Peace of mind is home
When Li Fuqiang arrived, Zhiwei opened the door. She had just showered, and the slightly curled strands of hair at her temples were still damp, making her skin appear translucent under the light. Her pink lips reflected a natural luster.
A bathrobe was clearly provided in the room, but she only wore the long shirt as a nightgown, her smooth, slender legs barely concealed beneath. The May night was still cool, but Li Fuqiang felt restless and couldn't help but loosen his collar.
"Did Lao Wu bring you here? Is he waiting downstairs?"
"yes."
"Let him go back; we can't wait all night."
Li Fuqiang was startled by the deeper meaning in her words. Since the beauty had given the order, he naturally obeyed.
Zhiwei closed the door and led him to the studio. After he finished his call, she took his hand and helped him sit down in a chair. She then sat in front of the easel, her right elbow resting on her left hand, twirling her brush as she observed him, seemingly considering which angle to begin painting.
She had been sitting upright, but after watching for a while, she crossed her legs to find a more comfortable position. With that movement, a large expanse of glistening skin was revealed. Li Fuqiang smiled wryly, "Xiao Wei, if you keep this up, I won't be able to control myself."
She put down her pen, walked over to him, straddled his lap, and casually turned off the light switch on the wall. "Really? How about this?"
The room suddenly darkened, and the dazzling lights of New York City shone through the window, vaguely revealing the alluring scene before her. Only the bottom two buttons of her shirt were fastened, revealing the deep V-neckline.
Li Fuqiang placed his hands on her waist, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Weiwei, even I, a saint, would surrender to you looking like this. Besides, I've never been a gentleman."
His burning lips landed on the girl's deep valley, and Zhiwei's body trembled involuntarily. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Just as Li Fuqiang was about to take further action, Zhiwei slid down like a fish, hooking her arms around his collar and whispering, "Not here, it's too bright."
She retreated barefoot towards the bedroom, and Li Fuqiang, aroused by her, grabbed her hand and followed her.
Zhiwei woke up around 5 a.m. Li Fuqiang, being older, naturally woke up early, and seeing her awake, asked, "Why didn't you sleep a little longer?"
Zhiwei said shyly, "It's not comfortable with having another person around."
Li Fuqiang stroked her smooth arm, as delicate as the finest silk, making him reluctant to leave. "You've basically graduated here. I've been in New York for over half a year, and I've had enough of relaxing. In a few days, Dr. Li and the others will go back, and we'll go to Texas to discuss business for about a month. After that, we'll go back to Beijing, okay?"
Zhiwei replied lazily, "Anytime is fine. I've almost packed my things, any day is fine." She looked up at the bedroom, "It's just a pity that I can't stay in such a beautiful house for more than a few days."
"What's the big deal? We can come back to New York for a stay anytime we feel like it."
Taking advantage of the free time these past two days, Zhiwei accompanied her mother and Aunt Mei to sightsee in New York. Li Fuqiang had Youlin find an agent to transfer the ownership of the New York apartment to Zhiwei.
Youlin clicked her tongue in amazement—a graduation gift alone costing millions of US dollars, not even counting renovations and taxes, was truly extravagant. Those people before never received such treatment.
The day before Xu Anyi and the others went back, Zhiwei went to stay at a hotel with her mother.
The hotel bed was large, and Zhiwei hugged her mother like she did when she was a child. Xu Anyi stroked her hair: "Weiwei, tell Mom honestly, is it because Mom was sick this time that you—"
"Mom, you probably won't believe me if I say it's completely unrelated. But I won't sell my soul to the devil just for your medical treatment. After all, even without Mr. Li, we can afford regular medical care. Besides, if he really is the devil, what use is my soul to him?"
"It's just that at this particular moment, the choice presented to me seemed the best overall, so I chose it. I don't consider myself selfless enough to sacrifice myself for my mother."
"What about Mr. Li?"
"I told him I didn't want any of his property, but I needed a marriage contract. All related property transfers and benefits would be covered by a contract. For me, this is a long-term job—respectful, caring, and well-paid. All I need to do is be loyal and give my time, and I can terminate the contract at any time if I'm not satisfied. This is far more reliable than a typical marriage."
"Xiaowei, it's because Mom didn't show you a good marriage that made you disappointed in marriage. I'm sorry."
