Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Pursuing you again.

The door was unlocked, and the man inside was not surprised by her arrival. He flicked the ash off his cigarette lazily.

"Why didn't you leave?"

"Waiting for you."

An obvious answer, an overly redundant conversation.

She didn't continue the conversation, and sat down directly. After hesitating for a moment, she first found an irrelevant topic to start with, "Where's Peiyi? We're not here today. Did she have dinner?"

"I asked Uncle Ning to take her to solve it."

"That's good." Zhao Manzhi paused, "I have something to tell you, and I'll leave after I finish it." Zhuang Youkai

looked up at her.

"You shouldn't target Bruce today. Although he made a mistake, it's not a big problem. Why teach him a lesson like that?"

He had expected Zhao Manzhi to say this. She loved to defend others the most. It used to be Cynthia, and now it's Bruce. He

was not afraid of her asking, but he was afraid that she wouldn't ask.

Zhuang Youkai didn't smoke any more of his cigarette, and there was still a large part of it left, which he put out in the ashtray. "There are certain requirements for me to give speeches outside, and not everyone can listen. He should be thankful that I am willing to spend five minutes to sort out his loose logic."

He loosened his tie and put his hands on the steering wheel. The neon lights at night leaked in, outlining the majestic ups and downs of the knuckles and the back of his hands. "What's more, as you said, his work is really not up to standard, which will affect the overall progress."

Sometimes I have to sigh that God will unconditionally favor some people, and they are born good-looking in every way.

For example, Zhuang Youkai.

It's just that such an outstanding appearance really shouldn't match such a rebellious character and a vicious mouth.

Zhao Manzhi looked away, her eyes as calm as a quiet lake, "That's not a reason for you to disrespect others. Not only do you disrespect Bruce, you also disrespect me."

Zhuang Youkai chuckled, "Zhao Manzhi, are you picking on me on purpose?"

"..." Her eyelashes trembled, and her heart tightened, "I didn't."

"If you think you're not wrong, just pretend I didn't say anything."

As she spoke, she reached out to pull the door lock, "I was abrupt, sorry."

The metal door opened a small gap and slammed back heavily.

He had long arms, and he pulled the door back directly over the passenger seat, and his big hands covered hers, and the spicy scent of grayroot on his body penetrated into her nose very aggressively.

The air was so quiet that only their rising and falling heartbeats could be heard, one slow and one fast, and finally the staggered drumbeats slowly fell to one place.

Zhao Manzhi lowered her eyes and didn't look at him.

Zhuang Youkai's brow bones were too high, and he inevitably looked sinister when he looked at people without emotion. At this moment, because of the overhead light, his eyes were completely hidden in the shadows, but the restrained arc of his mouth still showed his displeasure, "What do you mean by saying this?"

Male colleagues have no boundaries, and she helped to redress their grievances? Really good.

"It's nothing, I just feel that this is quite boring. If anyone gets close to me, even if it's a normal work intersection, you will be unhappy." Zhao Manzhi tried her best to be calm and negotiate with him calmly, "Mr. Zhuang, I am not your pet. I have my work and life, and I don't want others to be implicated by your overly strong possessiveness."

"Very childish."

A chuckle spread in the silence.

"Okay, you consider yourself, him, and others, but you haven't considered me." He looked outside, and on the sidewalk leading to the exhibition hall, the scene in the morning seemed to reappear. "Zhao Manzhi, we are colleagues too, you hope that others can't see you taking my car, but you can chat and laugh with him. Haven't you ever thought about what I would think?" "

That's different." Her voice was light and fluttering, just like the sweet body fragrance on her body, in a small space, it penetrated into his heart, "You are the Raymond director who is the focus of everyone's attention. Being related to you is like boiling oil on a raging fire. I don't want to cause trouble for my work."

Trouble.

He didn't expect that this word would be used on him one day.

Zhuang Youkai sat back, lowered the car window, and the evening breeze blew slowly, so as to blow away the irritability in his heart, "What do you want?"

"Keep your distance, okay? Go back to our respective tracks."

