Princess Syndrome - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Apology

The assistant went upstairs and whispered to Yang Zhizhi, "President Ji is so ruthless."

Yang Zhizhi glanced at her.

The assistant fell silent.

She hurried off to chat with her sisters in their small group.

Ji Zhiyi led Yang Zhizhi into the private room. A man was sitting inside. Seeing them come in, he stood up to greet them, "President Ji." Then, he looked at Yang Zhizhi, "Zhizhi."

Yang Zhizhi smiled, "Brother."

When she was young, her family was poor. To go to school in the city, her older brother was adopted by relatives. The relatives took him abroad. After that, they lost contact with the family. It wasn’t until Yang Zhizhi was an adult that she found out she had an older brother.

It was after that that they had become close.

Because she didn't want to cause trouble for her brother's work, she hadn't told anyone. It was actually surprising, yet not surprising, that Ji Zhiyi had found out about her brother.

When Ji Zhiyi had offered a high price, she guessed that Ji Zhiyi wanted to get to know her brother through her.

Or rather...

To get to know Baoshun.

Everything came at a cost. She was not someone who didn't need to eat, on the contrary, she admired Ji Zhiyi's way of doing things. She thought that her ability to carve out a path for herself in the domestic shoe trade within a short amount of time was very impressive.

She wanted to get to know her.

And now an opportunity came.

Frankly speaking, if she hadn't had Su Lingyue in charge, they might have signed the contract a long time ago.

But when she first met Su Lingyue, she couldn’t help but say a few sarcastic words. When she was in a bad mood, how could she have possibly been in the mood to look at the contract?

That was why she hadn't signed it. Now there was also Su Qi wanting to compete for her. According to the way her agency did things, it would probably be a while before a contract could be signed. However, Ji Zhiyi didn't seem to be in a rush. From the time they had met until now, she hadn't mentioned the collaboration at all.

Yang Zhizhi naturally couldn't bring it up first.

There was a knock at the door, and Su Lingyue came in. She walked to Ji Zhiyi and handed her the tablet. Ji Zhiyi introduced, "Baoshun's sales director, Mr. Yang Bao."

She looked at Yang Bao.

He had some similar features as Yang Zhizhi. He had delicate features. Although she hadn't mentioned her relationship with Yang Zhizhi, she understood and greeted Yang Bao, "Mr. Yang, I'm President Ji’s assistant, Su Lingyue."

Yang Bao knew a bit about Su Lingyue and Yang Zhizhi. Although he didn't like her, she was, after all, Ji Zhiyi's assistant, so he smiled and said, "It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Su Lingyue took the opportunity to sit beside Ji Zhiyi.

Ji Zhiyi tilted her head, "Let's start the meal."

The server bowed, "Yes, President Ji."

Ji Zhiyi said to Yang Bao, "Mr. Yang, the signature dishes here are pretty good. You should try them later."

After she said that, Su Lingyue also picked up the red wine, stood up, and went to Yang Bao to pour him wine. Earlier, she had been far away, and since he didn’t like her, he hadn't looked at her carefully. Now that she was close, it was as if she was shrouded in a layer of light. He finally understood why, at previous gatherings, six out of ten topics were about Su Lingyue.

Even though he had seen many beautiful people, when Su Lingyue was close, he would subconsciously hold his breath.

His breathing became lighter, and the act of trying to act high and mighty didn’t work. As Su Lingyue poured the wine, he quickly picked up his cup. He glanced at Su Lingyue's beautiful profile and said, "Thank you."

His voice was tense.

Yang Zhizhi watched them, and a sudden feeling of displeasure rose within her. She coughed.

Yang Bao straightened his body.

Su Lingyue then poured wine for Yang Zhizhi. Guests should be treated well.

Lastly, she poured wine for Ji Zhiyi and herself.

As an assistant, she should say some polite words to liven the atmosphere.

But she wouldn't.

To prevent ruining this collaboration, she decided to keep quiet. She would absolutely not say more than one sentence. But at the same time, she had to make the other party feel her sincerity. For example, after finishing a glass of wine, she immediately refilled everyone’s glasses.

