Chapter 28 - 2#

Qiao Yi unbuckled his seatbelt. “You just sit in the car and wait for me five minutes.”

Yu Zhao obediently nodded.

In less than three minutes, Qiao Yi came out carrying a small plastic bag containing cotton swabs, alcohol, and iodine.

Yu Zhao was a bit surprised. “Aren’t you going to take me to a clinic to get it looked at?”

If all he needed to do was buy these things, he could have done it himself. Besides, there was a pharmacy right outside the courthouse. He found Qiao Yi’s behavior of going far instead of near a bit odd.

Qiao Yi closed the car door and started the engine. “There aren’t any clinics nearby. For treating this kind of wound, these will do.”

Earlier, he had only mentioned disinfecting it; he never said he would take Yu Zhao to a clinic.

Well, on second thought, the other person had indeed never said that. So Yu Zhao spoke up again. “I can disinfect this myself. The bus stop is right over there. You can just drop me off here.”

Qiao Yi didn’t say a word. After all, the guy was in his car, and it wasn’t like in the movies where he could jump out mid-drive.

After the car passed through a tunnel, the traffic visibly thinned out. About ten minutes later, he drove into a residential neighborhood and then pulled into the underground parking garage. “You can get out now.”

Yu Zhao unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, still a bit dazed. “What are we doing here?”

“This is my new place. If you don’t mind, would you like to come up?” He lifted the small plastic bag in his hand. “I’ll help disinfect your wound. But of course, I also have something I want to discuss with you—about Wang Cheng and the one million you borrowed from him.”

Hearing the first half, Yu Zhao was about to refuse. But upon hearing the rest, he nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you. I hope you don’t mind my intrusion.”

Once upstairs in Qiao Yi’s apartment, he was struck by the design. “Did you design this house yourself?”

“About half. I made some small modifications.”

He had bought a fully decorated apartment—one you could move into immediately—but the furniture and some decorative items were all personally chosen by him.

A person has to live in an environment they love to truly call it life. Qiao Yi had always been someone who paid great attention to living well.

Yu Zhao’s eyes showed a trace of envy. “It’s really beautiful. When I have my own house, I want it to be just like this.”

Qiao Yi went to the kitchen to boil water. The silver kettle, filled with water, sat flat on the blue flame. Before long, a slight bubbling sound indicated the water was boiling.

He took down the family medicine kit from the curio shelf, laid out the items one by one in front of Yu Zhao, then turned back to the kitchen, turned off the stove, poured the water into a freshly rinsed cup, placed it on a tray, and brought it out. His timing was impeccable—not a second wasted.

Looking at Yu Zhao, who was sitting on the sofa across the coffee table, he said gently, “Hold out your hand.”

“Oh, oh, okay.” Like an obedient student, Yu Zhao dutifully extended his hand. Out of habit, he held out his dominant right hand, then realized something seemed off and pulled it back, placing his bitten left hand flat on the coffee table.

Wang Cheng’s father was getting on in years, but his teeth were still good. That bite used full force, almost as if he wanted to tear a chunk of flesh off Yu Zhao.

Though he hadn’t actually bitten off any flesh, the wound still looked rather vicious. Qiao Yi used the iodine he had bought to disinfect it, then carefully wrapped a layer of gauze around it.

He tied a neat little bow on the back of the other’s hand with the bandage. “There are a lot of bacteria in the human mouth, and since the skin was broken, it’s better to be cautious.”

“All done.” As Qiao Yi’s words fell, Yu Zhao withdrew his hand. He stared intently at that delicate bow for a while, feeling as though the bow had somehow made him more refined as well.

Having finished the first most important matter, Qiao Yi moved on to the second. “That one million you borrowed from Wang Cheng—you wrote an IOU in duplicate. Do you still have it?”

Yu Zhao nodded. “Yes, I keep it in my rented place. Whenever you need it, I can return it at any time.”

He added, “Actually, the money for my mom’s surgery was really enough. Wang Cheng gave me a bank savings card at the time, and I never touched it. What should I do now? Keep it to add evidence of Wang Cheng hiding assets, or return it to you first?”

After all, it was someone else’s money. Having such a large sum sitting with him made him quite uneasy.

Qiao Yi looked at him for a long moment before speaking. “Half of that money is your compensation. But we have to go through the proper procedures first. Once Wang Cheng and I settle the property division, I can pay it to you. It should take about half a month to finish the process.”

He had already applied for the court to freeze those assets. All that remained was to leave it to his capable lawyer.

Yu Zhao shook his head vigorously. “I can’t take that money. I haven’t done anything.”

Back then, Qiao Yi had asked him to borrow money from Wang Cheng, and the guy actually brought him a million. Even though Qiao Yi said half was compensation, maybe ten or twenty thousand would have been fine, but fifty thousand—he really didn’t dare take it. He felt it would weigh too heavily on his conscience.

