Harbor
Zhong Yunxi then remembered to send a photo of their marriage certificate to his mother.
After showering, he had ten missed calls on his phone, averaging one every two minutes.
Before he could call back, another call came in. He answered it casually: "Mom."
"You were born of nature, how could you have a mother?"
"You think that just because you're going to have a fake marriage, I won't have to care about you anymore?"
“You bunch of spoiled brats who have always had your own ideas since childhood, either you hide abroad, or you fake marriages to fool your families while you each go your own way in private. Or you resort to nonviolent resistance, going on ten or eight dates a month, and when asked, you always say they're not a good match. I think it's because you weren't disciplined enough when you were young, that you've been spoiled.”
Zhong Yunxi: ...
"Mom, whether the two-year marriage contract can be renewed depends on what Bai Yi thinks."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Useless."
Zhong Yunxi: ...
In any case, Ms. Shi Lin always has a reason to criticize him.
"I mainly wanted to tell you to stop arranging blind dates for me, so I can save my energy to pursue a wife. You should go to sleep early."
He hung up after saying that.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his mother will return to Vietnam within two days.
He opened his social media app, but Bai Yi didn't send him any messages, so he casually sent her a "Goodnight".
A few days ago, Bai Yi contacted Ren Xiao and the two arranged to meet on a weekend afternoon to discuss the research topic that Teacher Wu had given her.
Ren Xiao switched from the research institute to the pharmaceutical company. He used to be Lu Xin's colleague and is two or three years older than Bai Yi. The two had met a few times before at the research institute.
The café they met was in the park. As soon as they sat down, Ren Xiao noticed the ring on her hand and asked with a smile, "Are you engaged?"
Bai Yi mumbled an "Mmm," and asked her, "What would you like to drink?"
The two sat under the canopy outside the building. Ren Xiao pointed to the coffee shop and said, "I already ordered. I remember you used to like black tea lattes."
Bai Yi thanked him.
"Boyfriend, do I know him?" Ren Xiao, still eager for gossip, pressed on with another question.
Bai Yi then smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but my senior brother knows him."
Ren Xiao said "Oh?" and then said, "Maybe I know him. After all, Lu Xin and I were partners in the same department for a few years. I know a few people in his circle. Who are they?"
Bai Yi just smiled and didn't answer.
Changing the subject: "What about you?"
Ren Xiao sighed: "Do I have a choice? Unlike you, who has both a successful career and a happy love life, I can only do whatever I want first. In the biopharmaceutical sector, capital has flowed in, leaving a mess. There are as many unfinished projects as there are unfinished buildings in the suburbs of Yuegang. Even a pharmaceutical company of Sijian's size is suffering. Our traditional Chinese medicine division is also teetering on the brink of collapse."
Bai Yi didn't quite understand how their pharmaceutical company operated. "Our project wasn't affected, was it?"
Ren Xiao shook his head: "Not for now."
Bai Yi took out a tablet computer from her bag and said to Ren Xiao, "That's good. Our previous research identified solanine and notoginseng saponins, down to notoginseng saponins Rg1 and Rb1. Senior Brother He thinks that we also need astragalus to activate immune cells, mainly astragaloside A and astragalus polysaccharides..."
On her screen, Professor Wu's team's latest research results were displayed, and her Apple Pencil was used to highlight key points.
The new drug is an innovative compound based on a classic prescription and is a Class 1.1 new traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of lung cancer.
Currently, the ingredients are in the preclinical stage of optimization. Sigen Pharmaceuticals paid the research team for the early patent fees for their papers, and further optimization will require collaboration between both parties.
Ren Xiao thought she was just having a simple discussion about the progress, but she didn't expect her to come to the site for a detailed explanation.
"Okay, we'll handle the subsequent extraction optimization and quantitative matching." Ren Xiao agreed to cooperate as needed.
Bai Yi switched to another document. "He and I have also completed an experimental design. You should have done a lot of work on solanine and notoginseng saponins. The effective components of astragalus are mainly extracted by water extraction, alcohol precipitation, and microwave-assisted extraction. You can refer to it. I will send it to your email."
Ren Xiao: ...
"How come your research team is even more stressed than our pharmaceutical company?"
Bai Yi closed the tablet and said with a smile, "It was just a small thing. Besides, your company paid for it."
The two chatted for two hours straight.
It wasn't even five o'clock yet when Zhong Yunxi texted her, asking where she was.
She said the park.
Zhong Yunxi: If you know it's a park, send me your location and I'll come find you.
Bai Yi looked up and around, then asked: "Did you come here?"
Zhong Yunxi: Yes, I asked the driver.
Bai Yi had completely forgotten that her driver was one of Zhong Yunxi's men.
The two shared their location; the straight-line distance between them was only 300 meters.
The little red dot that Zhong Yunxi was using was slowly moving closer to her.
Bai Yi ordered him an iced Americano and asked him to go get it.
He came out of the cafe with a cup of coffee and a glass of warm water for her. He glanced at the tablet and pen on the small table and asked with a smile, "Finished working overtime?"
