Chapter 38 Risk Hedging
Zong Chi is a frequent fly-in hotel employee. Now that he has his own team, he's developed a relatively user-friendly work model with his secretary. Secretary Huang can use a secondary card to freely access the living area of his suite during designated hours.
As a male superior, Zong Chi also has to maintain decent clothing and appearance in the office during office hours.
Today is Friday, and the situation is special. He came back from a business trip and was catching up on sleep and adjusting to the time difference, which took up relevant work time. Secretary Huang had important documents on her hands for a week and had to wait for the boss to sign them. She said she would come up after dinner.
As she entered, she heard unusual noises. At first, she thought Zong Chi had gotten up, talking on the phone or something. There was a screen running from the entrance to the living room, and a faint shadow loomed on the landscape. Then, the shadow moved, and she bent down, as if to pick something up. Zong Chi's voice reached the room, and he leaned down too. Secretary Huang crossed the entrance hallway, around the screen, and finally saw a pair of people in the living room.
Zong Chi was sitting, and the girl next to him was wearing a blue shirt, and her hair, which was tied up with a shark clip, was a little messy. She was picking up the body lotion on the ground. Secretary Huang realized something, but did not say anything, and Miss He in the blue shirt never looked up at her.
Zong Chi helped Miss He pick up the items and put them back into the bag. Then he turned to Secretary Huang and said, "That's all for today. We'll talk tomorrow morning."
Even though Secretary Huang had to fly to Shenzhen the next morning for personal matters, he didn't dare to argue. Just as he was about to nod, Miss He spoke first, "You guys go ahead and do your work. I'm going back first."
Zong Chi was still sitting there, looking up at her and said, "My secretary, surnamed Huang, I told you..."
He Dongli stopped him suddenly and said, "I know." She didn't want him to say it anymore, fearing that it would be unpleasant to hear in front of other girls.
Secretary Huang listened to Miss He's soft voice, but immediately understood why she could get rid of Zong Chi... Her voice was soft, but it carried a strong sense of command. When she said no, it meant no, like a stone thrown into a lake under the moonlight—you can't see it, but you know what it is; it goes in with a thud.
Zong Chi sat down and pulled He Dongli's hand, dragging her to put down the bag in her hand. "I'll call a car to take you back later. Don't you have something to give to Secretary Huang? Take her to sit for a while while you wait for the car, and by the way, give her the gift you want to give her."
He Dongli was momentarily stunned, but Zong Chi remained seated, his eyes flickering at her. She subconsciously understood something, thinking, "You deserve to die!" However, she remained composed as she approached his secretary. She carried the chocolate and body lotion to the side of the restaurant and introduced herself to Secretary Huang, who had come with her. "My last name is He, as in congratulations."
"I know." Secretary Huang said with a smile.
Then, He Dongli took the initiative to talk to her, "What should I call you?"
"Mr. Zong should have mentioned me to you."
"He only mentioned his secretary, but I think we should know each other by our first names. My name is Dongli, which means Dong as in East and West, and Li as in fence."
Secretary Huang nodded. "Oh, that poem by Tao Yuanming."
He Dongli smiled gently and asked her name again. Secretary Huang said, "Huang Qianqiao."
Secretary Huang explained her name. The year she was born, her family's relocation was completed, and she was born on the day of the housewarming. Her grandfather gave her this name. "Actually, it was selfishly chosen for the grandson, but there was nothing I could do because my parents didn't give him a grandson."
He Dongli smiled to comfort Secretary Huang and also helped her to explain her name, "It sounds very nice. Qian Yu Qiao Mu has a deep meaning. It originally means promotion."
Secretary Huang was stunned for a moment. She suddenly remembered what Yu Weishi had said when he'd introduced her to Mrs. Zong: "You have an ambition that many men don't have. Work hard, and I'll definitely not treat you unfairly." I mean, the reward for your work. Secretary Huang had a strong intuition that this would be another Mrs. Zong, so she couldn't help but flatter him. "Since you put it that way, I have to borrow your golden tongue."
He Dongli had good intentions, but she didn't expect to be humiliated by the bureaucracy. Unsure how to respond, she quickly pretended to give her a gift. She cleared out the chocolate box and poured the overflowing contents into the Chanel paper bag beside her, leaving about twenty chocolates in the box. "Zong Chi bought too many, so I took them to the hospital to share. This is his gift for you. There's also body lotion. If you like this brand, you can pick out two bottles."
