Chapter 26

At 4 p. m., Xia Xi took Huang Shiyu from the company and headed to Penglai Fandian.

The driver was Huang Shiyu; she had gotten her driver's license during her undergraduate years, she rarely drove, but her reflexes were fine, and halfway through the trip nothing happened.

Xia Xi relaxed, stopped staring ahead, took out her phone to message Su Jinru, saying she had some work tonight and might be late getting home, so Su Jinru didn't need to wait for her to eat.

Su Jinru replied that she had received it.

Xia Xi then asked about her grandmother's condition.

The elderly woman had weak immunity and recovered slowly; a minor cold lingered for several days, and yesterday I could still hear her coughing.

Su Jinru: "I took her to the hospital this afternoon for a checkup; there's nothing serious, don't worry."

Xia Xi relaxed, put away her phone, and turned to look at the girl in the driver's seat, who was not much younger than her, possibly just entered society and still retained the vigorous energy of campus life. Unlike her, who had been grinding in the workplace for a long time, compared to before, she had become more worldly and smooth, no longer the carefree and unrestrained person she once was.

"How come you're looking for a job in September? Campus recruitment should have been a few months ago. Your résumé is impressive; finding a good job shouldn't be difficult." Xia Xi intentionally wanted to get closer to her little assistant, so she casually brought up a topic to chat.

Unfortunately, she didn't know the situation beforehand and seemed to have touched on the other person's painful matter.

Huang Shiyu fell silent for a moment, her vibrant face showing a hint of fracture: "My father fell ill with cancer; there was no one at home to care for him, so I had to give up job hunting and started working a few months later than my fellow graduates."

"Is that so. Has your father's health improved a bit?"

"He has already passed away. Last month, after I finished his funeral in my hometown, I returned to Nancheng."

Xia Xi's expression stalled, her palms sweating; she didn't hesitate and immediately apologized: "Sorry."

Huang Shiyu glanced at her, forcing a smile: "It's okay, you didn't know. Everyone has their own fate; it's in the past, and I will live my life well."

Half an hour later, they arrived at Penglai Fandian, and Xia Xi and Huang Shiyu got out of the car one after another.

Because of her profession, Xia Xi was used to observing a building's external structure and decoration style. This place, tranquil amidst the bustle, occupies over a thousand square meters and is divided into front hall, central courtyard, rear chambers, and rear courtyard; the front hall is the reception area receiving guests, while the central courtyard is arranged with pavilions, terraces, water features, artificial hills and flowing water, each scene ingeniously designed.

The south, north, and west sides are linked by winding corridors; the railings along the corridors are carved with patterns, adjoining an artificial lake where one can enjoy the view and feed fish from beneath the corridors; the walls are pierced with variously shaped flower-windows—diamond, folding-fan, vase, longevity peach shapes, etc. —and between them, tiles and bricks are laid into diverse patterns, behind which lie private rooms of varying sizes.

Passing through the west-side moon gate, the courtyard beyond reveals another world—a bamboo grove, flower beds, and a lotus pond with an arched bridge, evoking a sense of returning to simplicity and authenticity.

The hotel overall adopts a Suzhou garden style, yet incorporates many modern elements, blending antiquity with comfort, improved just right.

Before the appointed time with Manager Li, Xia Xi took Huang Shiyu for a stroll around the place.

Huang Shiyu joked: "Today's WeChat step count could rank."

Xia Xi smiled, raised her wrist to check her watch—five minutes left until six—and called Manager Li's assistant.

After the call connected, Xia Xi introduced herself: "Hello, I am Xia Xi, the lead designer at Bo Ya Design Company; I have an appointment with Manager Li at six to discuss the teahouse's interior design."

"Miss Xia, please hold on; I'll check for you."

The call hadn't been hung up yet, and from the other side came muffled conversation—probably the assistant had covered the phone's microphone while confirming something with someone.

After a moment, the assistant's voice became clear, telling her: "Manager Li hasn't finished yet, Miss Xia; please go to the Viewing the Waves private room and wait for him—he'll be here shortly."

"Okay." Xia Xi waited for the other party to hang up first, then said to Huang Shiyu, "Let's go, let's wait in the private room; Manager Li hasn't arrived yet."

After asking the server, she learned that the private room named 'Viewing the Waves' was at the far north; walking there, she saw many private rooms with names like 'Winding Water,' 'Wind and Smoke,' 'Green Jade,' and 'Floating Life,' each with its own charm.

The two entered the private room and were again drawn by its furnishings: several boneless flower paintings hung on the walls, a harp stood below, beyond a four-fold screen lay a walnut-colored tea table, and a full set of tea ware was available.

Huang Shiyu stood by the window, pointing in astonishment outside: "From here you can see the lotuses in the pond, and there are red koi inside—how wonderful!"

