After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 37

The light in California was much stronger than in Nancheng. As soon as Chen Yi stepped off the plane, she put on her sunglasses and a sun hat.

On the flight, she had been buried in work; only now could she finally let her mind go blank for a short while.

Suddenly, two girls walked past her. They had Asian features and were tall; one of them was wearing a chest bag.

For some reason, Shen Xiaojiang’s face flashed through Chen Yi’s mind.

That clean, beautiful face bathed in sunlight.

That face was even brighter than the California sun.

At the mere thought of Shen Xiaojiang, Chen Yi’s lips curled up into an unconscious smile.

She adjusted her sunglasses, the corners of her eyes crinkling with a trace of a grin.

However, she quickly wiped the smile away before her secretary could approach.

Chen Yi was highly ambitious. Besides climbing to the position of Chairperson of the Chamber of Commerce, she had to pave the way for her life after securing that seat.

In this increasingly competitive business world, acquiring land and constructing buildings was the most direct way to produce results.

“Seventh Mistress, you’ve arrived.” The Chief Financial Officer of Zhongjian Group stepped out of the car.

Zhongjian Group’s headquarters were in the United States, yet those with absolute decision-making power were Chinese.

In terms of fixed assets and future market potential, Chen Yi held the upper hand.

Partnering with Zhongjian wasn’t a case of Chen Yi “climbing up”; it was a union of the strong.

However, Zhongjian Group had only sent a CFO to greet her, a clear sign of disrespect toward Chen Yi.

Chen Yi did not take off her sunglasses, she didn’t even bother to give him a glance.

Even though she was paving her own future, she was deeply dissatisfied with the other party’s lack of sincerity.

He Zhong took over the conversation. “Hello, I am President Chen’s spokesperson. You can discuss matters regarding the cooperation with me.”

The CFO was no fool and smiled awkwardly.

He knew well enough that his status did not qualify him to negotiate with Chen Yi alone.

One He Zhong was more than enough.

Upon arriving at Zhongjian Group’s headquarters, the boss was nowhere to be seen. Chen Yi cooperatively followed the financial staff to tour the marketing, technical, and other departments.

She maintained a smile throughout, her expression composed. Though she was displeased, she did not vent her frustration on those who had nothing to do with it.

When she arrived at the conference room, she crossed her arms and waited quietly.

“That Mark he’s clearly in the office, yet he’s making you wait this long. He simply doesn’t respect us at all,” He Zhong hissed through gritted teeth.

Chen Yi put on a hypocritical mask, appearing not the least bit angry.

“So sorry, so sorry! President Chen, your presence is a great honor. Please excuse our lack of a proper welcome!” Mark, the power player of Zhongjian Group, appeared while puffing on a cigar.

“President Mark, you must be swamped with work.” Chen Yi gave a symbolic curl of her lips, a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

Mark held the cigar between his fingers with a look of unbridled arrogance. “My apologies, my surname isn’t Ma, it’s…”

“Who cares?” Chen Yi cut him off and slowly removed her sunglasses.

Her eyes were beautiful, but a layer of frost coated her clear pupils. Every breath she took carried a condescending aura of authority that made people look away.

Mark’s fingers holding the cigar trembled slightly, and he was visibly stunned for a moment.

He knew Chen Yi was a beauty, but he hadn’t expected her to be so young.

“Also, I’ve been quitting smoking lately. I can’t stand the smell.” Chen Yi set her sunglasses down and flipped open the cooperation agreement.

“Whatever…”

Before Mark could finish, Chen Yi looked down at the agreement and said coldly, “We are fellow countrymen. Stop speaking that foreign nonsense.”

Chen Yi was a businessperson and was usually polite to partners however, she was a rose with thorns she would prick anyone who dared to provoke her.

Mark was unhappy, but he had to let it go.

Chen Yi had a brilliant business mind; she wasn’t overly difficult to work with and was quite generous. No one wanted to lose a partner like her.

Mark extinguished his cigar and ordered the staff to turn on the fresh air system to ventilate the room. His attitude improved significantly.

This woman was not someone he could afford to cross.

The meeting drew to a close.

