Zhang Chaohe calmly ordered the dishes, and when only he and Cheng Jixue remained in the private room, he smiled enigmatically.
He forced a profound smile, one he'd learned from his elder brother: "Mr. Ji is truly a man of hidden talents."
Cheng Jixue sincerely grasped Zhang Chaohe's hand: "Please give me a chance to explain..."
Before he could even shake hands, there was a knock on the door of the private room—the waitress from before had returned, and instead of food, there was a pure black keyboard on the shiny little food cart.
The waitress tried her best to keep a straight face, acting as an emotionless messenger: "The boss said that we're offering a complimentary dessert for both of you as a friendly gesture."
Zhang Chaohe: ...
What kind of new-age robot am I that can chew up a keyboard?
While he was still secretly wondering, he saw Cheng Jixue sigh softly and pick up the keyboard. He returned with the keyboard, carefully selected a spot not too close and not too far, and placed it on the ground—
Then, with a thud, he knelt squarely on the keyboard!
Zhang Chaohe was startled; he really hadn't expected the keyboard to be used for this!
But he always felt that "kneeling on a washboard" or "kneeling on a keyboard" sounded "pampering" and romantic, but in reality, it was extremely humiliating to others... So Zhang Chaohe quickly dodged and started pulling the radish up with his bare hands: "Get up now!!"
Cheng Jixue remained undeterred, her expression a mixture of three parts ingratiating, three parts cautious, and three parts helpless, creating a palette of colors reminiscent of a domineering CEO's cold smile—a weak version of a specially made confession: "I'm afraid you won't listen..."
Cheng Jixue: I'll do anything to appease my wife!
In order to unlock Princess Dot's heart, the evil dragon Duanduan really worked hard to study "A Thousand Techniques to Win Over Your Wife".
Zhang Chaohe was extremely anxious: How could a real man make his wife kneel on a keyboard!
So the two of them squatted down and pulled, just like tearing apart red envelopes with relatives during Chinese New Year... In the end, Zhang Chaohe narrowly won!
Now everyone could finally sit together calmly—Zhang Chaohe said with a sour face, "Go ahead and talk!"
Anyway, just because I heard it doesn't mean I've forgiven you. Zhang Chaohe thought angrily, "It won't hurt to hear it."
So Cheng Jixue lowered her head and began to explain gently and demurely: "It all started when I was a child..."
Ji Fusheng was overjoyed to have a son early in life and another in middle age. He envisioned his eldest son going into politics and his youngest son going into business with him. He was absolutely thrilled!
One day, his clever youngest son suddenly told him that he didn't want to go into business and wanted to pursue more interesting careers. Ji Fusheng thought it was just a child talking nonsense, but Ji Tingduan quickly used her status as a Peking Opera artist aunt to find him a mentor.
"And then?" Zhang Chaohe was quite curious—wasn't this just like a prince suddenly saying he didn't want to fight for the throne and wanted to sell pancakes instead?
“Then we had a fight,” Cheng Jixue recalled, a hint of longing in her eyes… “It must have had a good ending: I suffered a little, but in the end we both compromised.”
“My family allows me to do what I like, but if they really need me to come back one day, I can’t refuse.” Cheng Jixue smiled. “So I created a new identity for myself, so that if my family needs me in the future, I can perfectly abandon everything about this identity.”
"Fortunately, it seems I don't need to go back to fulfill my obligations yet." Cheng Jixue poured Zhang Chaohe a cup of water, in which a small bitter chrysanthemum floated.
Zhang Chaohe stared at the little flower for a while: "That's pretty good."
Cheng Jixue had just finished telling the truth and exaggerating her heartache and struggle, and was about to take the opportunity to reveal a little more helplessness and distress, when Zhang Chaohe suddenly struck her head: "Then why didn't you say it all this time?"
Cheng Jixue: Help me!
