at Shen Beidao, his eyes showing admiration, "You've got a quick mind, kid. Looks like you were prepared!"

"If you need any help from me, just let me know. I know quite a few people in the medical field here in Jiangzhou."

"Then I thank you in advance, Uncle Li."

......

The window seat downstairs.

When Xie Chun arrived, the dishes had already been ordered and the cold dishes had been served.

He saw that Lin Jingzhi was already sitting there, looking down at her phone, her profile appearing somewhat distant under the light.

Lin Yi sat next to Lin Jingzhi, with a little distance between them.

"Sorry, I had some urgent business to attend to at the company, that's why I'm late." Xie Chun took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair next to him.

Lin Jingzhi looked up and nodded slightly to him as a greeting, then quickly looked back at her phone screen, seemingly replying to some important message.

The air between them was a polite yet fragile calm, formed after years of being frozen in time.

Lin Yi watched his father sit down, but his keen eyes caught a small, barely noticeable red mark on the side of his neck near his collar.

The color and location of that mark... Lin Yi was all too familiar with it!

Not long ago, he himself had something similar on his neck.

An unnamed anger suddenly surged up.

What day is today?

It was a rare occasion for his mother to come home, a day when the whole family could reunite.

Xie Chun actually appeared with such traces?

Who on earth is so tactless?!

Lin Yi grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his chest felt tight and suffocated.

He glanced at his mother, who hadn't noticed yet.

"Dad!" Lin Yi suddenly stood up, his attitude very bad. "Come here, I have something to tell you."

Xie Chun had just picked up a wet towel to wipe his hands when he heard this. He looked up and met his son's eyes, which were clearly suppressing his anger, and was stunned for a moment.

He glanced at Lin Jingzhi again; she remained focused on her phone, as if everything around her was irrelevant.

"Okay." Xie Chun put down the towel, stood up, and followed Lin Yi toward the restroom.

After closing the bathroom door, Lin Yi turned around and stared at his father: "Xie Chun, do you know how precious today's gathering is?"

Xie Chun was somewhat bewildered by the full name and questioning, but he immediately realized that he had done something wrong and angered his son.

He tried to explain, though he didn't know exactly what he had done wrong: "Xiao Yi, I know it's important. It's just that I did go to the company to deal with an urgent matter, which is why I'm a little late."

He glanced at his watch. "It's only ten minutes late, isn't it? It's not some heinous crime, is it?"

For some reason, ever since that night with Zhang Zexuan, the guilt that had been building up in his heart seemed to be amplified when facing Lin Yi.

He suddenly felt that he was a complete failure as a father, and no wonder Lin Yi treated him badly.

Lin Yi ignored his explanation, pulled a large skin-colored bandage from his pocket, and shoved it into Xie Chun's hand, saying coldly, "Take care of your neck, so my mom doesn't see it."

Xie Chun subconsciously raised his hand to touch the side of his neck.

"You know she hasn't fully recovered from her illness." Lin Yi's voice was even lower, but his heart was pierced with a sharp pain. "Even if you don't love her or care about her, you don't have to provoke her like this, do you?"

After saying that, Lin Yi opened the door and walked out without looking back.

Xie Chun was left alone in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he finally saw the clear red mark with teeth marks on the side of his neck.

It was left by Zhang Zexuan last night.

That kid, like a puppy claiming its territory, nibbled on his neck.

He didn't pay much attention at the time, and he overlooked it when he washed up in the morning...

"Bang!" Xie Chun's fist slammed hard on the cold stone countertop. He felt a surge of intense anger, towards himself and towards that reckless brat.

He tore off the adhesive bandage and carefully covered the mark in front of the mirror.

The dark-colored bandage on the side of my neck looks a bit out of place, but it's better than before...

"Mom, Dad just got a work call, he'll be here in a bit," Lin Yi said to Lin Jingzhi.

Lin Jingzhi then put down her phone, gently took Lin Yi's hand, and placed it in her palm.

Her hands were cool, and her skin was smooth, showing signs of careful skincare.

"Xiao Yi." She looked at her son, her eyes gentle, yet with a hint of unspeakable worry hidden deep within. "Mom has been busy with the final preparations for the company's IPO this past year, and I haven't been able to pay as much attention to you. You won't blame me, will you?"

