Harbor
After that, Bai Yi felt conflicted whether she was at home or at the research center.
In this matter, she was caught between Zhong Yunxi and Pei Xin, making it difficult for her to express her opinion.
However, she still hoped that Zhong Yunxi would not make things difficult for Pei Xin, because Senior Brother He already had a problem with him, and she really wanted Senior Brother He and Teacher Wu to change their opinion of him.
But she felt it would be difficult to get Zhong Yunxi to back down, as he was always concerned about her past with Yu Shiyuan.
That morning at breakfast, she was lost in thought again, and ate half a slice of bread in ten minutes.
“You seem distracted no matter what you do. Is there something you want to say?” Zhong Yunxi probably felt that the problem needed to be resolved, so he started to entice her to speak.
Bai Yi looked at him, but he didn't smile. His expression was as if he were discussing business with someone, clearly indicating that he had no intention of giving in to her.
"What's the point of saying anything? You'll have to figure out your own job."
Zhong Yunxi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Not planning to help your friend?"
She argued, but with a straight face: "I'm trying to help you. Senior Brother He hates you so much. He talks bad about you to Teacher Wu every day. Why don't you take this opportunity to do something good? Teacher Wu won't be able to invite you to your wedding. It'll be so embarrassing."
Zhong Yunxi never expected that she could come up with such an excuse to occupy the moral high ground.
Although he was smiling at her, he remained unmoved: "Do you think I care about my reputation with your senior brother He and Teacher Wu? You don't need to worry about not being able to invite Teacher Wu to your wedding. I'll have Secretary Li invite him. Not to mention Teacher Wu, there's no one in Xiangcheng we can't invite."
Bai Yi: ...
Zhong Yunxi was eager to see how she planned to appease him. He had never been angry with Bai Yi before, and no matter how unreasonable she was, he always coaxed her unconditionally. But he also wanted to experience the effort she put into showing favoritism and trying to please him.
Bai Yi finished his milk in one gulp. "Why don't you just take a knife and hold it to Teacher Wu? You have all sorts of tricks up your sleeve. Do you think I don't need to live a decent life anymore?"
Zhong Yunxi patted her back: "Why are you drinking so fast?"
Bai Yi pulled his hand and glanced at her watch. "You're so annoying, I'm going to be late again."
Things went exactly as Zhong Yunxi had predicted.
It was a pure contest, without any misunderstandings, just a silent competition about who would apologize first and how to do it.
After dropping her off at the research center, Zhong Yunxi tied her scarf around her neck as she got out of the car. "I'll make you milk tea after I finish my work. What do you want for lunch?"
He's been staying in Xiangcheng all week, and he'll come over at noon to bring her milk tea or whatever she wants to eat.
"We'll eat at one of the park's restaurants today." She thought the food at the park's restaurants was pretty good, and they had comfortable lounges.
Zhong Yunxi smiled and kissed her on the cheek: "Go to work."
Bai Yi knew what he cared about, and she also knew that she would definitely have to pay back some interest this time, the huge sums of favor that Zhong Yunxi had deposited with her.
This time, she truly had no temper left.
At lunchtime, Zhong Yunxi brought her milk tea, and the three of them, along with He Cheng, sat down to eat together.
He Cheng had recently heard Pei Xin and Qi Zhouxu scolding Zhong Yunxi quite a bit, and seeing his junior sister often spacing out at work, he immediately imagined that Zhong Yunxi, the capitalist, was bullying her again.
If you run into him, you can't help but say a few sarcastic things: "Zhong Yunxi, is your company a one-man show? You insist on bringing our project in no time. Director Qi is just trying to make a good film, but you're making things difficult for him."
Zhong Yunxi showed no remorse: "If Senior Brother He insists on thinking that way, then it's not impossible."
Bai Yi kicked his foot under the table, warning him to stop stirring up trouble.
It's almost Friday again. Zhong Yunxi came to take her to work and asked her with a smile, "It seems like we'll have to wait for Director Qi's project at next week's board meeting. It's really not easy for others to get projects from me. I've already given you a huge amount of money, and you still don't understand?"
Bai Yi stared at him, almost wanting to bite him, but after catching her breath, she hugged his neck and called out in a sweet voice, "Husband~"
Zhong Yunxi still smiled and pinched her ear: "I called her that last night, this is a bit new."
Bai Yi pushed him away: "Don't push your luck."
