His physiological preference

He casually glanced over Yang Zhiyan's entire body, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips: "You think you're worthy of standing next to him? You're far inferior to Yunyun."

Yang Zhiyan raised her eyes, calmly meeting the scrutinizing gaze of the other party, without the slightest hesitation, and instead let out a soft sneer.

"Are you standing up for Mo Yunyun, or are you just trying to find validation by being sarcastic towards others because you can't have what you want yourself?"

"You..." Then she stormed off, her high heels clicking on the floor, her rhythm faltering, as if her secret had been touched.

Qin Yuzheng came out and saw Yang Zhiyan standing at the door. He walked over and took her hand. "Are you cold?" She shook her head.

After getting into the car, Yang Zhiyan leaned back in the passenger seat and looked at the street scene outside the window.

The night view of Beijing flashed past the car window: skyscrapers, neon lights, overpasses, and traffic, frame by frame, like a silent movie.

Being with Qin Yuzheng might mean encountering all sorts of similar people. But Yang Zhiyan wasn't afraid.

She knew that people in Qin Yuzheng's circle were talking about her. Behind her back, in private.

But so what? We just like each other. As long as they're happy, that's enough.

Qin Yuzheng gripped the steering wheel; the red light came on, and the car stopped.

He turned to look at her. Her profile was dimly lit by the streetlight, making it difficult to discern her expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Yang Zhiyan turned to look at him. "It's nothing."

The red light turned green, and Qin Yuzheng stepped on the gas, driving the car onto the main road.

Yang Zhiyan rested her head against the car window; the glass was cool, and it felt icy against her temples.

She thought to herself that she didn't care what others said. She wasn't living for them; she was living for herself and for those who cared about her.

What others think is their business. She can't control it, and she doesn't want to. The car turned into the quiet street, and the black iron gate slowly opened.

The persimmon tree stood quietly under the streetlights, most of its leaves had fallen, but a few orange-red persimmons remained on the branches, swaying gently in the night breeze like little lanterns that would never go out.

The ginkgo leaves along the roadside are turning yellow. Along the road in front of the training center, two rows of ginkgo trees stand neatly, their leaves a bright yellow that, when the sunlight shines on them, looks like the trees are covered with scattered gold.

When the wind blows, the leaves fall down with a rustling sound, covering the ground in a thick layer, making a rustling sound when you step on them.

The news that Qin Yuzheng had a girlfriend spread throughout Beijing's social circles.

Some say that Qin Yuzheng has made a strategic move. He's achieved remarkable results in Haicheng over the years, and it's estimated he'll be promoted again.

This organizational assessment included family circumstances as an evaluation criterion.

Qin Yuzheng was simply trying to find someone to marry quickly to complete his assessment task.

The person who said this spoke with certainty.

Some people countered that Qin Yuzheng's attitude towards his girlfriend didn't seem like he was faking it.

The way he acted around her during those meals in Haicheng and those gatherings in Beijing was completely different from before.

The person who disagreed said that it was because he had found true love. The person in front smiled, picked up his glass, and took a sip.

"For those in positions of power, true love is the least valuable thing." As the wine glass was set down, the bottom of it tapped on the table with a soft thud, as if delivering a verdict on this love affair.

The news also reached Qin Guobing, Qin's father. Qin Guobing called Qin Yushang to verify it.

Qin Yushang said on the phone, "Yes, my sister-in-law is a very nice person, and most importantly, my brother likes her very much."

Qin Guobing held the microphone and remained silent for a moment. He then hummed in agreement, indicating that he understood.

After hanging up the phone, he sat in his chair without continuing to look at the documents.

Outside the window is the view of Beijing: the ginkgo leaves are yellow, the maple leaves are red, and the sky is high and the clouds are light.

He recalled Qin Yuzheng as a child: quiet, rarely smiling, always first in exams, bearing everything alone, never telling his family or asking for anything in return. After the divorce, he became even more silent.

He thought his son's life would end like this, all alone, going down a dark path.

He now has a girlfriend, but I heard she comes from an ordinary family. Are they really a good match?

This news also reached Shen Yu's ears. She learned it from a lady at the mahjong table.

It's kind of funny; she found out about her son's relationship from other people.

The woman picked up a card from the mahjong table, played it, and casually remarked, "Your son Zheng has a girlfriend? She's quite pretty; I heard she makes cheongsams."

Shen Yu paused for a moment, then played the card in her hand.

"Really? I haven't seen it before." His tone was indifferent, as if he were talking about something unimportant.

But she lost several games that afternoon and was distracted.

The news also reached Mo Yunyun. She was getting a facial at the beauty salon, the beautician's hands gently massaging her face, when her phone lit up.

She picked it up and glanced at it. It was a message from a friend: "Yunyun, did you know your ex-husband has a girlfriend?"

Mo Yunyun stared at the message, then turned her phone face down on the table and closed her eyes.

The beautician asked her if the pressure was enough, and she said "yes".

She recalled the way Yang Zhiyan looked when she saw her at the old house that day. When Yang Zhiyan was with Qin Yuzheng, she seemed relaxed and at ease.

Mo Yunyun suddenly realized that she had never seen Qin Yuzheng with that expression in the two years she had been married to him.

Yang Zhiyan was unaware of the rumors circulating outside. She had a fulfilling week.

She gets up at 7:30 every morning, washes up, eats breakfast, and Qin Yuzheng takes her to training.

During the week-long training, she learned a lot of new things. One teacher talked about the design of cheongsam patterns, analyzing the distribution of darts from an ergonomic perspective. Yang Zhiyan listened intently, filling several pages of her notebook with notes.

One teacher was talking about the characteristics of fabrics, such as the shrinkage rate, drape, and wrinkle resistance of different fibers. Her previous experience accumulated in practice was systematically sorted out, like scattered beads being strung together into a necklace.

She made many new friends. Lu Wan, who came from S City, spoke softly, had two dimples when she smiled, and was an excellent embroiderer who could embroider double-sided patterns on silk.

Cheng Yan, who comes from City C, has a fiery personality. Her design drafts use colors so bold that they are almost unbearable to look at, but what she draws is indeed beautiful, with a wildness that Yang Zhiyan lacks.

She gets along best with Xu Yun. They are the same age and share many similarities in their understanding of cheongsams.

Xu Yun felt that the cheongsam shouldn't only have one style. He believed that tradition was the root, but different branches could grow from that root. Yang Zhiyan agreed.

They often discussed things during breaks. Sometimes they agreed and nodded at the same time; other times they disagreed and argued until they were red in the face.

But after the argument, neither of them was angry. Instead, they felt that the other person made a good point and decided to continue the discussion next time.

After the training, Qin Yuzheng would pick her up. The car would park under the row of ginkgo trees at the entrance of the training center.

Yang Zhiyan opened the car door and got in. Before she even fastened her seatbelt, she started talking about what she had learned that day, what the teacher had said, what Xu Yun had said, what she thought made sense, and what she didn't quite agree with.

Qin Yuzheng listened, occasionally interjecting, but mostly just listening.

Qin Yuzheng really enjoyed Yang Zhiyan's chatter as she shared the little things in her life.