Chapter 80

When Shen Zhi nodded in admission, the expression on Wen Qianxia’s face across from him was a strange mix of pleasant surprise, astonishment, or more accurately, sheer shock.

A feeling of reverence and anxiety suddenly welled up within Wen Qianxia.

After all, this was a man who hadn’t appeared in any alumni groups for years, yet whose legends had never ceased. Shen Zhi wasn’t the type to attend class reunions. Moreover, after finishing university, going abroad, and returning to the country, he kept in touch with even fewer of his former classmates.

However, he was the kind of person whose name frequently appeared in financial news, ranking right at the top among No. 4 High School’s distinguished alumni. The school often paraded his name around as a proud asset to attract new students.

Thus, Wen Qianxia quickly recognized Shen Zhi.

Shen Zhi looked at her and gave a faint nod: “Long time no see, Wen Qianxia.”

If he hadn’t been sitting right across from her, Wen Qianxia would have desperately clutched her chest and shouted “Oh my god!” three times. She truly hadn’t expected that after so many years, Shen Zhi could actually recognize her and even call out her exact name.

She felt genuinely honored.

Wen Qianxia stared at him eagerly, her voice trembling slightly: “You… you actually still remember me?”

“We were high school classmates in the same class.” Shen Zhi rested his fingers on the cup in front of him—a typical Japanese-style cup with a textured, uneven surface—and pressed his fingertips gently against it.

Wen Qianxia’s head nodded vigorously like a chicken pecking at grain. Excitedly, she said: “Yes, yes! We were in the same class. Honestly, your memory is amazing, to still remember me after all this time.”

Shen Zhi let out a soft laugh: “Don’t you remember me as well?”

Wen Qianxia waved her hand sheepishly: “That’s different! You’re a celebrity, and I’m just an ordinary person.”

Wen Qianxia wasn’t just being modest. Back in school, she was the middle-of-the-road type of student—neither bad enough for everyone to remember, nor good enough for everyone to remember.

High school had too many girls like her; they were the ordinary masses.

Someone like Shen Zhi was the rare figure at the top of the pyramid.

So it wasn’t surprising that she knew Shen Zhi, but it was practically a miracle that Shen Zhi remembered her.

Ji Ran listened to their lively conversation from the side, feeling an inexplicable happiness. She couldn’t help saying: “Now that you two classmates have recognized each other, can we start eating?”

“Oh, right, I don’t know your name yet.” Wen Qianxia looked at Ji Ran and said shyly.

Ji Ran blinked. It seemed she really had forgotten to introduce herself. She smiled and said: “My name is Ji Ran.”

“Hello, I’m Wen Qianxia.”

After saying that, Wen Qianxia added apologetically: “I’m really sorry about tonight, interrupting dinner for the two of you.”

Ji Ran didn’t mind at all. In her eyes, there would be plenty of opportunities to eat with Shen Zhi in the future. Bumping into Wen Qianxia today in a city as vast as B City was a truly unexpected and joyful surprise.

As a result, the two girls ended up chatting animatedly with each other instead.

Shen Zhi was a man of few words and quietly listened to them chat.

Ji Ran intentionally inquired about Shen Zhi’s high school days. She just wanted to confirm: was the high school she had gone back to really identical to the real-world No. 4 High School?

“You have no idea, we students at No. 4 High were so superstitious. Every time mid-term exams rolled around, we had to bring offerings to worship Confucius!” As Wen Qianxia spoke about high school with great enthusiasm…

Hearing this part, Ji Ran suddenly felt tears welling up in her eyes.

So it was all real.

It wasn’t just a dream.

Ji Ran felt the corners of her eyes grow moist out of pure happiness. She picked up the sake glass in front of her—they had specifically ordered a bottle of sake today.

In truth, Ji Ran didn’t like drinking alcohol; it was just that after joining the workforce, social drinking was unavoidable.

Because of this, she had developed a personal habit of not touching a drop of alcohol in private. Yet right now, Ji Ran proactively poured a bottle of sake to drink together with Wen Qianxia.

Wen Qianxia had just suffered a breakup, so her mood was down as well.

Glass after glass, the two ended up almost finishing the entire bottle of sake.

Shen Zhi had stepped out to use the restroom. By the time he returned, he saw her face flushed rosy from the alcohol, her eyes misty and shimmering with a bewitching, watery luster.

