Chapter 9
The daughter of the president of ICP Heavy Industry.
After exchanging pleasantries, no one paid any attention to Zhu Yu, and the group turned and left. Shi Ru then breathed a slight sigh of relief and sat down again.
"Were those people your friends?" Zhu Yu had been watching the situation closely since those people approached.
However, it seemed that those people knew Shi Ru, so she didn't come over to bother them.
Now that everyone had left, she couldn't contain her curiosity and dismounted to gossip.
If I'm not mistaken, Zhou Ye, the guy everyone said we should never mess with, is also in the crowd.
Shi Ru clearly had such a bad opinion of this person, so why would he still talk to such a person?
Zhu Yu is a person who hates evil as if it were her enemy. When she likes someone, she can't wait to stick to that person every day. When she hates someone, she can feel nauseous just by hearing their name.
"They're not really friends. Those families are all in business, so it's just some business dealings between them."
Shi Ru shook his head and waved to the waiter waiting nearby to pour water for Zhu Yu.
"Sit down and rest for a while." The sun wasn't very hot today, but Zhu Yugang had been exercising and was now covered in sweat.
"Yes, I feel like I can ride very steadily now."
The main reason is that the horses here are very docile, and she doesn't need to exert much effort to control them; they will follow her will.
"Okay, then after you rest for a bit, I'll take you for a couple of laps?" Shi Ru meant that the two of them would ride together on one horse, with him controlling the reins.
"Sure!" I thought I would be rejected, since two people on one horse would inevitably touch each other.
Girls would probably be more resistant to having this kind of physical contact with boys.
I didn't expect Zhu Yu to agree so readily. It seems that what he said before about treating him as a friend was not a lie.
“I saw Zhou Ye among the people just now. Didn’t you dislike him? Last time you even told me to stay away from him.”
Zhu Yu pretended to be gossipy, not forgetting that Shi Ru was still on her list of suspects.
"On the surface, things still have to be on good terms, since you never know when the two families might need to cooperate."
"Cooperation? I don't know that. What does your family do?"
That's a rather idiotic question. After all, Shi Ru already has his own entry. Just enter his name into the search engine, and his background and identity will all come up.
"My family has a wide range of businesses, but our main business is still in the construction industry." Shi Ru didn't mind Zhu Yu's question; in his opinion, it was normal for Zhu Yu not to know these things.
Otherwise, my reaction when I first met him wouldn't have been so normal.
"For example, the weather tower in the suburbs was built by my family."
"Wow~" Zhu Yu seemed to understand but not quite. She couldn't quite imagine what kind of company could be capable of undertaking this kind of business.
However, this did not prevent her from realizing the power of Shi Ru's family background.
"So, what does Zhou Ye's family do? I feel like you're all afraid of him?"
Fear? Shi Ru chuckled at Zhu Yu's choice of words. Perhaps to those unaware of the inside story, it did indeed seem like fear.
After all, a normal person walking on the street would be afraid of drunkards and would also avoid rabid dogs.
"The Zhou family's main business is luxury goods. The well-known luxury women's clothing brand Arcana is one of their brands."
Shi Ru remained calm. It was good for Zhu Yu to know more. The Zhou family was practically half of the entertainment industry, so she would essentially be working under their noses from now on.
It's always better to be cautious than to be caught off guard and get scammed.
"The popular Cassa Ketchum dinner in the entertainment industry was also organized by them."
As Zhu Yu listened to Shi Ru's words, something flashed through her mind, but it disappeared before she could think about it carefully.
“We generally don’t want to provoke the Zhou family, mainly because their family involves a lot of people.”
At this point, Shi Ru couldn't help but reveal a hint of disdain in his tone: "The Zhou family has always liked to send their daughters to other families for marriage alliances. With this relationship, most families in the circle have to give them some face."
"Arranged marriage? You wealthy families really know how to arrange marriages! I thought that only happened in novels!"
Realizing he had said too much, Shi Ru stopped talking and stood up to put on his helmet: "Let's go, I'll take you for a couple of laps."
"Okay, okay."
Shi Ru strode ahead, and Zhu Yu hurriedly followed while putting on her helmet.
When Zhu Yu agreed to let Shi Ru take her riding, she didn't expect that the two of them would be in such close contact while riding together.
When the strong masculine scent enveloped her from behind, the intense heat emanating from her body forced Zhu Yu to sit up straight.
Because he had to hold the reins, Shi Ru's posture at this moment was almost like holding Zhu Yu in his arms.
The girl's soft scent lingered in his nostrils, and Shi Ru, who was only wearing a thin shirt in the summer, could clearly feel the slight coolness emanating from her body.
Restraining himself from the urge to move forward and commit such an offensive act, Shi Ru tightened the reins.
"Hold on tight, don't be afraid, I won't let you fall."
With that, he gently pushed off with his feet, and the horse followed the path and went out.
Considering that Zhu Yu was a novice, Shi Ru did not ride too fast, but only made the horse trot.
"If you feel uncomfortable, you can call to stop at any time," Shi Ru thoughtfully said before accelerating.
As the horse swayed, Zhu Yu could feel his back occasionally bumping against Shi Ru's chest.
The wind blowing in my face brings a thrilling, adrenaline-pumping sensation.
After running two laps with Zhu Yu, he asked, "Do you want to try controlling it yourself?"
Shi Ru handed the reins to Zhu Yu.
"I...I can do it myself," Zhu Yu hesitated, but her hands moved quickly as she took the reins.
With Shi Ru protecting her, what did she have to be afraid of?
She had actually been trying to get Shi Ruqi to go faster.
"drive!"
Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, Zhu Yu was much more ruthless than Shi Ru. With a catapulting start, she almost strained Shi Ru's back.
