Zhang Chaohe thought for a moment: "Wait a moment."
Counting treasures! What a perfect opportunity, what a stroke of genius—it's not too much to ask me to give him a small gift, is it?!
He ran a few steps to the cabinet, took out the brooch, and handed it to Cheng Jixue, saying generously, "This is for you. I think it suits you very well."
Cheng Jixue's hands were slightly white from being soaked in the water while preparing the food. He slowly opened the box, and the beautiful hairpin brooch was illuminated by the warm lights of the restaurant, making it appear deep in color and dazzlingly beautiful.
He silently curved the corners of his mouth into a smile, his eyes crinkling like a little fox's: "So beautiful, Mr. Zhang, I love it."
Cheng Jixue felt a slight, almost imperceptible pang of guilt—if he had known Zhang Chaohe was bidding for him, no, if he had known the bidder was Zhang Chaohe, he would not have let Ji Boyang continue bidding.
Perhaps it can save Mr. Zhang an extra 3.8 million.
Seeing Cheng Jixue smiling so happily, Zhang Chaohe's old habit kicked in again—four million or forty million, money well spent on the right things!
Isn't there another guy who spent 20 million? Maybe he wasn't such a big fool?
However, what he didn't know was that the big bastard who spent 20 million was standing right in front of him at that moment... The two number one bastards were face to face, laughing foolishly for the same thing but for different reasons.
In a good mood, Cheng Jixue sang the ending of the play for him. Zhang Chaohe's heart, which had been restless with the aroma, gradually calmed down. He leaned against the side and watched Cheng Jixue sing while spatula flew across the pot, frying spices.
"This is the unpredictability of life, the regret of not being able to reunite today. Looking back, prosperity is like a fleeting dream, a life hanging by a thread amidst turbulent waves. But after the darkest hour comes the dawn, so let's not laugh or cry. The fruits of good deeds are something to be proud of, sow blessings and you will reap blessings... Hiss!"
Cheng Jixue pulled his hand back and clenched it tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Zhang Chaohe's heart clenched, and he quickly turned off the stove and came over to pull his hand away: "Are you burned? Let me see!"
"Wait, the chili!" Cheng Jixue dodged his outstretched hand and quickly used her good left hand to stir the chili oil in the pot a couple of times—the oil was just right, fresh, fragrant, and spicy.
He shook his scalded right hand, eager to rescue the stir-fried chili peppers, and then tentatively extended his right hand, somewhat embarrassed.
On her slender, white fingertips, which were as delicate as scallion segments, the transparent blisters splattered with red oil looked particularly menacing.
Cheng Jixue breathed a sigh of relief, took out a band-aid from her pocket and casually wrapped it around her wound, even reassuring Zhang Chaohe, "It's nothing serious, just a burn."
Zhang Chaohe felt even more distressed—because of this wretched fish, Cheng Jixue's hands would suffer several more misfortunes!
The high-caliber CEO stepped forward, rolling up his sleeves with great enthusiasm: "I'll do it. Is the only thing left to cook the pot?"
Just mix the broth and chili oil together, then slide the fish slices in—it's that simple, right?
Seeing his eager expression, Cheng Jixue obediently gave up the head chef position: "I will remind you when it's time to do what needs to be done."
Under Cheng Jixue's almost hands-on guidance, Zhang Chaohe's first major dish was successfully cooked! He took photos from every angle with his phone and then sent them all to the Zhang family group chat.
This is practically his own doing! No arguments accepted!
Before eating, he had a change of heart and took the leftover bean sprouts and bok choy leaves to the secondary bathroom—the goose was in very good spirits, curled up on the toilet seat and turned into a round, big white ball.
Zhang Chaohe felt a surge of affection and tentatively placed the vegetable leaves next to the toilet. The goose watched him intently, tilting its head slightly.
Zhang Chaohe: ! !
He gently closed the door, drifted back to the dining room and sat down, then suddenly blurted out, "What do you think of calling it Vegetable Leaf?"
Cheng Jixue: There's no need to be so perfunctory.
He tried to dissuade the daydreaming Mr. Zhang: "Actually, you could also consider other foods."
At least it doesn't look like kitchen waste.
Zhang Chaohe condemned him with his eyes: "A lowly name makes it easier to raise a child."
Whose dog barks like a melon rind? How dare they laugh at someone who's only half as good?
Zhang Chaohe unilaterally decided on Zhang Caiye's name and happily finished off a whole pot of boiled fish. After the meal, he even took the initiative to wash the dishes.