Ji Ran poured herself another glass. Shen Zhi immediately reached out, pressed his palm over her hand, and said in a low voice: “Ji Ran, no more drinking.”

Ji Ran looked up at him, her eyes slightly red.

Yet somehow, she managed to keep her mind barely conscious. She gazed at him and whispered: “Shen Zhi.”

Shen Zhi gave a low response. But faster than thought, Ji Ran suddenly reached out her other hand, snatched the sake glass in front of him, and downed it in one gulp.

Shen Zhi: “…”

This little drunkard.

However, when Shen Zhi saw her lick her lips with satisfaction—her bright red lips moist and lustrous, looking extra soft and pink due to the alcohol—his eyes instantly darkened, and a part of his body reactively stirred.

He subconsciously turned his head away, no longer looking at her.

Ji Ran accompanied the heartbroken Wen Qianxia glass after glass. In the end, the two even found the small glasses unsatisfying and picked up the sake bottle itself, drinking straight from the mouth.

Wen Qianxia sobbed and whimpered: “Let me tell you, Ranran… men are all bastards!”

Ji Ran nodded. By now, she had drunk quite a lot and was thoroughly dazed. Not only was her head spinning, but her vision was also getting blurry. Yet she turned her head to look at Shen Zhi, suddenly let out a soft laugh, and whispered: “Except Ah Zhi.”

“Ah Zhi… is definitely not.”

The moment he heard those words, Shen Zhi’s entire body froze completely.

His wrist, which had been holding a pair of chopsticks, suddenly let go. He grabbed her shoulders quickly and asked in a low, urgent voice: “Ji Ran, what did you just call me? What did you just call me?”

At that moment, however, Ji Ran gently slumped into his arms, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

Half-asleep and half-awake, Ji Ran felt like she saw Shen Zhi and was leaning against his chest. She immediately wrapped her arms around him. It felt so wonderful; he was tangibly, genuinely right by her side.

As if finding the current posture uncomfortable, Ji Ran snuggled even deeper into his embrace.

Shen Zhi gazed at the person in his arms who was now completely out cold. He wanted to laugh, but what he felt most in his heart was relief and luck.

Finally…

—

When Ji Ran woke up, she had a splitting headache. This pain was different from when she had previously woken up from her coma; it was accompanied by waves of nausea.

When she opened her eyes, the surroundings were very dark because the curtains were drawn tightly.

It was impossible to tell what time it was.

Ji Ran supported her forehead and sat up. As the blanket slid off her body, she felt a chill against her skin. Looking down, she almost screamed in terror.

Apart from her underwear, the dress she had been wearing was completely gone!

What to do? What on earth happened?!

However, no matter how hard she tried to recall, she remembered almost nothing about what happened after she got drunk. She didn’t even know how she had ended up in this hotel room.

She looked down at her body again. Although she had never “eaten meat” before, she was no longer a teenage girl.

If something had really happened, her body should feel it, right?

Yet Ji Ran couldn’t be certain either. After all, everyone’s body is built differently—what if she just happened to be the type who didn’t feel much pain after doing bad things?

Ji Ran looked down for a long time, trying to find any hickeys or finger marks on herself.

However, her skin was overly fair and delicate; usually, even a gentle pinch would leave a red mark. Yet now, after about a full night had passed, the skin on her body remained fair and smooth.

There were no marks whatsoever.

Just as Ji Ran was agonizing over whether anything had actually happened between her and Shen Zhi, she heard the sound of the outer door.

It turned out this was a hotel suite.

There was a clear sound of an outer door opening, but the door to her bedroom hadn’t been pushed open yet.

Just as she reached out to pull the blanket back up to her chest, the bedroom door was pushed open. Shen Zhi’s tall figure appeared at the doorway, carrying a large paper bag in his hand.

He hadn’t expected Ji Ran to be awake already. Pushing the door open, he saw the woman sitting on the bed.

Her shoulders were exposed to the air; snow-white, rounded shoulders connected to delicate, lovely collarbones. Her skin was so strikingly white that it deeply stirred the emotions in the depths of his eyes.

Ji Ran felt somewhat shy right now. Even though it was Shen Zhi, she had never faced him in such a state before.

Fortunately, both were adults. Even if they felt a bit flustered inside, they maintained composure on the surface. Shen Zhi carried the bag inside, placed it on the small sofa opposite the bed, and said softly: “Your clothes got dirty, so I bought you a set to change into.”

