Chapter 506: , Pop

Four dishes and one soup, quite sumptuous.

They were all Xiangnan home-style dishes he loved to eat.

Once he sat down, Huang Zhaoyi asked, "Would you like to have some wine?"

Li Heng didn't hesitate: "The food is good today, let's have some."

Huang Zhaoyi happily brought over a bottle of red wine and poured him a glass herself.

Li Heng asked casually, "Aren't you drinking?"

Huang Zhaoyi smiled somewhat uncomfortably and sat down beside him.

Li Heng realized belatedly that she was preparing for pregnancy, just in case she had conceived last night; after all, alcohol was bad for a fetus.

Thinking of this, he instructed, "Then don't tire yourself out during this period. If work can be delegated to subordinates, just let go of the power."

Huang Zhaoyi understood what he was saying and agreed with a smile.

The food was delicious, and he was hungry. Under her care, Li Heng ate more than half a bowl in one go before catching his breath comfortably. He then weighed things up and asked, "Do you want to meet my parents?"

This meeting was not just any meeting; both of them knew exactly what was being implied.

Huang Zhaoyi was very surprised, extremely taken aback.

A moment later, she realized that it would only be appropriate if she were truly pregnant, so she replied, "Let's wait a while and see."

Li Heng nodded, changed the subject to chat about the Taste Beauty company, and asked for her advice on business management experience.

For a moment, he had a whim to ask her for professional talent, such as in finance or human resources recruitment. But as soon as he thought about how Yu Laoshi at New Future and the Anta shoe factory were already in the know, he abandoned the idea.

Just as Yu Shuheng had instructed, power could be delegated in many areas of a business, but personnel and financial power must be firmly grasped in one's own hands. Only then could he ensure his control over the company and guarantee that the company would move in the general direction he envisioned.

However, the company was still small, so there was no rush. If he still hadn't found suitable talent by then, it wouldn't be too late to ask Yu Laoshi or the Great Qingyi for help.

After drinking a glass of wine and eating two bowls of rice, he had just put down his chopsticks when the landline phone rang.

Huang Zhaoyi asked, "Is that for you?"

Because he was eating steak with his hands, Li Heng's hands were covered in oil, so he said to her, "Possibly. You help me answer it. Even if it's for me, it should be Chief Editor Liao."

Huang Zhaoyi answered the phone as requested, "Hello, how are you?"

A huffy voice came from the other end: "Little Aunt, is your man there?"

Huang Zhaoyi recognized it; the person on the other end was Liu Yue, and she smiled: "He's in the kitchen washing his hands."

"Wow! Now you even dare to admit it openly."

Liu Yue teased, then said gloomily: "You're comfortable enough, having a man accompany you to sleep until noon, but I've been scolded terribly by Grandma and Mom. Little Aunt, you're really not being a good friend. Who did I drug him for in the first place? If I hadn't drugged him, with your hesitant and timid personality, would you have been able to sleep with him?

Besides, if you hadn't come to Fuchun Xiaoyuan that day, I would have eaten him myself. He's so talented and so handsome anyway, I wouldn't have lost out by eating him..."

Liu Yue had been scolded by her own mother and grandmother for a full half hour; she was almost driven crazy. It was the first time her mother had ever scolded her like this. She had wanted to hang up the phone or put the receiver aside, but one sentence from Huang Xuqing had her cornered.

Huang Xuqing had threatened her daughter like this: "If you dare to hang up the phone, I'll use my connections to have you expelled from Stanford University."

Liu Yue knew her mother well enough to know that her mother was truly furious this time and was capable of doing such a thing. At the same time, she knew she was in the wrong, so for the first time ever, she honestly endured a "mixed doubles" scolding.

Huang Zhaoyi apologized: "Try to understand your Little Aunt, just consider it helping me. I'll compensate you later."

Liu Yue curled her lips: "How will you compensate me? By lending me Li Heng to sleep with for a night?"

Huang Zhaoyi looked at Li Heng, who was coming out of the kitchen, and remained silent in embarrassment.

Liu Yue continued to chatter on the other end: "But I still underestimated you. You actually managed to keep Li Heng at home overnight; that counts as progress. Let me teach you a trick: poke holes in the condoms, or swap the morning-after pills for something else. Then you'll be pregnant directly, and you won't need to force his hand; just run to the Drum Tower in Jingcheng with the child every day.

If the child is born looking like you, just accidentally say the wrong thing and let his parents know the child is Li Heng's; if the child looks like him, hehe, you won't need to say a word, just wait for his parents to ask you..."

The room was very quiet, and Liu Yue's voice was clearly transmitted into his ears.

Huang Zhaoyi looked at him, but his eyes were fixed on her lower abdomen. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, and neither interrupted the blathering on the phone.