"Three seconds of patience? You think you can get projects with this attitude?" Zhong Yunxi smiled and kissed her. "Go to work. Stop slacking off and think more about how to get projects."
Bai Yi violently pushed open the car door.
Seeing that she was still looking dejected today, He Cheng couldn't help but mutter, "You should just get a divorce."
Today's experiment was simple. She took out the crude extract of alcohol-added polysaccharides that had been frozen and allowed to stand yesterday, put it into a refrigerated centrifuge, set the temperature and speed, and went to the office outside to work on the calculation program.
By the way, Zhong Yunxi sent a message: Senior Brother He advised me to divorce you [smile][smile][smile]
Zhong Yunxi was making her milk tea and replied: If I offered Pei Xin a deal—that she would break up with He Cheng and I would give her the project—would she agree?
Baiyi: despicable.
Zhong Yunxi: Not as despicable as you, Senior Brother He.
Bai Yi: [crying][crying][crying]
Zhong Yunxi: I'll bring you roses and milk tea at noon. [kiss][kiss][kiss]
Bai Yi was speechless. Why are older men so difficult to deal with these days?
She asked He Cheng, "Senior brother, will Sister Xin comfort you?"
He Cheng: ...
"Won't."
"So, if—and I mean if—you're angry, how would you want her to coax you?"
He Cheng laughed: "Impossible, how could it be my place to be angry?"
"I already said 'if'." Bai Yi still wanted to find some clues from He Cheng.
He Cheng, a typical STEM guy, really lacked imagination in this area. "Junior sister, don't make things difficult for me. People can't imagine things beyond their own understanding. Why don't you go ask your senior sister Yin next door?"
Bai Yi gave him a resentful look: "No wonder all you can do is advise me to get a divorce, you can't give me any useful advice at all."
He Cheng suddenly realized: "So the reason you've been unhappy these past few days isn't because he upset you, it's your fault, and you still can't appease him?"
Bai Yi: ...
"no."
As the morning was drawing to a close, Zhong Yunxi brought her milk tea, just like he always does.
He Cheng was also confused about the situation between the two. If it was Zhong Yunxi who was angry and needed his junior sister to coax him, then he was always acting like a devoted boyfriend.
The two stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the laboratory floor, and Bai Yi asked him, "What used to coax me?"
Zhong Yunxi had no idea what tricks she had come up with this morning, and said with a smile, "When you're angry, or when you're being coquettish."
Are you angry about that promotional video?
Actually, he was a little angry because of Yu Shiyuan, but Zhong Yunxi couldn't say he was angry, or she would bring up old grievances. "I'm not really angry."
They gave an ambiguous response.
"Do you know how to act cute?"
Zhong Yunxi finally understood that even if he wanted her to back down and lower her stance to coax him, he had to pave a way out for her.
“I won’t. Our daughter has eight dou in total. You took one shi, and I still owe two dou. I have nothing to give.” Zhong Yunxi smiled with his eyes downcast.
Bai Yi: ...
Zhong Yunxi patiently explained, "Now you're the contractor, and I'm the client; you're the one who needs to get the project. Secondly, while I'm not particularly angry about that film, if you put yourself in my shoes, you'll know that I'd be jealous too."
Bai Yi was at a loss: "Our family has a total of 800 cunning minds. You have taken 1,000, so I owe you 200."
After saying that, he punched Zhong Yunxi hard and turned back to his office.
I went back and drank milk tea, then fell into a mental lapse after my brain cells were completely depleted.
His eyes were drooping. "The client is so difficult to deal with."
He Cheng thought she was referring to the lab project, "Junior sister, we are the client."
She glanced at He Cheng. "Hey, for other projects, he's the client."
He Cheng slid his chair off the workstation. "Junior sister, be a little tougher. Use the current project to negotiate with him. So what if he gets the investment qualification? If you don't produce results for him in any part of the lab, that stinking capitalist, he can just throw money at thin air."
There were two loud knocks on the door.
Zhong Yunxi returned, standing at the door with the doorknob, his tone cool and amused: "Senior Brother He, you must know that men quite like to shoot air baskets. Since I've taken her research project, I'll still invest whether she produces results or not. As for Senior Brother He, don't try to persuade her to break up eight hundred times, because you'll end up sitting at the head table at the wedding."
He Cheng: ...
Bai Yi stood up and strode over, pushing the person who was being obnoxious and provoking trouble out of the room. "Shut up."