“You…” Looking at the face so close, the words Qiao Yi wanted to say reached his lips but then swallowed them down.

After a moment’s deliberation, he changed the subject. “You mentioned earlier that you were planning to open a shop, right?”

“Yes.” But after paying for his mother’s surgery, he didn’t have much money left. Still, he had confidence in himself—he could work hard for another year or two.

Qiao Yi praised him. “The hand-grabbed pancakes you make are delicious.”

At the mention of hand-grabbed pancakes, Yu Zhao’s eyes lit up, his earlier stiffness gone. “I could tell. You used to come buy one from my stall every day, like clockwork at 7:30—a hand-grabbed pancake with an egg, no scallions or cilantro, a little bit of ketchup and a little bit of salad dressing.”

Day after day, Qiao Yi’s order had practically become second nature to him. He could mimic the tone and expression with seventy to eighty percent accuracy.

Seeing him so animated, Qiao Yi smiled along. “Yeah, I really like them.”

Encouraged by Qiao Yi’s smile, Yu Zhao continued. “Actually, hand-grabbed pancakes are just something I make decently. I can make other things—definitely much better than that.”

He did a quick mental calculation. “Your place is less than half an hour from mine by subway. If you like, next time I make some, I’ll bring it over for you.”

Qiao Yi was about to say there was no need to go to that trouble, but then he thought it over. What if, by some twist of fate, Wang Cheng ended up crossing paths with him again?

He didn’t really want to keep tabs on Wang Cheng’s every move, but it was fine to pay a bit more attention to Yu Zhao.

Even if the other guy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, he was quite adorable. His looks were cute, and so was his personality.

On second thought, the refusal turned into: “Then I’ll be in for a treat from now on.”

He returned to the earlier topic. “You mentioned before that you wanted to open a shop. What kind?”

“I just want to open a small snack shop, catering to students’ breakfast and dinner. Mainly selling dumplings, wontons, clear soup, fried rice noodles, fried noodles, fried rice, and all kinds of hand-grabbed pancakes and jianbing.”

Generally, a food shop near a school rarely lacks customers as long as the taste isn’t too bad.

“That sounds like a great idea. Did you make any plans before?”

“Yes, I did. There was a shop right next to a school that was up for sublease, and I asked the owner to hold it for me for a while.” But then he had used up all his money, so he definitely missed that opportunity.

“How about this,” Qiao Yi said after a pause. “If you don’t want the fifty thousand as compensation, then after the property division is done, I’ll give you one million as an investment in the snack shop. You take sixty percent, and I get forty percent of the profits. If the initial capital isn’t recouped quickly, we can put off the dividends for now.”

Yu Zhao’s ears perked up. He stared intently at Qiao Yi. “Can we really do that? Me sixty, you forty? Wouldn’t I be taking too much? With one million, I probably couldn’t contribute much capital myself. How about you take seventy and I take thirty?”

He was very tempted by Qiao Yi’s proposal. With such a substantial sum of money, he could take over the better shop he had seen before, and he’d have many more options.

But if it was him taking sixty and the other forty, he felt like he was taking advantage.

Qiao Yi said with a smile, “I’m just putting up the money. Afterward, everything will be your responsibility. I won’t interfere. By that logic, you’re not taking advantage of me. I’m a businessman; I don’t let myself get the short end of the stick.”

He took a sip of the now lukewarm water. “Food is all about skill. Whoever makes it well does good business. Look at Old Godfather—back in the day, he was old and had nothing, but he relied on his skill at making chili sauce to become the hottest man in the country in just a few years. If he could succeed, so can you.”

At the end of the day, he was just betting on Yu Zhao’s skill. If given the opportunity, the other would naturally develop well. Even without him, Yu Zhao would probably accumulate enough funds in a few years and get going.

Right now, he was just providing an opportunity, pushing the other’s development forward a little earlier. It was a sure-win deal.

Besides, he thought to himself, once Yu Zhao succeeded and had money, if anyone in his family got sick or had an accident, he wouldn’t have to beg others for help. Naturally, there would be no more debt-of-gratitude dramas.

That said, he still said: “Even though I trust your skill, running a shop isn’t just about skill. I hope to see a relevant business proposal within half a month to prove you’re worth my investment.”

Earlier, Yu Zhao had been a bit uneasy, but hearing Qiao Yi’s requirements, he actually felt more at ease. He stood up excitedly. “Don’t worry, I’ll absolutely deliver a satisfactory proposal and prove I’m worth the investment.”

Qiao Yi smiled. “I hope you can keep that confidence. So, here’s to a pleasant cooperation?”

