late at night
Lu Xin arrived after Zhong Yunxi had drunk half a glass of whiskey at the bar.
The Macallan 25 Year Old, the Rolls-Royce of whiskies, lives up to its reputation. Its rich and full-bodied flavor seems to be able to suppress all unspeakable frustrations.
Zhong Yunxi hadn't drunk strong liquor in a long time. In the past, when he had dinner parties, he would call Bai Yi during the meal, and Bai Yi would always remind him to drink less. He knew it was just something she said casually, but he still took it as a kind of affectionate gesture between husband and wife.
When Lu Xin arrived, I noticed that he hadn't added ice to his drink, but only had a glass of ice water next to him to cleanse his palate, so I knew he was there purely to drink.
Lu Xin isn't usually addicted to alcohol. He's been helping his junior sister with Runhe's work lately, running back and forth between the research institute and Runhe, which has been exhausting. Seeing Zhong Yunxi drinking like this, he couldn't help but be tempted to drink as well.
He snapped his fingers twice, and the waiter came over. He ordered the same thing as Zhong Yunxi.
One sip, and the alcohol stimulated his taste buds, yet soothed his nerves. Lu Xin leaned back on the sofa, a helpless smile on his face: "No wonder they say no man can escape the allure of beautiful women and fine wine. I'd be happy even if I drank myself to death today."
"In Xiangcheng, the person next to Xiaoyi was named Yu Shiyuan, right?" Zhong Yunxi rested his elbow on the table, his thumb and forefinger supporting his chin, and looked down at his wine glass.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was slightly hoarse and sounded tired. Apart from a slight frown between his brows, he had little expression.
Lu Xin had previously told Yu Shiyuan that if he didn't interfere, nothing would happen between them. Now, hearing Zhong Yunxi say this, he must have personally witnessed Yu Shiyuan crossing the line.
The already unstable whirlwind marriage was further complicated by the interference of childhood sweethearts on both sides, leaving Lu Xin feeling terrified.
"Just like you and Wen Ying."
Zhong Yunxi twitched the corners of his mouth, but his smile was ugly: "It's different. He will stay in Xiaoyi's hospital room for a night and take Xiaoyi home late at night. Xiaoyi will accept the roses he gives her."
Lu Xin felt that he was completely blinded by his own limited perspective. "Zhong Yunxi, are you out of your mind? In New York, did you help Wen Ying make an appointment with a doctor? Did you drive her around shopping on weekends? Did you give her any pointers when she was learning to ski? Did you discuss projects with her at work? Why aren't you and Wen Ying together? And why isn't your junior sister with Yu Shiyuan?"
As if remembering something, Zhong Yunxi took out his phone and dialed Chen Zhaoyang's number. The other end asked, "President Zhong?"
"It's me. I have some questions for you about Xiaoyi. Do you know Yu Shiyuan? Were he and Xiaoyi high school classmates?"
Lu Xin: ...
He could no longer tell whether Zhong Yunxi was trying to understand himself and his enemy or was just making trouble for himself.
Chen Zhaoyang dared not say anything, nor did he dare to say everything. He only said that he was a freshman in college back then. Although he was in Yuegang, he didn't know much about high school. The only thing he knew was that Zhou Qi transferred schools in the second semester of his senior year because of a fight with Yu Shiyuan. However, there were no more rumors of Bai Yi and Yu Shiyuan dating after that.
After hanging up the phone, Zhong Yunxi unknowingly finished two glasses of whiskey.
He was about to raise his hand to call the waiter when Lu Xin pressed him down: "Stop drinking. It's Monday tomorrow, you'd better not drink yourself into oblivion."
He was far from blacking out; he wasn't even drunk yet. At that moment, he realized that having a high alcohol tolerance wasn't necessarily a good thing.
He rested his temples on his hands and suddenly asked Lu Xin, "What were we doing in high school? Did you even have a crush on the school beauty?"
Lu Xin: ...
"You're mistaken. It's not me, it's Ning Ye. He's pursuing a senior in high school. We play games together every day."
Zhong Yunxi smiled and muttered, "Useless."
He was thirty-three years old, reminiscing about high school in a bar. Yu Shiyuan had fought for Bai Yi back then, and he suddenly felt envious of him. He envied everyone who had left a deep mark on Bai Yi's past.
He didn't know what position Yu Shiyuan held in Bai Yi's heart, and he even felt a sense of panic from his helplessness.