Ren Xiao looked at Zhong Yunxi and felt that he looked familiar. He also noticed the ring on his hand and greeted him with a smile.
Zhong Yunxi nodded and greeted him, then pulled over a moon chair and sat down next to Bai Yi.
The setting sun casts a golden glow, and withered yellow leaves fall on the lawn, resembling butterflies from afar. Bai Yi wears a white, fitted long-sleeved top with a flared collar and long tassels at the end of the belt, paired with a light blue, wavy midi skirt. She looks like a deep green forest reflected on a clear lake, shimmering and soothing.
Zhong Yunxi touched her hand, took off his suit jacket and draped it over her, "Next time you're outside for this long, have the driver bring a blanket over."
Bai Yi put the tablet back into her bag, took a sip of the warm water he had brought, and let out a soft "oh".
Ren Xiao wasn't familiar with Zhong Yunxi, and sitting there was boring, so he thanked Bai Yi, said he'd keep in touch about the project's progress, and left early. Bai Yi thanked him for the coffee and promised to treat him to dinner another day.
Zhong Yunxi glanced at his watch. "You've been working overtime all afternoon?"
Bai Yi said no, "Two hours was just for exchanging research results and experimental progress."
After finishing his coffee, he said, "Are you tired? Let's go see Songyuan now. You can take a nap in the car."
Bai Yi's eating habits weren't very good; she couldn't eat much at regular meals and got hungry quickly. She was already a little hungry, so she leaned over in her chair and snuggled into Zhong Yunxi's arm: "Hungry."
Zhong Yunxi stood up: "We just happened to be passing by Liyuan, so I'll buy you some dessert. What do you want to eat?"
There are a few kinds of pastries that she likes to eat at Liyuan. Zhong Yunxi asked Li Wan and Wang Ma about them when he was at Qiwu Mountain Residence, and he still remembers them.
"Cheese and blueberry Napoleon." That's what she wants to eat today.
As soon as he got in the car, Zhong Yunxi called the manager of Liyuan and asked them to load it in advance.
When the dessert was brought in, she was holding the bunny from the car in her arms. She glanced at Zhong Yunxi but didn't move.
Almost habitually, Zhong Yunxi opened the cardboard box, took a spoon, cut off a small piece, and fed it to her.
Not only did he eat in the car, but the boss also fed him. The driver had never seen such a scene before and was secretly amazed. Everyone said that the boss was not interested in women, but that was just because he was too picky. What normal man is not interested in women?
At the traffic light ahead, the driver slowly applied the brakes. With this woman in the car, he couldn't help but drive extra carefully.
Bai Yi shook her head after eating less than half of it, and yawned slightly, "We still have dinner tonight."
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" Zhong Yunxi asked her.
"I want to drink rice wine with glutinous rice balls."
When the weather gets a little cold, she likes to drink some soup or porridge.
She pulled down Zhong Yunxi's suit jacket from the back of the passenger seat, wrapped it around herself, and settled into a comfortable position before closing her eyes.
Zhong Yunxi just smiled at her. He opened his phone and scrolled through the group messages, asking each other if they had arrived, what kind of wine they wanted to drink, and what they wanted to eat...
He added a line: Rice wine with glutinous rice balls.
The group chat erupted in laughter, asking him what he meant.
He became very sparing with his words again.
Lu Xin replied on his behalf: He brought his girlfriend over.
Some people are guessing that it might be the girl who came with you two last time.
Lu Xin replied: Yes.
The chat in the group kept making a fuss until Zhong Yunxi arrived.
Once the people arrived, everything quieted down; everyone lowered their voices.
Bai Yi sat down quietly with Zhong Yunxi.
The waiter first brought them two glasses of warm water.
Some people were still joking: "Aren't you going to introduce yourself first?"
Zhong Yunxi smiled: "Girlfriend. Bai Yi."
The people at the table offered drinks to each other as a sign of respect. Bai Yi pulled his left hand under the table and shook it, refusing to even drink water. Zhong Yunxi smiled and poured himself half a glass of red wine to return the toast to his friends.
She sat close to Zhong Yunxi, ate a few bites, and then spaced out. The last time she came, she was just as quiet. No one paid much attention to her.
Today, Lu Xin sat on her other side, but didn't serve her any more food. Zhong Yunxi was already very familiar with what she liked to eat.
After dinner, they would go to the card room as usual.
She asked Lu Xin, "Senior, does your research institute have any new policies?"
Lu Xin hummed in response, "I didn't pay much attention, I don't think so."
She gave a soft "oh," and said, "Zhong Yunxi said yes."
Lu Xin chuckled: "Those people in the investment circle talk about policy information all day long. He's probably just lying to you."
She glanced at Zhong Yunxi, who was shuffling cards. A deck of cards was flipped and pulled in his hand like a fan, his fingers long and nimble, like a magician's, and particularly beautiful.
Someone diagonally across from him mumbled, "Wen Ying has returned to China. Has anyone contacted her?"
A card was flicked out and landed on the man's chest; nothing more was said after that.