Zhong Yunxi touched her hand: "I have to go back to Yuegang this afternoon and come back tomorrow. How was the milk tea today? If it wasn't good, I'll practice it again when I get back."
"You could have just sent me a message! Why did you have to come back and eavesdrop on other people's conversations!"
"Otherwise, how would we know the terrible tricks you and your senior brother came up with? Don't even think about it. Whether you lie flat or give up, it doesn't matter."
Bai Yi: ...
"How about I take you back to Yuegang this weekend? Yuegang is more lively than Xiangcheng. You've been under too much pressure this week."
"You caused this." Bai Yi pouted.
"So I'll help you de-stress and take you back to Vietnam and Hong Kong for fun. Let's keep things separate."
Bai Yi: ...
A ruthless and cold-blooded old man.
After landing in Vietnam on Friday night, Bai Yi invited Ren Xiao to go to a quiet bar for drinks.
When I arrived, I saw Meng Shuang there as well.
Meng Shuang had long wanted to contact Bai Yi to find out if Zhong Yunxi had any conflicts with Run and the promotional video. That way, she could know the success rate of the first draft.
I was originally planning to fly to Xiangcheng, but Bai Yi just happened to come back on her own.
"You two didn't meet at a bar to discuss experiments, did you? I don't want to hear it." Blindfolded, Bai Yi reached for his tablet.
Bai Yi smiled and shoved the tablet back: "Let's chat again tomorrow when we go for coffee."
Ren Xiao ordered her a drink that tasted like a sweet drink, saying, "Don't get drunk. I'll have to call Boss Zhong to pick you up, and I really don't want to see him."
Meng Shuang looked at Bai Yi: "That's right. Recently, he's been making a big fuss about Runhe and a promotional video. He comes to the board meeting every week for half an hour, like a Buddha, not saying a word. At the end of the meeting, he says to put that project on hold for now. The entire PR department is being driven crazy by him."
Bai Yi: ...
She was too.
Meng Shuang asked first, "Have you two been arguing lately?"
Bai Yi shook his head.
Meng Shuang breathed a sigh of relief, so he wasn't angry because of Yu Shiyuan. She clinked her glass against Bai Yi's, "Teacher Bai, can you do me a favor? Ask him what he really means?"
Bai Yi didn't dare to say it.
Zhong Yunxi meant that he was just waiting for her to coax and please him.
"President Meng, do you usually try to appease President Lu?"
Meng Shuang, who was slightly tipsy from drinking, suddenly sobered up. Looking at Bai Yi, her mind raced, but she remained outwardly composed: "Hoo."
"How do I coax her?"
Ren Xiao chuckled: "How else can you coax a man? Just treat him to a good meal."
Meng Shuang shook his head and said with a smile, "It's not about having a good meal, it's about having a different kind of meal."
Ren Xiao tugged at Meng Shuang, "Don't let her lead you astray."
Meng Shuang gave Bai Yi some advice: "The ring and the black stockings will train him to be Pavlov's dog in no time."
Ren Xiao couldn't stop laughing.
Bai Yi: ...
When Meng Shuang mentioned the ring, she realized that she should indeed buy a ring for Zhong Yunxi. He hadn't worn a wedding ring since she threw away his previous one.
She plans to buy a ring for Zhong Yunxi tomorrow.
Meng Shuang handed over two pictures, and Bai Yi's pupils dilated in shock upon seeing them.
"This will work perfectly, guaranteed to make you happy. Trust me."
Bai Yi felt that Meng Shuang always managed to challenge her worldview.
When buying a ring for Zhong Yunxi, Bai Yi was conflicted. Last time she bought a ring, if she put any thought into it, it was that she bargained for the price. She deliberately used the price of 1314.
At that time, she had a slight liking for Zhong Yunxi, but she didn't dare to like him too much, yet she still had to keep him hooked.
The store she went into today sells wedding rings starting at six figures.
I looked at them one by one, feeling somewhat dazed.
She picked up a piece with simple, smooth geometric lines, inlaid with two small heart-shaped diamonds.
It looked much more exquisite and luxurious than the one she threw away.
However, a few minutes later, she still felt bad when she saw that a large sum of money was missing from her bank card.
I casually sent a message to Zhong Yunxi: [Looking down][Looking down][Looking down]
Zhong Yunxi always replied to her messages very quickly: What's wrong?
Bai Yi: Shopping is so expensive!
She casually took a picture of a six-figure price tag and sent it to him.
