What did he mean by that?
Was he genuinely asking her opinion, or was it just polite small talk that really meant “I’ve explained everything there is to explain, so let’s part ways amicably”?
She wasn’t so oblivious as to think he was actually interested in her or anything like that.
Jiang Zao didn’t dare to guess for sure, and she certainly didn’t dare speak the truth. After all, he was the one signing her paychecks now—offending the boss brought nothing but harm.
How could she blurt out, “What, you want a third time?”
Jiang Zao let out an awkward laugh. Her eyes fixed on the servers carrying dish after dish from the prep area to the table, she pretended to be distracted and stiffly changed the subject. “Oh, food’s coming out. Your friend said the Drunken Crab is amazing—is it really?”
“I haven’t had crab this good before.”
Xie Lisheng toyed with his wine glass, a teasing glint drifting through his eyes. Too lazy to call her bluff, he said, “Go on and eat.”
Jiang Zao felt like she’d been granted a pardon. She slipped over to the table, exchanged a few pleasantries with the other three men, then took the lead in sitting down and digging in.
She’d only had a single slice of bread since starting work at nine that morning and was starving, on the verge of wasting away to nothing.
Rich folks didn’t seem to care much for eating. Rather than let such a lavish feast go to waste, she’d devour every last bite!
The three who’d finished their pool game didn’t rush to eat. They washed their hands and sauntered back to the booth to chat.
Zhao Yangcheng poured himself half a glass of wine. Spotting Jiang Zao chowing down solo, he remarked—it had been ages since he’d seen anyone eat with such relish—”I’ve had Shanghai cuisine here plenty of times and never found it all that exciting, but watching Miss Jiang go at it today has me hungry all over again.”
His friend laughed at him. “You’re hungry? Isn’t it because the two of us wore you out on the pool table?”
Zhao Yangcheng cursed. “Get lost—screw you!”
The man who’d just blocked Jiang Zao from joining their toast stared at her intently for a moment. Smiling, he said to Zhao Yangcheng, “Is this the girl your family set you up with? She’s something else. Too bad you didn’t show up yourself.”
“Fated people always find each other somehow. Look, Lisheng brought her around to meet me.” Zhao Yangcheng wagged his head smugly, utterly shameless. “But I’m a total scumbag—I won’t ruin Miss Jiang’s bright future. Besides, she’s gorgeous and well-educated. She wouldn’t give a guy like me the time of day.”
The man glanced at Xie Lisheng, who was fiddling with his phone nearby. “What do you think?”
Xie Lisheng didn’t even look up. “About what?”
The man glanced back at the girl quietly eating not far away. Jiang Zao was indeed a rare breed in their circle—not some once-in-a-millennium beauty, but her vibe.
She had those slim arms and legs, a delicate little face that looked like it would flush pink at the slightest touch, yet she radiated an unwavering seriousness and quiet strength at all times. It was pretty endearing.
He cut straight to the chase. “I think Miss Jiang’s pretty interesting. If this blind date was just a mix-up, I’d like to ask her out for a chat.”
“Big Boss Xie, you mind?”
Zhao Yangcheng got goosebumps and spat at him. “Damn, poaching your bro’s blind-date girl? You’re no gentleman.”
Such situations were rare among friends, and everyone was eager for his reaction. Xie Lisheng’s expression didn’t change a bit. Incredulous, he looked at his friend and smirked with a furrowed brow. “What does it matter if I mind? You’re not asking me out.”
“Drink less. Your brain’s clogged up.”
With that, he pocketed his phone, stood, and ambled toward the dining area.
The remaining three men exchanged baffled looks. Zhao Yangcheng shuddered. “How does a guy with such a filthy mouth end up as CEO? On sincerity alone?”
Jiang Zao hadn’t caught a word of their conversation—she was completely lost in an ocean of delicious food.
When she’d first entered the club, she’d figured it was the entertainment-focused type with mediocre grub. She hadn’t expected every random dish to be this good.
The head chefs knew their stuff. Beyond the standard menu, they’d turned the delivered Drunken Crabs into several creative variations. Right in front of her was a bowl of noodles paired with freshly scooped crab roe.
She only looked up when Xie Lisheng sat down beside her, catching the undisguised disgust on his face directed at her.
Xie Lisheng settled in and methodically adjusted his utensils. “Slow down. No one’s fighting you for it.”
“Didn’t the Yunsheng Cafeteria feed you lunch?”