Zhang Chaohe's face remained expressionless as he stared at the small bitter chrysanthemum—he was afraid that his old habit would flare up and he would immediately switch sides upon seeing Cheng Jixue's face: "Yes, you have something you can't say about this. If we were just a simple boss and employee relationship, or an ordinary friendship, I could understand."
"Since you're already together, why didn't you tell me? Is it because you didn't want me to know?"
Cheng Jixue immediately wanted to touch the keyboard again... but Zhang Chaohe slapped the keyboard, stopping his little trick of taking a roundabout approach: "Speak properly!"
Cheng Jixue thought to herself, "Isn't it because you've listed Ji Er as your number one enemy? I'm afraid if I say that, I'll be beaten out with sticks..."
Therefore, at this moment, Cheng Jixue is facing an important choice in his life—whether to face the risk of arguing with his wife and tell the truth, or to use his usual smooth talk to get by.
High risk, high reward; win and you'll reach the pinnacle of life, lose and you'll meet your end in a mass grave.
He looked at Zhang Chaohe for a while, and finally lowered his head dejectedly, choosing to confess: "Because you seem to hate Ji Er, I dare not say it. I always thought that if I waited a little longer, I might not hate Ji Er as much."
"I don't know why you think of me as so terrible... I didn't mean to, I've always liked you, why would I want to treat you badly?"
At this moment, the pressure was on General Manager Zhang... Zhang Chaohe's face turned slightly red.
How can you blame me? The book clearly states that "Ji Er's methods are ruthless and inhumane, blah blah blah," so isn't it normal for me to be a little worried and a little scared?
Zhang Chaohe: Let me think of a reason to make up.
Cheng Jixue defeated her opponent with a single move, and neither of them gained any advantage. The most dangerous thing in a relationship is deception and trickery. Unfortunately, Zhang Chaohe had kept a lot of things from Cheng Jixue, and Cheng Jixue had also deceived Zhang Chaohe quite a bit. The two were evenly matched in this regard, and theoretically, neither of them had the right to criticize the other.
A tiny loose thread can unravel an entire sweater, and a tiny speck of dust can ruin an entire tempered glass screen protector for your phone.
Zhang Chaohe finally realized that neither party could escape responsibility in this matter. Looking at Cheng Jixue's ashamed expression, he suddenly felt that he was also being severely condemned by his conscience.
They were evenly matched, nodding politely and reservedly to each other, each staring intently at the empty plates in front of them, their minds racing as they tried to figure out how to continue this awkward conversation.
Cheng Jixue: Should we ask him again?
Zhang Chaohe: Should I apologize too?
Before Zhang Chaohe could figure out how to start the conversation tactfully and sincerely, Cheng Jixue pounced on him and grabbed his hand, starting to repeat herself: "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry for lying to you, but I swear this is the only secret I've kept from you. I promise I won't lie to you again and I'll discuss everything with you. Please give me another chance, okay?"
Cheng Jixue snuggled closer and rubbed against her, awkwardly but naturally switching into a coquettish mode like a large feline: "Please, if you're still angry, I'll kneel on the keyboard again tonight, okay?"
Zhang Chaohe: He knew I wouldn't let him kneel on the keyboard!
Zhang Chaohe has now retreated from his moral high ground and can no longer maintain the confidence and ruthlessness he had when he first entered. However, after hesitating for a long time, he still cannot reveal the cruel truth of the world.
This world is a book, and you are all just characters in that book.
But it shouldn't be like this. In this world, the sun rises and sets, people interact, new lives are born every day, and lives reach their end and depart alone...
How could it be just a book?
Zhang Chaohe decided to keep this secret to himself, hoping that everyone could live a carefree life until the end.
Seeing that he was still lost in thought with his head down, Cheng Jixue took another step back and said, "Or if you really don't want to forgive me, can you wait for me and give me another chance to pursue you? I'm about to join the crew of 'Crazy God,' so wait for me and I'll pursue you again."
