Zhen Zhen turned on her laptop.
A while later Zhen Zhen was smiling in front of her laptop screen, she unlocked Yue Gu Zai’s security system.
Unbeknownst to Zhen Zhen, Yue Gu Zai was watching her movements on the camera screen in the study room. If he didn’t order the guards not to patrol the front gate in the morning then Zhen Zhen wouldn’t have been able to leave easily. As long as Zhen Zhen was happy, he would let her work.
After Yue Gu Zai couldn’t see Zhen Zhen on the camera screen, he turned it off and sign off on reviewed reports.
‘You’ll be in charge of wedding planning,’ Yue Gu Zai said to Bai Yu Tian.
‘Boss, it’s a complicated matter,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘If you want to satisfy Miss Zhen Zhen, I think you should ask what wedding style she likes. Does she want a western or an eastern style wedding? Who she wants to invite to the wedding, who boss wants to invite and…’
‘And?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.
‘Boss, you need to meet Miss Zhen Zhen’s parents,’ Bai Yu Tian said.
‘Is it important for me to meet my wife’s parents?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.
‘Boss, it’s very important to meet your wife’s parents,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘If you want to give your wife a proper wedding ceremony and reception, you need to ask for your wife’s parents’ blessing to give away their daughter to you.’
Yue Gu Zai thought about meeting Zhen Zhen’s parents and nodded. ‘OK, you can leave.’
‘Yes, boss,’ Bai Yu Tian said.
Outside the oblivious Zhen Zhen relaxed the moment she escaped undetected, like a free uncaged bird. She happily hailed a taxi to work.
At work Zhen Zhen put on her lab coat and her colleagues she hadn’t seen for a long time all greeted her.
‘Zhen Zhen, how is your health?’ a chorus of colleagues asked.
Zhen Zhen politely nodded.
‘Zhen Zhen, how was your stomach surgery?’ another chorus of colleagues asked.
Zhen Zhen coughed awkwardly. ‘I’m healthier.’
‘Zhen Zhen, why did you let your stomach ulcer deteriorate to such a bad condition…’ more questions were shot at Zhen Zhen.
Zhen Zhen could only politely smile and nod.
Zhen Zhen walked faster to her assigned lab.
Inside Zhen Zhen’s lab, supervisor Jiang was waiting for her since early morning. He was happy to see her, she was like a daughter to him as well as the research company’s biggest asset. So her health was important, without her at work, her research experiments were halted.
‘Supervisor Jiang, I’ve fully recovered my health,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Let’s discuss the final stage of my research.’
‘OK,’ Jiang said.
Later that day, Zhen Zhen was busy finishing her experiments that she forgot to eat. At lunch time her stomach ached, but she was keener to continue experimenting than eating.
After lunch time, Jiang entered Zhen Zhen’s lab. ‘Zhen Zhen, what’s your impression of Reynold?’
‘Who’s Reynold?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘He’s the man you had an arranged lunch date with a while ago,’ Jiang said.
Zhen Zhen was busy checking lab equipment and she didn’t pay attention to supervisor Jiang’s questions. ‘Not bad.’
‘Really?’ Jiang asked. ‘That little boy isn’t bad. Although in the past he’s a player. But after he met you, he’s been smitten with you. He’s handsome and rich. Since you were on sick leave, he’s been calling here to ask about your health. I’ll let him know you have a good impression of him.’
‘Good,’ Zhen Zhen said carelessly.
Zhen Zhen was thinking about why an experiment failed. She wasn’t listening to what supervisor Jiang was saying and gave him simple one word replies.
Zhen Zhen turned around to ask supervisor Jiang why the experiment failed, but he disappeared.
Later Jiang returned to Zhen Zhen’s lab while she was packing lab equipment.
‘What are you still doing here?’ Jiang asked. ‘Didn’t you agree to eat a meal with Reynold? Reynold’s been waiting outside a long time for you.’
‘Eat a meal?’ Zhen Zhen asked. ‘When did I agree?’
‘This little girl,’ Jiang said. ‘Earlier you agreed. Hurry and go eat with Reynold.’
