Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 636 Chen Yifei's Hotel Showdown! Newcomers' Chatting Exposed, Hu Shao's Private Appointment Ignites a Battleground?

"Oh, really? That's good." Chen Yifei's response remained calm.

“I have a lot of friends here on Hong Kong Island!” Li Kaixin continued enthusiastically, “How about this, I’ll invite a few local friends, and we can go out and have some fun together? I know a few really interesting places, I guarantee you’ll have a great time!”

Chen Yifei glanced at Li Kaixin, shook her head slightly, and declined, saying, "Never mind, this trip with the company is for work, not for fun. The schedule is quite full, and I probably won't have much free time."

Li Kaixin quickly waved his hand: "No, no, Sister Yifei, you misunderstood. I heard from people at the company that after this event, we seem to have a day of free time to wander around! Let me tell you, among my friends in Hong Kong, several are local rich kids. They come from good families, are handsome, and are all very good-looking. It would be a great honor to take them out!"

“Really, it’s not necessary,” Chen Yifei said clearly. “Work is already tiring enough. I want to relax during my rest time and I don’t want to deal with social situations anymore.”

"Oh, Yifei, I'm not trying to be mean," Li Kaixin said, putting on a sincere tone, "but you're just too much of a homebody. You should participate in more social activities and expand your circle of friends! Otherwise, all the good men will be taken by others!"

"I'm really not interested. Thank you for your kind offer," Chen Yifei firmly refused again.

Seeing that Chen Yifei was unmoved, Li Kaixin didn't seem discouraged. She rolled her eyes and changed the subject: "Well, Sister Yifei, a friend of mine is coming to visit me later. We're distant relatives. He's a top-notch playboy in Hong Kong. He's handsome and talented. How about I introduce you to him? Just to make friends!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaorou, the assistant who had been sitting quietly to the side, couldn't help but widen her eyes and interject, "Huh? Are outsiders allowed to come in here? Didn't we book the entire restaurant?"

"Yes, don't worry!" Li Kaixin smiled confidently. "I've already spoken to the security personnel on set, and they've agreed to let us through."

Just as Chen Yifei was about to speak again to explicitly refuse, Li Kaixin suddenly stood up—her phone had rung.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaorou quickly whispered to Chen Yifei, "Judging from this, the young master she arranged to meet has probably already arrived. Sister Yifei, why don't we go back to our room first to avoid an awkward situation later?"

Chen Yifei looked troubled, shook her head slightly, and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid it's not possible now. Hu Jiangshan said he'll be here soon."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaorou immediately chuckled mischievously, as if she had caught something red-handed: "Oh dear! I knew it! You were indeed sending a message to Hu Jiangshan just now! You still wouldn't admit it!"

Chen Yifei's cheeks flushed even more, and she whispered in a slightly reproachful tone, "I, I never denied it to the death, you're just talking nonsense."

"I'm not making this up, Yifei!" Zhang Xiaorou persisted, moving even closer and lowering her voice with a mischievous smile. "Tell me honestly, how far have things progressed between you and that Hu Jiangshan? Has there been any substantial progress?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yifei's beautiful eyes widened instantly, her long eyelashes fluttered twice, and her face was full of innocence and confusion. She asked, "What step? What do you mean by that? We, we haven't done anything, it's just normal interaction between ordinary friends."

Zhang Xiaorou reached out and gently tapped Chen Yifei's arm with her finger, giving her a "I saw right through you" look, and scolded, "Yifei, are you still playing dumb with me? You still won't admit it! Tell me, have you two secretly taken, um, to the final step behind my back?"

"The final step?" Chen Yifei's expression became even more puzzled, and she pressed, "What final step? What are you talking about?"

"The final step is..."

Zhang Xiaorou was momentarily speechless, her face flushing slightly. She glared at Chen Yifei reproachfully, then lowered her voice, almost whispering, "You, you shouldn't force me to be so blunt! If you say those things out loud and someone overhears you, it'll be a huge scandal! It'll definitely make headlines in the entertainment section, and might even be reported by all the media outlets in the country! 'Popular actress Chen Yifei's secret romance exposed, suspected of already living together, oh my, just thinking about that headline makes me feel so excited, so explosive!'"