Ji Ran nodded.

Shen Zhi then said: “I’ll wait for you outside. Room service will bring breakfast up in a bit.”

Ji Ran nodded again.

After Shen Zhi left, Ji Ran immediately got up to fetch the clothes in the bag. She just hadn’t expected them to be a white shirt and black trousers—the kind of rigid, office-worker attire.

A bit matronly.

Ji Ran hadn’t anticipated that Shen Zhi, who usually dressed so refined and sharp, would have such terrible taste when buying clothes for her. Still, she brought them into the bathroom, planning to change into them after taking a shower.

Unexpectedly, as she walked into the bathroom, she hadn’t paid attention at first, but the huge mirror inside immediately gave her a clear view of her body’s condition.

Ji Ran discovered strange marks on both sides of her waist.

Looking down to examine them closely, she found marks resembling fingerprints on the sides of her waist.

Ji Ran’s brain instantly exploded! Could it be that something really *did* happen between her and Shen Zhi? Because the fingerprint marks on her waist instantly made her imagine what kind of position would leave such traces…

It would only leave fingerprints like these when his hands gripped her waist fiercely!

Ji Ran stared at them for a long time, and a triumphant smile suddenly touched her lips. Honestly, when she drank in front of Shen Zhi last night, she really hadn’t harbored such intentions.

But if something really had happened, she wouldn’t mind it either.

Adult men and women, fueled by alcohol—it was only natural for sparks to fly and ignite a fire.

Besides, the fact that she got drunk in front of Shen Zhi meant she had zero defenses against him in the first place.

Ji Ran quickly changed her clothes. Yes, she needed to strike while the iron was hot and win over this unapproachable flower in one fell swoop! The process didn’t matter to her; only the result did.

So after showering and changing, Ji Ran stepped out to see Shen Zhi sitting by the dining table, a smile creeping onto her lips.

Shen Zhi had also changed into a fresh set of clothes. As she approached, she caught a subtle fragrance on him—not sweet or sickly, but a cool, refreshing woody scent.

Extremely crisp and pleasant.

Ji Ran sat down and looked at the breakfast before her—it was a Western-style breakfast, not too greasy.

She stole a glance at the man opposite her, not expecting Shen Zhi to look back at her openly. When their eyes met, Shen Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ji Ran immediately said: “I drank quite a bit last night, didn’t I?”

Seeing how calm he looked, Ji Ran felt it was necessary to remind him of what happened last night. She said: “Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

“It’s best if you don’t drink like that in the future,” Shen Zhi said, frowning.

Ji Ran screamed internally—she didn’t want to talk about drinking!

So Ji Ran decided to be more direct. She lightly adjusted the shirt on her shoulder and said with a touch of apology.

“I really troubled you last night. Look at me, my clothes got dirty, and you even had to help me take them off…”

“Ji Ran.” Shen Zhi suddenly interrupted her. Looking at her seriously, he said, “I asked the female hotel staff to help take off your clothes.”

Boom!

Ji Ran’s entire face flushed bright red. She felt humiliated—thoroughly humiliated!

Wasn’t Shen Zhi just trying to draw a clear line between himself and her?

If Ji Ran couldn’t catch that meaning, she would have lived all these years in vain. She felt she couldn’t stay here for another second.

She abruptly stood up from her chair and said coldly,”I’m full.”

Grabbing her bag, she left the suite directly. Even wearing nine-centimeter high heels, she walked like the wind. She rushed all the way to the elevator and pressed the down button. Fortunately, by sheer coincidence, the elevator happened to stop on her floor.

She stepped inside immediately, completely missing Shen Zhi who had chased out behind her.

Ji Ran felt it was far too embarrassing. As a woman, she didn’t even mind the idea of a drunk hookup, yet he actually told her that her clothes were taken off by hotel staff!

Is this dog of a man, Shen Zhi, even capable or what?!

Seeing a flower-like beauty like her by his side, did he not feel a single drop of temptation at all?

And as for herself—Ji Ran almost wanted to cover her face in shame. She was way too embarrassed.

She was going to like Shen Zhi a little less from now on!

—

This matter kept Ji Ran distracted all day long. Fortunately, she spent the entire day outside in meetings with people. The investment project had reached the actual field-inspection phase, and she was currently meeting with the other party’s head of operations.