"Mm." Xia Xi also noticed that the private room's floor plan was not a regular rectangle but a polygon; by using angles, it allows occupants to enjoy the outside view to the fullest extent.

From the moment they entered until now, Penglai Fandian gave a feeling of seclusion and elegance, very suitable for leisure and entertainment; they just didn't know how the food was.

Having had their fill of the scenery, the two sat down to wait.

Since the customer hadn't arrived and they couldn't eat first, Xia Xi ordered a pot of Biluochun tea and a plate of snacks. The assistant had said "Manager Li will be here shortly," but who knew they'd end up waiting over an hour.

As the sky darkened, the two finished the tea and snacks on the table, and each went to the restroom twice.

Huang Shiyu couldn't help but whisper a complaint: "They really have no sense of time—wasn't it supposed to be around six? It's already almost seven-thirty."

Xia Xi propped her chin, her gaze unfocused: "They're a big boss; surely something came up to delay them."

Huang Shiyu: "Why don't we call to ask? In case they can't come and forgot to tell us, we'd be waiting for nothing."

"That makes sense." Xia Xi sat up straight, reached into her bag for her phone, organized her thoughts, then dialed the assistant of Manager Li: "Hello, I'm Xia Xi, who called you earlier; may I ask if Manager Li is done with his work? If today is inconvenient, we can reschedule—his work is important."

Huang Shiyu quietly gave her a thumbs-up; the remark was flawless, leaving nothing to fault.

The assistant first said "Sorry," then explained to Xia Xi: "We've encountered a sudden situation here, couldn't set off on time, but it's almost over—we'll be there in at most half an hour."

"Alright, I'll wait." Xia Xi took the phone away from her ear.

Huang Shiyu blinked her eyes and asked: "What did they say?"

Xia Xi sighed helplessly: "They said it's almost finished, they'll be here in at most half an hour."

Upon hearing that, Huang Shiyu perked up; half an hour was nothing, it would pass quickly.

However, after the promised half hour passed and an hour had gone by with no sign of Manager Li, the outside had turned completely dark; octagonal palace lanterns were lit on the corridors, and from somewhere came a creaky singing sound, as if someone was performing opera.

Huang Shiyu covered her mouth and yawned, glanced at her nearly dead phone—it was already eight-thirty: "How come they still aren't here? Are they messing with us?"

Xia Xi felt embarrassed to call again to urge them; she actually thought it was quite speechless—if they had no time, they could easily reschedule, there was no need to keep them hanging.

"Why don't you go home first?" Xia Xi said, "My place isn't far from here; I'll wait a bit longer, and if no one shows by nine, I'll head back too."

Huang Shiyu shook her head: "I'll stay with you."

"Even if we meet, we'll only be discussing preliminary ideas; the assistant doesn't need to be present." Xia Xi patted her shoulder, "It's unreasonable to make you work overtime on your first day. Go home, have a meal, take a bath, then enjoy a relaxing weekend; we can talk again on Monday."

Huang Shiyu was swayed by those words, hesitating: "Then… I'm leaving?"

"Let's go." Xia Xi nodded, "Watch your step on the way."

After Huang Shiyu left, Xia Xi sat alone in the private room, idling for half an hour; the hour hand pointed to nine. She agreed with Huang Shiyu's view—the other party was just toying with her.

The appointment was at six, yet by nine they still hadn't arrived, leaving people waiting three hours for nothing—what else could it be but being played with? Xia Xi's patience ran out; she put her phone into her bag, stood up, and prepared to leave.

She pulled open the private room's door, lifted her gaze, and saw a man standing outside, about forty, wearing a black suit, sporting a beer belly that made him look five months pregnant, his buttons straining, as if they might pop off at any moment.

Xia Xi stood still, gathered her thoughts, and asked: "Are you Manager Li?"

Li ChengHai met her gaze, struggling to conceal his astonished admiration; inwardly he thought, had he known Xia Xi was a beauty whose looks could rival heaven's, he would not have been so lacking in decorum.

Blame it on Young Master Tang, who hadn't made things clear beforehand, only saying that Miss Xia was a woman who liked to play tricks, telling him he didn't need to cherish her, that it would be best to first give her the cold shoulder, then have fun with her, and ideally scare her into kneeling and begging for mercy.

Li ChengHai walked in chuckling, and Xia Xi had no choice but to step aside, hearing him say: "Really sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Xia; something came up and I couldn't make it on time."

His tone didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

What could Xia Xi say? She cursed inwardly, but put on a smile: "No problem; I might as well enjoy the view here."

Li ChengHai walked past her, a faint fragrance slipping into his nostrils, making him feel an itch inside, yet he pretended to be proper as he sat down by the table, tapping his fingers on the edge.

"Miss Xia, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about we eat while we talk?"

Tang Yizhou is really asking for trouble, don't mind him (`ω)(End of chapter)