Chapter 28 You really come here for the money...

Central is the epitome of most people's impression of Hong Kong Island.

The narrow and bustling streets, the impatient and busy sound of traffic lights, the slowly passing double-decker trams, and the sleepless neon nights.

When Zhao Manzhi first came to Hong Kong Island, she also thought that this island with intricate gold and colorful patterns was full of such scenery, but it was not the case. There is the glittering lights of the Bay Area, and there is also the peace and tranquility of the mountains. After being exposed to its unknown B-side for a long time, and then rushing into the Central Line with the crowd, Zhao Manzhi felt that it was extremely unreal.

Cynthia was very considerate and told her that it was not suitable to go out during rush hour, and she could go to the rest room early to wait. After lunch, she checked the display materials again and prepared to pack up and go out. Unexpectedly, someone who rarely struggled with makeup and dressing up actually spent a full three hours this time.

She watched every step of makeup several times before she was satisfied, and she also searched for tutorials to learn how to curl her hair. She tried several sets of clothes in the closet, and finally put on the little black dress again, paired with a set of pearls that Ms. Ding gave her as a birthday gift a few years ago. Seeing that it was getting late, she hurried downstairs with her bag.

It was obviously not a date, but she felt that she should be serious from the bottom of her heart. She didn't know whether she was afraid of not being able to blend into Central or afraid of being shy in front of him.

When they met, Cynthia hugged her warmly, "Wow, Manman, you are so beautiful today!"

Although the rhetoric was a bit exaggerated, the compliment was genuine. Zhao Manzhi smiled and handed her the gift, "You are still as charming as ever, and you look even better after giving birth."

"Maybe it's because you hike a lot." Cynthia led her to the lounge and sat down. "I rarely hiked in Hong Kong Island before, but I fell in love with it after I went to the New Territories. Please sit down first, I'll see how long it will take for the boss. Dinner is prepared here, if you are really hungry, you can eat some snacks on the table."

"Don't show off."

Zhao Manzhi tossed around, the sandwich she had at noon had already been digested, so she didn't hesitate to pick up a cookie and ate it. Originally, I thought that they would meet in the New Territories because Cynthia often posted updates about the New Territories. In the end, the address she was notified of was Central, which was a bit unexpected.

But think about it, maybe because Zhuang Youkai has been attending CUHK events recently, I thought he was based in the New Territories. In fact, why would he travel thousands of miles to live in Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay and Mid-Levels Villas?

After eating two small pieces of cookies, Zhao Manzhi found that the crumbs on her skirt were too obvious, so she stopped eating and sat down to wait.

When Zhuang Youkai came out after the meeting, he saw the girls in the lounge sitting quietly, with their hands on their knees, their heads dozing off, their silky hair hanging down, covering most of their faces.
He stood at the door and watched for a moment, the corners of his lips curled up unconsciously. Cynthia came to remind Zhao Manzhi, but when she saw this, she retreated with her eyes and noses in her eyes and noses in her eyes. 

When she was about to fall asleep after nodding for who knows how many times, Zhao Manzhi suddenly woke up, lifted her hair and was glad that she didn't look too ugly when sleeping. Turning around, she saw the tall and graceful Zhuang Youkai and was shocked again: "Why didn't you say anything?" 

Zhuang Youkai had just finished signing a contract. He raised his eyes slightly while speaking, with a few strands of hair falling on his forehead, looking quite suave. "You seem to sleep so well, who knows if you will get angry if I wake you up?" 

Zhao Manzhi's face turned red, and she quickly tidied her clothes and stood up. "Sorry, I lost my temper." 

"Apologize for everything. It's still so hard to deal with you." Zhuang Youkai put the pen back. "Today our European partners are here for a meeting, and the meeting is indeed a bit long. Are you hungry? Let's go eat first." 

"Forget about eating. My business is very small and I can report it in five minutes." 

"But I'm hungry." 

"...Ah?" 

Zhuang Youkai raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "I can't be hungry?" 

"...Yes." Zhao Manzhi took a deep breath. Why did she feel that Zhuang Youkai had become a little childish? In the past, he never interrupted when they talked about work. 

Zhuang Youkai's car in Hong Kong is an antique Maybach, and his driver is still Lu Qianning. After a long time of separation, Zhao Manzhi greeted the kind old housekeeper, "Long time no see, Uncle Ning." 

"Long time no see." Lu Qianning smiled and opened the car door for them, "It's not easy to come from Zhongda, it seems to take more than an hour?" 

Zhao Manzhi hummed and sat in the back seat, "It's more time-consuming to take the MTR, mainly because it's too expensive to hail a taxi, otherwise it wouldn't be so troublesome." 

"So I told Ah Kai not to go back to Central, it's almost in Shatin..." 

Before Lu Qianning finished speaking, Zhuang Youkai coughed a few times, "The air conditioning is a little low." 

"Shatin Huanye..." Isn't it right in front of the school? Zhao Manzhi sighed that Uncle Ning was right, only capitalists like to torment people. 

But now she has to ask for help from others, no matter how ignorant she is of the ways of the world, she knows that she should give Zhuang Youkai a favorable treatment now. 

So she smiled and said, "Mr. Zhuang is so busy, it's a blessing for me to see you once, so why should I choose another time?" 

Zhuang Youkai snorted coldly when he heard the polite and distant tone, "It's rare for you to say something nice, it seems like you really have something to ask of me." 

