Chapter 55

Liu Yanzhi's words were like an imperial edict to someone, and Li Mingcheng quickly drove over.

Before long, Li Mingcheng's trunk was stuffed with the bicycle, and the lid wouldn't close. On the way back to the Sakura Snow Apartments, Li Mingcheng looked at the puffed-up Liu Yanzhi and asked, "How did Lin Zixian's bicycle end up with you?"

He had asked the same question before, but never got an answer. After being nagged enough, Liu Yanzhi finally gritted her teeth and said, "That bastard is the deputy head of our Minghua Group Security Department. He went back to work at Minghua Group today."

"Ah! It really is him?" Li Mingcheng couldn't help but recall that night. The man had admitted it himself but was still looked down upon by everyone. He paused and said, "No wonder the names matched. I thought it was just a coincidence, but it really is him... By the way, Yanzhi, did he make things difficult for you after you criticized him so harshly last time?"

Seeing Liu Yanzhi so angry, he suspected that Lin Zixian might be retaliating.

Liu Yanzhi was like a mute eating a bitter herb, unable to speak. She couldn't admit that she had lost out in her attempt to gain an advantage. So she said resentfully, "When he first came, he said he was unemployed, just to mock us. Help me rally everyone, and we'll take him down together."

How could Li Mingcheng refuse? He nodded firmly and said, "Alright!"

At that moment, Lin Zixian was driving with Qiao Yun following the car in front. He had no idea where Qiao Yun lived, so he could only follow the car.

There were only two people in the car: Lin Zixian in the front and Qiao Yun in the back. Both were as silent as mute gourds.

The car was filled with the faint scent of Qiao Yun's body, not the smell of perfume. In fact, Qiao Yun rarely used perfume.

Lin Zixian drove with one hand on the steering wheel, occasionally shifting gears with quick and clean movements. The ease and grace of his driving made it seem as if the car and he were one, and he handled the car smoothly.

Even Qiao Yun couldn't help but look at him a few times, noticing how skilled he was at driving. It seemed almost natural, like an art. She thought to herself, this pervert would be a waste if he didn't become a driver.

Unbeknownst to her, Lin Zixian, lounging lazily in his seat, was greedily enjoying her scent, finding that being a driver wasn't so bad.

Halfway through the drive, a 'ding ding' sound rang out. Lin Zixian casually pulled out his old, broken phone and answered without looking. On the other end, Meng Zidan's voice, tinged with sarcasm, said, "Mr. Lin, I heard you became the driver for the most beautiful woman in Donghai. Congratulations on having the chance to be with her every day!"

Qiao Yun, who had been looking out the window, turned her attention to the conversation. The voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before, but the voice on the phone was somewhat distorted, making it hard to confirm. However, it was undoubtedly a woman's voice.

"Cough... cough..." Lin Zixian's first reaction was that Ning Lan had leaked the information. He glanced at Qiao Yun in the rearview mirror and dryly said, "Don't joke around. I'm just a poor guy."

"You're just pretending! I don't believe there's a cat that doesn't like fish. You're probably over the moon, thinking about the advantages of being close to her, right?" Meng Zidan was quite blunt, her words cutting deep.

"Nonsense, am I that kind of person? I'm just earning a living." Lin Zixian laughed bitterly in defense, glancing at the rearview mirror again. He saw Qiao Yun looking out the window, seemingly pretending not to hear, but he didn't believe she couldn't hear the loud conversation.

Meng Zidan said with disdain, "Oh, stop acting. I can't think of many drivers as rich as you. If you're really just earning a living, tell me how much Qiao Yun pays you, and I'll pay you double. Come work for me."

"Cough... cough..." Lin Zixian, looking embarrassed, reminded her, "Be careful with your words. She's in the car."

"Who? Qiao Yun?" Meng Zidan asked, puzzled.

Lin Zixian nodded in acknowledgment and Meng Zidan quickly changed the subject, "I've already found professionals to plan your project. We just need to choose a location and do the renovation. Do you have any preferences for where the store should be?"

"I don't know anything about this. You can handle it all for me. I have no doubt about your abilities."

"Alright... By the way, the more I think about it, the more I wonder why you're opening a women's clothing store. Come clean, are you doing this for some woman?"

"Hey! Why do you care so much? That's it, I'm driving. I'm hanging up."

"You dare? If you hang up, I'll quit. You can find someone else."

"I..." The 'damn' word on the tip of his tongue didn't come out. Lin Zixian laughed bitterly and said, "Do you remember the mother with a little girl I brought to your place last time?"

"That's her! No one could forget her. If she weren't dressed so simply, her beauty wouldn't be much worse than Qiao's..." Meng Zidan said with a sigh. "Lin Zixian, how could you do such a despicable thing? You're chasing women and making me do the legwork, and it's someone else's wife. Do you have any humanity? Find someone else for this, I won't do it."

