Xieyi is afraid of cold in winter, but she is often the one who is most afraid of heat in summer. In early summer, she will tie her hair into a ponytail for a long time. If she is alone at home or shopping with friends, she will just tie her hair into a bun. Unfortunately, she is a lawyer. Whether she is sitting in the office reading documents or meeting with clients, she must sit upright and comb her hair neatly. It was okay when she was in Tangqiao before. Qiao Hanmin didn't have high requirements for this. As long as she dressed well when she went out to meet people. Unfortunately, now that she is in Li's company, even the boss wears formal clothes day and night, and the company dare not go beyond that. Female employees dare not even show their toes outside. She often wondered what kind of thing this Li Zeliang was born into. Could it be that he never feels hot
I was too lazy to cook at home this Saturday, so Xieyi made an appointment with Zhou Pingxin to go out to restaurant and go back to the company to pick up some things.
Since it was a day off anyway, she wore a pair of flip-flops, a small camisole and loose cotton pants and strolled around the mall with Zhou Pingxin, buying clothes and shoes.
The two of them tried it over and over again, and they were sweating profusely even under the air conditioner.
"Ms. Shen."
After she and Zhou Pingxin came out of the mall, she heard someone calling her. She took off her sunglasses and looked back, but didn't see anyone, so she continued walking forward. The person called again, and then she saw a lady getting out of a car on the side of the road - it was Meng Lili.
"Ms. Meng." Xie Yi stopped.
"Ms. Shen, have you eaten yet? If not, let's go have a quick meal together." Meng Lili invited sincerely. After seeing Zhou Pingxin, she said, "Miss, please come with us."
Xieyi glanced at Zhou Pingxin. She knew that Zhou Pingxin was an introvert and didn't like dealing with strangers. In addition, Xieyi also wanted to be free on the weekend, so she said, "Thank you, Ms. Meng. We just had dinner and we have something else to do. I'll treat you next time if you're free."
Meng Lili had been in the social circle for a long time, so she knew what Xie Yi meant. She didn't want to cause any trouble with her, so she smiled and said, "I'll call Miss Shen in advance to make an appointment some other day, and you'll have to show your favor when the time comes."
"Sure, sure." Xie Yi nodded happily.
After watching Meng Lili see off, the two of them staggered to the food stall they often frequented.
"Braised chicken wings." Xieyi told the waiter that this was her standard dish every time she came. She then added more details, "Less chili, no onions, and remember not to mix it with cucumbers, or I'll refund you."
“Add more mustard greens and vinegar to the beef.” “This corn…” Every time she ordered a dish, she would add a bunch of supplementary terms, which made the waiter take a long time to remember them.
"I've never seen anyone so picky about food even at his old age." Zhou Pingxin said with a smile.
"I have high requirements for food." Xieyi corrected.
A bunch of dishes were served, and the last thing served was two bottles of iced pineapple beer. Xieyi took a quick sip and exclaimed that it was delicious. She was known for being drunk after three glasses of beer, but she was immune to this kind of beer. Wu Weiming once laughed at her: "What you drink is beer? It's obviously 7-Up with pineapple flavor."
"I saw Meng Lili from a distance several times, but I didn't expect that she looked quite young up close," said Zhou Pingxin.
"Well, he's just a few years older than us."
"My husband died at a young age, but now that I have the inheritance, I can start pursuing life again. It's good this way," Zhou Pingxin sighed.
Xie Yi listened, looked into the distance, and said calmly: "I'm afraid you can't do whatever you want. Everything has a price. The Huang family is not the kind of businessmen who started from scratch. The face of the whole family must always be covered up. Now that they let her get the property, I'm afraid they won't allow her to have these daydreams anymore."
"Oh, now that you mention this, I remember what happened a few days ago. I heard that Meng Lili has become the head of Zhengyuan Bank." The Zhengyuan Bank mentioned by Zhou Pingxin is the Huang family's largest industry.
Xieyi nodded and asked casually, "Really?" but she didn't seem surprised. She always felt that Meng Lili could handle any situation as she pleased and knew how to behave, and she was definitely not a weak woman who only knew how to cry.
