Chapter 41

If before she still had doubts about whether she had misunderstood Lin Zixian, then now, Qiao Yun’s gaze was very cold.

Thinking back to how he had clung to her at the airport, and how he had been seen with Ning Lan in the Ivory Coast, and now riding a bicycle with a beautiful woman for a romantic ride, the situations were different, but there was always a beautiful woman involved, and not a single one was the same. This guy’s character could be imagined. Apart from the word ‘pervert,’ she couldn’t find any other word to describe Lin Zixian.

Strange! He’s not even related to me, why should I care if he’s a pervert? Qiao Yun’s cold lips tightened, and she withdrew her gaze, feeling that she should delete the harmonica music she listened to before sleeping, otherwise it would taint her room.

Lin Zixian had just cycled across the road when the traffic at the traffic lights started moving. He subconsciously looked around and saw the time on an electronic screen, silently calculating that he would likely be responsible for picking up and dropping off Zhang Beibei for the next few days. If he passed through at this time in the morning, he probably wouldn’t have to wait for the traffic lights.

Qiao Yun, in the car, also subconsciously checked the time on her wristwatch and was quickly escorted to work by a few cars.

Since the day Deputy Minister Lin incited the security department to cause a commotion in the parking lot, Qiao Yun had refused Zheng Longqing’s offer to pick her up and drop her off to avoid embarrassing him. However, Zheng Longqing found other ways to get closer to her.

Lin Zixian had never attended a formal school and was forced by his father to secretly cross the border to a foreign country at the age of fifteen, supposedly to connect with the international community. This was his first time visiting a university.

Outside the teaching building, Lin Zixian had just parked the bicycle according to Zhang Beibei’s instructions when her female classmates immediately surrounded him, staring at him curiously. Someone even asked, “Handsome guy! Are you Zhang Beibei’s boyfriend?”

Lin Zixian shook his head and pointed at Zhang Beibei, saying, “Zhang Beibei says no, don’t believe me, ask her.”

The group of female classmates immediately questioned Zhang Beibei, who hurriedly denied it, “No, he’s not my boyfriend.”

As soon as she said it, she was stunned, and the group of female classmates was also stunned, realizing they had been tricked by Lin Zixian. They then started to criticize him.

Lin Zixian was just playing with them and quickly explained his identity and the reason for bringing Zhang Beibei. After entrusting the injured Zhang Beibei to her classmates and asking for her dismissal time, he agreed to pick her up later and cycled away.

After leaving the school, he rode around, first finding a traditional Chinese medicine shop to buy some herbs, then went to the market to buy some vegetables, and finally returned to the Sakura Snow Apartments.

Passing by the small grocery store, he waved the vegetables in his hand and shouted to Tong Yinan, “Yinan, I’ll cook lunch today, let you taste my skills.” His smugness made it seem like cooking was a great achievement.

Tong Yinan couldn’t help but laugh and nodded in agreement. She liked the feeling of equality and no distinction between people.

Outside the old district, in a seemingly ordinary but actually sophisticated surveillance vehicle, various pieces of information were continuously flowing in. Zhang Zhenxing had been keeping track of Lin Zixian’s movements. In fact, Lin Zixian was not deliberately hiding his whereabouts, except for not revealing his identity, he was basically living like an ordinary person.

Upon learning that the great Caesar himself had gone to the market to buy vegetables, Zhang Zhenxing found it hard to believe, even doubting if this person was the same Caesar who had dominated the underground world, which was quite shocking.

In front of him were also detailed profiles of all the tenants in the Sakura Snow Apartments. For the powerful national security department, obtaining such basic information was no problem. After carefully reviewing it again, Zhang Zhenxing pinched his temples, thinking that Caesar seemed to have really decided to retire.

This gave him a headache. If Caesar really retired, it would not align with the national security department’s goal of having him serve the country.

He picked up the encrypted phone in the car and called the director of the Asia Department, Yang Weiguo, to report the situation.

Yang Weiguo was silent for a long time before slowly saying, “A coiled dragon will never become a worm; it will always be a dragon. In the twenty-four solar terms, there is ‘Awakening of Insects,’ and the ancient saying goes, ‘The wind follows the tiger, the cloud follows the dragon.’ Now, what’s missing is just a trigger. Once there’s a thunderstorm and the wind rises, even a dragon lying at the bottom of the sea will eventually fly into the sky. I believe that in the country, he will eventually need powerful friends like us. When necessary, we can also stimulate him. The ‘Earth Dragon’ is very restless now. You can find an opportunity to have a direct conversation with him, reveal some information about the ‘Earth Dragon’ to him, and express our goodwill.”

With clear instructions, Zhang Zhenxing solemnly replied, “Understood!”

Tong Yinan’s parents were both teachers, from a scholarly family, and she had received a traditional education. In household chores, she still believed that women had an advantage. With the intention of helping, she closed the store early to pick up her daughter from kindergarten.

