twenty three
On a sunny Sunday morning after the rain, the victorious team embarked on their journey home.
Chen Ning has recovered from her illness and is even more enthusiastic about work and study than before.
The key issue is that the captain tacitly approved it, and the vice-captain was even more complicit.
The group of young people who were caught on the plane were trembling with fear, afraid that they would be dragged back to the training room for extra training after they got off the plane.
Fortunately, Han Wenqing didn't lose his temper. After getting off the plane, he told everyone to disperse and go back to rest.
Around noon, some went back to the club to drop off their belongings, while others went home to rest. They all left one after another.
Zhang Xinjie's car was parked at the airport. He and Han Wenqing were heading back to the club. They noticed that Shen Ning was alone and hadn't moved. She kept glancing at her phone and looking around.
Where are you going? We'll escort you the way.
Shen Ning shook her head: "Someone is coming to pick me up. You guys should go back quickly, you only get half a day off a week."
"Want me to wait with you for a bit?"
"No need, I'm not a child anymore, how could I get lost?"
Han Wenqing exchanged a glance with Zhang Xinjie and said, "Alright, we're leaving."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
The two of them didn't go far; they stopped where they could still see the stillness.
Both of them assumed it was her driver or a family member coming to pick her up, but they were surprised to see someone else.
Zhao Yixing.
The other team members might not know him, but Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie, as upper management of the team, had met Zhao Yixing before.
From a distance, they didn't know what Shen Ning and Zhao Yixing were talking about. They only saw Zhao Yixing with a slight smile on his face, naturally taking Shen Ning's luggage, and the two of them walking towards the other side, seemingly towards the VIP parking space.
Zhang Xinjie turned around and said, "Let's go."
Han Wenqing asked, "Aren't you afraid of missing out like this?"
“If we’re going to miss out, it means we were wrong from the start.” Zhang Xinjie didn’t seem worried at all. “At least so far, I don’t think my feeling is wrong.”
Seeing this, Han Wenqing said nothing more.
Zhao Yixing and Shen Ning drove to a teahouse famous for Huaiyang cuisine.
Zhao Yixing reserved a secluded private booth by the window on the second floor, which was decorated with landscape elements. Before he even ordered any food, two waiters brought out six small dishes and freshly brewed Longjing tea.
"The place you chose is quite luxurious," Shen Ning said, taking a sip of tea.
Zhao Yixing said with a smile, "This is the first time Miss is treating us, so I have to pick something expensive."
"Aren't you afraid it's a trap?"
"Then we should eat something good." Zhao Yixing handed over the menu. "Take a look and see what you'd like to eat."
Shen Ning didn't answer: "You can decide, anything light is fine."
"Didn't you get enough rest? I noticed you looked a bit pale the whole way here."
"Very obvious?"
"So-so, you seem to be in pretty good spirits. What's wrong?"
"I had a slight fever a couple of days ago, but I'm fine now."
Seeing this, Zhao Yixing changed the two sweet dishes he had originally ordered, removed the wine, and added fresh lotus root and water chestnut juice in addition to the dried bean curd soup.
"Luckily, I chose Huaiyang cuisine, which doesn't have any strong flavors."
The two sipped their tea, watching the dishes slowly arrive, casually commenting on their taste, seemingly having nothing else to say, or perhaps waiting for the other to speak first.
Shen Ning had already eaten half full, but seeing that Zhao Yixing was still calm and composed, she couldn't help but start eating first.
"You're quite composed."
"It doesn't feel like anything good is going to happen, so I'm not in a hurry."
"Listen to this, is this even human language? I'm asking you for a treat, and you're still being petty."
Zhao Yixing smiled helplessly: "Alright, then I'll ask, what brings you here today?"
Having won the verbal battle, Shen Ning was satisfied: "There are two things."
"explain."
"Firstly, I will make more use of you in the future."
Zhao Yixing was taken aback: "...What you're saying isn't human language."
"In short, I'll ask you more questions in the future."
"What's wrong with you? We used to be at loggerheads." Zhao Yixing was quite surprised by Shen Ning's show of goodwill. In the past, no matter what it was, Shen Ning would always oppose him.
Reflecting on her past childish behavior, she felt a little embarrassed: "I can't always be as immature as before..."
Zhao Yixing filled Chen Ning's glass with water chestnut juice and clinked glasses with her using his own teacup: "It's a pity you can't drink alcohol since you've just recovered from your illness, otherwise I would have drunk a couple of bottles with you."
Shen Ning couldn't help but laugh: "You're happy now that I've admitted defeat."
"No, it's just that... how should I put it, it's especially comforting to see your children grow up."
"You're just trying to make yourself look good, with your own children at home." Shen Ning's words were sharp, but a smile never left her lips.
"Okay, let's strike while the iron is hot. I'll give you some homework first."
"good."
"I insist on reading financial reports every day, focusing on companies with a market capitalization exceeding 200 billion."
"I'm watching it now too."
"It's not just about looking, but about understanding thoroughly, and looking with questions in mind. After you finish looking at each company, write an analysis and send it to me. It can cover business layout, financial status, management decisions, or any other aspect. Don't rush the quantity; you must understand it thoroughly. Large companies' financial statements contain a lot of things that you can't see from the outside, understand?"
