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Chapter 13
Help Me Tie My Tie (Bug Fix)

Yang Minghui had been working by Cheng Wanting’s side for over a decade. After being saved by him, he transformed from a small-time thug in a slum into the secretary of one of Hong Kong’s most powerful business figures. Not only did he earn over 200,000 a year, but when he got married last year, the young master even gifted him a new 100-square-meter apartment.

Because of this, Yang Minghui was absolutely loyal and considered himself well-acquainted with the young master. However, lately, many of the young master’s actions had left him completely baffled, and no amount of pondering could help him make sense of them.

Take now, for example.

Early in the morning, after attending several meetings at the company, the young master went to lunch at the Mandarin Hotel with Director Yang from HSBC. Over the course of the meal, they successfully reached an agreement on the equity of Crescent Bay.

By the young master’s usual habits, he would have gone straight back to the office after lunch to continue working. But today was different—he instructed the driver to detour to the Chung Hwa Bookstore.

The driver stayed in the car, occasionally glancing at the young master browsing books inside, while Secretary Yang observed up close in confusion as the young master, who usually dealt with millions and never wasted time, was carefully selecting children’s literacy books and elementary school textbooks!

And he was even picking them out very seriously! How was this logical?!

If Yang Minghui didn’t know that the young master was unmarried, had no romantic relationships, and had never been seen with a woman, he would have suspected the young master secretly had a child.

“Take these to the counter,” Cheng Wanting instructed, handing over more than a dozen books before Yang Minghui could figure things out. Without delay, Yang quickly paid for them.

Back in the car, Yang Minghui couldn’t help but glance curiously at the pile of books.
“Young master, are these for Wenwen?”

Wenwen was the two-year-old daughter of Cheng Zhihau, the second son of the Cheng family, and she should be calling Cheng Wanting “Uncle.”

Cheng Wanting cast him a faint glance, instantly silencing him.
“To the Mid-Levels villa.”

Yang Minghui: ?

It was a weekday afternoon, and the young master was skipping work? That was so out of character!

As the car slowly climbed the winding mountain road, Yang Minghui suddenly remembered—Miss Lin at the Mid-Levels villa had been learning Cantonese recently!

It felt like he had uncovered a huge secret. For the rest of the ride, Yang didn’t dare make a sound, his mind buzzing.

Yet despite the young master returning home specially, Miss Lin wasn’t there.

Housekeeper Hua reported her whereabouts:
“Miss Lin went out, said she was meeting friends… She likes going out and having fun—young people, after all, can’t stay cooped up inside all the time… Yes, she goes out every day. I heard she found a doctor to teach her Cantonese—he’s very good. Miss Lin even said the doctor is very handsome, humorous, and quite capable…”

At the last part, Yang Minghui’s eyelid twitched sharply. He didn’t dare look back at the young master’s expression and simply faced away, volunteering,
“Young master, I’ll immediately send someone to find out where Miss Lin is.”

++++

Lin Keying, who was soon returning to the mainland, didn’t have much time left to learn Cantonese. At the moment, she was strolling the streets of Hong Kong, buying snacks and drinks while practicing the language.

Recently, she had inquired with Secretary Yang and found that shipping routes from Hong Kong to the mainland were infrequent.

In recent years, with the reopening of the mainland, connections with Hong Kong had gradually resumed, turning the city into a vital transportation hub, stepping into an era of booming growth. A single shipping trip could take one to two months at sea. Even Hong Kong’s largest shipping companies had to arrange schedules carefully, prioritizing cargo while occasionally taking on passengers.

Of course, there were also ships departing every few days—but those mainly smuggled illegal immigrants. The ships were small, old, and highly unsafe, where a single mishap could mean death.

Lin Keying valued her life and naturally wouldn’t take that risk.

The ship she planned to take back to the mainland was in five days.

Her wardrobe of over twenty outfits had been neatly packed, leaving only what she needed for the next few days.

When she first arrived, she had only a burlap bundle with two patched-up old outfits. Now, she had gained a lot.

She had also bought a batch of clothes and stored them at Sister He’s house. Once she settled back in the mainland, she planned to have Sister He mail them to her and slowly recruit people to start a business. The future looked bright in her imagination.

The only thing frustrating her was how her fiancé had recently been acting strangely—actually coming back to the Mid-Levels villa every night. This meant she had to hurry back before he got home from work every evening to continue playing the part of a doting, lovestruck fiancée.

Her carefree days were heavily restricted.

Fortunately, no one controlled her during the day, so she could still enjoy Hong Kong freely, just avoiding areas dominated by gangs.

Tingting had returned to school after her illness, and after class, she would take Lin Keying to eat egg waffles and drink sweet soup nearby, acting like a generous host.

Even young Doctor Ho would show up from time to time, saying he was off work. He would wander the streets and alleys with the high schoolers and Lin Keying, especially eager to introduce her to Hong Kong’s local customs.

Tingting secretly gossiped,
“Sister Keying, is Doctor Ho trying to date you?”

Lin Keying glanced at the freshman girl and let it go—kids her age loved to gossip.

She murmured,
“Nothing like that. Don’t be so nosy, kid.”

Tingting, who had watched many TV dramas, thought she knew plenty and wasn’t wrong—at least Doctor Ho was definitely courting Sister Keying.

The three met up with Ah Qiang, who was two grades higher, outside the school. Lin Keying satisfied her cravings with a bowl of honey-glazed barbecue pork rice and a glass of milk tea.

