Where are the photos?
Lin Yi could only take out his phone to find the photo and show it to Gu Zheng.
The moment Gu Zheng saw the photo, a face immediately popped into his mind.
Isn't this Lin Ziming's father? They just met half an hour ago.
So, is Lin Ziming really from that Lin family? If that's the case, it's no wonder he couldn't find any information about Lin Ziming.
Seeing Gu Zheng lost in thought, Qin Hao became somewhat puzzled and asked,
"Brother, what's wrong?"
"I've seen this person before."
"What?" Qin Hao was shocked and immediately leaned on the table, staring at Gu Zheng. "Brother, what did you just say? You've seen this person?"
Lin Yi turned his gaze away from Qin Hao's waist and looked at Gu Zheng, saying,
"As far as I know, this person has always been abroad and has basically never come back. Moreover, he tries his best not to appear in public. He usually delegates the work to his subordinates. On the rare occasions when he does appear in public, it is only because he has to attend that he gets the photos. It took a lot of effort to find the photos."
He had originally planned to use this photo to gain favor with Gu Zheng, but he didn't expect that Gu Zheng had already seen it.
"I have seen this person before, but I didn't know his true identity until just now."
Gu Zheng spoke coldly, his mind racing with various reasons why the Lin family father and son were staying by Xia Ran's side. The more he thought about it, the more restless Gu Zheng became, and he immediately stood up.
"Hey? Brother, what's wrong?" Qin Hao stood up as well. "Where are you going?"
Gu Zheng gripped the photo tightly. "If this person is the previous generation manager of the Lin family, then Lin Ziming is the Lin family head we've been looking for, because this person is Lin Ziming's father. We just met him half an hour ago. He's been at Xia Ran's house for the past two days."
It was rare for Gu Zheng to say such a long thing in front of Qin Hao and the others.
"What?" Qin Hao was truly shocked. "You mean Lin Ziming is the head of the Lin family abroad? No, if it really is him, why is he always by Xia Ran's side? Could he be plotting something against Xia Ran? Even his father came here."
"I'll go over and remind Xia Ran now." Gu Zheng was about to leave the office, but Lin Yi spoke up again.
“If you go over there now and tell him directly, do you think Xia Ran will listen? As far as I know, you’ve already told him several times to be careful of Lin Ziming, but Xia Ran hasn’t listened at all. So if you go over there now, it will only make Xia Ran distrust you even more.”
Gu Zheng, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks after hearing this.
Qin Hao: "Yeah, yeah, brother, you can't just go to Xia Ran right now. You have to discuss it first. By the way, is Xiao Chen with Xia Ran right now?"
"Hmm." Gu Zheng finally stopped walking and, after thinking for a moment, sat down in his office chair.
"That Lin Ziming probably doesn't have any ulterior motives towards Xia Ran, otherwise he would have taken action long ago. So what you should do now is talk to Lin Ziming and find out what he wants to do."
“If you rashly go to Xia Ran and say that Lin Ziming is not a good person, then Xia Ran will only think that you are slandering Lin Ziming.”
Lin Yi carefully analyzed the situation for Gu Zheng. He didn't want to say it, but he knew that if Gu Zheng and Xia Ran's issues weren't resolved, then there was absolutely no possibility of anything progressing between him and Qin Hao.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Lin Yi is absolutely right. If you were to go and talk to Xia Ran now, she would definitely think you’re talking nonsense and that you just want to get rid of Lin Ziming.” Qin Hao chimed in.
Gu Zheng remained silent, which gave Lin Yi a headache. He really couldn't understand why someone as emotionally intelligent as Gu Zheng was so lacking.
Seeing that Gu Zheng remained silent, Qin Hao felt a little uneasy, but he still had to speak up, otherwise, given his brother's personality, he might continue to remain silent.
"Brother, the most important thing for you right now is to keep things stable. No matter what, Xia Ran won't be in danger. Then, go talk to Lin Ziming again tomorrow and see what he's planning to do."
"Hmm." Gu Zheng responded coldly, "You can all go out first."
Qin Hao: "..." This "use and throw away" attitude is really typical of Gu Zheng!
He's used to it, but Lin came all night to deliver this message to you, and you didn't even say thank you?
However, Qin Hao did not dare to question Gu Zheng, and could only wink at Lin Yi, signaling Lin Yi to go out first.
"Alright, we'll head out now. Don't stay up too late, just take a look at those important documents."
Gu Zheng didn't speak; his gaze was already fixed on the computer screen. Qin Hao could only silently leave.
After they reached the office and closed the door, Qin Hao put his hand on Lin Yi's shoulder and said,
"So, Mr. Lin, are you free right now? I'd like to treat you to a late-night snack."
Lin Yi looked at him in surprise and asked, "Why are you suddenly offering to treat me to a late-night snack?"
"Sigh, this is all because of my good-for-nothing brother. You came over to deliver documents late at night and didn't even say thank you. As his brother, I should at least thank you on his behalf."
Lin Yi was surprised by this unexpected surprise and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Okay, so should I or you choose the address?"
"Of course it's my choice. I'll take you out for something delicious today," Qin Hao said mysteriously.
Lin Yi's interest was piqued by Qin Hao's words, and he looked forward to tonight's late-night snack.
But when he drove Qin Hao to the place Qin Hao had mentioned, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"The 'delicious food' you're talking about is just this little shop under the overpass? It doesn't even seem as good as the hot pot we had before."
Lin Yi thought that the worst thing Qin Hao could do was take him to eat hot pot, but he never expected that they would end up at a roadside stall that was even more rudimentary than a hot pot restaurant.
Upon hearing Lin Yi's words, Qin Hao immediately started shouting.
