Limited-Time Attachment - Chapter 31

“Then it’s a deal,” Zhou Jibai said, setting down her cup and extending a hand toward Song Ming. “A pleasure doing business with you?”

Outside the window, the sky was a vast, boundless blue. A plane soared in the distance, leaving a white vapor trail etched against the horizon. Song Ming gazed at Zhou Jibai before reaching out to lightly grasp that slender, pale hand.

“A pleasure.”

Zhou Jibai was a workaholic, since it wasn’t clock-out time yet, she didn’t linger. Song Ming was in no rush to leave. Falling back a few steps, she pulled up Jing Lie’s number in her contacts.

On a lower level of the hotel sat a beautiful sky garden. Song Ming walked to the railing and looked down toward the parking lot.

Zhou Jibai’s cars were easy to spot, they were either vibrantly colored or possessed elegant, flowing lines. She had a penchant for exquisite, understated models. A vehicle like Song Ming’s off-roader was something Zhou Jibai wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

As the dial tone hummed in her ear, a familiar figure appeared in her line of sight.

Zhou Jibai, clutching her handbag, walked into the open-air parking lot toward a spot in the center. Just then, the call connected, and Jing Lie’s voice came through: “Hello, Song Ming?”

Song Ming fixed her eyes on that slender silhouette. “It’s me.”

“What a coincidence, I was just about to call you,” Jing Lie said with a chuckle.

“Why? Did you find what I asked you to look into?”

“Yeah,” Jing Lie replied, his tone sounding like he was enjoying a show. “I have to say, I don’t blame you for hating Zhong Zhengcheng. That old man really knows how to stir the pot.”

“Meaning?” Song Ming’s gaze remained fixed on Zhou Jibai. She had sensed Zhou Jibai was acting strangely lately, and as expected, someone was pulling strings. If she weren’t under significant pressure, Zhou Jibai wouldn’t suggest a collaboration with her in a million years.

In the parking lot, Zhou Jibai stopped in front of a parking space.

Jing Lie continued, “It’s actually quite interesting. Zhou Jibai has barely been back in the country, and that old man from the Zhong family has already arranged for her to meet with heirs of wealthy families from out of town. Yesterday was even more ridiculous. I heard he invited someone from Southeast Asia to the Zhong residence as a guest, using a business cooperation as a cover. It took me a lot of effort to dig that up.”

Song Ming’s ears went silent for a moment. Out of province… wealthy heirs… wasn’t that just a diplomatic term for an arranged marriage? To erase Zhou Jibai’s past experiences involving her, Zhong Zhengcheng was willing to look as far as abroad for a candidate.

In the parking lot, before Zhou Jibai could even get into her car, the door of the vehicle in front of her suddenly opened. A person stepped out from the driver’s seat.

“…A man,” Song Ming narrowed her eyes.

“Huh? What?” On the other end of the line, Jing Lie was bewildered. “Of course he’d find a man. If Zhong Zhengcheng could accept a woman, why would he bother with all this? He’d just go to you directly, who else is more suitable?”

Rarely, Song Ming didn’t snap back at Jing Lie. Instead, she asked something else: “You like women too. What did your dad say about it?”

“Ah,” Jing Lie was stunned, not following the sudden shift to himself, but he answered anyway. “What can you do about something like that? My dad couldn’t control it either, so he just let me be.”

“Exactly,” Song Ming watched as Zhou Jibai chatted with the man from a distance of over a meter before they both sat in the front seats of the car. “It’s clearly something that can’t be helped.”

But some people clearly lacked that self-awareness.

A flashy and arrogant Maserati pulled into the parking lot beneath the Jiaxin Building, parking brazenly right next to Zhou Jibai’s car. The driver was a young man, still a teenager, dressed in American retro style with a logo on his jacket so large it was blinding. After getting out, he made sure to fix his hair in the car window before heading toward the elevator.

Reaching the ground floor, he had to switch elevators to go further up. Seeing him from a distance, the receptionist immediately lowered her head in greeting: “Good morning, Young Manager Zhong.”

Zhong Xingzhou, whom Zhong Zhengcheng had personally placed in Jiaxin, gave an arrogant and casual nod as he walked past the front desk.

This was Zhong Xingzhou’s fifth day at Jiaxin. When Zhong Zhengcheng had first brought it up, Zhou Jibai had arranged a position for him the very next day with incredible efficiency.

Before he started at Jiaxin, Lin Zhenmian had meticulously straightened her son’s collar, whispering instructions: “Be careful when you go. Zhou Jibai won’t seriously teach you how to do things. Keep an eye on the details yourself. Your father has been pushing her quite hard lately, be careful she doesn’t take her revenge out on you.”

“Tch, what would she dare to do?”

No one in the family was ignorant of the true purpose behind placing Zhong Xingzhou in Jiaxin. Zhong Xingzhou had subconsciously expected Zhou Jibai to show at least some resentment, he hadn’t expected her to agree so readily. He figured she simply had no backbone. By now, he had completely forgotten how he’d been intimidated by her before entering the house. He scoffed, “What, is she going to go back to fooling around with women?”

“Don’t mention that!” Lin Zhenmian’s brow furrowed instantly as she lowered her voice. “Your father doesn’t like hearing anyone bring up that matter.”

Zhong Xingzhou hummed dismissively. “Got it. Who’d want to talk about that crap anyway? I really don’t get what Zhou Jibai was thinking.”

“True,” Lin Zhenmian murmured, her lashes casting a shadow. She quickly composed herself and reached up to pat Zhong Xingzhou’s cheek. “Anyway, once you’re there, you must work hard to learn how to develop Jiaxin. All of this will be yours in the future.”

“I know,” Zhong Xingzhou replied.

The door to the President’s office at Jiaxin swung open, and Zhong Xingzhou swaggered inside.

Zhou Jibai was sitting at her desk. The large office chair cradled her slender frame, making her appear even more delicate.

As Zhong Xingzhou walked in, he saw Zhou Jibai look up from her documents. He didn’t care for formalities, saying loudly, “Sister, give me some meaningful work. This daily routine stuff is beneath me.”

Zhou Jibai’s secretary frowned from the doorway. “Young Manager Zhong, you should have confirmed President Zhou’s schedule with me before entering.”

Zhong Xingzhou shrugged. “My sister is right here, isn’t she?”

The secretary turned to look at Zhou Jibai. Zhou Jibai nodded calmly, so the secretary fell silent, exited the office, and closed the door.

“You said you want to do some ‘meaningful’ work?” Zhou Jibai took off her glasses. “What kind of work do you consider meaningful?”

“At the very least,” Zhong Xingzhou thought for a moment, gesturing toward the world outside the office, “something related to the company’s future development.”

Zhou Jibai lowered her head and lightly pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s a bit difficult. You’ve only just joined the company, you aren’t familiar with the operations yet.”

“I can learn,” Zhong Xingzhou said immediately. “If I never start, I’ll never be familiar with it.”

“That makes sense,” Zhou Jibai said after a moment of silence. The corners of her mouth curled slightly. “In that case, why don’t you follow up on establishing a partnership with a new target?”

“A new partner? Who?”

“Boshen.”