0031 35 “Why are you calling me Dad? Do you want to call your dad over?”
The silence was broken by the nurse who came in, "Secretary Ling, it's time to change the dressing."
"Wait a minute, I have something to do," Ling Xingzhi frowned at the nurse. "You came in without knocking, didn't you see I have a guest here?"
The nurse was a little embarrassed, smiled and apologized before leaving.
Zhou Xiye rubbed the tip of her index finger against her thumb, then turned to ask Ling Xingzhi, "What's wrong with you?" After saying that, she scanned Ling Xingzhi's entire body with her eyes.
I didn't see anything wrong with it.
Hearing this, Ling Xingzhi narrowed his eyes and smiled. Although his face was pale, his smile was still bright. "You really want to know?"
Zhou Xiye sensed a hint of ambiguity, rolled his eyes, and said, "It's a calculated concern."
Ling Xingzhi didn't mind her lack of boundaries at all. His gaze followed her eyes to her red lips. "I just realized that we haven't kissed yet."
"Really?" Zhou Xiye didn't remember and hadn't paid attention.
Ling Xingzhi's smile took a different turn. "Kiss me, and I'll tell you what's really going on."
Zhou Xiye tilted his head to examine the truthfulness of Ling Xingzhi's words. Ling Xingzhi relaxed and leaned back against the soft cushion behind him, allowing Zhou Xiye to observe and spy on him.
After a short while, she stood up and walked to Ling Xingzhi's side. Ling Xingzhi's gaze followed her as she approached, and he slowly looked up. Zhou Xiye's hand was very cold, and when she touched his cheek, Ling Xingzhi subconsciously trembled.
Her fingers traced the jawline down to the neck, then the collarbone, tapping lightly like playing the piano. Zhou Xiye leaned down, a smile playing on her lips, and whispered something close to Ling Xingzhi's ear. "Your wife contacted me not long ago..."
Ling Xingzhi's smile became even more ambiguous after hearing this. He placed his uninjured hand on her waist and pulled her forward. Zhou Xiye sat on his lap, and he looked up at her. "I don't want much, just a kiss."
After saying that, he kissed her, and Zhou Xiye didn't dodge.
Ling Xingzhi's kissing skills were exceptional; his tongue was nimble, first tracing Zhou Xiye's lip shape, drawing it little by little with great patience.
Then, it cleverly slipped into her mouth, entwining with Zhou Xiye's tongue.
Zhou Xiye closed her eyes, her nose filled with Ling Xingzhi's scent. She had never kissed him before. Ling Xingzhi's kissing skills left her breathless. At first, he savored her like a dessert, and then he stole air from her mouth as if swallowing it.
Silver liquid flowed from the corners of their mouths. Before they knew it, Ling Xingzhi's hand had reached inside Zhou Xiye's clothes and was stroking her back.
Zhou Xiye placed his hand against his chest; their lips were separated, but their foreheads remained pressed together as they breathed heavily.
Ling Xingzhi slowly raised his other hand, wiped the drool from Zhou Xiye's lips, and then chuckled softly.
"Why aren't you wearing the perfume I gave you?" The voice was deep and husky, with a hint of sexiness.
The gift I took after leaving the villa that day was perfume from Ling Xingzhi, not Tibetan snow tea.
Tom Ford, Thorn Rose.
Zhou Xiye chuckled, pushed Ling Xingzhi aside, and stood up. "Only prey leaves a scent." She disliked perfume and leaving a fragrance. Close people could smell her most primal scent, but to those she wasn't close to, or to her enemies, she carried no scent whatsoever, so they wouldn't detect her attacks or tracks.
"Now you can tell me, what exactly happened?"
Ling Xingzhi raised his hand and wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. The ambiguity in his eyes disappeared completely, and his aura of authority returned instantly. "You certainly know how to ruin the atmosphere... Someone attacked the chairman."
Zhou Xiye took a short while to process those six words.
"Who is it? Have you found out yet?"
Ling Xingzhi didn't reply, but stared at her with a smile, exuding an aura of aloofness.
Zhou Xiye understood; he was settling accounts one by one. So he sighed, "Ye Lifeng made me a pawn, and I accepted. You manipulate me? What right do you have to manipulate me? Just because you're Ling Qingyun's son? I got to where I am today step by step from the battlefield. I didn't get there by sleeping with men. No one can force me."
Ling Xingzhi put away his smile, but his tone remained gentle, "It's a pity, then we can only be enemies."
A gentle knife, yet every strike is deadly.
This was nothing to Zhou Xiye. She had seen real combat and wouldn't be intimidated by Ling Xingzhi's few words, but she couldn't lose in terms of momentum either. "You got to this position because of my father, but I got here on my own. My biggest enemy isn't you, it's your dad."
Ling Xingzhi's face darkened, and his voice was icy. "Director Zhou, it's getting late. I'll have someone escort you out of the palace."
Zhou Xiye laughed and turned to leave.
Stepping outside, the sky was just beginning to lighten. Zhou Xiye stretched her arms and gave a big yawn. Crows cawed from the eaves in the distance, but Zhou Xiye was in a good mood. She looked around at the scenery, after all, this was her first time visiting the Forbidden City.
The person behind her hesitated for a moment when he saw her unhurried manner, but after a few seconds he still spoke up, "Director Zhou, let me escort you out of the palace, through the Xihua Gate."
"good."
Zhou Xiye happily followed the soldiers out, encountering no one along the way, the air was fresh. Suddenly, he remembered that Jingshan Park north of the Forbidden City offered a panoramic view of the palace; he should go check it out sometime.