"Are you a doctor?"
He Dongli nodded and added her occupation.
Secretary Huang was about to speak when He Dongli took out a bottle and whispered, "This bottle is for my personal use."
Secretary Huang laughed out loud and said she could have the chocolate but not the body lotion.
He Dongli thought she didn't like this brand and didn't force her.
Secretary Huang waved her hand. "No, I like it very much. But it's obvious that Mr. Zong bought chocolates for you to share, and the body lotion is reserved for you alone."
He Dongli lowered his voice and complained to her, "I actually only like this one. He used the dumbest method to win it."
Secretary Huang spoke up for the boss, "How can all-in not be considered a preference that doesn't require any skill?"
He Dongli's eyes lit up, and he wondered if his secretary's ability to speak was the most important factor in an interview. However, he remained calm, asking her to choose two bottles. He glanced at Zong Chi to see if he was approaching, and after confirming that he wasn't, he told Secretary Huang, "If you don't choose, I'll let my best friend choose it first. I really only like the Paris one."
Secretary Huang looked at Miss He, so radiant, gentle, and affectionate, and sighed inwardly. Bai Yueguang is still Bai Yueguang after all. Not the kind of breathtaking beauty, but rather neat and clean, slender and well-proportioned, with a certain deceptive recognizability. Perhaps it was a kind of identification, knowing she was a surgeon. But apart from the demands of her profession, she was also endearingly carefree, a bit too much. Secretary Huang couldn't help but recall the words her girlfriend often whispered to her in a coquettish way: "I can't live without you."
Some people are just naturally gifted at giving others this feeling.
She had no choice but to obey Miss He and choose two bottles.
When Zong Chi came over after showering, he saw the two of them chatting happily. He Dongli was slightly shorter than Secretary Huang, and his secretary had already advanced to the point of adding her on WeChat. He Dongli told her truthfully that she actually had her contact information on WeChat, which Zong Chi had given her, and that she hadn't had time to add him yet.
When she turned around to get her phone, she found someone standing there with wet hair. He Dongli asked him, "Has the car arrived?"
Zong Chi recalled Feng Qianxu's words at the dinner party that had captivated Ji. He didn't answer her, but instead asked his secretary, "Where are the documents you signed for me?"
Secretary Huang then remembered the important matter and was about to take it, but Zong Chi told her coldly, "Wait for me in the study."
Secretary Huang immediately put down the gift in his hand, took the documents and went to the study.
He Dongli didn't notice that when Zong Chi walked over, she was still carefully entering Secretary Huang's name.
Zong Chi was unhappy and glanced at the name above, "Why do you remember people's names so clearly?"
"A name is given so that others can remember it."
"Her name plays no role in your life."
"How do you know? You're a fortune teller."
"All you have to remember is her last name, Huang."
He Dongli looked up at him and asked him, "I only remember your last name is Zong, is that okay?"
"no."
"..." He Dongli spread her hands. Coincidentally, her colleague on duty sent her a scab removal record from today's burn surgery on her phone. He Dongli clicked on it and read it. Zongchi, who was standing next to her, read it for two seconds and couldn't stand it anymore. He Dongli clicked on the exit button and when she switched to the WeChat homepage, Zongchi saw his own avatar floating at the top faster than the phone's owner. This WeChat account was for personal use. His original phone number had been cancelled when he returned to Singapore. After registering a new account, he still used the Kudo Shinichi avatar. The story was that year when the school was camping and they were drawing blind boxes together, He Dongli didn't draw Xiaolan, but Zongchi drew Sonoko. She exchanged her Shinichi with him. Zongchi blamed her, saying that girls all wanted to draw Shinichi. He Dongli was a die-hard fan of the official match. She didn't understand and asked him why he thought girls all wanted to draw Shinichi. Shinichi was Xiaolan's, okay? She didn't draw Ran, so asking for Shinichi was pointless. She decided to trade with Sonoko, who she had, because she wanted a friend like Sonoko. Sonoko agreed to trade, and she changed her profile picture to Shinichi's. After the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, Sonoko gave her a guaranteed Ran blind box and teased her, "Have a happy ending with your best friend." He Dongli asked him how he knew it was Ran. Sonoko replied, "I can tell fortunes."
