Harbor
In the afternoon, Zhong Yunxi dropped her off at the underground parking lot of the office building. As if reporting his itinerary to her, he said, "I'll have the driver pick you up tonight. I have an important dinner party to attend. I'll come over tomorrow morning to have breakfast with you."
Bai Yi stroked his knuckles and hummed in agreement.
Zhong Yunxi guessed her intention and bluntly told her his ring size, "So you finally remembered to get me a new ring?"
Bai Yi always insists on bargaining, saying, "If it's not pretty or cheap, you're not allowed to complain."
"It can't be too cheap either, I'm afraid it will cause allergies."
Bai Yi opened the car door and said with a smile, "I'm going to work now to earn money to buy you a ring."
Zhong Yunxi lowered the car window and watched her enter the elevator before letting the driver start the car.
Before Bai Yi entered the office, the news had already spread throughout the company that someone had seen her boyfriend pick her up at noon in a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
In the morning, many people were admiring the new research teacher's looks and demeanor; now, the discussion has turned into a chat among those slacking off about her boyfriend.
Shang Xinlan ran into Lu Lin and Meng Shuang in the break room. The two were so enraged that their verbal sparring turned into a real fight, and they wanted to kill each other.
Shang Xinlan, of course, sided with her best friend without distinguishing right from wrong, saying, "Lu Lin, you're a grown man, can't you just give in to Shuangshuang?"
Lu Lin scoffed coldly, "Give her my life? How about I give her my life?"
Meng Shuang: "They're just giving away useless things, worthless lives, who would want them?"
Shang Xinlan: ...
He tugged at Meng Shuang's arm: "You're all set now."
Lu Lin glanced at her: "Isn't this the time for you to beg me to give it to you?"
Shang Xinlan: ...
She gave Lu Lin a shove: "If you stay here for another ten seconds, I promise, by the time she finishes grinding this cup of coffee, you'll drink your shirt first."
Lu Lin already knew that, given Meng Shuang's temperament, he would take action after two rounds of bickering. He slipped out of the tea room, following the steps Shang Xinlan had laid out for him.
Meng Shuang cursed, "You dog of a man."
Shang Xinlan took the coffee beans and said, "You really are something, always arguing with him like this."
Meng Shuang had a headache: "I've planned several more conferences for the academic promotion of my new drug in the fourth quarter. They are all high-level pharmaceutical forums and conferences at top-tier hospitals, which definitely require on-site academic support. I asked him to communicate with Bai Yi, but he told me to define my sexual orientation. Don't you think he deserves a scolding?"
Shang Xinlan was speechless. It's true that you can't sleep in the same bed with two different kinds of people.
"You're a marketing director, why don't you just go directly to Bai Yi? After all, she's an envoy, she won't have so many ulterior motives."
Meng Shuang waved her hand and simply said, "It's not appropriate."
Using one's rank to bully others across departments is a form of covert workplace bullying. She wouldn't do something like that. Besides, she felt bad about ordering Bai Yi around like that, so Lu Lin should definitely take the blame.
Shang Xinlan comforted her, "Lu Lin isn't a clueless person. He won't deliberately obstruct your normal work needs."
Meng Shuang chuckled, "Who knows? Maybe he's just being chivalrous. Someone like Bai Yi makes me, a woman, feel protective of him."
Lu Lin sat in his office, closing his eyes to rest. Luckily, he didn't smoke, otherwise his lungs wouldn't be able to take it. That woman couldn't sleep if she didn't poke at his lungs every day.
I went to the tea room to make tea, but I got so angry that I forgot to bring my cup back.
He asked his assistant, Zhang, to go and make the advances.
When Assistant Zhang returned, he said awkwardly, "Mr. Lu, I just went into the break room and saw your cup. Mr. Meng threw it in the trash can."
Lu Lin: ...
He pressed his temple: "Have Teacher Bai come to my office."
Assistant Zhang hurriedly responded and went out.
When Bai Yi arrived, Lu Lin smiled and handed her a document, saying, "Teacher Bai, this is a meeting schedule from the company's marketing department for the academic promotion of the new drug. We need you to attend and provide academic support. Please take a look at the meeting's scale, the participants, and the time available. If there are no problems, please sign it."
Bai Yi nodded, glanced through the document, and found that there were basically three meetings every month in the fourth quarter, which was within her expectations. She took advantage of a corner of Lu Lin's desk to sign her name at each meeting and take photos for her records. "No problem, President Lu."
