Chapter 17 Chapter 17

Chapter 1

The resort that Zong Xuecheng took Song Lingxi to was abroad, and the resort was located at the foot of a snow-capped mountain.

It was winter when we arrived. The sky was covered with heavy snow. The roofs of the resort were covered with thick snow. The mountains in the distance were looming in the wind and snow, just like a snowy town in a fairy tale.

Song Lingxi was a little dazed for a moment. She had been to this place a long time ago.

"...What should we do now? Are you going to get off the car secretly and hide from Uncle Zong?" Xie Qiao's voice brought Song Lingxi back to his wandering thoughts.

Zong Fei said unhappily, "Young Master, I am not someone who can't be seen by others. Why should I hide?"

As he said this, he arrogantly opened the car window and stretched his hand outside, waving his palm to greet his father who had just got out of the car, as if he was determined to make him die of anger.

Secretary Qian was holding an umbrella over the boss's head when he saw the boss stop and looked in the direction of his gaze.

Secretary Qian: “…”

Zong Xuecheng turned around and looked at Secretary Qian.

Secretary Qian faced the boss's heavy gaze and bowed his head with difficulty to admit his mistake: "I'm sorry, sir, it's my fault."

He also didn't know how Zong Fei managed to keep his itinerary a secret from all the accompanying personnel so that he could reach his destination without anyone noticing.

In the car, seeing that Zong Xuecheng looked unhappy and Zong Fei was still trying to save face and provoke him, Song Lingxi silently took back Zong Fei's hand that was reaching out of the car window.

"Quit while you're ahead." Your life won't be easy if you get sick from anger.

Someone stepped down from the stage, and Zong Fei followed suit, but he still said timidly, "I'm not scared."

Xie Qiao replied in a gloomy voice: "Is it a strategic retreat?"

Zong Fei looked at Xie Qiao in shock, as if saying: How can you say such a shameless thing?

The two conspicuous guys were talking to each other in the car, and outside the car, Zong Xuecheng looked at Song Lingxi meaningfully.

Song Lingxi was too lazy to pay attention to his temptation. She and Zong Xuecheng were people from two different worlds from the beginning to the end.

While she was struggling for survival, money, and study resources, Zong Xuecheng was caught up in a family feud, fighting in the midst of intrigue and conspiracy;

When she finally entered a higher dimension and realm of struggle through her own efforts—for the country, the nation, and justice—Zong Xuecheng became the winner of the power struggle, and was ambitious to expand his business territory and arrange family marriages.

When she was trapped by the plot and decided to lie down and wait for death, Zong Xuecheng stood at the top of the money kingdom he created, training heirs for the continuation of the kingdom like a king, and rejecting all irrational people who wanted to break the rules.

According to his rules, he cannot break the rules even if he wants to.

It cannot be said who is superior between her and Zong Xuecheng, but if they were not bound by the plot in the book, they would have been two parallel lines that would never intersect.

Even though they were forced together by the plot, more than a decade has passed, they are still the most familiar strangers. As the saying goes, the relationship is still the same even though they are old, but that's it.

Zong Xuecheng retracted his gaze and frowned slightly. Sometimes he thought he knew Song Lingxi well enough, but sometimes he felt he could not see through Song Lingxi.

Just like now, her gaze made Zong Xuecheng feel that she was very far away from him. She was clearly very close, yet at the same time, she was a world away.

It seems that she has been making many small moves recently, as if trying to get close to Zong Fei and get promoted, but Zong Xuecheng intuitively feels that this is not the case.

"Sir, Xiao Fei..." Secretary Qian didn't know how to deal with the rebellious young master, so he asked Zong Xuecheng in a low voice.

Zong Xuecheng waved his hands and said, "Don't worry about him."

Secretary Qian understood that the boss's attitude had softened. Even though it started off well but ended badly, Secretary Qian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If the boss had used force against Zong Fei, they would have been the ones to suffer in the end.

This kind of thing has happened before.

"Xuecheng, don't stand there. It's so cold outside. Hurry up and take your sister-in-law and nephews to the hot spring."

A man with a romantic look came up to her and said, "I want to see who can move a person as cold as you this time."

The bodyguard opened the car door for Song Lingxi, and the playboy hurried over, holding an umbrella for Song Lingxi to shield her from the falling snowflakes, and greeted her warmly: "Hello, sister-in-law, I am Zheng Yuandao, one of Xuecheng's best friends."

Song Lingxi got out of the car, looked up and said, "Hello."

The romantic man paused, unable to come back to his senses for a long time. It was Song Lingxi who saw him stunned and called out: "Mr. Zheng?"

Zheng Yuandao had a good psychological quality. When he came to his senses, he did not feel embarrassed at all. He led Song Lingxi and the other two to meet Zong Xuecheng as usual.

Zong Xuecheng took the black umbrella from Secretary Qian, took Song Lingxi in his arms, and looked down at Song Lingxi's physical condition. "Are you cold?"

Song Lingxi shook his head.

Zheng Yuandao watched from the sidelines and found it extremely interesting.

From the outside, the entire resort looks like a group of wooden houses covered in thick snow, but when you get closer, you will find that the wooden houses are just exterior decorations, and the interior is still a modern building. The decoration inside the hotel is gorgeous and it is obvious that it has been maintained at a great cost.

Listening to Zheng Yuandao and Zong Xuecheng talking along the way, it seems that this resort was bought by Zheng Yuandao from a foreigner. It has only been a few years since Zheng Yuandao resumed business after renovating it. The number of customers is not large, and most of them are students who want to climb the nearby snow-capped mountains and come here for a short stay.

