Harbor
Lu Lin was surprised to receive a call from Zhong Yunxi in the morning. He was just about to make an excuse to invite him out when Zhong Yunxi came to him on his own.
When Zhong Yunxi was dropping Bai Yi off at work, he found out that the head of her department was Lu Lin. He asked Xue Meng and then remembered that Lu Lin was the young master of the Lu family, and he had a vague impression of him.
It's easy to contact someone with some status; Lu Lin should know him. But it's troublesome if someone has no status. To meet a department head, you have to go through all the trouble of asking Chairman Lu to act as an intermediary.
Zhong Yunxi contacted Lu Lin and invited him to lunch. Lu Lin knew that Bai Yi would definitely be there as well, and wanted to take the opportunity to introduce Meng Shuang to Zhong Yunxi and remind her not to cause trouble with Shang Xinlan.
Lu Lin laughed and said, "I had made an appointment with Director Meng of the Marketing Department at noon. Do you mind if I bring another person to greet you? Although Teacher Bai is in our department, her work actually involves more interaction with the Marketing Department."
Zhong Yunxi was naturally happy to get to know someone who would work with Bai Yi, so he replied, "Then I'll trouble you to invite President Meng along."
Lu Lin sent a message to Meng Shuang: Have lunch with Zhong Yunxi.
Meng Shuang: Xin Lan, want to come along?
Lu Lin: ...Aren't you just looking for trouble?
Meng Shuang strolled into his office and handed him a mug.
Lu Lin looked at the mug, feeling that it looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before, and he didn't pay much attention to it.
He pointed to the phone: "They called, ostensibly to invite me to dinner, but actually to give Bai Yi the green light. Do you think this dinner is any good?"
Meng Shuang rolled her eyes at him: "You want me to meet Zhong Yunxi, and then persuade Shang Xinlan to give up on encouraging her cousin to come back and pursue Zhong Yunxi, so as not to accidentally hurt Bai Yi. You go to so much trouble to protect Bai Yi, do you even appreciate it?"
Lu Lin: ...
They will misinterpret him and use these fallacies to argue with him.
He took the cup she had given him and played with it in his hand. "Meng Shuang, men and women have different feelings. Zhong Yunxi, with his status, called the directors and department heads of Runhe for two consecutive days because of Bai Yi. You may not know what that means. I'm not trying to discourage Shang Xinlan, whether she encourages her or not, whether her cousin pursues her or not, it doesn't matter. But if Bai Yi misunderstands and there's any rift between them, the two sisters can't bear it."
He concluded with, "It's easy for a woman to pursue a man, but she's only pursuing men from the lower rungs of society. Zhong Yunxi is thirty-three and still unmarried. Do you think it's because no women are pursuing him? If you truly consider Shang Xinlan your best friend, don't let her humiliate herself."
Meng Shuang grew angrier as she listened, feeling that these scoundrels were arrogant and deserved to be taught a lesson.
She chuckled, "I don't know if Zhong Yunxi has anyone pursuing him, but President Lu certainly doesn't, otherwise he wouldn't need to go on blind dates."
Lu Lin: ...
"Can't you ever speak to me politely all day long? There's so much going on at the company, do you think I'm too idle and came to Runhe to be a department head to experience life?"
Meng Shuang glanced at him and left his office.
As it was almost time to leave work, Zhong Yunxi arrived at Runhe. Assistant Zhang came downstairs to greet him. When he came in, he passed Bai Yi's workstation and saw her resting her chin on her hand with her eyes half-closed, as if she were dozing off. There was a sticky note next to her computer screen with some tasks to be done, one of which was to buy a ring that night.
Zhong Yunxi smiled, didn't call her, and went into Lu Lin's office.
Lu Lin told him to make himself at home and asked his assistant, Zhang, to invite Meng Shuang over.
