Chapter 838
Sympathies
Li Dehou wasn't stupid. Xu Bo'an had saved his family's lives, so helping Ye Xingning was essentially doing Xu Bo'an a favor. Although having all the companies under his company that cooperated with Huiwanjia Supermarket temporarily terminate their cooperation with them would cause some trouble for the company, there wouldn't be any substantial losses. That's why Li Dehou helped Ye Xingning without hesitation.
Moreover, Li Dehou invited Xu Bo'an to dinner today for two reasons. Firstly, he genuinely wanted to thank Xu Bo'an. Secondly, he had truly witnessed Xu Bo'an's prowess. For someone to be able to predict events that would occur within four or five days with such accuracy meant that this person was not merely someone with strong predictive abilities, but a divine being who could divine with remarkable precision.
Li Dehou invited Xu Bo'an today because he wanted to get close to Xu Bo'an, so that he could easily consult Xu Bo'an if he encountered any difficult problems in business or life in the future.
Now that Xu Bo'an's friend Ye Xingning is in trouble, and it's not a difficult problem for Li Dehou, why not do him a favor?
After hearing Ma Hongyu's roars on the phone, Ye Xingning felt a surge of satisfaction. At the same time, she was shocked by Li Dehou's immense power and his polite demeanor towards Xu Bo'an. Although Ye Xingning heard that Li Dehou was grateful to Xu Bo'an for saving his life, Li Dehou's respectful attitude towards Xu Bo'an was definitely more than just gratitude for saving his life!
Ye Xingning was already in her thirties and had experienced a lot. Moreover, she grew up in a merchant family and knew very well that merchants valued profit. If the relationship between the two was simply a matter of saving a life, a powerful merchant like Li Dehou would be very grateful to Xu Bo'an, but he wouldn't be so respectful. She knew that Li Dehou wouldn't have helped her without hesitation in this situation.
From the conversation between Li Dehou and Xu Bo'an and Li Dehou's attitude towards Xu Bo'an, it is clear that Li Dehou is grateful to Xu Bo'an, but he is more respectful. Ye Xingning doesn't understand how Xu Bo'an, who was unremarkable in terms of family, studies and interpersonal skills, has grown to such a height today.
Ye Xingning found it hard to understand and wanted to know more about Xu Bo'an's upbringing so she could learn from him. However, with Li Dehou present, she felt it wasn't appropriate to ask.
Therefore, Ye Xingning didn't say anything to Xu Bo'an, but looked at Li Dehou and said gratefully, "Chairman Li, thank you so much today!"
Li Dehou smiled and said to Ye Xingning, "You're welcome, Miss Ye. To be honest, I only did this because of Mr. Xu. If you want to thank someone, just thank Mr. Xu directly!"
Although Li Dehou felt sorry for Ye Xingning after hearing about her plight, there were many people in the world who were more pitiful than Ye Xingning. Li Dehou was not a philanthropist and could not help everyone he met. His act of helping Ye Xingning today was entirely out of respect for Xu Bo'an. He was telling the absolute truth.
However, Li Dehou didn't say this to prove that he was a genuine person; he certainly had his own thoughts on the matter.
He did this simply to make Xu Bo'an look better in front of his friend Ye Xingning.
After hearing Li Dehou's words, Ye Xingning turned to Xu Bo'an and said, "Bo'an, thank you!"
Upon hearing Ye Xingning's words, Xu Bo'an smiled and said, "You're welcome. It's only right that I help you as a classmate. Just wait patiently for the results these next few days. If you need any more help, just let me know!"
Ye Xingning has been busy with family matters for some time now, but there has been no progress. However, after meeting Xu Bo'an today, he suddenly helped her a lot. Although she doesn't know the outcome yet, the fact that Ma Hongyu was so anxious means that the company is facing serious problems. This will allow her to relax for a while.
Ye Xingning picked up the wine glass that Li Dehou had just poured for everyone and said to Xu Bo'an, "We haven't seen each other for many years. It's so rare for us to meet today, and you've done me such a big favor. I'll toast you with this glass!"