"good."
"Another thing is to build your network. I know you don't like making friends unless you really like someone, but if you want to move up, you still need to do some face-saving and exchange benefits. Otherwise, with so many other options, why would anyone want to cooperate with you?"
He sighed deeply and said, "I understand."
"There's no need to feel guilty. If the other party is dishonest or commits crimes, there's no need to associate with them."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"It's rare to see you so obedient." Zhao Yixing was in a good mood, but then remembered there was a second matter and asked, "What is the other matter?"
"Oh, deal with those rumors about us that those people up there are spreading. Clarify what needs to be clarified."
Zhao Yixing quickly understood the situation by considering Shen Ning's change in attitude after her business trip and return, her current work contacts, and the recent activities of Ba Tu.
"Looks like she's in a relationship, it must be Zhang Xinjie."
Shen Ning raised her eyes: "You found out again?"
"When I visited you last time, you seemed to have a good impression of Han Wenqing and Zhang Xinjie. Since Han Wenqing is already taken and we can't consider him, that leaves Zhang Xinjie. Could it be that you were sick, he took care of you, and things just fell into place?"
"You're overthinking it. First of all, we even had a fight because of my illness, and there wasn't any romance between us. Secondly, we're not officially together yet, and he hasn't made up his mind."
"Can he still refuse?"
"No, it's more like we both know it but no one says it out loud. It's complicated, you could call it the ambiguous period."
"Young people really do think differently."
"Anyway, you, a single aristocrat, would never understand."
"Okay, as long as you understand. I'll handle those rumors, you don't need to worry about them."
"Hmm." Shen Ning ate a lion's head meatball and asked casually, "After the clarification, won't people say we're starting a power struggle again?"
"Maybe. After all, it was assumed before that I was President Shen's son-in-law, but now that I'm not, there will definitely be speculation."
"Can you handle it?"
"We weren't really like that to begin with, it's just that they don't believe it, it's not a big deal. You can explain it to President Chen later."
Shen Ning tacitly accepted his statement and continued eating with peace of mind.
Zhao Yixing, however, seemed to have an idea: "I have an idea, would you like to hear it?"
Shen Ning's lips twitched: "I have a feeling you're up to no good."
"It's not that bad. Have you ever thought about using our rumored relationship to provoke Zhang Xinjie? Maybe it will give him a push."
Shen Ning looked at Zhao Yixing with the eyes of someone looking at a lunatic: "You're so old-fashioned, have you been watching too many idol dramas?"
"As long as it works, that's fine."
"No, he already has some things he hasn't figured out yet. If you add a love triangle to the mix, it'll be even more of a disaster."
"What if he already knows?"
Shen Ning's eyes widened: "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything. It's just that when I picked you up, he and Han Wenqing were watching from a very inconspicuous spot behind you."
Shen Ning gripped her chopsticks tightly, gritting her teeth in hatred: "Zhao Yixing, you're such a scoundrel."
Even so, Shen Ning did not go out of her way to explain to Zhang Xinjie.
She and Zhao Yixing weren't in that kind of relationship. Zhang Xinjie didn't even ask, so her proactive explanation only made her seem like she was "protesting too much."
Besides, if Zhang Xinjie is so easily influenced by an unfounded suspicion, then even if they get together in the future, their relationship will be difficult to last.
As it turned out, Zhang Xinjie was not one to make baseless accusations. He treated Shen Ning the same way he had before, being strict with her at work and caring for her meticulously in life. There was no further progress, but they continued to move forward slowly along the same path.
The team's dual-fist strategy has become increasingly sophisticated, maintaining a perfect record in the past month of competitions, including victories against powerhouse teams like Tiny Herb.
They were unstoppable and determined to win this year's crown.
Aside from being busy with team matters, she also diligently read research reports and wrote analyses in the evenings as Zhao Yixing requested. Zhao Yixing's comments were few, but they were all insightful. For example, the different perspectives he offered as an investor, manager, partner, or downstream party gave her a lot of inspiration.
Everything seemed to be going in a positive direction until one night at 10:20 p.m. in late October, when Shen Ning suddenly received a call from Han Wenqing.
"There's an urgent meeting in half an hour. Hurry up and get ready to leave. Xin Jie is here to pick you up; he should be here soon."
"What happened?" Han Wenqing's voice was serious and urgent, something serious must have happened. Shen Ning held the phone between her shoulder and quickly tidied up the computer.
"I have another executive meeting, and I'm short on time, so I won't go into details with you. Just check Weibo; Xin Jie will also tell you on the way."
After saying that, Han Wenqing hung up the phone in a hurry. Shen Ning also saw Zhang Xinjie's message. She didn't dare to delay for a moment. She didn't even care about touching up her makeup. She put on her team uniform, packed her computer, notebook and pen, grabbed her phone and rushed downstairs.
Even during the one minute I spent in the elevator, I didn't forget to check Weibo, and there it was—a chilling topic trending on the hot search list.
#BaTu eSports team suspected of using cheat mouse#.
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