Impervious

Elsewhere, Li Xianyu sat in the reception room on the first floor of Sunflare Group, looking somewhat restless. She was either straightening her clothes or smoothing her hair. In less than half an hour, she changed her sitting posture seven or eight times.

"Are you thirsty? Would you like me to get you a glass of water?"

The woman in formal attire stationed beside Li Xianyu seemed to notice her unease and offered reassurance.

"N-No need."

"You don't need to worry. Mr. Chen is helping the CEO with something. He should be out soon."

Li Xianyu nodded lightly and asked in a trembling voice, "May I ask... is the CEO you mentioned the CEO of Sunflare Group?"

The formally dressed woman replied, "She is the executive president of our Sunflare Group, Zhao Jinglan."

"Zhao Jinglan?"

Li Xianyu's eyes shifted as she suddenly recalled that this was Zhao Jinglan—the rising star of the business world and jewel of the eight provinces who had been featured on her family's television a few days ago.

About two or three hours passed, and Li Xianyu was already growing impatient when some commotion arose from the hall outside.

The elevator doors chimed open, and an incomparably cold and beautiful woman stepped out.

The people walking around the elevator immediately stopped and bowed slightly toward her.

"Miss!"

The cold beauty merely nodded without any further response.

Only when Chen Lie emerged from the elevator did the frost on her face instantly melt away.

"Little Brother Chen Lie, you helped me tremendously today. It's almost mealtime—come have a simple meal with your sister in the restaurant."

Chen Lie gave a hum. "Then I'll follow the host's arrangements."

The moment Li Xianyu saw Chen Lie appear, she immediately pushed open the reception room door and walked toward him.

Up close, Li Xianyu realized that the stunningly beautiful woman standing beside Chen Lie was none other than Zhao Jinglan herself, the rising business star and jewel of the eight provinces.

When she saw Li Xianyu suddenly leave the reception room, the formally dressed woman behind her hurried after her.

Upon reaching Zhao Jinglan, she abruptly stopped, lowered her head slightly, and called out, "President!"

Zhao Jinglan nodded faintly, but her gaze fell on Li Xianyu as she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Little Brother Chen Lie, is this your younger sister? She's quite a pretty girl, though she doesn't seem to look much like the one in the photo."

That single glance from Zhao Jinglan placed enormous psychological pressure on Li Xianyu, like being fiercely glared at by an exam proctor during one of her old liberal arts exams.

Li Xianyu knew that this was perhaps the authority cultivated over time by someone who managed hundreds of thousands of employees.

"S-Senior."

Not daring to meet Zhao Jinglan's gaze, Li Xianyu moved behind Chen Lie.

"She's my younger sister's classmate."

Chen Lie stepped forward, shielding Li Xianyu behind him.

"Oh, a classmate of your younger sister. Come join us for a meal at the restaurant."

As she spoke, Zhao Jinglan gave instructions to the assistant beside her. Then she led the way, taking Chen Lie toward Sunflare Group's restaurant.

"Come on, let's have a simple meal."

After saying that to Li Xianyu, Chen Lie followed her forward.

Li Xianyu quickly followed as well, her heart filled with indescribable shock.

Chen Xingyao's family circumstances were about the same as hers, perhaps even worse. So how had her older brother, Chen Lie, come to know such an important figure as Zhao Jinglan?

Chen Lie and Zhao Jinglan arrived side by side at Sunflare Group's restaurant.

The entire restaurant was empty. Zhao Jinglan casually chose a table and arranged for Chen Lie and Li Xianyu to sit down.

As they talked, employees began bringing dishes to the table. In just two or three minutes, the table was piled high with exquisite food—no fewer than thirty or forty dishes.

"Try some, Little Brother Chen Lie. I didn't know what flavors you liked, so I had the restaurant make a little extra. It's all employee food, so I hope you won't mind."

Zhao Jinglan raised a hand, signaling Chen Lie to begin eating.

"Then thank you for the hospitality."

Chen Lie did not stand on ceremony. He swept his gaze across the table and found that the dozens of dishes were all nutritious meals, so he began picking up food with his chopsticks.

Resting her chin on one hand, Zhao Jinglan watched Chen Lie pick at the dishes and asked, "Little Brother Chen Lie, I read your school's evaluation of you. It seemed to say that your blood and vitality value isn't particularly high. Is that true?"

"It is." Chen Lie nodded.

Zhao Jinglan was not at all surprised by Chen Lie's frank admission. For a Mind Reader, what did blood and vitality value really matter?

"Then can these nutritious meals meet your nutritional needs?" Zhao Jinglan asked again.

"More or less." Chen Lie answered as he continued picking up food.

Zhao Jinglan then looked at Li Xianyu, who sat uneasily beside Chen Lie.

"What is this little sister's name?"

"Me? My name is Li Xianyu."

"Why are you so nervous, Little Sister Xianyu? Do I look too fierce?"

"N-No." Li Xianyu shook her head repeatedly.

"There are only mild nutritious meals on the table. They'll be somewhat beneficial to you after you eat them. Don't be so restrained—just treat this place like your own home."

"Mm, o-okay."

Li Xianyu picked up the bowl and chopsticks before her, carefully following Chen Lie's movements as she ate.

Though young, she was not ignorant of the ways of the world. Zhao Jinglan had told her to treat Sunflare Group like home, but if she truly regarded this place as her home, she would be a fool.

