Not long after, when the majority of employees arrived for lunch, Shao Guangjie saw the two of them sitting together and indeed wore a suspicious expression.
He grabbed his meal and sat down next to Lin Yushu, asking, “You’re here so early?”
“I’m going to Green Cedar Capital this afternoon,” Lin Yushu replied and added, “Mr. Song was consulting me on how to arrange for a parking space.”
Mr. Song had become Mr. Song because Song Qiming now held a formal position.
The parking space was something Lin Yushu made up on the spot, and Song Qiming didn’t speak to him but sent several emojis on WeChat instead.
“You can ask the reception desk about parking spaces; you don’t need to trouble Manager Lin,” Shao Guangjie said to Song Qiming.
“It won’t be a bother,” Lin Yushu politely interjected. “I’m done eating. You two take your time.”
As Lin Yushu walked out of the cafeteria, he received another message from Song Qiming.
[Song Qiming: Manager Lin is so reliable.]
[Song Qiming: Wowo is amazing.jpg]
Lin Yushu furrowed his brows and quickly replied.
[Lin Yushu: If you have nothing to do, focus on preparing for the press conference.]
Lin Yushu hadn’t informed anyone in advance about his visit to Green Cedar Capital. Therefore, when he arrived at the reception of Green Cedar Capital, the receptionist hurriedly notified the top executive who was having lunch outside to come back quickly.
Lin Yushu waited in the CEO’s office for about ten minutes until the first and second executives of Green Cedar Capital finally appeared, accompanied by several key investment managers.
“Manager Lin, what wind blew you here?” Although they were in his own office, the top executive of Green Cedar Capital didn’t dare to sit down. He stood respectfully near the sofa with his subordinates.
“I looked at the performance reports you sent me.” Lin Yushu tossed the documents he was holding onto the coffee table, not too heavily but enough to make the people standing there flinch. “Who is the main person in charge of the projects?”
The first and second executives exchanged glances and then turned their gaze to someone standing behind them.
That person didn’t dare to step forward; they only slightly leaned forward and said to Lin Yushu, “It’s me.”
“Then explain to me,” Lin Yushu’s speech speed wasn’t fast, but it gave a suffocating feeling. “Why out of ten companies you invested in, nine of them turned out to be problematic?”
“Investment always comes with risks…”
“Do I need you to teach me about investments?” Lin Yushu’s voice turned colder.
It was clear from the person’s response that they were just making excuses and didn’t take Lin Yushu seriously.
The top executive quickly stepped forward to speak for that person, saying, “That’s how it is, Manager Lin. Before making investments, we conducted detailed due diligence. But some companies were able to deceive us by falsifying information. We were already being cautious, but we still couldn’t avoid being deceived.”
“That means your due diligence wasn’t detailed enough,” Lin Yushu said. “If you only have this level of competence, why should the Shao family trust you with their money?”
“Manager Lin, please don’t be angry.” The second executive took over, saying, “We will learn from this lesson and won’t make such mistakes again in the future.”
“Talk is cheap.” Lin Yushu looked at the person in charge of investments. “Since you believe that investment risks are unavoidable, then leave this project and let someone else take charge.”
“Okay, no problem,” the top executive immediately responded. “I will personally take charge from now on.”
The purpose of the confrontation had been achieved, so Lin Yushu didn’t linger and left the top executive’s office, standing up and walking away.
In the past, these matters were handled by his mentor, Zhou Xian. However, after Zhou Xian fell ill, there was no one to take charge of the family office, so Lin Yushu had to reluctantly assume the responsibilities of the CEO.
After leaving the office, Lin Yushu didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he went to the restroom. As he emerged from the restroom, he overheard people smoking and chatting in the adjacent corridor.
“What does that little punk think he is? I was already investing when he was still in school.”
From the voice, it was the investment manager who had been replaced by Lin Yushu.
“Do you know who his brother is? Lin Yize,” an unfamiliar voice replied. “The owner of Rapid Electric.”
“So what? He’s just relying on the backing of the Shao family’s family office. Otherwise, who would care about him?”
“Not entirely. I heard that he has been exposed to the business world from a young age, following his brother. His judgment of people is very accurate.”
“Then why doesn’t he find projects on his own? All he does is talk. With the current investment environment being so poor, why doesn’t he try to find projects himself?”
Lin Yushu wanted to step into the corridor and make them say those things to his face.
But he thought better of it because there was some truth in what they were saying. Lin Yushu was indeed relying on the support of the Shao family.
Even though he had been promoted to the CEO of the family office, there was still a possibility that he could be replaced if he made mistakes. So he wasn’t the true principal, just an employee working for the principal.