The assistant whispered in Yang Zhizhi’s ear, “Zhizhi, is she trying to get us drunk so we will sign the contract?”

Yang Zhizhi looked at Su Lingyue who was pouring wine so diligently. She was smiling, but it was different from her fake smile when she faced herself.

She chewed on her dish.

Crunch, crunch.

Ji Zhiyi still had a smile on her face, very composed, "I wonder if Miss Yang has looked at the letter of intent for cooperation yet?"

After a few rounds of drinks.

They finally got down to business.

Yang Zhizhi said, "Of course. I appreciate President Ji's conditions and sincerity. It’s my honor to have President Ji think so highly of me."

Ji Zhiyi said, "Miss Yang, there is no need to be so polite. We've met a few times now. We can be friends. Let's speak frankly."

Yang Bao echoed, "I heard President Ji was very efficient, and she is indeed."

Ji Zhiyi smiled, "Mr. Yang is too kind. I still need your help."

Yang Zhizhi and Yang Bao exchanged a look.

They were here for this dinner. Their intention was obvious. They wanted to collaborate. Otherwise, so many companies had contacted Yang Zhizhi, yet she was meeting with Ji Zhiyi alone. The intention was obvious. As for Yang Bao...

That was indeed because of Yang Zhizhi's sake.

During this time, Ji Zhiyi had been secretly giving him conveniences, raising Yang Zhizhi's commercial price. Yang Bao wasn’t stupid. He could see it all. But he had also made it clear that he could not make any promises. He could only help Ji Zhiyi connect with Baoshun.

As for the end result...

It was up to Ji Zhiyi.

Ji Zhiyi was very satisfied. Even Su Lingyue could tell that she was in a good mood after this meal. After dinner, she even had the driver send Yang Bao home first. Yang Bao said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Being too polite seemed distant.

At this juncture, there was no need for that.

But with that, they had no car. Yang Zhizhi lowered the car window, "President Ji, do you want a ride?"

Ji Zhiyi smiled, "No thanks, Assistant Su and I still have some matters to attend to."

Su Lingyue was standing beside her. After Yang Zhizhi left, she asked quietly, "What matters?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "A walk."

Su Lingyue: ...

She thought it was something important!

Ji Zhiyi walked forward. The area outside Haotai was in the city center, a bustling and lively place. Su Lingyue couldn't remember when the last time she had taken a walk after dinner was, especially in the summer.

She had no experience with taking walks.

Ji Zhiyi walked at a leisurely pace, her steps slow. Su Lingyue followed her and watched the lights lengthen her shadow.

She suddenly felt that Ji Zhiyi was quite tall.

Taller than her.

She stood beside Ji Zhiyi and, wearing high heels, even had to stand on her toes to compare.

Ji Zhiyi turned her head, "What are you doing?"

Her body stiffened, "Nothing."

Ji Zhiyi didn't pay any mind and turned back to continue walking. There were many people on the road, coming and going. She saw Ji Zhiyi walk towards a road with fewer people. If they walked further, there was a residential area. Next to it was a small park.

Su Lingyue inexplicably thought of the park she used to walk in with her mother.

It didn't look anything like the park in front of her, but she still remembered it for no reason.

She even remembered that a long time after her mother passed away, she heard Zhou Shiyu persuading her father to send her away to live somewhere else, saying that she wanted to have a child with her father. Her father had said decisively, "No."

At the time, she had been moved by those words.

That one "no."

Later, she learned that it was because her father couldn't. His body had problems and he couldn't have another child.

He had even said that he had had the thought of sending her away to prove his loyalty to Zhou Shiyu.

When was that?

She couldn't help but think.

Was it that night? The night her mother was in a car accident. The night she stayed alone in the park?

That was why no one had looked for her. Her father hadn't either.

Ji Zhiyi noticed that Su Lingyue had suddenly stopped and was looking forward with confusion, "What are you looking at?"

Su Lingyue said, "Seeing if there are any frogs in the grass."