Zhao Manzhi's heart was trembling when she said it. She could feel Zhuang Youkai's forbearance in the shadows.

His patience was about to reach its limit.

"No." He gave an answer after a long while, feeling that his teeth were about to break. He repeated word by word with great pressure, "I said no."

"Zhao Manzhi, you know why I do this, and you know how much I care about you, but you still want to clarify the relationship with me. This is intentional."

The man was very gentlemanly. He did not touch her or force her, but his eyes were like two invisible mountains, pressing her so hard that she could not straighten her back or breathe.

He always kept his word. Those who obeyed would prosper, and those who disobeyed would perish. As long as she was willing to give him a smile and stick to him well, like before, Zhuang Youkai would spoil her to no end.

But Zhao Manzhi understood better that to truly master the balance in this relationship, she had to overcome this hurdle, even if it was difficult.

She sat upright, like a small poplar, and like a blooming flower, beautiful and upright.

"But you've always been like this, putting your will above my thoughts, not asking me if I want it or not, always wishful thinking."

It was like this when they wanted to break up, and it's the same now when they want to reconcile. If she can't change the domineering nature in his bones, then she can't really accept him. "I have no objection to replacing Jacob, and it's okay for you to personally take charge of the project team, or even move next door to me. This is all your freedom, and I can't interfere."

She paused and took a deep breath, "But you have to tell me about my life, control who I contact, and get angry because I talked too much to someone of the opposite sex. This is invisible control over me, and I don't like it."

Good Zhao Manzhi, after not seeing her for five years, she has become sharp-tongued, and only picks the most hurtful words to say, fearing that one of them is not heartbreaking enough.

But he was afraid that she would say this, afraid that she would be unhappy and dislike it.

He was afraid that his approach would make her painful.

Zhuang Youkai struggled in his heart, his eyes were dark, as deep as the sea, "Back to our respective life tracks, right?"

As if he really wanted to compromise with her.

Zhao Manzhi opened her mouth slightly, her red lips were like delicate rose petals, and you could imagine its soft touch just by looking at it. Perhaps it was because of this scene that he suddenly couldn't bear it, or perhaps he didn't want to let go of her hand from the beginning.

Before Zhao Manzhi could say anything, he suddenly smiled, "It's impossible, Zhao Manzhi. Our destinies are destined to be intertwined. What I didn't do five years ago, it's even more impossible to do now." He

couldn't forget her at such a dangerous moment, let alone now that the storm has passed and he is the absolute master of this sea.

"Like you said, it's my freedom to do whatever I want as long as I don't interfere with you." Zhuang Youkai raised his lips, his voice low and bewitching, "Then I will pursue you again within the scope of freedom."

She was a little surprised that today's negotiations would get this result, and she pinched her handbag nervously, "Have you ever pursued anyone?"

At this moment he was very humble, "No, but I can learn."

"..."

Zhao Manzhi didn't mean that. She was thinking, does Zhuang Youkai, who is so arrogant, really know how to pursue someone? He doesn't think that he can just throw money and gifts at someone.

"It's hard to pursue me. There are so many boys who like me since I was a child. I've seen all kinds of romantic tricks, so I won't agree easily." She tried to persuade him to quit seriously, "And if you give me something, I will give it back to you."

Zhuang Youkai has experienced this. The girl is young but very ambitious. She doesn't want to be inferior to others in a relationship.

If she doesn't want to, then he will do it.

"He can catch up with you," it's self-evident who "he" refers to here.

Zhuang Youkai spoke lazily, with a very relaxed attitude, "Why do you think I can't?"

Zhao Manzhi rolled her eyes in her heart, she was really arrogant, "Then you try it."

Just try it.

Whether it's various competitions, big or small, or hosting mergers and acquisitions negotiations, he has never lost. Could he fail here?

But losing to Zhao Manzhi is not shameful.

*

The exhibition schedule is getting closer and closer, and the work on site is getting busier. Zhuang Youkai, the honorary director, also needs to take more time to go to the site to check the progress.

