Chapter 59
"Mr. Xu, you don't know Attorney Li, judging from her appearance, don't you think she's very good at taking care of girls if you have dinner with her?"
Xiao Chenyue looked at Li Ye, her hand lightly covering her mouth, and leaned her head towards Xu Wanyi, whispering something to her.
“Hmm, isn’t that right?” Xu Wanyi agreed.
Li Ye thought to himself, "Xiao Chenyue, why are you covering your lips? We're sitting so close, even if you speak softly, I can still hear what you're saying."
“Absolutely not.” Xiao Chenyue laughed.
"Attorney Li has a pretty face, but he never cares about being a girl or not when he eats."
"And let me tell you, she has a strange habit: if no one is peeling the shrimp, she won't even put her chopsticks towards the shrimp."
"Then how does she eat shrimp?" Xu Wanyi asked deliberately.
"I don't know how she eats shrimp at other times, but when we eat together, I always peel them for her."
Xu Wanyi suddenly looked up, her gaze sharp as she looked at Li Ye, then lowered her eyelids, concealing the light within.
Li Ye felt like dying; this was a situation he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
She desperately wanted to explain to Xu Wanyi right then and there, but apart from that glare, the young lady didn't even glance at her.
I'm on the verge of tears. Xiao Chenyue, can you shut up? I've only ever eaten a shrimp you peeled once. I just grabbed one casually.
Ugh, I was so blinded by money that I agreed to travel with you.
"No, Mr. Xiao, how could I dare trouble you to peel shrimp? I thought you were peeling them for Mr. Ma, so I just ate one... that's all."
“Not everyone has the chance to eat the shrimp that President Xiao peeled. Attorney Li, you should thank President Xiao properly,” Xu Wanyi said slowly.
As Li Ye listened, he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Just eat your cake and stop talking. You lawyers are all talkers."
Xiao Chenyue put the untouched cake from her plate into Li Ye's plate.
Li Ye's forehead was covered in sweat. "Xiao Chenyue, did you do this on purpose, or what?"
Xiao Chenyue really didn't mean it. She had no idea that the two people in front of her knew each other before, let alone that they had such a painful past.
She just felt that Li Ye's agreement to travel with her meant that he had at least accepted her to some extent, so she wanted to take advantage of this trip and make the most of it, even if she didn't reach the destination, she should at least make it two-thirds of the way.
So, she really was just flirting with Li Ye.
Can't Xu Wanyi see it? She's not stupid. Xiao Chenyue has gone to such lengths; if she still can't see it, she might as well jump into the sea.
Isn't she angry? Very angry.
And what's more infuriating is Li Ye. For the past few months, he's been constantly saying "I haven't forgotten you," yet he's also eating shrimp peeled by Xiao Chenyue and chatting and laughing with her. What does he take me for? A backup plan?
She was also unhappy about Xiao Chenyue. She was her... ex-girlfriend? Friend with benefits? No matter what, Xu Wanyi just didn't want Li Ye to belong to someone else. She didn't care before because she couldn't see or touch him. Now that he was by her side, Li Ye had nothing to do with her in principle, but she couldn't help thinking that way.
However, Xiao Chenyue is now a key figure in her struggle with Xu Xuanming. Even if she kissed Li Ye right in front of her, Xu Wanyi thought that she wouldn't really say or do anything, and wouldn't even stop her.
You have to pay for what you want; there's no such thing as a free lunch.
"Chairman, President Xiao, Lawyer Li, boarding has begun. Let's go." As soon as the boarding announcement came over the loudspeaker, Feng Jing and Xiao Jiang appeared silently and precisely next to their booth, like ninjas.
"Let's go, President Xiao." Xu Wanyi stood up and let Xiao Chenyue leave. Xiao Chenyue didn't suspect anything and followed Feng Jing and the others out.
"Wanyi, listen to me, things aren't what you think." Li Ye finally seized this little bit of time and quickly walked to Xu Wanyi's side, speaking rapidly.
“Attorney Li, Ms. Xiao is a very, very, very important guest of mine, which is why I specially invited her on this trip. You are someone she brought, so I will naturally treat you with great care. I hope you understand that.”
Xu Wanyi's tone was natural, but her meaning was stiff. Her displeasure and anger were secondary; she needed to explain to Li Ye the true nature of this trip, which wasn't for romance.
"What Mr. Xiao wants to do with you is not my business, but for me, this is just a business trip."
The meaning is simple, and it's Xu Wanyi's consistent style: I'm handling business strictly, I have my own agenda, and I only do things that benefit my goals. As for you, I won't ask anything of you; you can do whatever you want, but you'll bear the consequences of your actions. Anyway, I'm not here to do anything to you.
"But my mom is right. You good-looking people who are so successful are definitely not good people."
Upon hearing this, Li Ye's expression changed drastically, and he immediately stopped in his tracks.
Xu Wanyi looked at Li Ye's pale face and thought that he had spoken her mind. She gave a low "humph" and kept walking forward, but a sense of unease arose in her heart. It was extremely rare to see Li Ye with such a face.
What she didn't notice was that the moment she walked past Li Ye, Li Ye's seemingly gentle gaze turned incredibly stern and sharp.