She suddenly remembered a saying: Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing can overcome it when it attacks the hard and strong, because nothing can replace it.
Since she was able to conquer that family in just a few months, it seems that it was no coincidence that she was able to win the favor of Mr. Huang at that time. Although women are weak, they must not be underestimated.
"In fact, we are better off. We are just ordinary white-collar workers. We can be happy for a long time just for a chicken wing." Then Zhou Pingxin began to finish the chicken wings on the plate.
"Your love is so ordinary, but it is so shocking." Xieyi smiled and stretched out his chopsticks to pick up the food. Suddenly, he found a few pieces of green chopped green onions on the plate. He couldn't help but get a little crazy, "I clearly said no green onions..."
After dinner, Zhou Pingxin's husband couldn't wait to take his wife home, so Xieyi had to go back to the company alone to get her things. As soon as she reached the door of Li's Building, she saw a large group of people coming out.
The leader was of course Li Zeliang, but he was not the only focus of the group, because next to him stood a man with red lips and white teeth. If the man's facial features were only considered, he was not as sharp and handsome as Li Zeliang, but when they were put together, his face had another kind of extraordinary quality.
Li Zeliang first saw Xieyi, stared at her calmly, and then looked away. Xieyi curled her lips, she was used to his erratic attitude. Facing such a large group of people dressed in formal clothes, she glanced at her own unpresentable outfit, prepared to hide from the public, and quickly turned her back to move to the side, but it was too late.
"Xie Yi!" The man with red lips and white teeth called her from a distance with a little surprise.
Xie Yi had his back to them, his facial features wrinkled, and after cursing, he quickly changed his expression, turned around helplessly, and said with an apologetic smile: "Hello, Mr. Zhan."
This man is Zhan Dongzhen, the boss of Dongzheng Group in City B, who was once called one of the best by Wu Weiming.
When working with Wu Weiming in the past, Xieyi found that he had many good qualities, but his tongue was very sharp when it came to criticizing people. However, he spared Zhan Dongzhen, saying only that he was not as experienced as Li Zeliang. Apparently, he had a good impression of this person.
"You..." Zhan Dongzhen hesitated.
"Ms. Shen Xieyi is now a lawyer in our company." Li Zeliang introduced.
For some reason, after the last car accident, Li Zeliang's attitude towards her suddenly became distant and cold. Whenever he saw Xie Yi, he had the same expression, as if he would be sick if he looked at her for one more moment.
The sisters-in-law and young ladies who had been spreading rumors about the two of them because of the "stair gate" incident are now speculating: "Maybe Mr. Li has changed his taste again." The reason is: men are first attracted to simple meals, but after eating too much, they discover that delicacies from land and sea are more delicious.
Obviously, what they included in freehand painting were not delicacies from land and sea, but simple meals.
"Oh." Zhan Dongzhen responded, "We are going to have dinner. Since we all know each other, let's go together."
"I've eaten, and I'm going back to the office to work overtime. You guys go ahead." Xieyi said.
Li Zeliang didn't look at her, nor did he speak. From his expression, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. But since Li Zeliang didn't speak, no one on the Li family dared to agree.
Zhan Dongzhen seemed to have seen through the situation and said to Li Zeliang with a smile, "Boss Li, please ask your lawyer to give me some face, otherwise I will lose face in front of so many people."
Xiao Lin behind Li Zeliang secretly glanced at Zhan Dongzhen. This man seemed weak and frail on the surface, with fair skin, gentle and easy to talk to, but he was also very smart. As long as Li Zeliang spoke, how could Xie Yi resist
"Then go and sit down." Sure enough, Li Zeliang directly issued an imperial decree.
So, they went to eat together. The meal was very depressing. Li Zeliang assigned her to a corner and did not allow her to say a word. In addition to Zhan Dongzhen, many people in the room were smoking, of course, led by Li Zeliang, the smoker.
Xieyi hates the smell of cigarettes and hates secondhand smoke even more.
"Mr. Zhan knows Lawyer Shen?" Li Zeliang asked casually.
"We are from the same hometown." Xieyi said.