This time, Gaotong Securities intended to act as the lead investor, so the investment amount and equity ratio were the core focus of the negotiations.

The various terms were complex and required utmost caution.

It could be said that they discussed clause by clause, weighing even a single word repeatedly.

It wasn’t until the evening that the other company’s boss invited Ji Ran to attend a small, private investors’ gathering. Ji Ran didn’t particularly enjoy these so-called industry gatherings.

Speaking of true industry expertise, who could be more professional than the people at Gaotong Securities? She would rather spend every day at her firm hanging out with her own employees.

However, since the host extended a warm invitation, Ji Ran didn’t decline.

It had to be said that although it was called a small banquet, it was indeed arranged quite decently. Held in the banquet hall of a private winery, there were numerous small round tables and chairs set up inside.

Off to the side, chefs were preparing delicacies on the spot, releasing tempting aromas.

However, most people who came here had little interest in the food. They either gathered in groups of three to five or stood in pairs, sharing their investment experiences.

The moment Ji Ran entered, introduced by her business partner, everyone learned she was an executive at Gaotong Securities and treated her with great enthusiasm.

The crowd even took turns wanting to chat with her in detail about investment strategies.

Ji Ran had zero interest in listening to this kind of grandstanding talk. After holding out for a little while, she found an excuse to go to the restroom.

When she returned from the restroom, she saw several people who had just walked in.

To her surprise, she recognized both the man and the woman leading the group.

Ji Ran narrowed her eyes slightly, gazing at Shen Yue and Jiang Yi. Neither of them looked the way they did ten years ago. Jiang Yi was twenty-seven this year, the same age as her, while Shen Yue was already in his thirties.

At this moment, Ji Ran suddenly remembered a rumor she had heard before her car accident—it was said that Jiang Yi was about to marry into a wealthy family.

So that “wealthy family” was Shen Yue!

Ji Ran suddenly realized that the things she had previously overlooked were gradually becoming clear. Jiang Yi had used the Ji family as a springboard to get to know Shen Yue. Perhaps they had dated when they were younger, broke up later, and had now hooked up again.

Ji Ran didn’t have a good impression of either of them.

She turned around, intending to ignore them.

Yet someone called out to her, greeting her with a smile: “Director Ji, Director Ji!”

Ji Ran originally wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard and just leave, but the person actually walked over to block her path, saying with a smile, “Director Ji, we were just discussing Huitong Electronics. You’re an expert—why don’t we chat together?”

By this time, Jiang Yi had also spotted her, her expression shifting subtly.

She had long known about Ji Ran waking up. After all, Ji Qingli’s overjoyed demeanor was obvious to the entire family. Furthermore, because of Ji Ran, her parents had argued several times.

When Ji Ran’s grandparents came to B City, they didn’t stay at home but at a hotel instead—something Jiang Liqi absolutely couldn’t accept.

She felt it was a clear display of cold disregard toward her from the grandparents.

On top of that, Jiang Liqi had learned that Ji Qingli intended to transfer a portion of the company’s shares to Ji Ran, which she was also adamantly opposed to. However, Ji Qingli, who usually consulted her on things, remained firm this time and brought up the two elders of the Ji family, stating that these shares were what the two elders wanted to give to Ji Ran.

So Jiang Liqi began trying to fight for Jiang Yi instead. Yet unexpectedly, while Ji Qingli agreed to give Jiang Yi a villa worth tens of millions, he refused to budge on the shares.

Jiang Yi had naturally heard about this too. She was furious inside, feeling that no matter how nicely Ji Qingli spoke—claiming he would treat her and Ji Ran equally—when it came to dividing the family property, he was still so biased.

Seeing Ji Ran right now, she naturally didn’t want to make things easy for her.

Thus, she deliberately said: “Which company is this Director Ji from?”

When someone introduced her as being from Gaotong Securities, Jiang Yi let out an exaggerated gasp: “Gaotong is a huge company! For Director Ji to reach such a high position at such a young age, you must certainly have quite a few methods.”

She didn’t say Ji Ran had ability; instead, she said she had *methods*. Instantly, the gazes of the people around them turned somewhat strange.

After all, they were familiar with investment firms like this. Which executive wasn’t in their mid-thirties or forties? Someone as young as Ji Ran was indeed rare, and she was so beautiful to boot.

People with wild imaginations were bound to start making connections right now.

