Jin Yi teased:“Boss Jin, that’s not very fair. Since you’re interested in signing Guan Junhao, you could’ve just given us a heads-up. No need to make it a big deal, embarrassing everyone.”
Jin Yi smiled wryly:“Fish Boss really likes jokes. Everyone in the circle knows I, Jin Yi, love to play. I never get involved in company matters—they’re all handled by the company.”
“Second Young Master Jin, that’s not right. I heard that this time, it was you personally who handled things—Guan Junhao was brought into the company and signed under your direct supervision. What you just said doesn’t match what I’ve heard.”
Well, your reach really is impressive, getting all the way into other people’s company affairs.
Jin Yi’s forced smile was about to crack.
“Ah? Is that so? Fish Boss, you know my memory… maybe I was out drinking and picked someone up because they looked good? Oh, what’s his name again? I think you know him well… could it be that you—”
The person on the other end went silent.
Jin Yi felt a surge of pride but couldn’t whistle or laugh out loud. Otherwise, he might just make the other side so mad they… jumped into a river or something. That would’ve been on him!
“…Since Second Young Master Jin refuses to admit it, there’s nothing more to discuss.”
The tone from the other side shifted from familiarity to cold, ominous.
Jin Yi snorted inwardly.
“See, Fish Boss? I didn’t refuse to admit anything. I just did! But you haven’t said anything either… if you really fancy him, well, as a brother, I wouldn’t stop you—”
“Beep beep beep.”
The call was cut off.
“…Hmph.”
Jin Yi cast a disdainful glance at the phone, then quickly masked it with an exaggerated pained expression.
“Ughhh—dealing with these people is so annoying!”
“Really? Somehow I feel like you’re enjoying it, Second Young Master Jin,” Fan Qing said with a faint smile.
Jin Yi choked.
He ran a hand through his hair and hummed.
“Not really, it’s just… bitter enjoyment.”
Because otherwise, dealing with these people? He’d be driven mad.
He sighed, flipping onto his back like a lazy fish.
“Ah, managing a company is really a pain. I don’t understand why so many people want to handle such nonsense…”
At least this time, he had enough on his plate.
Jin Yi’s eyes secretly flicked toward Fan Qing.
How to put it?
He… wasn’t feeling it right now.
“Not feeling like continuing?”
Fan Qing flipped through the files in his hands without looking up.
Even without seeing him, he could guess what Second Young Master Jin was thinking.
Jin Yi gave a little laugh, testing the waters.
“Well, your goal isn’t just to get Guan Junhao into the company, right? That’s already perfectly done, StarStar over there is fuming. How about…?”
Dissolving operations on the spot, maybe? Fan Qing would understand?
“Who told you that’s my goal?”
Fan Qing barely looked up from the files to give Jin Yi a glance.
“Not true?”
Jin Yi frowned, confused.
“Then why go through so much trouble to bring him into my company?”
He paused, recalling his deal with Fan Qing. A bold thought crossed his mind.
He looked at Fan Qing in shock.
“You’re not… planning to—”
“Hm?”
Second Young Master Jin seemed to have finally caught on.
Fan Qing lowered his head back to the files.
“You fancy Guan Junhao?”
Jin Yi’s loud voice made Fan Qing’s hand shake, and papers fluttered to the floor.
Well… classic Jin Yi.
Fan Qing’s eyes expressed equal parts surprise and disdain at Jin Yi’s imagination.
Jin Yi felt a little embarrassed.
“Ah? Isn’t that the case?”
Fan Qing picked up the papers, rolling his eyes.
“I’m pursuing Nie Luo. Did you forget? Or did you just swallow that fact?”
That easy to forget? Or does Jin Yi think Fan Qing is the type to straddle two ships?
“Well, no, I just… thought you might not catch him…”
Jin Yi muttered softly.
Fan Qing paused, slowly lifting his head.
“Why do you think that?”
How did he know Jin Yi was hinting at something? Did this guy catch it too?
Jin Yi was astonished and shook his head quickly.
“No, no, I didn’t say anything… I was just… putting myself in your shoes, thinking maybe one person isn’t enough?”
Fan Qing stared at Jin Yi for what felt like an eternity, until Jin Yi’s scalp tingled, and finally he snorted.
“Have you considered my… and Nie Luo’s positions?”
He said it plainly, but Jin Yi was floored.
W-what? How did this conversation even go here?
And this is free content during daytime?
Still…
Jin Yi swallowed hard.
“Then… you’re thinking… on top?”
If that were true… that would be thrilling!
Whoa!
Old Nie is on the bottom!
Then Fan Qing would have even less chance at him.
Fan Qing flipped the last page of the files, resting the back of his right hand elegantly under his chin.
“You might be misunderstanding Nie Luo. But I mean… Second Young Master Ning is quite well-endowed. One isn’t enough for you—you actually need two.”
He finished, standing and handing the files back to Jin Yi.
What?
Well-endowed?
Damn!
