Chapter 87
This kind of thing can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words. Teaching it would seem too deliberate, lacking proper method, and easily revealing one's shortcomings. The environment shapes character, a timeless truth. Yu Jinyang's development was entirely natural, nurtured from childhood by Ms. Tang Xiang and Brother Siyi, and therefore has no reference value.
Zhang Zongxie naturally expressed his disdain. He wouldn't mind sacrificing his looks when the time was right, but he would never use that to climb the social ladder, especially not a woman like Xu Quyu. How could a woman who could fight her way up in the treacherous political landscape be swayed by a man? She only ever looked at the results.
Li Yingqiao felt he had misunderstood; not all women need love, just as not all men are men.
Zhang Zongxie could not understand the latter, and naturally could not understand the former either; he was a typical existentialist.
Despite the biting wind, several tin grills still stand along the riverbank, where the owner works year-round, shirtless in summer and bundled up in a coat in winter. Rows of colorful meat skewers lie ready, sizzling as soon as oil is poured over them.
As soon as Lilith sat down, she turned to Li Yingqiao with a look of disbelief, saying, "Michael has really changed a lot. He actually made a date to eat at a roadside stall where you can see the cook."
These words caused Yu Jinyang to pull out a chair and sit down, whereupon he inexplicably burst into a muffled laugh, which then became uncontrollable.
Li Yingqiao didn't let him off the hook either, immediately adopting a serious demeanor, as if afraid others wouldn't know he was once a "young master" who was teased, and said defiantly, "Lilith, don't make our young master laugh. I haven't seen him laugh so happily in a long time—"
"..."
The smile vanished instantly; Yu Jinyang stopped smiling, gave her a cold look, and remained silent.
His lips twitched.
He pretended to be aloof, but there was someone even more pretentious than him across from him, who kept pretending to look down at his phone, not wearing his coat properly, but draping it over his shoulders like a domineering CEO in a TV drama, acting like a superior who had to spare time to keep him company despite being extremely busy.
Lilith said that Zhang Zongxie told her that chefs in high-end restaurants are very discreet. When a restaurant exposes its chefs to customers, it means that the food there is as mediocre and boring as that of a chain restaurant, lacking originality and unlikely to make mistakes.
Because true fine cuisine requires chefs to constantly innovate, many famous dishes were originally considered "disastrous" dishes. This process always requires someone to test the food for poison. If the response is bad, customers can't even hit the chef.
He said that a restaurant chef is like a person's brain. Would you dare to openly expose your brain? It's simply mental pollution; who could eat there?
So Lilith looked at them in shock and said with an exaggerated expression, "The first thing I did when I entered the ward was to look for cameras everywhere. I thought he was here to participate in 'Transformation' for the sake of the company's brand effect. Not only did he dare to look at the chef while eating, but he was also wearing branded clothes."
Yu Jinyang had just raised his hand to greet the boss when he heard this and chuckled, “Branded clothing? You mean that shirt he’s wearing? That’s the work uniform my dad’s factory gives to its employees.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zongxie raised an eyebrow and let out a soft snort, utterly disdainful. Of course, he didn't believe it, taking it only as blatant jealousy—jealousy that Yu Jinyang had received his father's suit.
Zhang Zongxie lowered his head and slowly dusted off the non-existent wrinkles on the shoulders of his suit: "Nonsense, this is a suit that your father made in Italy twenty years ago, handcrafted."
Yu Renjie, who was strolling along the riverbank with his wife, looked innocent and bewildered as he held the ice cream cone and sneezed from a distance.
Tang Xiang continued to scold, "It must be your son cursing you. How could you even think of walking the dog? He's my own child, and I don't want you calling him that."
Yu Renjie is known for his quick apologies. "I was wrong, I won't say it again. Just kidding, puppies are so cute."
The ice cream cone barked, then pulled its scarf over its head, covering its little head, and said, "Puppies are so cute, Mommy. Let's get a puppy!"
Tang Xiang said, "Forget it, otherwise your brother's status will drop another level."
Brother didn't know, he was laughing so hard he was doubled over, and his girlfriend wanted to slap him. It wasn't until someone pinched his arm hard that Yu Jinyang leaned back in his chair, smiled, nodded, and said to Zhang Zongxie in an annoying way, "Okay, okay, I'll take you for it."
She initially thought it was about acknowledging the suit, but instead, he casually pushed his phone in front of her, leaning back and half-jokingly saying, "Order, it's on me. Li Yingqiao said that in Beijing, you have to book two months in advance to have a meal with him. I've really made something of myself, managing to invite 'brother' to dinner." He turned and gave her a sarcastic look, then gave a low, ambiguous "Hmm?" "Say something, Li Yingqiao, what do you say at home?"
The latter glared at him, and he smiled, patted the back of her head, and whispered to her, "Okay, okay, I won't make a fuss anymore."
Zhang Zongxie paused slightly as he flicked the ash from his cigarette.
Yu Jinyang withdrew his hand and asked him indifferently if he had ordered.
The conversation in the hospital ward that day still echoed in his ears. Zhang Zongxie had been telling him about Li Yingqiao's time in Beijing, his words subtly hinting at something, trying to pique his curiosity, but he hadn't taken the bait, not asking a single unnecessary question. He hadn't been involved in those ten years; Li Yingqiao had the potential to develop relationships with anyone, a question he had already asked himself: Yu Jinyang, can you accept that?
