Although he slept very late, by seven-thirty the next morning, Su Wuji had already completed his morning workout.

Xiao Yinlei knocked on the door and brought breakfast in.

Everyone thought Su Wuji was a scumbag who messed around all day, but only Xiao Yinlei knew that her boss was often incredibly diligent, except when it came to men and women.

“Boss, I’m going to Ninghai with Xiao Pang soon,” she said, setting down the breakfast. “Do you have any other instructions for me?”

“Good. When you see my aunt, remember to ask her to support us a bit more.” Su Wuji wiped his sweat. “There are just too many places that need money.”

Xiao Yinlei chuckled. “Your aunt said before that if the boss could marry Miss Mu sooner, she could give a huge sum as a gift…”

“Don’t even think about it. I haven’t had enough of my single life yet!” Su Wuji chuckled. “Besides, even if I’m willing to marry, Mu Qianyu might not be!”

Xiao Yinlei smiled brightly. “That’s not necessarily true.”

Su Wuji put on a very melancholic expression. “The most crucial thing is, I haven’t even decided who to marry yet.”

This was indeed an honest statement.

Xiao Yinlei laughed softly. “By the way, your aunt called me yesterday, too.”

Su Wuji was immediately alert. “What rotten idea did she come up with this time?”

“Auntie said that girl Song Zhiyu is nice,” Xiao Yinlei said.

“Song Zhiyu?” Su Wuji was confused. “When did Su Chiyan see Song Zhiyu? Did she come to Linzhou quietly? Why does this woman always fixate on the women around me?”

Xiao Yinlei shook her head. “Not sure. But Auntie also said if the boss could treat Song Zhiyu a little better, she would invest another sum of money in our bar.”

Su Wuji slapped his thigh. “I’ll treat Song Zhiyu to dinner today!”

Pausing, he added, “I emphasize, this has nothing to do with Su Chiyan’s investment.”

“Of course.” Xiao Yinlei asked with a smile, “Should I send a car to pick up Song Zhiyu now?”

“I’ll go pick her up,” Su Wuji said. “This girl came to Linzhou for school; she probably hasn’t had time to see Yunyan Lake yet. Today is perfect; I’ll take this mountain girl for a walk by the lake.”

Xiao Yinlei’s gaze softened. “Boss always has a sharp tongue but a soft heart.”

Immediately after, Su Wuji called Song Zhiyu.

“Brother Wuji!” On the other end of the line, Song Zhiyu’s voice revealed obvious delight, though the background noise was a bit loud.

“Where are you?” Su Wuji asked.

Song Zhiyu smiled and replied, “Today is the weekend; I’m going to tutoring. I’m on the bus.”

“What tutoring? How much money is that an hour?” Su Wuji said grumpily. “Don’t go. I’ll give you the money.”

Song Zhiyu’s laughter was melodious. “I have to be self-reliant.”

“How about this? After your tutoring ends, I’ll take you to Yunyan Lake for a stroll.” Su Wuji didn’t ask for her opinion and issued a command directly. “Remember to send me your location. It’s settled.”

With that, he hung up the phone directly.

Song Zhiyu, currently squeezed on the bus, looked at the hung-up call and hummed, “So domineering.”

After a light rebuke, a smile spread in her lake-like eyes.

When she smiled like this, the whole carriage seemed filled with the colors of spring. The men and women around her were stunned.

An old lady couldn’t help but say, “This girl is simply a beauty who could bring disaster to a country and its people.”

Song Zhiyu blushed slightly. “Grandma, you flatter me.”

“Girl, do you have a boyfriend? If you’re single, I’ll introduce my grandson to you,” the old lady laughed. “Graduated from Lin University, now a lawyer, very excellent.”

Su Wuji’s face floated into Song Zhiyu’s mind, and her eyes became even gentler. “Thank you, Grandma, I’m not single.”

The old lady said, “Sigh, what a pity. I don’t know which boy is so lucky to date a girlfriend like you.”

Song Zhiyu chuckled. “Exactly, he got a bargain.”

This girl only dared to be smug when Su Wuji wasn’t around.

In fact, at this moment, all the men in the carriage were sighing with regret. After all, when Song Zhiyu smiled earlier, they all thought they had encountered love.

Song Zhiyu got off the bus and arrived at a high-end residential area. The units here were all large flats over 200 square meters, with an average price of over 10 million each.

Her tutoring student was an elementary school girl with average grades. The child’s mother was young and beautiful, spending her days going in and out of various malls and beauty salons, buying clothes, getting her hair done, and having body massages.

Song Zhiyu had come here so many times but had never seen the child’s father. It was said he did business out of town and rarely came back.

However, after Song Zhiyu entered the door today, she found an extra man in the house.

Upon seeing Song Zhiyu, amazement immediately surged in this man’s eyes. He looked to be in his forties, with a fair complexion, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking quite scholarly, but there was some arrogance in his eyes.

Only, there were two band-aids on his forehead and the side of his face, possibly from scratches, looking slightly comical.

