54 Chapter 54
◎We have a good relationship◎
At Shi Yuesheng's level, wherever he goes, people who know him will inevitably try to curry favor with him. But this time, the person trying to curry favor with him is actually his son? He looked at Shi Ziqian without showing any emotion, observing his expression.
Zhan Xinyue was also puzzled. How could her father recognize Shi Ziqian?
Unexpectedly, upon hearing Zhan Wei's voice, Shi Ziqian quickly stepped forward and greeted him politely, "Uncle Zhan, hello."
"Hello, hello, what a coincidence." Zhan Wei seemed to have a good impression of Shi Ziqian and responded warmly. He then turned to Zhan Xinyue and gestured to him, "Yueyue is here too."
Zhan Xinyue had no choice but to stand up from the sofa, walk to Zhan Wei's side, and greet him: "What a coincidence, Shi Ziqian."
Only then did Shi Yuesheng speak up from behind Shi Ziqian: "And who is this?"
Zhan Wei chuckled and answered for him: "These two kids are classmates, and they even sit at the same desk."
"Really?" Shi Yuesheng looked surprised and stepped into the store.
"Yes, these two kids have a really good relationship. When the school organized outings, Xinyue would always bring snacks for Xiaoshi."
Zhan Xinyue felt a little embarrassed by what he said and glanced at Shi Ziqian. He didn't react in any particular way and listened quietly from the side.
"Heh, that's good." Shi Yuesheng stepped forward and extended his hand to Zhan Wei. "What's your surname?"
"My surname is Zhan, Mr. Shi. I have long admired your name." Zhan Wei grasped his hand. "You are truly a master educator, raising such a wonderful child. He was exceptionally polite and academically gifted when he was young. When I attended the parent-teacher conference, the homeroom teacher told me that he had always been the top student in the grade."
Zhan Xinyue suddenly realized that at school parent-teacher conferences, parents and students always sat side by side, which explained why her father recognized Shi Ziqian.
Upon hearing this, Shi Yuesheng smiled calmly and said, "I'm usually busy, but fortunately this child is indeed worry-free and performs admirably in every aspect."
The crowd behind him heard their conversation and erupted in flattery:
"This is what they mean by 'like begets like,' and 'like father, like son.'"
"Yes, if you always set a good example, the child will never be bad."
"Don't mention it, he earned it all himself, I haven't helped him at all." Shi Yuesheng waved his hand, his brow relaxing. "To my shame, I've never been to a single parent-teacher conference for this child. As a result, I don't even recognize any of his classmates."
"You're busy, aren't you? I've only been there once since the classes were divided. It was just me and Xinyue's mom. There weren't enough seats, but Xiaoshi offered to give us his seats since his parents weren't there," Zhan Wei said. "It's a real pity you didn't go, Mr. Shi. I saw their report cards, and Xiaoshi is at the top in every single one of their subjects."
Shi Yuesheng laughed heartily: "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Whether they are doing well or not is their own business, and I never interfere. Let's not talk about this anymore. Welcome to our home furnishing mall. Shall we come in and take a look?"
"Welcome, welcome, please come in."
Most adults, especially those in business, possess this ability: two people meeting for the first time can strike up a lively conversation. Zhan Xinyue found it truly amazing to see Zhan Wei chatting and laughing with his group.
Shi Ziqian didn't follow. The two stood there for a while, and Zhan Xinyue coughed and asked him, "You came to work with your dad?"
Shi Ziqian's voice was a little hoarse: "I was just following along to take a look."
Zhan Xinyue nodded: "That's great, I'm here to help out too."
At their age, they hadn't yet mastered the art of saying one thing to one person and another to someone else, so unsurprisingly, an awkward silence ensued. Because of the little incident last night, Zhan Xinyue felt a bit reserved when facing Shi Ziqian again.
After a moment of silence, Shi Ziqian spoke up, but his first words were an apology: "I'm sorry I left early last night."
Zhan Xinyue didn't expect him to care about this: "It's okay, it's just for fun. People who have things to do leave a little earlier, and people who don't have things to do play a little longer. It's normal."
"Well, you invited me, and I didn't tell you beforehand," Shi Ziqian said.
"It's really okay, you don't need to worry about it at all."
A brief silence fell between them. Zhan Xinyue thought for a moment and decided that she should extend her hospitality, so she took the initiative to invite, "Let's not stand here anymore. How about I show you around the store?"
Shi Ziqian: "Okay."