Lu Xin advised him not to drink too much. When they left the bar, he was still sober, but Lu Xin was drunk. Lu Xin said it was all his fault for making people recall the past. Recalling the past and drinking together, he said that if you don't get drunk, you have no heart.
He shoved Lu Xin into the car and corrected him, "It's not that I don't have a heart, it's just that my heart isn't in the past."
After getting on the bus, he leaned back in his seat for a long time without saying a word. He looked at his phone and sent a message to Bai Yi, but as expected, it failed to send. Bai Yi had deleted him again.
The driver asked, "Boss, to the hotel?"
“Return to Yuntan.”
Bai Yi returned to Xiangcheng without taking anything with her. He went back to pack some of her usual items and sent them to her.
When he arrived home, Aunt Wu was surprised, as neither of them had been back for some time, and she didn't feel comfortable asking.
Zhong Yunxi sat in the living room, with two plush toys on the sofa. He picked them up and squeezed them. He reeked of alcohol and looked inexplicably tired and aloof.
Aunt Wu brought him some warm water: "Go take a shower first, I'll cook you a bowl of noodles."
After he finished eating and went to his bedroom, he noticed that Bai Yi seemed to have taken several items with her. He went downstairs and asked Aunt Wu, "When did Xiao Yi take her clothes and skincare products?"
Aunt Wu said, "It was Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon when she called and asked me to send it to Xiangcheng."
Zhong Yunxi simply nodded. Bai Yi's wardrobe and dressing table were cluttered with many items, and he even remembered that a few things were missing. He pulled out a suitcase and started packing her things, putting it back after packing half of it.
Even though he had been drinking, he didn't sleep very soundly that night, and it took him more than an hour to fall asleep, which was extremely inefficient.
The egg-shaped nightlight in the room, the row of Bonnie and StellaLou figures on the sofa, and the rose scent on the pillows all helped to counteract the drowsiness caused by the alcohol.
The next day at breakfast, he said to Aunt Wu, "Xiao Yi may not be going back to Yuegang for a while. If you have time, contact her more often, ask her what she needs, what she wants to eat, and tell me, and I will bring it to her."
Aunt Wu wasn't quite sure what was going on, so she didn't ask too many questions and just agreed.
*
He went to Sijian first in the morning, and then went straight to Wenying's office.
Wen Ying was preparing her work report for Monday's routine meeting when she heard a knock on the door. When she looked up, Zhong Yunxi and Xue Meng had already entered. She unconsciously clicked the mouse twice.
Zhong Yunxi did not sit down, nor did he walk closer to her desk. He simply stood in a position that was neither too close nor too far from anything in the office.
"To make a long story short, Sijian cut its traditional Chinese medicine business unit and agreed to all the conditions proposed by Professor Wu's team for the project. It was all about money, and I would cover any amount."
Wen Ying maintained a professional smile: "Just have Assistant Xue explain this via WeChat or email."
Zhong Yunxi remained silent for a few seconds, then looked at Xue Meng behind him. Xue Meng understood, closed the door, and left.
"Wen Ying, when you did this, you must have also staked the relationship between the Shi family and the Wen family, right?"
Wen Ying raised her hand to her chin, "It's not really a gamble, I just want to see how far you can go for Bai Yi. Zhong Yunxi, in a family like ours, there's no room for innocent girls to survive."
"You don't need to worry about it. Since you're mentally prepared, I won't remind you anymore. Business is cutthroat, so don't let the Wen family try to curry favor with you again."
After saying that, he turned and left the house, intending to go directly to the airport and fly to Beijing.
Wen Ying finished her coffee and calmed herself down. After all these years, Zhong Yunxi had finally brought them to a dead end.
To say she regrets or is afraid wouldn't be an exaggeration; she just feels lost. From the very beginning, she had taken too much of a gamble, and was destined not to be as generous as others in wishing him to find his life partner.
They grew up together and were going to the same university as Zhong Yunxi. After graduation, despite her parents' objections, she insisted on going to the United States with him and working her way up on Wall Street for ten years.
How could she be content with such a life, unless it was completely shattered beyond repair?
She probably wanted to see just how far Zhong Yunxi would shatter the bond between the two of them, and even their families, for Bai Yi's sake; he had better not disappoint her.
