The meal finished in a bizarrely tense atmosphere. Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou went out for a walk, reminding Zhou Ye to properly entertain Lin Zhi before they left. Zhou Ye agreed impatiently, but the moment they stepped out, he slipped away. Standing under the corridor, Lin Zhi suddenly heard voices coming from the second-floor balcony.
"Ruoyao, did you see my brother just now? I spoke up for you, but he turned around and accused me of defending an outsider. How is that how a fiancé should act?"
"But didn't you bring that woman here?" Li Ruoyao's voice was cold.
"I only brought her to dispel my parents' suspicions. Have I even glanced at her? I completely ignored her. The one I love the most has always been you. If you hadn't refused to be with me, I wouldn't have needed to use a woman like that as a cover," Zhou Ye said, before demanding, "Ruoyao, have you decided whether to choose me or Congli?"
Li Ruoyao instantly felt irritated. Although Zhou Ye treated her very well, the thought of Zhou Congli's cold, ascetic face made her reluctant to let go. She brushed him off, saying, "The marriage between our families isn't as simple as you think. If you can't stand it, then stop bothering me and go find your girlfriend."
She turned around, feigning anger. Zhou Ye hurriedly hugged her from behind. "Okay, okay, I won't pressure you. I just love you too much."
Seeing him like this, Li Ruoyao softened. When he leaned in for a kiss, she didn't stop him, and she was soon left panting from his passionate embrace. "Right, how did you deal with that nanny? I don't want to see her ever again."
"Don't worry. She will never appear in A City for the rest of her life. Be good, focus. Let me in."
"No, your brother is still here."
"So what!"
"Mmh... then let's go back to the room..."
Listening to the fading sounds upstairs, Lin Zhi couldn't help but marvel at their audacity. With so many people around, they still chose to fool around on an open-air balcony. They truly weren't afraid of being caught at all.
However, from their conversation just now, she gathered that a nanny had indeed seen them and even tried to warn Mrs. Zhou, only to be quickly dealt with by Zhou Ye. Judging by Mrs. Zhou's demeanor today, she hadn't suspected a thing.
"Lin Zhi." A voice came from behind. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around. "Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Congli stood there holding a briefcase. "Why are you here? Where is Zhou Ye?"
Lin Zhi's eyes reddened slightly. "He went upstairs..." she murmured. Noticing he had changed clothes and looked ready to head out, she asked, "Are you going out?"
Zhou Congli nodded. Seeing her teary eyes, he assumed she had been hurt by Zhou Ye's attitude during dinner. "Don't take Li Ruoyao's words to heart. I apologize on her behalf. As for Zhou Ye, I will have a serious talk with him later. I won't let him bully you."
"It's fine, I don't mind."
Zhou Congli fell silent for a moment. "I'll call him and tell him to come down and keep you company."
"No need!" Lin Zhi grabbed his arm and bit her lower lip. "I... I want to go home."
Her sole purpose for coming here was to see him and to let him know her identity so that the plot could progress. Why would she care about what Zhou Ye was doing? Besides, Zhou Ye merely wanted her, his fake "girlfriend," to make an appearance and prove she existed. Now that his goal was achieved, he wouldn't bother with her anymore.
Zhou Congli looked down at her hand. "Then I'll have him take you home." He dialed his phone. It rang for quite a while before someone answered, and he bluntly ordered Zhou Ye to come downstairs.
A few moments later, Zhou Ye and Li Ruoyao came downstairs. Li Ruoyao had already changed into a fresh set of clothes, her long hair left down to cover the red marks on her neck. With a dignified smile, she walked straight over to Zhou Congli and sat down beside him. "Ah Ye said you called him. Is something the matter? Oh, right, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Zhou Congli was completely oblivious to her change in attire. "What is it?"
Li Ruoyao smiled faintly. "The designer said the wedding dress is ready. When will you come with me to try it on?"
