Chapter 50

Song Hai was even more surprised than Manager Xing, but he remained composed on the surface.

"Dad," Yan Xi wanted to rub her tired eyes, but remembering her makeup, she withdrew her hand, "What are you doing standing at the gate?"

"I just got back. My car had some issues, and Manager Xing gave me a ride," Song Hai introduced Manager Xing to Yan Xi. "This is Manager Xing from the Entai Company project team. Manager Xing, this is my daughter."

Manager Xing glanced at the big boss standing behind Yan Xi, then back at Song Hai. Your daughter is dating the big boss? Why didn't you mention that earlier? You're scaring me!

"Hello, Uncle Xing," Yan Xi smiled and greeted Manager Xing.

"You're too polite," Manager Xing almost added an honorific, then turned to greet the big boss behind Yan Xi, "Good evening, Boss."

"Thank you, Manager Xing," Yuan Yi nodded to him. "Get some rest soon."

"Sure, Boss," Manager Xing was quick-witted, sensing it wasn't the right moment to stay and disrupt the family reunion. He quickly found an excuse to leave. Once his car was far enough away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thinking about his conversation with Boss Song earlier, he realized he had been praising Boss Song's daughter the entire time and had avoided any impolite behavior.

That thought made him a little happy. It was a good thing to establish a good relationship with his boss's potential father-in-law. At that moment, he couldn't help but hope Song Hai's daughter would marry the boss soon. Those two could never break up; he had finally managed to latch onto a big shot, and he couldn't afford to lose that opportunity.

"Come in and sit for a while," Yan Xi yawned, forcing herself to stay awake. "Sorry for the trouble tonight."

"No need to, you should rest early," Yuan Yi saw she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Although he wanted to visit Song Hai's house, he didn't want her to force herself to entertain him. Reluctantly, he turned down the offer.

"Be careful on the road," Yan Xi rummaged through her small bag and pulled out two lollipops, stuffing them into Yuan Yi's hand. "Here's a little gift for you."

"This is your gift?" Yuan Yi looked at the lollipops in his hand. The packaging was gaudy, without any artistic flair, and he couldn't help wondering how much artificial color had been added. "Why are you so stingy?"

"Honestly, when friends help each other out, there's no need for gifts," Yan Xi pointed at the lollipops. "If you don't want it, just give it back to me."

"I'm not giving it back," Yuan Yi unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth. "I'm leaving now."

He took a few steps before stopping, turning back to look at Song Hai. "Goodbye, Uncle Song."

"Goodbye." Song Hai nodded slightly. The night wind tousled his hair, and despite his plump appearance, there was an aura of loneliness about him, like an experienced man in solitude. After Yuan Yi left, Song Hai's expression shifted to one of surprise. "Yan Yan, what is your relationship with him?"

"We're just ordinary boyfriend and girlfriend," Yan Xi entered the house, kicked off her high heels, and collapsed on the sofa. "I'm so tired."

"Ordinary boyfriend and girlfriend? It can't be that simple," Song Hai murmured quietly. But seeing his daughter's exhaustion, he didn't press for more details. He turned to the kitchen and brought out a plate of fruit. "Eat some fruit, take a shower, and go to bed. Don't stay up late in front of the computer again."

"Thanks, Dad," Yan Xi took a big, sweet strawberry and bit into it. "How did you end up collaborating with Yuan Yi's company?"

"I've never even met the boss of the company. I didn't expect the big boss to be your friend," Song Hai paused in the middle of eating the fruit, suddenly stopping. "Yan Yan, does this mean... we've latched onto the Yuan family's wealth?"

"No, we've just latched onto Yuan Yi's wealth, not the Yuan family's," Yan Xi stopped picking strawberries and looked at him. "Did you collaborate with this company before?"

Song Hai shook his head. "Your friend's company has treated me very well. The contract terms were generous, and I thought it was just the way a big company operates. I didn't realize..."

He didn't realize it was because of his daughter's connections. Businessmen are cunning. He was starting to suspect that Yuan Yi might have ulterior motives for his daughter, but when he saw her attitude toward Yuan Yi, they didn't seem like a couple.

Yuan Yi seemed fine in many ways—except for his face, which didn't look like the face of a good person. What if his daughter married him, and he had a tendency toward domestic violence? Also, what about his education? Did it match his daughter's? Experts say that a parent's intelligence can affect their children's future, so what if his daughter's kids turned out badly? And the Yuan family... his daughter had been pampered her whole life—how could she endure living with in-laws who might treat her badly?

Thinking about the rich family dramas he sometimes watched, with evil mother-in-laws causing trouble for their daughters-in-law, Song Hai felt a cold sweat down his back.

"Sweetheart, what do you think of President Yuan?" Song Hai asked cautiously. "He's young, yet he runs his own company. He seems quite capable."

"He..." Yan Xi bit into a slightly sour strawberry, waking her up a little. Yuan Yi, aside from his good looks that sometimes seemed unfriendly and his occasional sharp tongue, was actually a very decent person.

"He's responsible, caring, and decisive. Even if the Yuan family doesn't pass the company on to him, he could still achieve great success in business on his own," Yan Xi said seriously. "Our company's collaboration with him is a very good opportunity."