Before returning to the villa, she stopped by a wholesale clothing market, picked out some trendy clothes and accessories similar to those worn by movie stars, and even bargained so well with a friendly vendor that he gifted her a freebie—a dark red striped tie.

The vendor winked mischievously,
“Pretty girl, this would be perfect as a gift for your boyfriend.”

Lin Keying noticed how he subtly glanced at Doctor Ho, who had offered to carry her bags:
“…”

There was no way she’d dare give it away! Giving a man a tie was far too suggestive.

In the end, she stuffed the freebie into her pile of clothes. Who said women couldn’t wear ties? She could wear it herself!

After a full day of eating, drinking, and shopping, she returned to the villa around 7 PM. Based on her fiancé’s usual workaholic routine, he wouldn’t be back until 9 or even 10 PM. She still had time to get home and pretend to be the devoted fiancée.

However, as soon as she returned, Ah Mei approached, gesturing and whispering slowly in Cantonese:
“Miss Lin, the young master came back this afternoon and asked where you went.”

Lin Keying: “…!”

Why wasn’t her fiancé working hard in the office and instead came home in broad daylight?

When she entered the villa, she saw the tall man sitting on the sofa like a mountain.

The lights were off, and Cheng Wanting sat shrouded in shadows, his expression unreadable.

“You sure seem to enjoy going out every day,” he said quietly, his tone unreadable.

“Young master.” Lin Keying’s mind spun quickly, and she blurted out,
“Why did you come home so early today? I went out to… buy you a tie.”

Suddenly remembering the vendor’s freebie, she quickly dug it out from her clothes.

“It’s just that this thing isn’t worth much. I didn’t feel right giving it to you.”
She glanced at her fiancé’s meticulously tailored, high-end attire, clearly incompatible with a street-market tie.

But that didn’t matter. He’d definitely refuse it anyway, and she just needed an excuse to cover for going out.

Cheng Wanting thought back to coming home early today and finding she was out. After Yang Minghui’s investigation, her whereabouts were confirmed at St. Paul’s School.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Oh? With the doctor from Mary Hospital?”

Alarms blared in Lin Keying’s mind, and she quickly reasoned,
“I wanted to buy you a tie, so of course I needed to consult a male friend. Today, I met Doctor Ho to ask his advice on how to choose a good tie for a man.”

As soon as she finished, she saw him lift his gaze, his dark eyes locking onto hers in the pale moonlight, his expression softening slightly.

“Good.” Cheng Wanting’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stood and went upstairs, leaving behind,
“The books on the table are for you. Study them well.”

Lin Keying had no time to deal with her moody fiancé; she simply stared in shock at the mountain of study materials on the coffee table.

She’d just casually mentioned learning Cantonese, and she was leaving in a few days—why had he gotten so many books?

There were even elementary school textbooks!

It had been far too long since she’d studied or taken exams. Even her university days were a blur. Now, faced with all these materials, she only felt a headache coming on.

And that very night, past 9 PM, just as she was about to ignore her fiancé’s words and read a newspaper full of entertainment gossip, there was a sudden knock at her door.

Hurriedly hiding the headline-filled paper under her pillow and pretending to study the textbook on her desk, she called out,
“Come in.”

“Miss Lin.”

Hearing Ah Mei’s voice, Lin Keying relaxed—only to tense up again at her next words.

“The young master wants you to bring your books to the study upstairs.”

Lin Keying: ?

…

She had long heard the study was off-limits, full of the Cheng family’s business secrets worth millions, even billions.

Standing outside the second-floor study, she was puzzled.

What was her fiancé’s intention, letting her in here?

She knocked lightly, and a calm voice replied,
“Come in.”

Pushing the slightly ajar door open, she saw the spacious, minimalist study at a glance.

The decor was almost austere. A thick dark gray carpet stretched across the floor, as soft as walking on clouds. In the center were a rosewood sofa and coffee table, dark and rich in color.

The carpet extended to the walls, where a floor-to-ceiling glass bookcase was filled with countless books.

The rosewood desk was rectangular with natural flowing wood grains and a deep luster that shimmered faintly under the white lights.

Her fiancé sat behind it, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. His heavy suit hung on a rosewood coat rack, leaving him in just a white shirt that exuded a restrained, ascetic air.

Lin Keying admired him for a second before snapping back to reality.

He looked up, his thin lips parting slightly.
“Did you study?”

Lin Keying: “…”

Are you checking my homework?

No matter how much she grumbled inside, she wouldn’t admit she’d been reading gossip tabloids.
“I was studying. I’m very serious about learning.”

That claim gave her fiancé the chance to quiz her a few times. Lin Keying stumbled through the conversation, finally finding a chance to escape the study.

Phew. What was her fiancé’s deal, suddenly quizzing her like that?

After a long day, especially getting “interrogated” and forced to study at night, Lin Keying felt exhausted. After washing up, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

But the next morning, there was a sharp knock at her door, waking her up from her dreams.

“Who is it?” she rubbed her sleepy eyes. Receiving no answer, she reluctantly got out of bed.

To her surprise, standing outside was the tall, straight figure of her fiancé.

Towering like a mountain, he instantly blocked out the light. Only his white shirt softened his sharp aura.

At exactly 8 o’clock, the living room clock chimed once. Lin Keying squinted her almond eyes, puzzled why her fiancé was at her door so early.

“Help me tie my tie,” he said coolly.

Lin Keying, who was a full head shorter than him, stared blankly at his bare neck—there really was no sign of the usual exquisite, expensive tie.

But her tie was just a two-dollar street-market freebie!

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