Lu Lin took the document: "On behalf of the marketing department, I thank you for your support."
Bai Yi smiled and said, "Of course."
After Bai Yi left, Lu Lin tossed the documents to Assistant Zhang: "Send them to Meng Shuang."
Before Assistant Zhang could turn around, Lu Lin added, "Don't come back empty-handed."
Assistant Zhang: ...
After receiving the meeting schedule signed by Bai Yi, Meng Shuang put the folder into her drawer. Seeing that Assistant Zhang was still standing in her office, she could roughly guess what was going on. "Is your CEO Lu being inhuman again?"
Assistant Zhang nodded: "You threw away Mr. Lu's cup, so don't let me go back empty-handed."
Meng Shuang narrowed her eyes slightly: "Why don't you become my assistant?"
Assistant Zhang, desperate to survive, cried out: "President Meng, please don't get me into trouble."
Meng Shuang got up, took a disposable paper cup, filled it with water, rummaged through the drawer of the coffee table, found a packet of goji berries (not sure if they were still expiring), threw a few into the paper cup, and handed it to Assistant Zhang.
Assistant Zhang: ...
When Lu Lin saw the paper cup that Assistant Zhang brought back, he sneered.
This woman needs to be taught a lesson.
Lu Lin thought about it and decided that he should find an opportunity to see Zhong Yunxi soon, and it would be best if Bai Yi was also there.
Around lunchtime, while he was in his uncle's office, Zhong Yunxi made a special call to say that Bai Yi was coming to the company today and asked his uncle to take care of him.
After hanging up the phone, his uncle asked him which department Bai Yi was in. Coincidentally, it was in his department. His uncle pointed at the phone and laughed, saying, "He never comes to the board meeting all year round, and today he's calling for a new employee."
Lu Lin explained to his uncle, "They're not from our company; they're from our research team, sent here to provide academic support."
Lu Lin and Zhong Yunxi weren't close; they'd only met a few times at dinner parties.
Runhe Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of the Lu family group. Zhong Yunxi acquired a portion of the shares in the early years, purely as capital investment, receiving only dividends and not participating in management or exercising voting rights. So much so that the board of directors had almost forgotten about him.
The fact that Zhong Yunxi would specifically call his uncle speaks volumes about his relationship with Bai Yi.
He was overwhelmed just looking at the meeting schedule that Meng Shuang gave him. Her marketing department alone arranged three large academic conferences a month, and Bai Yi had to attend every single one. She didn't have time for anything else. She didn't leave a single penny for the marketing department.
Meng Shuang was notorious for being competitive and ambitious within the company; Lu Lin knew exactly what she was thinking. With Bai Yi's research background and appearance, even if she were just a decoration at a meeting, the experts and leaders would be much more amiable.
Unfortunately, the people sent by the research team were treated like slaves, and they were even Zhong Yunxi's men. If they really hold a grudge, my uncle will lose face.
Meng Shuang, that woman, is always giving him trouble. Lu Lin felt a tightness in his chest just looking at the goji berries in the paper cup.
When it was time to leave work, Bai Yi stayed in the office for more than ten minutes longer than usual, because she didn't want to squeeze into the elevator.
The driver called her and said the car was still parked in the same spot as at noon.
On her first day at work, there wasn't much stuff on her desk, and nothing to tidy up.
While taking the elevator, Bai Yi ran into Lu Lin, Meng Shuang, and Shang Xinlan. They greeted each other, and Bai Yi guessed that the three of them were probably quite close.
After getting off the elevator and saying a polite goodbye, Bai Yi walked towards her car.
Meng Shuang took a few steps and saw Shang Xinlan still standing there looking in Bai Yi's direction. She asked curiously, "What are you looking at?"
Lu Lin also turned his head and glanced at it. It was a Phantom. If he didn't know Zhong Yunxi, Lu Lin might have been surprised for a few seconds, but once he knew, he was no longer surprised.
Shang Xinlan glanced at the license plate again and asked Meng Shuang, "Are you nearsighted? Can you help me confirm the license plate? It's that Phantom."
Meng Shuang read it to her again: "What's wrong?"
“That’s my brother-in-law’s car.”
Meng Shuang: ?
Lu Lin: !
Lu Lin was the first to calm down: "Who is your brother-in-law?"
Shang Xinlan then came to her senses: "Zhong Yunxi, he's not exactly my brother-in-law, he's my cousin, my childhood sweetheart who was destined to be together but never got married. I used to call him brother-in-law. Although he doesn't allow me to call him that."
