Lin Zhiyi steadied herself and found that standing before her was none other than Bai Ruoshu.
She smiled faintly as always: "You’re back, let’s discuss work together since you’re here."
Since it was work-related, Lin Zhiyi naturally couldn’t refuse.
As she turned around, she could clearly feel Bai Ruoshu glancing at the scarf on her chest.
But when she looked up, Bai Ruoshu had already entered the elevator.
A few minutes later, Lin Zhiyi and some colleagues were seated in the small meeting room.
Bai Ruoshu sat at the front, casually spinning the chair beneath her.
"This is the initial draft of the commemorative jewelry I designed for the charity banquet, take a look, and feel free to share any opinions."
As the screen lit up, Lin Zhiyi was slightly stunned.
Bai Ruoshu had designed a ring inspired by ancient square coins.
In the center, an Ice Jade was embedded, gleaming like a drop of water.
The fullness was just right; a bit more and it would overflow like water, a bit less and it wouldn’t be grand enough, perfectly catering to those businessmen’s understated yet status-conscious mentality.
But Lin Zhiyi didn’t understand, why had Bai Ruoshu publicly said she couldn’t keep up with innovation back then?
Bai Ruoshu seemed to notice and looked at Lin Zhiyi with a faint smile, saying, "Zhiyi, what’s wrong? Didn’t Third Young Master tell you the design requirements when you had dinner together?"
Upon hearing this, the other people’s expressions became complicated.
Zhao Xuan said directly, "Zhiyi, even if you know Third Young Master, you can’t overstep, right? Third Young Master is Miss Bai’s client."
Lin Zhiyi was slightly taken aback.
Unexpectedly, she really guessed it right.
She immediately said, "He didn’t say anything, just had a meal."
Bai Ruoshu nodded, seeming thoughtful, "I see, so Third Young Master didn’t tell you. No problem, I’ll explain it to everyone again."
The tone was intriguing, echoing in the office with an elusive presence.
Lin Zhiyi frowned slightly, hearing the underlying implications in Bai Ruoshu’s words.
Bai Ruoshu’s questions were loaded with traps no matter how she answered.
If she admitted Gong Chen had told her something, she would be overstepping, stealing Bai Ruoshu’s client.
If she denied it, it would imply Gong Chen purposely didn’t tell her, indicating their relationship wasn’t that close.
Not a word mentioned, yet every word carried weight.
The others also picked up on it, chuckling quietly.
Lin Zhiyi remained silent, her hand clutching the pen turned red.
It seemed keeping an eye out was not enough.
Bai Ruoshu pretended not to notice, continuing to explain her design indifferently.
"The fund raised this time will be fully used to help seriously ill children."
"The Gong Family has been in business for generations, placing importance on interests within large families, perfectly aligning with money themes."
"I have been fortunate to meet Old Mr. Gong a few times; he’s a very successful businessman."
"Coins couldn’t be more fitting."
Zhao Xuan clapped and complimented immediately.
"Miss Bai is indeed a genius designer, having just met with Third Young Master in the morning and coming up with a design fitting the Gong Family by the afternoon."
The others nodded repeatedly.
Only Lin Zhiyi stared blankly at the design draft on the screen.
Earlier, when Bai Ruoshu mentioned Old Mr. Gong, it suddenly reminded her of Gong Chen’s warning.
Because Gong Chen and the old man’s relationship were strained, she hadn’t thought about the old man.
She thought Gong Chen meant viewing the design from a mature male perspective.
But upon thinking further.
Maybe she overcomplicated it; he was referring to the old man.
Then why did he later signal that she couldn’t speak of it?
What was there about the old man that couldn’t be discussed?
Lin Zhiyi quickly flipped through the materials in her hand, which were full of taboos of dignitaries.
After all, the designed jewelry is also a product.
If it violates certain taboos, it won’t fetch a good price.
So the studio had collected information in advance.
Even after flipping through, she couldn’t find anything she couldn’t say.
Until the last page, where the banquet date was highlighted in red ink.
This is... the old man’s birthday.
Besides being macho, the old man was also somewhat superstitious.
Especially very cautious about his birthdate being known.
It’s said that even the birthday on his ID card was deliberately reported incorrectly.
Every birthday, a good day is chosen, then an excuse made saying he doesn’t care about dates, just that everyone should have a lively celebration together.
In reality, he’s afraid others will know his birthdate.
Regarding his birthday, besides the three Gong brothers and the old man’s trusted people, perhaps only Lin Zhiyi knows.
Because one year the old man fell sick on and off for over a month.
Although the doctor controlled the illness, he still felt weak overall.
So he specially spent a hefty sum to invite a master back.
Lin Zhiyi particularly remembered that night when Liu He, having cared for the old man day and night, almost fainted from exhaustion.
Lin Zhiyi couldn’t bear it, so she went to take over the watch.
At the time, when she went to deliver tea, besides the old man, only the master and Gong Chen were in the room.
The master was muttering something that looked a bit scary.
Lin Zhiyi, young and frightened, overturned the cup in her hand, and just when the master looked at her, Gong Chen stepped forward to hand over something, blocking her, letting her dodge a bullet.
In hindsight, Gong Chen must have purposely helped her.
She didn’t dare move then, just kept hiding in Gong Chen’s shadow, watching the master burn a birthdate.
Thinking about it, Lin Zhiyi took out her phone to check the lunar calendar.
No wonder Gong Chen signaled to her not to speak of it.
If the old man knew she unknowingly knew his real birthdate, he would surely wish to execute her on the spot.
As far as she knew, the charity banquet’s date was set by the Gong Family elders.
So it must have been approved by the old man.
If this was the case, then the charity banquet was not simply about charity.
All designs must be considered from the old man’s perspective.
It seems Bai Ruoshu’s single currency ring design cannot satisfy the old man’s ambitions.
Bai Ruoshu suddenly called Lin Zhiyi twice.
Lin Zhiyi snapped back to reality, "What’s wrong?"
"Was I so boring? You were distracted playing with your phone." Bai Ruoshu reminded with a smile.
"Sorry, I was thinking about the design." Lin Zhiyi put down her phone and calmly explained.
"Oh? What did you think of? Tell us about it." Bai Ruoshu asked.
Lin Zhiyi was about to speak when her throat tightened.
Bai Ruoshu was unfriendly to her, so why should she be the good person?
There’s no need to fawn over Bai Ruoshu.
"What? Something you can’t say?" Bai Ruoshu propped her chin, staring intently at Lin Zhiyi.
Lin Zhiyi smiled, "No, it’s just that I haven’t thought it through."
Zhao Xuan let out a snort, "Miss Bai, Zhiyi hasn’t been back for so many years, it’s normal not to have inspiration."
This time Lin Zhiyi didn’t argue with her, just nodded.
Bai Ruoshu gave a light glance and continued, "Everyone, get back to your work. If you have any new ideas, let me know timely, we’re a team now."
With that, she glanced at Lin Zhiyi.
Lin Zhiyi pretended not to notice, took her things, and returned to her seat.
Behind her, as Zhao Xuan was about to leave, Bai Ruoshu waved her over.
"Zhao Xuan, I have something to discuss with you, sit down for a chat."