"Hiss... You can go a little slower at the beginning, it's easy to lose your balance if you go too fast."
Shi Ru silently gripped the handrail.
"The farmhouse you visited a few days ago has had its business license revoked for infringing on consumer rights."
Shi Ru wrapped his arm around Zhu Yu and gripped the armrest. His head was directly above Zhu Yu's, and with just a slight tilt of his head, Zhu Yu could feel his breath as he spoke.
However, to avoid the discomfort caused by such intimate physical contact, Shi Ru kept her head slightly turned to the side.
Because of the fact that she couldn't get any substantial evidence of the molestation and harassment, even if she reported it to the police, the person wouldn't receive any real punishment.
However, compared to this kind of covert crime, the carrots that cost 20 yuan each in the park and the substandard protective gear that costs several thousand yuan are obviously easier to catch.
"That's wonderful! This is absolutely gratifying!"
As he spoke, Zhu Yu excitedly raised the reins, and the horses beneath them immediately accelerated once more.
"ah"
"hiss……"
The recoil caused Zhu Yu to lose her balance for a moment, and she fell backward hard, her hard back of the head striking Shi Ru's "knife-cut" chin.
"I think you've practiced enough. It's getting late, let me take you home!"
Shi Ru felt as if he had been slapped on the head, and quickly took control of the horse.
"Thank you for teaching me how to ride a horse today. Let me treat you to dinner!"
Not knowing Shi Ru's taste, Zhu Yu chose a hot pot restaurant that was sure to be a safe bet for her to treat him.
As the two finished their meal and left the hot pot restaurant, the streetlights along the roadside were turning on one by one. As someone who owned a car, it was only natural for Shi Ru to take Zhu Yu back to school.
After parking the car at a temporary parking spot on the side of the road, Shi Ru got out of the car and walked to the other side in a very gentlemanly manner to open the car door for Zhu Yu.
"Hey, aren't you going back?" Zhu Yu had already gotten off the car on her own and looked at Shi Ru, who had come around in circles, with great confusion.
Shi Ru paused awkwardly for a second, but it was alright; such a small setback couldn't stop him.
"It's too late, it's not safe for you to be alone. Let me walk you downstairs."
Shi Ru turned around and gestured for Zhu Yu to go with him to the school gate.
Zhu Yu was quite flattered to receive such a pick-up and drop-off service for the first time, especially since the person providing the service was someone she had secretly resolved to please (crossed out) in her strategy (√).
"That's so kind of you! But that's too much trouble for you!" Although she said it was too much trouble, she didn't stop moving her feet for a moment to catch up with Shi Ru and walk alongside him.
The tone of her voice was teasing, and Shi Ru tilted his head to look at her, amused: "I've already spoken to the horse farm. If you go there again, they'll find you a female coach to teach you."
"Oh..." That's true. Shi Ru is still a student just like me. I can't ask him to accompany me every time I go back.
But this person is really thoughtful; he even went so far as to find a female coach!
"Thanks……"
"Don't rush to thank me. I did all this for a reason." The tone was somewhat serious, but there was also a hint of liveliness in it.
Zhu Yu was startled. If she hadn't looked up and caught Shi Ru's lingering smile, she would have thought she had just escaped one danger only to fall into another.
"What's your purpose?" Zhu Yu feigned fear, hugged herself, and rushed in front of Shi Ru, walking backwards to face him. "I sell my art, not my body!"
"Don't worry, I won't make you sell yourself!" Shi Ru was amused by Zhu Yu's appearance.
"But I haven't decided yet. Consider it a favor you owe me. When I need your help, you can't refuse!"
As Shi Ru spoke, he swiftly rescued the person who almost tripped while walking backwards.
"Walk properly." He gently patted the hand he had grabbed in his haste, and after briefly pulling her into his arms, Shi Ru tactfully let go as soon as she regained her balance.
"Oh my god... I almost broke my tailbone, boss, you saved my life again!"
Zhu Yu wasn't startled by her sudden loss of balance; on the contrary, Shi Ru's force caused her to crash directly into his chest.
At such close range, she couldn't even tell whether the pounding heartbeat was her own or his.
Most likely, she had a bit of an allergy to ambiguity. After her face started burning, Zhu Yu desperately needed something to break the current atmosphere.
"Haha, okay, then you owe me two favors now."
Taking advantage of his height, Shi Ru bent his finger and gently tapped the girl's head.
As they spoke, they arrived at the dormitory building. Zhu Yu waved casually, then ran away without looking back. "I'm here! Thank you for seeing me off. You should go back now!"
Shi Ru stood downstairs for a while, until the lights in the dormitory stairwell turned on and off one floor at a time, before he turned and left.
As expected, when Zhu Yu returned to her dorm and turned on the lights, none of her roommates had returned.
Although it was reasonable for a junior not to be in the dorm often, Zhu Yu always felt strange, as if her other two roommates were deliberately avoiding her.
I don't understand... but she'll just mind her own business and not worry about what's going on in other people's lives.
Zhu Yu sat down at her desk, opened her laptop, randomly selected a movie to play, and actually began a brainstorming session, emptying her mind.
Zhu Yu recognized Shi Ru the moment he saw him, not only because he would later become a business tycoon spanning multiple industries.
Most importantly, outside the mental hospital where Zhu Yu was detained and tortured, Zhu Yu had seen him by chance during his first escape attempt.
Although he appeared to be just passing by, among the group of people accompanying him was a face that Zhu Yu would never forget in his lifetime!
As Zhu Yu pondered this carefully, her memories of the previous timeline gradually became blurred as she spent more and more time in the current timeline.
She can no longer remember who she met in that specific mental hospital, nor can she recall what kind of torture she suffered.
Even the initial wariness they felt upon first seeing Shi Ru was gradually fading away.
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