Although she doesn't believe in feng shui, she's still a little superstitious and wants to absorb some of the dragon vein's regal aura.
Not long after Zhou Xiye left, Ling Xingzhi called the nurse in to change his dressing. When the bandage was removed, the bleeding was still ongoing. Seeing that Ling Xingzhi was in a bad mood, the nurse didn't dare say anything. After applying the ointment, the bleeding continued.
"Secretary Ling, did you just use this hand?"
Ling Xingzhi hummed in agreement.
The nurse wanted to reprimand him, but didn't dare. She called the doctor in, and a group of people gathered around the bed. They finally managed to stop the bleeding and bandage the wound. Ling Xingzhi was a little sleepy. The doctor gave him instructions, but he didn't listen carefully. Only the last sentence woke him up.
“…Secretary Ling, why don’t you have your father come over?”
Ling Xingzhi smiled, his tone very soft, "Why are you calling me Dad? Are you going to call your dad over?" he asked the doctor.
The doctor paused for a moment, then shook his head.
Ling Xingzhi then looked at the nurses beside him and asked them one by one, patiently and repeatedly, "Are you looking for your father?"
Are you looking for your father?
Are you looking for your father?
"..."
After asking everyone present, Ling Xingzhi's smile remained, but with a hint of murderous intent. "Since no one is looking for their father, please don't ask me such stupid questions again. This isn't kindergarten."
The doctor and nurses walked out, muttering their grievances on the way. He mentioned Ling Qingyun because he saw that Ling Xingzhi's condition was not good and wanted to find Ling Qingyun to comfort him... but they never expected to touch the tiger's tail.
After exiting through the Xihua Gate and completing his registration at the pavilion, Zhou Xiye left in a military jeep. The car pulled up at the Beijing Liaison Office, where a security guard, just starting his shift, greeted him with a smile, "Director Zhou, what brings you here so early..."
Zhou Xiye didn't explain. Just as he reached the elevator, the security guard caught up with him. "Director Zhou, there's a guest who said he's here to see you... He just arrived a few minutes ago."
"Who?" Who would come looking for her so early?
Filled with curiosity and questions, I entered the reception room. A man sat in the middle of the black leather sofa, his legs crossed and his back straight.
Zhou Xiye paused in his steps.
"Yi Chenling?"
The man stood up, nodded at her, and instead of the usual smile typical of people working in the system, he looked every bit the pampered rich kid. Perhaps because it was nighttime when they met that day, she hadn't had a chance to look at him closely. But today, upon closer inspection, Yi Chenling possessed a solid, robust beauty—thick hair, bright, sparkling eyes, and a slightly childlike, plump mouth. He had no sharp edges, like a naive, lucky doll.
"Director Zhou, hello."
The two shook hands, and Zhou Xiye sat opposite him. The sound of the water dispenser boiling water behind them was quite loud.
"Young Master Yi, what brings you here?"
She simply couldn't imagine that the son of the central bank governor could have any connection with her.
He didn't hide his purpose, "I heard you came from the Forbidden City, so I came to ask you what happened inside after my father participated in the military parade. Is my father alright?"
Zhou Xiye narrowed his eyes. He was quite well-informed. However, as soon as he finished speaking, the landline in his office rang.
"They're probably all here to ask you about things in the Forbidden City. You don't need to pay them any attention."
Young Master Yi was arrogant, and with one sentence, Zhou Xiye couldn't get away. She smiled, leaned back on the sofa, and crossed her legs. "Young Master Yi, I can't tell you the things you want to know. It's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm on the edge of a cliff myself. I can't say anything until things are settled."
Yi Chenling looked at Zhou Xiye, his face showing no dissatisfaction after being rejected, but rather a calm expression. He looked at Zhou Xiye for a few seconds, then looked away and lowered his eyes. "I know what happened in Beijing a while ago... What did Director Zhou do in Jiang Yanci's room that night?"
These words made Zhou Xiye find him interesting; he was no longer the noble potato, but had become somewhat aggressive.
"Young Master Yi, what are you saying?"
Yi Chenling pointed directly at Zhou Xiye, "I know Jiang Yanci. She has neither the ability nor the motive to leak information. She's just a rich young lady; how could she possibly be as shrewd as you?"
Zhou Xiye blinked, then smiled. "Young Master Yi, you can't just make things up without evidence, or I can sue you for defamation. Defaming a public official—I don't know how powerful your father is, but..." Her gaze sharpened, "...I was able to leave the Forbidden City unscathed, but your father might not be so..."
Zhou Xiye found Yi Chenling's reaction amusing.
He blushed.
Yes, he actually blushed. Zhou Xiye hadn't felt this way about teasing a child in a long time. "How about this, Young Master Yi, please wait a moment. If you still haven't heard from your father, I'll ask around for you..."
Zhou Xiye stood up. "Leave me your contact information, I'll call you when I hear from you."
“No,” Yi Chenling looked up, his face full of stubbornness. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to sit here and wait.”
It's just like a spoiled child.
But Zhou Xiye wasn't running a kindergarten, so he said with a smile, "Then you can sit here and wait. There's water over there if you're thirsty, and you can ask my secretary to order takeout if you're hungry."
After saying this, Zhou Xiye returned to his office. He took a shower in the cubicle and took a short nap.
At 8:30, she got up to work. She didn't bother Yi Chenling during that time; he's just a child at heart, so she let him be.
He thought the esteemed Young Master Yi would leave after a while, but to his surprise, he actually waited for Zhou Xiye from morning until he got off work.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