However, a top lawyer is a top lawyer. Li Ye quickly composed herself, forcibly burying these thoughts and old grievances deep in her heart, and returned to her usual demeanor. However, the expression on her face was no longer as gentle as before; the corners of her mouth were slightly pursed, and her jawline appeared somewhat sharp.
The journey went smoothly, and three hours later, the plane quietly landed at Qiuzhu Airport.
After getting off the plane, Feng Jing felt that something was different about Li Ye, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was still as gentle as ever, and the curve of his lips was still the same, but that smile—Feng Jing thought for a long time—seemed to have no connection to his heart. It was cold, and his whole demeanor had become inexplicably sharper.
“Mr. Xiao, Chairman, Lawyer Li, it’s getting late. Let’s stay in the city center tonight and head to a hot spring hotel deep in the mountains to the north early tomorrow morning,” Xiao Jiang said. He had already researched the accommodation and transportation situation in Hokkaido and finalized the entire itinerary.
"Well, let's all get some rest early today and recharge so we can go to the mountains to enjoy the snow tomorrow."
"If you want to ski, you can ski," Feng Jing added. The chairman said that Xiao Chenyue had never skied but kept talking about wanting to ski, so they arranged a trip to a ski resort not far from the hotel.
"That's great! I knew you understood me!" Xiao Chenyue was indeed very receptive to this and turned around to hug Xu Wanyi.
"I'm glad you like it, Mr. Xiao. I'm risking my life to accompany this beautiful lady this time," Xu Wanyi echoed, glancing at Li Ye again.
Li Ye's face was expressionless. After hearing what Xu Wanyi had just said, she was no longer as reserved as before. It was as if a bucket of water had been poured on a fire, and her mindset became somewhat more natural.
After Xu Wanyi and Xiao Chenyue walked away, she looked at Xu Wanyi's back and thought that God is fair and can't let one person have all the benefits. Skiing? Xu Wanyi has no athletic ability at all. Of all sports, apart from running, which any two-legged creature can do, she is not good at any sports, let alone skiing, which requires a lot of balance.
Thinking of this, her gaze slid down again, taking a look at Xu Wanyi's waist and abdomen, thinking to herself, "It's not that you don't have a core, but it's not as useful for skiing as it is when you're sitting on me."
Xu Wanyi suddenly felt a pair of eyes scrutinizing her. She knew without a doubt that it was Li Ye. Although their relationship was awkward now, it didn't affect this person's understanding of her.
But was I wrong? My mediocre skiing skills are indeed enough to warrant "risking my life to accompany a beautiful woman." She never expected that Li Ye was thinking about such things.
That's not entirely fair, after all, Attorney Li has maintained a respectable and charming demeanor for decades, devoting all her vulgarity to Miss Xu. Unfortunately, Miss Xu doesn't seem to appreciate it.
The next morning, the group arrived at a little-known hot spring inn in the mountains north of Sapporo. The rooms were spaced far apart, indicating that the inn was quite popular. However, the lobby and corridors were almost deserted, and the entire inn was eerily quiet.
After Li Ye entered his room and put away his luggage, he discovered that there was a courtyard behind the room. The courtyard faced a small valley, and a stream, seemingly from nowhere, flowed slowly from west to east, with the sound of the flowing water barely audible.
She simply walked out and saw that the valley was covered in ice and snow, with a chilling atmosphere and no one around. It was a scene reminiscent of the saying "All birds have vanished from the mountains, and all human tracks have disappeared from the paths."
Wealthy people know how to find good places. This kind of hotel isn't the kind you can find on domestic travel websites. Who knows, maybe that famous Japanese writer once lived and wrote here for many years.
"Bang, bang, bang," came the urgent knocking. With such a reckless knocking style, Li Ye couldn't think of anyone other than Xiao Chenyue.
She opened the door, and Xiao Chenyue stood there fully armed, staring at her expectantly.
"I just saw a small shrine over in the valley from the room. I want to go see it. Will you come with me?"
"Mr. Xiao, you must be tired from your journey. You've just arrived. Why don't you take a rest?" Li Ye was a little annoyed by Xiao Chenyue's boundless energy.
"No need to rest. I slept well last night, and I didn't run here this morning, so why are you tired? Hurry up and get dressed, come with me. Wear something warm, I just went out for a short walk and it was so cold."
"Aren't Chairman Xu and the others going?" Li Ye stuck his head out and looked in the direction of Xu Wanyi's room, asking tentatively.
"Wanyi heard you were coming with me, but she said she's a bit tired and won't be going. She asked you to take good care of me." With that, Xiao Chenyue gave a smug smile. Chairman Xu was truly understanding and acted appropriately; Xiao Chenyue grew to like him more and more the more she interacted with him.
Li Ye recalled what Xu Wanyi had said to her as she left the airport VIP lounge and thought to himself, "Official business, huh, official business, Miss Xu, your own official business is quite something. The customer is God, you are the customer, and Xiao Chenyue is also the customer. I can't afford to offend anyone, especially since you asked me to take good care of President Xiao. Fine, then I'll help you out. Accompanying someone, right? Sure."
Seeing Xiao Chenyue's expectant face, Li Ye thought to himself, "Please wait a moment, Ms. Xiao, I'll be right there with a coat."
She, a person who would never leave the house unless absolutely necessary and who would never socialize unless absolutely necessary, actually did something she would never have done before: accompanied Xiao Chenyue for a walk in the snow, despite being exhausted from the journey.
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