TL: Hua
The next day, Xie Yu contacted Xu Qingshan.
He had some funds, but not a lot, and for the entire Xie Group, it was a drop in the bucket. Fortunately, Xu Qingshan still had some, which could be put to use.
According to the original plot, in at most two months, Xie Yuanhai would be exposed in a shocking scandal, simultaneously facing the risk of imprisonment. Public opinion would press hard, shareholders would flee, and the stock price would plummet. This might be a good opportunity for a reshuffle.
The two met at the hotel as usual. Before this, the system had used its excessive computing power to simulate and analyze all possible outcomes and had drawn up a feasible plan.
When Xie Yu sat opposite Xu Qingshan and stated his intentions, genuinely discussing the feasibility, Xu Qingshan looked at him suspiciously, as if he had seen a ghost.
“No… Xiao Yu, are you serious?”
Xie Yu raised an eyebrow: “Of course I’m serious.”
Xu Qingshan had watched his nephew grow up. He knew better than anyone how useless Xie Yu was. Before, there was also the problem of his violent temper and liking to hit people. Xu Qingshan only had three expectations for him: first, don’t go to prison; second, don’t go to a mental hospital; and third, don’t be scammed to death by Xie Yuanhai.
But now, Xie Yu was sitting upright, discussing business investments with him?
Xu Qingshan picked up his coffee to cover up his loss of composure: “Why the sudden interest? Weren’t you completely uninterested in taking over the company?”
He had clearly been uninterested when he first returned to the country, just two short months ago.
Xie Yu sighed, “No choice, I have to support the family.”
Xu Qingshan directly spat out a mouthful of coffee onto the table.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough.” He pulled out two tissues to wipe the table, his face full of disbelief. “What did you say?”
Xie Yu sighed, repeating, “I said, I have to support the family.”
If the gap between him and Shen Ci was too big, he would also feel embarrassed.
Xu Qingshan: “…”
The famous Western-trained psychiatrist felt dizzy; his brain seemed to be deprived of oxygen. His gaze lingered on his nephew’s young face, deeply feeling confusion and surrealism.
His irritable, irresponsible, failing, college dropout nephew was actually considering supporting a family?
Xu Qingshan knew about Xie Yu’s relationship with Shen Ci, and he also knew that Shen Ci was liked by Xie Yu; otherwise, his nephew wouldn’t have suddenly reined in his temper five years ago, nor would he have specially left a fund and instructed him to take care of Shen Ci. A few months ago, when Xie Yu had a manic episode and was hospitalized, Shen Ci had quietly come to visit. He had vaguely guessed it, but he didn’t know that Shen Ci had such great magic that Xie Yu was even planning to settle down and support a family.
Xu Qingshan was silent for a moment: “How far has your relationship progressed?”
Xie Yu averted his gaze, coughing: “…To the point where it has to be him.”
Xie Yu was conservative at heart. He had hugged Shen Ci, kissed him, lived in the house his mother left behind, and they had exchanged personalized accessories. From then on, he would be with no one but Shen Ci for the rest of his life.
At this point, Xu Qingshan had nothing more to say. He flipped through his nephew’s plan, found no problems, and indeed, he was an amateur when it came to funds and stocks, not as good as Xie Yu and Shen Ci. So, he nodded in agreement.
As he was leaving, Xu Qingshan took out his laptop and asked Xie Yu to do another test report.
Xie Yu readily agreed.
He had always exaggerated the severity of his condition before, but in fact, the confused and painful experience of high school had long passed. With Xie Yu’s open-mindedness, he wouldn’t have been deeply mired for so many years.
He quickly checked all the options and clicked submit. Xu Qingshan reviewed them one by one, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Bipolar disorder is difficult to cure, especially Xie Yu’s type, formed by childhood trauma, where symptoms often last a lifetime. However, Xie Yu’s assessment showed that his mindset was good and optimistic, no different from a normal person, and even better. Self-abuse and self-harming behaviors would no longer occur.
Xu Qingshan pushed up his glasses, revealing a genuine smile: “Congratulations, it looks like you won’t need to come to Qingshan Hospital anymore.”
