Chapter 33 Butter Peach Crisp Rich Milk Aroma Crispy Fine…

Hearing that A Yao had come, Bai Yuanzhi rushed downstairs.

When Ming Jiayao saw her, he noticed she was wearing slippers—but her left foot was in the right shoe, and her right foot in the left…

It was clear that

upon hearing news of him, she had been so anxious that she immediately ran down, not even caring that she had put her shoes on the wrong feet.

Ming Jiayao’s lips curled into a wide smile.

“A Yao!” Bai Yuanzhi said happily. “Why are you here? If you needed to find me, you could have called me!”

Ming Jiayao’s smile instantly fell.

Actually, he already knew she had a pager and what her number was.

—He had gotten her business card from Zhou Weihao.

But Bai Yuanzhi hadn’t told him herself.

Probably because last time, when the two of them went to eat dry-fried beef noodles… she had gone through a commotion and still attended class, utterly exhausted; and he, in a hurry to get to the airport.

So she hadn’t had time to give him her pager number before they hurriedly parted.

And today—

Ming Jiayao had rushed to Hong Kong City in the early hours,

and from the moment he arrived at the airport the day before, he had told Ah Wu to stop the “action,”

so Chen Shuojie’s concussion finally stabilized.

Today, Ming Jiayao had originally been hiding in an empty room next to Chen Shuojie’s hospital ward, planning to eavesdrop.

—He had suddenly become very afraid that Bai Yuanzhi might suffer a disadvantage and had made preparations on all fronts. For instance, he had prepared excuses and arranged for people to create various emergencies to call away Chen Shen or Mrs. Xu if they tried to give Bai Yuanzhi a hard time.

That way, Bai Yuanzhi could temporarily escape danger, and it would also give Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu a buffer period.

But what Ming Jiayao hadn’t expected was

Mrs. Xu changing the location of the negotiation!

Ming Jiayao grew nervous again,

until, hiding nearby, he saw Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu leave with Bai Yuanzhi, both wearing broad smiles, and only then did he relax.

After that, from Chen Shuojie’s furious cursing, he deduced that Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu must have reached an agreement with the Zhou family and, for some unknown reason, had tied Bai Yuanzhi and Chen Shuojie together.

Thus, Ming Jiayao was burning with anxiety.

He urgently wanted to know what agreement they had actually reached.

He wanted to know if Bai Yuanzhi would suffer any disadvantage, if she had been bullied…

But, having managed to come back this time, he also had his own matters to attend to, so he could only have Ah Wu carefully follow Bai Yuanzhi to track her movements and ensure her safety.

Only after he had dealt with the troubles at hand,

and only after Bai Yuanzhi had finished her night school classes,

did Ming Jiayao rush over.

Now, following Bai Yuanzhi’s words, Ming Jiayao put on a surprised expression. “Sister, you have a pager now?”

Bai Yuanzhi was taken aback, her eyes showing a hint of guilt. “Yes! I’ll tell you right now!”

—Actually, she had already gotten a pager the last time they met; she had just forgotten to tell him at the time.

As soon as Bai Yuanzhi finished saying her pager number,

Ming Jiayao repeated it back, looking at her with clear eyes that seemed to ask, “Did I get it right?”

Bai Yuanzhi nodded repeatedly. “It’s easy to remember, right?”

Ming Jiayao nodded as well. “It really is easy to remember. I memorized it right away!”

As he spoke, he recited her pager number over a dozen times in one breath.

Taking advantage of Bai Yuanzhi’s giggling,

Ming Jiayao quickly made a request, “Sister, then in the future… if I don’t have time to come set up the stall, can I page you?”

“Of course you can!” Bai Yuanzhi laughed. “Isn’t that what pagers are for?”

Ming Jiayao asked again, “What if I don’t have anything important and just want to page you?”

Bai Yuanzhi thought for a moment and said, “Well then, if you have an urgent matter and need me to call back immediately, add 999 after the callback number. If it’s not very important, after leaving a message with the paging service, have them add 111 after the callback number.”

“When I see 999, I’ll find a way to call back right away. If I see 111, I’ll wait until I have time and then call the paging service to check the message… okay?” Bai Yuanzhi asked in return.

Ming Jiayao said, “What if I page you every day… or even several times a day?”

