After all that shouting, the space finally went quiet, leaving behind nothing but this weird, awkward silence.
Ji Ling walked over to Yan Yixuan, hesitated a bit, then asked, “Are you okay?”
Yan Yixuan finally looked up at him. His voice was flat. “What could possibly be wrong with me?”
That sharp coldness on his face, that angry fire—bit by bit, it faded into something else. Exhaustion. A kind of bone-deep tired that hit even harder than his earlier rage.
It wasn’t just being tired—it was that kind of frustrated, helpless feeling, like someone trapped in a maze with no way out, stuck between giving up and pushing on.
Ji Ling lowered his voice. “You still wanna eat?”
Yan Yixuan took a long breath, calmed himself down, then said, “It’s not that bad. Let’s go.”
They got into Ji Ling’s car. Yan Yixuan sat on the passenger side, totally silent.
It was rush hour—cars everywhere, horns, noise, people in a hurry. But inside the car, the quiet was thick. That contrast between the chaos outside and the silence in the car made everything feel even heavier.
Ji Ling thought to himself, ‘So much for a nice dinner.’ There was no way anyone could eat in a good mood after that. If the food was just gonna sit in their mouths like cardboard, they might as well talk it out instead of choking on it.
He finally spoke. “Why were you two fighting?”
It probably had something to do with the company. Internal disagreements weren’t unusual. Ji Ling had slammed his fair share of tables back when he was managing stuff. But usually, it was about the issue, not the person. Yan Yili, though, chasing people down after he already quit the company just to keep arguing? That was next level.
Yan Yixuan stayed quiet for so long Ji Ling almost gave up thinking he’d answer—but then he did.
“Nothing.”
Yeah, ‘nothing’ didn’t even begin to cover it.
Ji Ling didn’t let it go. “Honestly, I thought you’d still be raging. You’re way calmer than I expected.”
Yan Yixuan let out a cold laugh. “What, so I should just act like that spoiled brat everyone says I am? Besides, this has nothing to do with you. Blowing up at you would be pointless.”
‘Fair enough,’ Ji Ling thought. ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with me.’ But still, watching two brothers go at it like that—how could he just pretend he didn’t see it?
He kept his tone chill. “You’re already full of anger—if you don’t let it out, how are you gonna eat later?”
Yan Yixuan snorted. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t get it.”
Ji Ling chuckled and said, “How do you know I won’t get it if you don’t tell me? Honestly, I think there’s nothing in this world I don’t understand.”
Yan Yixuan gave him a side glance. “Wow, look at you. That ego of yours is getting out of hand.”
“It’s not ego,” Ji Ling replied, grinning. “It’s confidence.”
Yan Yixuan snorted again, but this time it felt lighter—like his mood was starting to lift.
Ji Ling went on, teasing, “If you wanna keep sulking, you won’t be able to eat later anyway. Saves me the money.”
Yan Yixuan wasn’t stupid. He knew Ji Ling had been trying to make him feel better this whole time. Even earlier, when he was arguing with Yan Yili, Ji Ling had stepped in to pull him out of it. After thinking for a moment, he finally said, “It’s about the company.”
Ji Ling caught the hesitation and offered, “Want me to sign a non-disclosure agreement?”
That actually got a laugh out of Yan Yixuan. After laughing, he got quiet again and said, “It’s that plot of land we bid for a while back—the one that caused a buzz. It ran into some policy trouble. The price ended up way too high, and it’s been sitting there ever since. Yan Yili wants to bring in a partner, set up a joint venture, and just get the project moving already. I said no.”
Ji Ling frowned. “That’s it? That’s what the fight was over?”
Yan Yixuan continued, “That land cost us a fortune, and we’ve been dragging our feet on it ever since. Policies have only gotten tighter, and the longer we wait, the harder it’ll be to get it going. Now that the company’s finances are recovering a bit this year, it looks like a decent window. Teaming up with someone could help cut the losses.”