His sister Xu Qingping’s experience was a thorn in Xu Qingshan’s heart, and the child his sister left behind was another. Xu Qingshan himself had no children; he was Xie Yu’s uncle and half-guardian. Back then, Xu Qingshan went abroad and chose to pursue a doctorate in psychiatry, partly related to Xie Yu. Now, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He gazed into the distance, looking towards Qiongshan, feeling a moment of melancholy: “Thus, I can consider myself to have fulfilled my duty.”
Two months later, Xie Yuanhai was indeed exposed in a shocking scandal.
It was said that he participated in certain gatherings involving minors. While the circle might be wild, such red lines are never crossed. This was a first for Xie Yuanhai, and it instantly caused an uproar.
With Xie Yuanshan’s death and the adage “When the wall falls, everyone pushes,” the Xie Group already had countless enemies. Moreover, Xie Yuanhai had set himself up as a live target, allowing various factions to attack. Public opinion was in an uproar, and officials directly intervened to open an investigation. With conclusive evidence, he was directly detained and taken away during a company meeting.
Within a few months, two chairmen consecutively stepped down, which was quite unusual. The Xie Group inevitably suffered heavy losses, and various rumors spread wildly.
Since Xie Yuanhai took power, the veterans left by Xie Yuanshan had already been purged. Now, with time pressing, his own confidantes had not yet been cultivated. Leaderless, the leadership was riddled with holes, leaking everywhere like a sieve. Panic spread within the company, retail investors sold off, and shareholders fled. The once glorious group was almost instantly on the verge of delisting.
Amidst the plummeting stock prices, a certain account went against the trend, buying in large quantities. After the situation stabilized, everyone looked around and discovered that the account, traced back to its source, actually belonged to Xie Yu.
This young master, who had returned from studying abroad and had never interfered with company affairs, surprisingly possessed thunderous methods. In just a few months, he led the restructuring of shareholding, becoming another top new elite in Jiangcheng, a dragon whose head is seen but not its tail[mfn]神龙见首不见尾 (shén lóng jiàn shǒu bù jiàn wěi) It describes someone mysterious, elusive, or untraceable—appearing briefly but remaining largely hidden or unpredictable.[/mfn].
Xie Yu was incredibly busy.
With his own methods, he wouldn’t have been able to get a handle on the company in a short time, but he had a cheat code: the system.
Although the system usually seemed unreliable, like an artificial idiot, it came from an era after a technological explosion and possessed a vast and complex database. The system’s computing power could also help it quickly locate relevant parts in redundant data and relay them to the host.
Xie Yu already had relevant knowledge, and with this, he was like a tiger with wings. In just a few months, amidst the surprised and suspicious gazes of others, he firmly secured the top position at Xie Group.
The remaining shareholders happily accepted this decisive young man, as his methods were no less formidable than Xie Yuanshan’s or Xie Yuanhai’s. To show their sincerity, they even held a banquet for Xie Yu in the same hall where Xie Yuanshan’s memorial service had been held.
Only this time, the solemn and dignified decorations were replaced with gold and red, and the young man who could only sit on the periphery at his father’s memorial service now appeared at the center of the entire hall.
Xie Yu wore a pure black tailcoat with gold buttons. His usually casual hairstyle was meticulously groomed. He politely humored the various shareholders, appearing witty and talkative, but when no one was watching, he frequently checked his watch, quite distracted.
The system, relying on the fact that others couldn’t see it, had been peeking out the door. Seeing a certain person, it flew back, its tone light: “Hey, Host, your wife has arrived.”
Shen Ci was here representing his company to discuss business.
To outsiders, Xie Yu and Shen Ci were old enemies with new grudges, clashing like needlepoint against wheat awn, wishing they could bite each other to death. They had more or less heard about the sponsorship relationship, and based on what Young Master Xie had done in the past, Shen Ci would certainly not forgive him.
Later, when Xie Yu returned to the country, there were constant rumors in Jiangcheng that Shen Ci had blocked him at the door and beaten Xie Yu several times to vent his anger—the evidence being that Xie Yu lived in a dilapidated old apartment in the city, and Shen Ci had repeatedly brought people in and out of the complex, suspected of coming to provoke him, and the bright red plastic bags he carried were suspected of containing sticks and weapons.