Liu Yue had a lot to say today, and it was all bad advice to incite the Great Qingyi. Li Heng eventually couldn't listen anymore, so he simply got up and went to the courtyard outside to be out of sight and out of mind.

About 10 minutes later, Huang Zhaoyi came out: "Chief Editor Liao called."

Li Heng turned back: "Did you hang up?"

Huang Zhaoyi said: "Not yet, waiting for you to answer."

Li Heng nodded and passed her to enter the house.

Huang Zhaoyi didn't follow him in; she sat cross-legged on the grass outside, unconsciously stroking her lower abdomen, dreaming about the child.

She hoped she could conceive; that way, the relationship between the two would be completely solidified, and her life would be fulfilled.

Arriving at the coffee table, Li Heng picked up the receiver, "Senior Brother, it's me."

Chief Editor Liao told him: "I've just made contact with Mr. Jin Yong. I'll bring him to Lushan Village tomorrow around 9 AM."

"So early?" Li Heng was surprised.

Chief Editor Liao said: "The other party is flying to Hushi in the afternoon, and it'll be cooler if we come over early tomorrow. Do you see this time as convenient?"

"I have no problem, anytime is fine."

Li Heng responded, then asked: "What about breakfast and lunch?"

Chief Editor Liao had eaten the food he cooked and knew it was delicious, so he laughed and said: "We can eat out. If you can cook, I'll help you, and this Senior Brother will also get to treat himself to a meal with Mr. Jin Yong."

Li Heng was speechless: "They can't eat spicy food, can they?"

Chief Editor Liao said: "I've seen your Xiang cuisine; there are many dishes that aren't spicy. If it's inconvenient, we'll go to Fuchun Xiaoyuan. Zhaoyi just opened a new branch in Yang Pu, not far from Fudan University, which is very convenient."

Fuchun Xiaoyuan was indeed a good place, with a beautiful environment, an antique feel, and high-class dishes.

The problem was, since you've all come to Lushan Village, how could I just ditch Yu Laoshi and go to Fuchun Xiaoyuan? It was fine before when I didn't know about the little schemes between Yu Laoshi and the Great Qingyi, but now that I knew, how could I be stupid enough to escalate their conflict?

Li Heng pondered for a while and said: "Let's decide tomorrow; whether we cook at home or eat out, there's still time."

"Can do."

"How many people are in their party?"

"Just two, Mr. Jin Yong and a secretary."

"Done, I know."

After chatting for about 5 minutes, the two ended the call.

Coming out of the house, Li Heng said to Huang Zhaoyi: "Let's go to the bank; I'll transfer the Taste Beauty funds to you."

Having been with him for a while, Huang Zhaoyi had a certain understanding of his character and knew that he was a man of his word in these matters. She didn't say any polite words and immediately drove the Santana, and the two went to the nearby Bank of China.

It was a bit of a coincidence; as soon as they entered the bank, they ran into an unexpected person—the Tongji University girl who had diligently blocked her on the bus for several months. There was also a female companion beside her.

At that time, when he and Zhou Shihe went to Jing'an, this girl had even subtly confessed to him, and in the end, Zhou Shihe had been used as a shield.

Their eyes met, and the girl in khaki immediately showed joy on her face, wanting to lean over.

But the next second, she stopped her steps because she saw Huang Zhaoyi behind him.

Huang Zhaoyi also noticed the other party, quickly sized the girl up, then withdrew her gaze and followed Li Heng into the VIP room.

Watching the two leave, the female companion asked the khaki-clad girl gossipingly: "Siyao, you wouldn't be telling me that the boy you have a crush on is the famous Li Heng, would you?"

Wu Siyao, who had just finished her business, turned and walked outside, saying with some annoyance: "When I first met him, he was just an ordinary college student."

"Ordinary? Where was he ordinary? He's so handsome!" The female companion chased after her.

Wu Siyao was dizzy: "I'm so beautiful; if he didn't look good, would I have fallen in love at first sight?"

The female companion thought it made sense. Siyao's beauty was somewhat famous at Tongji University and even in the surrounding universities. "That woman just now was so beautiful! Like a concubine from an ancient imperial palace. Why do I feel like I've seen her somewhere?"

Wu Siyao said gloomily: "Her name is Huang Zhaoyi. She's been on the Spring Festival Gala and is a nationally renowned Peking opera performing artist. She used to be a professor at the Hushi Theater Academy. I once saw her when I went to the Theater Academy to visit a classmate. I don't know why she resigned later."

The female companion was surprised: "You know so clearly?"

Wu Siyao opened her umbrella: "If I didn't know clearly, could I run away?"

The female companion laughed out loud.