Zhong Yunxi: You didn't bring your card when you went out? Where is it? I'll have Xue Meng deliver it to you.
She gave him a stack of bank cards and even complained about being poor.
Bai Yi: I've bought it, but it still hurts. Xiangcheng saved up money to spend in Hong Kong, what a waste!
Zhong Yunxi was at the tea table, looking at her message, when he put down his teacup.
After several minutes of silence, I finally asked her: "Did you spend your own money? Did you buy it for me?"
Bai Yi: ...
Did he send a camera to follow her?
A few words would reveal the truth, and Bai Yi stopped replying to him.
Zhong Yunxi opened the phone number of the driver who was sent to pick her up, hesitated for a moment, and still didn't call to ask.
The longer you imagine it, the more exponentially the satisfaction you'll feel when you finally get it.
He has a good level of patience.
That evening, the driver took her back to the East Tower of Hong Kong Island, and she said she wanted to stay at the Ritz-Carlton that night.
Zhong Yunxi went back to have dinner with her.
"Are you done with your social engagements?"
Zhong Yunxi nodded and asked the waiter to bring her grapefruit tea: "Yes, a few investors in the field of AI are chatting."
"Do you want me to come to Yuegang to keep you company on weekends from now on?" she asked sincerely, resting her chin on her hand.
Zhong Yunxi squinted at her and smiled, "There are less than 48 hours left until the Zhou Runhe board meeting. Looks like you're panicking, planning how to trick me, huh?"
"I'll do three things, and if you're satisfied, you can't delay that promotional video any longer." Bai Yi made this decision almost as if she had nothing to lose.
"Okay." Zhong Yunxi thought to himself, "She's quite clever; she knows how to negotiate quantitatively."
"So, are you satisfied with what I just said, that I'd come to Vietnam and Hong Kong to keep you company this weekend?"
Zhong Yunxi raised an eyebrow slightly: "I can show you some sincerity and let you off the hook, but you can't use similar questions to fill the gap. If you promise anything else, like taking me on a trip every year or calling me every day, then it won't count."
Bai Yi nodded in satisfaction: "I won't renege on my promise."
Zhong Yunxi smiled: "That's hard to say."
Bai Yi: ...
After returning to her room, she threw her handbag on the sofa, turned around and pushed Zhong Yunxi against the wall. "The second thing I want to talk to you about is Yu Shiyuan."
Zhong Yunxi picked her up and said with a smile, "You don't have any presence like this."
She was being held by Zhong Yunxi, towering over him, with her hands braced against the wall, in a "wall slam" pose.
Zhong Yunxi was satisfied: "Okay, go ahead and say it."
She seemed to have never looked down at him like this before. Zhong Yunxi tilted his head slightly, his eyes slightly raised, revealing a soft sense of anticipation.
"Yes, he helped me a lot in high school. He would shield me from the teacher when I ate snacks in class, and he helped me find the green sandalwood that my mother left me. Later in Xiangcheng, he also helped our research team find different varieties of medicinal plants, especially wild ones. The calamus in your perfume was also found through him. But I have never loved him, and you are not allowed to be jealous. If you are jealous, it means you are questioning me."
Zhong Yunxi lowered her down a little and kissed her.
"Okay, I won't be jealous anymore. I won't do it again."
"This is the second one."
"Satisfied," he simply replied.
At that moment, I didn't want her to still be thinking about the negotiations; I just wanted to kiss her until she lost herself in the moment.
Bai Yi had never wanted to mention Yu Shiyuan to Zhong Yunxi, just as she had never wanted to mention Wen Ying. But perhaps Zhong Yunxi's way of handling problems influenced her.
Zhong Yunxi probably also hoped that she would tell him frankly that there was no one else, and that she had only ever loved him.
"ring."
Bai Yi squeezed out two words between the tightly intertwined lips and tongue, which were tingling and itchy from the biting and numbing sensation.
Zhong Yunxi licked it lightly for a long time, slowly calming his breathing.
She turned and ran to the walk-in closet. When she returned to the hotel, she asked the driver to bring it up and put it in the walk-in closet.
She held a small blue velvet box in her palm and presented it to him.
Zhong Yunxi knew that this was the third matter, and there was no room for him to bargain.
A small token of appreciation from Bai Yi will be amplified a thousandfold in his eyes.
She opened the box, took out the ring, and beckoned it with her finger. Zhong Yunxi, as if wound up, mechanically extended his hand to her.