Bai Yuanzhi laughed. “Are you silly? Phone calls are expensive!”

Ming Jiayao whispered softly, “But it’s still cheaper than me taking a plane… just to come see you!”

“What did you say?” Bai Yuanzhi didn’t catch it clearly.

Ming Jiayao jolted and changed his words, “I said, coming from Tsing Yi to see you requires several bus transfers. The bus fare is much more expensive than a phone call!”

Bai Yuanzhi thought about it. “That’s true! Then just page me, it’s fine. I’ll call back.”

Then she happily added, “In another month, once Fourth Uncle finalizes things with the previous landlord, I can move into my new home! The new place already has a telephone line installed, so I don’t need to pay for installation. I can just go to the municipal office to activate the phone. Once I have a phone, you can call me directly from then on!”

The more Bai Yuanzhi thought about it, the happier she became.

She began planning for the future. “Once I secure the orders from Zhou Group and Chen Group… it’ll probably take about six months at most, maybe as little as four months. Once the payments are fully collected, I should get at least 140,000!”

“I still need to work hard and save up 200,000 by the beginning of next year so I can open a Hong Kong stock trading account…”

Ming Jiayao asked in surprise, “What 140,000? 200,000?”

He wanted to say, if you need money, I can give it to you…

But he didn’t dare.

After asking, Ming Jiayao began thinking about how he could reasonably and smoothly give her the money without seeming abrupt.

Bai Yuanzhi didn’t hide anything from Ming Jiayao.

She told him about her negotiations today with the Chen, Xu, and Zhou families.

Ming Jiayao was stunned.

In that moment, his expression twisted.

He was furious, wondering why Ah Zhi had to get involved with Chen Shuojie?!

That idiot is nothing but a pervert!

Soon,

Ming Jiayao also understood the reasoning behind it—Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu probably arranged it this way to use Bai Yuanzhi’s name to rehabilitate Chen Shuojie’s reputation.

And they thought Bai Yuanzhi would be easy to control—young, beautiful, naive, and innocent, new to Hong Kong City with no connections or background!

In their eyes, Chen Shuojie was a perfect match for Bai Yuanzhi. After all, high society would never accept a “Northern girl” like Bai Yuanzhi, and it was likely that Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu hadn’t even given her a proper glance. They only hoped to use Bai Yuanzhi’s presence to cover up the scandal that Chen Shuojie was a congenital eunuch.

In the future, Chen Shuojie would probably marry a divorced wealthy socialite with children.

As for Bai Yuanzhi…

Her reputation might not be very good.

Seeing Ming Jiayao’s deeply furrowed brows, Bai Yuanzhi comforted him instead, “A Yao, for me, this is absolutely more beneficial than harmful.”

Don’t worry about me anymore!

—She didn’t have the heart to say this directly.

“I know you’re worried about me, but I really need to accumulate some initial capital! Look, first there was Zhou Weihao, now there’s Chen Shuojie… My luck has actually been pretty good!”

“Zhou Weihao is just a hopeless romantic, so he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. As for Chen Shuojie’s personal situation… you’ve seen it with your own eyes, so even if he wanted to do something to me, he probably wouldn’t have the ability.”

“Don’t worry, once I’ve saved enough money and opened a Hong Kong stock account, I won’t do things like this anymore!” Bai Yuanzhi said with a smile.

Ming Jiayao looked at Bai Yuanzhi, the worry in his eyes unable to fade. “Sister, why don’t I just give you my money…”

“A Yao, don’t say things like that again,” Bai Yuanzhi said softly. “If I took your money, I wouldn’t be able to see you as a friend I can talk to without any reservations anymore.”

“Besides, your own situation isn’t exactly great either.”

“A Yao, we both have our own paths to walk… Actually, the way things are now is fine. You focus on your things, I focus on mine. We might not be in the same field, but we can grow together! In the future, we’ll both become shining figures in our circles!” Bai Yuanzhi comforted Ming Jiayao again.

Seeing that Ming Jiayao still seemed uneasy, Bai Yuanzhi changed the subject. “A Yao, how have you been these days?”

Ming Jiayao fell silent.

He actually had a lot he wanted to confide in her.

But if he really said it…

Would she look down on him?