"Don't agree to anything else, okay?"
Zhang Chaohe asked warily, "Are you going to join another production team soon?"
Cheng Jixue nodded: "Yes...at least two months..."
Before he could continue, Zhang Chaohe immediately grabbed his hand and said, "Then come home with me in a bit."
Cheng Jixue smiled with obvious delight—could this be considered seeing through his fragile heart and deciding to reconcile with him?
My wife invited me home!
Instead of getting carried away, he used the most irresistible tone from Da Goose, anxiously and nervously repeating, "So, have you forgiven me?"
The beauty's tears were truly pitiful to behold.
He was already dreaming, just waiting for Zhang Chaohe to cover him with a blanket!
Zhang Chaohe snorted coldly: "We'll talk about it later."
Cheng Jixue followed Zhang Chaohe home, feeling both shy and overjoyed. The house was spotless. He looked around, secretly plotting how to fill the room again and make it his own shape.
Then Zhang Chaohe turned on his live stream camera.
Cheng Jixue: ?
That's a little too exciting, isn't it?
Zhang Chaohe connected the Switch controllers, handed him a pair, and opened... Overcooked.
Cheng Jixue suddenly had a bad feeling!
Zhang Chaohe smiled calmly and began speaking into the phone camera: "Yes, Xiao Cheng will be joining the crew soon, and I specially invited him to my house to play Overcooked."
"Of course, I'll definitely play, just as I promised!"
"How could that be? I'm not some kind of devil, right!"
Cheng Jixue was dazed and confused when Zhang Chaohe tricked her into being his laborer. The two of them played "Overcooked" from eight o'clock to eleven o'clock. Fortunately, Cheng Jixue learned things quickly and had a strong reaction ability in games, so she was not dumped on the spot.
After the live stream ended, Cheng Jixue immediately went to pour water and wash fruit for Zhang Chaohe. He had just opened the refrigerator door when Zhang Chaohe asked, puzzled, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Cheng Jixue: ?
He was a little confused, his beautiful eyes gazing at her intently, feigning ignorance: "Where am I going?"
Zhang Chaohe looked at him with a half-smile: "Mr. Ji can go back wherever he wants... This is my home."
"You're not going to make me kick you out, are you?"
It was 11:43 PM, the weather was clear, and there were no stars. Cheng Jixue, who thought he had successfully won over his wife, stood alone at the door with a bag of trash in his hand.
His usually composed smile appeared slightly stiff.
A note from the author:
Today was short, tomorrow... I might have to go out tomorrow, I didn't get things done today, sob sob;
Try to make it as long as possible tomorrow!
The office will definitely be closed on weekends, so I swear loudly!
Let's give the little ones a little slurp!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 87
Zhang Chaohe was finally able to leave the office.
He hummed a tune to himself as he swaggered out the front door, intending to go to the garage to get his car, when he saw a metallic Aston Martin DBS blocking his doorway.
Its understated elegance subtly conceals the explosive beauty of thugs.
Zhang Chaohe's smile faltered, and he raised an eyebrow: ?
Who is it?! Daring to block my doorway!!
Surprisingly, Cheng Jixue waved from the car. He dropped the pretense and laid his cards on the table: "Mr. Zhang, do you need a driver?"
He used to think that Zhang Chaohe had poor taste in cars—Zhang Chaohe liked flashy and arrogant models, with every line of the car body striving for sharpness and neatness, while he preferred elegant and slender models, feeling that the understated curves with a touch of retro gentlemanly charm were more aesthetically pleasing.
Finally, I can get rid of Zhang Chaohe's cars. Cheng Jixue thought to herself, "Was my appearance today so handsome that it made him realize my amazing inner beauty?"
The next second, Zhang Chaohe returned to the house with a livid face to change the car keys... and brought out the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Warrior, which made a dazzling entrance with a stylish drift!
Cheng Jixue swore he heard a rough friction sound.