"Don't rush, Young Master Zhou," Ou Minghan said, putting an arm around his shoulder. "I brought you here to give you a surprise. Look—"
As Ou Minghan spoke, he pointed directly at Ye Zhi.
The moment Zhou Chengyuan saw Ye Zhi, a chill ran down his spine, and his entire body stiffened! Just the sight of her brought back all his previous unpleasant experiences, making him want to leave immediately!
"What surprise? This is clearly a scare!" Zhou Chengyuan said, suppressing his anger. "Ou Minghan, I'm leaving. You don't need to try to persuade me; I've already decided to go abroad and I'm not changing my mind!"
Ou Minghan's expression instantly turned grim. He had arranged this evening's encounter precisely because after leaving the police station, Zhou Chengyuan had, for some unknown reason, changed his tune and suddenly agreed to go abroad with his father! How could Ou Minghan let that happen? After all, friends like Zhou Chengyuan, who were foolish with money and listened to him, were rare.
He had guessed that Zhou Chengyuan was upset about losing face, which was why he arranged this meeting with Ye Zhi. If they met privately, he would spread rumors that they were dating, leaving Ye Zhi unable to defend herself and allowing Zhou Chengyuan to save face. But he hadn't expected Zhou Chengyuan to be so unappreciative!
"Young Master Zhou, please wait!" Ye Qinya quickly called out to him. "Don't you like my sister? Actually, my sister cares about you a lot too! If you try harder, my sister will agree..."
Zhou Chengyuan felt a surge of anger. He immediately recalled the widespread rumors about him contracting an illness. At that time, only Ou Minghan had visited him, yet the news had spread. But he didn't believe Ou Minghan was behind it, so he investigated privately. He discovered that it was Ye Qinya who had spread the news at his birthday party! He had held his temper then, thinking they were friends, but now it seemed Ou Minghan and Ye Qinya were playing good cop, bad cop, treating him like a fool!
"Who says I like your sister?" Zhou Chengyuan said impatiently. "She's not my type at all!"
Ye Qinya was stunned. It didn't matter if Ye Zhi didn't like Zhou Chengyuan; as long as Zhou Chengyuan relentlessly pursued Ye Zhi, she could continue to find ways to get them together. But now, Zhou Chengyuan had explicitly said he didn't like Ye Zhi, so how could she continue her act?
"But you were chasing my sister not too long ago, and it was all over town!" Ye Qinya said, unwilling to give up.
"I was just..." Zhou Chengyuan glanced at Ou Minghan, then at Ye Zhi. He took a deep breath and said impatiently, "I had a fight with my girlfriend back then! I deliberately pursued other women to make her jealous and to get her attention because the bigger the fuss, the more likely my girlfriend would see it. Now my girlfriend and I have made up, do you have a problem with that?"
"You, you..." Ye Qinya's face turned pale. She was completely speechless. Even if Zhou Chengyuan had shown the slightest bit of affection for Ye Zhi, she would have steadfastly continued to matchmake them. But now, Zhou Chengyuan claimed to have a girlfriend and that he only pursued Ye Zhi to provoke his girlfriend?
Ye Qinya bit her lip and said indignantly, "I don't believe you! You must like my sister, and you're saying this to deliberately anger her!"
"Are you out of your mind?!" Zhou Chengyuan exclaimed, stepping back as if he had seen something disgusting. "Ou Minghan, is your woman suffering from delusions? Get her some treatment if you can! This is just so unlucky!"
With that, Zhou Chengyuan turned and left. He didn't want to stay in such a dreadful place any longer.
Although Ye Zhi hadn't said a word the entire time, she had been watching him. He was genuinely afraid of saying something wrong and displeasing this formidable lady again. And Ou Minghan, who had been staring at him with that sinister gaze—when they were friends, he hadn't noticed. But now, he truly felt that Ou Minghan's gaze was full of malicious scheming. Thinking about being in the same room with these two, he even felt that the stubborn and mentally ill Ye Qinya was almost endearingly foolish! Of course, it was best to get away from here quickly, who knew what would happen otherwise.
Seeing Zhou Chengyuan leave, Ou Minghan's expression grew even more somber. His plan had failed again.
"Miss Ye," Ou Minghan said coldly, looking at Ye Zhi. "You're truly not simple!"
Ye Zhi, of course, could tell his sarcasm. She said indifferently, "You flatter me."
"Qinya, go catch up with Young Master Zhou, apologize to him, say you were impulsive just now and didn't mean anything else. Chat with him a bit more and understand his thoughts," Ou Minghan signaled to Ye Qinya with his eyes. He had a vague feeling that Zhou Chengyuan was drifting away from him. Therefore, he couldn't go; only Ye Qinya could.
Ye Qinya was taken aback. She glanced back at Ye Zhi and couldn't help but ask, "What about you?"
"I have to meet a client," Ou Minghan said impatiently. The next moment, he turned and left the lounge.
Seeing that Ou Minghan wasn't planning to spend time alone with Ye Zhi, Ye Qinya felt relieved.
After they had both left, Ye Zhi finally let out a long sigh. It seemed her persistence in pursuing a business-oriented path was correct. They had forcefully tried to drag her into the plot this time, and it had completely failed!
Ye Zhi returned to the main hall and went to Ye Yongxian's side.
"Why did you go in there for so long?" Ye Yongxian asked in a low voice.
"Watched a show," Ye Zhi shrugged.
"Your sister seemed to chase after that playboy Zhou Chengyuan just now. What's going on?" Ye Yongxian frowned. He had tried to stop Ye Qinya, but she had completely ignored him, which had angered him greatly.
"Let her go," Ye Zhi raised an eyebrow. "If she stays, who knows what she'll do!"
Ye Yongxian considered it and said no more.
Suddenly, Ye Zhi's eyes lit up. She saw the chairmen of M Corporation and W Corporation chatting not far away. Ye Zhi picked up a wine glass and walked towards them.
"Chairman Zhang, Chairman Zhao, good day to you both," Ye Zhi said, raising her glass. "I am Ye Zhi from Ye Group. It's an honor to meet you."
The two were quite surprised. They smiled politely and said, "So it's the daughter of the Ye family, a pleasure, a pleasure." Chairman Zhao casually quipped, "Ye Group is truly soaring in the real estate industry. Miss Ye, are you coming to get acquainted with us because Ye Group is also planning to develop a side business and invest in mobile phones?"
"My esteemed seniors," Ye Zhi smiled faintly. "Ye Group has no intention of developing side businesses, but I am preparing to start a business myself..."