late at night
At dinner time, Zhong Yunxi accompanied his grandfather downstairs. Shi Qi pulled Bai Yi along as well, and she hurriedly called out, "Grandpa."
The old man looked at her; she had a quiet and obedient face. He nodded and asked, "Are you used to the climate in the capital?"
Bai Yi pursed her lips. "Yeah, it's alright."
Grandma also got up and headed towards the restaurant, saying, "I'll get used to it. I'll come back to Beijing for a few days whenever I have time. Yunxi can't be called back all year round."
Bai Yi: ...
She glanced longingly at Zhong Yunxi, waiting for him to reply.
Zhong Yunxi laughed and said, "I'll come back next summer to escape the heat. This is the only decent season in Beijing all year round."
Grandma laughed and scolded him, "Shut up, as long as Xiaoyi is back, do you think I care about you?"
Bai Yi became even more nervous after hearing what the old man said.
"Grandma, don't scare her." Zhong Yunxi smiled and pulled out a chair for the elders to sit down. Then he pulled Bai Yi to sit at the end of the long table, opposite Shi Qi and Shi Yan.
Perhaps because of Bai Yilai, half of the dishes on the table were from the south.
The uncle was the last to sit down. He liked to cook in the kitchen. He brought a plate of dace fish cakes and placed them on Zhong Yunxi and Bai Yi's side, saying with a smile, "I don't know if you're used to Northern cuisine. This is my first time making Hong Kong-style snacks. Try them."
Bai Yi quickly thanked him.
Zhong Yunxi served her food according to her taste. Her aunt smiled and looked at the two of them, then whispered to Zhong Yunxi's mother beside her, "Southern girls are indeed more delicate, aren't they?"
His mother laughed and said, "He's finally getting his comeuppance. He just got a scolding from the old man upstairs."
But his uncle asked, "Yunxi, when I had dinner with Director Lin a few days ago, he mentioned that you have a few overseas acquisition projects. Shouldn't you go over there and follow up on them for a few months?"
Zhong Yunxi caught a glimpse of Bai Yi turning her head slightly and blinking at him out of the corner of his eye.
He quietly lowered his eyes and took a sip of soup. Overseas projects were indeed a bit tricky. There weren't many people in the team with experience in operating overseas projects. EU regulations were already troublesome, and each country had different requirements. But he didn't want to be away from Vietnam and Hong Kong for too long.
He replied to his uncle in a nonchalant tone, "I won't go. The company has an overseas investment department, and the director will personally lead the team. As for compliance, we have a law firm we regularly cooperate with. If necessary, I will go there again. Last time I went back to Beijing, I met with General Manager Chen of Dongchen Fund. The South China traditional Chinese medicine industry is progressing."
Grandpa added, "We should focus our energy on the domestic market. Investing in pharmaceuticals has been very popular in recent years, so we should study the policies and market trends more carefully."
As Bai Yi listened, she unconsciously put down her spoon, her fingertips pinching together. Zhong Yunxi suddenly reached out and pushed her hands away, raising his chin: "Eat some more."
She picked up the spoon again and drank the soup.
The aunt glanced at the uncle, nudged him with her elbow, and chuckled softly, "You're up to no good."
The uncle remained calm and continued, "The Wen family has been very aggressive in the Northwest lately. They have made quite a breakthrough in wind power and energy storage technology. Have you been paying attention? When I last saw the old man of the Wen family, he asked about you. He said that his eldest granddaughter is also in Vietnam and Hong Kong. You two have more opportunities to cooperate. Our two families have deep connections in the energy sector. If you really can't take care of it, you can come back often to help Shi Yan."
Shi Yan: ...
The aunt glanced at her son and said, "Did you hear what your uncle said?"
Shi Yan didn't dare to speak, he just nodded and lowered his head even further.
In such families, there can be no idle members across the second and third generations. They must not only inherit the resources passed down from the previous generation, but also continue to solidify the family foundation and build a strong protective barrier.
Zhong Yunxi had often heard his uncle give him advice, but today he felt that his uncle was particularly pointed. Just now in his grandfather's study, he had mentioned that he did not want to return to the capital. He couldn't help but frown. "No rush. Shi Yan is still young. He has plenty of time."
The uncle sighed, "He has time, but time and resources will have to wait for him. While your eldest brother is still in office in the Northwest, you should also pay attention. In a few years, when he is transferred back, it won't be as easy to get things done as it is now."
This older brother is the uncle's eldest son.