There were even eyewitnesses who claimed that when Xie Yu went out to throw away trash, the trash was conspicuously bloody, suggesting he had been severely beaten and bled and then treated himself at home due to lack of money for medical care.
To this, Xie Yu was speechless.
He and Shen Ci reviewed the events afterward and concluded: the “sticks and weapons” in the plastic bags were freshly bought fish heads and yams from the market; they had stewed fish head with tofu and yam with spare ribs that day. As for the bloody trash, it was blood water from defrosting beef.
Therefore, when Shen Ci appeared at the banquet, everyone held their breath.
They watched wide-eyed as Shen Ci moved through the crowd and sat beside Xie Yu. The two officially and politely nodded in greeting, then began to discuss business matters.
Xie Yu and Shen Ci were both new elites in Jiangcheng, each with their own companies. The two went back and forth, engaging in a war of words, giving no quarter, occasionally raising an eyebrow or sneering, making the shareholders nearby break out in a cold sweat.
“From my personal perspective, this proposal may not be in the best interest of both parties… hiss—”
Immediately, someone stepped forward and asked, “President Shen, what’s wrong?”
Shen Ci frowned slightly, looking annoyed: “The tea was a bit hot; it burned my tongue.”
Hidden by the tablecloth, he gently kicked Xie Yu’s leg.
Xie Yu’s pointed leather shoe, at some unknown point, had moved straight up his legs and stopped very close.
Xie Yu smiled: “President Shen is right, but I have a different opinion on certain matters, uh—”
Chaos erupted beside him: “President Xie, are you alright?!”
“I’m fine.” Xie Yu forced a smile. “The pastry was a bit cold; it chilled me.”
Shen Ci had made a move at some point, his toes rubbing into the gap of Xie Yu’s suit trousers.
The two went back and forth. Xie Yu’s forehead twitched, veins bulging, while Shen Ci’s brows were tightly furrowed, his expression icy. After the meeting, Xie Yu’s tie was crooked, Shen Ci’s glasses chain was askew, and both were sweating profusely, their foreheads glistening.
Shen Ci loudly dragged his chair back first, saying coolly, “Excuse me, I need to go tidy up my appearance.”
He left accompanied by his assistant.
Xie Yu sat there for a moment, then also stood up, smiling: “Excuse me, I also need to change my clothes.”
He took a towel from his assistant.
With the two bosses leaving one after another, the icy atmosphere in the venue immediately dissipated. Someone watched them leave, sighing with emotion, “What a spirited debate!”
No one knew that the two who had just been glaring fiercely at each other were, three hours earlier, intimately embracing and kissing in the hotel suite upstairs. Xie Yu had even pressed Shen Ci against the floor-to-ceiling window, directly facing the bustling traffic outside. Seeing the panic in the eyes of the person in his arms, Xie Yu kissed the top of his head, reassuring him, “It’s alright, the glass is one-way.”
Shen Ci then relaxed.
So much so that when the banquet time arrived, Xie Yu was still not satiated, and Shen Ci still felt uncomfortable.
The banquet hall had several independent changing rooms, and behind the changing rooms was a corridor that led directly to the hotel rooftop.
Neither Xie Yu nor Shen Ci consulted the other, yet they both coincidentally walked out from the back, appearing one after the other on the rooftop. Servers occasionally passed by in the corridor, so they pretended not to know each other.
Xie Yu unbuttoned his suit, and the rustling strong wind lifted his coattails. He stretched out his hand towards Shen Ci: “Come.”
As soon as Shen Ci came up, Xie Yu gripped his shoulders and pulled him into his arms. The winter sun was warm, and the person in front of him was warm too. He comfortably sighed, complaining softly, “What’s gotten into you lately? Why are you working so hard?”
Xie Yu had been even busier than him recently, constantly on the go and rarely at home. Today, before the banquet, he’d only managed to squeeze in four or five hours to meet, and once they met, he couldn’t stop.