So that’s what Fan Qing meant?
Jin Yi was speechless. Even if Second Young Master Jin is… well-endowed, he wouldn’t want two men doing anything to him, right?
Huh?
Wait, what’s that in my hands?
Jin Yi instinctively felt the thick stack of papers in his arms, then realized, shock written all over his face.
“Finished reading?”
“Yes.”
Fan Qing was putting on his coat, fingers deftly wrapping his scarf around his neck.
“Wait, what? You finished all that tedious material just like that?”
Jin Yi shook the thick stack of papers in his arms.
Not that he was complaining—but seriously, almost suffocating under all that in his embrace was no joke.
Fan Qing had only been here a few hours, and he’d already finished it all?
“I’ve gone through everything useful. The rest isn’t really necessary.”
Fan Qing wrapped his scarf, then pulled out a hat and put it on.
“Though, if I may be blunt, Second Young Master Jin… if you don’t start cleaning up your company, I’d worry about your plans for buying that SUV…”
He deliberately paused.
Jin Yi instantly snapped awake.
“W-what do you mean?”
His money couldn’t go wrong!
His SUV couldn’t go wrong!
“Some of your VPs aren’t exactly clean,” Fan Qing walked toward the door. “As for your artists… a few are still earning, but the top earners have either already left or are about to reach the end of their contracts and jump ship.”
Some with potential were just sitting idle, waiting for their chance.
In short, it was almost a miracle this company hadn’t collapsed yet.
Jin Yi froze.
He couldn’t believe it.
Damn! Is this for real?
Before he could even ask, Fan Qing had already left.
Jin Yi remembered—Little Brother Jian had a survival-show meeting with a director today, and Fan Qing had gone to pick him up.
Still…
Jin Yi pulled out his phone and silently called his older brother.
“You remembered my number?”
The moment Jin Si picked up, his familiar teasing tone came through.
…Tsk, if he could avoid this call, he really would.
But!
Jin Yi was frustrated.
“Bro, how come the company you gave me is so… riddled with problems?”
Jin Si, signing documents, paused, slightly surprised.
“Oh? You can see that?”
A miracle—he thought his little brother only knew how to eat, drink, and play.
Jin Yi: “?”
That line felt insulting and devastating at the same time!
He felt both body and soul wounded!
“No, if you thought I couldn’t notice, why give me this kind of company?”
Wasn’t his brother worried he’d ruin it?
Ridiculous!
Jin Si chuckled lightly, his teasing laced with perfect knowledge of his younger brother.
“What else could I do? Could I have given you a better company?”
Jin Yi was dumbstruck.
His brother added another jab.
“Or did you think I’d hand over a fine company for you to ruin?”
Jin Yi was practically petrified.
Jin Si delivered the finishing blow.
“This company was beyond saving anyway. Perfect—go in, apply poison with poison. Let it die; no harm done.”
Jin Yi disintegrated into dust.
Triple knockout.
How… how is this my own brother?
This is too cruel!
He quietly hung up.
Once the call ended, no more damage could be done.
Jin Si, on the other end, didn’t even get angry. He finished signing, handed the documents to his assistant, and asked:
“He gone to work at the company?”
No need to say who he meant.
The assistant nodded, taking the documents.
“Yes. Second Young Master went over to the company these past few days.”
Jin Si put away his pen.
“Really? Strange… There should be people still worth keeping. Watch what he’s planning.”
The assistant nodded.
“Understood.”
Just as the assistant was about to leave with the papers, Jin Si called him again.
“Also, check if anyone new has appeared around him recently. Otherwise, given what I know about Jin Yi, he wouldn’t have gone to work this quickly.”
“Understood.”
Meanwhile, Fan Qing had just stepped out of the villa.
He looked up—and a familiar figure stood in front of the door.
If it wasn’t Nie Luo, who else could it be?
Fan Qing was about to call out when Nie Luo turned his head.
Their eyes met.
He was wearing sunglasses and a mask—Nie Luo might not even recognize him…
“What are you doing here?”
Nie Luo’s voice betrayed his shock.
He even took a small step back.
Fan Qing: Hm?
With all this covering, how did Nie Luo recognize him?
And…
Fan Qing leaned slightly forward, pinching the frames of his glasses to remove them, his eyes locking directly onto Nie Luo.
“It doesn’t matter why I’m here. But… how did you recognize me?”
He paused, glancing at the space behind Nie Luo.
He didn’t speak, but Nie Luo understood.
That night, perhaps it was the strong mountain wind that had made him agree to let Fan Qing escort him home.
The next morning, seeing that metallic beast of a car, he realized he’d been reckless—how could he have so easily given out his address?
Yet here he was… hiding, and still running into Fan Qing.
Wait.
Nie Luo suddenly realized something.
He instinctively glanced at Fan Qing, bundled tightly, then at the familiar villa behind him.
His brows furrowed, and an unexplainable emotion crept into his expression.
“…You’re here to see Jin Yi?”