Chapter 65: The Neighbor's "Gossip" (Part 2)

Zhao Chen’s smile remained unchanged, as if he hadn't caught the underlying sarcasm in Mrs. Wang’s tone. He lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the crown of Yu Ling’s head. In an instant, his eyes turned exceptionally tender and focused, suffused with a soul-capturing affection. Speaking in a tone neither too loud nor too soft, perfectly audible both inside and outside the elevator, he said leisurely:

"The fresh air system? A minor issue. Lingling is a bit sensitive to pollen, and the changing seasons tend to make her sneeze, so I simply wanted to improve the environment for her."

His tone was as casual as if he were discussing the pleasant weather, before his words pivoted with a trace of imperceptible disdain. "As for that necklace at the charity gala?"

He chuckled softly, his slender fingers raising with utter naturalness to gently pinch Yu Ling’s delicate earlobe in a gesture of profound intimacy.

"Too tacky." He furrowed his brows slightly, his amber eyes holding unmasked fastidiousness. "Piled-up diamonds, cold blue sapphires, far too heavy-handed craftsmanship." He lowered his head, his warm lips brushing almost against the curve of Yu Ling’s ear as his voice dropped into a low, lingering tone carrying an unquestionable declaration, "How could such a thing possibly be worthy of my Lingling?"

His voice was not loud, yet it possessed a magical quality. Every single word struck clearly against the tip of Yu Ling’s heart, and heavily smashed into the hearts of the two wealthy matrons inside the elevator!

Too tacky? Not worthy?

The smiles on Mrs. Wang’s and Miss Li’s faces froze instantly, their eyes filled with incredulous shock! That "Heart of the Ocean" which had set an auction record and driven countless socialites and elites wild, in his mouth... actually only deserved evaluations of "tacky" and "unworthy"?! Then in his eyes, what on earth *was* worthy?!

Resting against his chest, Yu Ling felt the steady vibration of his ribcage and listened to this declaration that could only be described as "absurdly wealthy beyond human limits," a sense of sheer surrealism threatening to burst through the skies of her mind!

Yet, strangely enough, the grievance and embarrassment born from her previous "ignorance" were miraculously smoothed away by his overbearing yet deeply affectionate "unworthiness argument." In their place came a complex emotion of being torn between laughter and tears, laced with a hidden, sweet undertone. This jerk! He was spouting nonsense with his eyes wide open again! But why did this nonsense sound so pleasing to the ear?

Just as the atmosphere turned delicate and Yu Ling was being held by him, preparing to step out of the elevator—

"Chairman Zhao! Chairman Zhao! I’ve finally found you!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a crisp black suit with impeccably combed hair and a golden "Property General Manager" name badge pinned to his chest, clutching a thick file folder, charged over from the lobby reception desk as if tumbling and crawling! He was out of breath, his forehead slick with sweat, his face piled high with twelve hundred percent reverence and panic!

He rushed to the elevator entrance, completely ignoring Mrs. Wang and Miss Li beside him, his gaze locking precisely onto Zhao Chen. At a distance of three steps away from Zhao Chen, he slammed on the brakes!

Then, under the petrified, shocked gazes of Yu Ling, Mrs. Wang, Miss Li, and the few scattered residents in the lobby—

This property general manager, who usually commanded considerable authority among the tenants, executed a deep bow of over 90 degrees directly toward Zhao Chen! His waist bent until it was practically doubled over, both hands hoisting that thick folder high above his head, his voice trembling visibly from excitement and awe:

"Chairman Zhao! The rooftop helicopter pad remodeling plan and the whole-building structural reinforcement evaluation report you requested have been rushed through overnight! Please review them!"

Boom—!!!

As if a silent thunderclap had exploded inside Yu Ling’s mind! It scorched her thoroughly inside and out!

***

The rooftop? A helicopter pad? Whole-building structural reinforcement? Chairman Zhao?!

She abruptly raised her head, looking at Zhao Chen in disbelief. The gentle smile on Zhao Chen’s face vanished the instant the property manager rushed over and shouted the words "Chairman Zhao."

At this moment, the sharp lines of his handsome face tightened, and deep within his amber eyes flashed an extremely piercing chill that could almost freeze the air! It was a cold, supreme pressure belonging to someone at the pinnacle of power, one that Yu Ling had never witnessed before!

Maintaining that 90-degree bowing posture, the property manager held the folder aloft, sweat trickling down his temples, yet he dared not move a muscle, as if awaiting a final verdict.

Time seemed to freeze.

You could hear a pin drop in the lobby. Mrs. Wang and Miss Li were utterly petrified, their mouths wide enough to fit an egg, their eyes filled with ultimate shock and terror! What had they just heard?! Chairman Zhao?! A landing pad?!

Zhao Chen’s gaze nailed itself like an ice pick onto the sweaty back of the property manager’s bowed head for a full three seconds. Those three seconds felt as though the air had been entirely sucked out, heavy and suffocating to the extreme.

Then, under Yu Ling’s gaze, her heart leaping into her throat, Zhao Chen moved.