Lu Lin was taken aback when he saw that Zhong Yunxi didn't have a ring on his hand. He then smiled and said, "Teacher Bai is from Professor Wu's team. Even if you hadn't called, we would have had to take care of you. You may not be familiar with Runhe's business, but all of our new Chinese medicines are developed with the help of Professor Wu's team."
Zhong Yunxi smiled and said, "I wanted to learn more about her work. I was originally going to come over for lunch with her and also arrange to meet you."
Lu Lin didn't expect him to be so blunt. He chatted with him for a few minutes about Bai Yi's work, and Zhong Yunxi listened attentively.
When Meng Shuang came in, she greeted him with a smile: "President Zhong, it's an honor to meet you."
Zhong Yunxi stood up and shook hands with Meng Shuang. "We made a reservation at the hotel's Western restaurant for lunch. Xiao Yi is taking a nap there. Please bear with us. We will definitely arrange a banquet for you another day."
Lu Lin was speechless. Couldn't he be a little more composed? This was an intentional or unintentional show-off, as if he was afraid others wouldn't know how much he cared.
Meng Shuang laughed and said, "That's great! I love steak the most for lunch."
When the three of them came out of Lu Lin's office, Bai Yi glanced at Zhong Yunxi and thought he was dozing off and dreaming.
Zhong Yunxi walked over, bent down, and said with a soft laugh, "You're awake? I've come to pick you up for dinner."
Bai Yi glared at him, pushed him away, stood up, and called out to Lu Lin, "President Lu."
Lu Lin pointed at Zhong Yunxi and said with a smile, "President Zhong is here to discuss some matters. It's almost time to get off work, let's have dinner together."
Bai Yi turned her head and saw Zhong Yunxi peeling off the sticky note next to her computer screen. She tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "What are you doing? Don't touch my things."
Zhong Yunxi smiled as he held the sticky note in his hand.
Meng Shuang stood aside, unable to bear watching.
She couldn't follow Bai Yi's path at all. If Lu Lin touched anything on her desk, she could grab a steel ruler from the pen holder and slap his hand. There was no way she would pull his sleeve.
Lu Lin glanced at Meng Shuang, signaling her with his eyes: Learn from her.
Meng Shuang knew exactly what Lu Lin meant. In the elevator, she sent Lu Lin a WeChat message: "Even a wild boar like you can't eat fine bran."
It means that he doesn't deserve her coquettishness.
Lu Lin: ...
Before they even reached the hotel restaurant, someone in the slacking-off group posted a side view of Zhong Yunxi standing in the Medical Affairs Department's office area. Meng Shuang was bombarded with questions, all asking if he was Bai Yi's boyfriend.
Overwhelmed by the question, Meng Shuang could only reply: Yes.
The group chat continued to explode.
—This guy is untouchable, he's a true domineering CEO.
—Please send the head of the Prescription Drug Division to the front lines.
—You guys from the fourth department should go. Our boss and General Manager Lu from the Medical Affairs Department could barely manage a draw.
—Is there any way to dig up their resumes and find out which industry they belong to?
—I don’t know, but someone saw that a Phantom was specially sent to pick up and drop off the fairy to and from get off work.
...
...
Shang Xinlan looked at the group chat, not wanting to say a word.
The more she looked at the profile picture of Zhong Yunxi in the group chat, the more upset she became. She just couldn't understand how her brother-in-law had suddenly become someone else's boyfriend.
She absolutely had to call her cousin tonight to ask.
In the hotel restaurant, Bai Yi pushed the accompanying food to Zhong Yunxi. As was his habit, Zhong Yunxi asked the waiter to replace the mint punch with room temperature grapefruit tea. When the steak was served, Zhong Yunxi cut Bai Yi's steak first.
Meng Shuang glanced at Lu Lin, thinking that the scoundrel was only concerned with eating.
Zhong Yunxi was chatting with Lu Lin about Runhe's situation when Lu Lin said, "Teacher Bai is here this year, so you should at least come and sit down at Runhe's annual meeting."