Jiang dragged Zhen Zhen to Reynold’s Hummer. Before she could protest, she was buckled in the front passenger seat and Reynold drove off.
‘What’s happening?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘Miss Zhen Zhen, long time no see,’ Reynold said.
‘Reynold?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘I’m happy you remembered my name,’ Reynold said.
Zhen Zhen didn’t want to remember Reynold’s name, she blamed it on her photographic memory.
‘Where do you want to eat?’ Reynold asked.
Reynold did go on many blind dates with other women, but he couldn’t forget Zhen Zhen. He planned on dating Zhen Zhen and marrying her if they were compatible.
‘If I remembered correctly, I didn’t agree to eat with you,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Stop the car and let me leave.’
Reynold braked suddenly and Zhen Zhen’s body jerked forward.
‘Don’t you like me?’ Reynold asked.
‘When did I like you?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘Your supervisor Jiang said…’ Reynold said. He paused and realised what happened. ‘It doesn’t matter. Eventually you’ll like me. Let’s go and eat first.’
Zhen Zhen was worried about leaving without Yue Gu Zai’s permission. She’d been at work for a long time, the sky was dark and she knew Yue Gu Zai would be angry. But she skipped lunch and reasoned it was the right time to eat dinner.
Reynold parked in front of a restaurant and led Zhen Zhen to a reserved table. His past girlfriends were enamored by him so he talked confidently during dinner.
Zhen Zhen tuned out Reynold’s chattering about business ventures, sports cars and modern trends.
‘Zhen Zhen,’ a familiar voice called.
Zhen Zhen looked up from her plate. ‘San Mac?’
‘What a coincidence,’ San Mac said.
San Mac’s happiness to see Zhen Zhen made Reynold guarded.
‘It is,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘It’s been a long time. How are you?’
‘Good, I’m working at R&D,’ San Mac said. ‘What about you?’
‘After graduation I specialised in the scientific research field,’ Zhen Zhen said.
San Mac thought Zhen Zhen hadn’t changed since college. ‘I read your in depth research articles.’
Reynold coughed. ‘Hello, I’m Reynold.’
San Mac finally noticed Reynold was sitting at Zhen Zhen’s table. ‘Hello, I’m San Mac.’
San Mac took out his phone and looked at Zhen Zhen. ‘Zhen Zhen, do you have a phone number?’
Zhen Zhen read her phone number to San Mac.
‘OK, I won’t intrude on your dinner anymore,’ San Mac said. ‘I’ll see you another time.’
‘OK,’ Zhen Zhen said.
San Mac left and Reynold frowned. ‘Does San Mac like you?’
‘Don’t say nonsense,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘He’s my friend from college.’
Reynold didn’t spend a lot of time with Zhen Zhen, but he understood her lack of perception. He didn’t like her obliviousness.
Zhen Zhen’s phone rang, it was Zhen Wu.
‘Mum, as your filial son,’ Zhen Wu said. ‘It’s my duty to inform you, earlier dad found out you’re eating dinner with another man. Dad was very angry and left home to pick you up. I think dad’s nearly at the restaurant. Mum, you can’t say I didn’t give warn you. I’m hanging up.’
‘Hey!’ Zhen Zhen said.
Zhen Zhen thought her son had no conscience, he could have warned her sooner. She looked at the entrance and saw Bai Yu Tian enter the restaurant.
Zhen Zhen stood abruptly and apologised to Reynold. ‘I’m sorry, I need to go to the toilet.’
But Bai Yu Tian’s legs were faster than Zhen Zhen’s legs. ‘Miss Zhen Zhen, if you want to go out tomorrow then you need to let me escort you home.’
‘Of course I want to go home,’ Zhen Zhen said and immediately followed Bai Yu Tian outside.
‘Zhen Zhen!’ Reynold called and chased Zhen Zhen.
‘Thank you for inviting me to eat dinner,’ Zhen Zhen said.
Bai Yu Tian smiled politely at Reynold and he escorted Zhen Zhen to the car.
Reynold watched Zhen Zhen enter a black car. He saw Yue Gu Zai and men armed with guns inside the car. He wondered about Yue Gu Zai and the men’s identities.
***
End of Chapter Twenty
Zhen Zhen turned on her laptop.