"No, Mom, you are my best role model. You showed me that women should love themselves in any situation and not depend on anyone. The person I love most is myself. Choosing to take care of you is also to put my mind at ease and leave no regrets."
Neither the mother nor the daughter discussed feelings or love. Did she and Li Fuqiang have feelings for each other? Certainly. But what kind of feelings, what kind of love? Does it matter? Even the most ardent and pure feelings and love can change and disappear over time; why bother discussing something so uncertain?
The person you should love most is yourself. Love yourself, give yourself what you need and want most, whatever it may be. Peace of mind is love. Peace of mind resides within yourself and has nothing to do with others.
After Xu Anyi returned, Zhiwei packed her things and moved to the house near Central Park. She and May had previously discussed that the house would only be rented until the end of May. May would then move in with Michael.
"Although the studio doesn't oppose office romances, it's risky for two people to work in the same company. Michael has been here for two or three years, and he'll look for opportunities to move to a bigger company later." Zhiwei was pleasantly surprised to hear this, happy for her friend, and congratulated her on achieving success in both love and career.
Zhiwei only stayed in the new house for two or three days before going to Florida with Li Fuqiang. She only took the things she needed for the trip, leaving everything else untouched. She would be leaving through New York before returning to China, and then she could move everything else.
In Florida, Li Fuqiang was attending meetings and socializing. Ever since Zhiwei played golf with him once, she spent all her free time on the course and even hired a coach.
Seeing her so enthusiastic, Li Fuqiang couldn't help but say, "I didn't realize Xiaowei liked golf so much."
Despite frequent sun exposure and diligent sun protection, her skin has darkened several shades, no longer the ivory-white milky complexion it once was, but rather a tan. Li Fuqiang lamented, "Such a beautiful girl, don't let her get sunburned."
Zhiwei knew his old-fashioned taste in fair-skinned girls, but she didn't care. She simply raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't all you bosses like golf? This place has great facilities and is cheap. If I don't take this opportunity to practice, how will I defeat your opponents in the future?"
Li Fuqiang then realized that she had studied so diligently for him, and felt comforted: "Okay, next time the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce has a golf competition, let's team up."
After having a good breakfast, Zhiwei went to play golf with her coach again. In just five or six days, she had made rapid progress. Li Fuqiang watched her swing at the golf course during a break from his meeting at noon.
She was tall and slender, dressed simply in a white polo shirt, navy blue trousers, and white sneakers, with her high ponytail peeking out from under a white wide-brimmed hat. With each swing, her ponytail swept gracefully through the air, her posture skillful and elegant, showing no signs that she had only been playing for a week.
She saw Li Fuqiang come over, swung his club twenty times, then picked up a towel to wipe his sweat, took a sip of water, and asked him, "How was it?"
Li Fuqiang repeatedly said, "You've indeed improved so quickly. I've been playing for five or six years and I can't even compare to you anymore."
Zhiwei laughed and said, "Big bosses like you can swing three times and then rest for half a day, playing for hours without breaking a sweat. You're not playing ball for fun, you're just showing off your status and style."
After arriving in Florida, she shared a suite with Li Fuqiang. Although they didn't share a room because they were afraid of noise, they still lived together. However, she would go to practice her basketball game when he was in meetings. As she came into more contact with members of Li Fuqiang's team, she was shocked to discover that the man who had warned her about the problem with her drink at the bar was also one of Li Fuqiang's assistants.
Li Fuqiang explained to her that he originally wanted to find her that day, but after seeing her and May shopping, he thought he would wait until she was free to find her. Later, when he saw them go to a bar, he was worried and asked his assistant to go with them, which led to the scene that happened.
Zhiwei was polite to everyone else, just as she was to Youlin, but she didn't try to get close to them or linger while they were working. She also avoided being overly affectionate with Li Fuqiang in public. However, these people were all shrewd; they noticed that Li Fuqiang's behavior towards her was different from how he treated others, and thus became more polite to her. Zhiwei knew in her heart that this politeness was seven parts for him and three parts for her.
Qian Dayou whispered to Youlin in private, "Is the boss tired of the 'meat bombs' and wants to try something different, like the refined ladies?"
Youlin rolled her eyes at him. "Aren't all men like this? They're all just playing around, always wanting to be as lewd as possible. But when it comes to marrying someone, they all hope she's pure, virtuous, and from a respectable family. Otherwise, they'd feel ashamed of themselves."
Qian Dayou chuckled twice and then fell silent.
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