As soon as she reached the gate of the courtyard, she smelled the strong medicinal aroma coming from the Sakura Snow Apartments. Entering the kitchen, she saw Lin Zixian busy and asked in surprise, “Brother Lin, what are you doing?”

“Oh! Zhang Beibei twisted her ankle, so I’m making some medicinal food to help her recover,” Lin Zixian said, stirring the contents of the pot.

Tong Yinan was stunned for a moment, looking at him with a complex expression, “Brother Lin, you’re really a good person.”

Lin Zixian shrugged, facing away from her, “Of course, I’ve always thought so. With my handsome and charming looks, even if I’m not good, I can’t be that bad.” Then he exclaimed, “You’re back so early? I haven’t even started lunch yet.”

Tong Yinan chuckled, looked at the pile of vegetables, rolled up her sleeves, and smiled, “Brother Lin, let me do it!”

Lin Zixian had anticipated this. He picked up a spoon, turned around, and looked her up and down, somewhat reluctantly, “Yinan, to be honest, I’m usually lazy, and it’s rare for me to be so diligent. If you do this, what if I get addicted and keep asking you to cook every day?”

“No problem, I’m only busy in the morning, and there’s not much business usually… I’m just afraid you’ll think my cooking is bad,” Tong Yinan smiled.

“Let’s see after we eat,” Lin Zixian tapped the pot with his spoon, “Alright, I’ll take care of this medicinal food, and you can handle the rest. If you need help, just say so.”

Tong Yinan nodded and started working. Lin Zixian turned to look at Tong Feifei, who was pouting and silent, thinking she might feel neglected. He walked over, waved the spoon in front of her, and asked, “Feifei, what’s wrong?”

Tong Feifei hesitated for a while and mumbled, “The kids said I’m a bastard without a father and won’t play with me…”

Tong Yinan, who was picking vegetables, stiffened. Lin Zixian patted her head and laughed, “You’re upset about that? Uncle doesn’t have a father or a mother; I’ve been an orphan since childhood. If I got upset like you, wouldn’t I be dead by now?”

Tong Yinan was surprised and turned to look at him. Lin Zixian wouldn’t lie about such things, and she never imagined that this always cheerful guy had such a tragic past.

“Ah!” Tong Feifei lifted her head, immediately forgetting her sadness, and asked sympathetically, “Uncle doesn’t have a father or a mother, how did you grow up?”

“As long as you don’t get upset, you can grow up happily!” Lin Zixian pinched her nose, squatted in front of her, and smiled, “Feifei, when Aunt Beibei’s foot gets better, I’ll take you to school. You can tell the kids that I’m your father, and no one will laugh at you.”

Tong Feifei nodded excitedly, and the puffed-up girl was quickly coaxed by Lin Zixian to play in the courtyard, leaving the kitchen to the two of them.

Lin Zixian circled around his pot of medicinal food, subtly guiding Tong Yinan, making her laugh heartily from time to time.

Tong Yinan didn’t even realize that she, who usually kept her distance from men and didn’t talk much, felt like she had known Lin Zixian for years. They chatted very well, and even some things she was unwilling to share were brought up by Lin Zixian.

“Brother Lin, Li Mingcheng is right, you can’t just sit and eat. Don’t you plan to do something?” Tong Yinan, who was cutting vegetables, kindly reminded him.

Lin Zixian pulled a chair and sat next to her, holding a spoon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, feeling that watching a beautiful woman cook was a real pleasure. He sighed, “Yinan, to be honest, I do have a job.”

“Ah!” Tong Yinan was stunned, “Where do you work? Didn’t you say you were unemployed?”

“Sort of,” Lin Zixian said, swinging the spoon, “Do you remember the Minghua Group that Liu Yanzhi mentioned? I’m actually the deputy director of the security department of the Minghua Group. I just had a disagreement with the general manager recently and took some time off. When I’m in a good mood, I’ll go back to work.”

Tong Yinan was speechless. If she didn’t trust Lin Zixian so much, she would have thought he was lying. No company would hire such an arrogant employee, and it sounded like the general manager was more like an employee, and he was more like the boss.

The guy swinging the spoon opposite her continued, “I know what I’m doing is wrong, and I’ll probably get fired eventually. I just don’t like being constrained. I thought about opening a store in Donghai to do business, but I know myself, I’m not the type who can sit in a store. If I open a store, it will probably be closed two out of three days, and it will eventually go bankrupt… Ah! That’s it! Why didn’t I think of it? Yinan, how about we open a store together?”

After chatting for a while and breaking down her defenses, he finally brought up the topic.

Tong Yinan smiled bitterly and shook her head, “You know my situation. I don’t have much savings, and I don’t have the financial ability to partner with you in a store.”