Chapter 75

Spending two days in Paris, Zhou Yi devoted most of his time to accompanying his family and his two female friends, Oro and Jean Grey.

He spent these two days with these important people in his life, touring the streets and alleys of Paris, as well as various scenic spots.

It was rare for Zhou Yi to have the opportunity to accompany his family and girlfriend, so he wanted to make up for what he owed them as much as possible during these two days. Over the years, he had been preparing for future enemies. Although he had provided a very comfortable environment for his family, he had also paid a certain price. The time he spent with his family was really not much.

Moreover, Zhou Yi felt some guilt towards Oro and Jean Grey. Due to the difference in their statuses, Zhou Yi could hardly take them to some formal high-level banquets, let alone give them a formal title.

Oro knew this as well. So after dating Zhou Yi for so many years, she had never formally established a relationship with him. Zhou Yi had mentioned this kind of thing, but Oro did not agree. She knew that her status was not helpful to Zhou Yi's career and was even a hindrance.

She was a smart and independent woman who did not want to be a subordinate to Zhou Yi. This inequality in status once made her distance herself from Zhou Yi. If it were not for Zhou Yi's persistence, they would hardly have reached this point.

As for Jean Grey, her status was even more awkward. In their secret relationship, Zhou Yi always took the lead. It could be said that it was Zhou Yi who lured her step by step into the darkness in her heart. However, she seemed to enjoy it.

Jean Grey was not without the desire to take the most important position in Zhou Yi's life. However, her deep-seated guilt towards Oro and Scott prevented her from taking any action. Because of this, she could only let Zhou Yi do as he pleased. Similarly, this allowed her to share more of her guilt with Zhou Yi.

The relationship between men and women was so complex that Zhou Yi found it irresistible. He enjoyed this feeling but was even more unwilling to let them go. He had not given them much, but he wanted to give them the best.

Just like his plan, in some ways, it was also for them. Because this was their lifelong wish, to walk in the sunlight with dignity.

Another enjoyable trip. Zhou Yi returned from the famous Louvre Museum with the two beauties, his clingy younger sister, and his group of followers. Jean Grey was an expert in art appreciation. Even Oro and Shari, who had no artistic talent, marveled at the art treasures stored there.

Those beautiful works of art from all over the world, which embodied the essence of ancient human thought, would be admired by any creature with an aesthetic sense.

Seeing Shari and her little sisters still chatting about the ancient legends of Egypt, and Oro consulting Jean Grey about the appraisal and classification of beautiful Chinese porcelain, Zhou Yi stretched lazily. If possible, he really hoped that this moment could last forever. But such a wish was almost impossible to realize.

A well-dressed gentleman appeared in front of Zhou Yi, respectfully handing him an invitation and speaking in a formal and somewhat archaic English.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou. I am the butler of the Ashford family. I heard that you have arrived in Paris. My master is very pleased and hopes to invite you to the banquet at Ashford Manor tomorrow night!"

"The Ashford family, I remember you are an old aristocratic family from Britain. Why are you in Paris?" Zhou Yi's impression of the Ashford family was not very deep, but he did have some knowledge. It was a large family originating from Britain, which had once been prosperous during the Victorian era. However, it gradually declined after that.

The great-grandfather of the Ashford family was a genius in biology and, together with a few like-minded people, founded a huge multinational pharmaceutical company. He gradually developed this company into a massive scale.

This company, named Umbrella, is now a giant in biological research, pharmaceutical production, medical hardware, and defense industries. It can be said to be a top-tier behemoth in Europe, even extending its reach to America.

However, the local industries in America strongly resisted such foreign competitors. To date, the company's influence was still limited to remote areas in the Midwest, unable to penetrate the core regions dominated by Stark Industries and Osborn Industries.

With the growth of Umbrella, the Ashford family gradually declined. The previous head of the family disappeared without a trace, and the current head, Alfred Ashford, whom Zhou Yi had met, was a pitiful figure oppressed by the current rulers of Umbrella. Although the outside world always praised his intelligence as being at the top level of humanity, Zhou Yi did not think it was of much use. After all, this world was not one where high intelligence alone could dominate.

However, even a declining noble family was still a noble family, and the power of the Ashford family could not be underestimated. Zhou Yi did not want to offend such a local bigwig for no reason, as it would not be good for his mother, who had been living in Europe for a long time. So after a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded and said,

"I understand. Please convey my thanks to Mr. Alfred. I will be there on time."

