Xia Zhiyi chose a restaurant with a good reputation, but the prices were a bit high.
Because we hadn't made a reservation in advance, and it was lunchtime when we arrived, the restaurant was quite crowded, even though its prices deterred some people. At least all the private rooms were full.
Fortunately, neither Xia Zhiyi nor Fu Chi were the type to care about formalities; since there were no private rooms, they could eat in the main hall.
This made the manager who recognized Fu Chi breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Following Fu Chi's instructions, the driver, accompanied by several bodyguards, sat down at another table, avoiding being overtly followed by the two to prevent attracting too much attention.
Yes, the two were accompanied by bodyguards.
However, this time the bodyguards were not arranged by Fu Chi or Xia Zhiyi, but by the old man who was so frightened by Fu Chi's accident that he even went to the hospital for an hour to persuade him, fearing that Fu Chi would refuse.
As it turned out, Fu Chi had no intention of refusing at all.
Old Master Fu: I was overthinking it.
As a result, not long after the two tables were seated, and before the food had even arrived, Xia Zhiyi heard a somewhat frivolous voice behind her. "Oh, isn't this President Fu? I thought I was mistaken, but then again, it makes sense. People with such good looks as President Fu are rare to see."
Before even seeing the person, just hearing their words and the awkward, pretentious familiarity that actually betrayed their sourness, Xia Zhiyi felt a sense of dislike towards them.
When she turned her head and saw a middle-aged man with a protruding belly, and a young woman dressed very attractively with her arm around him, and the emotions that were vaguely revealed under the woman's smile, Xia Zhiyi knew that she would never like this person.
Although the woman didn't say anything and seemed very docile, nestled against the middle-aged man like a little bird, the emotions hidden beneath her smiling face were quite different.
'disgust'.
'Hate'.
'endure'.
And, 'fear'.
To say there's nothing fishy going on between the two of them would require Xia Zhiyi to be truly blind.
But Xia Zhiyi didn't speak directly. Instead, she looked at Fu Chi beside her, who hadn't reacted, and asked in a low voice, "Someone you know?"
Fu Chi's expression returned to the coldness he had before meeting Xia Zhiyi, but when he turned to face Xia Zhiyi, his expression softened, though it was still clear that he didn't have a good impression of the newcomer.
Fu Chi spoke calmly, "I've forgotten the name of President Zhao from Huanyu."
President Zhao himself. "..."
He can hear me, thank you.
Also, saying you forgot the name? How could that be!
Others might forget, but Fu Chi is a renowned genius in the industry; how could they possibly forget his name!
It's not like we've never had any experience with it before!
Saying that is basically a provocation!
Zhao Changye was in a bad mood when he met Fu Chi's cold face and felt ignored by him, but he was not a brainless impulsive person, and he still wore a smile that looked fake at first glance.
Then, Zhao Changye's gaze shifted to Xia Zhiyi.
He paused, looked at Xia Zhiyi for a moment, and seemed to find her somewhat familiar.
However, Xia Zhiyi grew somewhat impatient with his scrutinizing gaze, especially after learning that this person was from Huanyu. Her already disliked mood escalated into disgust, and she turned her head to give Zhao Changye a cold look.
If Fu Chi's indifference is merely ignoring someone, it might be unpleasant, even provoking or angering, but that's about it at most.
As a high-ranking executive at Huanyu, Zhao Changye had met many people over the years and wouldn't be easily intimidated by Fu Chi, but he was genuinely wary of him.
But Xia Zhiyi's indifference was different.
The most obvious difference is that people with blood on their hands have a different aura.
Xia Zhiyi's gaze towards Zhao Changye Zhao Changye him a true taste of what it meant to look at a dead man. Before he even realized it, his body had already reacted.
Even though the boy, who looked quite young, hadn't done anything—he'd only glanced at him— Zhao Changye realized his back was covered in sweat when he came to his senses.
Cold sweat.
When he tried to speak, it was as if something invisible had shoved his lips back down; he opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out.
However, this anomaly went unnoticed by anyone except Fu Chi, who was closest to Xia Zhiyi.
Even the restaurant manager, who noticed something was wrong and rushed over to ease the tension, didn't see anything amiss. After recognizing Zhao Changye, he politely said that his reserved private room was ready and invited Zhao Changye to come over.
Driven by his survival instinct, Zhao Changye, sweating profusely, climbed the ladder and left.
In the end, they didn't say anything more.
After he turned and left, Fu Chi seemed to show some interest, glancing at his retreating figure before meeting Xia Zhiyi's gaze. "You scared him."
Xia Zhiyi: "Mm."
Fu Chi gently patted his hand. "If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else."
Xia Zhiyi shook her head. "It's nothing, just a small thing. Besides, with you by my side, I won't let this ruin my mood."
"But, does he have a grudge against you?"
Fu Chi knew he was changing the subject, but he went along with it anyway. "It's not that we have a grudge, just some business competition."
"He has a bad personality."
The point is that business competition is reasonable and legal, but Zhao Changye is petty and cannot accept the fact that he can't beat Fu Chi, so he treats him badly.
Xia Zhiyi lowered her eyes, her gaze darkening as she thought of the situation at Huanyu: "If it's Huanyu, is that Tianhuan's business?"
Fu Chi nodded. "Mm."
Seeing that Xia Zhiyi's expression was not good, Fu Chi comforted her, "It's okay, there's nothing he can do."
Xia Zhiyi smiled upon hearing this and said, "Mm."
After that, Zhao Changye, perhaps genuinely frightened by Xia Zhiyi, disappeared after entering the private room.
After their meal, Xia Zhiyi and her group didn't linger outside but took a car back to the old man's house.
Xia Zhiyi and Fu Chi didn't tell Old Master Fu or Fu Yunyi about being discharged from the hospital today, so when they returned, there was no one else in the old house except for the butler and the servants.
When the butler saw Fu Chi, his first expression was one of heartache. "Sir, you've suffered so much this time."
Fu Chi waved his hand, "Thankfully, at least I'm still alive."
The butler said helplessly, "Sir, please don't say that."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "Are Grandpa and Fu Yunyi both at the company?"
After this incident, the butler had a clear understanding of Xia Zhiyi's position in the Fu family, and his attitude towards Xia Zhiyi was now very respectful. "Yes, Master goes to the company every day these past few days, and so does the young master."