"There's no need for politeness. I just visited to personally ask you, since Gu Zhen seems nervous about it."
Mr. Gu laughed awkwardly. It turned out his son was not lying after all!
"No need to ask for my permission. It's my son's blessing to have you as his friend. Please do tell me if he ever causes you any trouble."
"Thank you, Mr. Gu."
Mr. Gu looked at Gu Zhen who hid behind Xiong Zhi.
"You brat! Take care of your friends well," he told his son with a glare, then turned to smile again at Xiong Zhi. "I'll go ahead now, Young Miss Xiong Zhi, Young Master Zhou. Please feel free at home and treat this as your own."
Xiong Zhi took out her phone, opened the dial pad, and handed it to Mr. Gu.
"I have to trouble Mr. Gu to give your number so I can inform you of our whereabouts, so that you do not need to worry about Gu Zhen's safety."
Mr Gu felt grateful and gave Xiong Zhi his number.
After his father left, Gu Zhen excitedly 'grabbed' Xiong Zhi's arm and led her to his room.
Linfeng furrowed his brows as followed them. His gaze kept on falling on the hand of Gu Zhen holding Xiong Zhi's arm.
Gu Zhen suddenly stopped before entering his room. He looked back at Linfeng.
"You're not needed anymore. Xiong Zhi and I have something to discuss by ourselves."
Linfeng was still expressionless. But Xiong Zhi who was familiar with his every move noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes.
The 'zero social experience' and tactless Gu Zhen was about to shoo Linfeng away again when Xiong Zhi reached out and casually held Linfeng's hand. She turned to Gu Zhen and spoke in a cool voice.
"I want him to stay. What will people think if a boy and a girl enter a closed room alone?"
Gu Zhen's eyes widened in realization. He let go Xiong Zhi's hand and scratched his head.
"Sorry, I just got a little excited. But, is it alright to let him know?"
Gu Zhen did not want to intentionally offend Linfeng. He was just afraid that this guy would tell his father the things he would see. He did not want others to discover his addiction to computers.
"It's alright. He won't tell," Xiong Zhi said, still holding a certain frozen man's hand.
Linfeng's lids lowered as he stared at their intertwined hands. If it was any other girl, he would have already twisted their hand, even if they were from a prominent family, for touching him without his consent.
But this softness he felt on his hand, he did not dislike it.
Strangely, it felt warm. His ears slightly reddened.
He did not avoid her touch.
Inside the room, Gu Zhen tossed around his stuff. Only until he found a few discs and a flash drive did he finally stop. He handed them out to Xiong Zhi.
"You keep it. My father will likely check my belongings before we go out. But he will surely not check yours."
Xiong Zhi stared at it stiffly, her face solemn. In fact, she was thinking of something completely random.
If she accepted them, did she have to let go the hand holding Linfeng's? She felt reluctant. But given her extra tiny and dainty hands, she had to hold use both hands..
Feeling frustrated, Xiong Zhi glared at Gu Zhen. Although, outwardly, her stiff facial muscles did not change much. She only released out more cold air.
'It's not easy getting the chance to hold Linfeng's hand, why must this guy get in the way?'
Unfortunately, Gu Zhen could not hear her thoughts. He impatiently gestured at Xiong Zhi to accept the stuff.
Linfeng, who stood beside her, removed his gaze from joined hands and reached out his free hand instead. His large hand easily took the gadgets and stuffed them inside her bag.
"…" Seeing the smooth movements of the youth, Xiong Zhi's chest started to warm up.
'He did not let go of my hands. Does it mean... he did not dislike it?'
Her stiff face imperceptibly softened. Hope filled her heart.
"Let's go," Gu Zhen enthusiastically said.
Xiong Zhi's wandering thoughts returned back to the present. Still, she did not intend to let go of his hand.
As Gu Zhen had said, someone really did check his belongings. Finally, the three of them headed towards Xiong Zhi's car.
As they neared the car, Xiong Zhi met another dilemma.
She always sat at the back seat while Linfeng took on the passenger's seat.
Xiong Zhi bit her lips while reluctantly letting go Linfeng's big and warm hand.
Linfeng felt coldness in his hand the moment Xiong Zhi let go of it. The coldness seemed to seep through his body, rousing him from his confusion.
Right, he was just an aide.
He did not have the right to sit beside her, much more hold her hand. She was a Xiong. He was a Zhou.
(A/N : Romeo and Juliet? Is that you? )
***[RR] :A/N go away!***
A glint flashed in Linfeng's eyes. He was born as a Zhou, born to serve the Xiong family. But he would not die still serving the Xiong. He would rise higher, aim higher on his own.
The three people entered the car.
______________
In the capital city, in front of a newly-built building.
Xiong Zhi turned to Linfeng and spoke in a low voice.