He has inspected the group from bottom to top, and he is meticulous in handling even such small matters. He will personally inspect the booths of each company and make reasonable suggestions. However, in this position, after proposing an idea, he will wait for others to implement it, and there is no need to be meticulous. But

when he comes to Guangyi, he stays a little longer every time.

On the way, someone came to find him, but saw Raymond, who was like a god descending from heaven, standing behind the person in charge Mandy, listening to her talk about the exhibition board concept, and helping her to hold the unfinished coffee while she was gesticulating.

The picture was too pleasing to the eye, and the preference was too obvious, and the rumors spread suddenly.

The exhibition materials came in one after another, and there were many matters of all sizes, but Julie, as the deputy team leader, was absent-minded, and Zhao Manzhi was always distracted when checking the list with her.

"Julie, you're not in the right state." She couldn't stand it anymore, and finally took up the authority of the leader to criticize her, "If you are too tired, I will give you a day off to rest. Now is a critical period, especially need to be careful, you will make mistakes like this."

Julie said sorry a little embarrassedly.

After following the team for this period of time, she found that Zhao Manzhi was really capable. Not only was she good at dealing with relationships, but her work ability was also top-notch. The most important thing was that she was willing to endure hardships. Many times, the hard work that she and other team members couldn't do was finally done by Mandy herself.

Her distraction was not because she had any opinion on Zhao Manzhi, but because of the rumors among the staff of the joint exhibition project recently, which made people think a lot.

"Mandy, there's something I'm not sure whether I should ask you," usually when this kind of talk starts, questions will follow, "They said... Raymond, what I mean is, Director Zhuang came to this project because of a woman."

In fact, the real gossip pointed the finger of suspicion directly at Zhao Manzhi, she was just being euphemistic, "Is this person you?"

Zhao Manzhi was a little surprised, but soon burst into laughter, "Who said that? It's groundless."

"Everyone is spreading it. This kind of rumor is hearsay and you can't find the source." Julie pursed her lips, "I just feel that Director Zhuang seems to care about you a lot. At that dinner, and when you asked for leave, he asked me about your situation and then disappeared immediately."

It seems that the relationship between men and women is nothing more than those romantic affairs.

"No." Zhao Manzhi shook her head. "Who can guess the mind of such a big shot?"

Julie was still a little disappointed. "Is that so? I said... you two are a good match."

"A good match?"

"Yes, let's talk about it in private. If there is such an unattainable beauty among us, there is no one else but you." But Julie had been threatened before and did not betray Zhao Manzhi in such a discussion. "I didn't say a word! I just listened."

Zhao Manzhi rolled up the order form and tapped her forehead gently. "Next time, don't participate in gossip discussions. It's also to protect yourself. No matter what you do, work is the most important."

There is no airtight wall in the world, and these words still reached her ears.

In the bathroom, Zhao Manzhi accidentally heard the discussion of two girls. In addition to gossip, their tone was a little sour.

"I was wondering how Guangyi could get in this time. It turns out that someone is protecting him."

"No way? Raymond is just a director. Does he have such a great ability?"

"Then it is not impossible that he can fool the leader with sweet words. My friend's company is more qualified than Guangyi, but it was not selected this time. It also said that Guangyi's creativity is amazing. Now it seems that it may be amazing in bed..."

"Hey, don't tell me. If I can sleep with someone of this level, I would be willing to pay for it."

Zhao Manzhi suddenly opened the door of the cubicle and walked out. The people who were laughing in front of the sink saw her here, and they fell silent. They waved their hands and ran out with a bad look on their faces.

She looked at their backs as they left. She didn't even have the courage to confront them head-on. I don't know why she dared to be a gossip.

Growing up, she was the one who was talked about most of the time. She was more resistant to rumors than ordinary people. She didn't want to care about it at first, but when they brought up this matter, they speculated openly and secretly that Guangyi's nomination was related to an improper romantic relationship. If this matter continued to ferment, the company would still be affected.

She had to find a way to solve it.

The exhibition venue was far away, and whenever Zhuang Youkai came, he would wait to give her a ride.