Ji Zhiyi paused: "Are you scared?"

Su Lingyue said, "I'm not scared at all!"

She said this loudly, as if to emphasize it. Ji Zhiyi remembered that Su Lingyue hadn’t had that many drinks at dinner. Why was she a bit different now?

The driver would still take some time to arrive. She said, "Do you want to go in for a walk?"

Go in?

Who's afraid of whom!

However, Ji Zhiyi still walked on the inside, and Su Lingyue walked in the middle of the road. The area nearby was a residential area, and many people came to take a walk. Since returning to China, Ji Zhiyi had been quite busy. Her only form of exercise was at the gym. Although she didn't have that many dinner engagements, she had to attend them. During the first two years, she had rarely eaten two meals at home in a month. Therefore, these leisurely after-dinner walks were very rare.

But when she was with Su Lingyue, she always wanted time to slow down.

Ji Zhiyi turned her head to look at Su Lingyue. The dim yellow streetlights shone on her face. Even in this dim place, there were still many gazes falling on her. Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips and said, "Want to sit for a while?"

There were long wooden benches on both sides of the road. Su Lingyue nodded and, carrying her bag, walked to a wooden bench and sat down. There were many people coming and going, walking their pets, leading their children, elderly people walking slowly, and young people jogging. Ji Zhiyi glanced at her watch and said, "Xiao Li will be here in ten minutes."

Yang Bao lived nearby, so she had Xiao Li send Yang Bao home first, and then come to pick them up.

Su Lingyue nodded, "Oh."

After saying that, she lowered her head. Chu Yi had sent her a message: [What are you doing?]

She looked around. Ji Zhiyi was looking at the distance, looking pensive. A gentle breeze blew, and her hair fluttered. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Su Lingyue replied: [Just finished eating, I’m at a park.]

Chu Yi: [A park?]

Wasn't she the one who hated going to the park the most?

Su Lingyue: [Ji Zhiyi wanted to come over.]

Chu Yi: [Is she making things difficult for you again?]

Su Lingyue thought about it.

Actually, it wasn't too bad.

She replied: [No.]

Chu Yi bit her fingernails. She really couldn’t figure out what Ji Zhiyi was thinking. Su Lingyue, on the other hand, had started to learn about Ji Zhiyi's plans from some small details. She glanced at Ji Zhiyi, and saw that she had taken out her tablet.

Was she going to watch those arguments again?

She really had a lot of free time.

Su Lingyue scoffed inwardly, and replied to Chu Yi calmly. After browsing the news for a while, before ten minutes were up, her phone rang. It was Xiao Li calling.

She turned her head, "President Ji, Xiao Li is here."

She looked down and saw that the tablet was showing a graph.

Ji Zhiyi put away the tablet and handed it to her. The two of them got up. The car was parked outside the park. Su Lingyue was picking up her bag when she heard someone call out behind her, "A Wang! A Wang! Stop!"

She turned her head.

A golden retriever was charging towards her!

It was nearly half her height and sturdy. When it ran, its fur was like flames. It was charging straight towards her. Su Lingyue jumped in surprise: "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!" As she spoke, she avoided it. Ji Zhiyi, afraid that she would fall, pulled her to her side. Su Lingyue hugged her!

The golden retriever whizzed past her, running into the woman behind her.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she realized that her hands were still around Ji Zhiyi's waist. She hesitated for a few seconds and said, "I'm sorry, President Ji, I didn't mean to hug you."

The impact was too great, and she had been frightened.

Ji Zhiyi was just about to speak.

Su Lingyue quickly exonerated herself: "It was the dog who started it first!"

Ji Zhiyi looked at the hand that had pulled her, and her face darkened slightly.

Su Lingyue let go a bit and took a breath. Seeing that Ji Zhiyi was looking behind her, she also wanted to look behind her, but Ji Zhiyi said, "Frog."

Su Lingyue reflexively hugged Ji Zhiyi again.

Ji Zhiyi said slowly, "I’m sorry, I was mistaken."

Su Lingyue: ...

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