"I won't be leaving General Manager Yu for now."
Chen Jinzhao's words made Yu Mengzhi freeze for a moment, and her turbulent heart also calmed down. She hesitated and said, "Won't this offend the old man?"
"If that's the case, he will..."
"General Manager Yu, you don't need to worry about me. I have my own judgment. I said I would be responsible for you, and I will see it through to the end." Chen Jinzhao said this lightly, but it made Yu Mengzhi feel a pang in her heart.
In her opinion,
Chen Jinzhao was just a small security guard, yet he was willing to confront the Yu family for her.
Her heart was not truly a frozen mountain of ten thousand years; how could she not feel something?
"Why are you so foolish?" Yu Mengzhi chided him.
"You first talked back to the old man in front of everyone, and then went against his will. I think the old man will definitely not let you off."
"What should we do?"
Yu Mengzhi didn't let Chen Jinzhao speak either. She frowned and murmured, "How about this, from now on, don't wander around. Stay by my side, and I don't believe the old man will deal with you in front of me."
Chen Jinzhao secretly shook his head.
This woman still underestimated Yu Lingxiao's methods.
However, he wouldn't speak ill of Yu Lingxiao in front of Yu Mengzhi. After all, Yu Mengzhi was Yu Lingxiao's biological granddaughter, and sowing discord was the act of a villain.
"Chen Jinzhao, if you encounter anything in the future, tell me immediately," Yu Mengzhi instructed.
Chen Jinzhao could only nod like a pecking chick.
They walked for several hundred meters when Chen Jinzhao suddenly turned to look at Yu Mengzhi. Yu Mengzhi asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"No, General Manager Yu, where is your car?" Chen Jinzhao asked.
Yu Mengzhi said awkwardly, "My car is still at Shuiyue Bay. I don't have a car at home, and they won't lend me one after I argued with the old man, so I walked out."
"So, you're accompanying me?" Chen Jinzhao retorted.
Yu Mengzhi's face turned red with embarrassment, and she snorted, "Don't get any ideas. I didn't mean that."
Chen Jinzhao understood.
"General Manager Yu, I get it, I get it..."
Yu Mengzhi turned her head away and ignored Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao was well-behaved and didn't tease Yu Mengzhi further, lest she get angry.
After another ten minutes of walking, they were halfway there.
Yu Mengzhi had slowed down her pace because she was wearing high heels when she left, and her feet would get sore if she walked too much.
Chen Jinzhao noticed this keenly and said to her, "How about I carry you?"
Yu Mengzhi shook her head.
She felt as if Chen Jinzhao wanted to take advantage of her.
"This won't do, you'll get corns," Chen Jinzhao frowned.
Yu Mengzhi thought for a moment, then bent down and took off her high heels, carrying them in her hand. "There are only two kilometers left, and there are no loose stones on this road. Let's hurry."
Chen Jinzhao reached out, "Give me your shoes, I'll carry them for you."
Yu Mengzhi hesitated for a moment, but finally handed her high heels to Chen Jinzhao, letting him carry them. They walked side-by-side on the wide asphalt road, then opened up and talked about their past.
"Chen Jinzhao..."
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"What kind of person was your ex-girlfriend?"
Chen Jinzhao: "..."
Inside the manor.
Yu Lingxiao was watching the surveillance footage.
In the video, Chen Jinzhao and Yu Mengzhi were walking side-by-side, with Chen Jinzhao carrying Yu Mengzhi's high heels. They walked and stopped, and then Yu Mengzhi would occasionally punch Chen Jinzhao.
All signs indicated that Yu Lingxiao's guess was wrong.
At first, he thought Yu Mengzhi and Chen Jinzhao were just acting, and he also thought Yu Mengzhi looked down on a small security guard like Chen Jinzhao.
But—
In an environment where they were undisturbed, their interactions were intimate, not like an employer-employee relationship.
More like, a couple.
Yu Lingxiao's face was so grim that it could drip water. He absolutely would not allow Yu Mengzhi to have any connection with Chen Jinzhao, because Yu Mengzhi would eventually marry into the Qin family.
Only by marrying Qin Fengwu could the Yu family gain immense benefits.
The Yu family could not afford the wrath that Qin Fengwu would bring, which would make the Yu family's journey difficult in the days to come.
This was a game of advancing or retreating.
Shen Liangping also said, "Master, there is something I don't know whether to say or not."
"Say it!"
Shen Liangping nodded.
He told Yu Lingxiao everything that happened at Shuiyue Bay, and specifically mentioned that Yu Mengzhi had gotten angry at him for an outsider, and had even used a very serious tone.
It was obvious.
Yu Mengzhi's arms were turning outwards.
"There's such a thing?" Yu Lingxiao was indeed a little angry.
Shen Liangping quickly said, "Master, I have no intention of stirring up trouble between you and the young lady, but I think this is a very bad omen."
Yu Lingxiao nodded, indicating that Shen Liangping's thought was correct.
"Master..."
"Should we find someone to... him..."
Shen Liangping made a throat-slitting gesture.
Yu Lingxiao got up and walked to the window, looking at the twilight glow in the sky. "Xiao Shen, don't think about doing this every now and then. We are reasonable people. It's enough to reason with him a little. Don't be too harsh, understand?"
Shen Liangping nodded, "I understand!"
Half an hour later.
In the urban-rural fringe, at a roadside food stall.
Yu Mengzhi, wearing a pair of cheap slippers, sat at a round table. These slippers were bought by Chen Jinzhao from a store in the urban-rural fringe.
She glanced at her surroundings, with oil stains and water marks everywhere.
"You brought me to eat in a place like this?" Yu Mengzhi looked at Chen Jinzhao uncertainly.
Chen Jinzhao nodded, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Yu Mengzhi wanted to say something but stopped, and finally shook her head, "Nothing. I've never been to a place like this before. I thought you would spend money to take me to some affordable Western restaurant for dinner."
That kind of restaurant at least had a good environment, and the consumption was not high.
"Miss, you really know how to put people down. I can only come to a place like this once a month. It's really an expense today," Chen Jinzhao said with a pained expression.
While waiting for the food.
Yu Mengzhi looked around curiously, and then gradually blended into the atmosphere.
There were elderly people taking their grandchildren home from kindergarten, hurried young office workers returning from work, delivery drivers speeding through the streets on small electric bikes, and even women standing at the entrance of hair salons soliciting customers...
All sorts of life, unfolding before their eyes.
It was at this moment that Yu Mengzhi noticed Chen Jinzhao, who was smoking not far away, had a sense of being out of place with the common people. Even though he was just leaning against a utility pole, he could be seen at a glance from the crowd.
His eyes contained compassion.
It was as if Chen Jinzhao was standing at the highest point of the world, looking down on the human world, watching the tides rise and fall, and observing the comings and goings of people.
This man was indeed very different from others.
Although he came from the marketplace, he had an extraordinary and refined aura, which captivated Yu Mengzhi for a moment.
A sentence came to Yu Mengzhi's mind.
Wang Bo of the Tang Dynasty, in his "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng," said—
"The old should be strong, why should the heart of white hair be moved? The poor and the humble should be more determined, and not fall from the aspirations of the green clouds!"