Jiang Zao wiped the glossy crab roe from her mouth and answered honestly. “I had to wait for you in the garden at noon, so I skipped the cafeteria.”
Guilt crashed down on his head like a bucket. Xie Lisheng’s eye corner twitched. He picked up some greens with his chopsticks. “Eat up. Dinner’s on me till you’re stuffed. Not enough? Order more to go.”
The crisp clink of bowls and chopsticks filled the air as the two ate in mutual silence.
Xie Lisheng ate lightly and was quite picky. After scanning the table, he only picked one or two dishes, but his eating speed wasn’t slow at all. While chewing, he watched her. After swallowing, he said, “I’ll drive you back after we finish. Don’t want to make you late for work tomorrow morning.”
“Leaving already?” Jiang Zao glanced at the men still lounging in the booth, drinking and chatting away. Was it that he didn’t want an outsider like her lingering in his social circle too long?
He found it amusing. “What, you want to stick around for a night out?”
“I just meant you don’t have to if you weren’t planning to.” She shook her head and explained, “I can get back on my own just fine.”
God only knew how excruciating the ride in his car would be.
She loved buses, subways, bike shares—anything that didn’t involve Xie Lisheng.
Xie Lisheng didn’t say much more. He ate quickly, seeming even more eager than she was. “Hurry up and eat. Then we can go.”
Jiang Zao eyed the table full of leftovers and considered asking if they could pack some up, but she didn’t dare.
Wouldn’t that make her look utterly pathetic?
~~~
On the way back, Jiang Zao upgraded from the Panamera’s rear seat to the front passenger side.
Watching the man beside her handle the car with practiced ease, she thought to herself that if Li Li found out the CEO had personally driven her home, her friend would probably explode in shock for a solid three hours.
Luckily, the blind date mess was officially over as of today. They had no reason to interact anymore, and it was unlikely they’d cross paths again.
She had just started at Yunsheng, after all. The more distance between her and Xie Lisheng, the better.
She had already buckled her seatbelt and was waiting for him to start the engine when someone knocked on the window from outside. Jiang Zao glanced at Xie Lisheng, whose expression remained calm, then turned to lower the window. It was the club’s manager.
The manager beamed as he handed in a takeout bag. “These are our signature dishes, freshly made just for you. Just pop them in the microwave. Hope you enjoy, and please come back anytime.”
Jiang Zao stared in surprise and looked at Xie Lisheng. “This is yours…?”
“Afraid you’d never splurge on something like this again. Consider it compensation for your lunch.” Xie Lisheng raised the window for her, gripped the steering wheel, and hit the gas. “No need to thank me.”
“If word got out that a Yunsheng employee was starving at our own company, it’d make me look pretty bad.”
Jiang Zao: “…”
Haha, somehow taking it felt worse than leaving empty-handed.
With a mouth like yours, you could do a hundred good deeds and still only get zero thanks and a hundred curses.
The sleek Panamera glided through the streets, drawing plenty of stares and smartphone snaps from passersby.
His playlist filled the cabin—not boring at all, but Jiang Zao still felt intensely awkward.
This was the final awkward leg of the whole blind date disaster. Figuring they’d go their separate ways after this with zero overlap, she decided to break the ice. It wouldn’t kill her.
Clutching the folder on her lap, she thought for a moment and said, “So… you were really just doing it as a favor for your friend. You never intended to go on a blind date yourself, right?”
He had no real need for one, yet he’d played along so convincingly at the setup that day. It was all just to mess with her.
Streetlights streaked across his face through the window as Xie Lisheng kept his eyes on the road ahead. “Couldn’t it be that I wanted to find someone myself? Don’t I seem like the type who needs a blind date?”
Jiang Zao’s eyes flicked sideways in thought. You’re literally the person on earth who needs one most. Without a setup, what girl could put up with you?
But when she spoke, she held back: “Sure, I get it.”
The car entered a city tunnel, where the orange glow outside blurred everything into fleeting shadows. “I’ve seen it a lot these past few years. Feels like only two kinds of people get married young.”
“One is from a really stable, well-off family. Even without love, it’s at least a mutually beneficial alliance. The other is the total opposite.”
The first kind’s marriage was a powerhouse combo: 1 + 1 > 2.
The second was more like 1 × 0 + 1 = 1.
No matter how you struggled, that “×0” starting point dragged you right back to square one. So you desperately wanted someone—anyone—to fill the void you’d become.
They didn’t have to be perfect or forever. Just good enough to help you escape the now.