Honestly, that didn’t sound like such a bad plan. And from the way Yan Yixuan was talking, he didn’t seem totally against the idea either. So why didn’t the proposal go through?
It was like Yan Yixuan read Ji Ling’s mind. “There’s no way I can agree to setting up a joint venture. That land was bought with financing pulled in by people from our own family. The deal back then already promised them a bigger slice of the profits. Now, if we bring in an outside company, the profit-sharing becomes a mess. It’ll definitely piss off the original investors. I can’t risk that. So I’ve had to hold off.”
Even Ji Ling was left speechless for a second.
From a pure business standpoint, resolving this kind of legacy issue and turning it into a profit stream made total sense. But this was a family-owned company—things weren’t that simple. Relationships and loyalty mattered just as much as numbers.
Even in business, especially in family businesses, people cared about trust and loyalty. Those early investors, the ones who stepped up when things were tough—if the company turned around and undercut them now just to move forward, it’d break hearts. And once that trust was gone, morale and future funding would take a hit too.
In the end, it all came down to leadership—the way someone handled that delicate balance.
Family ties and fairness… that was a tightrope.
Ji Ling thought of his own past. Even his father had once been driven to the brink trying to handle disputes between relatives.
“But you can’t keep dragging it out either,” Ji Ling said. “Policies are tightening, banks are playing wait-and-see. The longer this drags on, the more you lose.”
Yan Yixuan looked at him and said, “You really do get it, huh.”
Ji Ling just smiled. “Told you—I know everything.”
Yan Yixuan went on, “So now Yan Yili’s saying I only care about keeping the big shareholders happy, playing favorites, and ignoring what’s best for the company.”
Yeah… that’s a real no-win situation.
From Yan Yixuan’s side, it was a question of whether it was worth it to cut ties and risk ticking off the elders in the family. But in Yan Yili’s eyes, a bad call was a bad call, and the only thing to do was fix it fast, stop the bleeding, and turn things around.
Ji Ling asked, “So what are you planning to do?”
He didn’t buy for a second that Yan Yixuan had no plan. No one digs their heels in like that without thinking things through first.
Yan Yixuan said, “Before the next round of policy tightening hits, the market’s bound to pick up. As long as we can break even on the inflated price, I’m going to move forward with developing that land. I’ll allocate a portion of it for a retirement housing project—it’ll be a kind of compensation.”
Ji Ling nodded slowly.
As soon as Yan Yixuan finished, a flicker of regret crossed his face. He probably shouldn’t have said all that to someone outside the company. But after the fight earlier, the frustration had just built up too much. And here Ji Ling was—teasing him gently, listening quietly—it made him let his guard down and just spill everything, hoping to find some sort of release.
Ji Ling said, “Honestly, I don’t think it’s that rare for company decisions to cause friction. But the way you and Yan Yili go at it? Feels like this has been simmering for a while.”
Yan Yixuan gave a cold little laugh. “It’s not the first time. Since the day he joined the company, he’s had all kinds of opinions on how things should be run. He thinks… well, that he could do a better job than me.”
He caught himself before finishing that sentence, swallowing the rest of the words.
But Ji Ling was sharp. He knew exactly what Yan Yixuan meant.
What struck Ji Ling wasn’t just the fight between Yan Yixuan and Yan Yili—that kind of thing happened.
What really made him pause was the fact that Yan Jisheng had even let Yan Yili onto the board in the first place.
Even emperors, when picking a crown prince, would make sure to keep the other sons out of the picture. But Yan Jisheng? He’d set both sons in front of the same cake and expected no one to fight over it?
And that was without even getting into the fact that Yan Yili’s background was sensitive. Honestly, someone like that normally wouldn’t even be allowed near the table.
Did Yan Jisheng ever stop to think how hard he was making things for Yan Yixuan?
Then Ji Ling thought of himself.