A while later Zhen Zhen was smiling in front of her laptop screen, she unlocked Yue Gu Zai’s security system.
Unbeknownst to Zhen Zhen, Yue Gu Zai was watching her movements on the camera screen in the study room. If he didn’t order the guards not to patrol the front gate in the morning then Zhen Zhen wouldn’t have been able to leave easily. As long as Zhen Zhen was happy, he would let her work.
After Yue Gu Zai couldn’t see Zhen Zhen on the camera screen, he turned it off and sign off on reviewed reports.
‘You’ll be in charge of wedding planning,’ Yue Gu Zai said to Bai Yu Tian.
‘Boss, it’s a complicated matter,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘If you want to satisfy Miss Zhen Zhen, I think you should ask what wedding style she likes. Does she want a western or an eastern style wedding? Who she wants to invite to the wedding, who boss wants to invite and…’
‘And?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.
‘Boss, you need to meet Miss Zhen Zhen’s parents,’ Bai Yu Tian said.
‘Is it important for me to meet my wife’s parents?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.
‘Boss, it’s very important to meet your wife’s parents,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘If you want to give your wife a proper wedding ceremony and reception, you need to ask for your wife’s parents’ blessing to give away their daughter to you.’
Yue Gu Zai thought about meeting Zhen Zhen’s parents and nodded. ‘OK, you can leave.’
‘Yes, boss,’ Bai Yu Tian said.
Outside the oblivious Zhen Zhen relaxed the moment she escaped undetected, like a free uncaged bird. She happily hailed a taxi to work.
At work Zhen Zhen put on her lab coat and her colleagues she hadn’t seen for a long time all greeted her.
‘Zhen Zhen, how is your health?’ a chorus of colleagues asked.
Zhen Zhen politely nodded.
‘Zhen Zhen, how was your stomach surgery?’ another chorus of colleagues asked.
Zhen Zhen coughed awkwardly. ‘I’m healthier.’
‘Zhen Zhen, why did you let your stomach ulcer deteriorate to such a bad condition…’ more questions were shot at Zhen Zhen.
Zhen Zhen could only politely smile and nod.
Zhen Zhen walked faster to her assigned lab.
Inside Zhen Zhen’s lab, supervisor Jiang was waiting for her since early morning. He was happy to see her, she was like a daughter to him as well as the research company’s biggest asset. So her health was important, without her at work, her research experiments were halted.
‘Supervisor Jiang, I’ve fully recovered my health,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Let’s discuss the final stage of my research.’
‘OK,’ Jiang said.
Later that day, Zhen Zhen was busy finishing her experiments that she forgot to eat. At lunch time her stomach ached, but she was keener to continue experimenting than eating.
After lunch time, Jiang entered Zhen Zhen’s lab. ‘Zhen Zhen, what’s your impression of Reynold?’
‘Who’s Reynold?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘He’s the man you had an arranged lunch date with a while ago,’ Jiang said.
Zhen Zhen was busy checking lab equipment and she didn’t pay attention to supervisor Jiang’s questions. ‘Not bad.’
‘Really?’ Jiang asked. ‘That little boy isn’t bad. Although in the past he’s a player. But after he met you, he’s been smitten with you. He’s handsome and rich. Since you were on sick leave, he’s been calling here to ask about your health. I’ll let him know you have a good impression of him.’
‘Good,’ Zhen Zhen said carelessly.
Zhen Zhen was thinking about why an experiment failed. She wasn’t listening to what supervisor Jiang was saying and gave him simple one word replies.
Zhen Zhen turned around to ask supervisor Jiang why the experiment failed, but he disappeared.
Later Jiang returned to Zhen Zhen’s lab while she was packing lab equipment.
‘What are you still doing here?’ Jiang asked. ‘Didn’t you agree to eat a meal with Reynold? Reynold’s been waiting outside a long time for you.’
‘Eat a meal?’ Zhen Zhen asked. ‘When did I agree?’
‘This little girl,’ Jiang said. ‘Earlier you agreed. Hurry and go eat with Reynold.’
Jiang dragged Zhen Zhen to Reynold’s Hummer. Before she could protest, she was buckled in the front passenger seat and Reynold drove off.