Lu Lin: ...
"Can't you think before you speak?" Lu Lin was so scared that he almost thought Zhong Yunxi was cheating on him.
Shang Xinlan was still muttering to herself, "I have to call my sister. If she doesn't come back soon, our house is going to be robbed."
Lu Lin rubbed his forehead. "Don't make things worse."
Meng Shuang sneered, "It's really boys helping boys. They don't even know Zhong Yunxi but they're still taking his side. I'm saying, do all you men like someone like Teacher Bai?"
Last month, Lu Lin was forced by his own mother to go on a blind date, which was caught red-handed by Meng Shuang. The blind date was a naive and frivolous girl. Lu Lin didn't have a single good day in the past month.
Lu Lin: ...
"Meng Shuang, have you no conscience?" I signed her meeting proposal today under pressure, and she just turned around and threw his cup in the trash. I'm still seething with anger.
Besides, what do you mean he's helping Zhong Yunxi? These two women are really biased towards their own people and not about the truth. They're a legitimate couple, so how come Bai Yi is being accused of stealing someone else's love in their mouths?
Shang Xinlan hesitated: "You two stop arguing and discuss what to say to my sister, how to get her to come back and pursue my brother-in-law."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
Lu Lin thought these two women were really crazy, so he simply laid it all out on them: "Zhong Yunxi is a shareholder of Runhe. Bai Yi is on his first day at work today, and he called my uncle at noon. You should think twice before you act."
Meng Shuang suddenly felt guilty: ...
She glanced at Lu Lin, who was also looking at her: "All you do is cause me trouble all day long. Think carefully about how you're going to clean up the mess with that cup of mine."
Lu Lin then turned to Shang Xinlan and said, "Since Zhong Yunxi has never been with your sister, what are you reporting to her about? You even asked her to come back and pursue him. You're making her come back to be a mistress. You can't be so unreasonable."
Shang Xinlan sighed: "But I want that kind of brother-in-law. Losing a brother-in-law is worse than losing a lover."
Lu Lin: ...
ill.
"Then you should acknowledge Bai Yi as your older sister."
Shang Xinlan: ...
On their way to eat hot pot, Shang Xinlan was still talking about how to tell her cousin that Zhong Yunxi was in a relationship.
*
Tonight's dinner with Zhong Yunxi is where the creditors finalize the restructuring plan for Tiansheng Shipbuilding.
After asset divestiture and the introduction of strategic investment, the equity of the original shareholders of Tiansheng Shipbuilding was diluted to less than 5%, the management team resigned en masse, and nearly half of the middle management were laid off.
After that, Tiansheng Shipbuilding underwent a complete transformation and rebirth.
After restructuring, Leading Capital holds more than 20% of the shares of a giant asset-heavy manufacturing company with a market value of over 100 billion yuan.
When the party ended, it was nearly midnight. After getting into the car, he took the phone from Xue Meng and subconsciously opened a social media app.
Bai Yi texted him at nine o'clock: "No roses tomorrow, we don't have any vases at home."
At 10 o'clock, I sent him a sleepy emoji.
Today's situation was unusual; he didn't bring his phone in, so he didn't have time to reply to her message. That emoji of hers probably meant she was waiting for him to say goodnight.
Zhong Yunxi stared blankly at his phone the whole way.
He returned to his apartment and parked his car in the garage. He noticed that the driver he had sent to pick up Bai Yi that day was still in the parking space next to him. He got out of the car, and the driver handed him a handbag: "Miss Bai went shopping at the East Tower of Hong Kong Island after get off work and asked me to bring this to you."
Zhong Yunxi accepted it, unable to hide his joy, and nodded, saying softly, "You've worked hard, go back and rest early."
He rarely said such things to his driver and assistant. Xue Meng felt that the boss was even happier to receive this gift than to acquire such a large share of Tiansheng's equity at the dinner party tonight.
Zhong Yunxi went upstairs and opened the package. It contained a bottle of perfume. On the gift card, she had written: "A man's scent reveals his character."
He smiled, recalling how she had refused to make perfume for him at a childhood friends' dinner party. Although this bottle wasn't her handmade creation, Zhong Yunxi felt that it was already perfect even before it began.
He held a piece of paper smaller than a playing card, its pencil writing soft and delicate, like an old stain. "Judging a man by his scent"—a boastful tone, almost like flirting.
