Zhou Yi spent two days in Paris, dedicating most of his time to his Family and his two female friends, Ororo and Jean Grey. He accompanied these important people in his life, exploring the streets, alleys, and various scenic spots of Paris.
Zhou Yi, who rarely had the opportunity to spend time with his Family and girlfriends, wanted to make up for what he owed them as much as possible during these two days. For years, he had been preparing for future enemies. Although he had created a very comfortable environment for his Family, he had also paid a price. He genuinely didn't spend much time with his Family.
Furthermore, Zhou Yi also felt some guilt towards his two female friends, Ororo and Jean Grey. Due to the difference in their status, Zhou Yi was basically unable to bring them to formal, high-profile banquets, let alone give them a formal title.
Ororo knew this as well. So, despite being with Zhou Yi for so many years, she had never formally confirmed their relationship. Zhou Yi had brought it up, but Ororo had not agreed. She knew that her status would not help Zhou Yi's career; instead, it would be an obstacle. She was a smart and independent woman, unwilling to become Zhou Yi's subordinate. This imbalance in status once caused her to distance herself from Zhou Yi. If not for Zhou Yi's persistence, they would hardly have reached this point.
As for Jean Grey, her situation was even more awkward. In her clandestine relationship with Zhou Yi, he had always been in a dominant position. One could say that Zhou Yi had seduced her, leading her step by step into the darkness within her heart. However, she seemed to enjoy it immensely.
Jean Grey had not considered occupying the most important position by Zhou Yi's side. However, her deep-seated guilt towards Ororo and Scott prevented her from taking any action. For this reason, she could only let Zhou Yi do as he pleased. Similarly, because of this, she could further shift her guilt onto Zhou Yi.
The relationship between men and women was so complex that Zhou Yi found it irresistible. He enjoyed this feeling, yet he was even more unwilling to let them go. He hadn't given them much, but he wanted to give them the best. Just like his plan, in some ways, it was also for them. Because it was their lifelong wish to walk openly in the sunlight.
It was another enjoyable outing. Zhou Yi returned from the famous Louvre with the two beauties, his clingy Young Miss, and her entourage. When it came to art appreciation, Jean Grey was an expert.
But even those without much artistic sense, like Ororo and Charisse, would exclaim in admiration at the precious artworks treasured within. Those beautiful artworks from all over the World, embodying the essence of ancient human thought, would be admired by any creature with aesthetic ability.
Watching Charisse and her little friends still chattering about ancient legends from Egypt, and Ororo still asking Jean Grey about the authentication and classification methods of exquisite Chinese porcelain, Zhou Yi stretched lazily. If he could, he truly wished such moments could last forever. However, such a wish was essentially impossible to realize.
A well-dressed gentleman appeared before Zhou Yi, respectfully handing him an invitation. At the same time, he spoke in stilted English with an old-fashioned accent.
"Hello, esteemed Mr. Zhou. I am the butler of the Ashford Family. Hearing of your arrival in Paris, my Family Head is very pleased and hopes to invite your presence at the banquet to be held tomorrow night at the Ashford Estate!"
"The Ashford Family, I remember you are an old aristocratic Family in Britain. How did you end up in Paris?"
Zhou Yi's impression of the Ashford Family wasn't too deep, but he did have some. It was a large Family originating from Britain, which even flourished during the Victorian era. However, after that, its members gradually dwindled.
The great-grandfather of the current Family Head of the Ashford Family was a Genius in biology, who partnered with several like-minded individuals to establish a huge multinational pharmaceutical company. He then gradually developed this company to an enormous scale.
This company, named Umbrella, is now a giant in all aspects of biological research, pharmaceutical production, medical hardware, and defense industries. It can be said to be a top behemoth in Europe, even extending its reach to the U.S. across the ocean.
However, the local industries in the U.S. are very resistant to such foreign competitors. So far, the company's reach has only been confined to remote areas in the Midwest, unable to penetrate the core regions occupied by Stark Industries and Osborn Industries.
As the Umbrella Corporation grew, the Ashford Family gradually declined. The previous Family Head disappeared without a trace, and the current Family Head, Alfred Ashford, whom Zhou Yi had met, was a pitiful wretch oppressed by the current power-holders of the Umbrella Corporation.
Although the outside World constantly boasted about his top-tier IQ, Zhou Yi didn't think it was of much use. One must know that this World cannot be navigated by high IQ alone.
However, even a fallen noble is still a noble, and the influence of the Ashford Family should not be underestimated. Zhou Yi did not want to offend such a local big shot for no reason, as that would not be good for his mother, who had been living in Europe for many years. So, after only a slight moment of doubt, Zhou Yi nodded and said,
"I understand. Please tell Mr. Alfred that I appreciate his invitation, and I will be there on time."