Transferring 630,000 in one go, Li Heng's account instantly had only 73,000-plus left. It immediately reminded him of a joke he saw on the internet in his later life: as long as a rich second generation doesn't touch gambling or drugs, doesn't start a business, just eats, drinks, and plays with girls, the family fortune can't be squandered.

Coming out of the bank, Li Heng said to Huang Zhaoyi: "Take care of yourself. I still have things to do, so I'll head back to school first."

Huang Zhaoyi asked: "It's raining, do you want me to drive you?"

Li Heng looked up at the sky, shook his head and said: "I ate a bit too much at noon. Give me your umbrella; I'll walk back. It's not particularly far, and it's just right to digest the food."

Hearing this, Huang Zhaoyi opened the umbrella in her hand, handed it to him, then got into the car. After silently looking at each other through the car window for a while, she started the car and left.

Watching the car disappear at the end of the road, Li Heng hummed a little tune and walked toward Fudan University. On the way, when passing Zhang Bing's braised food stall, he specifically stopped to chat for a while.

He scanned Zhang Bing, who was busy cutting pig intestines on the chopping board, and asked Bai Wanying: "Comrade Wanying, is it just the two of you today?"

Bai Wanying was giving change to a customer and said while doing so: "Xiaozhu and Dai Qing came to help today. They went to buy ice cream now and will be back in a while."

Then she stared at the umbrella in his hand for several glances, "Eh? This is a woman's umbrella, right?"

Li Heng looked at the pale yellow umbrella and showed confusion: "How can you tell it's a woman's umbrella?"

Bai Wanying said with a smile: "Just teasing you, I guessed. Don't you know how famous you are? Most of the girls in the Management School are familiar with those two umbrellas of yours. The umbrella Mai Sui often uses is plaid, and Zhou Shihe likes black. Seeing the color of the umbrella in your hand, one subconsciously associates it with a woman."

Li Heng was convinced and asked: "Why set up the stall so early today? Aren't there full classes in the morning?"

Bai Wanying said: "Business has been good lately, so we came out to set up the stall when we had nothing to do."

After sending off a customer, Zhang Bing asked: "Old Li, want to get some braised food to take back? The flavor is good today."

"Sure, I haven't had braised food for a long time. I have to say, I'm really craving it. Give me some," Li Heng said.

Just as the three were chatting, Li Guoyi appeared, accompanied by a familiar-looking senior sister. Judging by their intimacy, they should be dating.

Seeing Li Heng, Li Guoyi shook off the senior sister, ran over with a grin, hugged Li Heng, and spun him around. Finally, he shouted: "This is our Fudan's great talent! This is a national treasure-level musician! I, Old Li, am here to soak up some good luck, hey!"

Li Heng was left crying and laughing by this lively character. After his feet touched the ground, he teased: "Not going to introduce her?"

Li Guoyi reached out and took the senior sister's hand, starting to boast: "This is Li Heng, Master Heng. No need for me to introduce him, right? He's been on the Spring Festival Gala, super awesome! I, Old Li, admire him the most.

This is Brother Bing, the kindest big brother in our dorm.

This is Bai Wanying, known as the Little Zhuge, unparalleled in talent. Brother Bing's exam sweet potato stall and braised food stall were all her ideas."

After introducing the three, Li Guoyi introduced his girlfriend to them: "This is Zhao Yan, my senior sister from high school. She's a junior at Tongji University this year and is now my girlfriend."

Zhao Yan?

Why not just name her Zhao Feiyan? However, one has to say, Old Li's taste was still quite picky. This Zhao Yan didn't lose to Le Yao in any aspect. No wonder he would change partners.

Perhaps because Li Heng was too famous, Zhao Yan appeared five parts curious and five parts restrained in front of him, her gaze occasionally darting back and forth on him.

After a lively moment, Li Guoyi said sneakily: "Let me tell you a piece of news: tomorrow, that Great Hero Jin Yong from Xiangjiang will come to our school."

Li Heng was stunned. This kid's information channel was too fierce, wasn't it? He couldn't help but probe: "Old Li, where did you get this news? Is it true or false?"

Li Guoyi patted his chest and guaranteed: "I had lunch at my uncle's house today. He is responsible for receiving that Great Hero Jin tonight, and he told me."

Li Heng was confused. If he remembered correctly, Li Guoyi's uncle worked in a government department, right? Since when did Mr. Jin Yong have contact with government departments?

Not understanding the twists and turns, he simply didn't ask anymore.

He just slandered in his heart: it seems the commotion of the other party coming to Fudan University tomorrow won't be small. It looks like wanting to keep a low profile won't work.

However, thinking of the Anta shoe factory, in order to thoroughly make the brand name famous, he hadn't planned to hide his writer identity for long anyway. Late or early, it was the same, so let it come.