"You don't need to accompany me here. I will call once were done with our project. Thanks for coming with me."
"The pleasure was mine, Young Miss—"
"We're alone."
Linfeng pursed his lips and looked at the 'light bulb' a few steps away.
"Zhi'er."
'Zhi'er...'
Both came from the same mouth… Why was the feeling so different?
Xiong Zhi clearly remembered how Linfeng called her 'Zhi'er' in the past. It was full of warmth, but now, it was indifferent and forced.
She knew that the Linfeng now still was a bit different from the past one who loved her wholeheartedly.
Still, it made Xiong Zhi hurt and confused. Was she expecting too much?
Her eyes downcast, she said, "…It's fine. If you don't really want to call me Zhi'er, then don't force yourself anymore. Please call me as you see fit."
Linfeng watched her. He could not see her face clearly. Yet he seemed to feel that the girl in front of him seemed... down?
Linfeng did not reply. He did not know what he should say.
It was true that he felt forced to call her by her nickname. But it did not mean he hated it.
It was just, if he continued to call her by her name, he might forget that he was an aide. He might forget the reason he must strive hard.
With no response from Linfeng, Xiong Zhi felt truly disappointed. She simply turned around and went inside the building with an excited Gu Zhen following behind
Linfeng watched in place until he could no longer see them.
Xiong Zhi and Gu Zhen went to the ninth floor. The small office occupied the whole ninth floor. The office had two private rooms, a huge hall filled with office desks and dividers, a restroom, and a kitchenette.
"Is this your starting office? Not bad." Gu Zhen appreciated the surroundings. He liked the office. On every desk, there was more than enough space for the employees to breathe and work, and the dividers did well with providing each desks privacy.
He entered in one of the private rooms, which can be considered large for regular people, and exclaimed, "I will use this room! You already promised."
And just like that, he kicked the room, put out all of his 'treasures', and began working on his computer.
Xiong Zhi stared at the locked door, then went downstairs. She called out to the security personnel.
"Boss," the guard was hired by Xiong Zhi to take care of the security of the office.
"Hello, Mr. Cang, one of my classmate was staying inside the office. In case he noticed I'm gone, tell him I had some matters to attend to. He can go home first. Right, he can drop by here anytime. Make sure to allow him entry."
"Yes, Boss."
_______________________________
It was still early by the time Xiong Zhi entered the coffee shop. True to her words, she did not bother changing. She sat at the corner of the coffee shop looking at the entrance. She knew she was early but she could not help but stare at the entrance. Since a long time ago, one of her habits had always been observing people. She might not fully judge them well, but she could quite grasp their attitude.
She saw a happy couple enter, followed by a lone man in his forties, then a mother with a child in school uniform. After an old man came in, a group of people soon entered.
Xiong Zhi stared at this group.
One muscled, one thin, one chubby and one lean.
They looked around. When they spotted Xiong Zhi, they whispered excitedly to each other. Their action attracted a few of the customers and staff in the coffee shop. Who could blame them?
Four grown men, standing in the middle of the cafe, whispering to each other while looking at an exceptionally pretty high school girl sitting alone in the corner.
They appeared like a bunch of lowlifes about to target an innocent girl.
Xiong Zhi's appearance had long caught the people's attention. Her beauty was something beyond jealousy, they just could not bear such an angel get targeted by a bunch of toads wanting to eat swan meat!
When the 'toads' were about to approach Xiong Zhi, the man in his forties who entered earlier stood up and blocked them.
"Gentlemen, would you like to share my table? Your drinks are on me," he politely suggested, though his face looked rather guarded.
The couple from earlier quickly approached Xiong Zhi and sat with her. The woman smiled gently, assuring her. The mother sitting with her child near her table reached out to her phone, ready to call the police anytime a fight breaks out.
Xiong Zhi: "…"
She was both speechless and amused.
The four guys rejected the man and was about to step forward when the old man in one corner spoke indignantly.
"You perverts! You should leave this cafe now or else, your face will not be intact when you leave later!"
'Ehhhh....?!'
The four men looked around them in stupefaction. The people in the coffee shop all looked disgustedly at them. They seemed ready to fight.
'Eh?! How did we offend these people when we just came in?!!'
Despite the funny situation, Xiong Zhi could not help but be moved. There were still good people in this world. Too bad, they misunderstood.
The lean man with spectacles finally seemed to understand the situation, so he took a step backward and raised both of his hands in submission.
"I'm sorry, we probably scared you, but we are acquaintances of that girl. We are not bad people."
All the people in the cafeteria looked suspiciously at the lean man, then to Xiong Zhi.
Xiong Zhi stood up and bowed respectfully. Her soft, albeit cool, and gentle voice rang out.
"Thank you, everyone, for your concerns, but they are all my uncles. We have not seen each other for quite a while"
Xiong Zhi knew who they were, obviously.