He can.
Of course he can.
He was very capable. Since childhood, he had never lacked patience. At that time, Lu Yingchuan did not know the reason and tolerated it. The most annoying thing was that when she got tired of playing around and came back to him, he would settle accounts with her one by one.
He has always been best at enduring, remaining calm, being rational, and controlling. The promotion process for class officers is open and transparent, with each candidate being voted on by teachers and classmates. He considers himself a good public servant since childhood, but some people who grew up in a bandit's den insist on treating him as a public enemy.
The hormones of an eighteen-year-old and a twenty-eight-year-old are ultimately different. A young man's jealousy is more like soda bubbles, bursting in his mouth like bubbles and fireworks. It is his hidden brilliance and grandeur, bittersweet.
A mature man's jealousy is more like alcohol: it tastes bitter when you drink it, it's spicy when you swallow it, and it burns when you hold it in your mouth.
There's a difference between an imagined rival and a real rival.
He also realized that his overwhelming jealousy would only make him more and more weak.
A rival in love and an enemy of one's father, the other party acts as if "I'm going to steal one of my dad and my girlfriend," this is the kind of deep-seated hatred that comes with blood feuds.
Zhang Zongxie was naturally a little guilty. Perhaps he had given up on his girlfriend, but a father's love is as strong as a mountain. Two tigers cannot share one mountain, and if two tigers fight, one of them will surely be injured.
So, when Yu Jinyang asked if we wanted to eat octopus...
Zhang Zongxie looked up at him in disbelief, because he had misheard it as "Do you want to eat a slap?"
He silently wrapped his coat tighter around himself, hugging his broad shoulders, and didn't make eye contact with Yu Jinyang for even a moment the entire time.
However, he was restless throughout the meal. The cheap label was so offensive that he couldn't help but want to twist his neck back to see if it was really Italian handmade custom-made or just factory uniform.
Today was the first time he wore it, and he felt the label on the back was prickly. Usually, labels for custom-made clothing are sewn onto the inner pocket, but he figured Italian tailors twenty years ago probably weren't so particular, so he didn't think much of it. After all, as far as he knew, many Italian brands outsourced to Eastern Europe back then, so a decline in craftsmanship was quite possible.
When Zhang Zongxie shrank his neck for the fifth time to avoid the sting of the label, the others finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. Occasionally, someone could be heard scolding a cat: "Don't laugh, be serious with our CEO."
"Okay, okay," the cat said with a smile, raising its hands in surrender.
Lilith looked at the man beside her in his embarrassment. He was always harsh, cold, decisive, profit-driven, and his methods were countless. She had cried for him many times, and had silently forgiven him many times because he had given her so much.
Ms. Xu Quyu asked about you.
The steaming hot barbecue skewers were served when Lilith suddenly spoke up. Yu Jinyang was asking Li Yingqiao if she wanted it spicy when Zhang Zongxie overheard, glanced up, picked up a wet wipe, and while wiping his hands, casually chimed in, curiously, "What did she say? I thought she wouldn't think of me so soon—"
Shortly after Li Yingqiao's departure, perhaps due to the immense impact of the Rainbow Youli incident, the undercurrents of power struggle between siblings Xu Quyu and Xu Junfei suddenly surfaced and were even pushed into the limelight by certain individuals. This power struggle quickly came to an end within six months. On a calm night, Xu Quyu emerged from Old Dong's hospital room and officially took over the de facto control of Convey. Following this, a major reshuffle of senior management occurred, and Convey Capital initiated a structural restructuring, which led to the 300 million yuan brought in by Zhang Zongxie.
He was curious what Xu Quyu would ask him. Their last meeting was not very pleasant, and he had expressed his disdain for Villy's ability to reach his current position, questioning the company's personnel strategy.
Xu Quyu simply countered with a question: "Michael, if a critically ill patient is forced to undergo a complete blood transfusion, what do you think their chances of survival are? In China, the emphasis is on gradual progress and inclusiveness. As a manager, if you see a loose screw, do you first unscrew it, allowing the entire production line to grind to a halt, or do you first tighten it back in?"
He knew then that Xu Junfei couldn't win.
Lilith looked at him apologetically and said, "Sorry, boss, it wasn't you."
Zhang Zongxie: "..."
At the same time, the two silently turned to Li Yingqiao, who was telling Yu Jinyang not to have spicy food. The latter was also taken aback and pointed at herself with a blank expression: "Huh?"
Lilith nodded solemnly: "Yes, Ms. Xu Quyu was asking about Joe."
Zhang Zongxie raised an eyebrow, even more curious. He tossed the wet wipe back onto the table, leaned back in his chair with an air of nonchalance, and turned to look at his secretary: "What did she say?"
Yu Jinyang ignored him and stopped eating. He stood there quietly, yet hard to ignore, waiting for Lilith to continue. Occasionally, he would wave his hand to shoo away moths under the lamp for Li Yingqiao.
Li Yingqiao didn't speak, took a sip of the beer on the table, and quietly looked at Lilith.
Finally, the moment arrived. Lilith, her voice trembling with excitement, said, "This is one of the reasons I came to Fengtan this time. Ms. Xu Quyu asked if you would be willing to return to Convey to fight for your ideals one more time. She said that you would take over Villy's position, and although you don't have enough years of experience, she can make an exception and let you and Michael be candidates for CMO at the same time. Joe, are you coming back to Beijing with us?"
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