While waiting for the elevator, Zhong Yunxi bumped into Ren Xiao, who was coming upstairs. He glanced at his watch, was in a hurry, and didn't speak to Ren Xiao, but just nodded.
Ren Xiao always felt uneasy when she saw Zhong Yunxi. She didn't know how Bai Yi was doing. She would reply to her WeChat messages, but they were all just trivial, meaningless chatter. She only mentioned that Professor Wu wanted her to return to Xiangcheng.
Ren Xiao knew that her presence, even a simple greeting, would embarrass Bai Yi.
She had no right to ask questions related to the project, and no right to ask questions related to Zhong Yunxi.
Whether the two separate or stay together, her situation is awkward.
She was even more anxious when she thought about Runhe's HR trying to poach her. Runhe's offer was no worse than Sijian's, and more importantly, new traditional Chinese medicine drugs were a key part of Runhe's strategy, perfectly aligning with her career plan. However, Runhe had collaborated extensively with Professor Wu's team, and she was afraid of encountering Bai Yi again.
Not long after starting work in the afternoon, Wen Ying received an email from the Xiangcheng research team, signed by the project researchers, He Cheng and Bai Yi.
Negotiate on projects for cooperation between the two parties.
The research team's demand is that the contract be terminated by both parties. Given that Sijian withdrew its subsequent investment in the new drug development process, all current research results belong to the research team, and the research team will not refund the patent usage fee previously paid by Sijian.
In Wen Ying's view, it was reasonable, as she did not ask for an exorbitant amount of compensation.
Zhong Yunxi had already spoken to her, and she wouldn't block such a thing.
However, she still called Xue Meng and explained the situation. She did not want Sijian to suffer financial losses due to patent royalties, since the research team's patents were not being used to generate profits.
Xue Meng consulted Zhong Yunxi and said that their team would take on the cost.
Wen Ying quickly replied to the research team's email and had the legal department draft a contract to terminate the cooperation and send it over.
When He Cheng was leaving get off work, he told Bai Yi that he had received the email. Si Jian agreed readily and said that the law firm he was working with would take a look at the contract the next day, and if there were no problems, they could sign it.
Bai Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but felt sorry for He Cheng.
"Senior brother, let me treat you to dinner tonight. Let's go to the most expensive Japanese restaurant in Xidi Port."
He Cheng knew she felt guilty about the project, and laughed at her, "Forget it, I have a blind date tonight."
Bai Yi: ?
"Why didn't you say so sooner? I would have gone even more! I'd treat you both, and I could have livened things up and showered you with compliments."
He Cheng was speechless. "I'm a man going on a blind date, and I'm bringing a beautiful woman along. You're paying the bill and praising me. What are people going to think? Don't you think our pairing is weird?"
As He Cheng was speaking, Bai Yi's phone rang. It was Yu Shiyuan calling, saying that once she entered the park, she should come to the research center building immediately and asking if she had finished get off work yet.
Before she could reply, He Cheng asked, "Yu Shiyuan is here? Let's have the three of us together then. Otherwise, this blind date will be quite awkward for me."
Bai Yi smiled and said to Yu Shiyuan, "He'll be down soon. Senior Brother He is going on a blind date tonight, and he wants us to go with him."
Yu Shiyuan was worried that she might not be used to the food after being back in Xiangcheng for so many days. He originally wanted to take her to eat Vietnamese and Hong Kong cuisine, but casually asked, "Okay, have you decided on a place yet?"
Bai Yi turned on the speakerphone, and He Cheng said, "No, let me contact that girl and ask her if she has any dietary restrictions."
When the group arrived at the agreed-upon location, Bai Yi and Yu Shiyuan recognized Pei Xin, the person He Cheng was going on a blind date with, as the same person they had eaten with the day before yesterday.
Pei Xin looked at the three of them and sighed, "Fate is truly wonderful."
Yu Shiyuan smiled and asked Bai Yi in a low voice, "Do you think a researcher and a screenwriter can do it? I doubt it."
Bai Yi tugged at his arm: "Shut up. I think it's fine."
Pei Xin's outgoing and cheerful personality made He Cheng seem awkward. He Cheng asked her first, "What would you like to eat?"
Pei Xin didn't hesitate to offer her a seat: "There's a shop on Furong South Road that makes especially delicious butterfly sea cucumber. I'll take you there to try it."
The group went over together.