Back then, when he forced his younger brother to study abroad, their father knew exactly what was going on. But he stayed quiet, turned a blind eye, let it happen.
What if their father had backed Zong Jiqi’s business ambitions? What if they had switched roles, and Ji Ling had been the one pushed aside?
He didn’t even want to think about it.
They hit a red light. Ji Ling glanced sideways at Yan Yixuan, his expression a little complicated.
Yan Yixuan happened to be looking at him too. For a second, their eyes met—and in Ji Ling’s gaze, Yan Yixuan saw something unexpected.
Understanding. And maybe even… a little kindness.
A thought flickered in Yan Yixuan’s mind, and he couldn’t help asking, “If it were you, what would you do in that situation?”
Ji Ling hesitated for a second—this wasn’t one of those times to throw out some easy, comforting answer. Yan Yixuan didn’t need fluff, he wanted honesty. So Ji Ling answered seriously, “I’d do what Yan Yili suggested.”
That was just the kind of person he was—when it came to management, Ji Ling always leaned toward the hardline, no-nonsense approach. But just because he would’ve done it that way didn’t mean it was the better option.
There was a flicker of gloom in Yan Yixuan’s eyes, but he quickly pulled himself together and said calmly, “I have my own way of doing things.”
And that’s why they clashed—he and Yan Yili both had lines they wouldn’t cross. Once they drew them, neither one was backing down.
Ji Ling smiled faintly. “Nothing wrong with that. Though I gotta say, for Yan Yili to go head-to-head with you like that, he’s got quite the temper.”
“That’s because he doesn’t see himself as beneath me,” Yan Yixuan said quietly. “In fact, he thinks he’s the one who should…”
He stopped again, swallowing the rest of his words.
Ji Ling picked up on it, of course, but he didn’t push. He already felt like he’d gotten a pretty deep peek into the Yan family drama tonight. No need to dig further—especially when Yan Yixuan already seemed to have lightened up after letting so much out.
So Ji Ling just smiled and asked, “Now that you’ve talked your heart out, feeling hungry yet? Can we finally go eat?”
Yan Yixuan shot him a sideways look. “All you ever think about is food.”
Ji Ling laughed. “You’ve got no idea. I’ve been stuck out of town with this event team, living on hotel buffet food. It’s been tragic, man.”
Yan Yixuan replied dryly, “Wouldn’t know. Never had that experience.”
Ji Ling burst out laughing. “Well, lucky you. Anyway—here we are, Your Highness. Time to get out.”
Yan Yixuan paused for a moment.
Just a while ago, Yan Yili had screamed at him not to keep playing the role of a spoiled young master. When he said ‘Young Master,’ it was laced with scorn and mockery. But Ji Ling? He always joked around with the same nickname—‘Young Master Yan this, Young Master Yan that’—and it never felt like an insult.
That teasing, that familiarity… Yan Yixuan could feel the difference.
Somehow, all the anger that had been boiling inside him during the fight had quietly dissolved over the drive. Ji Ling hadn’t exactly given him advice or tried to change his mind, but he’d nudged him along, step by step, letting him vent it all out.
Yan Yixuan got out of the car and stood for a second, watching Ji Ling park.
He felt… off balance.
The whole thing with Yan Yili—if you said it out loud, it sounded messy, even shameful. He’d planned to keep his distance, just brush it off coldly. But Yan Yili kept pushing, and years of resentment finally exploded. He’d lost control without even realizing it.
Maybe it really had been building up for too long, and no one to talk to had only made it worse.
But after saying it all to Ji Ling, strangely, he felt lighter. Like a weight had been lifted.
As Ji Ling walked over, Yan Yixuan stared at him, that odd feeling still lingering.
There was just something about this guy—like he had some kind of magic. You didn’t even notice it happening, but somehow, you always ended up matching his pace, walking into his rhythm… and falling into whatever trap he’d quietly laid out.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