“Here, here, and here revise them.” Chen Yi sat up straight, her attitude firm and leaving no room for negotiation. “Profit sharing: seventy percent for me, thirty for you.”

“What?” Mark thought he had misheard.

“I believe President Mark heard me clearly,” Chen Yi sneered.

Her expression was gentle, but her voice was cold, always leaving her opponent unsure of her true mood.

She was both tender and ruthless like a beautiful, watery monster.

The powerful aura radiating from her was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

Mark wilted, harboring anger he dared not voice.

“I’m not teaching from the book today, let’s discuss a topic.”

The professor was a man in his fifties with a head of salt and pepper curly hair, leading the students to affectionately call him “Old Shaggy Head.”

Using chalk, he wrote two words on the blackboard: “Humanity.”

To get on Shen Xiaojiang’s good side, Sun Jiabao had arrived early to snag a seat in the front.

In her own words, a crappy seat like this made it impossible to even nap peacefully.

Sun Jiabao suddenly looked up and said lazily to Chen Xingnan, “What is Old Shaggy talking about? If there’s no lecture, I’m going back to the dorm.”

Chen Xingnan spun a pen in one hand and propped her chin up with the other, looking at her with a grin.

Sun Jiabao habitually pulled out a comb to fix her bangs. Suddenly, several pen caps fell out with a “clatter.”

“Chen Xingnan!”

“You jerk!”

Although the lecture hall was large, everyone heard Sun Jiabao’s two shouts.

Her “Lion’s Roar” had certainly been perfected.

Old Shaggy Head suddenly turned around and pushed the thick glasses up the bridge of his nose. After being stunned for a moment, he curled his lip. “Come, come, you there. Why don’t you answer this?”

“Old man, I knew you were up to no good,” Sun Jiabao grumbled through gritted teeth.

“What was that? Speak up, I can’t hear you.” Old Shaggy Head held the microphone, his voice booming.

Since they were sitting close to him, Sun Jiabao was nearly blown away by the volume.

She gave a faint eye roll and poked Shen Xiaojiang. “Babe, I’m dying here! Save me!”

Shen Xiaojiang was preoccupied with her own thoughts and had no time for her.

Since starting university, Sun Jiabao had completely checked out; she couldn’t even remember what her notebook looked like, let alone answer a question.

At that moment, Chen Xingnan slowly handed her a small slip of paper with two words written on it: “Animality.”

“Old Chen, you’re the best!” Without a second thought, Sun Jiabao said with great confidence, “Animality!”

After she spoke, she even gave Chen Xingnan a thumbs-up.

Chen Xingnan almost died laughing.

Old Shaggy Head was speechless for a long time. “What did I even say for you to come up with ‘animality’?”

“Huh?” Before Sun Jiabao could react, Chen Xingnan couldn’t hold it back anymore and collapsed onto the desk in a fit of laughter.

After giving Chen Xingnan a “you’re dead” look, Sun Jiabao started to space out completely.

Old Shaggy Head drew a wavy line under the word “Humanity.” “The essence of humans and machines is different. With the increasing popularity of AI, whether humanity can be replaced is a profound proposition. My position is that preserving humanity is essential.”

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang recalled the words of Mother He and the tattoo shop owner.

“Working day and night.”

“Almost unable to feel pain.”

“Perhaps her preference isn’t even human.”

A grotesque image flashed through Shen Xiaojiang’s mind.

Chen Yi appeared before her expressionless, her movements mechanical and stiff. She placed a tray in front of Shen Xiaojiang, piled with various batteries and energy bars.

She gestured for Shen Xiaojiang to eat.

Shen Xiaojiang looked at Chen Yi, then at the tray, shaking her head repeatedly.

At that moment, the “expression value” on Chen Yi’s face plummeted. She grabbed a pile of batteries with a mechanical arm and stuffed them into Shen Xiaojiang’s mouth, saying with some anger, “Why won’t you eat? This is my favorite food!”

Snapping back to reality, Shen Xiaojiang felt a sudden chill down her spine.

No, no. Chen Yi cannot become a machine.

Absolutely not.

After class, Sun Jiabao gave Chen Xingnan a quick thumping before naturally throwing an arm around Shen Xiaojiang’s neck.