At first, when Xie Yu started working seriously, Shen Ci thought he had been idle at home for too long and that it was good for him to do something with his career. At that time, Xie Yu’s lazy image was too deeply ingrained in people’s minds, and Shen Ci didn’t think he would put much effort into it, so he let him mess around, as long as there was enough money.
Who knew that the more Xie Yu messed around, the more formidable he became, and in the end, he actually firmly secured the top position.
While surprised, Shen Ci was also happy for Xie Yu. He had seen Xie Yu’s two academic records and knew that he was never a good-for-nothing young master. But later, when Xie Yu caught up with him, Shen Ci secretly began to worry.
If he didn’t have an economic advantage, would Xie Yu still need him like this?
Shen Ci knew this mindset wasn’t good, but he couldn’t control it. He had received too little affection, and this one was too precious, making him prone to anxiety about losing it.
Xie Yu noticed something was wrong in just two days. He tricked Shen Ci out, gave him a couple of drinks, and Shen Ci, in a daze, spilled everything on his mind. Then he was pressed down by the back of his neck and kissed thoroughly.
Xie Yu’s exact words were, “I need to find a way to stop you from overthinking.”
… Well, he certainly stopped overthinking, but the method was a bit strange.
A year ago, they were strangers in this hotel; a year later, they were embracing and kissing in this same hotel.
The hotel rooftop was windy, with the north wind howling past, quite chilly. Shen Ci couldn’t help but hold him tighter: “How much longer will you be busy?”
They were still in the honeymoon phase. Not being able to buy groceries with his lover every morning, not being able to stew soup with him at noon, and not being able to take walks hand-in-hand in the evening—it was torture to think about.
Xie Yu said, “I’ve taken a leave of absence next month. For a whole month.”
“…You?”
Shen Ci looked up at him, a little stunned.
Xie Yu pulled a small kraft paper bag from behind him and sighed, “Why work so hard? It’s all so I can stand beside you.”
He handed the kraft paper bag to Shen Ci. “Want to open it?”
Although he seemed uninhibited, Xie Yu was exceptionally traditional in certain matters, even conservative and stubborn. When he loved someone, he had to settle everything properly, stand equally with the other person, look them in the eye, and then hold his beloved’s hand to continue the next journey.
Shen Ci held his breath and opened the paper bag.
Inside the velvet satin box was a pair of rings.
They were both simple and unassuming designs, plain and understated, with names engraved on the inner band.
Xie Yu: “Try them on?”
They put the rings on each other, as if leaving another imprint. From then on, they would be intertwined.
Xie Yu said, “Where do you want to go next month?”
He had specifically taken leave.
Shen Ci had hardly ever left Jiangcheng. There were so many wonderful places in the world, but he thought for a moment and said, “I want to see your school abroad.”
He wanted to see the classrooms where Xie Yu studied and the corridors he walked, to know what Xie Yu had been doing during those five years they were apart.
Xie Yu laughed, “Alright, I’ll book the tickets as soon as we get back.”
They lingered affectionately on the rooftop for a while, until too much time had passed, then reluctantly returned to the banquet.
They sat back down at the negotiating table.
Before, only their legs were hidden under the tablecloth; now their hands were hidden in their sleeves too.
Neither Shen Ci nor Xie Yu would intentionally concede during work. They were evenly matched opponents; this was both acknowledgment and respect.
Shen Ci, after all, had a few more years of experience, while Xie Yu had the system, though he was occasionally left speechless. He looked at the radiant young man across the table and then remembered the novel’s ending, where Shen Ci suffered from severe depression, unable to control it even with medication, living like a walking corpse. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
—This beautiful and fragile porcelain piece had finally been carefully protected in his arms, completely unharmed, shining brightly.
But while he admired and sighed, he also gnashed his teeth in annoyance.
Xie Yu met the other’s persistent questioning, secretly raising an eyebrow, thinking to himself, “Good, this eloquence is really something.”
Shen Ci suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He met Xie Yu’s half-smile, half-sarcastic gaze, and seemed to vaguely understand the meaning of that smile.
—”Now, however many arguments you make, that’s how many new ways we’ll try later, how about it?”