The gentleman, who had left the invitation, bowed and left with a very gentlemanly demeanor. After he left, someone asked,

"Do you know him?"

Seeing that it was Oro who spoke, Zhou Yi shook his head with a smile.

"Just an acquaintance. But in business, even strangers can bow to each other if there is profit to be made. It seems that Alfred, or the Umbrella Corporation behind him, needs my help."

"That's the largest medical company in Europe? What do they want from you?" Jean Grey, who had heard of the company, asked. "They focus on medical and biological research, which doesn't seem to intersect with your business."

"Who knows, maybe there's a problem with their supply chain." Shrugging, Zhou Yi indicated that he was not familiar with the situation. "I guess they are interested in the liquid capital I have."

"You need to be careful. I have a feeling that they don't have good intentions." Oro was worried. She did not know the intentions of these so-called businessmen, but her intuition told her that there must be some kind of conspiracy.

"Oro, don't worry about them." Jean Grey held Oro back, speaking teasingly. She did not want her friend to be overly involved in these dark matters. "They are like sharks, who will immediately swim over when they smell a bit of blood."

"You're right!" Zhou Yi directly agreed with Jean Grey's statement, candidly admitting her description. "We are indeed sharks; otherwise, how could we be at the top of the marine food chain."

"Sharks are ruthless creatures who don't even spare their own kind!" Oro warned, as she had always had some reservations about these large biological research companies, many of which had conducted experiments on mutants in their shady operations.

"I know, I'll be careful." Zhou Yi patted Oro's hand, comforting her. "Don't worry, I'm not that foolish. Besides, my status is not something a declining family like the Ashfords can easily touch."

Although his words were a bit exaggerated, they were not entirely unrealistic. Since the previous head of the Ashford family, the family had already been removed from the core of Umbrella, only responsible for some peripheral research and departments. By the time of Alfred, even these were lost. Apart from a research facility in Antarctica, he only had partial control over the Umbrella security department.

Such a weakened Ashford family indeed did not pose a threat to Zhou Yi, who was a core member of two giant enterprises, both of which were even more powerful than Umbrella.

Rolling her eyes, Oro stopped worrying about him in this regard. There was still some distance between them, which limited her from sharing everything with him.

Smiling slightly, Zhou Yi secretly squeezed Jean Grey's hand under the table. Jean Grey, startled, quickly pulled away from his grasp and, taking advantage of Oro's inattention, glared at him angrily.

Zhou Yi, whose skin had thickened to a certain degree, ignored Jean Grey's glare. He propped up his chin and said to the two ladies,

"Tomorrow's banquet. Oro, would you like to be my date and accompany me to the banquet?"

Oro thought for a moment and silently shook her head.

"Sorry, Yi! You know I'm not suitable for such occasions. So you should find someone else to accompany you."

Just as Zhou Yi turned his gaze to Jean Grey, this woman, who had been startled by his earlier action, said bluntly,

"Don't even think about it. I won't be your date for such a gathering."

"Alright!" Zhou Yi shrugged. "It looks like I'll have to attend the Ashford's banquet alone tomorrow."

"Yi, I'll go with you. I haven't seen what a noble's banquet looks like yet." Shari, who had been eavesdropping from another table, leaned over and said flatteringly to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi pressed down on her beret, squinting his eyes and said, "Unless I'm dead, dear. Otherwise, you won't have anything to do with these messy banquets before you turn eighteen."

"Why not?" Shari angrily waved her fists. "You annoying guy, don't think that just because you're my brother, you can deprive me of my freedom."

"When you ask me for pocket money, you have already paid the price with your freedom. My dear sister." Zhou Yi disdainfully expressed the value of freedom and clearly rebutted her. "Do you think there's anything good in the nobility? Let me tell you. Half of the current nobility are homosexuals, mostly male. The rest are even worse than these true believers. How does that sound to you?"

"Disgusting, you guy." Shari waved her hand in disgust. "I'm still eating dessert. Can you not talk about such disgusting things?"

"You brought it up yourself, dear!"

Shari stuffed a large piece of cake into her mouth, her emerald eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Don't think you can scare me with that. I have a big backer." Unfortunately, her words were too muffled, and Zhou Yi did not understand what she was saying at all.