Thinking this way, he put down all his mental burdens and continued to chat and joke with the others.

Not long after, Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing appeared in his field of vision.

As soon as they showed up, Li Guoyi found an excuse and immediately took Zhao Yan away.

Li Heng, Zhang Bing, and Bai Wanying looked at each other. Bai Wanying lowered her voice and said: "It seems our previous guess was right. Li Guoyi has a crush on Wei Xiaozhu. He doesn't want to show his playboy side directly in front of Wei Xiaozhu."

Li Heng and Zhang Bing had the same feeling.

Wei Xiaozhu, in plaid green, was still as pure as ever. That temperament hadn't faded with age but had become even more mellow, which was truly rare. She walked up to him, looked at Li Heng, and asked: "Li Heng, when did you return from Jingcheng? Sui Sui said you went to Jingcheng."

Li Heng replied: "Just returned not long ago. Did you also come over right after class?"

Wei Xiaozhu handed him a cream ice cream, "A teacher asked for leave today, so we only had classes in the first two periods of the morning."

Bai Wanying also asked Li Heng: "Great musician, were you in Jingcheng participating in the recording of musical works? In the last few days, all the teachers have been asking about you."

Seeing Zhang Bing, Wei Xiaozhu, Dai Qing, and Bai Wanying all looking at him, Li Heng peeled off the outer paper, took a bite of the ice cream, and said: "No. If I were recording musical works, I would definitely have called Zhou Shihe and Yu Laoshi to help. It was just that there was a temporary matter at home, so I went over."

After a year, Dai Qing spoke up for the first time: "I really envy you. You can leave whenever you want, skip classes whenever you want, and the school and teachers don't dare to question you, and they even spoil you."

As soon as Dai Qing spoke, Li Heng was surprised, and the other three also had expressions of astonishment.

Li Heng said happily: "How can that be? Although I do miss more classes than you, I still asked for leave, okay."

Bai Wanying said: "Is it just a little more? In the first half of the year, you were absent for a whole month, and we didn't see the school say a word about you."

Li Heng instantly became a "public enemy," making them extremely envious.

He was also secretly pondering that once the National Day holiday was over, he wanted to skip class again; he estimated that once he left this time, it would be for more than a month.

Seeing the black clouds pressing down heavily, a rainstorm soon began, and the few of them had no choice but to scatter like birds and beasts, rushing back to school one after another.

Zhang Bing pushed Bai Wanying in her wheelchair and ducked into a nearby shop.

Upon reaching the school gate, Li Heng suddenly said to Wei Xiaozhu, "Comrade Xiaozhu, let me swap umbrellas with you."

Wei Xiaozhu looked at his umbrella, immediately understood, and asked with a teasing smile, "A woman's?"

Li Heng didn't explain; he snatched her umbrella with his left hand and stuffed his own into her hand with his right: "Keep it a secret for me."

Wei Xiaozhu agreed.

Watching him walk away, Wei Xiaozhu and Dai Qing both focused their fire on the pale yellow umbrella.

After examining it carefully for a while, Dai Qing spoke up: "I reckon there's another woman throwing herself at him."

Wei Xiaozhu said, "She must be very outstanding."

Dai Qing agreed with this: "If she weren't outstanding, she wouldn't dare to approach him, eh."

Wei Xiaozhu looked back with a smile and asked, "What's wrong with you today? Sighing and groaning, and then talking to him?"

The two women were very close and often confided in each other; Dai Qing didn't hide anything and said with a heavy heart, "The gap between him and me is getting wider and wider, like a chasm. The moment I saw him just now, I suddenly felt relieved. From beginning to end, we were never people of the same world."

Wei Xiaozhu asked, "So, you still had thoughts about him before?"

Dai Qing didn't deny it: "Which woman doesn't dream of love? I am completely liberated now. From now on, Dai Qing is me, and I am Dai Qing. When I go back, I'll listen to his albums, listen to them intensely, listen to them repeatedly, and I'll never have to worry about secretly thinking of him in my heart again."

Wei Xiaozhu smiled: "For that statement of yours, we should celebrate tonight."

"Then shall we buy two bottles of wine and take them back to the dormitory?" Dai Qing was eager to try.

Wei Xiaozhu turned around.

The two women ran toward the grocery store across the road.

PS: Posted first, edited later. Begging for monthly tickets! Begging for subscriptions!

10,500 words posted so far.

Also: I've seen several big shots questioning this. Let me add one more sentence: in reality, Mr. Jin Yong personally visited the old Mr. Chen, and there was an age gap between them as well. It's a novel, after all; it comes from life and will certainly involve corresponding fabrication. Please understand.

(End of chapter)