After she finished, Xie Lisheng spared a glance at her through the rearview mirror, his look loaded with meaning. “So, which one are you?”
“Me?” Jiang Zao had just been musing aloud and hadn’t expected a response. She laughed it off. “I’m not in any rush to get married. Just thinking out loud.”
Then she tossed the question back. “President Xie, you’re definitely the first type, right?”
He chuckled. “I’ve noticed you love answering questions with more questions.”
Jiang Zao froze, then turned her head away—
The sports car wasn’t going slow, but the tunnel dragged on for so long that their casual conversation had ample time to simmer through several awkward turns.
The tunnel lights blazed with eye-searing brightness. Streaks of glowing spots streamed past the windows, casting fleeting shadows that etched Xie Lisheng’s profile in alternating light and dark. His brows and eyes flickered just like his smiling words—devoid of any warmth she could discern—leaving her utterly unable to read him.
His posture was completely relaxed, yet his right hand on the steering wheel radiated an air of total control.
In that instant, Jiang Zao suddenly realized that Xie Lisheng operated on a level beyond her experience. All those flaws people gossiped about were nothing more than his carefree attitude of not giving a damn about others’ opinions.
But she couldn’t deny it: her gaze was now locked on the inexplicable allure that had suddenly emanated from him, impossible to tear away.
A sudden WeChat call on her phone finally rescued her.
Xie Lisheng glanced at her screen and turned down the car stereo. “Go ahead and answer it,” he reminded her.
Jiang Zao snapped back to reality. “Oh,” she said, picking up Little Aunt’s call. “Hello? What’s up?”
“Have you made it home yet?” Little Aunt’s cheerful tone was as warm as ever.
Jiang Zao shot a glance at the man driving. “Almost. I’m on my way.”
Little Aunt knew exactly what she’d been up to that day and pressed eagerly. “So you’ve already parted ways? Spill it—how’d the meeting go? I’ve set you up with two or three guys, and this is the first one’s had any follow-through.”
With the man himself right there in the car, a chill prickled down Jiang Zao’s spine. She hurriedly cupped her hand over the mouthpiece, terrified a single word might slip out.
But then she remembered their earlier conversation. With a sigh, she told her elder straight up. “We cleared things up face-to-face. There was a misunderstanding. Don’t go arranging anything else behind my back—we’re both swamped with work.”
“That’s pretty much it. And please, don’t contact him on my behalf anymore.”
The sports car shot out of the tunnel, and the crystal-clear windshield plunged into a deep veil of midnight blue.
Xie Lisheng threw a subtle glance her way.
Little Aunt had called brimming with excitement, only to get this letdown. Her tone drooped noticeably. “Oh… still not to your liking? Are Qiqi’s standards a bit too high? Come on, give me the details…”
Jiang Zao had no choice but to cut her off. “Alright, I can’t hear properly on the road. We’ll talk when I get home. Gotta go.”
Even though she’d kept the volume low, the driver was sharp enough that Jiang Zao figured Xie Lisheng had pieced together the gist.
It was a blind date with no future anyway—better for her to take the initiative and shut it down.
Yet after she hung up, the atmosphere in the car turned rigid. The AC blasted cold enough to raise goosebumps on her arms.
She sneaked a peek at him. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to chat either, so she bowed her head and started flipping through her work documents.
The remaining distance flew by in heavy silence, and before long, the car pulled into her Residential Complex.
Xie Lisheng proved a gentleman, escorting her right up to her building.
Jiang Zao unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out. She’d just murmured some polite thanks and turned to leave when he called after her.
He fished an ID Card from the center console and held it out the window.
“What’s this?” she asked, baffled.
Xie Lisheng gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other resting on the center armrest, his voice as casual as ever. “Access card for the East Building.”
“Just staring at docs to learn the product is no fun. An hour hands-on beats cramming from memory any day.”
Surprised, Jiang Zao examined the card in her hand and asked curiously, “Do all the new hires in the Planning Department get one?”
At that, Xie Lisheng’s eyelid drooped. He tilted his head and shot back, “If I gave ’em out to everyone, my Research and Development Department would turn into a damn farmer’s market.”
Her face flushed crimson. She blinked, utterly speechless. “…”
He shifted into gear. His relaxed hand slid up the leather-wrapped steering wheel before gripping it firmly at the top.
Just before stomping the accelerator, Xie Lisheng let out a soft, mocking chuckle.
“Special perks… for the ex-blind date.”