Then he turned to Li Dehou and said, "Chairman Li, I won't say any more thanks, let's do it together!"
After Ye Xingning finished speaking, Xu Bo'an and Li Dehou raised their glasses. After the three of them clinked glasses, Ye Xingning drank it all in one gulp. The group chatted and ate as they went, and by the end of the meal, Ye Xingning had drunk quite a bit of alcohol.
After saying goodbye to Li Dehou, Xu Bo'an prepared to take Ye Xingning home. After helping Ye Xingning into the car, Xu Bo'an also got in. After helping Ye Xingning fasten her seatbelt, Xu Bo'an said to Ye Xingning, "Where do you live? I'll take you home!"
Ye Xingning, who was a little drunk, mumbled to Xu Bo'an after hearing his question, "I...I don't want to go home. Let's have a good time today...let's go have a few more drinks!"
Xu Bo'an hadn't been drinking while driving, so his head was clear. Knowing that Ye Xingning had drunk too much, he said to her, "Xingning, you've had too much to drink. I'll take you home!"
Ye Xingning said, "Bo'an, no... I haven't had too much to drink. I've been on edge these past few days, and today I can finally relax. I'm going to drink until I drop. Besides, we haven't seen each other for so many years. There were other people around, so I couldn't say a lot of things. Now it's just the two of us. Let's find somewhere else to drink and chat!"
Xu Bo'an once again comforted Ye Xingning, saying, "Xingning, alcohol is not a good thing. You've already drunk enough today! Drinking any more will harm your health. I'll take you home first, and we can arrange a time to meet and have a good chat after you've rested!"
Ye Xingning, who was already slightly tipsy, said after hearing Xu Bo'an's words: "Bo'an, although alcohol is indeed not a good thing, and I rarely drink, I have to say that sometimes alcohol is not only the best anesthetic, but it can also help people soothe their mood. Like today, I feel particularly comfortable after drinking alcohol, which can help me soothe my pain and relieve my stress during this period of time!"
When Xu Bo'an heard Ye Xingning say this, he knew that she had been under a lot of pressure and pain during this period. Drinking alcohol occasionally was not a big deal!
Then he said to Ye Xingning, "Okay, since you still want to drink, I'll drink with you!"
After saying that, Xu Bo'an drove Ye Xingning directly back to his hotel. When they arrived at the private room reserved for guests, he had the kitchen prepare some snacks to go with the drinks, and then he and Ye Xingning continued to raise their glasses and drink heartily.
As they drank and chatted, Ye Xingning, who was quite drunk, suddenly opened up and said to Xu Bo'an, "Bo'an, it's been more than ten years since we last met. You look like you're doing very well. Even someone like Li Dehou treats you with utmost respect. I don't think anyone from our class is doing as well as you!"
Xu Bo'an said modestly, "Your praise is a bit excessive. Our school is so big, there are definitely people who are doing better than me!" Ye Xingning waved her hand and said to Xu Bo'an, "Impossible. As far as I know, none of the boys from well-off families back in our school days had the influence you have now. When Li Dehou heard about the problems my family was facing, he immediately stepped in to help. If it weren't for your sake, would Li Dehou have helped me? Absolutely not! It's all for your sake, isn't it? This is enough to show that you have a special place in Li Dehou's heart!"
After hearing Ye Xingning's words, Xu Bo'an did not directly respond to her. Instead, he jokingly said to Ye Xingning, "You analyzed the problem so thoroughly. It seems you haven't had enough wine!"
Ye Xingning said with a smile, "I did drink too much, but I'm not drunk to the point of being stupid!"
Xu Bo'an laughed after hearing Ye Xingning's words, and Ye Xingning laughed along with him. The atmosphere between the two was quite harmonious!
After having a few drinks, Xu Bo'an couldn't help but remark to Ye Xingning with a touch of nostalgia, "Back in our school days, things were so much better. We didn't have so many troubles like we do now when we enter society!"