“Ginger, are you even human? How could you ignore me? Do you enjoy seeing my credits get docked?”

“Yes,” Shen Xiaojiang replied with a furrowed brow.

“Ugh…” Sun Jiabao was speechless. Then, she changed the subject. “Did you know? Lin Qianqian is gone.”

Shen Xiaojiang paused. “Gone? Since when?”

Sun Jiabao combed her bangs. “She left earlier than I woke up. Said a cousin came to pick her up. What did I tell you? Her breakup was premeditated. Do you remember the ‘West Lake Dragon Well’ by the shore of Lake Daming?”

“What are you talking about?” Shen Xiaojiang shrugged her shoulders, breaking free from Sun Jiabao.

Sun Jiabao rubbed her chin and shook her head like an old doctor practicing medicine. “Girl, let me tell you. Lin Qianqian is a master at brewing ‘Green Tea’.”

Shen Xiaojiang had already made things clear with Lin Qianqian and didn’t want to comment further.

They were classmates, after all; this was the last bit of dignity she would afford Lin Qianqian.

“I won’t be joining you for dinner, I have something to do.” After saying that, Shen Xiaojiang tossed her class notes and finished homework to Sun Jiabao and hurried away.

Sun Jiabao was overcome with gratitude, her shout of “You are my goddess!” echoing through the air.

Shen Xiaojiang rode her bike toward the bus stop at the school entrance.

The events at school were quickly pushed to the back of her mind; now, her thoughts were entirely occupied by Chen Yi.

Just because a scar is ignored and left unprobed doesn’t mean it no longer hurts.

She felt that she had been too simplistic before.

She had unilaterally decided not to learn about Chen Yi’s past, thinking it was for her own good but had she ever asked for Chen Yi’s opinion?

Perhaps Chen Yi also wanted someone to talk to, to vent the pain that had accumulated over the years?

Pretending not to see the scars and letting them fester inside Chen Yi was no different from not caring at all.

Shen Xiaojiang took a deep breath and decided to go to the hospital to find Mother He.

Right before getting on the bus, she saw Lin Qianqian.

Lin Qianqian was standing next to a strange man with a tiger tattoo on his arm.

Their eyes met, but Lin Qianqian acted as if she didn’t know her. With no emotion in her gaze, she turned and climbed into the car.

Shen Xiaojiang: “…”

Arriving at the hospital, Mother He was processing her discharge papers.

When she saw Shen Xiaojiang, she gave a very kind smile.

Shen Xiaojiang thought it over carefully before approaching her, saying softly, “Auntie, the puppy just ate too much and has a bit of bloating. It’ll be fine soon, so please don’t worry.”

Mother He nodded. “Thank you, on behalf of my friend.”

Shen Xiaojiang pursed her lips and exhaled. “Auntie… is your friend really in there?”

“What do you mean?” Mother He asked back.

Shen Xiaojiang pulled out the photo of Chen Yi’s tattoo. “You sent me to that tattoo shop on purpose, didn’t you?”

Mother He’s expression froze for two seconds before she smiled again. This time, the smile was different from before.

“I did send you there on purpose. If it made you feel uncomfortable, I apologize…” Mother He said sincerely.

Shen Xiaojiang shook her head. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m grateful to you. Going to the tattoo shop today has made my heart even more resolute.”

Mother He’s pupils contracted slightly as her gaze fell on the photo in Shen Xiaojiang’s hand.

Shen Xiaojiang turned the back of the photo toward Mother He for a second, then grinned and lightly waved the picture. “I’m going to bring her home.”

One day later.

Chen Yi was preparing to return to China.

She turned on her phone and calculated the time, it should be around six in the morning in Nancheng.

She opened WeChat and stared blankly at Shen Xiaojiang’s profile picture.

Ever since they added each other, the two of them hadn’t actually had a formal conversation.

Chen Yi didn’t usually spend much time on her phone. Most of the time, she opened it to browse financial news or check the stock market.

She tapped into the chat window with Shen Xiaojiang.

Staring at the message “You have been added as a friend,” she fell into a daze.

“Seventh Mistress, it’s time to board.” He Zhong stood beside her respectfully.