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You Jiale shrugged easily: "Why don't you go and ask him yourself sometime?"
He Mingzhou chuckled softly upon hearing this, "Let's continue watching the show." After saying that, the slight probing look in He Mingzhou's eyes disappeared, and he looked back at the stage.
The drumbeats inside the theater grew increasingly intense, and the opera had reached its most exciting point, but He Mingzhou's gaze kept drifting back to the people around him.
"I've really had my eyes opened today. Who would have thought I'd be sitting in the front row listening to a famous actor perform live..."
He Mingzhou poured a cup of warm tea and pushed it in front of him, smiling gently: "If you want to hear it in the future, just tell Brother He, and I'll bring you here."
"Oh dear," You Jiale said with a smile, "then don't find me annoying later."
“How could that be?” He Mingzhou said softly, but his eyes were meaningful. “If someone like you were born in the past, you might have been invited by some prince to be his advisor, listening to operas, drinking tea, and giving advice every day—you would be very favored.”
"Oh, stop, stop! Don't flatter me to death, Brother He." You Jiale's eyes crinkled with laughter.
The lights in the hall gradually came on, and the hall was filled with the noise of people. Audience members moved around in twos and threes, stretching their bodies and waiting for the next performance to begin.
After watching it, You Jiale sighed to herself, saying that it was much more shocking than watching a movie in modern times, and the emotions it evoked made her want to cry.
Before the person could recover from their emotions, their expression changed from sunny to cloudy.
He Mingzhou was smiling as he touched his teacup when he suddenly noticed You Jiale's gaze, which seemed to be looking behind him.
He turned his head and saw a familiar figure walking against the light in the crowd.
Why is it you again? He finally managed to sneak away and watch a show.
Zhang Xiande walked straight up to the two men without looking to either side and stopped.
"You Jiale," he called softly, his eyes steady but his tone leaving no room for doubt, "Are you done with your work? I'll come pick you up."
"Why are you here?" Since there were other people around, You Jiale had no choice but to keep quiet.
He Mingzhou was quite adept at handling people; he immediately stood up, still wearing that polite smile on his face: "Mr. Zhang, are you here to watch the show too?"
"Just passing by," Zhang Xiande replied briefly. "I happened to hear he was here, and I need to see him."
He Mingzhou's lips barely moved, but his smile subtly faded slightly. "Really? Jiale and I came here to appreciate traditional Chinese culture, and we found that we have a lot in common."
Zhang Xiande smiled faintly, looking at You Jiale with a deep gaze, "I've never heard of him being so knowledgeable about opera." Then he turned his gaze to He Mingzhou and said in a light tone, "Commissioner He, you are very busy with official duties, and I'm really sorry to trouble you to take the time to entertain my assistant."
"Don't mention it." He Mingzhou maintained his smile, but a hint of coldness had appeared in his eyes at some point. "Jiale is very interesting, and it's fun to be with him."
“I know,” Zhang Xiande suddenly replied, turning to look at You Jiale.
The air seemed to freeze instantly. You Jiale felt as if she were being held captive by two invisible gazes, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I'm leaving." Zhang Xiande said decisively, turning and walking towards the door.
You Jiale quickly stood up and waved to He Mingzhou in a flustered manner: "Thank you so much for today, Brother He. Let's talk again when we have the chance!"
“Okay.” He Mingzhou looked at him and smiled meaningfully. “I’ll invite you for tea another day.”
You Jiale nodded repeatedly and quickly followed Zhang Xiande.
"Why did you suddenly come here?" You Jiale asked unhappily as soon as she stepped out of the theater.
"Didn't I say there were things to do at the company?" Zhang Xiande said calmly, but his steps were quick.
"What could be wrong that's causing such a rush?" You Jiale asked, raising her voice slightly.
Zhang Xiande turned his head and glanced at him. "I've been running around for you, and you've come here to listen to the opera."
You Jiale suddenly felt a little guilty and touched her nose.
On the way back, Zhang Xiande drove.
You Jiale sat in the passenger seat like a lord, glancing sideways every now and then to secretly observe Zhang Xiande's expression.
Zhang Xiande didn't say a word, sitting upright like a statue, one hand resting steadily on the steering wheel, the other hand gently tapping his thigh.
The air pressure... is so low.
He couldn't help but reach out his little hand and gently tug at Zhang Xiande's sleeve. "Alright, we can't be too disrespectful to the people sent down from above, can we?"
“You don’t need to explain to me,” Zhang Xiande replied calmly.
Seeing that his tone had softened a little, like he was coaxing a child, You Jiale said, "Actually, I didn't understand much either, but just consider it an eye-opening experience."
Zhang Xiande ignored him, only letting out a soft "tsk," a sound that seemed like he was laughing, yet also seemed like he wasn't.
The street scene outside the window slowly receded as the car turned into the familiar Yunyintang alley.
As soon as the car came to a stop, Zhang Xiande suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Stay away from He Mingzhou from now on."
You Jiale didn't hear clearly and turned her head: "Huh? What did you say?"
"It's nothing." He opened the car door, got out without looking back, leaving only the lingering echo of his voice carried away by the night wind.
As night deepened, Zhang Xiande and You Jiale got out of the car one after the other and walked into the courtyard of Yunyin Hall.
A few dim lanterns lit up the courtyard, making it even more tranquil.
Just as they reached the entrance of the main house, they bumped into Pei Zhiyuan, who seemed to have been waiting for them for a long time.
"Xiande, you're back." Pei Zhiyuan's voice was still gentle, but his gaze seemed to sweep over You Jiale, who was following behind Zhang Xiande. A faint shadow of gloom flashed across the depths of his eyes.
He originally thought that the obstacles he had secretly set for "Le Ji Delivery" would have affected Zhang Xiande's opinion of You Jiale, but he did not expect that the two seemed to have gotten closer, which made him extremely jealous.
"Hmm, still not resting so late?" Zhang Xiande's tone remained calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.
"I just finished reading a book and was thinking of coming over to chat with you and relieve some boredom," Pei Zhiyuan said, his gaze turning back to You Jiale with a polite smile. "Assistant You came back too?"
You Jiale sensed the unfriendly tone in Pei Zhiyuan's words and felt a little uncomfortable, so she gave a dry laugh and said, "Yeah, I went out with the boss to run some errands."
He didn't mention watching the play, subconsciously feeling it was best not to cause trouble for himself.
Pei Zhiyuan seemed oblivious to You Jiale's restraint. He turned to Zhang Xiande and said in a slightly intimate tone, "Xiande, I read a very interesting rare book today. It's about the customs and anecdotes of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. I think you might be interested. Would you like to come to my study and take a look together?"
As he spoke, he naturally reached out and gently took Zhang Xiande's arm.
His movements seemed casual, but his eyes held a subtle hint of provocation as he secretly observed You Jiale's reaction.
Seeing Pei Zhiyuan's affectionate behavior, You Jiale's heart skipped a beat. She quickly made an excuse to slip away: "Oh dear, I've been running around all day, and my little body is about to fall apart. Um, boss, I'll go back to my room first."
After he finished speaking, without waiting for Zhang Xiande's response, he walked towards his room in a slightly flustered manner.
Zhang Xiande frowned slightly as he watched You Jiale's somewhat hurried departure, but he didn't say anything to stop her. He simply nodded to Pei Zhiyuan beside him and said, "Perfect timing, I also have something to discuss with you."
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