At the school gate, people passing by occasionally cast glances in their direction.
Jin Zongmin held the umbrella, his expression calm as he looked at Xu Youqing. But the calmer he appeared, the more frightened she became. He said he didn't like forcing people, yet he always found ways to make others comply with his wishes.
She truly feared he might do something reckless at any moment.
Xu Youqing raised her hand and took the umbrella.
Only then did Jin Zongmin shift his oppressive gaze away.
"Go home and rest well," he said, then turned and got into the car.
It was clear he was in a very bad mood.
The headlights came on, and the car quickly disappeared at the end of the street. Xu Youqing stood in place, clutching the umbrella, her mind in turmoil.
…
The next afternoon, an unexpected call came in—it was Zhao Ruoting.
She got straight to the point and apologized for what happened last night.
"Youqing… those two men… I hired them."
Xu Youqing froze, gripping her phone.
"I'm sorry. I lost my head for a moment, angry that you rejected me so bluntly."
Zhao Ruoting confessed: "But I truly… I truly only wanted to scare you, to make you lower your head to me. I never intended to actually hurt you—not in the slightest."
Xu Youqing hadn't expected there to be someone behind the scenes, and that person turned out to be Ms. Zhao.
At this point, she was truly exhausted and didn't want to waste any more energy on these matters.
"Chairman Zhao, I don't want to revisit this matter," Xu Youqing suppressed her anger. "Let's just go our separate ways from now on and not disturb each other."
When Zhao Ruoting spoke again, her tone carried a hint of difficulty and pleading: "Youqing… Mr. Jin probably won't let me off easily."
Zhao Ruoting's voice had lost its usual composure. "Could you… for the sake of our past relationship, put in a good word for me with Mr. Jin? Ask him to show mercy…"
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Youqing, you just need to say a few words for me."
Xu Youqing frowned: "Chairman Zhao, you must be mistaken. I have no real relationship with Mr. Jin. He wouldn't listen to anything I say."
Zhao Ruoting clearly didn't believe her. Before calling Xu Youqing, she had gone through several layers of connections to reach Jin Zongmin's secretary.
Secretary Gao's words were polite yet distant, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.
"Chairman Zhao, let alone the fact that you can't get an audience with Mr. Jin—even if you did, the key to this matter doesn't lie with Mr. Jin. It depends on Miss Xu's attitude. If Miss Xu is still upset, then no one's words will make a difference."
Zhao Ruoting was a smart woman, and she immediately understood the implication. The crux of the matter lay with Xu Youqing—Jin Zongmin was standing up for her.
That was why she had swallowed her pride to make this call.
Seeing that Xu Youqing wouldn't budge, Zhao Ruoting knew the young woman had a kind heart but was still angry, so she played the sympathy card.
"Youqing, I know I used underhanded tactics to pressure you, and it's only right that you don't want to help me. But I… Xiao Lian and I, a widow and her orphan—we've worked so hard to get where we are today. If I've offended Mr. Jin, Weiran Group will likely face very difficult times ahead. It doesn't matter what happens to me, but if I fall, what will happen to Xiao Lian? With his condition… who will take care of him in the future?"
Zhao Ruoting paused, her voice dropping even lower. "You've met Xiao Lian too—he's such an innocent, kind-hearted child. Youqing, I'm begging you, for Xiao Lian's sake, help us mother and son this once, alright?"
Zhao Ruoting's words were earnest, and Xu Youqing was indeed somewhat moved. She had always admired Zhao Ruoting—a woman who had carved her own bloody path through the business world, the hardships of which were easy to imagine.
Setting aside Zhao Ruoting's more outrageous methods, she had genuinely shown Xu Youqing kindness before. And Xiao Lian… that boy with the pure smile, whose mind remained trapped in childhood—his future truly rested entirely on his mother's shoulders.
Xu Youqing's heart softened a little.
After a few seconds of silence, she let out a soft sigh. "…I'll try, but I can't guarantee it'll help."
Zhao Ruoting let out a long breath of relief on the other end of the line, her gratitude overflowing. "Thank you, Youqing. Really… thank you. I knew you were a kind-hearted girl."