Li Zeliang said "Oh" and turned to look at Zhan Dongzhen.
Zhan Dongzhen smiled and said, "I have some connection with freehand writing."
This time, Li Zeliang said "Oh" again, which was meaningful, and then he smiled and said: "If it involves Lawyer Shen's privacy, I'm afraid it's better not to listen."
Xieyi glanced at the two men separately and gave a definition: Once a man starts to act fake, he is really disgusting.
Zhan Dongzhen, who was next to Li Zeliang, was being urged to drink by Li's people, and his face turned greener and greener. She couldn't help but feel a little worried. He was originally a non-smoker, but once he was in the business world, he sometimes couldn't help himself.
Therefore, Xieyi always felt that Zhan Dongzhen was not suitable to be a businessman.
Zhan Dongzhen came to City A to negotiate with Li in a low profile. Everyone has a habit that if you don't drink much, you will appear insincere, so he had a hard time coping, and Li Zeliang was like a spectator sitting in the audience watching the show.
"Then what am I suitable for?" he asked her before.
"It's good to be a nerd." She designed the nerd career for his life.
On the other hand, Li Zeliang seemed to be born to do this business. The intrigues, slyness, and taking advantage of others' misfortunes in the business world were all his strengths. She glanced at Li Zeliang again. Although she was from the Li family, she would definitely stand on the side of Zhan Dongzhen's Dongzheng Group.
After three rounds of drinking, Zhan Dongzhen went to the bathroom.
Xie Yi felt uneasy watching his back, so she followed him out. She walked to the corner before the restroom, but was pulled into a dark empty private room by Zhan Dongzhen.
"I knew you would follow." said Zhan Dongzhen.
"Are you drunk?"
"It's okay, I can bear it for now." Zhan Dongzhen said, holding her face, "Why do you always frown?"
"Dongzhen..."
"It feels strange to hear you call me like that all of a sudden." Zhan Dongzhen smiled. At this time, the alcohol was getting to his head and Zhan Dongzhen suddenly felt a little dizzy. He bent down and put his forehead on Xieyi's shoulder, "I feel a little dizzy, let me lean on you."
Xie Yi sighed and reached out to touch his hair, "You shouldn't act so arrogantly when you're drunk."
"I don't want to lose out in everything I do."
"What's the matter with the downwind? You've drunk too much."
Hearing her scolding, Zhan Dongzhen smiled knowingly, "I never thought that Xie Yi would be so gentle one day. I just don't want to lose to him in everything."
"Okay, okay, you've taken advantage of us enough. If we both disappear at the same time and don't come back, people will get suspicious."
Xieyi gently pushed him away, and Zhan Dongzhen also stood up.
The two of them went out together. When they entered the room, Zhan Dongzhen motioned for her to go first, and he leaned against the wall and waited for a while.
"Hello." Xieyi turned around and called him before pushing the door.
"Hmm?" He looked up.
"Dongzhen, thank you for everything you have done for me." Xieyi said.
"Need we say that?" He smiled at her.
Xieyi pushed the door open and took a seat. He saw Li Zeliang who seemed to have just walked in and sat down. He was smoking alone with a frown on his face.
She sat for a long time before Zhan Dongzhen came back slowly. Zhan Dongzhen was in better spirits than before he left. She didn't know if he had gone back alone to vomit after she came in. She knew that some people would feel better if they vomited when they were drunk.
Xie Yi had already eaten, so she didn't want to eat any more. Besides, she was insignificant here, and no one else would pay attention to her. The room was filled with smoke, which made her want to vomit. She just hoped that God would let this meal end as soon as possible.
She had nothing to do, but she couldn't just take out her phone and play games out of boredom, wouldn't that be embarrassing for the Li family? So, the only way she could pass the time was to smile and pretend to listen to them attentively.
After a while, she figured out the identities of the people from Dongzhen.
There are two people closest to Zhan Dongzhen. One is his male secretary, whose surname is Li; the other is probably the manager of the public relations department, whose surname is Zhao, Zhao Lingfei, who is about 30 years old. Although she is not stunningly beautiful, her eyes are very charming when she looks around.