Song Hai felt a little sour inside. His daughter thought so highly of Yuan Yi?

"Go get some sleep," Song Hai snapped out of his thoughts. "Girls shouldn't stay up late. It's bad for your health."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Hmm."

As he watched his daughter's back, Song Hai felt a mix of emotions. It was like seeing a treasured possession being noticed by someone else—he wasn't happy, but if no one noticed it, he wouldn't be happy either.

Click.

Click.

Without realizing it, he had finished eating the whole apple. Song Hai looked at the core in his hand, threw it in the trash, and thought, As long as she doesn't end up with a bad person, there's no need for me to interfere too much.

Money isn't important—what matters is whether he treats my daughter well. After all, we're not lacking for money.

Exhausted but unable to fall asleep, Yan Xi finished her shower and flopped onto her bed. She had planned to ask about her dad's project collaboration with Entai, but after a long pause, she dialed Yuan Yi's number.

"Is there something?" Yuan Yi had just stepped out of his car, the lights of his villa still on. Although Aunt Li usually went to bed early, she would leave a light on for him if he worked late.

"No, I just wanted to ask if you're home yet," Yan Xi played with a small stuffed toy in her hand, seeming a bit distracted.

"Yeah, just got home," Yuan Yi unlocked the door with a key and used his fingerprint to open it. "Aren't you tired? Why haven't you gone to bed?"

"I'm too tired to sleep," Yan Xi tossed the toy aside and lay down on the bed. "You... how did you end up collaborating with my dad's company?"

"What collaboration?" Yuan Yi took off his shoes, went upstairs, and casually tossed his suit jacket onto the sofa. He tried to sound surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"It's the project cooperation agreement my dad signed with your company today," Yan Xi was a little surprised. "You didn't know?"

"I have several companies under my name—real estate, gaming, catering, and more. If I had to personally approve every project, even 48 hours in a day wouldn't be enough," Yuan Yi unbuttoned his bowtie. "I'll have my assistant check tomorrow to see which project with Mr. Song we're collaborating on, so that no one offends him due to ignorance."

"In business, we shouldn't give special treatment," Yan Xi wasn't sure if Yuan Yi truly didn't know or was pretending not to, but she knew this project was definitely very beneficial for her dad. "Anyway, I'll thank you for this in advance, and I'll treat you to dinner the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow, Zhang Wang and the others are going out to play. We can go together then," Yuan Yi scoffed. "I didn't expect you to be so polite and actually say thank you."

"Nonsense, since kindergarten, teachers have praised me as a polite good baby," Yan Xi yawned, feeling her sleepiness return. "You're tarnishing my reputation."

Hearing the tiredness in her voice, Yuan Yi smirked and said, "Forget it, I won't argue with you over such useless small talk. I'll hang up now."

Hearing the beeping sound in her phone, Yan Xi didn't mind and placed the phone on the bedside table, turning over to sleep.

She had eaten one watermelon-flavored lollipop, leaving only the strawberry-flavored one. The candy wasn't very good, and it had a cheap synthetic flavor. Yuan Yi fiddled with the lollipop for a while before putting it in a pen holder.

He sat quietly for a while, then took out his phone and dialed Zhang Wang's number. Of all his childhood friends, Zhang Wang was the one with the most romantic experience.

Zhang Wang was surprised to receive the call; it was already past 10 p.m., and for them, it was just the start of the night life. But for Yuan Yi, this should be bedtime.

"Yuan Yi, you're not calling to tell me you won't show up for the weekend gathering again, are you?"

"No... I just want to ask you a question."

"What question?" Zhang Wang pushed the woman beside him aside and got up to walk to the bathroom. "Go ahead."

"I mean, hypothetically... just hypothetically, if I wanted to confess to a girl in a subtle way, how should I do it?"

"What did you say?" Zhang Wang raised his voice. "You want to confess to someone, Yan Xi?"

"I'm just saying hypothetically, who said I like Yan Xi?!" Yuan Yi immediately retorted. "I can be curious about this kind of thing."

"Oh, so I misunderstood," Zhang Wang laughed. "Confessing is easy. Send flowers, cars, or jewels. Tell her these are all for beautiful women, and she'll get the hint."

"That's too direct. What if she rejects me? Don't you have a more subtle method?" Yuan Yi wasn't satisfied with that suggestion. "What if she doesn't need money? Will those things impress her?"

"More subtle..." Zhang Wang thought for a moment. "How about going to watch the moon with her and saying, 'The moonlight is beautiful tonight'? She'll get it."

"What does 'The moonlight is beautiful tonight' even mean?" Yuan Yi thought this had nothing to do with confessing. Was it being too subtle?

"Look it up online," Zhang Wang said dryly. "You have no romantic sense, but you want to pursue women?"

Yuan Yi: "I'm just asking, I'm not planning to pursue anyone. Do I need to pursue women? Tell me more."

Zhang Wang: Laughs "You're impressive. You're more dazzling than the sun."

The last person who boasted like this in front of him was now kneeling in front of a keyboard because they hid their stash of money at home.