This was also one of the reasons she had chosen Xu Youqing in the first place—clean, loyal, with principles.
Zhao Ruoting couldn't help but reflect that a girl as upright and easily broken as Xu Youqing being noticed by Jin Zongmin was not a good thing.
Whether she wanted it or not, how could she ever resist Jin Zongmin?
Zhao Ruoting had been through life herself, and she had dealt with people in that circle. A girl of ordinary origins catching the eye of a powerful young master—the outcome went without saying.
Before hanging up, Zhao Ruoting hesitated, then finally spoke: "A girl's youth is limited. You have high aspirations, but don't waste yourself on a man without getting anything in return."
As a fellow woman, she still wanted to warn Xu Youqing.
Xu Youqing understood the implication in Zhao Ruoting's words and quickly denied it. "Chairman Zhao, there's really nothing between Mr. Jin and me."
She paused. "And there never will be."
"Who can say about the future?" Zhao Ruoting replied.
She didn't press further.
The girl was still too young, thinking she could control her own fate and feelings. She didn't know that some whirlpools, once you're pulled in, were no longer yours to decide.
"Youqing, if I come out of this unscathed, and you ever find yourself in trouble in the future, as long as I can help, don't hesitate to ask."
After hanging up, Xu Youqing clutched her phone, wrestling with herself for a long time.
In the end, she dialed that number.
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.
"Looking for me?"
He didn't seem surprised at all that she had called.
Xu Youqing got straight to the point. "About Chairman Zhao's matter… could you… not make things difficult for her?"
"Did the Zhao woman come to you?"
Xu Youqing didn't answer directly. "This matter, I've already talked it through with her. I'm not pursuing it anymore."
"You're soft-hearted with others, aren't you."
Xu Youqing pressed her lips together and said nothing. She wanted to quickly close the matter of Ms. Zhao and avoid saying anything that might displease Jin Zongmin.
"Then come over here. We'll talk, and I'll consider it."
"Can't we talk on the phone?" Xu Youqing asked.
"If you're going to plead for her, then you should look the part of someone pleading." Jin Zongmin's voice was flat, knowing full well how guarded she was around him. "Don't worry, I won't eat you."
Xu Youqing held the phone, silent for a long time.
"You can also choose not to come."
Jin Zongmin spoke in a tone that suggested he was about to hang up.
"Wait…" Xu Youqing quickly spoke up.
His goal achieved, Jin Zongmin held the phone and reached over to feed the bird in its cage.
…
Jin Zongmin had two drivers—one was the younger Xiao Li, and the other was the older Old Chen.
It was Old Chen who came to pick her up again.
Xu Youqing got into the car and noticed that they weren't heading toward Fushou Hutong, nor were they going in the direction of the Western Hills.
"Master Chen, aren't we going to Fushou Hutong?"
"Mr. Jin is at the Eastern Suburb villa today."
Xu Youqing murmured softly, "He really has a lot of places to stay…"
Old Chen had sharp ears and caught her words. He chuckled. "Quite a few, indeed—east, west, south, north, he's got them all."
After that hungover morning at Fushou Hutong, Xu Youqing had grown much more familiar with Old Chen and was no longer so reserved around him.
"They buy properties as investments too, right?" she asked casually.
"That's part of it, but he does stay in them as well," Old Chen said, warming up to the conversation. "Take Mr. Jin, for example—he rotates through his houses across the city, east, west, south, north."
Xu Youqing was curious. "Rotates?"
Old Chen rarely had anyone to chat with while driving, so today he found himself saying a bit more than usual.
"Mr. Jin never stays in the same place for more than three days. Same with the cars—every couple of days, he switches to a different model and license plate."
"Why?" Xu Youqing grew even more curious.
It was rare to have someone to talk to, so Old Chen went along with it. "Ah, well, it's all because of when Mr. Jin was a child…"
Mid-sentence, Old Chen abruptly stopped himself. He shot a quick glance at Xu Youqing through the rearview mirror. "Miss Xu, I've said too much! Just pretend you didn't hear anything—and whatever you do, don't bring it up in front of Mr. Jin."
