Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 029

Chapter 29 ☆, The Fearlessness of Being Favored.

Zheng Zaochuan followed Xin Xin home, claiming he was sick and needed care.

After the delivery guy delivered the groceries, Xin Xin realized that Zheng Zaochuan wasn’t just having a meal; he was staying at her house.

Xin Xin felt uneasy, but Zheng Zaochuan said he couldn’t go home because reporters were swarming outside his house.

It’s said that the police’s visit to the hotel that day wasn’t accidental. An insider reported that local entrepreneurs were hosting some unspeakable gatherings at Xinli. The police had a specific target and entered the hotel with body cameras. They filmed the entire process, and while they didn’t capture what the group was doing, several of the entrepreneurs involved were caught having inappropriate relationships with unknown women.

While the public security administrative punishment wasn’t a crime, the nature of the incident was extremely egregious, with a potentially detrimental impact—so serious it could affect the stock price.

That same day, all six people who attended the business dinner with Zheng Zaochuan were arrested, with only Zheng Zaochuan and the dinner organizer remaining unharmed.

This situation became increasingly confusing.

If this was a setup, who set it up, and who reported it?

Xin Xin analyzed, “It seems like you’re the only person who reported it.”

Zheng Zaochuan acted innocent. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t know anything about this. When I returned to the room, the woman was there, naked.”

“And then?”

Zheng Zaochuan recalled, “I immediately felt something was wrong. I asked who had sent her over, but she didn’t say anything and kept trying to undress me. I was incredibly drunk, so I told her my wife was checking up on me. Then I called you, but I didn’t think it was a setup. I just wondered if someone had arranged it.”

Xin Xin asked suspiciously, “Did you guys actually gather?”

“No, there weren’t even any women at the entire dinner.”

Zheng Zaochuan smiled wryly. “I really want to open your head and see what I look like in there.”

Xin Xin shrugged, finding this incident truly bizarre. Zheng Zaochuan was at a loss for words. If he had been arrested that day, he’d still be in custody, like the others. If he’d gotten away with it, the others would have undoubtedly assumed he was the perpetrator.

Xin Xin couldn’t find sympathy. “Think about it. Even if it was a setup, there were only eight of you, and six of you fell for it. That shows there’s something fishy about your group.”

Zheng Zaochuan protested, “That woman must have set it up. If you hadn’t come to me and I had refused, I think she might have sued me for rape. Everyone else was half drunk, too. Who could have predicted that?”

Just as she was about to continue the debate, Xin Xin’s phone rang. Gao Ling asked her out for dinner.

Xin Xin accepted without hesitation.

Zheng Zaochuan, breathless, asked her with a hint of resentment, “Are you still talking to that fat guy?”

Xin Xin and Gao Ling’s relationship followed the typical blind date pattern: dinner, chat, dinner. They were in perfect harmony, disappearing when busy, taking time out of their busy schedules to cultivate a relationship.

Perhaps because of years of repeated setbacks in the crucial business of blind dating, Xin Xin has gradually come to terms with reality. She recently decided to prioritize character and financial resources in her overall scoring system, deprioritizing factors like “heart-pounding” and “soulmate” (likely referring to a person’s soulmate).

Zheng Zaochuan, bored, wandered around. “Can I go out with you? I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Xin Xin refused. “You’re not my son. Close the door when you leave.”

Zheng Zaochuan was unwilling to give in. “You don’t like him, so why waste your time with him?”

Xin Xin, feeling inexplicably irritated, said angrily, “How do you know I don’t like him? Maybe I’ll develop feelings for him and think he’s the love of my life?”

Perhaps realizing Xin Xin might actually be serious, Zheng Zaochuan fell silent.

However, just as Xin Xin finished changing and was about to leave, Zheng Zaochuan blocked her doorway again. “Please don’t go. Stay home with me.”

“Move aside.”

“I won’t.”

Xin Xin was truly enraged, uttering each word with a measured emphasis: “Zheng Zaochuan, move aside.”

Zheng Zaochuan gave her a deep look, remaining silent and unwilling to move aside. The situation remained frozen.

Xin Xin suddenly recalled two past blind dates that had nearly gone her way.

The first time, the man was a civil servant, honest and kind to her. Two months into their relationship, he accidentally learned her salary and abruptly told her he wasn’t good enough for her. Their relationship came to an abrupt end.

The second time, Xin Xin was truly heartbroken. The man worked at an internet company and was a semi-colleague of Zheng Zaochuan’s. They had gotten along well, but one day, he suddenly asked about Xin Xin and Zheng Zaochuan’s relationship.

Xin Xin was taken aback, wondering how he knew they knew each other. But when Xin Xin explained that she and Zheng Zaochuan were merely friends, the man clearly didn’t believe her and found an excuse to reject her.

Zheng Zaochuan knew both stories. Not only that, he’d even been involved in their planning.

Zheng Zaochuan was like a cunning hunter, attempting to encroach on Xin Xin’s life without taking responsibility for her. If she fell in love with him, he’d back off and say they were just friends.

But if Xin Xin turned her attention to someone else, he’d assert his sovereignty, attempting to steal her attention.

You’re not mine, and I’m not yours.

But you can’t be someone else’s.

Xin Xin was fed up with Zheng Zaochuan’s irresponsible possessiveness of her. A sense of inexplicable anger and competitiveness made it difficult for her to concede in this confrontation.