“This is?” the man asked.

“This is the tutor hired for Xiao Xi, a student from Lin University, Song Zhiyu,” the hostess, Zhang Liqing, said.

She looked at Song Zhiyu. “Zhiyu, this is Xiao Xi’s father, surnamed Liu.”

Song Zhiyu said, “Hello, Uncle.”

“Hey, what uncle? Just call me Big Brother Liu,” the man put away his arrogance and said enthusiastically. In fact, he was at least twenty years older than Song Zhiyu.

“Okay, Big Brother Liu. I’ll go help Xiao Xi with her homework first,” Song Zhiyu said.

With that, she entered the study.

The male host’s gaze lingered on Song Zhiyu’s youthful back until she was out of sight, then he withdrew his gaze. “This tutor is a good find.”

The hostess, Zhang Liqing, said unceremoniously, “Liu Zhiwen, back then, I was also tutoring your daughter when you occupied me. I still haven’t gotten a title.”

This short sentence contained too much information.

Song Zhiyu had just closed the study door, and this sentence fell into her ears.

She said to the little girl playing with a tablet at the desk, “Xiao Xi, come, let’s start the lesson. Today might be the last time I tutor you.”

Living room.

Liu Zhiwen said grumpily, “You have money to spend and a house to live in now. What title do you want? Can a title be eaten as food?”

“When you slept with me back then, you said you would divorce the yellow-faced woman at home. Now I’ve been guarding an empty room alone for over ten years, and Xiao Xi lives the life of a single-parent family every day.”

Zhang Liqing was very dissatisfied. “Will you divorce or not? Give me a definite answer today!”

Liu Zhiwen slapped the sofa. “Stop making trouble, okay? The old leader retires next year. I must advance further before he retires! If I divorce now, it will seriously affect my official career!”

Zhang Liqing crossed her arms and chuckled. “Official career, official career. After so many years, I haven’t seen your official career go anywhere.”

A cold light flashed behind Liu Zhiwen’s glasses. “Zhang Liqing, I warn you, if you dare to pull any stunts during the critical period of my promotion, I will cut off your financial source from now on! You and Xiao Xi won’t get another cent from me!”

Zhang Liqing shouted, “Liu Zhiwen, are you still human? Xiao Xi is your biological daughter!”

“What are you shouting for?” Liu Zhiwen raised his hand, seeming to want to slap Zhang Liqing’s face, but held back and put it down. “Wait a little longer. You’ve always been a smart woman; you know what should be done and what shouldn’t.”

Zhang Liqing looked at the hand Liu Zhiwen didn’t strike with, gritted her teeth, and comforted herself, “Fine, I’ve waited so many years; this last year won’t make a difference.”

Liu Zhiwen couldn’t be bothered to say anything more. He walked to the full-length mirror and began changing the band-aids on his face wounds.

Zhang Liqing sneered again. “Which woman scratched you like this?”

Liu Zhiwen said irritably, “What woman scratched me? Two days ago, I was thrown into…”

After speaking, he realized he had said too much and immediately shut his mouth.

Two hours later, Song Zhiyu finished the tutoring session.

She walked out of the study, and Liu Zhiwen’s eyes lit up again. This middle-aged man, who had seen many girls, couldn’t help but feel his heart pounding at this moment!

Zhang Liqing found 120 yuan in cash and gave it to Song Zhiyu. For some unspeakable reason, Zhang Liqing had a lot of money at home, but little savings could be found on her bank cards.

Liu Zhiwen frowned. “Why give so little?”

Zhang Liqing said, “University students tutoring, this is the market price.”

Liu Zhiwen said directly, “It’s not easy for her to get into Lin University. From now on, give five hundred per hour, no, give a thousand. It’s decided.”

After speaking, he stared at Song Zhiyu’s charming face and added to himself, “Current university students are really cheap.” This cost-performance ratio…

Liu Zhiwen expected Song Zhiyu to be stunned by the soaring tutoring fee, but the latter unexpectedly smiled apologetically.

Song Zhiyu ignored Liu Zhiwen’s fervent gaze and said, “Sister Liqing, Big Brother Liu, the schoolwork is too heavy. I might not have time to tutor Xiao Xi in the future.”

Zhang Liqing asked, “Not coming anymore?”

Song Zhiyu nodded. “Sorry, Sister Liqing. There really are too many things at school.”

A strange light flashed in Liu Zhiwen’s eyes. “I have business back in Ninghai. I can drop you off at school first.”

Fire began to spray from Zhang Liqing’s eyes again. “But you just got here! You haven’t even had time to talk to Xiao Xi!”

Song Zhiyu also said, “Big Brother Liu, a friend is coming to pick me up.”

Liu Zhiwen had already changed his shoes and gone out the door. At the elevator entrance, he said, “Then I’ll see you downstairs and meet your friend… Boyfriend?”

Song Zhiyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Mm, considered a boyfriend.”

NOTES

“Yellow-faced woman.” Derogatory term for a wife who has lost her youth and beauty, often due to age and hard work.