When Li Zhixing woke up, Dong Xiaorou was already busy in the kitchen. Li Zhixing walked over, wanting to embrace her from behind, but Dong Xiaorou dodged and looked at him with a touch of indifference, saying, "Don't move around." "Didn't we agree on this last night?"
Li Zhixing was taken aback, scratching his head, and smiling bitterly. "What did we agree on?"
How could she turn cold so quickly? Where did all the tenderness from last night go? Can't even hug her in the morning?
"Don't touch me!" Ignoring Li Zhixing, Dong Xiaorou turned away with a stern expression.
Li Zhixing felt quite awkward. Fine, if she doesn't want to be touched, then so be it. He turned and went to the bathroom. Dong Xiaorou stole a glance at him with a guilty conscience but quickly hardened her heart. It was for Li Zhixing's own good; there was no other choice.
After breakfast, Dong Xiaorou left without saying goodbye to Li Zhixing.
Cold!
It's like the weather suddenly changed to June.
There was a message on his phone indicating that five million US dollars had been deposited into his bank account. It was the advance payment for the corn order. Since Dong Xiaorou arrived yesterday, he hadn't checked his phone until now.
Perhaps Manager Dong was in a bad mood today. He might as well handle the seed purchase himself. It was just a ton of corn seeds, not a large quantity. He could easily find a seed company to handle it.
On the way to the seed company, Li Zhixing contemplated the path ahead for himself.
The Xiaorou Food Factory had recently expanded, and they were short-staffed. While further expansion was possible, it might not necessarily be a good thing.
The pace of the "Happy Fishball" business was good. With sixty stores in three months, they had opened ten more in the past two weeks. The progress was neither fast nor slow.
Both the processing plant and the "Happy Fishball" business were currently managed by Dong Xiaorou, so Li Zhixing didn't need to worry about them. However, he couldn't extract a large amount of funds from them in the short term. The "cash cow" needed to be nurtured first.
The "Iceheart Automobile Factory" gained competitiveness in the market thanks to the technology introduced by Li Zhixing. Whether it could take root and grow would depend on its own efforts. In the short term, Li Zhixing didn't plan to invest more money into it. He possessed advanced technology, but it required money to obtain. After being neglected for too long, it needed to regain its vitality.
Although the "Ice Soul NN7" was a small product, it was sufficient for the "Iceheart Automobile Factory" to use temporarily. This was also a test for Huang Zhongtao and the Iceheart Automobile Factory. Human hearts are difficult to fathom, so time was needed.
"A ton of corn seeds?" We have them. "What type do you need?" The person at the seed company was delighted when Li Zhixing mentioned the purchase of a ton of corn seeds.
Although he wasn't a major customer, the purchase quantity was not small either. 2000 pounds of corn seeds would be enough to plant over a hundred acres of corn.
With money, everything was easier. After purchasing the corn seeds, Li Zhixing contacted the "Interstellar Express" company directly to package and ship the order.
He didn't even need to submit the order himself. Once the recipient receives the goods and confirms their accuracy, the Interstellar Alliance will directly confirm the completion of the order.
This order earned Li Zhixing eight million US dollars, and that amount was directly converted into Earth currency by the Interstellar Alliance.
On his way, Li Zhixing also visited the warehouse to sell the accumulated hundreds of tons of fishballs to the 67th Interstellar Alliance, making five million credits after deducting the "transaction fee." He had no choice but to sell them because the warehouse he had rented in the city was already full.
The five million in cash from selling the fishballs was reinvested in the processing plant to purchase raw materials, cover processing and production costs, rent warehouses, and manage transportation. The money all came from the processing plant, so it wasn't appropriate to "bleed" the factory at this time. As the saying goes, it's better to nurture it first.
"Li Zhixing, do you want to make me angry?" Just before noon, Zhuge Meili called angrily, demanding to know why he hadn't contacted her cousin, Dong Yingxue, for so long.
Receiving the call from her, Li Zhixing was amused. He had been thinking about where to go for lunch. He asked with a smile, "Why are you so angry?" "I've been busy!"
"Busy, my foot!" I don't care. Today, you must make an appointment with my cousin. She's available. Hurry up and call her. If you dare to say no, I'll make sure you can't stay in Haicheng in the future.
Click!
She hung up on Li Zhixing!
Li Zhixing couldn't help but smile. "Can't stay in Haicheng?" "Wow, she's quite something, that big sister!"
But he also realized that he was in the wrong. He had promised her, so how could he not follow through? However, he wasn't making excuses. He had indeed been very busy during this time.
There was nothing happening at the bureau these days, and Dong Yingxue was on leave, so she hadn't been to work.
She didn't reject the idea of Li Zhixing being her "boyfriend," but she didn't like the feeling of being "arranged." She didn't know what Zhuge Meili had done behind the scenes to get her grandfather to personally call her and ask her to "try" with this young man. It wasn't coercion, and whether they could be together in the future would depend on their fate. But her family didn't oppose their relationship, and they expressed their acceptance very tactfully.