The phrase "her beauty wouldn't be much worse than Qiao's" immediately made Qiao Yun's ears perk up. She didn't need to guess; it was clearly about her. When it came to issues involving a woman's appearance, no woman could remain indifferent. It was hard for her not to care.

"It's not what you think. She comes from a scholarly family and met a rich young man in college..." Lin Zixian, driving and talking on the phone, didn't let it affect his driving. He recounted Tong Yunan's tragic story, proving that his partnership with her was just a way to secretly help her, with no other intentions.

After hearing Tong Yunan's story, Meng Zidan was silent for a long time. The breathing on the other end of the phone seemed to be moved. Qiao Yun, in the back seat, also inadvertently frowned and glanced at Lin Zixian in front of her.

"You men are all bad..." Meng Zidan, after regaining her composure, scolded Lin Zixian. Finally, she said, "I'll handle this for you within half a month. Wait for my call."

"This woman, lumping all men together." Lin Zixian muttered, putting the phone back in his pocket and continuing to drive.

Qiao Yun, in the back seat, felt her heart being scratched by a cat, annoyed that the caller never mentioned their name throughout the conversation.

She wanted to ask who the caller was, seemingly someone who knew her, but she didn't recognize anyone who would call themselves 'old lady.' Her reserve prevented her from asking Lin Zixian such a trivial question, so she had to guess on her own.

The convoy followed the mountain road into a semi-mountain villa complex. The environment here was truly exceptional, with lush trees lining the roads and birds flying by, giving a sense of tranquility amidst the city. The air was noticeably fresher, and the people who could afford to live here were clearly wealthy or influential.

Lin Zixian followed the convoy into a villa on the hillside. After the cars parked in order, Qiao Yun opened the car door and walked straight into the villa's hall.

This semi-mountain villa complex was clearly very secure. The bodyguards, after getting out of the cars, clearly relaxed and headed into the side buildings.

Qiao Antian walked to the car and knocked on the window. Lin Zixian lowered the window and asked, "Mr. Qiao, what are your instructions?"

"Hehe! I've already notified the family to prepare dinner. Mr. Lin, you can't refuse this time. Please join us for a simple meal!" Qiao Antian said with a smile.

Lin Zixian didn't refuse, also wanting to see Qiao Yun's living environment. He got out of the car and looked around, saying, "Mr. Qiao, it's inconvenient for me to come back and forth. I'm sure you have plenty of idle cars here. Can I borrow one for errands?"

"I have plenty of empty rooms too. Why don't you move in here? It will save you the trouble of commuting."

"No need. Living here and seeing your daughter's sour face every day would shorten my life."

Qiao Antian's expression twitched, and he didn't say more, just leading the way.

After entering the hall, a smiling woman approached. Lin Zixian glanced at her, noting that despite her age, she was well-preserved, looking like she was in her thirties or forties, with a good appearance and demeanor, similar to Qiao Yun, clearly her mother.

The woman, seeing Qiao Antian politely accompanying a man in a security uniform home, was taken aback. She then extended her hand, saying, "You must be Mr. Lin?"

Lin Zixian shook her hand and pretended, "Are you Qiao Yun's sister?"

"Uh..." The woman immediately smiled, shaking her head, "Mr. Lin, you really know how to flatter."

Teenage girls always hope to mature quickly, and women always hope to stay young. Hearing such flattery, even if they know it's not true, they still feel happy. If asked who is more vain, men or women, the indisputable truth is women.

Qiao Antian introduced, "This is my wife, Xiao Hua, Qiao Yun's mother." Then he introduced Lin Zixian to his wife, "This is Lin Zixian, whom I often talk about."

"Old Qiao's savior, a distinguished guest, please sit down." Xiao Hua led Lin Zixian to the living room and warmly welcomed him.

The three of them chatted some meaningless pleasantries. Qiao Yun, who had changed out of her work clothes into a casual, loose dress, with her long hair down and wearing slippers, came downstairs, showing a different kind of beauty.

Lin Zixian inwardly groaned, this girl was beautiful no matter how she dressed, putting a lot of pressure on men.

Qiao Yun paused on the stairs, seemingly surprised that Lin Zixian was still sitting in the house. She came down with a blank expression, sat on a sofa alone, and slowly ate an apple, still looking cold and icy, as if ready to throw the apple at someone.

The lively atmosphere in the living room immediately turned cold with the addition of this ice queen. No matter how Qiao Antian and Xiao Hua tried to warm things up, the atmosphere remained stiff.

Finally, it was time for dinner. The four of them sat at the table, with Lin Zixian facing Qiao Yun. He was almost in tears, regretting not leaving earlier, not wanting to have dinner with this woman.

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