Zhou Congli mentally reviewed his schedule. "I'll be quite busy for the next two weeks. I'll give you an answer after I check my itinerary with Assistant Zhang."
Li Ruoyao's expression immediately soured, but knowing he wouldn't change his mind once a decision was made, she kept quiet. Zhou Ye, however, couldn't stand seeing his beloved being given the cold shoulder. He dropped onto the sofa.
"Trying on a wedding dress doesn't even take that long. Do you have to be so dramatic? What's the big deal about accompanying Ruoyao for a bit?
"You have no idea how Ruoyao spends her days all alone. What kind of fiancé doesn't spend time with his fiancée? She's always left entirely on her own. It breaks my heart just watching it."
Zhou Congli's expression remained placid. "As I said, I'll arrange it after checking my schedule."
Zhou Ye scoffed. "With so many employees in the company, just let them handle things. You're the CEO, and you can't even spare this little bit of time? If they're that useless, you might as well fire them all."
Zhou Congli's gaze cooled. "Everyone in the company has their own responsibilities. Do you think being the CEO means washing your hands of everything and doing nothing? If you're so free, why don't you come work at the company for a few days—"
"COUGH COUGH COUGH." Lin Zhi embarrassedly covered her mouth. "Sorry, I choked."
Zhou Congli glanced at her before continuing, "I don't mind you being a slacker, but you need to find something to do, whether it's joining the company or doing something else."
Zhou Ye heavily disliked this topic and bluntly deflected, "Congli, right now we're talking about you and Ruoyao. Are you going to be like this even after you're married? Ignoring everything and leaving Ruoyao alone at home? The Zhou family is already rich enough. You can't earn all the money in the world anyway, so you might as well spend more time with your girlfriend."
"You don't need to worry about her and me," Zhou Congli replied. "Since you're such an expert, you should focus more on your own girlfriend." He stood up. "I have some work to do, so I'll be sleeping at the company tonight. I'm leaving now. Also, make sure to take your girlfriend home later."
Only then did the two of them realize that Zhou Congli had changed into a suit.
Li Ruoyao wanted to call out to him, but since Zhou Ye was there and she feared he would make a scene, she could only hold herself back.
"I'm not taking her!" Zhou Ye declared flatly. He found Zhou Congli even more irritating now and, relying on his status as the younger brother, directly threw a tantrum.
Zhou Congli's voice darkened. "Zhou Ye, do you insist on testing my patience today?"
Zhou Ye felt he couldn't hold back anymore either and abruptly stood up. "I said I'm not taking her. If you like her so much, take her yourself." He grabbed Li Ruoyao and dragged her upstairs, fuming as he walked. "Let's go. A man who cares about someone else's girlfriend but ignores his own fiancée isn't worth our time. Let's go watch TV!"
Zhou Congli's face was grim. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Lin Zhi. "I apologize. He's taking his anger out on you because of me. Let's go, I'll take you home."
Lin Zhi was slightly surprised but didn't say anything as she followed him.
Soon, a black sedan drove out of the villa and merged into the night.
By a second-floor window, Zhou Ye had his arms wrapped around Li Ruoyao. "You see? He clearly made you angry, yet instead of apologizing, he just left."
Li Ruoyao's expression was dark. Pushing him away, she stared at him with suspicion. "You didn't intentionally push that woman toward Congli, did you?"
A fleeting look of malice crossed Zhou Ye's face before he quickly recovered, feigning grievance. "Of course not. I was just too lazy to take her and wanted to spend more time with you. Besides, don't you know what Congli is like? Even if a woman stripped naked in front of him, he wouldn't feel a thing."
Recalling Zhou Congli's character, Li Ruoyao's expression eased slightly. She shot him a sidelong glance. "What about you? If it were you, would you have pounced on her immediately?"
Zhou Ye pulled her into an embrace. "I definitely wouldn't. Other than you, I have no interest in any other woman."