"You kept pushing me to drink, and I'm quite drunk myself. How can I have the energy to look after you?" Ye Zhi explained. "My next-door neighbor arranged for two maids who took care of us all night. Last night, you even threw up on yourself, and it was the maids who helped you change your pajamas."
"Your next-door neighbor is really kind," Zhan Ruoqing said with emotion.
"Yes," Ye Zhi said, opening her wardrobe and throwing a clean set of clothes at her. "Change into my clothes first, and then we'll go eat."
"Okay..." Zhan Ruoqing agreed. After changing and freshening up, she followed Ye Zhi downstairs.
"Aren't we going to eat?" Zhan Ruoqing asked, looking at the empty dining room downstairs, feeling a bit lost.
"We're eating next door. I've partnered up with the neighbors," Ye Zhi explained.
Zhan Ruoqing was a bit confused. Why neighbors again?
She rubbed her temples and asked curiously, "Ye Zhi, I've been here several times. Why haven't I seen your household staff?"
"I don't hire maids," Ye Zhi said. "I used to hire a cleaning service that came twice a week. Later, the butler from next door found out and discussed with me. He suggested they handle the cleaning instead. They have free time and are more meticulous and reliable than the cleaning company, and it's a way for them to earn some extra money. I thought it made sense, so I agreed."
Zhan Ruoqing couldn't help but frown. Although her head was still groggy, she felt that something wasn't quite right.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is your next-door neighbor a man or a woman?"
"A man," Ye Zhi replied.
Zhan Ruoqing's heart immediately tensed. Something was wrong, very wrong!
Ye Zhi's next-door neighbor definitely had designs on her! When they got to the neighbor's place later, she was determined to expose that man's deceptive tactics!
However, she felt like she had forgotten something rather important...
Never mind, she wouldn't think about it now. She would absolutely not let Ye Zhi suffer a loss!
Soon, the two arrived at the door next door.
Zhan Ruoqing looked at the familiar gate and finally came back to her senses.
She finally realized what she had forgotten. This was Qi Xuan's place! She had forgotten that Qi Xuan and Ye Zhi were neighbors!
The gate opened, and the butler walked out with a kindly expression. "Miss Ye, Miss Zhan, please come in."
Zhan Ruoqing's expression was dazed. The butler hadn't given her a good look in a long time.
When she was pursuing Qi Xuan in the past, Qi Xuan had explicitly rejected her. However, Qi Xuan had such a good personality that even when rejecting others, he wouldn't make them feel too embarrassed.
She had seized on this point, feigning ignorance, and clung to Qi Xuan as a friend. Since she had nothing else to do all day, she ended up annoying him.
She dazedly followed Ye Zhi inside and then saw Qi Xuan, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"You're not at work yet?" Ye Zhi asked, somewhat surprised.
"Mmm," Qi Xuan's eyes flickered. "I didn't sleep well last night and woke up late today."
"It's rare to see you late," Ye Zhi said with a light smile. "But luckily, we're both bosses, so no one dares to dock our pay."
"Come and have breakfast," Qi Xuan habitually pulled out a chair for her. "The kitchen has prepared a hangover soup for you. You can have some first to sober up."
"Okay," Ye Zhi said, pulling Zhan Ruoqing to sit down. She then turned and asked, "Ruoqing, do you have any dietary restrictions?"
"Ah... no, no," Zhan Ruoqing replied, regaining her senses.
"That's good. You should try it too. Qi Xuan's chef has excellent skills," Ye Zhi said, then scooped a bowl of hangover soup for her.
Zhan Ruoqing picked up her spoon and lowered her head to drink the soup. Listening to Ye Zhi and Qi Xuan casually chatting about everyday matters, her heart felt like a stormy sea. She even had the urge to roar at Ye Zhi.
Ye Zhi, oh Ye Zhi!
You're so intelligent, why are you so low in emotional intelligence?!
How can you not see that that cunning fox Qi Xuan is setting a trap for you! Besides not sleeping in the same bed, you and Qi Xuan are already as familiar as family!
He's boiling a frog in warm water, slowly making it so you can't leave him!
Zhan Ruoqing sighed silently in her heart. Not only Qi Xuan but even the butler and the maids treated Ye Zhi as one of their own.
Actually, she had thought about how great it would be if Ye Zhi could become her sister-in-law, but now it seemed her brother didn't have that fortune.
"Ruoqing, what are you thinking about?" Ye Zhi asked, noticing she hadn't eaten much.
"Sister-in-law..." Zhan Ruoqing blurted out subconsciously.
The atmosphere at the dining table instantly became extremely heavy. Zhan Ruoqing's face turned green. She really just misspoke, she didn't mean anything else!
"Miss Zhan is worried about your brother's marriage, isn't she? Indeed, he's getting older," Qi Xuan said in a deep voice. "Coincidentally, I have a few relatives who are around your brother's age and are a good match. I can introduce them sometime."
"Okay, okay..." Zhan Ruoqing hastily agreed.
Finally finishing breakfast, Zhan Ruoqing couldn't help but sigh. She hadn't expected eating with Qi Xuan to be so difficult.
After breakfast, Ye Zhi asked, "I'm going to work. What about you?"
"Although I really want to go home and be lazy," Zhan Ruoqing said, taking a deep breath, "I'm the boss, I have to take responsibility!"
"Very good," Ye Zhi praised exaggeratedly with a smile. "You're becoming more and more like a powerful businesswoman."
"I learned it all from you~" Zhan Ruoqing said with a playful smile.
"I'll have the driver take you," Qi Xuan said in a deep voice.
Neither of them refused. Afterward, the driver drove them to Zhiwei Company. Zhan Ruoqing found an excuse to call Ye Zhi out of the car and took her to her office.
"Ruoqing, why are you being so mysterious? What do you want to say?" Ye Zhi asked, confused.
"Ye Zhi, don't you think Qi Xuan is very good to you?" Zhan Ruoqing couldn't help but say.
"That's just his good personality, he's easy to get along with," Ye Zhi said with a light smile. "Besides, we're neighbors, and he's an investor in Taoxun. It's normal for us to be on good terms!"
Zhan Ruoqing was a bit stunned. How was Ye Zhi giving him a "friend zone" card? And her words were so reasonable!
"But he's exceptionally good to you! Believe it or not, if you asked him for his house, he'd give it to you directly!" Zhan Ruoqing exclaimed.
"There's actually a possibility of that, but that's because I helped him make money," Ye Zhi mused, then jokingly asked, "If we were neighbors, and I asked you for your house, would you not give it to me?"
Zhan Ruoqing froze. She... of course, she would!
If her parents were unwilling, she'd persuade them not to offend Ye Zhi, this cash cow. If her brother disagreed... she'd use a forklift to push him out!
Wait! That's not the point!
Zhan Ruoqing suddenly realized why her conversation with Ye Zhi felt like talking to a brick wall.
She was asking about feelings, but Ye Zhi completely treated Qi Xuan as a friend and didn't think about anything else.
Why did she suddenly feel a little sorry for Qi Xuan?