Would she think that since his grandfather was perverted, his father was bad, and his mother was cruel… that he, Ming Jiayao, wasn’t a good person either?

Bai Yuanzhi waited for a while.

Seeing that A Yao remained silent,

She felt a bit downcast.

Never mind,

If he didn’t want to say… it was okay.

Bai Yuanzhi lowered her head and finally noticed she was wearing the wrong slippers. She quickly swapped them back, then crossed her arms and said, “Alright, A Yao, it’s already very late…”

Ming Jiayao interrupted her, “My family situation… is a bit complicated. So I’m worried that if I tell you, sister, you’ll look down on me.”

Bai Yuanzhi laughed, “Then I absolutely have to see what kind of family would make me look down on someone.”

Clearly, her own family was the foul, muddy pit—anyone with a shred of conscience was dead, and those who survived were all blood-sucking devils!

How could there possibly be anything worse than her own family?

Ming Jiayao gathered his thoughts and adapted his family background.

He changed Ming Zhixuan to his uncle and Xu Wenrui to his aunt—because he always felt that such heartless and ungrateful people didn’t deserve to be, and shouldn’t be, his parents;

Ming Jingxing remained his grandfather.

Therefore, Ming Jiayao portrayed himself as having been adopted by his infertile uncle and aunt, arranged by his grandfather after his parents passed away.

His parents left behind a modest inheritance, with the condition that he could only inherit it after reaching adulthood.

His grandfather, uncle, and aunt were so eager to get their hands on this inheritance that they wished him dead.

Bai Yuanzhi listened in stunned silence.

After a moment of silence, she asked, “So, the first time we met at Qingtang Bay…”

Ming Jiayao nodded. “I was pushed down by my… aunt.”

Bai Yuanzhi’s mouth fell open in shock.

Ming Jiayao’s eyes gradually reddened. He lowered his head and whispered softly, “Sister, do you look down on me now?”

Bai Yuanzhi snapped back to reality. “How could I! You’re not the one who did anything wrong.”

A smoldering, unextinguishable fire burned in Ming Jiayao’s heart. “Then don’t you think… in this family, there isn’t a single normal person? Don’t you doubt…”

“No!” Bai Yuanzhi said firmly.

Ming Jiayao pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Bai Yuanzhi continued, “A Yao, you’re still young, and there are many things you don’t understand. So, let me teach you! You must remember this well!”

“If someone speaks ill of you, it’s because they’re jealous. If a group of people speak ill of you, that proves you’re so outstanding that everyone is jealous of you!”

“Never question why they don’t love you. Instead, look for their problems!”

…

Ming Jiayao couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

Bai Yuanzhi laughed too.

“Sister, thank you,” Ming Jiayao whispered softly.

Then he told Bai Yuanzhi what he had done, was doing, and planned to do recently:

His entire family was involved in the dock business.

Since he wasn’t yet an adult, he couldn’t compete with his grandfather, uncle, and aunt. So, he had no choice but to retreat, avoiding them while secretly building his own influence.

Now, what he needed to do was, on one hand, evade the traps his aunt had set for him, and on the other, work hard to earn money.

Because he had a premonition that simply surviving until adulthood would be an achievement. His grandfather was a control freak and likely wouldn’t honor the agreement to hand over his parents’ inheritance once he came of age…

So he had to rely on himself.

Only by becoming wealthy and powerful

could his grandfather, uncle, and aunt no longer control him.

Currently, he and a few friends had managed to make some small investments, but making money couldn’t happen overnight.

The reason he had time to visit Bai Yuanzhi in Kowloon this time was because he had just foiled another assassination attempt by his aunt…

He guessed that since his aunt had just suffered a defeat, she probably wasn’t in the mood to keep an eye on him, which was why he dared to sneak over to see Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi was shocked. “Does she really… want to harm you?”

Ming Jiayao nodded wearily.

Now that he was studying abroad, he had a legitimate reason not to be in Hong Kong City. Logically, Xu Wenrui shouldn’t be bothering him anymore.

But Xu Wenrui might truly be a bit unhinged.

To extort money from Ming Jiayao, she stabbed Ming Zhixuan and then tricked Ming Jiayao by saying, “Your dad is seriously ill and might not make it. You need to come back quickly.”