"Yes, about our drama club's new play." Zhao Manzhi lifted the tote bag at her feet onto her lap and took out the new drama script plan and the introduction of past plays. "We have selected a more challenging play for the autumn play. The requirements for scenes, costumes, and props are not low. Based on the original sponsorship, it will be difficult to cover the initial expenses, so I would like to try to ask you if you are interested in investing a little money?" 

She looked at Zhuang Youkai's expression and handed over the information respectfully. "Here are some introductions to our drama club and the script of this new play. You can take a look." 

For such a small-scale student activity project, he usually doesn't even need to review it personally, and a middle-level manager can decide whether to stay or go. Zhuang Youkai didn't plan to read it carefully. He took it in his hand and flipped through two pages. "That's it?" 

Zhao Manzhi blinked. "Yes, I told you. It can be finished in five minutes." 

But he still wanted to take her to dinner. 

Hearing this, Zhuang Youkai closed the information with his backhand and said, "Let's talk after dinner." 

"..." 

It should be said that this man's temper is still as unpredictable as ever. 

Zhuang Youkai found a French restaurant located in the Central skyline. From a bird's eye view, you can see the glittering Victoria Harbour. The Ferris wheel, known as the Eye of Hong Kong Island, rises and falls slowly, like the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, and the ebb and flow of the tide. It 

was Zhao Manzhi's first time to come to such a high-end occasion. As she walked in and saw couples everywhere, she couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. She sat properly and didn't dare to move. 

Zhuang Youkai ordered the dishes and looked at her, "Why, you don't like French food?" 

She shook her head, "No, I'm just curious, do you always go to...this kind of restaurant to discuss things?" 

Zhuang Youkai smiled, "Can't I just want to eat French food?" 

"Of course, I just feel that a business person like you doesn't fit the tone here." 

"But it suits your outfit today," Zhuang Youkai said as he was shaking the sherry in the champagne glass, his eyes reflecting the ripples, inexplicably gentle, "very beautiful." 

"Thank you." Zhao Manzhi was distracted for a moment, then calmed down, raised her chin slightly, and smiled brightly and generously, "So, would you consider sponsoring our drama club's new play?" 

Sometimes, he really admired Zhao Manzhi's train of thought. "Are you really here for the money?"<
"Yes."

"Why did you choose me and not someone else?"

"Because you seem easier to talk to."

"Easy to talk to?" It seems that he was too nice to her. Even the notorious Master Zhuang was not afraid of her. Zhuang Youkai felt upset when he thought of this, and his voice became cold, "Zhao Manzhi, you are bolder now than before."

"You seem to be very aloof, but you are actually very kind. Otherwise, you would not have attended the speech at our school and sent so many gifts to the freshmen." Zhao Manzhi said every word seriously, "And this sponsorship, if you had no intention, you would have rejected me in the car just now, right?"

Zhuang Youkai leaned back and narrowed his eyes slightly, "What if I just wanted to coax you to have a meal with me?"

"Impossible!" she exclaimed.

"What's impossible? You and I have only met at work before. How can you be sure that I'm not a bad person in private?" Zhuang Youkai said, "If a beautiful woman like you pounces on them, few men will refuse."
As he said this, the corners of his lips slightly raised, and the arc of his smile was dazzling, "Zhao Manzhi, don't always be so confident, always thinking that you know everything about everyone. There are always many things that will be beyond your expectations." 

The sound of a waiter pushing a food cart in interrupted the conversation. Applesauce caramel foie gras and Mediterranean salmon salad were placed on the table. The two lost the idea of ​​continuing the conversation. They only heard the clanging of Hermès plates. 

"Mr. Zhuang," Zhao Manzhi called him suddenly, "Were you in Shatin before?" 

"I stayed there for a few days to deal with work matters." 

"Oh." She lowered her eyes and forked the salad into pieces, "So, you were not waiting for me to find you." 

Zhuang Youkai was stunned, "What did you say?" 

"I was just speculating originally, but Uncle Ning's words today made me more suspicious. You made such a big fuss about the lecture that day, maybe you wanted to wait for me to come and thank you." 

She slowed down and looked straight into his eyes, "To be honest, I dared to come not because I thought you were easy to talk to, but because I relied on your little more care, thinking that even if this sponsorship could not be obtained, we could still chat as old friends. But if you just needed a female companion for dinner, I didn't think there was any need to go to the trouble of letting me come to Central." 

Zhao Manzhi felt a little sad. She knew that Zhuang Youkai was a bad mouth, but when she heard his cold words, she couldn't help but take it to heart. She didn't know him very well, but she absolutely believed that he was not a person who was happy to toss young girls and burn warehouses. 

If so, then she had misjudged people twice in a row. From Chen Muchuan to Zhuang Youkai, she was really blind. 

The room was dimly lit with candlelight and the air-conditioner was turned on just right. The couple sat on the date seat, but their mood was completely different. 

One was worried that he had met the wrong person. 

The other was afraid that he was seen too clearly. 

In the long silence, Zhao Manzhi smelled a hint of embarrassment. She regarded herself as a defeated enemy. It was not too late for her to leave gracefully. 

She put down her knife and fork and pretended to stand up. "Since Mr. Zhuang has no intention of doing so, then I..." 

Before she finished the sentence "do not disturb", she heard Zhuang Youkai's cold and mellow voice: "Sit down." 

"I'll invest in this sponsorship."