Harbor
Zhong Yunxi woke up early according to his biological clock, but the person in his arms was wrapped around him like an octopus, sleeping in a casual, boneless position, as if she could be manipulated at will. He had no idea how she had tossed and turned last night.
He lay still for more than ten minutes, but in the clear morning, it was too much to bear, so he had to gently move her, thankfully she didn't wake up. He went into the bathroom to wash up and then went downstairs for his morning run.
On the first floor, Shi Lin was already eating breakfast.
"What time is the flight?" Zhong Yunxi asked casually.
Shi Lin replied irrelevantly, "You got up pretty early."
Zhong Yunxi ignored her words and said, "Aunt Wu, Xiaoyi will have boiled eggs for breakfast."
Aunt Wu responded from the kitchen.
After exchanging a few words with each other, the mother and son stopped talking to each other.
Forty minutes later, Zhong Yunxi returned to the bedroom. Bai Yi was still asleep, but in an odd sleeping position. The bedroom temperature was comfortable, so Zhong Yunxi tidied up her with a light blanket.
Bai Yi is not a high-energy person who is always in a good mental state. He is a picky eater, doesn't exercise much, sleeps for long periods of time, and needs at least two alarm clocks to wake up.
It took her a while to realize where she was after she woke up.
"Zhong Yunxi..." she called out as if in her sleep, slipping on her slippers as she walked from the bedroom to the bathroom.
Zhong Yunxi first heard his phone alarm, then vaguely heard Bai Yi's voice. He came out of the bathroom, saw Bai Yi swaying, and smiled, "Awake?"
She saw him but didn't say anything. She pushed him aside and went into the bathroom to wash up.
As usual, I only became more alert during mealtime.
Living in Boyun Beach was easier for her to accept than she had imagined. Many things were similar to Qiwu Mountain Residence; the clothing and food were almost entirely to her liking. She knew Zhong Yunxi had put thought into it.
Just like at Qiwu Mountain Residence, Zhong Yunxi spread salted butter on her bread slices, peeled a hard-boiled egg, and put the egg white into her plate.
The doorbell rang, and Aunt Wu returned with a large bouquet of Kayla roses.
She didn't look at her phone while eating breakfast today; she was just spacing out. She spent ten minutes eating a piece of bread but only managed to eat one corner.
Zhong Yunxi didn't urge her, but slowly and politely drank another bowl of porridge and sat quietly with her.
Before leaving, Zhong Yunxi asked Aunt Wu to pack some milk tablets and yogurt for her to take to work, as she would definitely be hungry before 10 o'clock if she ate that little bit. As he picked up the paper bag containing the lunchbox, he casually took two roses from the vase on the dining table and put them in the bag.
On the way, Zhong Yunxi asked her, "The flight application for Saturday has been approved. How about coming to Boyuntan on Friday night?"
Without a suitable excuse, Bai Yi probably still won't habitually move into Boyuntan.
Bai Yi asked, "Where are we going on Saturday?"
"Let's go to Sunan, I'll take you horseback riding at the horse farm."
"Are you tired?" Upon hearing that it was outdoors, she subconsciously felt that it would be physically demanding.
"It's not a competition, you won't get tired."
Bai Yi had also seen horse farms in Xiangcheng, where her fellow students liked to search for wild medicinal herbs with the local villagers and bring them back for research. However, she had never been particularly interested in the outdoors.
It turns out that what Lu Xin didn't tell her that day was that horseback riding was one of Zhong Yunxi's private hobbies.
She nodded in agreement, then asked, "Do you go there often?"
Not often.
She glanced at Zhong Yunxi's profile, where he was looking at her with a smile.
When his eyes are smiling, there is a kind of rational affection. Perhaps the most charming thing about phoenix eyes is that they are a clear-headed indulgence and a calm allure.
But the more this is the case, the more elusive it becomes, as if that wandering emotion can be cleared away by a rational mind at any moment.