*
After arriving in the capital in the afternoon, Zhong Yunxi first met with a few friends. He had a full three-day itinerary planned.
When he returned to the old house that evening, as soon as he entered the living room, the nanny brought over half a bowl of eight-treasure porridge. His grandmother took it and handed it to him, saying, "Xue Meng said that as soon as you returned to Beijing, you were meeting this person and that person. You've been so busy that you haven't even had a bite to eat. What kind of important matter is it that you have to do it on an empty stomach?"
He ate a few spoonfuls and then put the rest down: "Grandpa and Uncle are probably waiting for me in the study. I'll come down and eat later."
As soon as he entered the door, he noticed that his uncle's expression was not good.
"Grandpa, Uncle." It was rare for him to be so respectful in front of his elders.
Grandpa didn't express any particular opinion, but simply asked, "You're saying you want to sever ties with the Wen family with just one phone call? Over the years, you've never been particularly proactive in doing anything, but you've certainly been proactive in undermining others."
Zhong Yunxi glanced at the two elders, then leaned back on the sofa. "What if I come back to work?"
Grandpa chuckled: "Back to the capital?"
“Grandpa, we don’t necessarily have to go back to the capital to get things done. Within three years, I’ll bring Shi Yan to work on the wind power and energy storage in the Northwest. In addition, I’ll personally take over the computing center in Ulante Banner, west of the capital. I know my uncle values the current trend of AI computing training. The matter of Yuegang will not be delayed, and the traditional Chinese medicine industry in the Southwest will be established soon.”
Grandpa glanced at his uncle and nodded slightly: "When you were in your twenties and abroad, I couldn't control you. After you returned to China, you hid in Vietnam and Hong Kong, doing extreme sports everywhere. Your style of doing things is just like a retired person. Have you finally seen the light?"
Zhong Yunxi pondered for a moment, then said, "I have conditions."
As if afraid he might change his mind, his uncle said, "Go ahead."
“I live in Xiangcheng. After I get married, I won’t go back to Beijing. The wedding will also be held in Xiangcheng. If Bai Yi comes back occasionally, I don’t want to see anyone making her unhappy. My elder brother and Shi Yan are in Beijing, so there’s no need to tie me down. I will definitely keep my promises regarding business matters, but I can’t care about the family’s reputation.”
Grandpa crossed his arms and rested his elbows on the armrests of the chair, "it looked like he was signing a contract to sell himself into servitude to us."
My uncle laughed and said, "Everyone has their moments of enlightenment. I just never expected that after all these years of holding it in, you'd end up with a love-obsessed mind."
Grandpa propped himself up with his cane and stood up: "Let's go downstairs for dinner."
His conditions were tempting enough, especially for the head of the family. They didn't care who he married; they cared more about what value he could bring to the family. If they forced him into a marriage alliance, and he ended up resisting and giving up, it would be pointless.
For the next two days, he continued to use his connections and resources in the capital.
The winter in Beijing is harsh, dry, and cold, and the flu is rampant. He was also very tired recently, and on the second night, he began to show signs of fever.
The heating in his residence was too hot, so he asked Xue Meng to buy medicine and bring it over. He kept drinking ice water, but his condition did not improve the next day.
When you get a viral infection, your body's immune system is activated, and what follows is inevitably headache, fever, muscle aches, nasal congestion, and sore throat, before you recover. This process always has to be completed.
On my last day in Beijing, I attended a performance review meeting for a department directly under the central government. To avoid infecting others, I had no choice but to wear a mask.
After the meeting, an acquaintance of similar age invited him to go skiing at a ski resort about 100 kilometers from Beijing, a place he used to frequent when he was in high school in Beijing. He declined, saying he was too busy at the end of the year and had to return to Hong Kong the next day.
I just had coffee with an acquaintance nearby.
Over the years, many of these scions of noble families in the capital, like him, have been sent out to work. Every time they meet, they inevitably exchange information and say that he is lucky to be in a place like Yuegang, where at most he can only do resource integration. He is simply going to the south to enjoy life. Unlike them, who work in some places, they can practically make pancakes out of thin air and conjure up people out of thin air.
He sighed at the end, then laughed and said, "I'm about to be exiled to the Northwest. If we run into each other then, I'll have to rely on your help."
Before leaving Beijing, I met with Mr. Chen from Dongchen Fund, who helped me connect with people in the Xiangcheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Management Bureau.
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