On the sofa, Lu Lixing and Chen Shuyi sat on opposite sides, facing each other. None of them spoke.
Ji Qingqing was in her room. She more or less knew that they were going to have a discussion so she considerately closed the door to not disrupt them.
The camera was powered off.
Chen Shuyi sounded disappointed. âI donât want to listen to your explanation. Lu Lixing, after so many years, just why didnât I realize that youâre such aâŠâ
He didnât continue any further.
Chen Shuyi let out a sigh of exasperation. âDid you consider my feelings? No, you didnât. You only thought about yourself. Weâve been brothers for so many years. Am I just here only to clean up after your messes? Do you know how much we have to compensate in order to get a variety program to break a contract? All this happened just because of your petty⊠personal whims!â
Chen Shuyi ranted, âYouâre so petty! Lu Lixing you really are a petty guy! You satisfied your personal whims at the expense of the companyâs interest!â
He shook his head a couple of times, looking utterly dispirited. âWhatâs the point now? Itâs all meaningless.â
After listening to Chen Shuyiâs rant, Lu Lixing nonchalantly placed a stack of information in front of Chen Shuyi. âSince you donât want to listen to my explanation, then I wonât say anymore. Thanks for all your hard work in dealing with the advertising sponsors for me.â
Chen Shuyi looked at that stack of information and casually flipped through it. He raised his head and stared at Lu Lixing in disbelief. âSo you really intend to shift the blame to me? Honestly speaking, I donât mind taking the blame. I really have no issues with it. But even so, youâre still a businessman, and this concerns the companyâs interest. YouâŠâ
Lu Lixing didnât express his opinion. Instead, he replied, âIâll take responsibility for all of the company losses. Besides, I believe that this variety program has a huge potential for investments. As for the other matters, Iâm sorry, but Iâll have to trouble you with them.â
Chen Shuyi pointed his finger at Lu Lixing and grudgingly complained, âLu Lixing, you think you can do whatever you want just because you have money and influence? YouâŠâ
âYes, I can!â
â...â Chen Shuyi shrugged his shoulders. âFine then. Suit yourself. Itâs your company anyway. But let me warn you, those old seniors on the board of directors arenât pushovers. Youâll have to prepare for whatever questions they might haveâŠâ
Lu Lixing interrupted him. âWhat did you come here for?â
âZhenzhen is cooking tonight. She asked me to invite you guys over for dinner.â Chen Shuyi stopped and smiled at Lu Lixing. âBut, treat it as if I never said anything about it. Donât even think about eating my Zhenzhenâs cooking!â
Having said that, Chen Shuyi stood up and grabbed that stack of information as he did so. He gave Lu Lixing a resentful stare and left swiftly.
Right after the door closed, Ji Qingqingâs head peeked out from the room. âPresident Chen left? Didnât he say earlier that theyâre inviting us over for dinner?â
âHe told me just now that we donât have to go.â
âWhy?â
âHe said they didnât manage to buy the ingredients.â
â... But just now Lin Zhen was asking me on WeChat whether I prefer greasy or light foods.â
Lu Lixingâs brain spun rapidly. âChen Shuyi probably wants some time alone with his wife. Letâs not bother them.â
Ji Qingqing understood immediately. âOh, I see.â
Most likely Chen Shuyiâs invitation for them to have dinner together was just for the sake of courtesy and that he actually didnât mean it.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang again. Lu Lixing went to open the door. It was Chen Shuyi.
He stood outside the door and whispered, âZhenzhen insisted that I invite you guys over for dinner. Later, help me out and say that you didnât want to impose on us so you rejected me.â
Lu Lixing glanced at him and expressionlessly turned him down. âNo.â
âWhy?â
âBecause I just told Ji Qingqing that you wanted to spend some time alone with Lin Zhen so you didnât want us to head over for dinner.â Lu Lixing was very upfront. âBesides, you said it yourself, you didnât want us to taste Lin Zhenâs cooking. So why must I take the blame for you?â
â...â
What the?! I canât believe this guy.
The end result was that, at 6 pm in the evening, Ji Qingqing and Lu Lixing punctually arrived outside Chen Shuyiâs hotel room.
Lin Zhen had retired from the entertainment industry for many years. She didnât have many interests and hobbies, but occasionally she would cook when she felt like it and this made her a rather skilled cook. Ji Qingqing helped with the cooking and the two of them whipped up a total of seven to eight dishes of typical home-cooked food. The dishes looked mouth-watering and could arouse oneâs appetite greatly.
After the final dish, the stir-fried eggplant was served on the table, Lin Zhen smiled and gave an introduction. âThe taro bok choy soup and steamed prawns dishes are cooked by Qingqing. Donât just stare, start digging in. Once the food is cold it wonât taste any good.â