Cheng Jixue had originally said she was leaving, but when Zhang Chaohe looked at his watch, he was surprised to find that time had passed so quickly; it was already almost midnight!
He hesitated for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Cheng Jixue's fingers wrapped in a bandage, and tentatively asked, "Why don't you stay tonight? No one has stayed in the guest room yet, it should be very clean."
He added, "Well... the vegetable leaves are in the restroom, so you might have to use the public restroom."
Cheng Jixue hesitated for a moment, holding the box containing the brooch, and said hesitantly, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you? I'd better go back; it's only a fifty-minute taxi ride."
Zhang Chaohe had no concept of travel time in this world. Upon hearing that it would take Cheng Jixue fifty minutes to get back in the middle of the night, he immediately decided, "Stay at my place tonight. If Caiye is bothering you in the middle of the night, just throw her in my bedroom."
Cheng Jixue covered her lips with the back of her hand and yawned: "Then I'm really sorry to trouble you."
Zhang Chaohe thought to himself, "He's already so tired, yet he insists on not causing trouble for others... Stay! If he doesn't stay at my house today, I'm going to turn on him!"
He even went to the guest room to check if anything was amiss—the housekeeper had handled everything perfectly, and Zhang Chaohe was very satisfied. In the end, he repeatedly reminded her not to leave any vegetable leaves out.
His freshly washed hair was soft and fluffy, covering his full forehead and high brow bones, softening the sharpness of his face and making him look somewhat docile.
Zhang Chaohe's lips were slightly red and swollen from the spiciness, but he slightly curled the corners of his lips as if he were smiling: "Good night."
Cheng Jixue stood against the light, her expression obscured, but her voice remained gentle: "Goodnight."
⚹
Zhang Chaohe was really tired yesterday, and he also ate too much for a late-night snack, so he was so groggy that he turned off the alarm in the morning and couldn't get out of bed.
It wasn't until Assistant Jiang dared to make a series of desperate calls that he was finally awakened. When he looked up, he realized it was almost eleven o'clock.
He sadly discovered that even if he became a CEO—as long as he was a relatively ambitious CEO—he still couldn't escape the fate of getting up early for work.
Zhang Chaohe reluctantly went downstairs and found a rather lavish breakfast on the table. Unfortunately, he had gotten up too late, and the tofu pudding, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns were already cold and greasy, so he couldn't eat them anymore.
He then remembered that Cheng Jixue had stayed at his house last night. After calling out to everyone inside and outside the house, he realized that Cheng Jixue must have gotten up early to bring him breakfast before going to the company... Oh, and she also fed the geese for him.
Today, the vegetable leaf seemed much more accustomed to the situation, no longer shouting at the two-legged creatures, nor resisting their sudden approach.
Zhang Chaohe happily ruffled a handful of the smooth feathers of the vegetable leaf—the vegetable leaf didn't look like a wild animal; it was probably something that had escaped from a market. Its feet were large and thick, not at all weak and tender, unlike the mass-fed meat geese from farms; it looked more like a domesticated goose.
The fact that the vegetable leaf can grow so tall, strong, and glossy is definitely related to its excellent fighting ability. Judging from the arrogant and wild performance of the vegetable leaf last night, it must have defeated countless chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs!
As expected of the son I, Zhang Chaohe, have chosen!
However, the problem is that geese are all straightforward animals and often have diarrhea everywhere. After one night, the floor of the secondary bathroom was in terrible condition. Zhang Chaohe could only resignedly turn on the shower to clean up the mess and also gave the vegetable leaves a bath.
After getting soaked by vegetable leaves, Zhang Chaohe finally succeeded in getting a beautiful goose that smelled of grapes!
However, because he tripped over a vegetable leaf, Zhang Chaohe didn't arrive at the company until almost 2 p.m.
As he passed the secretariat, he noticed that the assistants were all watching him and smirking. Only Assistant Jiang stared at him with a resentful look, then slammed a thick stack of folders in his arms onto his desk with a "thud": "Sign."
Zhang Chaohe surrendered and resigned himself to handling the case. He wasn't particularly adept at the company's investment deals, and the sheer volume of financial jargon left him completely bewildered.
He was looking up, about to say something, when he suddenly noticed that Assistant Jiang looked tired, and he could even vaguely see the tear troughs under the thick foundation covering her eyes.
Zhang Chaohe sighed inwardly, "You've had a tough time lately."