Ye Xingning said, "Yes, when I was in school, I thought I could get free as soon as I entered society. But I didn't expect that after entering society, I would find that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. In this big melting pot of society, I realized that people's hearts are not so simple!"
Xu Bo'an said, "Only now do I realize how free the time at school was, but I didn't know how to cherish it back then! That's just how people are!"
Ye Xingning smiled and said to Xu Bo'an, "You're already so amazing, do you still need to be sentimental about these things? Someone like you, who is doing so well now and has such a good character, should be a winner in life with both a son and a daughter and a successful career!"
Upon hearing Ye Xingning's words, Xu Bo'an sneered and said, "Heh, I don't have the perfect life you think I do. Right now, I'm just a single dog!"
After hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Ye Xingning said, "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault for talking nonsense when I was drunk. Please don't take offense!"
Xu Bo'an waved his hand at Ye Xingning and said, "It's alright. I got divorced several years ago and I've recovered long ago. There's no point in bringing this up!"
Upon hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Ye Xingning exclaimed in surprise, "Divorced? How could someone of your character get divorced?"
Xu Bo'an shook his head helplessly and said, "Your husband treated you like that, so you must think that most men are no good. But on the other hand, there are scumbags among women too. I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me, but a few years ago, my financial situation wasn't particularly good. I was just an ordinary wage earner. But back then, I was completely devoted to her. My ex-wife looked down on me because I was just an ordinary wage earner, so she got together with a small business owner. Not only did she cheat on me, but she also cheated me out of the house, leaving me with nothing. Can you believe how miserable I was back then!"
Upon hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Ye Xingning laughed and said, "Hehe, that's really tragic. Being cuckolded is indeed a great humiliation for a man. It seems we're in the same boat!"
Xu Bo'an laughed and said, "Yes, we were both cheated on and had our fortunes emptied by our partners. The difference is that you have more assets than me, hehe..."
Ye Xingning laughed heartily upon hearing Xu Bo'an's words and then said to Xu Bo'an, "Come on, let's have a drink, we're both in the same boat!"
After the two clinked glasses, Xu Bo'an said, "Since we've come this far, I have to reveal something to you: I used to have a crush on you!"
Ye Xingning wasn't particularly surprised by Xu Bo'an's words, because she had already sensed it back in school. Although Xu Bo'an hadn't revealed his true feelings to her, Ye Xingning had felt his burning gaze back then.
At that time, there were countless people pursuing Ye Xingning at school. The reason why Ye Xingning had a deep impression of Xu Bo'an was because the two met when they first came to university. At that time, Ye Xingning wanted to call her parents but her phone was out of battery, so she borrowed Xu Bo'an's phone.
It was around that time that Xu Bo'an began to develop feelings for Ye Xingning.
Later, a girl in Ye Xingning's dorm started dating a boy in Xu Bo'an's dorm. The two dorms officially met when they went out to eat together, and over time, the two dorms became quite familiar with each other.
At the time, Xu Bo'an felt that he was too ordinary to be worthy of his goddess Ye Xingning, so he hesitated to express his love. When he finally mustered up the courage to express it, he found that Ye Xingning was already dating a boy from another class. Therefore, Xu Bo'an could only bury his feelings for Ye Xingning deep in his heart.
Bringing it up again now isn't necessarily to make up for the regrets of the past, but it's also to express my feelings back then to the other person, which makes me feel better.
Upon hearing Xu Bo'an's words, Ye Xingning jokingly said to him, "Hehe, why didn't you say so earlier? You used to stare at me all the time, and I thought you just liked looking at pretty girls!"
Xu Bo'an said with a smile, "Back then, you were so dazzling, the goddess that many boys in school dreamed of, while I was just an ordinary guy with very average conditions. How could I have the courage to confess to you?"
Ye Xingning said, "How will you know if you don't try?"
Upon hearing Ye Xingning's words, Xu Bo'an smiled and said to her, "Are you implying that if I had tried back then, I might have agreed?" (End of Chapter)