As the president of Sunflare Group, Zhao Jinglan could be said to have at least sixty percent of East River Province's population operating within plans formulated by her.

Sunflare Group was a corporate giant across the eight provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi. The upstream and downstream businesses that depended on it for survival, the major and minor distributors of all kinds of products, and nearly a million employees—combined, they formed an astronomical figure. If Sunflare Group were ever to grind to a halt, then nearly half of East River Province would likely be paralyzed.

Li Xianyu absolutely did not believe that the president of Sunflare, who commanded hundreds of thousands of employees, was someone easy to deal with.

At the same time, she understood that although Zhao Jinglan appeared approachable, she was an insurmountable mountain to ordinary people of East River Province like herself.

Faced with someone like this, Li Xianyu could not stop a sense of inferiority from rising within her. That was why she seemed so apprehensive and did not dare raise her head to look at anyone.

In contrast, Chen Lie remained utterly composed. Though his clothes were ordinary, he was neither servile nor overbearing. Standing in the same frame as Zhao Jinglan, he showed not the slightest trace of timidity or inadequacy. It was as though he had truly returned home, leisurely eating his meal.

Just then, Zhao Jinglan's female assistant arrived beside the table.

"President, Manager Zhang has something he wishes to discuss. You see..."

Zhao Jinglan raised a hand toward the assistant. "Just say it. Little Brother Chen Lie is not an outsider."

"Yes." The assistant hurriedly said, "It's like this. Regarding an endorsement for the group's new medicinal liquid, Manager Zhang has contacted several members of the Provincial Youth Genius Group. Today, he finally invited Xu Yuan Hao, one of the genius group's members, to the company.

"They were originally planning to sign the endorsement agreement for the new medicinal liquid, but before signing, Xu Yuan Hao suddenly requested to meet you."

Zhao Jinglan frowned slightly. "Zhang Zhen means he wants me to appear in person?"

"Yes," the assistant said. "Manager Zhang implied that if you do not meet Xu Yuan Hao, then the endorsement deal for the new medicinal liquid may not be finalized."

Zhao Jinglan snorted. "Then tell him to get lost. A newly selected member of the provincial genius group, and he already thinks he's somebody?

"Tell Zhang Zhen that if he lacks the ability, he can submit his resignation early, pack his things, and leave."

"Yes!" The assistant nodded repeatedly, then bent down and whispered, "But President, Xu Yuan Hao is a Grandmaster seed, after all, and a key member of the Xu Family's younger generation. If you have time, there would be no harm in meeting him."

Zhao Jinglan waved a hand, indicating that the assistant need not continue. "Being a Grandmaster seed does not mean he will definitely become a Grandmaster in the future. Under normal circumstances, meeting him would be no trouble.

"But right now, I am entertaining my distinguished guest."

"I understand."

The assistant responded and withdrew to the side.

Li Xianyu secretly glanced at Chen Lie. By all reason, shouldn't Chen Lie have said something like, "Work comes first. Go handle your business. Don't worry about me"?

Yet Chen Lie acted as if nothing had happened. He did not even raise his head, simply continuing to eat without the slightest reaction.

This senior's emotional intelligence seemed rather low.

The meal lasted for about an hour. Li Xianyu only ate a few bites, while Zhao Jinglan did not touch her chopsticks at all. Of the thirty or forty dishes, Chen Lie alone cleared almost all of them.

After setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Chen Lie wiped his mouth, rose to his feet, and said to Li Xianyu beside him, "I'm full. Let's go."

"Ah? O-Okay."

Li Xianyu hurriedly stood as well.

"President Zhao, thank you for your generous hospitality. I still have something to do today, so I'll take my leave first."

Zhao Jinglan also rose. She beckoned over the female assistant waiting nearby and gave her several instructions.

Then she took out a card and handed it to Chen Lie.

"Little Brother Chen Lie, this has my personal contact information. If you run into any trouble, you can contact me. Your sister would be more than happy to help you solve a few problems."

Chen Lie accepted the card from Zhao Jinglan, slipped it into his pocket, and nodded to her.

"I've arranged for an assistant to take you back. Come with me."

Zhao Jinglan escorted Chen Lie and Li Xianyu to the Sunflare Group plaza outside Sunflare Tower, where a supercraft waited.

"Little Brother Chen Lie, take this Sunflare supercraft back. Remember to keep in touch often."

Chen Lie nodded, stepped onto the supercraft, and said to Zhao Jinglan, "President Zhao, you've been very thoughtful."

Zhao Jinglan smiled warmly. "If you truly think I care about you, then change the way you address me. Calling me President Zhao all the time makes us seem too distant. Call me Sister Jinglan."

Seeing Zhao Jinglan insist repeatedly, Chen Lie had no choice but to go along with her. "Sister Jinglan."

Chen Lie's change of address pleased Zhao Jinglan greatly. She personally saw Chen Lie and Li Xianyu aboard the supercraft.

Once the supercraft departed, the female assistant came to Zhao Jinglan's side and could not help asking, "President, what is that young man's identity, for you to value him so highly?"

"I don't know."

Zhao Jinglan shook her head.

She had humbled herself so much in befriending him. By all rights, even a martial arts genius from the Provincial Youth Genius Group like Xu Yuan Hao should have felt deeply honored. Yet Chen Lie remained utterly unmoved. Even getting him to change how he addressed her and draw their relationship a little closer had been so difficult.

It was as though she was not facing a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth, but an old fox of the business world with decades of experience. It was truly baffling.