Zhong Yunxi glanced at Bai Yi, who was eating and playing on his phone as usual. He replied to Lu Lin, "Leading Innovation has several rounds of year-end team building activities. If you have the time, come and take a look."
He reached out and turned off her phone, whispering, "Watch it after you finish eating."
Bai Yi ate a few more bites, glanced at him, and Zhong Yunxi looked at her plate: "Didn't I promise that when eating out, no more than a third of the food will be left uneaten?"
Now only half remains.
Bai Yi picked up three small pieces of beef with her knife and fork, glanced at him, and Zhong Yunxi smiled and said, "Okay. I'll have three more pieces."
She ate slowly and hesitantly, so Zhong Yunxi asked the waiter to bring her a strawberry yogurt.
Meng Shuang was greatly shocked. How could someone so silently manage to command a domineering CEO like Zhong Yunxi to this extent? Is this the legendary CEO-harvesting machine?
She felt remorseful for her hasty arrangement of the fourth quarter new drug academic promotion conference and quickly tried to make amends, "By the way, Professor Bai, if the conference arrangements that I submitted to your department and you signed off on later conflict with the marketing department, we can make adjustments."
Bai Yi ate a strawberry and nodded: "Okay, President Lu hasn't shown me the marketing department's arrangements yet."
Lu Lin glanced at Meng Shuang with a half-smile and explained to Bai Yi, "The company hasn't finalized its marketing strategy for the new drug yet. Generally, the marketing department is more anxious about promoting new drugs, and their arrangements are always a step behind."
Bai Yi hummed in agreement. "General Manager Meng's marketing department doesn't have many meetings scheduled, so there shouldn't be any need to adjust them."
As Zhong Yunxi listened to their discussion of work plans, he smiled and mentioned to Lu Lin, "Bai Yi has difficulty getting up in the morning. If she's ever late, Mr. Lu, please be lenient."
Bai Yi: ...
Lu Lin laughed and said, "It's alright. She was sent here to support our work and even follows Runhe's get off work hours. Teacher Bai is already a model worker."
After lunch, Bai Yi took a nap at the hotel, while Lu Lin and Meng Shuang returned to the company.
Meng Shuang sat in the car in silence the whole way. Lu Lin glanced at her sideways and said, "Aren't you usually quite talkative?"
Meng Shuang suddenly asked, "Was the person you went on a blind date with also in the same category as Teacher Bai?"
Lu Lin: ...
“It’s been a month, how many more times will they bring this up before it’s over? I told you, I didn’t know it was a blind date. My mom asked me to have hot pot with her, and I only found out when we got there.”
Meng Shuang sighed: "That's why we have no chemistry. Did you see how President Zhong responded to Bai Yi? Am I bringing up old grievances? I'm just curious about Bai Yi. Does she know how to use you men?"
Lu Lin: ...
"Don't bother trying, you can't learn it. I can't even tell you're doing a mime performance for me."
Meng Shuang: "Tsk."
Lu Lin closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, casually asking, "The cup you gave me looks familiar. Do you have one too? Is it a matching couple's set?"
Meng Shuang didn't expect him to ask even this. She was afraid of hurting him if she told him, but if she didn't, it would be even more hurtful if he found out later. So she could only tell the truth: "You should have seen someone using it in the break room. There are probably about ten people in the company who use it. It's in the supermarket downstairs. They have a cereal promotion. Buy two bags and get a free cup."
Lu Lin glanced at her sideways: "Meng Shuang, if you had any conscience at all..."
Meng Shuang reached out and covered his eyes: "Go back to sleep. Next time something like this happens, I'll definitely be more conscientious and when I bring you the cup, I'll also bring you a bottle of nitroglycerin."
Lu Lin: ...
Bai Yi didn't sleep in until she naturally woke up in the morning. She was still dozing off before leaving get off work. As soon as she swiped her card to open her room door, she went to the dressing room to change into her nightgown, hoping to take a comfortable nap.
Zhong Yunxi stood at the door waiting, and when she came out, he opened his arms: "Come on, let me hold you while you sleep."
