The assistant was pacing downstairs. Every person who had kept by the chairman had passed through his hands. From taking them to physical examinations to breakup fees, he handled every task properly with finesse and ease. This was the first time he had felt so uneasy.

It was all because this matter involved the young master.

The chairman had been upstairs for a while, but still hadn’t come down yet. The assistant couldn’t imagine what was happening up there. He didn’t dare to rashly go up without the chairman’s orders.

The assistant underestimated Wang Chuqiu. He was a country person with no background and his qualifications, appearance, and education were all very average. However, he was chosen by the Shen family due to his horoscope, and lived in Qinxin Estate in Hudong for two years before being kicked out.

The assistant thought that for Wang Chuqiu, the only glorious period of his life would be his two years in Qinxin Estate. Who would have thought that he would stay in South City, a city of very expensive land[1], change his name, enrol in Third High School, become roommates with the young master, and even put the young master in his debt.

What was even more absurd was the chairman’s behaviour tonight.

To be precise, the moment the chairman asked him to investigate where Wang Chuqiu lived, it already warranted the label “absurd.”

The assistant knew the chairman’s preferences better than anyone else. It hadn’t changed over the years and was very fixed. Wang Chuqiu didn’t match any of them in the slightest.

But,

The assistant narrowed his eyes. There was something off about Wang Chuqiu after he changed his name. It wasn’t about his appearance, but rather that tenacious wild nature that appeared from nowhere.

The assistant had actually sensed a hint of this during that night at Diye, but he didn’t think much of it at the time.

Looking back now, Wang Chuqiu was already acting strange that night at Diye.

If this was a carefully orchestrated act to catch the chairman’s attention, then he had truly immersed himself in the role and achieved his goal.

The chairman liked strong children with a clear-cut trajectory in life

The assistant squatted on the steps, feeling the night breeze. Last week, he had gone to Third High to pick up the young master and unexpectedly saw Wang Chuqiu. At that time, he truly hadn’t anticipated that something like tonight would happen.

Although the chairman was only interested in him because of his novelty, this bit of novelty was enough to make many people envious—it was a stroke of good fortune that they couldn’t even wish for.

The sound of the elevator doors opening echoed especially clearly in the quiet hallway. The assistant quickly made his way over and glanced at the young man in the chairman’s arms. No matter how many times he looked, he couldn’t help but feel that the young man was a low-grade commodity, utterly out of place beside the chairman.

The assistant said respectfully, “Chairman, I’ll take him.”

The cigarette at Shen Ji’s lips was almost burnt out, and there was a long length of ash at the end. As soon as he opened his mouth, the ash fell softly, some of it landing on the face of the person in the crook of his arm.

“Is he ugly?” There was no emotion in Shen Ji’s voice.

The assistant didn’t answer.

Don’t you[2] already know yourself whether he’s ugly or not?

A thin body was shoved over, and the assistant quickly caught it. He couldn’t gauge when this person’s novelty would wear off for the chairman, so he had to tread carefully in the meantime.

This Wang Chuqiu, now called Jiao Bai, had three broken ribs and wouldn’t be able to serve the chairman for a while. So why was he taking him away? Was it to house and feed[3] him?

“Chairman, where should I put him?” the assistant asked, considering the options. Several locations came to mind—some empty, some occupied—but he wasn’t sure how the chairman wanted to arrange things.

Shen Ji put out his cigarette with his fingers. “Just put him in Shangming Garden[4].”

The assistant was shocked. Shangming Garden was regarded as the best among the places the chairman used to house his companions. It wasn’t because it was in some prime location, but because it was close to Shen Corporation. After work, if there were no social engagements, the chairman would go straight there to rest.

Currently, someone was living in Shangming Garden. That person was also someone the chairman was quite satisfied with, and they were always the one accompanying the chairman lately. The assistant had thought this person would be exclusively favoured by the chairman until the end of the year, but unexpectedly, a new rival had emerged[5].

.

Shangming Garden

Jiang Yan was still awake, sitting in the living room, smoking and composing music. Occasionally, he would run over to the piano and press a few keys. Crumpled sheets of discarded drafts lay scattered across the floor.

Jiang Yan’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door unlocking, but all he did in response was toss his pen aside to vent his dissatisfaction.

This house only had three fingerprints recorded: one belonged to the current occupant, the second to the housekeeper auntie[6], and the third to his sponsor.

At this hour, the housekeeper had already finished for the day.

Jiang Yan, the current occupant, dropped his legs from the sofa and hurried to the door. “Mr. Shen, you’re here.”

Shen Ji patted his butt. “What are you doing?”