Assistant Jiang was taken aback, then touched his face: "Then why are you late for work?"
Zhang Chaohe: "I'm sorry!!"
Assistant Jiang looked thoughtfully at Zhang Chaohe, who was writing furiously. Zhang Chaohe cherished his perfect 5.0 vision and had specially gotten a pair of blue light blocking glasses to handle official business.
The lenses of his glasses gleamed with a faint purple light when illuminated, which, combined with his deeply defined face, was indeed quite deceptive.
Assistant Jiang suddenly said, "You know that the company has recently started a recruitment live stream, right?"
Zhang Chaohe paused, somewhat surprised: "Pretty fast?"
He initially proposed this plan simply to squeeze the remaining value out of the company's top female star, Zhao Xinyue. However, it was only through Jiang's special assistant's introduction that he learned that Jiasheng's talent show live broadcast program, "Shining Stage," was actually able to consistently rank among the top three on the popular broadcast list on Kuqi Video.
He asked with great anticipation, "Is it because the newcomer is exceptionally talented and versatile?"
Assistant Jiang paused for a moment, then said, "No, it's because it's too funny."
⚹
"Shining Stage" features a scriptless, interactive live streaming format.
Zhao Xinyue didn't have high hopes of finding any hidden gems at first—after all, all the good talents had already been poached by talent scouts from other companies, and those who came were either ordinary people or internet celebrities who would be ruined on the spot as soon as the beauty filters were turned off.
Zhao Xinyue was initially in despair, but as she continued recording, she realized that it would be better to have some ordinary internet celebrities!
The recording venue was bustling with noise, and each department carried out its work in an orderly manner. A handsome male college student who was "young and beautiful like a little rabbit" made a dazzling appearance and bowed on the "colorful neon laser stage": "Hello, judges. I am not here for the talent show."
The number of bullet comments immediately surged:
[It's here, it's here, it's here! The exciting moment has arrived, friends!!]
[Should we follow the procedure or just laugh?! (Huang Dou laughs heartily)]
[My sister Zhao: How about we just start our own show?]
In the midst of a cheerful and peaceful atmosphere, Zhao Xinyue, utterly dejected, threw the pen she was holding onto the table: "Then what is your purpose in coming here?"
I'm really tired of asking.
[So annoying to have to work •jpg]
[Is Gain Capital really going to go bankrupt? Hahaha!]
The contestant smiled shyly, "two blushes appearing on her fair skin," and "her fingers nervously gripping the microphone," before saying coyly, "I want to confess my feelings to Mr. Zhang—Mr. Zhang! I like you! I want to dedicate a song to you called 'Encounter,' and I will always hold onto the number you love!!"
As the background music begins, the male singer sings with deep emotion: "The person I'm waiting for, how far into the future is he..."
He's also singing off-key!!
Zhao Xinyue's lips twitched as the live stream camera zoomed in on Jiasheng's top female streamer, whose expression was ashen. The viewers watching the live stream were almost dying of laughter!
[This is the sixth one today, right? Sigh, confessing my love to CEO Zhang is almost becoming a regular occurrence (doge)]
[I wish I could have Mr. Zhang make a surprise appearance!]
[I have the same question! Shouldn't the CEO personally come to the site to see such an important event as company recruitment?]
If Zhang Baiwan really comes to the show as a guest, I'll immediately sign up for the audition! I want to shout to him: Zhang Baiwan, Mommy loves you!!
Unbeknownst to them, the CEO Zhang, who sparked wave after wave of heated discussions, was sitting in his office in despair, covering his face – "Please, silly netizens, leave me alone! I really don't want to lose my right to surf the internet!"
Jiang's assistant, standing to the side, asked in a businesslike manner with a blank expression, "Are you really not considering making a surprise appearance? If 'Shining Stage' can maintain this level of popularity, it will be very beneficial for Jiasheng's next phase of promotion."
"In the next phase, the company will release thirteen new works and participate in the investment of twenty-seven works, as well as IP collaborations..." Assistant Jiang was like a ruthless work machine, reciting his work fluently.
"Alright, that's enough!" Zhang Chaohe immediately stopped the other person from chanting. "You make the arrangements!"
Assistant Jiang left the president's office in triumph, while Zhang Chaohe continued to flip through past highlights of "The Shining Stage," his face showing even more pain.
Someone please save me!!
A note from the author:
How come everyone guessed it was a goose?!
This story is based on a true story from my roommate—but she took the goose she found home and ate it.