Port city.
The drizzle outside the house is like a big net, covering the entire Lamma Island.
From time to time, pedestrians holding umbrellas pass by in a hurry on the roadside.
Little yellow lights shone through the room, and beautiful Cantonese songs slowly flowed from the vinyl records.
Qizhou sat in front of the bar with his legs bent, watching the football match on the TV not far away and gently shaking the red wine glass in his hand.
Just when the team he supported had just scored a goal, a black Maybach parked at the door of the private room in the rain.
The door of the B&B was slowly pushed open, and the crisp and sweet sound of wind chimes echoed in the house.
Seeing the figure entering the door, he put the wine glass in his hand on the table.
Qizhou stood up and walked around the bar, picked up the wine glass on the cup holder and poured Xie Yin a glass of red wine.
"I thought you weren't going to get these."
Xie Yin asked: "Why do you think so?"
He placed the crystal goblet filled with red wine in front of Xie Yin. After watching Xie Yin sit sideways in front of the bar, he took out the things that had been placed under the bar for a week and put them on the table.
"It's just an umbrella. Is it important to you?"
Xie Yin's indifferent gaze fell on the black long-handled umbrella, and he paused when he saw the gift box next to it.
Sensing the man's gaze, Qizhou explained: "That pretty sister said this was a thank you gift for you."
Xie Yin raised his eyebrows slightly, took out the watch box from the gift bag, and gently touched the black watch box with his fingertips.
He raised his eyes slightly and looked at Qizhou standing at the bar:
"Where is she?"
Qizhou shrugged his shoulders and said truthfully: "I left early this morning."
Xie Yin lowered his eyes slightly and looked at the black watch box in his hand thoughtfully.
The cuffs of the man's shirt were folded up, forming soft folds. The tips of his fingers with clear knuckles opened the box with a slight force. Lying quietly on the black velvet inside was an exquisite watch.
The watch is made of high-quality black metal, calm and sturdy, exuding low-key luxury.
Qizhou, who was at the bar, stepped forward to take a look and said, "Oh!"
"I have to say that this girl has really good taste, and the dial design is pretty good."
Xie Yin glanced at him lightly and took out the watch from the velvet box with a calm expression.
The warm yellow light from the chandelier on the bar fell on the watch in the man's hand, reflecting a thin stream of light.
Xie Yin raised the watch slightly and gently rubbed the dial with his thumb.
Qizhou looked at the man's movements and joked from the side:
"This watch is really good, Brother Yin, if you don't want it, give it to me."
He knew Xie Yin's temperament.
Over the years, many senior leaders have secretly given gifts to Xie Yin.
Expensive, good and rare are all available.
Qizhou clearly remembered that one time he went to Tan Palace to find Xie Yin, but the gifts at the door were almost piled up on a hill.
According to the old housekeeper in Tan Palace, Xie Yin ordered them to be returned to their original owners one by one without even looking at them.
And Xie Yin never even glanced at the gifts that were sent to him.
But this time, Xie Yin looked at the watch in his hand for a long time, which surprised Qizhou a little.
Xie Yin turned to look at him, and his clear voice made it impossible to hear his emotions: "You like it?"
Qizhou poured himself another glass of red wine:
"Yes, if you don't like it, just give it to me. I know you don't like receiving gifts, but my sister is gone, so rather than waste it, you might as well give it to me."
After saying that, Qizhou asked Xie Yin for credit as if joking:
"No need to thank me for helping you solve this watch. This is what a brother should do."
Xie Yin slowly withdrew his gaze and fell back on the watch in his hand, a chuckle escaped from his throat.
The next second, Qizhou saw Xie Yin slowly put the watch on his hand, and lazily stretched out the hand with the watch on to pick up the wine glass on the table.
The man's sharp-jointed hand held the goblet filled with red wine, shaking it slightly, and the red wine in the glass swayed slightly with his movements.
The watch on the wrist even glowed faintly under the light.
He lowered his eyes and looked at the wine glass in his hand, and said calmly:
"If you like, buy it yourself."
Qizhou: "......"
Xie Yin, who was sitting in front of the bar, slowly handed the cake to his lips. Under the warm yellow chandelier at the front desk, his fingertips were shining brightly, and his deep eyes seemed to fall on him. On the watch on your wrist.
Qizhou walked to the vinyl record player and turned off the lyrical Cantonese song. He turned around and looked at the man still sitting sideways in front of the bar, gossiping:
"Are you really interested in that sister?"
The full and rich red wine entered his throat, and Xie Yin's Adam's apple rolled slowly.
He just sat there quietly playing with the wine glass in his hand and did not answer Qizhou's question.
He put down the red wine glass in his hand, took out the cigarette case from his pocket, and pulled out a slender cigarette with his slender fingers.
When closing the cigarette box, he gently tapped the cigarette between his fingertips twice on the cigarette box before putting it into his mouth.
The other hand gently scratched the metal and lit the cigarette.
The man's hand holding the metal cigarette lighter rested casually on the edge of the bar table, and he took a deep drag on the cigarette and slowly exhaled it.
The man's deep brows were blurred in the swirling smoke.
Seeing that he remained silent, Qizhou clicked his tongue: "The capital is not far away, so——"
"If you really like her, go for it."
...
In the summer in Beijing, the sun is shining brightly in the sky, and it is not as rainy as in the port city.