Zhao Manzhi was a little hesitant at first, but he always parked his car a little off to avoid being seen. In addition, it was difficult to get a taxi now that he was working overtime later and later, so she took his car back like this.

But now, she was a little discouraged and sent him a message in advance after work: Don't wait for me today, I will be busy on the site until late.

Half a minute later, Zhuang Youkai replied: It's okay, I just happened to have an online meeting.

Zhao Manzhi: If you have something to do, go and do it, I'm fine.

Soon, he added: And it's not good to be seen.

The man frowned slightly, thinking that she was worried about something again. She had already hidden as far away as possible to avoid people. If she continued like this, it would be like having an affair.

But he calmed down and thought again. Zhao Manzhi had not used this excuse to refuse for a long time. Now she was worried again. She was afraid that something might have happened.

He replied to Zhao Manzhi with a "OK" first, and then dialed Jeffery's number, "Help me find out if there has been anything about Zhao Manzhi at the venue recently."

"Got it."

*

I don't know if it was because of the rejection that day or because of the busy work. During the countdown to the exhibition, Zhuang Youkai didn't show up much. Many times, it was Jeffery who checked his work progress for him.

Probably because of the absence of the protagonist, the rampant discussions gradually decreased. Zhao Manzhi had initially drafted a clarification statement. Seeing this momentum, it seemed unnecessary to do so.

Soon, the invitation letter for the opening ceremony of the exhibition was officially issued. The specifications were quite high, and even the chairman of Huanye had to attend.

As a result, all participating companies had to invite their own leaders. Some guest units, who were originally on the sidelines about the exhibition, also submitted their names of participants after hearing that the chairman of Huanye was in charge.

In addition, the staff of the joint project team were also excited . According to their titles, they were generally unable to attend such an event with so many big names. Now that they had this rare opportunity, they were inevitably very excited.

Not to mention, the elusive chairman of Huanye was finally going to show his face to the public. They were not curious about anything else, but they wondered how different this Raymond was from the Raymond they knew.

One was in a high position, and the other was Nuwa's graduation project. Was it that the name Raymond had magic power, and those who could call him that were outstanding?

Only Zhao Manzhi felt uneasy. She thought that if Zhuang Youkai really attended as the chairman, wouldn't it confirm the rumor that Raymond came to the project team for a woman?

Then what else could she explain? She simply couldn't argue.

It might even get more and more outrageous. After all, a director of Huanye is nothing, but the chairman of Huanye is a very important person.

She was anxious and decided to talk to Zhuang Youkai in person.

On the night before the exhibition, she knocked on the door of Zhuang Youkai's room in Jingli Pavilion.

The neighbor answered the door quickly. She was wearing black pajamas with a very high-end satin luster. She raised her eyebrows and looked at her, as if asking "what's wrong".

It has been a long time since she saw him so homely. Zhao Manzhi felt a little embarrassed and greeted him, "Where is Peiyi? Is she asleep?"

"Sleeping. Are you looking for her?"

"No, no." She was afraid of being presumptuous, so she asked carefully, "Can I go in and talk?"

Zhuang Youkai didn't say anything, but made a space one person wide.

Although on the same floor, the layout of Zhuang Youkai's room is very different from Zhao Manzhi's. It is the largest suite in the same community, a full thousand feet, with a 270-degree wrap-around glass window, and you can vaguely see the sea view of Victoria Harbour.

The whole room was decorated in restrained Italian style, simple yet with a sense of design. Next to the floor lamp with smooth lines, the leather surface of the Tuscan lounge chair reflected a soft halo. On the side table was a glass of whiskey and a tablet. Obviously, he was working here just now.

Zhao Manzhi sat down on the neat sofa. Zhuang Youkai stood behind the kitchen counter and asked her, "What would you like to drink?"

"Water is fine."

He poured a glass of warm water. Zhao Manzhi took it and said thank you.

Knowing that she would not come to the temple for no reason, Zhuang Youkai sat back on the single chair and asked directly, "What's the matter?"

