Romantic Collaboration

Part 1

1

One month before my engagement to Ji Ming Chen, we finally met in person for the first time.
The restaurant Ji Ming Chen had chosen was on the top-floor terrace by the river in Jincheng, offering a panoramic view of the Bund's night scenery.

On my way there after work, my best friend Jiang Jia sent me a message: "I asked around, and Ji Ming Chen seems like a good guy to be with."

When I arrived, Ji Ming Chen was on a work call. He had his black shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and was speaking in German.
Seeing me, he gave an apologetic look. I shook my head, signaling that it was fine.

His call lasted for ten minutes. In those ten minutes, my thoughts wandered wildly.

One thought was that Ji Ming Chen seemed to have studied his undergraduate degree in Germany, supposedly because of his white moonlight.

Another was that he wasn't wearing his armband today, and although his shirt wasn't as prim and proper as before, it exuded a casual and relaxed vibe.

Speaking of the armband, I recalled the first time I met him after returning to the country, which was at his countryside ranch.

He was wearing an armband and a harness, with his biceps and chest muscles tightly wrapped and bulging.

My first thought at the time was, this was the man who wore an armband and harness the best I had ever seen.

The man dismounted, saw me approaching, and the first thing he said was—

"Hello, Miss Wen," Ji Ming Chen hung up the phone and smiled, "I am Ji Ming Chen."

2

Surprisingly, Ji Ming Chen and I hit it off quite well.

He was mature and graceful in every aspect.

From the dishes he ordered, the topics we discussed, to the flowers he gave me after the meal, everything was comfortable and thoughtful.
While maintaining a respectful distance, there was also a subtle intimacy that only the two of us could sense.

Well, if we don't get a bit more intimate soon, it might be too late—after all, we're about to get engaged.

After dinner, Ji Ming Chen drove me home. The car he drove was an off-road vehicle with an unusually high chassis, making it a bit difficult for me to get in.

As he helped me into the car, he spoke somewhat apologetically, "I went to inspect the base today, so this car was more convenient."

After graduation, he had left the Ji family's traditional fast-moving consumer goods industry and started his own biotech business from scratch.

I joked, "It must be hard for President Ji, being so busy and still making time to have dinner with me."

"Don't say that." Ji Ming Chen looked at me seriously, "You're busy with work too, and this is what I should be doing."

Oh my, I stared into Ji Ming Chen's deep eyes for a few seconds, then messaged Jiang Jia.

"Mature men are terrifying."
"Hmph, now you see the charm of mature men? You realize that those you liked before weren't that great after all, right?"

I couldn't argue with that. After all, I used to go for younger guys.

Young, hot-blooded little wolfdog were great, but when they were too hot-blooded, they could be quite infuriating.

3

When the car arrived at the apartment building, I was blocked by an infuriating little wolfdog.

That little wolfdog was named Bai Ze. My friends liked to jokingly call him my white moonlight.

It wasn't entirely inaccurate. He and I had been tangled together since our time studying abroad in North America, and we even reconciled once after I returned to the country.

Given my personality, being able to reconcile and go back to someone I've already been with, calling him my white moonlight wasn't too far off.

He was also, in fact, the person I had dated the longest.

Before I even got out of the car, Ji Ming Chen had already noticed Bai Ze leaning against his motorcycle downstairs by the apartment.

But his reaction was different. Ji Ming Chen's first thought was, "That guy looks really suspicious. Is the security around here that bad?"

I stayed silent for a few seconds before deciding to be honest. "He's my ex-boyfriend."

Ji Ming Chen was momentarily taken aback. "Sorry, do you need me to leave?"

Damn, Ji Ming Chen really knew how to handle situations with grace.

"No need, I can settle this in a few minutes," I said. "I was actually thinking of inviting you up."

"If it doesn't bother you, we can always plan for another time," Ji Ming Chen frowned. "He saw you."

Bai Ze did indeed see me. His originally aggrieved expression changed as soon as he saw the car and noticed Ji Ming Chen. His tone was anything but friendly as he asked, "Sister, who's that?"

Ji Ming Chen raised an eyebrow at this.