Zhong Yunxi opened the lid and took a light sniff. The scent was very faint, a crisp pine aroma that gradually transitioned into a warm and dry sandalwood fragrance, like a person returning home after a snowstorm being gradually warmed by a fireplace.
He pressed the showerhead, and a fine mist rose and dispersed under the light, releasing a woody scent. His nerves, which had been tense all evening at the dinner party, suddenly relaxed, and he felt a little sleepy.
He put the perfume away in the display case. Before going to bed, he thought about sending someone over tomorrow to tidy up the villa in Boyuntan. Bai Yi was used to living in Qiwu Mountain, and she should like living in a villa.
Bai Yi was woken up early by her alarm clock. She had stayed up late last night and had difficulty getting out of bed. She stood there for several minutes, clutching her thin blanket, when Wang Ma knocked on the door: "Miss, there's not much time left. You have to go to work. Mr. Zhong is waiting for you downstairs for dinner."
After she finished washing up and went downstairs, her father had already left. Zhong Yunxi was sitting in the dining room, and she could smell the woody scent on him—the perfume she had given him yesterday.
Zhong Yunxi turned around, saw the cartoon headband on her head, and smiled: "Come here quickly."
Bai Yi took the slice of bread with butter that he handed her: "I'm so sleepy, I don't want to go to work."
Zhong Yunxi replied, "Then I won't go. I'll ask for leave for you. What's your department head's name?"
Bai Yi took a bite of bread and shook her head, "I need to earn money to buy you perfume and a ring."
Zhong Yunxi looked at her and chuckled softly. She always claimed credit for every bit of work she did, and she always got a lot of attention from others for every bit of effort she put in. No one knew how to manipulate people as well as she did.
Seeing that she wasn't eating bacon or fried eggs, and had only drunk 200ml of milk, Zhong Yunxi peeled a boiled egg for her: "Eat some protein in the morning."
She only eats egg whites and not yolks.
Zhong Yunxi: ...
Why are you so picky about food?
He didn't try to stop her, but peeled another one and put the egg white on her plate.
Bai Yi still arrived at the office right on time, but in the eyes of the other people in the department, she was already considered dedicated, after all, she was not an employee of Runhe and Runhe did not pay her a salary.
The Medical Affairs Department often has staff sent from other partner companies who only come to clock in two or three times a week; it's not uncommon for them to do so.
Bai Yi wore a light green backless dress today, paired with a white knit top and comfortable loafers.
Once at the company, it provided topics for slacking off in various group chats for the day.
She had only been working for two days when everyone at Runhe knew that Bai Yi was a genuine rich and beautiful woman. The little salary she earned at work wouldn't be enough to buy the blue diamond bracelet on her wrist even if she saved for three years.
Bai Yi's refined elegance isn't something that comes from wearing expensive designer brands or projecting an aura of a powerful businesswoman. It's a kind of refined elegance that comes from being pampered and spoiled, but only those she deems worthy of her pampering.
The members of the chat group were discussing her clothes and accessories, and someone posted a screenshot of the dress Bai Yi was wearing from the fashion show in the group.
—Am I the only country bumpkin who's never heard of the brand Erdem before?
—This is the first time I've heard of it either. I just checked, and it's not expensive.
—Ready-to-wear isn't expensive, but the fairy is wearing a runway piece. It costs at least six figures.
—It doesn't matter whether some brands are expensive or not, what matters is their style. If the style doesn't match, it's useless no matter how much you like it. E-family's luxurious forest style is destined to be niche, it doesn't have a mass appeal.
—We assembly-line products, living in reinforced concrete pigeon coops, squeezing onto subways, eating pre-prepared food and drinking tech-savvy sweet drinks, even wearing a floral print looks incredibly awkward, so who can pull off the Mori Girl style?
—That's how big luxury brands are; they look ordinary, but they're really selective about who they suit. Teacher Bai looks like she hasn't suffered a single day in over twenty years. The Mori style isn't about being cute and innocent; the key is being noble and pure. Luxurious Mori style especially requires being delicate. When wearing Mori style, you can immediately tell the difference between a true fairy and someone who's just pretending.
...
...
Meng Shuang glanced at the hundreds of casual chatter messages in the morning's slacking-off group, all about the discussion of various luxury brands sparked by Bai Yi's dress. She looked at the L'Oréal chain shoulder bag she'd splurged on with her quarterly bonus, and her good mood, which hadn't even lasted a week, vanished instantly.
It's true what they say, comparisons are the thief of joy.
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