The people inside the coffee shop was relieved and hurriedly apologized to the four men.
The three of them were still confused, except for the lean man. After the misunderstanding was cleared, the group finally made their way to Xiong Zhi.
The lean man carefully asked the unusually pretty girl.
"Are you the one who called SHM?"
"Yes. Please, sit."
The four sat down and set their gadgets on the table. The chubby guy brought out a memo and a pen, the thin guy held a phone, the muscled guy had a laptop, and the lean man had a recorder.
Xiong Zhi's corner mouth twitched.
'They are really prepared, aren't they?'
She could somehow imagine the bewilderment of the other people around them now. Were a meeting between uncles and niece supposed to look like this?
Xiong Zhi shook the random thoughts off her head. She also brought out the flashdrive.
When the four guys saw the flashdrive, their eyes practically shone.
They introduced themselves.
"Young lady, we are the creators of Shi Hua Media. I'm Lin Ruo, the PR, this is Mu Fian, our editor, Xian Tao, our news writer, and Gi Pieng, the camera man."
The three guys who were being introduced nodded at Xiong Zhi.
"Sorry to make you wait," Lin Ruo added, although they were actually very early.
"I just came. I'm an hour early. You, too."
"Haha, we also did not expect to see you quite early ."
The lean man was embarrassed. Were they too obvious at their excitement for this big scoop?
Xiong Zhi brought out a folder. She placed it beside the flashdrive.
"I'm not giving this evidence for free—" Xiong Zhi had not finished yet, and already, the four guys gasped.
How could they forget?! TRUTH was expensive!
They did not bring money, because they did not have any in the first place. This evidence was big enough to cost a small fortune. If the girl handed it to other media, for sure, they would willingly fork out any amount for it.
Cold water was poured down their burning enthusiasm. They knew they could not afford it. They had already bid farewell to the flashdrive flapping its wings away in their minds when they heard Xiong Zhi's following words.
"—so if you agree and sign this contract, I will give to you the proof in return."
"…"
"…"
"...?"
Xiong Zhi looked at the question mark on their faces.
'Did they not understand? Or did they even listen?'
The four stared at Xiong Zhi blankly. When they heard that it was not free, their brain immediately broke down. So they did not seem to hear clearly what Xiong Zhi continued to say.
Xiong Zhi expressionlessly grabbed the recorder from Lin Ruo's hand and played it for them.
"Young lady, we are the creators of Shi Hua Media…" … …
After the recording, she spoke again.
"I'm not giving this evidence for free, I have a proposal." Her dark eyes stared at them coldly. With her black fair setting off the whiteness of her snowy skin, she appeared both beautiful and cold. Her charisma overflowed. "I have a company and I want SHM to have collaborate with it. It's simple. IHZHI will invest in SHM, in return I need SHM to be a dependable partner to IHZHI. Also, with my continuous investment, I will get ten percent of the shares in SHM. This evidence is just your stepping stone. IHZHI will provide you more support, such as equipment, manpower, and information. So, if you agree and sign it, I will give this proof in my hand against CJ to you."
"...."
Lin Ruo was the first one to recover. He took the folder and carefully read it. With every passing moment, his eyes grew wider.
"You..." His eyes were full of disbelief, realizing the identity of the girl opposite them.
"Sign it or not?"
Lin Ruo was conflicted. Finally, he said to Xiong Zhi.
"Young Miss Xiong, can you let us talk first and decide for ourselves?"
"Alright. I'll give you—" '—an hour'.
But she did not manage to finish her statement because Lin Ruo instantly turned around and pulled his companions to him.
Xiong Zhi simply watched them discuss in whispers.
The truth was that even if they did not accept the proposal, Xiong Zhi decided to still give them the evidence. That was why she only gave them an hour. Since it was a collaboration, they must decide on it after careful thinking. Anyways, the details still emphasized their freedom and that only truthful information would be handed to them. She was confident they would agree after a long discussion.
But less than five minutes later, the four idiots grinned and turned to Xiong Zhi with anticipation.
Xiong Zhi's brow twitched.
'So soon?' She underestimated their poverty.
"Young Miss Xiong, we, the founders of SHM, agree to our collaboration," Lin Ruo spoke again with the same hint of second grade syndrome.
The four idiots signed the contract. But realizing there was only one copy, they looked up at Xiong Zhi with another question mark on their faces. Weren't every one of them supposed to have a copy each?
Xiong Zhi understood and answered, "I thought only one person will come, that's why I only brought one copy for you guys."
The four idiots were ashamed. Yup, they were being too obvious with excitement.
"It's alright, it's alright. Just fax to us the other copies."
And with that they sealed the deal.
On the way home, Xiong Zhi was still in a daze.
'Well, that was too fast.'
[End of Day 1]