“Composing.” Jiang Yan handed his sponsor a pair of slippers. The red camisole dress he wore barely reached his thighs, accentuating his extremely rdwx figure.

When he bent down, his front and back were exposed.

The assistant, who was leaning against the door, immediately turned his head and looked the other way. The scent of fiery perfume rushed into his nose. He shook his head inwardly. The chairman had such a thorny but not prickly, alluring and lovely red rose, yet he became interested in a dried-up reed.

“Who’s this?” With a finger painted with red nail polish, Jiang Yan poked the person being supported by the assistant. “Looks familiar.”

He remembered who it was, but didn’t ask any questions. He simply took his sponsor’s hand and placed it on his waist.

In front of a sponsor, you couldn’t have no sharp edges at all, otherwise you’d be quickly discarded, but you also needed to smooth the edges a bit, as you couldn’t be too sharp either.

This action was just right, ensuring the sponsor didn’t feel that their pet had forgotten its identity and become arrogant because of their pampering.

Shen Ji’s aura was indeed less cold now. He rubbed the supple and strong waist under his hand. This child had been kept by A-Lao, and lasted for the longest time, so he didn’t need to teach him the rules.

Unlike…

Shen Ji glanced at the little thing that he personally brought back. In comparison, Xiao Jiang[7] was completely trouble-free.

When it was time to be obedient and considerate, he was, and when it was time to be assertive, he was as well—he was quite a handy bed partner.

Shen Ji took off his jacket and handed it to Jiang Yan, then walked into the living room, rubbing his forehead.

The assistant was a few steps behind, supporting the person inside, then not knowing where to put him.

.

Jiang Yan poured a glass of water for his sponsor, picked up the discarded sheets from the floor, and threw them into the mesh rubbish bin. He casually pointed at the person who was still being supported by the assistant and asked, “What’s wrong with him? He looks really unwell.”

Seeing that the chairman had no intention of answering, the assistant replied in a formal manner, “He has three broken back ribs.”

Jiang Yan covered his mouth in surprise. “Oh my god, how did that happen?”

“Self-inflicted[8],” Shen Ji said coldly from the sofa, unexpectedly responding this time.

The assistant’s eyelids twitched. The chairman’s tone and choice of words... was he overthinking it? Otherwise, why did it feel like the prelude before all hell broke loose?

Shen Ji drank two mouthfuls of water to dilute the astringent taste the two cigarettes left in his throat. Then he tilted his head back and leaned back against the sofa.

Jiang Yan went over to massage his head.

The assistant awkwardly supported Jiao Bai, his arm cramping up because it wasn’t appropriate for him to make too much physical contact with the other person. He could only use one hand to support him, while keeping the rest of his body away.

He hoped that Jiang Yan could ask the chairman about Jiao Bai, so that the chairman would “remember” this person and let him put him down.

As it turned out, Jiang Yan had no intention of doing so at all. The assistant thought to himself, no wonder this person managed to last a few months with Chairman Qi, and could keep the chairman thinking about him from late summer to late autumn. He really knew how to navigate situations perfectly.

It was unlikely that he would fall out of favour before the end of the year.

As the assistant thought this, his gaze swept over Jiao Bai’s sickly face, and he reconsidered, Or maybe not.

“Chairman, his condition doesn’t seem very good. Should we let him lie flat?” the assistant suggested, pointing at Jiao Bai from a distance with his free hand.


[1] 寸土黄金的城市 – ‘a city where every inch of land is gold.’

[2] 您老 (nín lǎo) – polite and respectful way of saying ‘you’ when referring or addressing a respected person or someone more senior.

[3] 养 (yang) means to raise (animals); to keep (pets); to bring up (children); to support someone financially or housing them etc

[4] 尚名苑 (Shàngmíngyuàn) - 尚 means still/yet/to value/to esteem. 名 means name. 苑 means garden/park/enclosed area for growing trees or keeping animals etc.

[5] 杀出来个程咬金 – “Cheng Yaojin shows up suddenly” is a saying used to describe a situation where someone shows up unexpectedly and disrupts a plan, or used to describe an unwelcome busybody who shows up when he/she is not wanted. Cheng Yaojin is a general in history.

[6] 阿姨 (ā yí) means maternal aunt and is also used to address a woman similar to your parents’ age.

[7] 小姜 (xiǎo jiāng) – Little Jiang -  小 – small/little. 姜 Jiang in Jiang Yan.

[8] 作的  (zuò de) – self-inflicted / brought it on himself - to bring trouble or harm upon yourself through your own trouble-seeking actions or choices.