The two avoided Shi Yuesheng and his group, heading in the other direction. Zhan Xinyue led him around the store aimlessly. At this moment, she felt she should fully embody the spirit of a hostess and properly introduce the store to Shi Ziqian. However, she herself rarely visited the store, so she could only vaguely recall and say, "This store is a brand that my father recently joined. In addition to selling finished furniture, we also have our own designers who can provide complete interior design services."
After walking around for a while, she suddenly saw the walnut dining table she had heard about before, and her eyes lit up immediately. "This walnut dining table is quite interesting, let me tell you about it."
Shi Ziqian nodded.
"This dining table was carved from a single piece of black walnut tree, preserving its natural feel. The design is in a floating style, so from a distance it looks like it's floating in the air. But it definitely doesn't actually float; it's just an optical illusion." Zhan Xinyue recalled the shop assistant's description, repeating it while her husband expressed some doubts.
She tapped on the tabletop and heard a dull thud. She muttered to herself, "This is solid wood. It's so heavy. I can't believe this kind of board can float."
She bent down to look under the table and saw a thin, crooked piece of wood supporting it. She was even more puzzled: "It's amazing that such a thin piece of wood can support such a heavy table without collapsing. How is that possible...?"
She half-squatted, leaning on the table and thinking for a while, then guessed, "I think there should be a steel frame inside this piece of wood. What do you think?"
"Hmm." Shi Ziqian also lowered his head. "There should also be a high-density counterweight material added to the base, which is used to pry up the tabletop with levers."
"That should be it, it's quite ingenious." Zhan Xinyue understood, nodded with satisfaction, and concluded, "In short, it's clear that this is a dining table with a great design, right?"
Seeing Shi Ziqian nod along with her, she felt something was off and asked uncertainly, "Was my introduction strange?"
“No,” Shi Ziqian said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t it very detailed?”
She remained in a half-squatting position, and when she looked up, she met Shi Ziqian's lowered face.
The overhead light above the dining table shone down on his head, casting a small shadow on his face from his bangs. His nose appeared high and straight in the shadow, but upon closer inspection, his skin looked pale and bloodless. She instinctively sensed he wasn't feeling well, so she subtly took a step back and gestured to the side, "That sofa over there is quite comfortable, would you like to sit for a while?"
The two sat down on the sofa, facing a wall-to-wall tea-colored liquor cabinet, their shadows clearly reflected in the clear glass. Zhan Xinyue thought for a moment, then asked him, "Have you had breakfast?"
"No."
Just as I expected.
Her gaze swept around the shop and landed on the tea break table she had personally arranged: "That's perfect, I'll treat you to cake. This is for the guests, so you can be considered our first guests."
She brought over a piece of cake. When Shi Ziqian took the cake, his gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he said, "You didn't sleep well again." He wasn't using a question; he was stating a fact.
Zhan Xinyue immediately realized that her dark circles must have become extremely noticeable. She smiled nonchalantly and said, "I guess I had too much fun last night and was quite excited, so I went to bed a little late."
Shi Ziqian didn't reply and lowered his head to eat his cake.
He usually eats very well, but today he ate exceptionally fast, swallowing the cake in just a few bites.
She was about to ask him if he wanted some water when he stood up and said, "Thank you for the cake, I should go now."
He walked over to Shi Yuesheng, who had finished his conversation and thus ended the tour.
After watching the group leave, Zhan Xinyue stood for a while and heard the shop assistant behind her practicing her sales pitch in a low voice, going over everything from the origin of the materials to the design concept, product style, and user experience in detail. Only then did she realize what she had felt was wrong.
Who would discuss the physical principles of a furniture product's construction while selling it?
She paused for a moment, then said to the shop assistant, "Sister, could you please introduce the products in the store to me again? I'd like to learn more."
Outside the shop, Shi Yuesheng led everyone to the next shop to check on the preparations for the opening of the other stores. Shi Ziqian walked beside him, one hand in his pocket, seemingly lost in thought.
Shi Yuesheng observed his expression, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Was that girl your deskmate just now?"
Shi Ziqian hummed in agreement.
He then asked, "Are you particularly close?"
Shi Ziqian finally turned around. He was already half a head taller than Shi Yuesheng. When he looked over, his eyes were wary, as if he was pondering the meaning behind his question.
Shi Yuesheng chuckled: "Why are you so nervous? I didn't mean anything by it. Isn't this what her dad just said?"
Shi Ziqian withdrew his gaze and did not reply.
