Chapter 5 He Yanzhou: "Who are you talking to? Interfering in someone else's marriage..."
At this moment, the two people in the rest area also looked over and stood up.
Zhu Xu was caught in a dilemma. He originally wanted to refuse, but instead pulled Jiang Rao away first.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Rao blurted out, "Sure, no trouble at all."
He Yanzhou gestured for him to proceed.
The three people, one in front and two behind, walked towards the rest area.
Zhu Xu secretly pinched Jiang Rao, only to be met with a sharp glare in return. She had just been worrying about how to figure out what those two were up to, and now the opportunity had arrived.
Liu Chuang stepped forward first, extending his hand and asking with a smile, "Am I disturbing your work?"
He Yanzhou stopped, shook hands with him, and said, "It's alright, we still have some time."
"That's good, that's good." He said, then turned guiltily to Jiang Rao behind him and asked in a low voice, "Why are you here?"
Jiang Rao didn't answer, but glanced at him sideways, then looked at Yang Xiaotong beside the sofa. She stood there gracefully, with a serene smile, her lips painted with a bright red lipstick that made her look radiant and healthy.
Yang Xiaotong, however, paid no attention to the couple; her gaze fell on another person.
"He Yanzhou, we meet again." Her tone was light and cheerful.
He Yanzhou slightly curved his lips in response.
There are only two long sofas and a low table made of marble here. Since it's not a place specifically for relaxation, no sense of rationality has been taken into consideration.
He Yanzhou sat down on a nearby sofa.
Yang Xiaotong hadn't moved, so she sat down on the right side of the opposite sofa. Liu Chuang also wanted to return to his original position, but Jiang Rao stepped in first, separating the two of them.
By the time Zhu Xu arrived, the sofa on that side could no longer accommodate a fourth person.
She stood there for a couple of seconds, then reluctantly turned to the other side, her eyes meeting He Yanzhou's gaze. His expression was indifferent; though not particularly serious, the aloofness in his eyes made her hesitant to approach.
Zhu Xu wanted to laugh to herself; as an outsider, she was the one who ended up feeling uncomfortable.
Fortunately, He Yanzhou quickly looked away and moved to the side to make room. He didn't pay much attention to her after that and went to talk to the person opposite him.
Zhu Xu sat down and listened silently for a while before he understood. He Yanzhou left early on the day of the class reunion, and Yang Xiaotong didn't add him on WeChat, so she asked Liu Chuang to help her contact him, which led to today's meeting.
Jiang Rao was rather blunt. "I thought it was something serious." She turned to Liu Chuang: "Didn't you say you were busy at the company today? How come you're suddenly free now?"
In front of so many people, Liu Chuang's expression wasn't very good. Before he could say anything, Yang Xiaotong quickly took Jiang Rao's arm and said with a smile, "Don't be angry with Liu Chuang. Blame me. I begged him to bring me here." She paused, and then said to He Yanzhou, "Of course, I hope to have the opportunity to catch up with my old classmates later, but I have something I'd like to ask you today, but... I'm just a little embarrassed to say it."
He Yanzhou: "Oh?"
Yang Xiaotong released Jiang Rao and leaned forward slightly. "I heard your company is working on a resort hotel project?"
The resort hotel is not located in the city. The building was completed at the beginning of the year and is currently in the interior decoration stage. Although it has not yet opened, it has been promoted in major media outlets.
He Yanzhou answered truthfully, "Yes."
Yang Xiaotong handed over her business card: "Our company makes zero-feel mattresses and has cooperated with various hotels before. We actually contacted your company's relevant department this time, but unfortunately..." She shrugged with a mix of playfulness and regret: "So, when I met an old classmate last time, who happened to be the CEO of Jintu, I was thinking about whether I could pull some strings."
He Yanzhou seemed easy to talk to: "What's the big deal? No problem, I'll give you the person in charge's business card." He leaned back in his chair and said humorously, "That's all I can do to help. That person in charge is very impartial and sometimes doesn't listen to me. We'll have to see how you negotiate later."
These words were perfectly worded, but Yang Xiaotong actually understood everything.
"Of course, it has already helped me a lot." She unconsciously bit her lip, paused for a moment, "And WeChat..."
"Oh, okay, come on." He Yanzhou seemed to have just remembered, moved forward, and swiped to open his phone.
Jiang Rao winked at Zhu Xu from across the table, intentionally or unintentionally waving the unfinished milk tea in her hand.
Zhu Xu understood, but ignored her.
Jiang Rao took out her phone and started fiddling with it.
Not long after, Zhu Xu received a text message from her: This excuse is much more sophisticated than rashly asking for contact information. It is neither frivolous nor cheap. Whether the cooperation goes through or not, she has already gained something.
