Cheng Qingchong took a quick glance at the man before her and nodded in return.
"Take a sit." Jin Ze pointed at the chair across from him before picking up the pot to pour two cups of tea. Cheng Qingchong followed the orders wordlessly but obediently.
Jin Ze pushed a cup of tea to her and kindly offered, "Take a taste of this quality tea. It's Long Jin given by a friend when I visited Hang Zhou a few days ago. It's not bad."
"Thank you." Cheng Qingchong picked up the cup and took a symbolic sip.
Jin Ze smiled, not at all offended by her cautiousness and formality. He picked up his own cup and finished it in one gulp. Then he spoke in a tone that sounded like he was talking with an old friend. "Qingchong, thinking about it, we have not seen each other for almost one year already, yes?"
Cheng Qingchong smiled and said, "That sounds about right."
Jin Ze toyed with the empty cup in his hand and said in a manner of observation, "By the way, if I'm not mistaken, this is the first time you came to me actively, yes?"
Cheng Qingchong lowered her head and didn't answer.
Jin Ze smiled to himself but didn't linger around that topic. He placed the cup down, leaned back on the chair, and stared at Cheng Qingchong's face for some time before asking, "So, tell me, what help do you need from me?"
Jin Ze's directness unsettled Cheng Qingchong slightly, but she recovered quickly. She said in a calm tone, "It's like this CEO Jin, I wish to ask you for an investment."
Jin Ze looked at the tea pot like he didn't even hear her. Then, just as Cheng Qingchong was about to elaborate, he poured himself another cup and said, "Is it for Qin Yinan's company?"
His directness once more made Cheng Qingchong's tongue stuck in her throat.
However, Jin Ze continued normally as if this was just a conversation about the weather outside, "If it's about him, go and get a divorce with him first before you come to talk to me."
Cheng Qingchong's lips tensed, and with her head lowered, she replied in a voice barely above a whisper, "We're already divorced."
Jin Ze was startled when he heard this, but he soon started to laugh. "Already divorced…?"
After his laughs settled down, he asked, "You're still willing to help him after the divorce? You still love him?"
Cheng Qingchong kept her head lowered and didn't answer.
Jin Ze didn't mind Cheng Qingchong's silence. He continued on his own, but his tone now had a business edge to it. "I've heard about his company's condition. Yes, I can invest in his company, but Qingchong, you should know what I need from you in return."
He was right; she did know what he wanted from her about three years ago.
Jin Ze was probably in his forties, but he took good care of himself, so he looked to be only in his thirties. He was a famed business mogul and half of the nation's products were related to his company. Even ST Empire had quite a few of joint projects with him.
It was due to those projects that their paths crossed.
Jin Ze had a daughter. It was the most precious thing left behind by his wife, who had unfortunately passed away.
The reason a big CEO like himself would pay attention to Cheng Qingchong was because she looked very similar to his wife from certain angles.
So, what he wanted in trade was simple—to be with him.
But it was simply being together with him, with no marriage and no official title… for three years.
He purposely reminded her of his rules. He said that his official document will only has his wife's name as his wife, and he wanted this from her simply to create the illusion that his lovely wife was still alive.