Jiang Yi naturally knew that a bit of petty gossip wouldn’t do much to Ji Ran. She just wanted to disgust Ji Ran on purpose—who asked Ji Ran to constantly act like her mother, treating the two of them as if they didn’t exist?

Her mother had said it before: a person like Ji Ran was far too proud. She didn’t put them in her eyes at all and even felt that speaking to them was beneath her dignity.

So Jiang Yi seized the opportunity to thoroughly disgust Ji Ran as much as she could.

However, she hadn’t expected at all that the current Ji Ran was no longer the Ji Ran of the past. Ji Ran also finally understood how clumsy Jiang Yi’s tactics used to be; to think she had once felt that Jiang Yi took away her position as the eldest daughter of the Ji family.

Was someone like her even worthy?

Ji Ran was just short of rolling up her sleeves—talk about needing a beating after three days of peace!

Besides, seeing Jiang Yi together with Shen Yue made old grudges and new hatred surge up in her heart all at once.

Just as she set her champagne glass on the table, lifted her head, smiled, and was about to face Jiang Yi head-on, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. Ji Ran frowned slightly and was about to turn around and blow her top to see who was looking for trouble, when a familiar scent drifted into her nose.

It was that cool, refreshing woody fragrance.

Incredibly pleasant.

Shen Zhi wrapped his arm around her shoulder, looked at Jiang Yi across from them, and said in a cold tone: “Her ability is something a person like you, Miss Jiang, can neither reach nor comprehend.”

Jiang Yi naturally recognized Shen Zhi. Not only were they alumni, but Jiang Yi was also Shen Yue’s nominal girlfriend before.

What she hadn’t expected was that Shen Zhi would actually stand up and speak about her like that for Ji Ran’s sake.

“Did I say something wrong? If she didn’t have any methods, could she have worked her way into a place like this so quickly?” Jiang Yi had always viewed attending this kind of private gathering as a source of pride.

After all, it meant being accepted into a certain exclusive inner circle.

Even among the wealthy class, there were insurmountable chasms.

She hadn’t expected that after managing for so long to enter this circle, she would bump into Ji Ran here so soon—meaning it was easier for everyone to accept Ji Ran joining than accepting her.

Shen Zhi glanced down at Ji Ran, then suddenly let out a small chuckle. He said: “She can be here because her name is Ji Ran, and she is the youngest Executive Director at Gaotong Securities.”

“While the only reason you can appear here is because your stepfather is Mr. Ji Qingli.”

Jiang Yi—or to be precise, Ji Yi, as she was currently called—always kept her family background on her lips, to the point that many people subconsciously assumed she was Ji Qingli’s biological daughter.

Now, with a single light sentence, Shen Zhi exposed her in public, crushing her on the spot. Jiang Yi was so furious her whole body trembled.

Before Ji Ran was led away by Shen Zhi, she spent the whole time admiring the colorful array of expressions on Jiang Yi’s face—it was truly satisfying!

“Shen Zhi, I just realized your sharp-tongued skills are even better than mine.” Ji Ran was still immersed in that feeling of satisfaction, completely forgetting the unpleasantness that had happened between her and Shen Zhi this morning.

Shen Zhi pulled her into the winery’s villa. Everyone else was over in the banquet hall on the other side.

Here, there was no music, nor any noisy commotion.

Shen Zhi looked at her and called out, “Ranran, do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?”

Ji Ran stared at him and was just about to ask why he was looking for her, when suddenly, like a flash of lightning, she instinctively asked, “Shen Zhi, what did you just call me?”

“I only let my girlfriend manage me.”

“If I win, let’s go out and play together.”

“They say if you confess to the person you like during the first snow, you’ll stay together forever.”

…

The things he had said, the things she had said—he remembered them all. He had kept every single one in his heart.

At this moment, Ji Ran stared at him as if petrified. All her anxiety, fear, and worry vanished completely. By the time she reacted, both of her hands were already pounding forcefully against his chest.

“You scared me to death! I thought you didn’t remember anything!”

“I thought it was all just a dream, and that I was the only one who remembered!”

Shen Zhi looked down at her with a bitter, helpless smile: “Maybe you don’t understand… for me, *that* was my dream.”

Shen Zhi was also planning to explain the events of this morning and last night.

However, Ji Ran suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him directly down in front of her face, and whispered.

“Right now… shouldn’t you kiss me first?”