Chen Yifei was both amused and exasperated. She waved her hands repeatedly, her tone a mix of helplessness and determination: "My little darling, please don't spread rumors outside! We really are nothing, just ordinary friends, even more ordinary than pure water!"

"Just friends? Really?" Zhang Xiaorou tilted her head, looking incredulous. "I don't believe it! You looked so strange when you mentioned him."

"Absolutely true!"

Chen Yifei spoke with certainty, even with a hint of recklessness: "If you don't believe me, how about I show you my chat history with him? It's really just normal communication."

"Yeah!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaorou's eyes lit up instantly, and she immediately perked up, reaching out to grab Chen Yifei's phone: "You said it! Let me see it quickly, I'm really, really curious, what do you two usually talk about?"

Chen Yifei hadn't expected her to actually look, and instinctively hid her phone behind her back, a hint of embarrassment on her face: "Huh? You really want to look?"

"Yup!"

Zhang Xiaorou said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you bring it up yourself? Come on, let me see your phone!"

"no……"

Chen Yifei gripped her phone even tighter.

"Huh? Why?" Zhang Xiaorou exclaimed in dissatisfaction. "Didn't you just say you were going to show me? How come you changed your mind so quickly?"

"I... I've changed my mind, is that not allowed?" Chen Yifei turned slightly to the side, her tone carrying a hint of whining.

"Yifei! How could you do this!" Zhang Xiaorou stomped her foot angrily, pretending to be angry, "Aren't you just treating me like a child? You broke your promise!"

Zhang Xiaorou was incredibly curious, like a kitten was scratching at her, but Chen Yifei was determined not to show her.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with showing it to her; there really isn't anything shady in the chat history.

But Chen Yifei herself couldn't explain why, she just felt a little embarrassed, as if there was a subtle sense of privacy hidden in those simple chat records that only she could understand.

Just as Chen Yifei and Zhang Xiaorou were joking and bickering over a cell phone, Li Kaixin, who had left earlier, returned.

Moreover, she didn't come back alone; a young man was following behind her.

The young man looked to be in his early twenties. He was very tall, with a straight posture, and was indeed handsome.

He wore an expensive gold watch on his wrist, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and a well-fitting casual suit. He exuded a refined and cultured air, clearly a wealthy and well-educated young man from a privileged background.

Li Kaixin, with a warm smile on his face, chuckled and introduced, "Sister Yifei, look, this is the young master Wang I just mentioned to you. His name is Wang Yutao. Let me tell you, Yutao's family is very influential in our Xinpo County and Hong Kong Island. They are no ordinary people!"

Wang Yutao, on the other hand, seemed very modest. He quickly waved his hand, put on a polite smile, and said in a gentle tone, "Oh, Kaixin, don't praise me like that. I'm just an ordinary person, nothing special, just that my family is a little better off."

"Oh my, look, look!" Li Kaixin immediately chimed in, praising Chen Yifei, "Sister Yifei, did you see that? Young Master Wang is so humble, he has no airs at all! Isn't that a good quality?"

Out of politeness, Chen Yifei nodded slightly, but only symbolically, without saying anything more, her attitude appearing somewhat distant and indifferent.

Strange to say.

Logically speaking, a man like Wang Yutao, who is outstanding in appearance, comes from a wealthy family, and has proper manners, should be the type that Chen Yifei would appreciate.

But for some reason, Chen Yifei felt no interest in him at all, her heart was completely calm.

She always felt that the person in front of her seemed to be missing something, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

If I had to describe it, it might be that it lacks a deeper level of depth and composure that comes from within, the kind of inner strength and steadiness that scholars or true pragmatists exude.

If a comparison had to be made, in Chen Yifei's opinion, the young master named Wang Yutao in front of her was quite different from the image of the person in her mind.

At least, that's how Chen Yifei perceives it at this moment.

Li Kaixin was oblivious to Chen Yifei's subtle inner thoughts. She continued enthusiastically, "Yifei, what do you think? How about we go out and have some fun together tomorrow? Let Yutao be our guide!"