If something was approved by her grandfather, no one in the entire family would dare to object.
Since her grandfather had suggested that Dong Yingxue "give it a try" with Li Zhixing, she felt compelled to comply and "try." Dong Yingxue, at the age of twenty-six, felt it was time for her to find a boyfriend.
Dong Yingxue was annoyed that Li Zhixing hadn't contacted her for half a month, despite Zhuge Meili's assurances that everything was settled, and she should just enjoy the "wonderful time of love." Was this indifference what they called a "wonderful time of love"?
There was no joy, no warmth, not even an argument or annoyance. They hadn't met for half a month, and they hadn't even spoken on the phone.
Did the woman have to take the initiative in this "try"?
Contemplating her reflection in the mirror, she wondered, "Am I ugly?" What was lacking in her figure, appearance, temperament, and skin compared to other women? Dong Yingxue had just finished showering and had not put on clothes yet.
Ring!
Hearing the phone ring, Dong Yingxue, wrapped in a towel, walked out of the bathroom and frowned at the caller ID. She was quite angry. If it were anyone else, they would be too. "I'll introduce you to a girlfriend," they said on both sides. But for half a month, he hadn't contacted her. What did that mean? If he didn't like her, he should just say so. Did he need to use this cold treatment as a tactic?
If he didn't like her, did he think he was good enough for her?
"Hello!"
Dong Yingxue answered the phone. After all, it was a person her grandfather had "arranged" for her, and she couldn't refuse.
"Officer Dong, it's Li Zhixing!" Li Zhixing parked his car on the side of the road and touched his nose. He didn't know how to start the conversation. It was indeed quite embarrassing.
Dong Yingxue responded calmly, "I know it's you."
Her attitude was quite ordinary, neither cold nor warm, as if they were mere acquaintances. It wasn't that Dong Yingxue wasn't angry; it was just her temperament. Oftentimes, her emotions were concealed behind a cold exterior. She was a criminal investigator, and most of the time, she dealt with criminals. Would she smile and ask a criminal if they had committed a crime?
This approach wasn't correct! It didn't feel right!
"Let me take you to lunch!" Li Zhixing didn't ask if she was available. If she wasn't, she would refuse.
"Okay." I live in Building 18 of the Luxin Jingwan community. "Come pick me up!" Dong Yingxue didn't object and directly gave her address to Li Zhixing.
"I'll be right there." Let's talk when we meet. Li Zhixing smiled and hung up the phone.
Holding the phone, Dong Yingxue smiled, but the smile quickly faded. It was just a lunch invitation, so there was nothing to be happy about. If it weren't for her grandfather's words, she wouldn't even bother with him.
That's what she thought, but it was still a somewhat "formal" date, so Dong Yingxue needed to dress up a bit. She usually wore either a police uniform or loose, neutral clothing for convenience. But those clothes weren't suitable for a date.
Dong Yingxue did have "pretty clothes," but she didn't wear them often.
Should she wear a dress or jeans? Dong Yingxue was undecided. Should she call Zhuge Meili and ask for advice?
Maybe not. That girl would definitely make fun of her.
A dress would look beautiful, but it might not be safe to go on a date with a man. She might be taken advantage of. A thought crossed her mind: Would he dare to take advantage of her? She could arrest him and keep him locked up for two weeks. As a police officer, he definitely wouldn't dare.
Lost in thought, she finally decided to wear a dress—a very beautiful one that she had only worn once before, on her last birthday.
Dong Yingxue couldn't remember the last time she had gone on a date with a man. Thinking about it, her heart started to beat a little faster. Despite her strong exterior, she was still a woman!
When Li Zhixing arrived at Dong Yingxue's building, he called her, and she asked him to wait for five minutes. She came down very quickly. Li Zhixing was quite nervous. What if Dong Yingxue's parents came down? Should he greet them?
This wasn't a normal date. There was a "matchmaker" involved, and even though Zhuge Meili wasn't very reliable, Dong Yingxue was a good girl. She was a crime fighter, and Li Zhixing speculated that someone like her would definitely discuss things with her family first.
The above is purely speculative!
She said five minutes, but she didn't make Li Zhixing wait for even a minute. Dong Yingxue was very punctual.
Li Zhixing almost didn't recognize Dong Yingxue. Was this the same Dong Yingxue who exuded a strong and confident aura? She was wearing a fitted, long white dress that was not very long. It was evident that the dress was exceptionally beautiful and possessed a distinctive charm. She also had short hair, but it was very feminine. This was a completely different Dong Yingxue from the one he usually saw.
"Don't recognize me?" Dong Yingxue looked at Li Zhixing's dumbfounded expression and smiled. She had put on light makeup and dressed up.
Li Zhixing nodded earnestly. He hadn't expected that only in this type of clothing, which revealed her figure at a glance, could he discover that Dong Yingxue also had a very good physique. She was no less than any other woman, and her curves were completely natural, not artificially "created."