But Zheng Yuandao is not short of money. He bought the resort because he wanted to find a place to gather and have fun with friends. He would be annoyed if there were too many people, so it’s just right now.

Zheng Yuandao led them into a wooden house that looked quite old, which was somewhat different from the modern luxury elsewhere in the resort.

"Old Joe and the others are waiting inside." Zheng Yuandao pushed open the door of the wooden house, on which hung a sign that read "Mountaineer Camp."

"This bar existed before the resort was built. I thought the atmosphere was good, so I kept it. The bar owner is an old-fashioned man. He only receives climbers and me, the big boss. Usually there are few people, so the environment is clean."

The implication is that although this is a bar, there is no chaos here and Zong Fei and Xie Qiao can go in without worry.

There were not many people in the bar, and the decoration was like the bar environment that often appeared in medieval movies. What was more special was that there was a whole row of photo walls in the corridor on the left, and the walls were covered with various photos and notes. Some of the photos looked faded and very old.

It can be seen that this bar has been in business for some years.

After sitting down, Song Lingxi felt a pair of scrutinizing gazes coming at her. She calmly turned around and met the man's eyes. The man opposite her did not expect Song Lingxi to have such a personality. He was stunned for a moment and then smiled kindly.

Zong Xuecheng noticed Song Lingxi's gaze and introduced them to her: "He is Qiao Ziqi, and the other one is Lan Xi. Like Zheng Yuandao, they are both my friends for many years."

Qiao Ziqi looks gentle and kind, and he obviously knows how to use this appearance to his advantage. When he talks to people, he makes them feel like a spring breeze and makes them let down their guard unconsciously. Lan Xi is more silent and looks steady and reliable.

After hearing Zong Xuecheng's introduction, Qiao Ziqi and Lan Xi hurriedly greeted Song Lingxi, "Hello, sister-in-law. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. You're welcome."

As for the female companion next to Qiao Ziqi, Qiao Ziqi did not introduce her, and the others tacitly ignored her. Even Qiao Ziqi's female companion herself did not seem to care much.

After a while of greeting, the silent Lan Xi suddenly said to Zong Fei and Xie Qiao: "A Fei and Xiao Qiao, do you want to go fishing with me?"

Zong Fei was impatient to listen to adults talking, but once Lan Xi started talking, she immediately perked up, pulled Xie Qiao up and said, "Okay, Uncle Lan is still good to me."

Xie Qiao pushed away Zong Fei's hand that was pulling at his clothes. The young man's handsome face was calm and composed. He said to Song Lingxi and Zong Xuecheng, "Mom, Uncle Zong, don't worry. Xiao Fei and I will pay attention to safety."

Song Lingxi always trusts children. She waved and continued to eat the fresh ice grapes at hand. Zong Xuecheng nodded gently. He noticed the grape skins on Song Lingxi's table with his peripheral vision. He took the plate of ice grapes in front of her, peeled a few for her and passed them to her, and put the rest aside.

Song Lingxi curled her lips but said nothing.

The tacit and natural movements of the two of them made the others stunned. Zheng Yuandao saw that no one was talking, so he calmly changed the topic and praised Xie Qiao's back: "Look at the Qi River, the green bamboos are lush, there is a gentleman..."

"Okay, you're showing off your knowledge again, you're really showing off!" Qiao Ziqi interrupted Zheng Yuandao and changed the subject, "But Xiaoqiao is really good-looking. I've never seen a boy prettier than Xiaoqiao in my life. Today I've finally opened my eyes. He's worthy of being a child born from a beauty like my sister-in-law."

Song Lingxi thought to herself that this person was really good at lying with his eyes open. Xie Qiao only inherited three-tenths of her looks, and anyone with eyes could see that it was better to say that he was praising Xie Qiao's biological father than to complimenting her.

She was trying to be nice to Zong Xuecheng the first time they met. There shouldn't be any grudge between her and Qiao Ziqi, right?

Song Lingxi was not used to his bad habit. The main thing in life is to live happily. If someone makes you unhappy, you should fight back.

So Song Lingxi said bluntly: "I am quite good-looking, but Xie Qiao's good looks are mainly inherited from his biological father, and have little to do with me. You are praising Xie Qiao because you want to praise his biological father, right? Don't be embarrassed, his biological father is indeed good-looking."

Qiao Ziqi: “…”

For a moment, the air was unusually quiet. Qiao Ziqi looked at Zong Xuecheng intently, hoping that Zong Xuecheng would say something.

Zong Xuecheng looked normal as he poured a glass of warm water to replace the carbonated drink in Song Lingxi's hand.

Zheng Yuandao burst out laughing, "Are you stupid, Qiao Ziqi? You've been acting weird since you were a kid and you still haven't changed. You've hit a wall now, you deserve it!"

Zheng Yuandao's teasing eased the awkward atmosphere. Qiao Ziqi was also a tactful person. Seeing this, he picked up the cup and apologized to Song Lingxi.

"Sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. Old Qiao has a younger sister who has liked Xuecheng since she was a child, and Old Qiao has the best relationship with this sister. He will be jealous when he sees you and Xuecheng being so affectionate. Don't mind him..." Zheng Yuandao revealed the lawsuit on Qiao Ziqi's side with just a few words.

Qiao Ziqi was touched by what he said and looked embarrassed.

Just then, the bar owner came over with a tray of beer, "My friends, welcome to the resort."

When he bent down to put down the wine tray, he happened to look up and saw Song Lingxi beside him. He couldn't help but exclaimed, "Oh my God, girl... is it really you!?"