Soft-centered strawberry cake

Chapter 25 is like a holdout.
Ming Group
A light rain was falling, and looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows from the twentieth floor gave the impression of dark clouds looming over the city.

At his desk, Pei Ming casually leaned back in his chair, scrolling through short videos. The fact that he sent Ming Chengze's paintings to female fans was generating quite a bit of buzz.

Now is the time to officially "utilize" Ming Chengze.

Thinking of this, Pei Ming exited the short video interface and opened WeChat, tapping on Ming Weiyi's chat window.

"Weiwei, can you help me arrange to meet Chengze tonight? I have something I want to talk to him about."

"Invite him to dinner?" Mingwei replied instantly.

"Yes, you decide where we eat. Choose a place he likes."

Pei Ming suddenly invited Ming Chengze to dinner, saying he wanted to discuss something, which made Ming Wei somewhat puzzled.

"Then you can tell me first, what do you want to talk to Chengze about?"

"You'll find out tonight." Pei Ming deliberately kept Ming Weiyi in suspense, hoping that she would bring Ming Chengze out with her.

"Okay, see you tonight." Ming Wei also thought that Pei Ming was quite busy every day, so she didn't want to disturb him while he was handling his official business.

After exiting the chat with Pei Ming, Ming Wei also swiped her phone screen to find Ming Chengze.

"Let's have dinner together tonight. Just tell me what you'd like to eat."

After being washed by the rain, the retro villas showed even more of their age. Walking through a row of stone paths lined with green plants and flowers, a painting studio was hidden inside.

The studio was filled with all kinds of oil paintings, paints of various colors, and brushes of various sizes.

Upon hearing the phone ring, Ming Chengze, who was lying in the armchair with his eyes closed, opened them.

Not far from his line of sight, Ouyang Xin was painting with a palette in hand; clearly, this studio belonged to Ouyang Xin.

He picked up his phone, unlocked it, and glanced at the WeChat message Ming Weiyi had sent him.

"Speak, what do you need me to do?"

Ming Chengze knows Ming Weiyi best; she would never contact him unless she has nothing else to do.

"Am I that kind of person in your eyes?" Mingwei asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes." Ming Chengze said without any mercy.

"Yes, that's right. Pei Ming wants to talk to you about something, so he asked me to invite you. He's treating you to dinner today."

"Since he's the one who contacted me, I'm going to pick a good place to eat and rip him off."

“Pei Ming is at least working for the Ming family, how can you have the nerve to rip him off?” Ming Wei stood between Pei Ming and Ming Chengze and spoke the truth.

"You're already protecting her? You've only known each other for a few days?"

After replying to Ming Weiyi's message, Ming Chengze muttered to himself: It seems that Pei Ming, my brother-in-law, is not bad to Ming Weiyi. In just a few days, this woman has been won over by some random man outside.

Mingwei was speechless. "I'm just telling the truth, okay? Hurry up and choose a location, then send me the location."

"You've started to get impatient with me because of other men." Since he had nothing better to do, Ming Chengze decided to tease Ming Weiyi to pass the time.

"Are you sick?" Ming Wei frowned, her eyes filled with disgust as she looked at her phone screen.

"Look at you, and now you're saying I'm sick? Shouldn't you be thinking about who's really at fault between us?"

"It's such a pity you didn't apply to the Beijing Film Academy. Why did you choose to study painting?"

"I learned to draw in the first place all for you. You said you liked it when I drew you, and I drew you especially beautifully."

At this point in the conversation, Ming Wei felt like she was about to vomit.

"Say one more word and I'll block you! Get lost!"

Ming Chengze could imagine what kind of expression Ming Weiyi would have right now—it must be like she'd eaten shit. "Hahaha... Ming Weiyi, you're really weak." Seeing Ming Chengze's mockery, Ming Weiyi was too lazy to reply to him; continuing would just be a waste of time.

However, Ming Chengze's laughter caught Ouyang Xin's attention. She stopped painting and turned to look at Ming Chengze.

"Chengze, what's so funny?"

"I was just teasing my sister, and I disgusted her so much, hahaha..." Ming Chengze continued to laugh smugly.

Ouyang Xin gave Ming Chengze an approving look, "You're so naive!"

"By the way, didn't you say you wanted to meet my brother-in-law? He asked my sister to invite me to dinner tonight, so let's go together."

"He asked you to dinner tonight?" Ouyang Xin asked curiously.

Ming Chengze nodded.

"He wouldn't be trying to curry favor with you, would he? After all, winning you over is the same as winning over the entire Ming family."

As described by Ouyang Xin, Ming Chengze was like a holdout.

“My sister said she wanted to talk to me about something, probably because she wants to use me further,” Ming Chengze knew that there would definitely be a follow-up to the matter of him sending out the painting last time.

"At least you have some value that your brother-in-law can use." Ouyang Xin deliberately made a mocking face towards Ming Chengze.

"What are you talking about, huh?" Ming Chengze quickly stood up from the chair and walked over to Ouyang Xin in a few quick steps, pressing her head into his arms.

Hospital Emergency Department

The emergency department was relatively calm this afternoon; no ambulances have brought in any seriously ill patients yet.

As a junior doctor, Tang Ying obediently sat next to the deputy chief physician of the department, learning how to interpret the results of various tests.

"Teacher Wang, when will I be able to look at CT scans as easily as you do, like you can look at 1+1=2?" Tang Ying sighed enviously. This kind of ability can only be accumulated over time and with experience.

Tang Ying was always accompanied by Director Wang when she came to the emergency room. Calling him "teacher" was much more affectionate than "director."

Teacher Wang chuckled, "You're a smart and quick-witted girl, just follow along and learn well."

Just then, Director Xu passed by the emergency room and saw Tang Ying. "Oh, Tang Ying, seeing you suddenly reminded me of something."

"Hello, Director Xu..."

The master and apprentice greeted Director Xu in unison.

"I ran into Director Li from the Department of Neurology at the cafeteria today. She said that your uncle only needs two more weeks of swallowing and voice training before he can be discharged and go home to recuperate."

Director Xu spoke in a calm and casual tone, as he had long been accustomed to witnessing the birth, aging, illness, and death of people.

Hearing what Director Xu said, Tang Ying was overjoyed. "Really?! I'll tell my best friend this good news later!"

"You've been so devoted to your best friend's father, shouldn't she treat you to a nice meal?" Director Xu said with a smile.

"Then I'll definitely extort her properly, and of course, she'll thank you very much." Tang Ying appeared even more obedient and sensible in front of Director Xu.

"No need for thanks, it was just a small favor." Director Xu chuckled, then walked out of the emergency room with a flourish.

After watching Director Xu walk out of his sight, Director Wang gossiped to Tang Ying, "Tang Ying, is the chairman of the Ming Group, who's been making headlines online these past few days, your best friend's father?"

"Yes." Tang Ying answered Teacher Wang's question honestly.

Director Wang immediately looked at Tang Ying with a gaze that was both unfamiliar and familiar, "Then you must be quite extraordinary too."

Tang Ying quickly brushed it off, saying, "Oh, what's so complicated about it? We're both Chinese."

(End of this chapter)