Bai Yi always instinctively wanted him to soften his heart more when he looked at her like that, so she would suddenly act coquettishly for no reason, in the instant she felt that he doted on her.
"So, do you want to take me out to play, or do you want to play by yourself?"
Zhong Yunxi laughed and said, "Yes, we have both."
Bai Yi raised her elbow and nudged him: "It must be that you wanted to play this game."
"Will you stay with me or not?"
Bai Yi: ...
She had already agreed, why was he still asking? Bai Yi ignored him.
When they arrived at the company parking lot, Bai Yi took the tote bag he handed her: "You don't need to come to lunch with me anymore. There's a promotion meeting next week, and I might not even be at the company for lunch."
Zhong Yunxi didn't insist too much, only saying, "Then tell me when you want me to come over and keep you company."
Bai Yi responded with an "Mmm".
When Runhe wasn't busy with work, she contacted Ren Xiao more often.
For research teams, drugs that have already been registered and launched on the market are far less important than semi-finished products in the preclinical component optimization stage.
After Ren Xiao switched from the research institute to the pharmaceutical company, his business acumen underwent a complete transformation.
Most of the time, Ren Xiao and Bai Yi communicated about projects and inside stories of Sijian Pharmaceuticals, roughly splitting the conversation evenly.
Ren Xiao told her that the board of directors of Sijian Pharmaceuticals seemed to be planning something, and the management was going to hire senior executives from foreign companies.
While marking the PPT, Bai Yi replied to Ren Xiao with an "Oh".
Ren Xiao: ...
Bai Yi didn't like hearing gossip about Lian Runhe, and she had even less interest in Sijian Pharmaceuticals. Their project hadn't been affected.
Finally, it's the last day of the week. Just two hours into work, Bai Yi texted Zhong Yunxi: "I really want to leave work early this afternoon [pity]"
Zhong Yunxi was in a meeting, and the risk control team was analyzing data from Sijian Pharmaceuticals. His phone screen lit up slightly, and he glanced at it. It was a message from Bai Yi. He reached for the phone, swiped to open it, and replied: "Then I'll pick you up two hours early. I'll ask for leave for Lu Lin at noon."
Bai Yi: Forget it. I've been late three times this week and left early too. That's so unprofessional. [Sigh]
Zhong Yunxi smiled and said: Being late or leaving early is not important, as long as the work is done.
Bai Yi did not reply to him again.
Zhong Yunxi thought she hadn't finished her work, so he replied: It's okay if you haven't finished. Take it home and I'll help you finish it slowly.
Bai Yi replied with a string of ellipses.
At lunchtime, she told the driver that she wouldn't be going to a hotel for lunch and would instead have the company's staff meal.
She agonized over it all morning, but still wanted to leave two hours early in the afternoon. She planned to work a little overtime at noon.
The first time I ate at Runhe's staff meal, I ran into Assistant Zhang while queuing to get my food. I greeted her and even recommended some dishes to her. After she got her food and was looking for a seat, Assistant Zhang waved to her and said, "Teacher Bai, sit here."
She walked over and saw Meng Shuang sitting there, greeting her with a smile. Just as she sat down, Shang Xinlan and Wen Ying came over.
When Zhong Yunxi called, she answered. Apparently, the driver had told Zhong Yunxi that she hadn't eaten at the hotel that day, so he was calling to ask.
There were many people at the table, so she lowered her voice and said, "I'll eat at the company cafeteria; I'll work overtime at noon."
Zhong Yunxi: "Then I'll pick you up early this afternoon."
She had intended to tell Assistant Zhang after the meal, but she didn't want Zhong Yunxi to find President Lu within two hours, as that would make her seem too arrogant and spoiled.
"I'll tell you after I finish eating."
"What did you eat? How was the Runhe staff meal?"
She took a bite of the stir-fried cabbage and said, "It's pretty good."
Zhong Yunxi didn't say anything more and quickly hung up the phone.
Shang Xinlan nudged Wen Ying and gestured towards Bai Yi with her eyes.