Leaving the invitation, the butler, who behaved with extreme gentlemanly grace, bowed and departed. After he left, someone asked,
"Is it someone you know?"
Seeing that it was Ororo who spoke, Zhou Yi smiled and shook his head.
"Only acquaintances. But in business, even strangers can be made to bow and invite if there's profit! It seems Alfred, or rather the Umbrella Corporation behind him, needs my help."
"Is it that largest medical enterprise in Europe? What do they want with you?" Jean Grey, who had heard of the company, asked. "Their main focus is medical and biological research; it doesn't seem to intersect with your industries."
"Who knows, maybe their supply chain has some issues." Shrugging, Zhou Yi indicated that he didn't understand the situation. "I guess they're interested in the liquid capital I'm holding."
"You should be careful. I always feel that they don't have good intentions in seeking you out?" Ororo was a bit worried. She didn't know the intentions of these so-called businessmen, but a woman's intuition made her feel that there must be some conspiracy involved.
"Ororo, don't pay attention to them." Jean Grey pulled Ororo aside, saying teasingly. She didn't want her good friend to get too involved with these dark matters. So, she could only change the subject. "These people are like sharks; they'll immediately swim over if they smell even a hint of blood."
"Exactly!" Directly agreeing with Jean Grey's statement, Zhou Yi frankly accepted her description. "We are indeed sharks; otherwise, how could we be at the top of the marine food chain?"
"Sharks are ferocious creatures that don't even spare their own kind!" Ororo warned. She always had some reservations about these large biological research companies because many of their illicit industries had more or less used Mutants for experiments.
"I know, I'll be careful." Zhou Yi patted Ororo's hand, comforting her. "Don't worry, I'm not that foolish. Besides, my status isn't something this declining Family can easily meddle with."
Although his words were a bit exaggerated, they weren't too far from reality. The Ashford Family had already been separated from the core of the Umbrella Corporation since the previous Family Head, only being responsible for some peripheral research work and departments.
By Alfred's generation, even these things could not be kept. Aside from a research lab in Antarctica, all he had was partial authority over Umbrella's security department.
Such an Ashford Family indeed could not shake Zhou Yi's power. Zhou Yi was, after all, a core senior executive of two giant enterprises. And the strength of these two enterprises was even above that of the Umbrella Corporation.
Ororo rolled her eyes at Zhou Yi, no longer worrying about him in this regard. There was still some distance between her and him, and this gap limited her from sharing everything with him.
Smiling slightly, Zhou Yi's hand under the table secretly pinched Jean Grey, who trembled in fright and quickly pulled away from his hand. Taking advantage of Ororo's inattention, she glared at him with angry embarrassment.
Zhou Yi, whose skin had thickened to a certain extent, directly ignored Jean Grey's eye attack. He propped up his chin nonchalantly and said to the two ladies,
"Tomorrow's banquet. Ororo, would you be my companion and accompany me to the banquet?"
Ororo considered for a moment, then silently shook her head.
"Sorry, Yi! You know, I'm not suitable for such occasions. So, you should find someone else to go with you."
Zhou Yi had just turned his gaze to Jean Grey, when this woman, already quite startled by Zhou Yi's earlier small gesture, unceremoniously said,
"Don't even think about it. I won't be your companion for such a gathering."
"Alright!" Zhou Yi shrugged. "It looks like I'll have to appear alone at the Ashford banquet tomorrow."
"Yi, I'll go with you. I've never seen what a noble banquet is like!" Charisse, who had been listening in on Zhou Yi from another table with her ears perked up, leaned over and said ingratiatingly to Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi pressed down on her beret, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Unless I'm dead, Darling. Otherwise, you won't have a cent's worth of involvement with these messy banquets before you're eighteen."
"Why not?" Charisse angrily waved her fists. "You annoying fellow, don't think that just because you're my brother, you can deprive me of my right to freedom."
"When you asked me for pocket money, you already paid for your freedom with it, my Darling sister." Dismissively stating the value of such a thing as freedom, Zhou Yi explicitly retorted. "Do you think there's anything good about these nobles? Let me tell you. Half of today's nobles are homosexuals, and mostly male-male. The rest are sometimes even worse than these 'true love' patients. How about that, are you satisfied with what I've said?"
"That's disgusting, you fellow." Waving her hand in distaste, Charisse said, "I'm still eating dessert. Can't you stop saying such nauseating things?"
"You walked right into it yourself, Darling!"
Stuffing a large piece of cake into her mouth, Charisse's emerald eyes showed a mischievous expression. "Don't think you can scare me like that. I have strong backing." Unfortunately, she spoke too vaguely, and Zhou Yi completely failed to understand what she was referring to.