Before leaving, Zhan Jingrui gave Xu Zheng a "take care of yourself" look.
Seeing the two of them walk away, Xu Zheng let out a sigh of relief and turned to He Yao.
"It was so difficult, I was scared to death. But no matter what, we finally got a chance."
"There are still three days, He Yao. Time is tight and the task is heavy. Starting today, you will do nothing else. I'll find you a teacher to focus on learning chess, and strive to be proficient in three days."
"I don't expect you to win, but I hope you can play more games with him. As long as you don't lose too embarrassingly."
"You need to make him happy. With Zhan Jingrui and the two of them protecting us, we won't have to worry about the company not having business in the future."
"If this can be done, He Yao, you'll be a hero of the company! Do you want a promotion and a raise? Do you want to buy a car and a house soon? It's up to you now!"
He Yao silently rolled her eyes in her heart, thinking: If I didn't know you ran a company, I'd think you were in a pyramid scheme. Look at all this motivational talk.
Xu Zheng was brave because he knew no better.
He thought that as long as one understood the basic rules of chess, they could quickly become proficient with a little study.
In reality, to master the strategies and the intricate thinking involved requires very long-term and rich practical experience.
Fortunately, He Yao's amateur life had been monotonous for the past few years. She often watched her master play chess with the workshop technicians. Over time, through exposure, she could play a few games with her master.
Otherwise, she would never have dared to let Xu Zheng agree to this matter today.
However, she wouldn't tell Xu Zheng that she knew how to play chess.
After all, it was vacation time, and she might as well take advantage of it.
Around eight o'clock, the two of them met with the personnel arranged by the procurement officer. They discussed business for over an hour and returned to the company to await notification.
Xu Zheng kept his word. As soon as they returned to the company, he started calling around to find a chess teacher for her.
After work in the afternoon, He Yao was accompanied by a professional and went to Xu Zheng's office to play chess.
She didn't have to worry about anything, and spent three leisurely days playing chess. On Friday afternoon, Xu Zheng asked the chess teacher how she was learning.
The chess teacher said with reservation.
"She's alright. I heard the opponent is an amateur player, so being able to last more than half an hour would be quite good. When we played against each other, she could last for an hour at most. To make the client happy, it's basically no problem."
That was good.
Xu Zheng quickly arranged a venue and sent a message to Zhan Jingrui, inviting him and Mr. Fu to honor them with their presence tomorrow.
Zhan Jingrui didn't see his message until more than an hour later, due to being busy.
He didn't want to deal with Xu Zheng's boring arrangement, but when he thought of the look He Yao gave him that day, and her current relationship with Xu Zheng, he felt a strange emotion.
Finally, he agreed to Xu Zheng, thinking that since he was free on the weekend anyway, he might as well go and watch the spectacle.
Xu Zheng came to brief He Yao again.
"Perform well tomorrow. No, no, I should say perform according to the situation. The key is to make the leader happy, understand?"
"If the opponent is skilled, then play with more focus and play with him for a while. If he's not skilled, take it easy, don't let him win too easily, give him a sense of accomplishment."
"Our focus isn't on playing chess, it's on making the leader happy, understand?"
He Yao understood, of course. She was willing to play chess, but with one condition.
Just this once.
"It's perfect to pull a stunt like this once, but doing it twice would seem greasy and intentionally deceptive. After connecting with Mr. Fu, I won't play chess with anyone else, nor do I want to be pushed in front of President Zhan as an old classmate."
"I just want to quietly be an assistant and handle my own responsibilities. I'll go if you promise me."
Zhan Jingrui was not easy to get along with, and he valued classmate relationships very little. Even if He Yao wanted to build a connection with him, he might not give her the chance.
Xu Zheng thought she was overthinking it.
"Alright, alright, alright, I promise, I promise. Go back and prepare quickly. Don't stay up late tonight, get some good sleep. Put on your makeup tomorrow, dress beautifully, and don't disgrace our company."
The next day, He Yao didn't listen to him. She wore a smog-blue sweater, light-colored straight-leg jeans, and sneakers, arriving at the chess hall with a plain face.
Xu Zheng arrived shortly after her. Seeing her dressed like a student and with a bare face, he was very opinionated.
"Didn't I tell you to dress up beautifully and put on some makeup? Why are you so plain?"
"Although you have good natural looks and are pleasing to the eye even without makeup, who is the other party? The president of Zhan Group, big sister. We need to show that we are taking it seriously, do you understand, big sister?"
He Yao was annoyed by his fussing and already foresaw countless arguments between them in the future.
"Today is originally rest time, and playing chess is an entertainment activity. If I wear a hip skirt, high heels, and heavy makeup, those who know will know we are here to make the leader happy, but those who don't might think I have other intentions. Is it necessary to be so obvious?"
"I think being natural is better. If you think I'm not pretty enough and disgrace the company, then find someone prettier, and I'll leave."
Xu Zheng couldn't argue with her, and it was indeed getting late. Besides, where would he find someone both pretty and skilled at chess at the last minute?
"You'd better pray your analysis is correct... But that old man is already old, and he might not even look at you. Let's leave it at that."
The two waited at the entrance for about half an hour when a low-key black Bentley drove up.
When the car stopped, Xu Zheng hurried to open the door. Fu Qishan was sitting in the passenger seat.
Zhan Jingrui drove him personally, and the two were dressed similarly to the day before.
Inside, they both wore white shirts, paired with black ankle-length pants, and a black lightweight trench coat, except they had swapped leather shoes for casual shoes.
A simple, sophisticated, yet casual outfit.
He Yao greeted Mr. Fu, following a couple of steps behind Xu Zheng. As expected, Mr. Fu was an old man with little interest in beautiful women. He only glanced at her indifferently before going to study the couplets at the entrance of the chess hall.
It was Zhan Jingrui, however, who silently appraised He Yao from head to toe.
Except for her shorter hair, her attire was similar to when she was a student.
Seven years had passed. She sometimes gave the impression of maturity, and sometimes it felt as if nothing had changed.
Her skin, her youthful aura, her figure... were almost identical to when she stood on Number Seven Mansion Road waiting for him to pass by back then.
As soon as he saw her, his thoughts began to wander uncontrollably. Zhan Jingrui disliked this side of himself.
It had been so long, everyone had moved on, yet he was still looking back at the past from time to time.
This was unfair to his past self, and unfair to Chu Xi.
He needed to restrain himself and stop meeting He Yao from now on, to completely forget those past events.
Therefore, although he had initially intended to spar with Mr. Fu and see if He Yao and Xu Zheng had exaggerated,
realizing he might not be able to concentrate, he found an excuse.
"I won't go in. I have other matters. Mr. Fu, I hope you have a good time today."