Shi Yuesheng pondered, "It seems the relationship isn't that great. I was thinking it was rare to hear that you had any close friends. It just so happens that the development in the western suburbs is about to open, and they need to decorate a batch of high-end model rooms. I just saw that their brand's design and quality are quite good, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to let them do it." He glanced at Shi Ziqian's face and waved his hand, "Since we don't have much of a relationship, there's no need for it."
"No." Shi Ziqian hesitated for a moment, "We have a very good relationship."
The opening day went much more smoothly than expected, perhaps because the home furnishing mall had done a lot of publicity and promotion beforehand. Since the official opening, the mall has been packed with people, and as a result, there has been a constant stream of visitors to the store.
Zhan Xinyue stayed in the store the whole time, occasionally pouring water for customers, and the rest of the time she followed the staff and listened to them introduce the products. By the end of the day, she had almost memorized the brand's introduction.
Although it was a busy day, Zhan Wei signed several large orders for complete custom-made clothing. His previously tense state finally relaxed visibly. Seeing him happy, Zhan Xinyue's mood also improved a lot.
A celebratory banquet was arranged for the group that evening. Zhan Xinyue had accompanied Xu Shen to such events in her previous life and knew that it was an occasion for everyone to expand their network, so she obediently sat next to Zhan Wei.
The event opened with a speech by Shi Yuesheng. Zhan Xinyue was quite surprised by the image of this business tycoon; in her mind, such a person should be portly, but Shi Yuesheng was nothing like that. His speech was also quite impressive; he spoke entirely off-the-cuff and quoted extensively from classical texts, calmly discussing the group's business philosophy and looking to the future to boost everyone's confidence, easily creating a lively atmosphere.
After Shi Yuesheng finished his speech and announced the start of the banquet, the hall immediately filled with the sounds of clinking glasses. Amidst the polite greetings of the adults around her, Zhan Xinyue ate her food; after a busy day, she was quite hungry. Zhan Wei was in a good mood today and also drank some wine. However, the purpose of this occasion wasn't to get drunk; everyone was busy expanding their social circles, so she didn't need to worry about her father.
She quietly ate something to tide her over, then stopped to sip her juice. Looking up, she saw Shi Ziqian again through the crowd.
Shi Ziqian sat far away from her, looking at his phone with his eyes half-closed, the crystal chandelier on the ceiling casting a dazzling light around him.
The area around him was quite lively, but Shi Ziqian sat quietly alone, wearing a simple white shirt, his hair jet black, his expression indifferent. Several people approached with wine glasses; despite being much older than him, they still cautiously smiled and offered him a toast. Shi Ziqian stood up, politely but distantly gesturing that he didn't drink, and the people immediately replaced it with tea. Shi Ziqian raised his glass, took a sip, said something to them, and then lowered his head again.
Even in this setting, he remained as aloof as ever, yet his demeanor surprisingly blended in perfectly with the atmosphere, as if he were born to be at the center of this world of fame and fortune.
Before long, Shi Yuesheng stood up, gestured for Shi Ziqian to come over, and then led a group of people to toast each table as if they were the hosts.
Zhan Xinyue didn't know what they were talking about, but she could tell that Shi Yuesheng intended to introduce Shi Ziqian to everyone. After saying a few words, he would gesture for Shi Ziqian to step forward, and everyone's eyes would turn to him, politely clinking glasses with him. Shi Ziqian maintained his polite but not overly humble demeanor, giving a slight nod as a greeting.
Shi Ziqian's attitude when talking about his family before made her think that his family relationships were not very harmonious. Although she did not know the specific situation, at least at this moment, it seemed that Shi Yuesheng valued this son very much.
Zhan Xinyue gazed at the other side from afar. Xie Wanzhi was right about some things. When everyone sat in the same classroom and wore the same school uniform at school, many differences in social class would be blurred. But as soon as you leave the campus, these things will suddenly become clear.
Zhan Xinyue lowered her head and continued drinking her juice. Zhan Wei, while chatting and laughing with the people at the table, turned his head and poured her some more peach juice; it tasted quite good.
Shi Ziqian didn't stay for the entire event and disappeared shortly after. Shi Yuesheng, on the other hand, finished toasting at each table before leaving early, exchanging a few pleasantries with Zhan Wei at this table.
Zhan Xinyue and her father stayed until the party ended. Zhan Wei had drunk a little too much. When Pang Yun drove to pick them up, he kept complaining that he had been busy chatting all night and hadn't eaten much food. So the family of three went to a barbecue restaurant and had a second round of drinks before happily going home.
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