My Arranged Marriage Partner Has Two Faces 29

Chapter 29

Xu Linfeng was stood up.

He had specifically styled his hair and changed his clothes, waiting to meet Xi Shi in the evening and secure the Chenxi International deal before Xu Chengyue, but instead, he received a message from Zhong Yuxiao saying, “Let’s reschedule.”

Xu Linfeng was shocked. “You didn’t manage to set up a meeting with Young Master Xi?”

They were kissing so passionately last night, he thought Zhong Yuxiao would succeed easily.

“I did.”

Zhong Yuxiao smiled, remembering Xi Shi’s reluctant facade, but secretly instructing his assistant to cancel Xu Chengyue’s appointment and ordering flowers. He said truthfully, “But we’re going on a date tonight, a date for two, it’s not convenient to bring you along.”

Xu Linfeng: “…”

“He arranged the restaurant and ordered flowers, he seems very excited about tonight’s date.”

Xu Linfeng: “…”

“You know I’m soft-hearted.”

Xu Linfeng’s voice was faint. “So?”

“If he knew you were there as a third wheel, he might cry. I can’t stand seeing people with that pitiful look.” As he spoke, Zhong Yuxiao imagined Xi Shi’s disappointed expression. “I think I would feel sorry for him.”

So it was better to avoid such a situation from the start and prevent the young master from feeling disappointed.

Xu Linfeng suspected he had misheard. “Are you serious?”

Xi Shi crying? Xi Shi looking pitiful?

“Is the Xi Shi you’re talking about the same Young Master Xi I know?”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” was too conservative. The beholder was fucking blind!

Also, “I think,” “I would probably feel sorry for him”… It seemed like your heart and eyes were all on Xi Shi. You only see his potential sadness, have you ever considered my feelings?

Zhong Yuxiao, have you ever thought about me, who ate, drank, and played with you in a foreign land?!

He didn’t know if Xi Shi would cry, but Xu Linfeng was about to.

“Alright, I gotta go, he’s getting off work.” Zhong Yuxiao hung up, still amused by their conversation. He wondered what expression Xi Shi would have if he knew he was talking about him like that behind his back.

Xi Shi changed his clothes in the lounge. He didn’t like wearing formal attire and would change as soon as he got off work.

Zhong Yuxiao’s eyes lit up. “Why aren’t you wearing your beloved floral shirt today?”

The young master’s expression faltered for a moment, then he said casually, “I didn’t bring any to the company, only this one left. What, doesn’t it look good?”

A plain, fitted wool sweater paired with a knee-length coat, a bit like the Korean drama male leads that girls liked, exuding a lazy charm. Coupled with his face, which could pull off any style, Zhong Yuxiao was instantly smitten.

He was certain that he didn’t like this style before. Xu Linfeng was right, Xi Shi wasn’t his type.

But now, his taste seemed to have changed.

“It looks good, just a bit unusual.”

Xi Shi thought he was more used to seeing floral shirts and was about to speak when he heard Zhong Yuxiao slowly add, “I still prefer you without clothes.”

“…”

Zhong Yuxiao looked him up and down, his gaze lingering on the young master’s stylishly done hair for a few seconds, the smile on his lips widening. “Just a towel wrapped around you after a shower is also fine.”

Xi Shi said irritably, “We’re going out to dinner, not to a hotel. Can you stop filling your mind with worldly desires?”

“I’m just stating my thoughts.” Zhong Yuxiao shrugged innocently. “You did look more handsome when you changed clothes at the tailor shop last time.”

Xi Shi’s first reaction: He complimented me!

Before he could feel smug, his face fell. “So I’m not handsome now?”

He had specifically asked someone to buy this outfit for him this afternoon. It was this year’s hottest style, said to be captivating to both men and women. Zhong Yuxiao still wasn’t impressed, were his standards too high?

For the first time in his life, the young master doubted his own looks.

“I didn’t say you’re not handsome, it’s just my personal preference.” Teasing Xi Shi must be an addictive drug. Zhong Yuxiao sighed inwardly. “I’m hinting that I’m attracted to your body, Xiao Cao Xi, can’t you even tell that?”

Xi Shi was speechless.

The restaurant was booked, and Xi Shi was the driver again. He glanced at Zhong Yuxiao, who had taken the passenger seat without hesitation, and clicked his tongue. “Not treating me like a chauffeur this time?”

“Our relationship is different now, after all.”

“Oh~ right, after all, I’m no longer the arranged marriage partner forced on you by your family.” The car stopped by the roadside, and Xi Shi rolled down the window, plucked a holly leaf from the bushes, and handed it to Zhong Yuxiao. “Now I’ve been upgraded to Little Sheep Zhong’s feeder.”

The holly leaf emitted a unique plant scent, and Zhong Yuxiao was both amused and exasperated.

“Eat it, freshly picked grass.”

“…”

This time, it was Zhong Yuxiao who was speechless.

They arrived at their destination, a famous couple’s restaurant in Lincheng. Xi Shi had booked the table and was treating.

The holly leaf had warmed up in his hand. Zhong Yuxiao didn’t get out of the car. “According to dating etiquette, you should take the initiative to unbuckle my seatbelt.”

Xi Shi raised his eyebrows. “Should I also open the car door for you?”

“Strictly speaking, yes, but considering this is our first date, and our relationship isn’t very defined yet, we should reciprocate. So you unbuckle my seatbelt, and I’ll open the car door for you. That’s fair.”

Xi Shi was dumbfounded, having a sudden illusion that the stories he heard from Xu Linfeng last night were all fake, and Zhong Yuxiao was still that rigid, abstinent, and boring nerd.