She pulled Zhong Yunxi's hand and glanced at the time on his watch: "Only half an hour left."
Zhong Yunxi knew she was sleepy: "It's okay, take a nap for an hour. I told your CEO Lu today, so don't worry about being late."
Bai Yi looked up at him: "Are you sleepy? If you hug me, will you not be able to sleep? I sent you a message at 10 pm last night and you didn't reply. Were you out socializing late?"
Zhong Yunxi shook his head: "I'm not sleepy. I saw the message a little late yesterday and was afraid of waking you up. From now on, I'll let you know in advance if we have a gathering where I don't bring my phone, so you won't have to wait."
Bai Yi said "Oh," then hugged his waist and fell asleep peacefully.
Zhong Yunxi reached out and grabbed a blanket to drape over her. Holding Bai Yi, he couldn't do anything but occasionally check his phone.
Unbeknownst to him, he spent far more time and energy on Bai Yi than he had anticipated, and sometimes he would change his itinerary, which would surprise Xue Meng.
Bai Yi isn't clingy all the time; she has her own hobbies and work. She only becomes irresistibly affectionate when she can see him.
Zhong Yunxi was initially somewhat helpless, but he quickly got used to it and now enjoys it.
Bai Yi was still twenty minutes late in the afternoon, but of course, no one in the company cared.
Runhe's new drug academic conference has not yet started. Taking advantage of her relatively free time these days, she is working on other projects that Professor Wu gave her, following up with Sijian Pharmaceutical, and doing chemical optimization of solanine and Panax notoginseng saponins, as well as preclinical development.
She contacted Ren Xiao of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Division of Sijian Pharmaceuticals. Sijian Pharmaceuticals is also a large pharmaceutical company in Yuegang. Its predecessor was Yuegang Sixth Pharmaceutical Factory. It has a strong foundation in biopharmaceuticals and chemical drugs, but its traditional Chinese medicine business started late. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Division was established five or six years ago. Since its establishment, it has cooperated a lot with Professor Wu's research team. The project that Professor Wu assigned to Bai Yi is one of them.
When Ren Xiao heard that she had returned to Yuegang, he happily said that he wanted to invite her to dinner or coffee.
Zhong Yunxi called her in the afternoon, but she hung up and texted him back: "Do you think I own the company? You can't call and chat during work hours."
Zhong Yunxi doesn't like sending WeChat messages; it's too time-consuming. As the boss, he's used to calling directly when he needs something—it's fast, efficient, and he gets an immediate response.
But clearly, Bai Yi wasn't his subordinate, and he couldn't do anything about her. He could only process the documents while replying to the message in the chat box: I'll pick you up tonight.
Bai Yi replied half an hour later: "The driver is coming, don't come."
He sent her a picture of the sticky note he had secretly taken from her earlier that day, suggesting she buy a ring: "You really don't want me to go?"
Bai Yi sent him a string of rolling and stomping emojis: No, what if you like something expensive and I can't afford it?
Zhong Yunxi: You choose, I'll pay.
Bai Yi rolled her eyes at him: Then go buy it yourself.
Zhong Yunxi couldn't argue with her or persuade her otherwise, so he had no choice but to agree: Okay, then I'll have the driver pick you up. Do you want to have dinner with me?
Bai Yi: No, let's go home and eat after we're done shopping. How about you pick me up tomorrow morning? I want roses.
She's always like this; she'll reject him, but she'll also keep tempting him.
Zhong Yunxi stopped writing, pressed his temple, and felt a tremor in his heart as the words in the chat box seemed to play on an automatic loop.
Just then, Xue Meng came in and pointed to the tea station: "Iced Americano."
Xue Meng understood and put down the documents in his hand to grind coffee for him.
He quickly replied to Bai Yi: Okay.
If he hesitated even slightly, he was afraid she would think he was unwilling and would blame him for not coaxing her. Most of the time, she was very reasonable, but sometimes, no one could find fault with her as much as she did.
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