“Let me out, Zheng Zaochuan. You’re not a child anymore.”

Zheng Zaochuan’s eyes were stubborn, gleaming with an inexplicable complexity. Seeing he showed no sign of moving aside, Xin Xin suddenly leaned forward, her voice close to Zheng Zaochuan’s ear.

The two of them were so close, so close that the tip of Xin Xin’s hair could easily scratch Zheng Zaochuan’s neck.

“I’m telling you…”

She deliberately lowered her voice, causing Zheng Zaochuan’s breath to catch. Xin Xin slid open the door behind him and slipped out.

Xin Xin turned to see Zheng Zaochuan standing there, his face slightly flushed. She smiled and waved, “Bye.”

This little battle ended in Xin Xin’s victory. Believing she had Zheng Zaochuan out of her hair, she felt elated and hummed a song as she went on her date with Gao Ling.

Gao Ling, as usual, bought Xin Xin fruit tea.

After only a few meetings, he had memorized all of Xin Xin’s preferences. Xin Xin’s vanity was satisfied, and the steady affection she felt made her happy.

She had never felt more desperate for attention than now. The two of them followed their routine, eating and watching a movie. Gao Ling picked an animated series that featured a scene where the male lead, holding the female lead’s hand, jumped out of a hot air balloon together.

At that moment, Gao Ling calmly took Xin Xin’s hand.

The hands were soft and boneless, slightly sweaty, like a girl’s.

Xin Xin couldn’t concentrate on the movie; her senses were focused on the two people’s clasped hands. There was no excitement, no dislike, just a calm, social gesture like shaking hands with a client.

In her dreamy teenage years, Xin Xin had once categorized the mixed feelings of admiration and excitement she felt when she saw Zhao Xi as love. But as she grew to know him better, he de-emphasized her, and Xin Xin eventually came to see him only as a leader.

Later, she met a variety of other people, some of whom she felt she could get along with, and others she felt she might want to see more of for the sake of conditions. That feeling of heart-pounding, instant liking, and soul-recognition was something Xin Xin had never experienced before.

No, there was also Zheng Zaochuan.

Xin Xin uncontrollably compared every man she met to Zheng Zaochuan.

No one could bring her the madness and excitement that Zheng Zaochuan brought her, but at the same time, no one could make her feel as dangerous.

She suddenly recalled her unbridled accusations when Zheng Zaochuan and Xibei first appeared in the news.

And Zheng Zaochuan’s cold words.

“Xin Xin, you’re not my mother, much less my sister.”

That incident shattered Xin Xin’s self-esteem and served as a wake-up call. This was Zheng Zaochuan. Such a close call! If she hadn’t been so careful, she would have easily fallen for him and become one of the women he was desperate to get rid of.

All deep love was inevitably accompanied by unspeakable control, desire, jealousy, and pain.

Her self-esteem wouldn’t allow her to become a bitter woman.

And Zheng Zaochuan’s self-esteem wouldn’t allow him to be controlled by a woman.

In the darkness, Gao Ling gently squeezed Xin Xin’s hand and quietly asked, “Xin Xin, I know you might not really like me yet, but if you don’t dislike me, can you hold off on rejecting me?”

For some reason, Xin Xin, her mind preoccupied with another man, firmly answered the man’s question.

“Okay.”

This was a development Xin Xin hadn’t anticipated, and Gao Ling carefully expressed his affection.

He walked Xin Xin home and said goodbye with a shy, student-like air, “Xin Xin, go to bed early tonight.”

Xin Xin had once been puzzled by Mary’s irresponsible approach to relationships. She had once believed that love should be straightforward and clean, without any room for hesitation.

But now she understood; the feeling of being firmly chosen, of receiving a clear answer, was truly wonderful. It masked her inner uneasiness and shame, as well as her moral condemnation.

Xin Xin glanced at the sky. The weather wasn’t very good, and there were no stars in sight. A mist hung in the air, suggesting rain was about to fall.

She looked up at her own window; there was no light.

Her heart sank, and she chuckled to herself. What was she expecting? Was she hoping that Zheng Zaochuan was still waiting for her? Or was she hoping that he would be angry or congratulate her after she dated another man?

Xin Xin couldn’t figure out what was going on; she felt a pent-up emotion, unable to be released. She opened the door, and the room was already dark.

But to her surprise, as soon as the light came on, someone in the living room grumbled, “It’s so bright.”

Xin Xin was startled. Zheng Zaochuan was still in her house. Shocked, she exclaimed, “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

Zheng Zaochuan rubbed his eyes, climbed up from the sofa, and complained aggrievedly, “I waited for you until I fell asleep.”

Xin Xin suddenly felt that all her melancholy and anxiety seemed ridiculous. Zheng Zaochuan didn’t care; all his actions were just impulsive.

“Why were you waiting for me? Go back home.”

Zheng Zaochuan took out his phone and glanced at it. “No, there are so many people looking for me. I’m afraid I’ll be hunted if I go back.”

Xin Xin rolled her eyes. “I’d rather kill you.”

“Did the date go well?”

“It went well.”

Zheng Zaochuan fell silent again.

Xin Xin had decided not to overinterpret Zheng Zaochuan’s behavior. “Where are you sleeping tonight? I’m not giving you my bed.”

Zheng Zaochuan didn’t respond. Instead, he muttered to himself, “Star, when you ignore me, my heart really hurts. I wonder why?”