“We can switch. I’ll unbuckle your seatbelt.” Zhong Yuxiao held his hand, and as he unbuckled the seatbelt, he placed the warm leaf in Xi Shi’s hand.

In an instant, the rigid nerd who talked about reciprocation disappeared, replaced by the playful Second Young Master Zhong. “I only eat one kind of grass, please be precise with your feeding next time.”

It wasn’t until they entered the restaurant that Xi Shi realized he was still holding the leaf, even when he opened the car door.

“What do you want to eat?” Zhong Yuxiao asked, holding the menu.

“This isn’t fair.” Xi Shi said seriously.

“Hmm?” Zhong Yuxiao hesitated for two seconds and handed him the menu. “Then you order.”

“…That’s not what I meant.”

He was talking about what just happened.

Zhong Yuxiao was too good at flirting, his suggestive words flowing smoothly, but not vulgar. He didn’t even know how to respond.

“Then what’s not fair?”

Xi Shi didn’t know how to answer. Could he say that you’re too skilled, and I feel like I’m being played?

That would be too embarrassing.

The initiative had to be seized. The young master struggled for a while and finally said, “Next time you drive, you treat me to dinner, I ask you out, and you cancel your other appointments.”

Zhong Yuxiao: “?”

Although he didn’t understand, he respected Xi Shi’s request. “Okay.”

He would sign up for driving lessons when he got back.

Compared to other couples’ sweetness, Zhong Yuxiao and Xi Shi’s dinner was quiet. They didn’t take pictures, nor did they feed each other, completely out of sync with the lovey-dovey atmosphere around them.

There was a small incident when they left the restaurant.

Xi Shi paid the bill and went out to get the car, asking Zhong Yuxiao to wait for him at the entrance. He figured the young master was going to get the flowers he ordered, and Zhong Yuxiao agreed.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for ten minutes, he still didn’t see him.

Zhong Yuxiao went to the parking lot and found Xi Shi’s car surrounded by a dozen people, a well-dressed woman blocking Xi Shi’s path.

“Xi Shi, let’s talk.”

“I have nothing to talk to you about.”

“Xi Shi, I’m your aunt, how can you treat me like this!” Xi Le stepped forward and grabbed him. “Sister Xi Yue definitely wouldn’t want to see you like this.”

Xi Shi shook her off, his face darkening. “Shut up, you’re not qualified to mention my mother.”

The carefully prepared roses fell to the ground in the struggle, the petals crushed by high heels, scattered and stained with mud.

Xi Shi suddenly thought of Xi Yue. She was like a flower raised in a greenhouse, delicate and beautiful, but played by fate, never even having a full bloom, ending her life prematurely at her most beautiful age.

His eyes reddened, and he wished he could strangle the woman in front of him. “If it weren’t for you seducing Shi Fengsheng, if it weren’t for you deliberately telling my mother that you were pregnant, causing her to miscarry, she wouldn’t have died!”

Even Xi Chongyang didn’t know that Xi Yue’s depression wasn’t solely due to the miscarriage, but also because of Xi Le’s deliberate provocation.

“I didn’t, I didn’t, her death has nothing to do with me!” As if thinking of something, Xi Le’s tone hardened. “Xi Shi, are you really willing to watch the company’s shares fall into Shi Fengsheng’s hands?”

She thought she had found Xi Shi’s weakness. “Let’s join forces and drive him out of Chenxi International.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Xi Shi found it ridiculous. “You were the one who gave the shares to Shi Fengsheng. What, now that you realize you’ve been tricked, you can’t sit still?”

Perhaps learning from Xi Yue’s lesson, Shi Fengsheng and Xi Le had a prenuptial agreement. Xi Le had always held onto her shares.

This time, Shi Fengsheng used the shareholder meeting as an excuse, and Xi Le finally agreed, “lending” him her shares. Who knew that Shi Fengsheng never intended to return them.

Xi Le wasn’t worried initially. She and Shi Fengsheng had a son, and even if the shares weren’t returned to her, they would eventually be left to Shi Chengze. But recently, she discovered that Shi Fengsheng was secretly transferring his assets and had even prepared a divorce agreement.

Xi Shi sneered. “I would never cooperate with you.”

Xi Le was about to say something when Xi Shi suddenly stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I like men, and the son you gave birth to also likes men. Sexual orientation is innate, have you ever considered that it’s a genetic problem?”

Xi Le’s lips trembled, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Xi Shi had just turned the car around when he saw Zhong Yuxiao. His mind went blank for a few seconds. “You heard everything?”

Zhong Yuxiao nodded. “Not only did I hear everything, but I also saw the flowers that should have been mine thrown on the ground. Gege Xi, you have to compensate me.”

Xi Shi fell silent.

He knew Zhong Yuxiao was saying this on purpose, calling him “gege” to cheer him up.

Perhaps there really was such a thing as destiny. Zhong Yuxiao had seen his embarrassment at the shareholder meeting, witnessed his ruthlessness towards Xi Le, and could still overcome his phobia.

He had to admit, Zhong Yuxiao was the exception in his life.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Xi Shi exhaled. “About the previous generation, about why I don’t want to go to the company, about my phobia of kissing… you can ask anything.”

“As long as you ask, I’ll tell you.”

Zhong Yuxiao’s eyes flickered, his golden pupils gazing at him, giving Xi Shi the illusion of being deeply loved.

Xi Shi put his hands in his coat pockets, like a gambler making a desperate bet. “Only tonight, this offer won’t last.”

“Xi Shi, what I want to ask is—” Zhong Yuxiao leaned closer, crossing the boundary between the driver’s and passenger’s seats, just like when he unbuckled his seatbelt earlier. “Can I have a kiss?”