Chapter 14 – Most of the problems are due to professionalism

On the evening of the engagement banquet, Zhou Ziyi stood in President Yan’s apartment holding a bouquet of flowers.

The duplex apartment had a total area of over 400 square meters, which visually appeared spacious, especially considering that Yan Xiuzhi lived there alone.

Yan Xiuzhi closed the door behind him, then walked past Zhou Ziyi, turning on the lights as he went inside. “The guest room is on the right side of the first-floor corridor. You can stay there. Everything you need is in the cupboard, so you can help yourself.”

“Oh,” Zhou Ziyi replied as he walked and looked around. He seemed calm, even raising the bouquet in his hand, “Where should I put this?”

These were the flowers they used at their engagement banquet, so they couldn’t be thrown away. Zhou Ziyi had to bring them back with him.

Yan Xiuzhi was already stepping on the stairs, and upon hearing his question, he glanced back and casually replied, “Anywhere.”

As it is well known, “anywhere” is the most troublesome answer. Zhou Ziyi had no choice but to ask further, “Can I put it anywhere I want?”

Yan Xiuzhi responded, “Yes.”

Zhou Ziyi continued, “Where is the vase?”

Yan Xiuzhi simply said, “Find it yourself.”

Zhou Ziyi asked again, “What about the gardening shears?”

Yan Xiuzhi remained silent and silently stared at Zhou Ziyi.

Zhou Ziyi immediately understood and said, “Got it, I’ll find it myself. If I can’t find it, I’ll buy a new one tomorrow.”
Only then did Yan Xiuzhi reluctantly express his satisfaction with his understanding and replied, “The housekeeping staff will come tomorrow, you can ask them.”

“Oh, I see. I knew it, a house this big must have at least one housekeeper,” Zhou Ziyi nodded, “Got it, thank you for your instructions, President Yan!”

Yan Xiuzhi continued upstairs.

Zhou Ziyi held the bouquet and looked around. Suddenly, he spotted a vase on a decorative shelf embedded in the wall at the staircase on the second floor. He was initially excited and took a couple of steps up, but then suddenly stopped before reaching the turn.

Yan Xiuzhi had just reached the second-floor corridor when he heard the footsteps behind him abruptly stop. Unable to resist, he turned around and asked, “What do you want now?”

“Um…” Zhou Ziyi paused on the stairs and looked up at him, “Can I go to the second floor?”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to?” Yan Xiuzhi felt like the questions were never-ending, “What are you thinking?”

Zhou Ziyi thought to himself, ‘Isn’t it because you’re afraid of having some undisclosed secret?’ But the words that came out of his mouth were beautified, “I thought the second floor was President Yan’s private space.”

“Yes, but it’s not something that should be hidden. The housekeeping staff will also come up.” Yan Xiuzhi explained, “Except for the study and bedroom on the second floor, which require my permission, you can go anywhere else. Tomorrow when the housekeeping staff arrives, you can add her on WeChat and ask her if you need anything — any other questions?”

While Yan Xiuzhi was speaking, Zhou Ziyi went upstairs. When he finished talking, Zhou Ziyi had reached the staircase on the second floor and smiled at him, saying, “No worries!”

Dressed in a white tailcoat and holding a colorful rose, the young man’s smile was so captivating. But when Yan Xiuzhi opened his mouth, he sounded like a typical straight man, saying, “Don’t stand and talk at the staircase, if you miss a step, you’re done for.”

Zhou Ziyi continued to smile playfully, “Thank you for your concern, President Yan.”

Yan Xiuzhi ignored him and just turned around. But then he heard Zhou Ziyi calling from behind, “Um…”

Yan Xiuzhi asked impatiently, “What now?!”

“It just came to mind! I need an answer!” Zhou Ziyi used the flowers to cover his face, avoiding eye contact with Yan Xiuzhi. “Is your vase an antique, President Yan? Can I put flowers in it?”

“I don’t have any antiques at home.” Yan Xiuzhi paused for a moment. “I’ll give you one last chance, any other questions?”