Before Chen Yifei could answer, Li Kaixin took it upon herself to turn to Wang Yutao and ask, "Yutao, tell me, where are you planning to take us tomorrow? You'd better make some good arrangements so that our Yifei can have a great time!"

Wang Yutao immediately chimed in, a confident smile on his face, and said eloquently, "That's easy! I'll make sure all the arrangements are perfect for these beautiful ladies coming to Hong Kong Island. How about this? We can go out to sea! I have a pretty nice yacht at home that can take you for a spin around the open sea and enjoy the view. If you're interested, we can also find a nearby island with some unique features to dock at, go exploring, have a picnic, and so on—it would be a lot of fun!"

Li Kaixin immediately clapped and cheered, "Great idea! That's fantastic! I've been wanting to go out to sea for ages! What do you think, Yifei?"

Chen Yifei waved her hand gently, refusing in a calm but firm tone, "Thank you for your kindness, but I won't go. You guys have fun."

"Ah? Why?"

Wang Yutao's face immediately showed obvious disappointment.

From the moment he entered, his gaze almost never left Chen Yifei, his eyes filled with admiration and eagerness, as if he wanted to firmly etch this person, who was even more beautiful and elegant than on the screen, into his heart.

He had heard of Chen Yifei before and had seen her films and television shows; he had always been a fan of hers.

Before coming, he was worried that Chen Yifei might not look as good in person as she does on camera, but after seeing her in person, he realized that he had worried too much. Chen Yifei in person is simply perfect and even more stunning than he had imagined.

Hearing her refusal, Wang Yutao was naturally extremely unwilling.

Li Kaixin chimed in, "Yeah, Sister Yifei, why don't you go? It's such a great opportunity! What else could you possibly be doing in Hong Kong?"

Chen Yifei simply replied, "I do have some other things to take care of, so I might not be able to get away."

"What's the big deal?" Li Kaixin said dismissively. "I'm just resting in the hotel, how busy could I be?"

Zhang Xiaorou, the assistant who hadn't said much until now, couldn't help but interject, "Oh dear, she definitely doesn't want to stay at the hotel! I bet she's made plans with someone else!"

Upon hearing this, Li Kaixin's eyes widened immediately, and she asked curiously, "Who did you invite? Does Sister Yifei know any other friends here in Hong Kong?"

Chen Yifei didn't want to say much, and only vaguely replied, "Yeah, it's just a friend. We'll probably just go out for a meal or something."

Li Kaixin seemed to want to give Wang Yutao a chance, saying, "Sister Yifei, let me tell you, when it comes to sightseeing in Hong Kong, there's really no better guide than Yutao! He knows the area well, and his arrangements will definitely be thorough!"

Chen Yifei remained unmoved, waving her hand and saying, "It's okay. The friend I met is also a local from Hong Kong Island. He knows this place quite well, so there shouldn't be any problem."

Li Kaixin's eyes darted around, and she threw out another question: "Even if he's familiar with Hong Kong Island, there are some places, like going out to sea, that you can't get into without a yacht. Does your friend... have a boat?"

Just as Chen Yifei was about to answer, Zhang Xiaorou, who was standing next to her, blurted out, "He has boats! And it seems like he has more than one!"

"Ah? Really fake?"

Li Kaixin looked skeptical, as if she thought Zhang Xiaorou was exaggerating.

In fact, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that with Chen Yifei's current status and influence, how could the friends she makes be ordinary people?
They should at least be from a wealthy and influential class, and owning a yacht seems reasonable.

However, Li Kaixin grew up in Singapore and had not been to China much before the age of eighteen. Although he could speak Mandarin, he did not have a deep understanding of mainland China, especially its complex interpersonal relationships and power dynamics.

Her way of thinking is often still based on Singaporean or Western ideas, which is quite different from Chen Yifei, who, although holding a foreign passport, was essentially born and raised in a Chinese cultural environment.

Therefore, it is normal for her to have difficulty understanding or believing it at first.

Before Li Kaixin could say anything more, Chen Yifei interrupted, "Let's leave it at that for now. My friend should be here soon, so I won't chat with you any longer."

(End of this chapter)