Chapter 8

Zhou Yezhang had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth: "Who would dare to bully the mistress of the Zhou family"

Kong Liqing allowed herself only two tears to fall. She blinked hard to wipe away the tears in her eyes, and finally raised her head to look at the woman opposite her and asked: "Is Miss Yang, who lives across from me, also Mr. Zhou's girlfriend?"

City B has a very famous street, known by some as Chang'an Street and by others as the First Street of Shenzhou. It holds a symbolic position in the hearts of the Chinese people. To get from Kong Liqing's residence to Zhou Yezhang's location in City B, one must pass through the renowned Chang'an Street

Kong Liqing withdrew his hand and defensively faced Ou Hangshu: "I cannot be separated from my child"

The space inside the carriage is quite large, with two long rows of sofas facing each other. The space left in between is sufficient for two tall men to sit opposite each other without their knees touching. A woman then boarded the vehicle and sat opposite Kong Liqing. With a "bang" as the door closed, this place became a sealed space, with the driver's position in front separated by glass.

Ou Hangshu was truly taken aback this time. After a moment, she replied awkwardly, "Mr. Zhou does not hit women"

Kong Liqing turned around to face the person calling her, a young woman standing by the open car door. She wore sharp, slender high heels, a snow-white shirt, and a light gray suit skirt, her waist delicate enough to be grasped with one hand. Her features were not particularly beautiful, and her face was adorned with light makeup. A pair of rectangular glasses rested on her nose, and her hair was meticulously styled into a bun at the back of her head. Her long neck held her head high, making her appear as a formidable woman armed to the teeth.

Zhou Yezhang did not move; he tapped his fingers on his chin twice and said thoughtfully, "It is not very good-looking"

Kong Liqing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing her words, and then she bluntly asked: "Does Mr. Zhou hit people?"

"I did not ask you to separate; of course, you can take the child with you," Ou Xing Shu replied to her calmly

A sharply contoured Cadillac blended into the flow of traffic, moving forward in an orderly manner among the cars in front and behind. Zhou Yezhang, seated in the front passenger seat, rested his right arm against the car door, his index and middle fingers lightly touching his chin. His eyes gazed at the magnificent buildings flashing by outside. This man was always elegant; his elegance was a lifestyle ingrained in his very being, manifesting naturally in every gesture and posture.

Kong Liqing and Ou Xingshu sat diagonally across from each other. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, holding the strap of her crossbody bag slung over her shoulder, and silently watched the woman opposite her, patiently waiting for her to continue.

Kong Liqing felt a bit sensitive; she stood there gazing at the pitch-black car window for a while. A few seconds passed, and the commotion behind the window was as deep and silent as the color of the glass itself. She thought she looked a bit foolish, and as she turned her foot to walk away, the car door suddenly opened.

In the not too deep of night, the surroundings are illuminated by a myriad of lights, with a wide street of 100 meters, the road is smooth, and the lights on both sides of the street are dazzling. The tail lights of the cars speeding by create streaks of light in the night.

The car ahead began to move, and Achen slowly pressed the accelerator to follow suit. He looked ahead and casually remarked, "Her demeanor is too wooden; she is not fit to be the matriarch of the Zhou family."

Achen continuously tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, speaking in his awkward Mandarin: "Actually, everything else is negotiable, but looking at that woman's character, she will probably be bullied when she arrives at the Zhou family in the future"

The light inside the car is dim, and the man's profile is half illuminated and half shadowed in the interplay of light and shadow. From a woman's perspective, he can undoubtedly be considered charming. The driver, Achen, has a androgynous face; he is undoubtedly good-looking, but his attractiveness is of a completely different nature compared to Zhou Yezhang. If we were to describe them using wine, one would be a vintage red wine, aged deep in the cellar, with a rich, profound color and a smooth, lingering taste, while the other would be a sparkling champagne, bubbling with beautiful foam, vibrant in color, and sweet on the palate. He is undoubtedly good-looking, but his attractiveness is of a completely different nature compared to Zhou Yezhang. If we were to describe them using wine, one would be a vintage red wine, aged deep in the cellar, with a rich, profound color and a smooth, lingering taste, while the other would be a sparkling champagne, bubbling with beautiful foam, vibrant in color, and sweet on the palate.

Kong Liqing remained completely still under the woman's gaze. She looked back at the woman and said softly, "You may speak."