Unfortunately, Wen Ying came to see Shang Xinlan today, but it was Friday, the end of the month, and the finance department was busy, so they didn't have time to go out to eat and just ate at a restaurant. Bai Yi also didn't go to the hotel as usual today.
Meng Shuang looked at the two cousins with a headache, tugged at Shang Xinlan, and whispered, "Don't cause trouble."
Wen Ying was sitting opposite Bai Yi, and she clearly caught Bai Yi's tone and expression when Bai Yi was talking to Zhong Yunxi on the phone.
She had imagined many times what kind of woman Zhong Yunxi would be with, but she never imagined someone like Bai Yi, because in their circle, there were almost no women like Bai Yi.
She's delicate, the kind of delicate that seems hard to coax, yet she's also obedient and gentle, so much so that no woman can bear to make things difficult for her.
So she recalled why, when they were in Beijing, Zhong Yunxi would answer the phone and say, "Did I make you angry?"
Wen Ying had heard Shang Xinlan talk a lot about how much Zhong Yunxi doted on Bai Yi. In Runhe's chat group, with seven parts truth and three parts speculation, they had already vividly described her life of marrying into a wealthy family.
Bai Yi didn't recognize her. When their eyes met, he just smiled politely and thought she was a very beautiful person, the kind of bright and generous rich girl.
Shang Xinlan asked Assistant Zhang, "Is this teacher seconded to your department? I heard you call her Teacher Bai just now. I'm making the payroll, and I don't remember anyone in your department with the surname Bai."
Assistant Zhang replied with a smile, "Yes, they're from the research team, Professor Bai Yibai."
Shang Xinlan's gaze slid from Assistant Zhang's to Bai Yi's face, and she addressed him as "Teacher Bai".
Bai Yi: Hello.
Shang Xinlan smiled and said, "Assistant Zhang, the fairy that people in the company's slacking-off group are talking about, is that Teacher Bai?"
Assistant Zhang: ...
Meng Shuang: ...
Bai Yi: ?
Meng Shuang chuckled: "Those idle women are just asking for 996 work hours. The thing they do most at work is slacking off."
Assistant Zhang also changed the subject with a smile: "We were gossiping about President Lu yesterday."
Bai Yi only realized then that people in the company were talking about her. She could sense that the two people opposite her were looking at her strangely. She wasn't good at these kinds of situations, so she just kept her head down and ate without saying a word.
She thought to herself that she would never eat at the restaurant again. She wasn't an employee of Runhe, so what was the big deal about leaving two hours early?
Perhaps afraid of embarrassing her, Meng Shuang chatted with her about the academic promotion conference next Tuesday.
After lunch, she mentioned to Assistant Zhang that she would be working overtime at noon and wanted to leave early in the afternoon.
Assistant Zhang had heard about Bai Yi's situation from their CEO, Mr. Lu, and readily agreed.
In the afternoon, when Ren Xiao was chatting with her, she asked him if there were many gossip groups in the company.
Ren Xiao: How novel! A department with ten people can create nine more groups besides the work group.
Bai Yi: ...
Ren Xiao: What's wrong? Did an employee at Runhe try to get you to gossip?
Bai Yi: People are gossiping about me, and besides, I don't even have a single group chat. [Sigh]
Ren Xiao: That's normal. You were sent there on assignment, not as an employee. [Laughing while covering face]
She had only worked an hour in the afternoon shift when Zhong Yunxi arrived. She immediately went downstairs, probably because she was unhappy during lunch and felt perfectly justified in leaving early.
Shang Xinlan was coming out of the office to find Meng Shuang when she bumped into Bai Yi in the corridor.
The two barely made eye contact. Bai Yi lacked the ability to be outgoing and would not usually initiate conversation.
As soon as Shang Xinlan entered Meng Shuang's office, she said, "As expected of someone sent abroad, President Lu is really generous with the treatment."
