Before leaving, Zhan Jingrui gave Xu Zheng a "take care of yourself" look.
Watching the two walk away, Xu Zheng let out a sigh of relief and turned to He Yao.
"It wasn't easy, you scared me to death. But no matter what, we've finally managed to secure an opportunity."
"There are still three days, He Yao. Time is tight and the task is heavy. Starting today, you'll do nothing else. I'll find you a master to teach you chess, and we'll aim for you to be proficient in three days."
"I'm not asking you to win, just to play more games with him. As long as you don't lose too embarrassingly, that's enough."
"If you can make him happy, with Zhan Jingrui and these two big shots protecting us, our company won't lack business in the future."
"If this can be accomplished, 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 all depends on you now!"
He Yao silently rolled her eyes in her heart, thinking: If I didn't know you were running a company, I'd think you were a pyramid scheme promoter. Look at this pep talk.
Xu Zheng was fearless because he was ignorant.
He thought that as long as one understood the basic rules of chess, one could quickly become proficient with a little study.
In reality, to master the strategies and the intricate mind games involved, one needs a very long and rich practical experience.
Fortunately, He Yao's leisure life had been monotonous in recent years. She often watched her master play chess with the workshop technicians. Over time, through osmosis, she could play a few games with her master.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to let Xu Zheng agree to this matter today, even if she were beaten to death.
However, she wouldn't tell Xu Zheng that she knew how to play chess.
A holiday was a holiday, why not take advantage of it?
Around eight o'clock, the two met with the personnel arranged by the purchasing agent, 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 making calls everywhere to find a chess teacher for her.
When work started in the afternoon, He Yao was accompanied by a professional 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 some reservation.
"She's doing alright. I heard the opponent is an amateur player, so it would be great if she can last more than half an hour. When we played against each other, she could last up to an hour. To please the client, it should be basically no problem."
That's good.
Xu Zheng quickly arranged a venue and sent a message to Zhan Jingrui, inviting him and President Fu to grace them with their presence tomorrow.
Zhan Jingrui, busy with work, didn't see his message until over an hour later.
He didn't want to deal with Xu Zheng's boring gathering, but the thought of He Yao's gaze that day, and her current relationship with Xu Zheng, stirred a strange emotion within him.
In the end, he agreed to Xu Zheng with the mindset that since he was free on the weekend anyway, he might as well go and witness the spectacle.
Xu Zheng came to brief He Yao again.
"Perform well tomorrow. No, no, it should be 'perform according to the situation.' The goal is to make the leader happy, understand?"
"If the opponent is skilled, you play with more effort and keep him engaged for longer. 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 the chess game itself, but on making the leader happy, understand?"
He Yao understood perfectly. She was willing to play chess, but with one condition.
Just this once.
"It's just right to play such a trick once. Doing it twice would seem greasy and insincere. After connecting with President Fu, I won't play chess with anyone else, nor do I want to be introduced to President Zhan again as an old classmate."
"I just want to quietly be an assistant and handle my own responsibilities. Promise me, and I'll go."
Zhan Jingrui was difficult to get along with, and he valued classmate relationships very little.
He Yao wanted to build a connection with him, but he might not even give her the time of day.
Xu Zheng thought she was overthinking it.
"Yes, yes, yes, alright, alright, I promise, I promise. Hurry back and get ready. Don't stay up late tonight, get some good sleep. Put on your makeup tomorrow, dress nicely, and don't embarrass our company."
The next day, He Yao didn't listen to him. She wore a hazy blue short sweater, light-colored straight-leg jeans, and sneakers. She showed up at the chess venue with a plain face.
Xu Zheng arrived shortly after her. Seeing her dressed like a student and with a bare face, he was very displeased.
"Didn't I tell you to dress up nicely and put on some makeup? Why are you so plain?"
"Although you have good natural looks and are pleasing to the eye without makeup, who is the other party? The CEO of Zhan Group, my dear sister. We need to show respect, do you understand, my dear sister?"
He Yao was annoyed by his nagging and already foresaw that they would have endless arguments in the future.
"Today is supposed to be rest time, and playing chess is a recreational activity. If I wear a hip skirt, high heels, and heavy makeup, people who know will understand we're here to please the leader, but those who don't might think I have other intentions. Is there a need to be so obvious?"
"I think being natural is better. If you think I'm not pretty enough and that I'm embarrassing 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... However, that old man is quite old, he might not be looking at your face anyway. Let's just leave it at that."
The two waited at the entrance for about half an hour when a low-key black Bentley drove up.
As the car stopped, Xu Zheng hurried to open the door. Fu Qishan was sitting in the passenger seat.
Zhan Jingrui personally drove him here. The two were dressed similarly to yesterday.
They were both wearing white shirts with black cropped pants and black light windbreakers, but they had swapped their leather shoes for casual ones.
A simple, elegant, yet casual attire.
He Yao, following two steps behind Xu Zheng, greeted President Fu. As expected, President Fu was an old man with little interest in beautiful women. He merely glanced at her indifferently before turning his attention to the couplets at the entrance of the chess hall.
On the other hand, Zhan Jingrui quietly appraised He Yao from head to toe.
Except for her shorter hair, her outfit was similar to when she was a student.
Seven years had passed. Sometimes she seemed mature, and sometimes she seemed as if nothing had changed.
Her skin, her youthful aura, her figure... they were almost the same as when she stood by the roadside on Seventh Avenue, waiting for him to pass by.
The moment he saw her, his thoughts began to wander uncontrollably. Zhan Jingrui disliked this side of himself.
So much time had passed, and everyone had moved on, yet he still found himself looking back at the past.
This was unfair to his past self and unfair to Chu Xi.
He needed to restrain himself and avoid meeting He Yao in the future, to completely forget those past events.
Therefore, he, who had intended to spar with President Fu and see if He Yao and Xu Zheng had been bragging, found an excuse when he realized he might not be able to concentrate.
"I won't be going in. I have other matters to attend to. President Fu, I hope you have a pleasant time today."