Bai Yi smiled and pushed the ring towards his ring finger, then looked up and asked, "Are you satisfied?"
She could easily drive him half to his death, and she could also make his heart race with a single word, a glance, or a gesture.
He took her hand in his own, lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers. A tear fell onto their hands and onto the ring.
Bai Yi breathed a sigh of relief; Zhong Yunxi was easier to appease than President Lu. A ring would suffice.
While nestled in Zhong Yunxi's arms playing on her phone, she asked him, "Mr. Meng said that all men like black stockings?"
Zhong Yunxi supported her neck with one hand and stroked her lower back with the other, pulling her closer into his arms.
He chuckled: "Meng Shuang? A bunch of clever tricks."
Bai Yi looked up from her phone: "No way, she's incredibly smart."
"So you really don't like black stockings?" she asked curiously again.
Zhong Yunxi looked at her without saying anything. Bai Yi thought that his silence meant he didn't like her, and muttered, "I knew it, how perverted."
Zhong Yunxi: ...
He asked casually, "So, what did Meng Shuang teach you?"
Bai Yi was about to take a bath when she said, "Let me wear black stockings."
Zhong Yunxi: ...
"It's not impossible."
Zhong Yunxi gently stroked her knees with his palms, his entire demeanor revealing a strategy of holding back, playing the long game, and delaying gratification.
Bai Yi ignored him and got up to go to the bathroom.
Zhong Yunxi received a message from Meng Shuang: Boss Zhong, I sent a message to Xiaoyi but she didn't reply. I sent her a small gift and gave it to the hotel staff. Could you please accept it for me?
Zhong Yunxi: Okay.
When the waiter knocked on the door, he opened it and brought in a small gift box that looked like clothes, shoes, or a bag. He put it in the cloakroom.
"Honey, blow-dry your hair."
When Bai Yi finishes taking a bath and applies a face mask, she always asks him to blow-dry her hair.
"The hotel changed their toiletries, and they smell nice."
"Yes, it was recommended by my personal manager. If you like it, you can use it from now on." This brand only has face cream in China, and no other product lines. He asked his personal manager to buy it from Europe for her to try.
He sniffed her hair; it had a clean, faint rose scent.
She wrapped herself in a bath towel and went to the dressing room to pick out pajamas. Zhong Yunxi told her about the little gift Meng Shuang had given her, which was on the changing bench.
She casually tore it open, speechless. Meng Shuang even gave her two pairs of black stockings.
Meng Shuang was so afraid that she wouldn't be able to coax Zhong Yunxi, and the key point was that Zhong Yunxi didn't seem to like black stockings either.
However, in her excitement, she almost lost her senses and became obsessed with her curiosity. She lifted it up and saw a black halter-neck dress that covered her hips.
She held it up against herself, unable to tell if it looked good or not. After trying it on, well, it did make her look a bit like Catwoman.
She thought it looked bad.
Just as he was about to take it off, Zhong Yunxi finished showering, with a towel tied around his waist, and opened the sliding door.
Bai Yi looked at him, completely unaware of the sudden surge of deep emotion in Zhong Yunxi's eyes.
"I knew it, how could anyone like this?"
He stood motionless by the sliding door of the dressing room and said in a deep voice, "Come here."
Bai Yi wasn't wearing shoes, and hopped a few steps to him.
Zhong Yunxi bent down and carried her back to the bedroom.
Bai Yi exclaimed in surprise, "I haven't changed out of my pajamas yet!"
Zhong Yunxi put her down, and she rolled over on the bed, her sundress brushing up to reveal a section of her fair waist.
The bedroom lights were dim and alluring, yet they added different filters to the black and white of her outfit.
The black is as intoxicating as strong liquor, while the white is as sweet as a clear spring.
Zhong Yunxi leaned forward and pressed down on him: "Did Meng Shuang send this over?"
She blinked: "Mmm."
"Very good, one dares to teach, and the other dares to learn."
Bai Yi: ...
"What's the meaning……"
Before he could finish speaking, he had instantly taken over almost every sense in my body.
Bai Yi: ?
Even in the middle of the night, Zhong Yunxi held her down by the waist, making her sit on his hips and preventing her from sliding off.
Zhong Yunxi had never torn her clothes before; that black stocking was the first one.
The next day, Bai Yi's eyes were swollen from crying.
"You don't like black stockings? You're a pervert, you're disgusting."
"It's not that I like black stockings, it's that I like you."
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