Manager Zhao can drink a lot, so she is probably the one who deals with Li Zeliang. When a beautiful woman persuades you to drink, you should drink first to show your respect. There is no reason for a man not to drink.
I don't know if Li Zeliang was a little drunk or if he just liked to flirt with beautiful women. At this moment, he was getting along better and better with that beautiful lady Zhao. Xieyi couldn't help but curse in her heart. Just as she finished cursing in her heart, she saw Li Zeliang glance at her intentionally or unintentionally.
In order to hide her complaints, she hurriedly gave him a guilt-ridden smile.
This happened to fall into the eyes of Miss Zhao.
"Ah! President Li, you see, we have neglected Miss Shen." Miss Zhao stood up and asked the waiter to pour two glasses of wine. "Miss Shen, since you are Dong Zhen's friend, you are also my friend Zhao Lingfei. This is a rare opportunity, so I will borrow the flowers to offer to Buddha, and use President Li's territory to toast you a glass."
Few subordinates would address their boss like this. Xieyi was a little surprised to hear that, but it was none of her business.
As she spoke, Zhao Lingfei raised the cup in one hand and passed the other cup to Xie Yi, "Miss Shen, I toast to you."
Before he could finish his words, Zhan Dongzhen stopped him and said, "Ling Fei, she doesn't know how to drink, so don't make things difficult for her."
Zhao Lingfei followed her boss's instructions without saying anything, but she didn't take the wine back just like that. So she turned her eyes to Li Zeliang and said, "Boss Li, your Miss Shen doesn't know how to drink. As the saying goes, a gentleman should cherish women. Can you do it for her?"
Just now, when she offered Li Zeliang a drink, he would have accepted it as long as he had a reason. But this time, he smiled calmly, "I think it's Mr. Zhan who is kind and gentle to women. It's not good for me to take away someone's wish."
Li Zeliang not only made Zhao Lingfei hit a snag, but also kicked the ball to Zhan Dongzhen.
Fortunately, this man pronounced his words clearly, otherwise others would have heard those four words as "seizing someone's love", how could Shen Xieyi survive in the company? Xieyi sneered in her heart, "You are so good, Li Zeliang, you are playing tricks on me in front of so many people."
Unexpectedly, Zhan Dongzhen was also straightforward. Xie Yi saw that he was ready to drink. She knew that these words and this glass of wine did not matter to Zhan Dongzhen, but if he drank this glass for her, Li Zeliang might laugh at her endlessly in the future.
So, she stood up and picked up the glass of orange juice in front of her with both hands, "I dare not ask Mr. Li to do it for me. Manager Zhao, I really can't drink. Now I will drink a glass of water instead of wine with you, which is also a small way of showing my sincerity." After that, she gulped down a large glass of orange juice.
"Mr. Zhan and our Lawyer Shen are not just fellow villagers, right?" Li Zeliang leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette with his cold fingers, and then asked casually.
"We grew up together," said Zhan Dongzhen.
"Oh? Then we can be considered childhood sweethearts." Li Zeliang said meaningfully.
The meal lasted very late.
Li Zeliang arranged for someone to send Zhan Dongzhen and his party to the hotel. After seeing Zhan Dongzhen off, he pretended to be considerate of his subordinate and asked kindly, "How are you going to go back alone, Miss Shen?" He pretended to care about her.
"I'll take a taxi." Xie said consciously.
He nodded, apparently basically satisfied with the answer.
Xieyi received a call from Zhan Dongzhen in the taxi on the way home.
"Let's go out for coffee."
"don't want."
"Then let's have tea." Zhan Dongzhen immediately changed his suggestion.
"You just eat and drink all day long. Why didn't you tell me just now that I had gone home?" Xieyi said.
"I would like to invite you to have a pure cup of tea," said Zhan Dongzhen.
"Are you annoying?" Xie Yi said unhappily.
"Xie Yi..." Zhan Dongzhen was not discouraged, "I haven't seen you for a long, long time."
"Nonsense, I just saw him twenty minutes ago."
“…” Zhan Dongzhen stopped talking.
"Hello."
“…” There was still silence on the other end of the phone.