Zhou Ziyi remained silent for a moment and slowly put the flowers down, revealing a pair of blinking eyes.

Surprisingly, Yan Xiuzhi understood what he meant, “Speak up.”

“How about taking a picture with me, President Yan?” Zhou Ziyi casually put the flowers, along with the packaging, into the vase. He quickly took out his phone and said, “I added Aunt Chu’s and your sister Yan Meiyue’s WeChat. Since it’s our engagement day, it would be nice to have some commemoration, right?”

Yan Xiuzhi felt that Zhou Ziyi was really cunning.
But upon second thought, he wasn’t wrong. Yan Xiuzhi hadn’t paid attention to these details. He spent 30 million to bring Zhou Ziyi here precisely to handle these things.

Although sometimes Yan Xiuzhi felt that this guy was deliberately being annoying.

“So, how should we take the picture?” Yan Xiuzhi interrupted the other’s incessant chatter. “Let me make it clear upfront, I don’t like taking selfies. I won’t keep taking pictures with you, and I won’t always have time for it either.”

“Alright, got it. President Yan doesn’t like taking selfies.” Zhou Ziyi nodded with an expression of “I understand.” He continued, “So this time, we don’t need to take a face picture. Can I borrow President Yan’s hand?”

Yan Xiuzhi was puzzled, “What?”

Zhou Ziyi reached out his hand towards him, “Your hand, just extend it for a moment.”

Yan Xiuzhi instinctively extended his right hand.

“Ge, it’s not a handshake!” Zhou Ziyi raised his left hand and waved it, the engagement ring sparkling. “It’s the left hand, the one with the ring!”

Yan Xiuzhi then switched to his left hand, “I’ve said it before, don’t call me that in private.”

“Hey, it’s just a joke, like sometimes calling someone ‘boss’ or ‘gege,’ nothing more.” Zhou Ziyi said, and he held Yan Xiuzhi’s left hand, palm to palm, fingers interlocked.

Yan Xiuzhi: !!!

“What are you doing?!” Yan Xiuzhi immediately wanted to retract his hand, and Zhou Ziyi also let go, nodding, but their words were not on the same wavelength.

“We can’t take a picture like this, we need to switch.” Zhou Ziyi grabbed Yan Xiuzhi’s hand again and pushed it in, “This should work!”

Yan Xiuzhi frowned, “Do we really have to take the picture like this?”

“Having our faces not touching each other is already a compromise. Mr. Yan, if we cooperate a little, we can quickly complete the task.” Zhou Ziyi was already holding his hand up, with a background of a large bouquet of roses, which looked quite romantic in the camera.

However, Zhou Ziyi didn’t seem satisfied and let go of Yan Xiuzhi’s hand, “Tsk, my hand is slightly smaller than yours, it doesn’t look good in the picture… Mr. Yan, would you dare to switch positions with my hand?”

Yan Xiuzhi couldn’t help but say, “You’re really full of tricks.”

“I call this ‘dedication.’” Zhou Ziyi raised his left hand towards the bouquet, fingers spread out, “Quick, let’s take the picture now.”

Yan Xiuzhi stood still and squinted his eyes.

Zhou Ziyi didn’t seem to sense his low enthusiasm at all and turned his head to urge him, “Mr. Yan? Hello? Are you there?”

Yan Xiuzhi looked at him with a righteous and confident look, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally raised his hand to cover Zhou Ziyi’s left hand.

Zhou Ziyi continued to direct, “Loosen up a bit, let our rings show, hmm, angle slightly towards that direction… Ah, just a little bit…”

Yan Xiuzhi, with the intention of finishing early and also being worn out by Zhou Ziyi, actually cooperated with Zhou Ziyi’s instructions. Before he realized it, he was almost pressed against Zhou Ziyi’s back.

They were very close.

Yan Xiuzhi was half a head taller than Zhou Ziyi, standing behind and covering his hand. In order to achieve a good effect, Zhou Ziyi stretched his hand forward and leaned his body backward. This positioning made it seem like Yan Xiuzhi was holding the young man close to his chest.