Through the interaction of political and business resources, the Shi family, spanning three generations, has achieved remarkable success in Beijing, with no one faltering. This family also does not allow anyone to falter.
Bai Yi felt inexplicably uncomfortable listening to these words, and her head was lower than Shi Yan's.
However, what truly made Bai Yi feel uneasy about the meal was when his uncle said to Shi Yan during tea afterwards, "You've met the youngest daughter of the Chen family, right? She's been transferred to the Supervision Department now. She's a bit willful, but her looks and family background are exceptional. You should keep an eye on her."
The uncle was like the strategist of the family, directing everyone to do what they were supposed to do. Even Zhong Yunxi, who was usually arrogant and domineering, was now just resting his chin on his hand, lowering his eyes, and listening quietly.
Bai Yi's fingers gripped the handle of the tea set; the delicate bone china chilled her fingertips.
Shi Qi's eyes darted around, and she figured that her uncle's talk was pretty much over for today. She grabbed Bai Yi and said, "I'll take you to see my Ragdoll cat."
After the two went upstairs, Zhong Yunxi gave his uncle a meaningful look.
Grandma spoke first, saying to his uncle: "Xiao Yi, this is your first time visiting. Don't you have any manners? It makes it sound like our family has no bottom line and is trying to curry favor with the powerful."
Shi Lin also said, "He was able to return to China five years ago. No matter what he does after that, I, as his biological mother, will accept it. There's nothing wrong with him staying in Hong Kong. If he wants to stay, let him stay. Don't try to cause him any trouble. When has he ever treated the Shi family's affairs as his own?"
Zhong Yunxi said calmly, "Uncle, I know what I should do and I won't bring shame to the family. As for Bai Yi, I'm the one who chose her and I'm the one who proposed to her. You saw it yourself; she was so scared during this meal that she almost hid under the table. Next time, you can just say these things to me alone."
His attitude was clear: he wouldn't listen to anyone about marriage, nor did he want anyone to say anything like that to Bai Yi that would make her uncomfortable.
Grandpa was neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with Zhong Yunxi's self-arranged marriage. His words contained both advice and scolding: "The Shi family doesn't necessarily have to look at these conditions, but isn't it shameful of you to have acted like this before? You'd better make your life more interesting."
Shi Lin nodded, smiling meaningfully: "Dad is the one who hit the nail on the head. If you really find a good family for a marriage alliance, neither of you will make concessions, and you'll get divorced sooner or later. He's quite self-aware and knew that this path wouldn't work. It's just that Xiao Yi seems to have chosen a shortcut. He'll find out once he tries it."
Her face held a cold, sarcastic tone that suggested no one knew a child better than their mother.
Zhong Yunxi had a misconception that Ms. Shi Lin always wanted to see his life go through hardships. Sometimes he even thought about getting a paternity test to see if she was his biological daughter.
If Shi Lin hadn't objected to what he did, he should have been wary; there was likely a catch. For example, his marriage to Bai Yi.
He looked at his mother, and after a long pause, asked, "What do you mean?"
Shi Lin smiled and said, "It doesn't mean anything. You've never suffered much since you were a child, so it's only fair that you experience the bitterness of love."
Zhong Yunxi: ...
Upstairs, Bai Yi and Shi Qi were petting a Ragdoll cat. Shi Qi said to her, "Don't pay attention to what they say. It's a recurring theme at every family dinner. Those old men are so boring."
Bai Yi paused for a moment, then hummed in agreement and asked with a smile, "Will you be set up on blind dates by your family like Shi Yan?"
Shi Qi sighed, "Yes, I'm used to it. I'll just go on blind dates if they ask me to."
Will I meet someone I like?
Shi Qi retorted, "You've never been on a blind date before, have you?"
Bai Yi nodded; she had only met Zhong Yunxi.
"Anyone who's been on a blind date knows that the probability of meeting someone you like is practically like winning the lottery," Shi Qi sighed again.
Perhaps due to her extensive experience with blind dates, Shi Qi spoke at length: "Moreover, men cast a wide net when they go on blind dates. They even create separate contact lists for the people they've been on blind dates with. The messages are sent out in bulk, and they just pick whoever they happen to hook."
Bai Yi: ...
When they got back that evening, Bai Yi asked Zhong Yunxi if he had been on a blind date.
Zhong Yunxi was taken aback, his intuition telling him something was wrong. "No."
Bai Yi just looked at him, clearly not believing him, and asked again, "Do you have groups in your WeChat contacts?"