At the time, Ming Jiayao was shocked!

Coincidentally, he had been saving up leave to return to Hong Kong City to help Bai Yuanzhi deal with Chen Shuojie’s matter, so he came back early.

Today at the hospital, he only felt relieved after confirming that Chen Shen and Mrs. Xu wouldn’t harm or target Bai Yuanzhi, then hurried off to see Ming Zhixuan.

But right there in Ming Zhixuan’s hospital room, after Xu Wenrui failed to pressure Ming Jiayao into giving her money, she grew so furious that she resorted to her old trick again—pushing Ming Jiayao toward the windowsill…

This time, however, Ming Jiayao wasn’t caught off guard or disheartened like he had been back at the old mansion.

Even though he wasn’t yet an adult,

a seventeen-year-old boy had far more strength than a woman in her forties.

Xu Wenrui was shoved back toward the windowsill by Ming Jiayao, leaving only her legs gripped in his hands…

And just like that—

the esteemed young madam of the Ming Family was left hanging upside down outside the 32nd-floor windowsill for a full hour!

Xu Wenrui was so terrified she lost control, crying until her voice turned hoarse. From being suspended upside down for so long, her face swelled up like a pig’s head and even turned cyanotic!

The ordeal left her with lasting trauma…

But Ming Jiayao knew all too well.

Even after this, Xu Wenrui wouldn’t settle down.

As soon as she recovered, she’d just repeat the same old patterns.

This time, Bai Yuanzhi looked at Ming Jiayao in disbelief.

Well,

even though her intention wasn’t really to compare miseries with Ming Jiayao,

among her own family, it was really only her second sister, Zhou Niandi, who was ruthless and cunning. In her past life, Bai Yuanzhi hadn’t been wary of her and fell victim to her underhanded schemes. But in this life…

Bai Yuanzhi had already paid her back in kind.

After hesitating for a while, Bai Yuanzhi said softly, “A Yao, so you’re thinking of using a CALL to contact me in the future… because you want to protect me, right?”

Ming Jiayao wanted to say no—

he always made arrangements beforehand whenever he came to see her,

and the reason he suggested he might CALL her frequently in the future… was simply because he missed her terribly.

But Ming Jiayao still hesitated and nodded.

Bai Yuanzhi nodded too. “Alright, then if we meet in the future, you can CALL me first to set a time.”

As soon as she said this, she felt something wasn’t quite right.

Why did it sound…

a bit like a secret affair?

Ming Jiayao, however, didn’t overthink it.

Seeing that time was running out and he had to rush to the airport immediately…

He raised the bag in his hand. “Sister, this is for you to eat.”

Bai Yuanzhi widened her eyes. “What is it?”

“Butter shortbread,” Ming Jiayao said with a smile. “I tried it once by chance and thought it was really delicious, so I bought some to bring to you.”

Bai Yuanzhi asked curiously, “Butter… shortbread?”

That combination was quite novel.

Shortbread was a traditional Chinese snack, but butter was something mostly favored by people in Europe and America.

How did they even merge East and West like this!

But then again, Hong Kong City was just like that—exceptionally skilled at blending Western cuisine with Chinese cooking techniques and also fond of adapting Chinese dishes into Western-style meals.

So it wasn’t all that surprising.

It’s just…

she didn’t know whether this thing would actually taste good.

Bai Yuanzhi took the paper bag, picked up a piece of butter shortbread, and handed it to Ming Jiayao.

Ming Jiayao instinctively accepted it.

Bai Yuanzhi then took another piece of shortbread and popped it into her own mouth.

Soon, the rich aroma of butter filled her nostrils, and after taking a light bite of the shortbread, she first felt an incredibly delicate, fine crispness…

Then the shortbread seemed to melt away on its own, leaving behind a slightly salty yet subtly sweet flavor.

“This is really delicious!” Bai Yuanzhi praised.

Seeing how much she liked the butter shortbread, Ming Jiayao couldn’t help but smile, his eyes crinkling with delight.

He had bought this item in the Chinatown of the United States; there was simply no such thing in Hong Kong City.

After trying it once, he felt certain Bai Yuanzhi would like it.

Indeed, he wasn’t wrong!