In fact, Lin Jiaoyu’s girlfriend at that time was very good at these things. She had a lot of experience in spending money on blind boxes, and Zong Chi asked her to focus on it.
He Dongli had just added Secretary Huang, and his colleagues had just sent her a message, but Xinyi's column was still at the top.
The answer is self-evident.
He Dongli locked the screen in one second. She decided to buy a privacy screen when she got home tonight.
When Zong Chi was about to say something, He Dongli reminded him, "Your secretary is waiting for you."
Before leaving, he commented on the video her colleague sent her, "It made my scalp rip."
He Dongli was stunned for a moment when he heard his words.
*
Zong Chi spent about forty minutes negotiating with his secretary. Chen Xiangyang's driver had actually arrived fifteen minutes earlier. After he finished speaking with his secretary, he came out to call He Dongli. The person waiting had already draped her coat around her, leaned back on the sofa, and fallen asleep, gazing out the window at the night view. Next to her was her packed luggage.
He remembered that year she flew to Singapore to find him, and Zong Jingzhou happened to fall ill and went to the hospital.
When he found out and sent someone to pick her up, she was like this too, with only a simple luggage around her. Zong Chi asked her why she came.
She was not yet twenty years old at the time, and she told Zong Chi very honestly and frankly that while he was in Singapore and before her twentieth birthday, she wanted to buy her own plane ticket to visit him. She would not have time when he flew far away next time, for example, to Zurich, where air tickets were very expensive.
As it turned out, she seemed to have arrived at an inopportune moment, as his father was ill, causing him to be distracted.
Zong Chi blamed her for being stingy, saying that even after coming here, she was still fussing over money.
He Dongli said to him seriously, Xiaochi, this is my scholarship. I used the scholarship to fly here to see you.
He walked over, took the suitcase from her hand, and when he hugged her, He Dongli approached her, but the first thing he asked was not him, but, "How is your father?"
*
This spring, Zong Chi was invited by Lin Jiaoyu to attend his cousin's wedding in Hong Kong. By chance, he met the auction broker he is in contact with now.
He rarely competed for these artworks, but when he learned that the painting of the moon he had seen that year was now at an auction house, he asked the agent to raise the price all the way to the end on the phone that day.
During this on-site meeting, Zong Chi asked his agent to help him pack and clear customs for delivery to the mainland. The agent asked, "Mr. Zong, you said earlier that this painting was lost by your friend. Were you lying to me?"
Zong Chi remained noncommittal. That year, at a private exhibition, he'd asked the collector if he could sell it, but he'd flatly refused. He'd never imagined the whirlwinds of fate. He figured he'd find a winter date to meet her and hand it over to her as a gift, not a gift. If she refused, Zong Chi would jokingly convince his ex-girlfriend: "The Chen Xiangyang investment you made under my name has appreciated far more than just this painting over the years."
He would also blame her for being stupid. They had already divided the money, so why would she be so fussy about it? If you return the money to me, even if it's all used up as credit for the miles I flew back all those years, does that mean you no longer exist? No, even if you're not first in line, you'll always be on my will.
He Dongli, no matter what, I will accompany you to celebrate your 30th birthday.
As a result, they met earlier in the winter than they had imagined.
Zong Chi walked over, leaned next to the sleeping person, and called her, "Xixi."
Someone woke up out of habit, thinking she was in the duty room, and jumped up all of a sudden, her clothes falling on the carpet. Before she could say anything, Zong Chi pulled her to sit down and said, "It's me."
He Dongli was stunned for a moment. He looked at him, then at Secretary Huang who was not far away, and asked Zong Chi, "Can we go now?"
"Well, the driver is already downstairs."
"Oh, let's go then."
In front of his secretary, Zong Chi asked her, "Do you have to go back tonight?"
He Dongli pondered for a moment and said, "I want to go back."
Secretary Huang knew it was time to leave. Before leaving, she thanked Dr. He again for the gift. She had already reached the corridor entrance when she could still hear Zong Chi's voice, "It's the same thing tomorrow morning when we go to the hospital."