As she read, another comment popped up: "I wonder if He Yanzhou is insightful or simply has no resistance to this type of woman."
Is it convenient?
The voice came from the side. Zhu Xu's eyes were still on his phone. He belatedly looked up and realized that He Yanzhou was talking to him.
"What?" She really wasn't paying attention to what they were talking about.
He Yanzhou looked at her and repeated, "How about we all exchange contact information? I don't know if it's convenient for you."
Zhu Xu paused, unable to think of any other circumstances under which he would be contacted again, but it seemed unnecessary to refuse, so he smiled and said, "Okay."
He Yanzhou moved closer to her. "Scan me?"
"Okay." Zhu Xu turned slightly to him, exited the dialog box, and clicked the plus sign in the upper right corner of the screen.
After adding each other, they each buried their heads in their phones.
"Where can I change the nickname?" He Yanzhou suddenly asked.
Zhu Xu leaned slightly towards him, looking at the screen with him: "Tap my profile picture... in the upper right corner..."
She watched him operate the software and helped him find the modification location.
"Zhu Xu?"
His deep voice reached her ears very clearly, and the stray hairs on his cheeks moved with his breath. Only then did Zhu Xu realize how close they were, and she could even smell the faint woody scent on him.
She stepped aside slightly; "Yes, the 'preface' of 'preface'."
He Yanzhou nodded, but the two characters had already been typed in.
At this time, the morning rush hour was almost over, and only a few people rushed towards the gate, their footsteps echoing throughout the lobby, creating a sense of spacious quiet.
He Yanzhou checked the time by pulling up his sleeve and prepared to get up and take his leave.
A series of footsteps approached from afar, and someone patted him heavily on the shoulder.
He Yanzhou turned his head slightly, saw who it was, and looked somewhat displeased.
She was a beautiful young girl with long, straight hair, heavy makeup, wearing a short black fox fur coat and flared pants, with a tank top underneath that revealed her navel despite the freezing weather. A phoenix tattoo on her side extended all the way down to her waistband.
This outfit, when worn by her, doesn't look vulgar or tacky; instead, it exudes a flamboyant and sophisticated beauty.
She spread her hands: "Money."
He Yanzhou frowned deeply: "What are you wearing? Are you too hot or too cold?"
The girl looked down at herself and said casually, "Perfect."
He Yanzhou was too lazy to argue with her. "Who told you I was here?"
“Zheng Zhi,” she said, “he told me to wait in your office. I saw you as soon as I came in.”
He Yanzhou looked down and transferred money to her on his phone: "I'm also going to Beidao later, you can ride in my car."
"No need, I can walk myself." The girl spoke absentmindedly, her eyes shining as she stared at his phone from behind. She raised her hand, seemingly wanting to point but hesitant, and muttered under her breath, "Add another zero to the end..."
He Yanzhou glanced at her indifferently.
The girl shut up, seemingly somewhat wary of him.
The conversation between the two lasted less than three minutes, but the expressions of the people present were all different.
He Yanzhou did not introduce either party, nor did he explain anything.
Yang Xiaotong brushed a stray hair from her forehead, her eyes revealing undisguised embarrassment and disappointment.
Jiang Rao, with an excited expression as if she were watching gossip, started sending messages to Zhu Xu again, asking her to guess whether it was a lover or a partner.
Zhu Xu was too lazy to read it.
After the girl left, the assistant came over with a black suitcase, leaned down and whispered, "Mr. He, it's getting late."
He Yanzhou then put down his crossed legs, lightly stamped his foot, stood up, and said that they should get together again sometime. He glanced briefly at the person next to him, then buttoned up his coat and hurriedly left.
Zheng Zhi had already parked the car at the entrance. After he came up, he handed him the coffee he had just bought and then drove down the slope.
The car was nice and warm. He Yanzhou took off his coat and loosened his tie slightly. His head still ached a little; he had drunk a lot at the dinner party last night and had been up all night.
Coffee is used to stay alert, but instant coffee isn't as aromatic or flavorful.
He took a few sips and placed the glass in the saucer beside him. Glancing at his phone out of the corner of his eye, he picked it up and swiped to open it. He saw Zhu Xu's name in the WeChat chat window, clicked on her profile picture—a front-facing photo of her with short, chin-length hair. She was wearing a loose white shirt, making no movement, just staring steadily at the camera. The sunlight was lovely, a gentle breeze ruffling her hair; even without smiling, it was clear she was in a good mood.
It must have been taken a while ago; her short hair looks more like it did in high school.
He Yanzhou looked at it carefully for a while, then clicked into her Moments. It showed that it was visible to friends for three days, but she hadn't posted anything in those three days.