Meng Shuang sighed: "Although Lu Lin is a bit of a jerk, what he said is true. Don't be so indifferent to Bai Yi. I think even Yingjie doesn't care much about Zhong Yunxi anymore. What are you doing? Lu Lin can't figure out Zhong Yunxi. Don't let him use his shareholder status to get back at you, the CFO, if something goes wrong."
Shang Xinlan remained silent.
How could Wen Ying not care? She was just holding onto a sliver of pride, swallowing her unspoken resentment.
After picking up Bai Yi, Zhong Yunxi accompanied her to a dessert shop, bought her milk tea, and then returned to Boyuntan.
Bai Yi brought her tablet over today and was curled up on the sofa playing games, while Zhong Yunxi was working at the multi-functional table near the balcony. She quietly turned the game volume down a bit.
Zhong Yunxi glanced in her direction and said, "Come play here."
Bai Yi didn't leave, saying, "The chair isn't as comfortable as the sofa."
"I asked the housekeeper to bring over the single sofa."
"No, don't you find it noisy? You should focus on your work and make money."
While replying to the email, Zhong Yunxi asked her, "It wasn't too noisy. What game were you playing?"
She was too busy to keep up and ignored him. After she was eliminated, Zhong Yunxi asked her again, and she finally said, "Egg Party."
Zhong Yunxi looked at the computer screen, listened to her talk, and smiled: "Is it fun?"
"Um."
After being eliminated, she returned to Egg Island and started over.
Listening to the game's background music and seeing how seriously she was playing, Zhong Yunxi remembered the nightlight he had seen in her bedroom last time. It was a cute little doll, like an egg.
"Let's buy two egg-shaped nightlights and put them in the bedroom."
While Bai Yi was playing the game, she couldn't hear Zhong Yunxi talking. She couldn't multitask, or she would be eliminated.
Zhong Yunxi picked up his phone, browsed a shopping website, and bought it for her directly, also getting her some other kinds of merchandise. He rarely used shopping apps; he only cared about Bai Yi's trivial matters.
She played for more than half an hour, her neck was sore, and she lay on the sofa muttering, "I didn't get a lunch break today. I'm so sleepy."
Zhong Yunxi got up and went over to her, saying, "I'll take you upstairs to sleep."
She rolled over and lay face down, mumbling, "I don't want to go upstairs, I want to sleep on the sofa."
He then went to the guest room on the first floor to get her a blanket.
When Bai Yi woke up, Zhong Yunxi was still working, seemingly in a video conference, wearing headphones.
She stared at him blankly, her gaze unfocused. After a short while, Zhong Yunxi closed his laptop, came over, and sat down beside her. "Awake? Are you hungry?"
She shook her head, got up and sat on his lap, hugged his waist, and kissed his neck.
Zhong Yunxi paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, "Still half asleep?"
Bai Yi buried her face in the crook of his neck, "Mmm, I'm dreaming."
"You dreamt about me? And you wanted to kiss me?"
"Um……"
"Just want a kiss? Or something else? Be bolder."
She was indeed still half asleep, and it took her more than ten seconds to realize that Zhong Yunxi was seducing her.
Zhong Yunxi's kiss pressed down on his lips immediately, and he whispered, "I dream of more than just kissing you."
Bai Yi: ...
In the second-floor bedroom, the blackout curtains were drawn tightly, and the room temperature and Zhong Yunxi's embrace were both very hypnotic. Bai Yi seemed to have fallen into a dream again, and her desires became hazy, concealing her timidity.
Zhong Yunxi's kisses became scalding hot, and she trembled with every inch of skin he touched.
Unwilling to be disturbed to the very core by him, she opened her mouth and bit him.
However, she didn't even have much strength to bite, so Zhong Yunxi's movements were not disturbed at all.
She could vaguely see Zhong Yunxi's eyes, like a glimmer of water. He licked the tip of her nose: "Good girl, call me husband."
She refused to call out.
Zhong Yunxi simply chuckled.
Later, calling for her husband no longer worked. In fact, the more she called, the more he would torment her.
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