Zhong Yunxi: ?
"No."
He's not that free.
Bai Yi silently lowered her head, thinking to herself, "How come this is different from what Shi Qi said?"
Zhong Yunxi had a hard time guessing what she was thinking, but he knew that she wasn't just making things up. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, turning his head to smile: "If you want to verify something, you can just ask me directly. There's no need to beat around the bush. With your deductive reasoning ability, it's really easy for me to conclude that you're a scumbag."
Bai Yi: ...
She stopped talking.
Zhong Yunxi sighed, opened WeChat and asked Shi Qi: What did you say to her today? The prompt was: blind date.
Shi Qi sent two 60-second voice messages. He couldn't play them aloud, so he transcribed them into text and scanned them.
He explained to Bai Yi, "I've never been on a blind date. Even that time I met you was when Lu Xin asked me to come down at the last minute. I'm usually very busy and don't have time to cast a wide net or group the people in my contacts."
He then brought up the WeChat page to show her.
Zhong Yunxi laughed and said, "Ask me anytime if you want to check up on me. I won't hide anything from you. Don't try to guess, isn't that exhausting?"
Bai Yi pushed his phone towards her, feeling guilty and ashamed. She didn't even know what was making her awkward about.
"How about we go back to Vietnam tomorrow?" she asked, snuggling closer to him.
Zhong Yunxi felt that she must not have enjoyed her meal today. "Okay, you can leave after you wake up and have breakfast."
The weather in Beijing was clearly clearer than in Viet Hong Kong, yet it was much colder at night than in rainy Viet Hong Kong. And it wasn't as lively as Viet Hong Kong.
After arriving at her residence, Zhong Yunxi asked her, "Is the capital a bit dry?"
She rummaged through the box looking for face masks: "Hmm."
While applying a face mask, she idly rubbed her face with her fingertips, while a geography documentary played on the TV screen.
She felt that the night view of Beijing was not as good as that of Yuegang, perhaps because the place was too unfamiliar to her.
Everything was unfamiliar, especially the rules.
She stepped into a set of rules that were beyond her comprehension and ability to adapt.
It's inevitable to be startled.
Zhong Yunxi came out of the kitchen and handed her a glass of hot milk with a straw.
She doesn't like to touch her lips to the rim of the cup when drinking; she always uses a straw.
"Are you really not going back to the capital?" she asked, watching Zhong Yunxi's retreating figure.
Zhong Yunxi was taking tea leaves from the island counter next to the liquor cabinet when he heard this and turned slightly to the side. "No, unless..."
Bai Yi didn't speak, just looked at him, waiting for him to say what came after "unless".
"Unless you absolutely insist on divorcing me."
Zhong Yunxi had never brought up the word "divorce" before, so when he did, Bai Yi seemed to freeze in her tracks.
"So, is it because of me that you're delayed from returning to the capital?" The face mask on Bai Yi's face concealed many of her subtle expressions.
Zhong Yunxi was startled and realized that he had just said something that had caused her to misunderstand.
In Beijing, after a family dinner, and after his uncle had rambled on with so many pointed remarks, he blurted out that they were getting a divorce.
"No, Xiaoyi," he tried to explain quickly.
Bai Yi looked at him, and both of them were momentarily terrified.
Zhong Yunxi always used the word "divorce" to test her compliance, trying to make her feel disgusted by the word.
But these words inexplicably plunged the two of them into a sense of destiny.
She peeled off her face mask, leaned over to the sofa armrest, and threw it into the trash can, her back to him, saying, "I'm sorry."
She suddenly apologized, as if in response to his question about "what if we get a divorce".
Zhong Yunxi put down his cup, sat down next to her, picked her up and held her in his lap, took out a tissue and wiped the remaining essence from her hairline.
He knew how sensitive Bai Yi was and never allowed conflicts to fester in ambiguity.
"Xiaoyi, we have no conflict, why are you apologizing?" He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes.
Bai Yi's eyelashes fluttered gently. "What I wanted to say was, I didn't know that being with me would involve dealing with a lot of troubles and giving up a lot of things."
Zhong Yunxi knew that the burden in her heart had become heavy again, and that she would often worry that these burdens would make him put himself in a situation where he had to make a choice between them.
“This is my business. Haven’t I told you that there aren’t many things I can’t solve?”
Bai Yi rarely saw uncertainty in Zhong Yunxi's eyes; he was always very determined.
He looked at her like that, and she nodded involuntarily.
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