He paused for a moment, then chuckled to himself at his own idleness, and tossed his phone aside.
The car sped along the highway, and the scenery outside the window flashed by.
Zheng Zhi suddenly remembered something, looked ahead, reached for the file bag on the passenger side and handed it to the back: "This was given to me by the old lady this morning. She specifically told you to take a good look at it."
He Yanzhou took it, untied the rope, and found several photos of girls along with their personal information and family backgrounds. He flipped through them casually, then stuffed them back into the folder, thinking to himself that in this information age, they were still using this outdated method.
Zheng Zhi observed his expression through the endoscope and said with a smile, "You're being urged to go on blind dates again, aren't you?"
He Yanzhou looked out the window and gave a faint hum.
"Old people are always eager to see the next generation." The task the old lady gave him this morning was to remind President He to take it seriously, but he didn't dare to say much. When the old lady was in a good mood, she was really gentle, but when she was in a bad mood, her face was really dark.
It's not obvious now. Zheng Zhi tentatively said, "You've been single for the past few years, it's time you started dating again."
After a moment, He Yanzhou raised an eyebrow: "Talk to whom?"
"Huh?" Zheng Zhi didn't understand.
"Interfering in someone else's marriage?"
Zheng Zhi was stunned, so frightened that his soul seemed to leave his body.
After a moment of silence in the car, he chuckled and said, "Just kidding."
/
After He Yanzhou left, Yang Xiaotong also made an excuse to leave first.
The remaining three were more at ease. Zhu Xu stretched his legs and looked around for a while, but after only a moment, he heard the couple opposite him arguing quietly.
To be precise, it was Jiang Rao who was throwing a tantrum.
She crossed her arms and said, "Cleanse your head of all those random thoughts. When you take the wrong step, remember that you are a father of two."
Liu Chuang shook his head and denied it: "What are you talking about? I didn't."
Jiang Rao snorted coldly: "I see you smiling like a flower."
"We were classmates, how could I cry?" He hugged his wife, his face contorted with a pitying, mournful expression. "Like this? Is this okay?"
Jiang Rao shoved him.
Liu Chuang said, "After the class reunion, she asked me to help her with this several times. We're classmates, so I couldn't do anything about it."
Jiang Rao commented somewhat harshly: "You should have less contact with He Yanzhou in the future. You two are not the same kind of people at all. What you think is building a relationship, he may think is a waste of time."
“Then you’re wrong. We ran into each other by chance last time, and I mentioned the class reunion to him and asked if he wanted to come. He readily agreed.” Liu Chuang pointed to himself and said, unconvinced, “I’m also the owner of a logistics company. How can we not be the same kind of people?”
"You call that a company? With you, there are ten people." Getting a bit off-topic, Jiang Rao warned him, "Anyway, once you've eaten garbage from outside, you can forget about ever eating a single bite of home-cooked food again..."
Her words were rather harsh.
Zhu Xu choked on his water and started coughing. He secretly winked at her, signaling her to stop.
Jiang Rao shut her mouth.
After sitting for a short while, the three of them got up and left the office building.
Zhu Xu and Jiang Rao were going to the mall to buy things, and Liu Chuang drove them for half a day.
Back at his lodgings that evening, Liang Haiyang visited again, this time bringing a lot of things. He explained everything, including frozen dumplings and glutinous rice balls, as well as toothpaste, towels, shampoo, and more—he was so thoughtful, even providing a set of nail clippers.
“Your clothes are in the suitcase. I just packed a few.” He stood outside the iron gate looking at her. “I know you won’t go back no matter what I say. I’ll come back and move them when you’ve calmed down.”
Zhu Xu said, "Just leave the clothes to me, I don't really need anything else."
Liang Haiyang paused for a moment, then said with a pained expression, "Is this necessary? Are you really so heartless as to want to sever all ties with me?"
Zhu Xu reached out and opened the iron gate, pulled the suitcase to his side, and then looked up at him: "The decision to divorce is final. Signing an agreement will save us both trouble. Do you want to consider it?"
In an instant, his gaze turned sinister.
Zhu Xu's heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously took a half step back. She had never known that such violent emotions could be hidden behind those deep eyes. She was terrified, but she needed evidence even more. The house had just been fitted with surveillance cameras, so she was prepared to face a storm of anger.
But after a moment, Liang Haiyang suddenly relaxed his expression. "Wife, I won't make you angry, but divorce is absolutely out of the question. Let's talk about it later." He held onto the iron gate: "Go in, and lock the door."
His tone was calm, whether he was trying to control his emotions or was just being overly cautious was unclear.
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