He did not reach for the folder.

The hand that had originally rested gently around Yu Ling’s waist lifted with lightning speed! Swift as a flash!

Before Yu Ling and anyone else could react, that long-fingered, powerful palm carrying irresistible force clamped precisely over the property manager’s still-trembling mouth!

"Mmph—!" Taken completely by surprise, the property manager’s eyes widened in horror, managing only a muffled whimper.

Covering his mouth, Zhao Chen applied slight force to his arm, effortlessly pulling the man—who was half a head shorter than himself—aside. At the same time, with a clever twist of his body, he used his own broad back to shield Yu Ling, Mrs. Wang, and the others from their startled sight.

He lowered his head, moving close to the ear of the terrified property manager whose mouth was covered. The action looked like an intimate whisper, but Zhao Chen’s voice was pitched extremely low, as cold as a Siberian blizzard, every single word carrying shards of ice:

"Manager Liu," he called the man by name without a shred of warmth in his voice, "it seems you’d like to be transferred to the African branch to experience a brand-new lifestyle of mining?"

Manager Liu Mingde was jolted through and through by the freezing aura and the mention of "mining"! A towering fear seized him instantly! Only now did he realize what a catastrophic disaster he had brought upon himself!

What was Chairman Zhao’s greatest taboo? It was exposing his identity and disrupting his "ordinary" life! And he had not only shouted "Chairman Zhao" in public, but had also blurted out top-secret remodeling plans like the rooftop landing pad!

It was over! Everything was over! African mining was probably getting off easy!

Scares rattling his soul, Liu Mingde emitted even more terrified "mmph-mmph" sounds from beneath the hand covering his mouth, shaking his head frantically, his eyes filled with desperate supplication while sweat poured down like a stream.

***

Watching this pathetic display, the ice in the depths of Zhao Chen’s eyes did not melt in the least. He applied a warning pinch with the hand covering the man’s mouth before slowly releasing him.

As if drained of all strength, Liu Mingde gasped heavily for air, his legs turning to jelly so that he almost dropped directly to his knees! His face was as pale as paper, and the heavy folder in his hand hit the ground with a dull *thud*, though he was far too panicked to pick it up.

Zhao Chen didn’t even glance at the documents on the floor, treating them as mere scrap paper. Unhurriedly withdrawing his hand, he pulled a deep blue handkerchief from his pocket—the very same brand-name watch-cleaning cloth that came complimentary when Yu Ling gritted her teeth to buy the "Deep Space Gaze"—and began meticulously and elegantly wiping every single finger that had just covered Liu Mingde’s mouth.

Having cleaned them thoroughly, he casually stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket. When he turned around, the bone-chilling frost on his face had vanished without a trace, replaced once more by that mild, harmless, and even slightly helpless and apologetic smile, as if the fierce god who had just muffled someone and dropped harsh threats was merely everyone's collective hallucination.

He walked back to the elevator entrance, once more naturally drawing Yu Ling’s somewhat stiff and shocked body back into his embrace, his movements gentle yet carrying an unquestionable sense of protection.

Then, facing Mrs. Wang and Miss Li, who remained in a state of petrified blankness with vacant eyes, he offered an apologetic, sunny, and innocent smile, his tone as light as if he were explaining a harmless little misunderstanding:

"I'm so sorry, I startled everyone. This Manager Liu," he gestured toward the trembling, pale-faced property manager beside him, his tone carrying a touch of helpless banter, "he recognized the wrong person."

He paused, a playful glint flashing in his amber eyes as he looked down at Yu Ling, who was still in a daze in his arms, his voice sweet enough to drip honey:

"Lingling, isn't it hilarious? He keeps insisting I’m the chairman of their group—the one who’s always elusive and never shows his face? Do I look like it?" He pinched Yu Ling’s cheek with natural intimacy. "If I had that kind of capability, would I still spend every day pondering the 'Kitchen' app and figuring out how to cook braised pork belly without making it tough?"

Yu Ling: "..."

Leaning against his warm chest, feeling his steady heartbeat, listening to him spout such barefaced nonsense with such righteous and fresh-sounding "explanations," and then looking over at the property manager Manager Liu—who looked as though he’d just been fished out of the water and was shaking so hard he was falling apart—at having "recognized the wrong person"...

She felt that her brain's CPU had completely fried into ashes.

Landing pad? Mining? Recognized the wrong person?

Slowly, very slowly, she raised her head to look up at Zhao Chen’s handsome face, which was plastered with sincerity, innocence, and a wronged expression that seemed to say, *Look how absurd this person is.*

Sunlight spilled into his deep pupils, resembling the purest amber.

Yu Ling parted her lips, feeling her throat too dry to squeeze out a single sound. In the end, she merely twitched the corners of her mouth in an exceedingly slow, arduous manner, forcing out a complicated smile that was uglier than crying.

"Heh... heh-heh..." She let out two dry chuckles, her voice drifting away like a wisp of smoke. "Yeah... yeah... how hilarious..."