"Hey, Mr. Lin, what's with that disgusted tone? Let me tell you, the food here is just as good as what you'd find in a fancy hotel. I just love it. If you can accept it, get out of the car. If not, go back and pick what you like to eat."
Qin Hao's words were practically a direct statement: if Lin got off the bus, they could still be friends; if she didn't, it would be goodbye forever.
Lin Yi smiled helplessly because he understood what was being said.
"I'm just curious why you brought me to these places, and I'm also surprised that you and your brother, who grew up together, are so different. As far as I know, your brother would never eat in these kinds of places."
Qin Hao rolled his eyes. "You and my brother are basically the same kind of people. Besides, what's wrong with a place like this? This is the kind of place that truly captures the essence of life. This is the kind of place where you can really enjoy your food. So, how about it, are you getting off or not?"
Seeing the plates of skewers on the tables outside, Qin Hao was already itching to eat some.
"Go, why not? It's a perfect opportunity to experience the everyday life you've been talking about."
Lin Yi unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, and Qin Hao chuckled and followed him out.
Qin Hao was already very familiar with these places, and he led Lin Yi to a corner to sit down.
You order everything yourself here, and then you call the owner to place the order. So each table has a menu, a small notebook, and a pen. Guests can simply write down what they want to eat in the notebook.
Qin Hao handed the menu to Lin Yi, then took his notebook and pen and said,
"Take a look, what do you want to eat?"
The environment of this food stall was really not good. It was Lin Yi's first time in such a place, so he was a little unaccustomed to it. But seeing Qin Hao's nonchalant expression, he could only try to get used to it.
But when he saw what was on the menu, he hesitated, and finally handed the menu directly to Qin Hao, saying,
"This is my first time in a place like this, so I don't know what's good to eat. Just order whatever you like."
Qin Hao didn't stand on ceremony and simply picked up the menu.
"Okay, I'll order. You can follow along with me and eat whatever you like. If you think any of them taste good, you can write them down so you'll know what to order next time."
"good."
Qin Hao quickly ordered, filling his notebook with notes all night long. He ordered steamed oysters with vermicelli, chicken gizzards, beef skewers, lamb skewers, grilled eggplant, grilled corn, grilled chives, squid skewers, and so on. He also ordered four bottles of beer at the end.
After the owner tore off the order form and the order was placed, the two sat and waited for the food to be served.
Lin Yi looked around and found that there were people of all ages at this food stall.
There were young people in their twenties and middle-aged people in their forties and fifties. Some were with two or three friends, some were with several sisters, and some were even a family.
Everyone smiled with relief, their smiles genuine and without any falsehood.
As Lin Yi looked at these people, Qin Hao's gaze lingered on Lin Yi's face for a moment before he spoke.
"Don't you think this kind of life is interesting? Actually, these food stalls are even more fun in the summer. Hot skewers and ice-cold beer, one sip and you're in heaven!"
Hearing the voice, Lin Yi snapped out of her daze and subconsciously responded to Qin Hao's words.
"Then bring me back next summer to see it again."
After these words were spoken, a silence fell between the two of them.
Lin Yi felt a little uneasy. He had just blurted out his thoughts unconsciously.
Qin Hao was also slightly taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening.
"Sure, if you're free then, let's come over together. Xia Ran is perfect for meeting up with friends for beer and skewers."
Hearing Qin Hao's answer, Lin Yi felt a mix of joy and worry. On one hand, he was relieved that Qin Hao hadn't asked any further questions, but on the other hand, he wanted Qin Hao to continue asking.
Indeed, people are full of contradictions.
Their food arrived quickly. Looking at the table full of food skewered on sticks, Lin Yi was unsure where to start. When the waiter brought over a few bottles of beer, he frowned even more.
"You drank so much by yourself?"
"Huh? Me alone? No, we drank together. You had two bottles and I had two. How can you eat skewers without beer?"
As Qin Hao spoke, he opened a bottle of beer for Lin Yi.
But after hearing Qin Hao's arrogant words, Lin Yi's brows furrowed even more.
"Have you forgotten that we drove here? We still need to drive back later, so we can't get drunk."
"Hey, I haven't forgotten. We can just find a designated driver later, right? It's rare for us to go out for a late-night snack together, so don't talk so much. Come on, try this beer. I don't think you've ever had anything like it before."
After all, very few people in their circle would drink beer that costs only a few dollars a bottle, let alone someone like Lin Yi.
It's not that I'm saying anything, but rather that Lin Yi and his brother are the same kind of people, who spend their lives in the business world and drink mostly baijiu and red wine at the dinner table.
Lin Yi was eventually persuaded by Qin Hao's words and could only pick up the beer and take a sip.
Just as Qin Hao said, this was indeed his first time drinking beer. He originally thought the alcohol content would be low, but he didn't expect it to be so low.
Yes, that's right, it's low. For people like them who drink baijiu all year round, it's really low.
"How is it? Do you like the taste?" Qin Hao looked at Lin Yi expectantly.
Lin nodded. "It's alright."
"Since it's alright, it must be something you're used to. Try this beef skewer, it's fragrant and quite good."
Qin Hao handed Lin Yi a beef skewer, which Lin Yi took, but for a moment didn't know how to eat it.
Qin Hao immediately understood his predicament, so he grabbed another skewer and started eating it in front of Lin Yi.
"Here, that's it. Just bite one side and pull the skewer out. Try it, it tastes really good."
Lin Yi could only try it by imitating Qin Hao's actions. How should I put it? It was a very strange experience. He thought the taste was just so-so, but probably because the person sitting opposite him looked so delicious, he found the food in his mouth to be very delicious as well.