She took a sip of water lightly, and the faint lemon fragrance spread on the tip of her tongue. After this, Zhao Manzhi said, "Um, about the opening ceremony of the joint exhibition, I heard that you are going to attend?"

It was not a high-level event, so it was normal for her to have such questions. Zhuang Youkai nodded, "That's right."

"Wouldn't your identity be exposed then?"

"If I say so, I have no intention of hiding it?"

Zhao Manzhi's eyes widened, and the warm water in her hand seemed to have become a hot potato, and she couldn't hold it for even a second longer. She put the cup aside in a panic, "How will it end? You have been following the entire project under a pseudonym..."

"I have my own way." He hooked his lip and asked casually, "Are you worried about me?"

She denied it flatly, "No."

Is it her turn to worry about a person with a net worth of trillions? She is worried about her performance bonus. "It's like this, there were some bad rumors in the group some time ago, about... us."

Zhao Manzhi briefly explained, avoiding the important points, and only mentioned the part where people said whether there was an improper relationship.

She thought, Zhuang Youkai is a person who cares about face. He doesn't care about the monk's face, but the Buddha's face. Even if it's for his own sake, it's not good to let such rumors spread.

Unexpectedly, the man just smiled, "Huanye's public relations department has to deal with hundreds of such negative public opinions every day. There are countless women who claim, or are about to claim, that I have a relationship with them. If I deal with all of them, will I be able to handle it?" "

Besides," his heavy eyes pressed over, and even at a distance of more than two meters, it still made Zhao Manzhi breathless, "What they said is not completely a lie." "

Don't we have a relationship outside of work, Miss Zhao?"

Zhao Manzhi gritted her teeth and corrected, "Even if there is, it's over. And it's not an improper relationship!"

It's very legitimate, she doesn't want to be someone with an unclear identity.

Zhuang Youkai stretched out his tone and said, as if to tease her deliberately, "How do you know it's legitimate?"

"I..." She was speechless, and suddenly thought that although she didn't notice the clues of his marriage from the news, he didn't seem to have said where the marriage with Miss Xu would go.

Zhao Manzhi suddenly became alert, her watery eyes fixed on him, "Um, where is Miss Xu?"

"She just got pregnant, probably three or four months."

"?!" She jumped up as if she was sitting on a spring, she felt it was dirty to sit for a second longer, biting her lip and walked out. If she didn't have important work tomorrow, she would have to ask Wong Tai Sin right away what bad luck had happened to her marriage line, why did she meet such bad people along the way.

Chen Muchuan and Yu Hansong were fine, but what was Zhuang Youkai doing, cheating during pregnancy? It was so bad that it was beyond measure.

Seeing Zhao Manzhi hurriedly running to the door to change shoes, Zhuang Youkai added lazily, "Why are you running?"

"A normal person should run, okay? Scumbag!"

Fortunately, they were all slippers. She kicked off his family's slippers and stepped into her own mules. She heard the man's voice behind her and smiled faintly, "I only said she was pregnant, but I didn't say it was mine."

"Last year, she married Zhuo Wen. Although it was a marriage of arrangement, they were in love."

Zhuang Youkai looked at the girl's frozen back and walked forward to pull her back, "Are you still running?"

She was still a little numb after the surprise, nestling in his arms motionless, and could even feel his breath spraying on the hair on top of her head, a little hot and a little itchy.

He hugged her from behind, and his warm and solid chest always made people feel very reliable. It was like this five years ago, and it is still like this five years later.

But they haven't been like this for a long time.

Zhao Manzhi felt a little sad for some reason, but she was stubborn and didn't want him to see her moved, so she never turned around, just let him hold her without struggling, as quiet as a doll.

Zhuang Youkai gently rested his chin on the back of her head, sniffing the fragrance on her body. Zhao Manzhi is bright and beautiful, and she likes things that are flamboyant and beautiful. She always has a sweet fragrance on her body, such as roses, lychees, and peaches, which is very intoxicating.

But she can match it.

"I know everything you said, and I will take care of it. Don't worry." He said softly, "I am more afraid of you getting into trouble than anyone else."

"It was like that before, it is now, and it will be like that in the future."