He extended his hand. Yu Zhao was momentarily stunned, then quickly reached out his own and gave it a firm shake.

Thinking about opening the shop, he could barely sit still. He tentatively asked, “Then should I go home first and start writing the proposal?”

He couldn’t wait to get started on this task.

Qiao Yi suggested, “No rush. Earlier, you said you make many things better than hand-grabbed pancakes. If you don’t mind, how about coming with me to buy ingredients today? I’d like to taste your cooking. That’s also an important part of the evaluation.”

“Okay!” Yu Zhao glanced at the time. “If we need to prepare a lot of ingredients, we can go now. Where’s the nearest market? Can you point me in the right direction?”

“There’s no need to be so formal with me. You can call me by my name,” Qiao Yi said. “The market isn’t far from here. I’ll go with you.”

“Oh, oh, okay.” Yu Zhao hadn’t really wanted to address Qiao Yi with such formality anyway. Since the other had said so, he felt more at ease calling him Qiao Yi from then on.

When they arrived at the market, Yu Zhao noticed that Qiao Yi seemed very familiar with everything, knowing exactly where each thing was. He was a little surprised. “I thought someone like you would at most shop at those big supermarkets for ready-made ingredients.”

Qiao Yi asked back, “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“The elite type—every minute is precious, so you wouldn’t waste any time on trivial things.”

Qiao Yi was silent for a few seconds. He felt he had changed a lot since becoming Qiao Yi, but it seemed outsiders still saw him the same way as before.

Looks like his acting still wasn’t good enough, he gave himself a brief evaluation.

“Even a billionaire still has to go grocery shopping. Besides, my personal assets aren’t as high as you think.” Once he got his venture capital firm going and got busier, he might not have the time for it.

Yu Zhao quickly explained, “Big supermarkets have neatly arranged fruits and vegetables, which are cleaner. A lot of white-collar workers like that, which is why I had that mistaken impression.”

Qiao Yi’s eyes darkened a little. “I don’t like shopping in supermarkets.”

Even though he had changed bodies, that incident had left a considerable shadow in the depths of his memory. Since becoming Qiao Yi, he had never visited a large shopping mall like that again.

“I don’t like them either. The food at the market is much fresher than at the supermarket, cheaper, and of good quality. A lot of it you can’t find in supermarkets. You’ve got good taste!”

Yu Zhao felt like he had gotten clumsy with his words around the other. Before he knew it, he was praising Qiao Yi. They were genuine words, but praising him felt so awkward.

He started to feel like he might not get the investment after all, and a wave of dejection washed over him.

Qiao Yi just smiled and didn’t continue the topic.

Half an hour was spent selecting the ingredients, and another two to three hours were spent preparing over a dozen dishes, all brought to the table.

Since he needed to let the other evaluate his skill, Yu Zhao made a variety of dishes, but each in small portions to avoid wasting food.

After finishing, Yu Zhao arranged all the plates, bowls, and dipping sauces neatly. Then he pulled out a chair, like a waiter at a fancy hotel, and said, “Please take your seat, Mr. Qiao, esteemed investor.”

His eyes sparkled with a smile, and his tone carried a hint of playfulness rather than a server’s politeness and deference. Qiao Yi smiled back and sat down in the chair Yu Zhao had pulled out.

His expression was very serious, making Yu Zhao’s heart tighten.

At first, his brow was slightly furrowed, but as he ate more, his expression gradually softened.

While eating, he offered no comments. It wasn’t until he had tasted everything that he set down his chopsticks.

Yu Zhao asked, both nervous and expectant, “How is it?”

Qiao Yi looked at him and smiled. “You should have confidence in yourself.”

As if that wasn’t enough, he added seriously, “It’s very tasty.”

Seeing the other’s smile, Yu Zhao found himself saying, “Then from now on, I’ll take care of all three of your meals!”

A hint of confusion appeared on Qiao Yi’s face.

Yu Zhao then explained, “Downstairs earlier, you said you were planning to start a venture capital firm and would get really busy. Even if you don’t have time, eating out at hotels every day isn’t good either.”

His voice rose and fell. “I thought, since you like my cooking, I could make an extra portion every day and bring you a bento box. It’s no trouble at all.”

Besides, Qiao Yi was his investor. For the sake of his investor’s physical and mental well-being, which would hopefully lead to better investment, he should do this, right?

Qiao Yi hesitated. “That might be too much trouble.”

Yu Zhao blurted out, “No trouble, no trouble. It’s really simple.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of the young man’s lips. “Then I’ll leave it to you, Yu Zhao.”

Yu Zhao smiled too, feeling as though his name sounded even more pleasant when spoken by the other, making his heart thump wildly.

He must be having an episode, he thought. He’d get used to it.