After finishing the butter peach shortbread,

Ming Jiayao had no choice but to bid farewell to Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi had no idea that this would be a farewell spanning ten thousand kilometers.

Thinking he was returning to Tsing Yi, she clutched the paper bag tightly, smiled, and waved at him, “Call me when you have time!”

Ming Jiayao also smiled and waved back, taking three steps forward only to glance back repeatedly as he walked away.

After A Yao left,

Bai Yuanzhi waited downstairs with the paper bag for nearly half an hour, but there was no sign of Li Yongzhen, so she finally went upstairs.

The next day, Bai Yuanzhi went to work at the Bilanting Hotel as usual.

At noon, someone called her on the internal line, “Hello, colleague Bai Yuanzhi, I’m Yvonne from the HR department. We received a report from a colleague in the Food and Beverage Service Department stating that colleague Li Yongzhen did not come to work today. I heard you’re her cousin, right? May I ask if you know why Li Yongzhen didn’t come today?”

Bai Yuanzhi was stunned.

Yes,

in fact, she had already sensed something was off last night.

Bai Yuanzhi knew Li Yongzhen’s personality very well.

It was highly unlikely that she would spend her own money to stay in a hotel.

Since she hadn’t come to find Bai Yuanzhi last night, she had most likely gone to stay in the hotel’s staff dormitory.

But now, Li Yongzhen hadn’t even stayed in the hotel’s dormitory?

Where had she gone?!

Bai Yuanzhi had no choice but to answer truthfully.

The other party was very polite, only asking Bai Yuanzhi to help inquire about Li Yongzhen’s whereabouts after work.

Bai Yuanzhi agreed without hesitation.

After work, Bai Yuanzhi remembered that she hadn’t visited Zhou Xiangmei in two months, so she slung her canvas bag over her shoulder and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the west gate, she saw Zhou Weihao’s white car parked there, the window wide open, with Zhou Weihao sitting in the driver’s seat, lost in thought.

Bai Yuanzhi went over and greeted him, “Brother Hao, what are you doing here?”

Hadn’t Chen Shen said that the Zhou family should send Zhou Weihao abroad for a while and only allow him to return after the Duoluoxi matter was resolved?

Why was he still here?

Zhou Weihao looked dazed.

When Bai Yuanzhi greeted him,

he seemed startled, trembling violently with a look of terror on his face.

Then, he stared blankly at Bai Yuanzhi, his eyes suddenly widening.

“A-Ah Zhi?”

Bai Yuanzhi nodded at him and turned to leave.

Zhou Weihao’s voice came from behind, “Ah Zhi, where… are you going?”

Bai Yuanzhi turned back, “I’m going to my aunt’s house.”

Zhou Weihao’s voice suddenly became agitated, “What? You… why are you going to your aunt’s house?”

Bai Yuanzhi was stunned.

She didn’t understand why Zhou Weihao was suddenly so worked up.

But she still answered truthfully, “A colleague from HR called this morning, saying Li Yongzhen didn’t come to work today and asked me to check on her at my aunt’s house…”

“No!” Zhou Weihao said nervously, “Ah Zhi! Don’t go!”

Bai Yuanzhi was stunned.

Zhou Weihao seemed to realize he had overreacted, forcing a bitter smile as he stammered to explain, “Uh, what I meant was—”

“Li Yongzhen, Li Yongzhen… Haven’t you always disliked her? Then, then just ignore her, hahaha…”

Bai Yuanzhi frowned, “I really don’t like her much, but when a living person suddenly disappears, helping to ask around… isn’t that a big deal, right?”

As she spoke, she waved at Zhou Weihao, “Goodbye, Hao-ge!”

Zhou Weihao’s mouth fell open.

He sat dumbfounded in the driver’s seat, his mind in turmoil and his heart burning with anxiety.

He had no idea what to do now…

After a moment’s thought,

he cheered himself on: It’s fine, no one knows he took Li Yongzhen from under Bai Yuanzhi’s building, it doesn’t matter!

Zhou Weihao forced himself to calm down.

After a while, he finally regained control of his emotions and quickly drove away in his white sedan.

But at that moment—

Bai Yuanzhi, who hadn’t gone far, noticed something amiss.

She suddenly turned her head and looked into the distance.

A black sedan was speeding straight toward her!