Ou Xingshu looked at the woman in front of him who was bowing her head in silence, and when he spoke the last sentence, his tone was almost comforting

The woman stood at the bottom of the steps, and due to the angle, she had to tilt her head to look at Kong Liqing. However, this did not diminish her imposing presence; rather, her elevated head further accentuated her proud demeanor: "I have been entrusted by someone to seek your counsel on a matter. May I take up a little of your time?" The woman spoke with a smile on her face, yet the gaze she directed towards him was somewhat complex, and Kong Liqing discerned a hint of disdain within it.

Once the woman across from me settled down, she immediately straightened her back, brought her knees together, and tightened her calves, which slanted to one side, creating a posture that was elegantly flawless.

Ou Xingshu's hand remained still there as she looked at Kong Liqing. After a moment, she finally withdrew her hand, smiled at her, and nodded slightly. Kong Liqing said nothing further, hurriedly got out of the car, and without even saying goodbye, closed the car door and jogged towards the parking shed in front of the hospital.

Do you understand what I mean? Ouxing Shu leaned forward, almost reaching out to shake Kong Liqing's hand, but at the last moment, she stopped herself.

How can one not understand? Isn't it just being kept? Kong Liqing, with his head lowered, had tears welling up in his eyes

Kong Liqing remained silent, continuously rubbing her pants back and forth, the sweat on her palms leaving several water marks on her deep blue shorts

"Miss Kong, please wait." A young woman's voice.

Kong Liqing let out a sigh: "That’s all I have to say, I’m leaving now, I still need to pick up my child." She pushed open the car door and prepared to get out.

"No, the order I received is that you can cut off your retreat if necessary," Ouhang Shu said decisively as he leaned back into the chair behind him

Kong Liqing lowered his head and looked at his feet for a moment, ultimately asking nothing. He simply kept his head down as he walked down the steps and approached the woman. The woman pulled the car door open and stepped aside, and without any hesitation, she bent down and sat inside the car.

Ou Xing Shushen reached out to stop her, saying: "Miss Kong, please do not be anxious, I can take you home."

For Kong Liqing, ever since that inexplicable night, her life seems to have become smoother. She currently works in an obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic, which is divided into three sections: obstetrics, gynecology, and family planning. She has been stationed in the obstetrics outpatient clinic for a long time, where her daily work is light and the clientele is uniform, consisting entirely of pregnant women. Each day is uneventful, primarily involving routine prenatal check-ups, and any patients with issues are directly referred to the inpatient department. She bears little responsibility, and her position is relatively autonomous, with no one overseeing her. The other two doctors in her department, who handle obstetrics and family planning, are rotating doctors from other inpatient departments, while she remains steadfast in her role. In a hospital setting, significant events are rare, and leadership typically does not visit the outpatient clinic. Therefore, in the two weeks since Kong Liqing joined this hospital, aside from meeting a deputy director during her interview, she has not encountered any other leaders. Her daily routine of working from 9 AM to 5 PM is quite relaxed, as she does not have to work night shifts or overtime.

Ou Xingshu's gaze swept up and down on Kong Liqing, her eyes not particularly sharp but filled with inquiry. After a few seconds of silence between the two, Ou Xingshu finally spoke again: "Miss Kong, my boss is Mr. Zhou Yezhang, and I am his special assistant." As she said this, her body suddenly leaned forward, meeting Kong Liqing's eyes with a complex expression, and continued: "I am very sorry, because what I am about to tell you may be either good news or bad news for you."

Achen glanced at Zhou Yezhang's disdainful smile, shrugged indifferently, and said nothing more. The carriage fell silent once again, as the heavy Cadillac drew a smooth line under the streetlights, gradually disappearing into the night.

Kong Liqing was momentarily stunned by Ou Xingshu's words. After a brief pause, she lowered her head, and after a while, she placed one hand on her thigh, rubbing her palm back and forth on her pants.

After hearing Ou Xingshu's response, Kong Liqing did not ask anything further and directly said, "Alright, I agree." After saying this, she moved to the car door, resting her hand on the door handle, and facing the somewhat surprised Ou Xingshu, she asked, "What do I need to do after I have agreed?"

Achen's fingers tapped twice on the steering wheel, and he glanced ahead, curling his lips slightly as he said, "Moreover, the facial features are not very good."

Ou Hangshu sat in the car, watching Kong Liqing's hurried figure disappear from her sight. At that moment, she suddenly understood why Zhou Yezhang was attracted to this woman. She also vaguely sensed that this woman might not play a simple role as she initially thought. She had a faint premonition that this woman would have a profound impact on Zhou Yezhang.