It has been a full week since Xia Li returned to the capital.
That afternoon, Qidu's parents came to Xia Li with gifts to apologize, but Qidu still didn't show up.
Chen Lina sat on the sofa in the living room, explaining Qi Du's absence in a soft tone.
"Li Li, our company is really busy lately. A'Du has been around the company all day long, so I really can't spare the time to apologize to you in person."
Listening to Chen Lina's explanation, Xia Li just smiled at her with a gentle and sensible smile:
"It's okay, Auntie."
She lowered her eyes and looked at the steaming tea on the table in front of her. She stretched out her hands to pick up the steaming tea cup and brought it to her lips, taking a slow sip.
Xia Li naturally knew why Qi Du didn't come forward. The reason was simply that he looked down on the Xia family and didn't want this engagement.
The cup is full of hot steam, and the faint fragrance of tea fills the nose.
Her eyes trembled slightly and she looked down at the rim of the cup.
Remembering the photo of Qi Du and female internet celebrity Su Cheng kissing in a bar on Weibo last night, Xia Li slowly tightened her hand on the cup wall.
She once heard Chu Shishi talk about Qidu, and heard that he changed women like changing clothes, and no one could stay by his side for a week.
How could a man who was born to have fun be willing to be bound by a marriage contract for the rest of his life?
Xia Li naturally understands, but at the same time, she also knows clearly that she must rely on the Qi family to get rid of the Xia family's bankruptcy crisis.
For Xia Li, as long as Qidu is willing to marry her, the rest is not important.
Just...if one day Qidu proposes to terminate the engagement...
Then where should she and the Xia family go...
Xia Li pursed her lips worriedly and squeezed the teacup in her hand.
"Li Li, don't worry, uncle has already taught him a lesson about Adu for you."
Qi Yu on the side blew the tea in his hand and took a sip without hesitation.
Qi Yu and Chen Lina fell in love with Xia Li more and more as they saw her as a good and sensible girl.
Qi Yu looked at Xia Li with his head hanging down, sighed, and comforted Xia Li with sincere words:
"The engagement between you and Qi Du was made by the old man himself back then. Although the old man is no longer here, our Qi family will not dissolve it just by saying it is cancelled."
Qi Yu's words were like reassurance, making Xia Li secretly relieved.
After the Qi family left, Xia Li returned to the room as if relieved.
She clicked on the website link Chu Shishi had just sent her, and clicked on a picture of Qidu and Su Cheng riding horses together at the riding stable during the day.
In the photo, the two of them are sitting on a horse in equestrian uniforms. The man lowers his eyes and looks at the woman in his arms with a smile, who is turning to look at him. No matter who looks at it, they will think that the two are a good match.
In the past two days, Xia Li heard Chu Shishi gossip a lot about Qi Du and this female internet celebrity.
According to insiders, the two met in a bar booth, and that night was the day Xia Li flew to Hong Kong.
As for the reason why Su Cheng wanted to get close to Qidu, anyone with a discerning eye would of course know it. It was simply because of his money and resources.
Many of Qidu's friends in the circle thought at first that Qidu was just having fun, and when he got tired of it, he would dump her like the other women before.
But he didn't expect that Qi Du and Su Cheng had been entangled for two weeks.
What's even more surprising is that Qidu is actually willing to spend money to provide various resources to the female internet celebrity, taking her to various high-end wine shops and getting to know all kinds of high-end people in the industry.
Xia Li tapped the screen with her fingertips. Just as he was about to exit the link, Chu Shishi's call popped up on the screen of his phone.
"Li Li, do you really...must marry Qi Du?"
On the phone, Chu Shishi's voice was still a little sleepy, but she was more worried about Xia Li.
Xia Li sat on the bed and looked out the window through the curtains that were not completely closed, and hummed in a low voice.
"Li Li, do you want to think about it again..."
"Don't think about it." Xia Li directly interrupted Chu Shishi's words.
Chu Shishi's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone:
"But Li Li, Qi Du is a playboy. It's you who will suffer after you marry Qi Du..."
Xia Li retracted his gaze from the window, lowered his eyes, and whispered:
"Shishi, I really can't think of a better way to save the Xia family except marrying him."
As long as the Xia family's bankruptcy crisis is not lifted, it means that their family of three must not relax for a day, and Xia Youming and Su Jing will not be able to sleep well for a day.
Xia Li couldn't help but think of the wrinkles on Xia Youming and Su Jing's faces and the sudden increase in white hair. She felt as if her heart had been pinched hard, and it was extremely sour.
Once upon a time, they cared for her meticulously and were obedient and responsive to her requests from childhood to adulthood.
But now she is no longer a child, and she wants to do her best to repay them.
She didn't want to see her parents become tired and old because of hard work, and she couldn't bear to see their hair become gray due to excessive sorrow.
In fact, they don't know how long the Xia family will survive. It may be one day, a week, a month, or the company will declare bankruptcy when they wake up tomorrow morning.
Xia Li knew that Xia Youming and Su Jing had used all the available methods, but they still could not fill the gap left by the broken capital chain.
Now, the hope of keeping the Xia family alive lies in the marriage contract with the Qi family.
Xia Li didn't want to let go of this opportunity. It could even be said that she was determined to marry Qi Du.
All she wants is for the Xia family to continue to live in the capital.