"No." Lin Yi immediately shook his head and squeezed his mother's hand in return. "I know you're busy. I'll come to see you after I finish my graduation project."

Lin Jingzhi's company headquarters is located in a first-tier city, more than a thousand kilometers away from Jiangzhou.

Lin Jingzhi is still in a slow recovery period. In order not to upset her or affect her recuperation, Lin Yi has been deliberately maintaining infrequent contact during this time.

Their daily interactions are limited to simple greetings:

"Have you got a meal yet?"

"how are things?"

"Do you have enough money?"

Polite, distant, as if they were just relatives with a passable relationship.

Lin Yi had no idea that some time ago, when his mother's condition was at its most unstable and her emotions were at their lowest, the call she made late at night, filled with choked questions, was answered by Shen Beidao.

Lin Jingzhi raised her hand and gently stroked Lin Yi's hair, then asked, "Xiao Yi, have you... found a girlfriend lately?"

She asked softly, her tone sounding as if she were just mentioning it casually.

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat. "No, nothing."

"I have to do an internship and work on my graduation project recently, so I don't have time."

Lin Jingzhi looked at him quietly, her eyes, which were very similar to Lin Yi's, filled with a complex mix of emotions.

She paused for a few seconds before speaking again: "I heard... Zhinan has returned to China. Has he contacted you?"

The name, like a fine needle, unexpectedly pierced Lin Yi's nerves amidst their subtle atmosphere.

He replied almost instinctively, as if trying to prove something: "No! Mom, don't worry, I haven't had any contact with him for a long time! That's all in the past, it's all over."

He spoke quickly, his voice tinged with excitement as he tried to distance himself from the situation. Only after he finished speaking did he realize that his reaction might have been too extreme, and he quickly assured him, "I... I will definitely tell you if I get a girlfriend in the future."

Upon hearing this, a faint trace of pain flashed deep in Lin Jingzhi's eyes, but it was quickly covered by tenderness.

She gently patted Lin Yi's hand: "Okay, good. Mom believes in you."

She paused, then changed the subject: "After you graduate, have you considered coming to my company? Although it's not directly related to your art major, I can teach you gradually."

"And everything Mom has will be yours from now on."

“Your father’s business is mainly overseas, and Mom doesn’t want you to go so far away. Stay in China, closer to Mom, okay?”

Lin Yi heard the expectation in his mother's words and felt the heavy weight of the plan made in the name of love.

He pursed his lips and said, "Mom, I... I still have more than a year before graduation, it's a bit early to talk about these things now. Besides..."

He hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Your company is also jointly owned with your partners. If I go, I will need the approval of the other shareholders. I am completely from another industry and don't know anything about it. If I go, I will only cause you trouble and make people gossip."

"I think... I'll try it on my own first."

Lin Jingzhi looked at him quietly for a long time before letting out a soft sigh: "Alright. Mom respects your opinion."

But then she suddenly added, with a hint of deliberate caution: "But, Xiao Yi, remember, stay away from the people around your father. You know, the people around him are all the same kind of people as him."

“Xiao Yi, Mom knows you’re not like that.” She gripped Lin Yi’s hand tightly until her fingertips turned white. “You were just… just influenced by your father when you were little, but you’re not like that, right?”

Lin Yi felt his mother's hand trembling slightly.

He looked into his mother's eyes and saw a complex mix of emotions: love, fear, worry, and a trace of painful memories he didn't want to face.

My throat feels like it's blocked by something.

He opened his mouth, but in the end he couldn't say anything. He just squeezed his mother's cold hand tightly.

He once changed "boyfriends" repeatedly in front of his mother, trying to force her to leave her restrictive marriage in this extreme way.

But now he realized that his self-righteous resistance was nothing more than a futile effort to erode his mother's last hope for a "normal family," and instead made her sink deeper and deeper into the broken ruins.

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

Author's Note: This is the final hurdle; Professor Shen's wicked idea is taking shape...

Guess what he's going to do!

Actually, Lin Yi's family relationships are quite complicated. They all have their own reasons, and from their respective perspectives, there's nothing they can do. Don't be angry, there will be explanations later.

Shen Beidao and Zhang Zexuan can make even the most troublesome relationships increasingly interesting (but you can't criticize the author if you criticize the characters!).

In Chapter 30, the author's note states that the phone call Shen Beidao received was from Uncle Li.