Xu Youqing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "…Alright."
The car pulled up in front of a modern, sprawling single-story residence. The design was minimalist, a world apart from the courtyard house at Fushou Hutong.
Xu Youqing rang the doorbell and waited. After a moment, the door opened.
Jin Zongmin stood inside, wearing nothing but a dark gray set of sleepwear, as if he had just gotten out of bed.
Xu Youqing hadn't expected him to answer the door himself, and for a moment, she stood frozen at the entrance.
"Come in." Jin Zongmin stepped aside, his voice a little hoarse.
Xu Youqing remained outside, not moving, her expression wary. "I'll just say what I need to say right here at the door, then I'll be on my way."
Jin Zongmin let out a soft laugh and leaned his arm against the doorframe. "Am I really that untrustworthy?"
He suddenly coughed twice, then looked up at her. "It's freezing out there, and the wind is strong. If I cough myself to death right here, will you take responsibility?"
Only then did Xu Youqing notice that Jin Zongmin's complexion seemed off today. His skin was already fair, but his face looked utterly devoid of color.
She hesitated. "You… are you sick?"
"Possibly." Jin Zongmin's reply was flat.
Seeing that Xu Youqing made no move to step inside, he fixed his gaze on her. "Are you really planning to stand at the door and talk to me the whole time?"
Xu Youqing looked at how thinly Jin Zongmin was dressed and how pale his face was, wavering.
If she didn't go along with his wishes and go inside, they'd probably end up in another standoff, and she'd be even less able to leave.
Jin Zongmin was someone who yielded to softness, not force. And she was here to ask a favor of him anyway. She stopped resisting and stepped inside.
The living room was spacious and warm.
Xu Youqing chose the single armchair farthest from him and sat down.
Clearly, she was keeping her distance from him.
Jin Zongmin noticed her choice but didn't call it out. He simply walked over to the long sofa across from her and sat down, casually grabbing a throw pillow to prop behind his back as he regarded her at his leisure.
His gaze had a way of clinging.
Xu Youqing felt a little uneasy. "Why… is it just you here?"
At his house, there were always attendants around to look after him.
Jin Zongmin wore a lazy smile, deliberately teasing her. "I've sent everyone else away. Right now, it's just the two of us here."
Xu Youqing's body visibly tensed. She had assumed there would still be other people in the house, that they wouldn't end up alone together.
Jin Zongmin got what he wanted and let out a low chuckle. "Still can't take a little teasing."
Xu Youqing was somewhat annoyed. "You don't seem the least bit sick to me. You're full of energy."
"Energy is only the half of it." Jin Zongmin lounged back into the sofa, casting her a sidelong glance. "My stamina is excellent too. That, you needn't worry about."
Xu Youqing flushed with a mix of embarrassment and irritation, rising to her feet. "If you called me over just to toy with me, then you've achieved your goal. I think I'll be on my way."
She made to leave.
Jin Zongmin, unhurried, asked her, "What about Zhao Ruoting's matter? You're not going to deal with it?"
She had done her best. The help Zhao Ruoting had given her before—she had tried her hardest to repay it.
There was simply nothing more she could do.
Xu Youqing steadied her breathing, forcing herself to calm down, and looked back at Jin Zongmin. "Regarding Chairman Zhao's matter, please stop pursuing it."
Jin Zongmin stared at her. "You just want to let it go like that?"
"Yes." Xu Youqing nodded.
Jin Zongmin nodded back. "Fine."
His agreement came so readily that it caught Xu Youqing off guard.
"Then I'll be heading back."
With that, Xu Youqing walked toward the door.
Her hand had just grasped the handle and pulled the door open when an arm reached out from her side. Long, slender fingers pressed against the door panel—"bang"—the door slammed shut again.
Startled, Xu Youqing spun around, only to find herself trapped between the door and Jin Zongmin's body.
He casually hooked a strand of loose hair by her cheek, his voice dropping to a low, dangerously suggestive murmur:
"Leaving just like that?"