Miss He said, "It's different. During the morning rush hour, it takes more than an hour to get to the hospital from here, but it takes less than ten minutes to get to my place."
Zong Chi wanted to say something else, "You are on your period, are you afraid..."
"Shut up!"
Before leaving, Secretary Huang learned a big news: women during their menstrual period are not to be trifled with, and the man who waits for Bai Yueguang to return home is willing to forgive the whole world.
When the door mechanically closed, Zong Chi remembered something he had forgotten. "I should have asked her for the secondary card and given it to you. She has set entry and exit times on weekdays. I just set these entry and exit times because I was lazy and didn't want to open the door for her every time."
He Dongli felt that his explanation was redundant. Well, not really. At least she understood why his secretary could enter and leave his room freely... "What are you doing for me?"
"To avoid situations like tonight from happening again." Zong Chi pointed in the direction of the door.
"I don't want to. Instead of punishing others, it's better to control myself." As she said this, she picked up the coat and put it back on herself.
Zong Chi stood up and brushed the nonexistent dust off her clothes. He told her, "Secretary Huang just praised you in the study." He was flattering her without any airs, and Zong Chi accepted the compliment. Of course, she was polite even to the cleaning lady at home. If anyone made her cry, it was their fault, including his own.
He Dongli thought his tone was strange, like when Yu Xiaohan came back from a parent-teacher conference in school and told her that her teacher praised her. "Now, I don't buy into anything except the compliments from our director."
Zong Chi laughed at her, as if she had her moments of being a seasoned expert. Someone worried enough to call him the night before their first visit to the clinic to see their mentor—a rare display of weakness and squeamishness. He was accompanying Old Zong at a social gathering. After signing the bill, the waiter politely reminded him, "Mr. Zong, your signature might not be accepted when we check out." Zong Chi signed He Dongli's name, using the nickname he had given her, CICI.HE. "If your Zhao Zhenzhen could convince you to go on a blind date, what else could she possibly do that wouldn't work for you?"
Someone immediately became alert and asked, "You know our director's name?"
Zong Chi didn't show it on his face, and he didn't let her change the subject, "Let's talk about the blind date."
"Blind dates are force majeure, stop talking about it."
"Why is it force majeure?"
"Then why did you give Liang Jianxing business? Why were you concerned about his mother's position as a leader? Why did you say you were afraid to act rashly?"
Zong Chi felt the bitterness of being seen by others when she told him this little story. He wanted to get in her face and yell at her, "Oh, you know this too! You know everything! I thought you didn't know!"
"This is force majeure." He Dongli explained to him.
"I'm not going to fight you! I still need you to explain force majeure. He Dongli, you went on a blind date, and for your sake, I socialized with your blind date. Not only did I have to think of a way out for you, but I also had to think of a way out for you. That's why I asked Liang Jianxing to take me to meet his parents. Remember, for the humiliation I suffered that night, you owe me a lifetime!"
He Dongli would be lying if he wasn't moved by Zong Chi's words, especially since he said he went to the social gathering that night not out of courtesy, but solely for her. He had already figured out how to sever ties with the Liang family for her. If the Liang family gave up on wanting her, it would affect her work and even her promotion. After a moment's deliberation, He Dongli's way of returning the favor was to explain obediently, "When our director mentioned the Liang family to me, he hinted that the offer letter had just been issued. There's no need to offend the leader over a seemingly unreal blind date. And I'm confident the blind date won't work out."
"Where do you get the confidence from?" Zong Chi was even more angry. She had dressed herself up beautifully that night. Where did you get the confidence to blind a man?
He Dongli didn't dare mention the breakup. During her final year of doctoral studies, she was repeatedly harassed by her professor's wife about meeting her nephew, and even her professor, henpecked, joined in the discussion. He Dongli was desperate to graduate, and because the withdrawal symptoms from the breakup were severe, she didn't want to explain anything. She only wanted to prove that it was pointless to go. I wouldn't be attracted to any other man. Especially those self-righteous narcissists. "What good conditions do you think are worthless? I don't even want such good conditions, why would I want you guys who are so picky about women!"
