Chapter 318: Chapter 318 I Like to Spend My Money on Things I Like

He Mingzhu ate a little, put down her chopsticks, and smiled at Cheng Zhiwei, "Miss Cheng, I heard that you and Xiao Ye graduated from the same university, majoring in the same field?"

"Yes, he was my senior."

"What a fate," He Mingzhu sighed. "I have always supported Xiao Ye. He has his own business, which proves his excellence. I’m sure you have come to understand that during your time together, so I needn’t say more."

Cheng Zhiwei responded indifferently, "Indeed."

He Mingzhu appeared very friendly, genuinely seeming to agree with Cheng Zhiwei and He Ye being together, and she quite liked Cheng Zhiwei.

However, having experienced so much, Cheng Zhiwei knew that things weren’t always as they seemed on the surface, just like the goodwill He Mingzhu exuded, which was mixed with some inexplicable hostility.

Cheng Zhiwei’s gaze lowered to her palm before looking up at He Mingzhu with a courteous smile, "The senior is indeed excellent."

"That’s why, when you come across such an excellent man, you must grab the opportunity," He Mingzhu raised her glass from afar, diligently reassuring Cheng Zhiwei. "As for the He family and your aunt, you can rest assured, the He family is under my control now. If I have agreed, no one dares to oppose."

Cheng Zhiwei caressed her glass, her eyes curved, "If Miss He says so, I truly can be reassured. However, He Ye and I have just started dating, and whether we can end up together is still an unknown, so some things might be too early to say."

She was testing He Mingzhu.

The more He Mingzhu exhibited a matchmaking attitude, the less Cheng Zhiwei believed her.

The smile on He Mingzhu’s face faded a bit, her glass gently swaying in her hand, the amber liquid shimmering mystically under the light, "Miss Cheng, are you actually looking down on Xiao Ye?"

"Miss He... you should know that I’ve been married before," Cheng Zhiwei’s smile grew broader. "A woman who has been divorced always carries an extra layer of pessimism about marriage, so He Ye and I agreed that if we are not compatible, we will break up."

Such a statement, if heard by outsiders, would only make them think she was too proud, disregarding He Ye’s genuine affection, which would normally cause anyone to angrily slam the table and leave.

Yet He Mingzhu still leaned back in her chair, slowly smiling again, "Miss Cheng, rest assured, as long as you two are together, I can guarantee that Xiao Ye will not divorce you in this lifetime. And since he has a studio, I can invest in your studio in my personal capacity."

Such a tempting offer.

Yet it reeked of falsehood and insincerity.

"I’ll think about it," Cheng Zhiwei sighed deeply.

He Mingzhu’s face visibly cooled, and from her eyes, Cheng Zhiwei read the words "ungrateful."

Just as the atmosphere was turning chilly, He Ye returned, and He Mingzhu’s expression immediately warmed, "Where’s auntie?"

He Ye sat next to Cheng Zhiwei, looking helpless, "She said she felt unwell, so I had the driver take her home."

He Mingzhu turned to her secretary, "Send the set of jewelry I brought to auntie."

The secretary hurriedly got up to take care of it.

After the secretary left, He Mingzhu talked to He Ye while Cheng Zhiwei occasionally chimed in, spending the rest of the time eating.

By the end, the atmosphere was still fairly harmonious.

In the lobby, as He Ye went to settle the bill, He Mingzhu elegantly held her purse, "I only found out after arriving that Xiao Ye had a girlfriend. I didn’t bring a gift for our first meeting, so why don’t you and He Ye go shopping? Whatever you like, charge it to my card. Consider it my gift to you."

"No need," Cheng Zhiwei slightly tilted her lips, her smile faint, "I prefer to spend my own money to buy what I like."

Just then, the elevator doors opposite opened, and a group of men in suits stepped out, one of them encircled by the others in the middle, it was Zhou Lin.

As they exited the elevator, everyone stood still, waiting for him to move first.

His face was pale with a ferocious sharpness, and his presence was overwhelmingly cold and strong.

Cheng Zhiwei stood composed, glanced once, and then looked away, but she caught a glimpse of He Mingzhu also looking at Zhou Lin.

Zhou Lin acted as if Cheng Zhiwei was invisible to him and walked straight past, even Secretary Zhang only gave Cheng Zhiwei a brief glance.

A perfect interpretation of strangers passing by.

Cheng Zhiwei didn’t take this encounter to heart at all, just as she had said herself, Yucheng wasn’t so large that it was possible to never see Zhou Lin, but they could maintain a relationship of mere passersby.

"Is that the president of Zhou Group?" He Mingzhu asked casually.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiwei roughly understood the reason why He Mingzhu was arranging her and He Ye, which was probably related to Zhou Lin.

However, since He Mingzhu did not mention it outright, she wouldn’t point it out and just responded noncommittally with a "Hmm."

He Ye had already paid the bill and naturally took Cheng Zhiwei’s hand, "Sister, shall we drive you back?"

"My driver is already waiting outside." He Mingzhu waved at them and walked out.

Before getting into the car, He Mingzhu told He Ye, "I was very pleased to meet Miss Cheng this time, but I didn’t prepare a meeting gift. Xiao Ye, take Miss Cheng shopping sometime, use my card for anything she likes, remember that."

"Sister, there’s no need."

"This is what I should do as your sister, and I’ll be upset if you decline," He Mingzhu said with a mock stern look. "You wouldn’t want Miss Cheng to think I’m impolite, would you?"

He Ye agreed, "Then, thank you, sister."

"Alright, I’m heading off," He Mingzhu said as she got into her car and left.

He Ye turned his head and looked at Cheng Zhiwei tenderly, "I knew my sister would like you."

Cheng Zhiwei could only bow her head to hide her expression—He Mingzhu was a very shrewd and formidable person, and she was kind to He Ye because he never thought about contesting the He family’s fortunes and had his own career.

Thus, on the surface, the siblings got along well.

But it was clear that He Mingzhu was using He Ye.

The poor fool.

While she was thinking, He Ye affectionately tapped her forehead, "What are you thinking about?"

Cheng Zhiwei came back to her senses, her lips curling up into a bright smile, "I was thinking that you and your sister have a pretty good relationship."

He Ye ruffled her hair, explaining, "Yes, sister has always been good to me, she also encouraged me to follow my dreams initially."

"Her?" Cheng Zhiwei thought, that encouragement wasn’t purely simple, was it?

"I know what you’re thinking. She encouraged me partly indeed for the succession of the company, but I still appreciate her because I’ve never been interested in managing a company or getting involved in any battles for inheritance. Anyway, I’ll be mostly in Yucheng in the future, so this relationship works well."

He Ye saw things very clearly and transparently.

"It was my narrow-mindedness," Cheng Zhiwei admitted, shamefully. Her gaze suddenly paused, and across the street, the window of a black car slowly rolled up, and despite this, she still locked eyes with Zhou Lin’s frosty gaze.

Until the window was completely closed, cutting off their line of sight.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read