At the end of July, the weather remained sweltering. When Kong Liqing walked out of the hospital gate that day, although the sun was already low in the west, the temperature in the air was still scorching. As soon as he left the central air conditioning of the hospital, a fine layer of sweat immediately appeared on his body

You do not need to do anything. You just need to move into Mr. Zhou's apartment in City B this weekend

Zhou Yezhang chuckled twice, his gaze turning towards the window as he pondered, "Does Achen know what my mother used to do?" He clearly did not intend for Achen to respond, as he continued speaking: "The previous matriarch of the Zhou family, my mother, was a primary school teacher before she married my father. When she was a girl, she had never even killed a chicken, but for my father, she wielded a cleaver and chopped off half of someone’s head. As for the current matriarch of the Zhou family, my grandmother was once a somewhat obscure movie star on the Shanghai Bund. To be honest, none of the matriarchs of the Zhou family have particularly normal backgrounds.

Ou Xiangshu lightly coughed while covering her mouth and finally said in one breath: "It is like this, Mr. Zhou hopes that you can be his girlfriend during his time in City B"

Zhou Yezhang turned his head to look over, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, his expression one of amusement: "Only you would believe this."

Ou Hangshu suddenly felt a bit awkward. To be honest, in the past, when she dealt with such matters, the women she encountered were mostly quite savvy. The women her boss had previously favored were generally those with beautiful faces and relatively clever and smooth personalities. In such cases, she only needed to provide a slight nudge for everything to fall into place. This was the first time she had come across a woman as wooden as Kong Liqing.

Ou Hangshu paused for a moment, nodded, and said: "Yes, but not anymore."

After a long silence, Kong Liqing quietly asked in a barely audible voice, "Can I not agree?"

Ou Hang Shu Jing quietly looked at her for a while, and her tone suddenly softened a bit: "During the time you are Mr. Zhou's girlfriend, Mr. Zhou will give you 50,000 yuan as pocket money each month. After your relationship ends, you will also receive a considerable amount as a breakup fee."

The fate of a person is quite marvelous; often, in an unguarded moment, it takes a turn. That year, during a sweltering summer, on an utterly ordinary evening, it became the turning point in Kong Liqing's destiny. That night held profound significance for the latter half of Kong Liqing's life, though at the time, she herself was unaware of it

Kong Liqing waited for two weeks and finally, after work on this day, he encountered the causal relationship he had been anticipating

Two drops of water spread on Kong Liqing's pants, and Ou Xingshu had a strange illusion; she felt as if she could hear the sound of tears falling onto the fabric. She closed her eyes, feeling a bit guilty, as she truly could not understand how a woman who was already 27 years old, as indicated in the information, could still possess such pure character

Kong Liqing looked at the smooth calves of the woman opposite him, dressed in silk stockings, and quietly pulled his own feet, clad in sneakers, inward.

The carriage was once silent, as Achen drove, his body making small movements between shifting gears and pressing the brake. It was evident that his personality was not that of a quiet person. During a pause at a red light, Achen, who had turned his head several times to look at Zhou Yezhang, finally couldn't help but speak: "Mr. Zhou, that woman is not attractive." His Mandarin was not very standard, and upon closer listening, one could detect a distinct Cantonese accent.

Kong Liqing had also once contemplated the strangeness of her job. She had never believed in the existence of luck in this world. Her experiences further convinced her that everything in this world is governed by inevitable cause-and-effect relationships. However, her nerves had been trained to be quite resilient, and she generally adopted a stance of silent waiting towards the unknown and situations she could not perceive.

The entrance of the large hospital is almost always bustling, and logically, parking is not allowed at the main entrance. However, under the steps where Kong Liqing is standing, there is a conspicuously parked long Lincoln. This car is definitely not the type of wedding car she usually sees on the street. Kong Liqing does not understand cars, but she can tell the difference; this one is black, appears more substantial in style, and its body shines like a mirror, reflecting blinding light. The car stands out prominently, and the gaze of passersby often lingers on it.

Kong Liqing had already extended one foot out, but in the end, she paused and turned to Ou Xingshu, saying: "My electric bike is still here. If I take your car back, I will have to take the bus to work tomorrow. You know that during peak hours in City B, it is quite difficult to squeeze onto a bus." Her tone was calm, without a hint of pretentious resistance, as she earnestly explained.

"My name is Ou Xingshu, you can call me Miss Ou or Xingshu." After getting into the car, she suddenly spoke while leaning on the armrest of the sofa, looking at the silent woman, Kong Liqing.