‘What’s happening?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘Miss Zhen Zhen, long time no see,’ Reynold said.
‘Reynold?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘I’m happy you remembered my name,’ Reynold said.
Zhen Zhen didn’t want to remember Reynold’s name, she blamed it on her photographic memory.
‘Where do you want to eat?’ Reynold asked.
Reynold did go on many blind dates with other women, but he couldn’t forget Zhen Zhen. He planned on dating Zhen Zhen and marrying her if they were compatible.
‘If I remembered correctly, I didn’t agree to eat with you,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Stop the car and let me leave.’
Reynold braked suddenly and Zhen Zhen’s body jerked forward.
‘Don’t you like me?’ Reynold asked.
‘When did I like you?’ Zhen Zhen asked.
‘Your supervisor Jiang said…’ Reynold said. He paused and realised what happened. ‘It doesn’t matter. Eventually you’ll like me. Let’s go and eat first.’
Zhen Zhen was worried about leaving without Yue Gu Zai’s permission. She’d been at work for a long time, the sky was dark and she knew Yue Gu Zai would be angry. But she skipped lunch and reasoned it was the right time to eat dinner.
Reynold parked in front of a restaurant and led Zhen Zhen to a reserved table. His past girlfriends were enamored by him so he talked confidently during dinner.
Zhen Zhen tuned out Reynold’s chattering about business ventures, sports cars and modern trends.
‘Zhen Zhen,’ a familiar voice called.
Zhen Zhen looked up from her plate. ‘San Mac?’
‘What a coincidence,’ San Mac said.
San Mac’s happiness to see Zhen Zhen made Reynold guarded.
‘It is,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘It’s been a long time. How are you?’
‘Good, I’m working at R&D,’ San Mac said. ‘What about you?’
‘After graduation I specialised in the scientific research field,’ Zhen Zhen said.
San Mac thought Zhen Zhen hadn’t changed since college. ‘I read your in depth research articles.’
Reynold coughed. ‘Hello, I’m Reynold.’
San Mac finally noticed Reynold was sitting at Zhen Zhen’s table. ‘Hello, I’m San Mac.’
San Mac took out his phone and looked at Zhen Zhen. ‘Zhen Zhen, do you have a phone number?’
Zhen Zhen read her phone number to San Mac.
‘OK, I won’t intrude on your dinner anymore,’ San Mac said. ‘I’ll see you another time.’
‘OK,’ Zhen Zhen said.
San Mac left and Reynold frowned. ‘Does San Mac like you?’
‘Don’t say nonsense,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘He’s my friend from college.’
Reynold didn’t spend a lot of time with Zhen Zhen, but he understood her lack of perception. He didn’t like her obliviousness.
Zhen Zhen’s phone rang, it was Zhen Wu.
‘Mum, as your filial son,’ Zhen Wu said. ‘It’s my duty to inform you, earlier dad found out you’re eating dinner with another man. Dad was very angry and left home to pick you up. I think dad’s nearly at the restaurant. Mum, you can’t say I didn’t give warn you. I’m hanging up.’
‘Hey!’ Zhen Zhen said.
Zhen Zhen thought her son had no conscience, he could have warned her sooner. She looked at the entrance and saw Bai Yu Tian enter the restaurant.
Zhen Zhen stood abruptly and apologised to Reynold. ‘I’m sorry, I need to go to the toilet.’
But Bai Yu Tian’s legs were faster than Zhen Zhen’s legs. ‘Miss Zhen Zhen, if you want to go out tomorrow then you need to let me escort you home.’
‘Of course I want to go home,’ Zhen Zhen said and immediately followed Bai Yu Tian outside.
‘Zhen Zhen!’ Reynold called and chased Zhen Zhen.
‘Thank you for inviting me to eat dinner,’ Zhen Zhen said.
Bai Yu Tian smiled politely at Reynold and he escorted Zhen Zhen to the car.
Reynold watched Zhen Zhen enter a black car. He saw Yue Gu Zai and men armed with guns inside the car. He wondered about Yue Gu Zai and the men’s identities.
***
End of Chapter Twenty