Bai Yi was a bit far from the card table, so she could only see Zhong Yunxi's profile and couldn't see his eyes clearly, but this was the second time she had heard the name Wen Ying at this group's gathering.
"Senior brother, why don't you go play cards with them?"
Lu Xin was playing chess and said with a smile, "They're winning a project today, I'm not going to join in the fun."
Bai Yi: ...
Lu Xin was talkative and chatted with her casually: "I've never seen him this serious before. When he gets serious, he almost always wins, unless those three people conspire to set him up."
"Oh." Bai Yi looked down at his phone, but in his heart he was thinking, "So he has all the skills of those spoiled brats, and he's even better at them."
"What else does he usually do?" she asked almost casually.
Lu Xin glanced at her, and Bai Yi, feeling guilty under his gaze, casually looked back at her phone. Lu Xin knew his junior sister couldn't be teased. "Working and making money is definitely the top priority. At gatherings with acquaintances, it's just playing cards, drinking, and driving. But in private..."
Lu Xin paused, and Bai Yi was stunned for a moment. After waiting a few seconds without hearing him continue, she turned her head to look at him.
Lu Xin chuckled softly, his expression mischievous, and Bai Yi glared at him.
Zhong Yunxi turned around to look at her, and seeing that the two of them seemed to be arguing about something, he just smiled and went back to the card table.
When the party ended, Lu Xin didn't say what was behind those three words in private.
Just before getting on the bus, Bai Yi was still angry with Lu Xin.
Lu Xin and Zhong Yunxi were standing next to the car, seemingly whispering to each other.
After Zhong Yunxi got into the car, he saw that she was wrapped in a blanket and said with a smile, "Next weekend, I'll take you somewhere."
She asked almost casually, "Where?"
You'll find out then.
She didn't speak.
Zhong Yunxi held her hand through the blanket and smiled, "This is where I hang out in private."
Bai Yi: ...
Lu Xin has sided with outsiders. He used to help her scold Zhong Yunxi, but now he's completely on her side. Those two scoundrels must have been laughing at her behind her back.
She took her anger out on Zhong Yunxi, pushing his hand away, "I'm not going."
Zhong Yunxi leaned in and kissed her lips twice: "Don't you want to know?"
Sometimes he would deliberately expose her bluntly, especially in a topic like the one just mentioned, to emphasize how much she actually cared about him.
Bai Yi is very stubborn. She has tried to seduce Zhong Yunxi quite a bit, but she doesn't want him to do the same to her. She looks directly at Zhong Yunxi.
Zhong Yunxi understood and said with a smile, "Well, you don't want to know, but I want you to know. So please, reluctantly, learn about your husband."
Hearing the word "husband" startled her. Zhong Yunxi, almost unconsciously, raised his hand to touch the corner of her eye as he watched a faint blush slowly spread across her face.
Then he took her hand again and wasn't pushed away again.
As yesterday, Bai Yi was sent back to Qiwu Mountain Residence, and Zhong Yunxi returned to Boyun Beach.
In the living room, all the lights were on, making it brighter than daytime. Zhong Yunxi frowned slightly before even entering the room, only to see Shi Lin sitting there.
"You've only just gotten your marriage certificate and you're already living apart? Zhong Yunxi, at least put some effort into fooling people."
Shi Lin looked like she was confronting someone, and insisted that it wasn't a fake marriage.
Zhong Yunxi was too lazy to explain and turned off a few lights: "She's not used to this place yet. She promised me she'd come and stay for a couple of days next week when she's in a good mood. If I were really just trying to fool you, I wouldn't have come back to stay here."
Shi Lin took a sip of tea. "It's not too much to ask to meet the elders, is it?"
Zhong Yunxi didn't respond. He was reluctant to bring Bai Yishi to see Shi Lin.
"You still blame me for forcing you to return to China five years ago?"
"No." He didn't say anything more and went upstairs to the second floor.
Shi Lin turned to look at him: "Then I'll stay here for a few days. When Bai Yi comes, I can have a meal at his house and take a look at him, right?"
He still didn't say anything.
Shi Lin knew that her son was concerned. He was so secretive about the things and people he cared about, not even letting her see them. It was as if she would do something to them.
In the bedroom, the set of companion toys he had asked Aunt Wu to buy yesterday was already neatly arranged on the sofa. He took a picture and sent it to Bai Yi: Is one set enough? Do you want any more?
Bai Yi replied: I'll buy it myself from now on.
Zhong Yunxi's lips curled up. Did he mean he would decorate the house himself in the future?
Before going to sleep, he remembered that when the party ended that night, Lu Xin mentioned Wen Ying to him.
Let him handle it properly, be honest and explain what needs to be explained, don't drag it out and cause more trouble later. My junior sister is stubborn and inflexible; let her discover something, and he'll regret it.
Zhong Yunxi felt that he had nothing to do with Wen Ying before, but now he was making a big fuss about it, wasn't that just like trying to hide something obvious?
Rumors and scandals are things that can't be explained; they can only be dispelled by time. He'd have to be crazy to bring up old, forgotten things.
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