The scent of the perfume and hair gel that Yan Xiuzhi used when styling in the evening surrounded him.

He was not accustomed to being so close to people. Seeing Zhou Ziyi playing with his phone, he couldn’t help but ask, “Is it good?”

Zhou Ziyi didn’t answer whether it was good or not. While taking pictures, he casually said, “Oh? Mr. Yan, your voice sounds really nice when it’s this close.”

Yan Xiuzhi immediately retracted his hand.

“We’ve taken so many, it should be enough for you to choose from.” President Yan decided not to play along anymore and took two steps back. “You can handle it yourself.”

“Oh? Alright then.” Zhou Ziyi said, “After I select the photos, I’ll send you the original ones and also the captions.”

Yan Xiuzhi said, “I won’t review them.”

Zhou Ziyi: “I didn’t ask you to review it. Let’s just post it together.”

Yan Xiuzhi: “Why do we need to post the same thing twice?”

Zhou Ziyi: “Um, that’s just how it works. Either you repost mine.”

Yan Xiuzhi: “I’ll give you a like.”

Zhou Ziyi: “Ge, it’s not just me getting married! You’re also involved, you know?”

Yan Xiuzhi: “…”

“Hey, President, I’ll give you the photos and the text, you just copy and paste it, it won’t take a minute!” Zhou Ziyi was helpless. “Normally, I don’t ask you to post anything. I post, and you can just spare a moment to like it. If you’re busy, pretend you didn’t see it. But for the engagement and wedding, you have to show some support, right? So many people are watching you!”

Yan Xiuzhi probably didn’t want to continue the argument in the hallway, so he finally said, “Fine, I got it.”

After saying that, he turned around and walked away, determined not to let Zhou Ziyi cause any more trouble. Zhou Ziyi hurriedly chased after him and asked the most important question, “Wait! Mr. Yan, what’s the Wi-Fi password at home?”

Yan Xiuzhi didn’t even look back. “It’s my birthday.”

Zhou Ziyi reminded him again, “Mr. Yan, remember to take off your wedding ring and wear a plain one to work tomorrow!”

The only response he received was the sound of Yan Xiuzhi closing the door.

Zhou Ziyi suspected that this guy might even lock the door.

“Tsk, why run away? I’m not a ferocious beast…” Zhou Ziyi looked at the tightly closed door, loosened his tie, and chuckled.

Then he sent a message to the man who had just left: [Mr. Yan, I want to visit your study and bedroom tomorrow! The day after tomorrow, I’m going furniture shopping with Auntie!]

Zhou Ziyi: [Also, should you lock the box where the diamond ring is kept?]

Zhou Ziyi: [And, what time does the housekeeper usually arrive?]

These questions went unanswered until Zhou Ziyi finished showering, changed clothes, unpacked the bouquet, arranged the flowers in a vase, and placed it on the coffee table in the living room on the first floor.

Zhou Ziyi pulled out a pillow and blanket from the closet, made the bed, and climbed in. As he looked at the still unanswered message interface, the young man raised an eyebrow.

He selected a photo, attached a simple and popular caption, and sent it to Yan Xiuzhi again.

Still, not even a “received” in response.

Zhou Ziyi pursed his lips, casually posted it himself, and ignored Yan Xiuzhi’s actions. After all, he had done his best today, and if the other party wasn’t willing to cooperate, there was nothing he could do.

However, ten minutes later, Zhou Ziyi’s phone rang, indicating that the person they were particularly concerned about had posted a status update.

Yan Xiuzhi: “From now on, please take care of me more.”
Attached is a picture, of course, it is a hand-holding picture carefully selected by Zhou Ziyi, with various filters and color adjustments tried. The two engagement rings are shining brightly.

Zhou Ziyi was about to like the post when he noticed that someone else was quicker than him.

Secretary Li Fei instantly liked it!

PS: “Congratulations to President Yan! May you have a hundred years of happiness!!!”

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Yan Xiuzhi and Zhou Ziyi (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)