THE BILLIONAIRE'S RIVAL

Chapter 2: 30 days together

Shanghai People's Court, Room 3, was freezing.

Lin Xiao had never been to court before. She was wearing her only clean outfit — a white shirt that was not covered in flour for once, and jeans. Her hands were sweating. She had 300 yuan left in her WeChat wallet and no lawyer. On the other side, Li Zeyan had three lawyers in black suits that cost more than her entire bakery.

She thought she would lose in five minutes.

But the judge, a middle-aged woman with glasses, did not look happy with either side.

"I have watched the Douyin video," the judge said, tapping her pen. "Miss Lin, you assaulted a person with flour. Mr. Li, you are trying to demolish a historic protected lane without full cultural bureau approval. You both have problems."

Li Zeyan's face stayed cold. "Your Honor, her assault caused reputational damage of 5 million yuan."

Lin Xiao jumped up. "He called my life's work a hobby!"

"SILENCE!" the judge banged her gavel. "I have seen many rich men bully small shops. I have also seen small shops become internet bullies. I will not allow either."

She looked at a document. "According to Shanghai's Old Lanes Protection Act, Article 9: If a shop in a historic lane can prove cultural and commercial value within 30 days, demolition can be delayed for review. Do you understand?"

Lin Xiao nodded quickly, even though she didn't understand at all.

The judge continued, "Therefore, I make this judgment. Knight Group cannot demolish Sugar Corner for 30 days. In these 30 days, both plaintiffs will jointly operate Sugar Corner. You will run it together, share profits, and prove if it has value."

WHAT?

Lin Xiao's mouth opened. Li Zeyan's perfect, cold face finally broke.

"Your Honor, that's absurd," Li Zeyan said. "I am CEO of a 20 billion yuan company. I cannot bake bread."

"You can learn," the judge said calmly. "Miss Lin will teach you. Mr. Li, you will teach her business management. The court will send an inspector every week. If after 30 days the shop's monthly profit reaches 200,000 yuan — which is four times its current profit — and gets 10,000 positive reviews, I will protect the lane. If not, Knight Group can demolish legally and Miss Lin must pay a 50,000 yuan fine for assault and publicly apologize on Douyin."

50,000 yuan! Lin Xiao would have to sell her oven.

"Do you both accept? Or do you want a full trial that will last 6 months and cost both of you more?"

Lin Xiao had no choice. "I accept!"

Li Zeyan stared at her. He wanted to say no. He had a board meeting, a trip to Beijing, a deal with Dubai. But his lawyer whispered, "President Li, if you refuse, media will say you bully a small girl. Your company's reputation... And 30 days is easy to make her fail. She cannot make 200,000."

Li Zeyan thought for two seconds. 200,000 was impossible for that tiny shop. She would fail. He would win legally and get a good public image for "helping" her.

"Accept," he said coldly.

The judge smiled for the first time. "Good. Starting tomorrow, you two co-owners. You must work in the shop at least 6 hours a day together. Court order. If one refuses, that person loses automatically. Good luck, Flour Girl and Flour Billionaire."

The internet exploded again.

The next morning at 4 AM, Lin Xiao's alarm rang. She went downstairs to knead dough, still angry. She opened the door of Sugar Corner.

And screamed.

Li Zeyan was standing inside her bakery.

He was wearing... an apron. A brand new black apron over a white shirt and black pants. But it was tied wrong. And he was holding a bag of flour like it was a bomb. His hair was still perfectly combed at 4 AM.

"What are you doing here?!" she shouted.

"Court order. 6 AM start. You are late. It's 4:05," he said, looking at his Patek Philippe watch.

"This is MY bakery! I start at 4! You don't even know how to turn on the oven!"

"Then teach me," he said. He stepped closer. The bakery was so small that when he stepped forward, she had to step back until her back hit the flour shelf. He was too tall. Too close. She could smell his expensive cologne mixed with flour.

He looked down at her. "You threw flour on me. Now you will teach me how to use it. Boss."

Lin Xiao's face turned red. "Don't call me boss!"

"Boss," he repeated, enjoying her anger.

For the first hour, it was a disaster.

Li Zeyan tried to knead dough. The dough stuck to his expensive watch. He tried to crack an egg. The shell went into the bowl. He tried to use the piping bag for cream puffs. The cream shot onto Lin Xiao's face.

She wiped cream from her nose, furious. "You are useless! The richest man in Shanghai cannot make a bun!"

He looked at the cream on her lips. His eyes darkened for a second. Then he grabbed a towel and, before she could move, wiped her cheek. His fingers were warm.

Her heart skipped.

"Don't move. You are messy," he said quietly. His voice was suddenly not cold.

The bell above the door rang. Customers came in. They saw the viral Flour Girl and the Ice CEO in one tiny bakery. Phones came out instantly.

"Is that really Li Zeyan?!"

"He's baking?!"

"Flour Couple!"

By 9 AM, the line outside Sugar Corner was 100 meters long. Not because the bread was good — because half of Li Zeyan's dough was burnt — but because people wanted to see a billionaire bake.

Lin Xiao looked at the cash register. In one morning, they made 18,000 yuan. Normally she made 2,000 a day.

Li Zeyan looked at the number too. He was shocked. He had run billion-yuan projects, but he had never felt this small excitement from selling a 15-yuan bun.

"This business... is not logical," he muttered.

Lin Xiao smiled for the first time that day, a real smile. "It's not about logic, President Li. It's about heart."

He stared at her smile. Flour on her cheek, cream on her apron, tired eyes but shining.

For the first time in 10 years, Li Zeyan forgot about a board meeting.

He was supposed to leave at 10 AM. He stayed until 2 PM, burning more buns.