Of course, if I told the person in front of me this, he'd be so angry he'd blow up the entire hotel. He Dongli could only selectively conceal his feelings. "As for the Liang family's supposedly impressive blind date qualifications, I've clearly seen his comparative and even superior qualities: height, looks, family, and character. Zou Yan said Liang Jianxing's scandals couldn't be contained on seven boats. So, subjectively, I don't like him. Objectively, Butterfly doesn't have the time to fight back at the hospital. If I perform a few more surgeries, he'll forget my last name."
Zong Chi listened with an unhappy expression, his eyes narrowed like a cunning fox. However, his competitive nature ultimately prevailed over his rationality. He prevailed by becoming the comparative superlative, appearing reluctantly convinced. And from this conflict between the enemy and us, he developed a new understanding of Zou Yan. "Well, this Zou Yan is still worth making friends with. A male colleague who is willing to accompany you on a blind date, how bad can he be?"
He Dongli was so angry that she laughed out loud. She realized that Zou Yan was right. It turned out that men also believed in flattery. They used to be unable to tolerate the names of the opposite sex. Zong Chi was too paranoid, but He Dongli hated him for this and didn't even bother to explain or decipher a single word with him.
Zong Chi watched her smile like this, as if everything was worth it. He suddenly remembered Tan Zhengjin's words: the love of a high-level civilization has no rivals. Almost subconsciously, Zong Chi reached out and held her chin with his palm. "The premise is that I know you will never like him."
He spoke with an exaggerated calmness, as if her "no" was very important to him. On a smaller scale, it was like eliminating incorrect options in a multiple-choice question; on a larger scale, it was a risk assessment for a project. He himself had explained why Professor Zhu had been so willing to accept them as transfer students. It was because He Dongli had offset the risk posed by Zong Chi.
He Dongli agreed with his words, moved his chin away, and was about to leave with a serious look.
Zong Chi thought that the driver would have to finish his get off work and go home, so he let her go. Before leaving, he teased her that she had not eaten the candied loquat yet.
He Dongli ignored him, and Zong Chi really went to bring the dessert and fried whitebait and dried beans, and he seemed to insist that she have a taste.
"Zongchi, I don't want to eat anymore. I want to go home."
The mischievous ghost smiled and pretended not to hear, "Why? It's not delicious, it's not quite up to par. I mean, the dried whitebait, it's not as delicious as your mother's."
"Can I still go back?" she asked the person who was standing in front of her and whose figure almost easily covered her.
Zong Chi casually put down the two plates of things in his hands, clapped his hands, and finally said solemnly: "Of course. I don't want to be imprisoned by Lao Zong again." His words proved that he had indeed suffered such a thing in the past. As he said, he came over to help her carry the things she brought back, put them into one hand, and took up He Dongli's right hand and put it against his face. Although they were standing in the warm air of the aromatherapy, his face was cold. He covered his face with her hand, "You and Lao Zong can be sworn brothers. One of you slapped me, one just left like that, and the other pinched my shorts every day to make me work for him."
He Dongli felt as if she had touched ice, and her palms were filled with mist. She wanted to pull her hand back, but Zong Chi refused. He continued, "He Dongli, you are the only woman in my life who can slap me in the face."
After that, she was about to send He Dongli downstairs. He Dongli watched him pick up a bag of Hermès bags with a particularly eye-catching logo. After all, she couldn't pretend to be confused. She hated his cunning and forcing the topic of dried silverfish before leaving, and finally taking out the bag of things. She wanted to scold him, "I wish you had put so much effort into the introduction, development, climax and conclusion of your essays when you were in school!"
"I don't want this." She had no choice but to refuse bluntly.
Zong Chi was more straightforward than her, "Well, this isn't for you, it's for Ms. Yu."
"She won't want it." He Dongli really wanted to say, don't go looking for scolding again, and get scolded along with me.
Zong Chi was not at all discouraged and continued steadily, "It's her choice whether to go or not. I'm back and on another business trip. If I don't bring her something, then that's a problem with my attitude. If you don't want me to see her first, then I'll leave it to you first. In short, it's enough for you to know why I came back."
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The author has something to say: I accidentally discovered that a reader had been following my series a few chapters ago. I saw her comment a few chapters ago because I remember her ID number very clearly.
I want to express my feelings to you from a distance, hoping that someone can understand my sense of security.
This chapter sends 100 red envelopes~
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