“Forget it, even the boss has to consider his face. Why bother?” the other person advised. “Just suck up to him, I don’t believe anyone can be successful all the time.”
“You’re right, I’m just waiting to see him fall.”
The conversation filled with malice made Lin Yushu uncomfortable. He had considered that his approach might not be well-received by the other party, but he had underestimated his own ability to face such malice.
News of Lin Yushu’s visit to Green Cedar Capital spread quickly, and even Du Yufei called him to inquire about it and invited him to have a meal together.
Zhan Ting jokingly said that he was becoming more and more like the CEO of the family office, but Lin Yushu couldn’t help but feel somewhat uneasy. He admitted that he had been affected by the conversation he overheard.
As the end of the workday approached, Lin Yushu received another message from Song Qiming on WeChat.
[Song Qiming: Working overtime?]
After thinking for a moment, Lin Yushu asked:
[Lin Yushu: Are you taking the subway home by yourself?]
[Song Qiming: No.]
Lin Yushu knew.
Song Qiming didn’t message him just to ask if he was working overtime. It was clear that he didn’t want him to work overtime.
[Lin Yushu: Meet me downstairs at 6:15.]
[Song Qiming: Received.jpg]
During the rush hour, the traffic was as congested as ever. By the time they arrived at their residential complex, it was already close to 7 PM.
Bored, Song Qiming was scrolling through his phone as he followed behind Lin Yushu out of the elevator. “Do you have any recommended takeout? I’ve given up on cooking for myself.”
“You have a good sense of self-awareness,” Lin Yushu paused in opening the door, turning around to say, “I’ll cook, and you can come over and have dinner.”
In fact, Lin Yushu inviting Song Qiming to his place wasn’t an act of great kindness. It was simply because he was in a bad mood today and wanted someone to accompany him for dinner.
If it weren’t for the inconvenience of chatting with Du Yufei, he might have followed Du Yufei’s suggestion and directly invited him to dinner today.
There were some side dishes and meat in the fridge. Lin Yushu made two simple home-cooked dishes. Although they didn’t look very presentable, judging from the way Song Qiming’s chopsticks kept moving, they should taste good.
“I didn’t expect you to be so domesticated,” Song Qiming, almost finished with his meal, grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth. “I’ve decided to come over and have dinner at your place from now on.”
“Sure,” Lin Yushu replied nonchalantly, “Pay for the groceries.”
“How much?” Song Qiming asked.
“One gold bar per month.”
“…”
Song Qiming rested his elbows on the table, finding it somewhat amusing. “I’ve realized that you’re obsessed with money.”
“I won’t deny it,” Lin Yushu wiped his mouth as well, then walked to the liquor cabinet. “What kind of wine do you want?”
“Anything will do,” Song Qiming said.
There was a dishwasher at home, making it convenient to clean up the dishes and utensils.
After setting the dishwasher to the appropriate mode, Lin Yushu returned to the living room and sat cross-legged by the coffee table, casually choosing a lighthearted variety show to watch.
“Aren’t you working overtime today?” Song Qiming raised his glass and clinked it against Lin Yushu’s. Their taste in alcohol was quite similar, and inexplicably, they became drinking buddies.
“I want to take a break,” Lin Yushu said, or else he wouldn’t have opened a variety show.
“I heard that you gave Green Cedar Capital a good scolding today.”
Lin Yushu was surprised. “Where did you hear that from?”
“A colleague mentioned it.”
Thinking about how Song Qiming easily got along with Lu Zibo and the others, Lin Yushu suddenly realized that the person beside him seemed to be socially adept.
“They said you berated the Green Cedar Capital people thoroughly,” Song Qiming asked, “Was it that exaggerated?”
“No,” the growing unease in his heart intensified, and Lin Yushu suddenly regretted it. Maybe he shouldn’t have followed in his mentor’s footsteps and tried to assert dominance over the other party.
Those people might indeed flatter him, but it was only superficial. People in the investment circle were probably gossiping about him now, and their comments might be even more unpleasant than what the investment manager said.
Lin Yushu didn’t consider himself a carefree person. He cared about what others thought of him and could be affected by their opinions.
With these thoughts, he put down his glass, hugged his knees, and looked at Song Qiming. “Have you ever been flattered by others?”
“Yes,” Song Qiming replied, “Isn’t that to be expected?”
“Maybe it’s expected for you, but not for me.”
“What do you mean?” Song Qiming asked.
Lin Yushu rested his chin on his knees, silent for a moment. Unable to resist the urge to share, he slowly spoke, “I used to have a crush on a senior colleague. He thought I wasn’t good enough for him, so I worked so hard to prove myself through my job.”
“Not good enough?” Song Qiming furrowed his brow, “How outstanding was he?”
“Well, his family background was quite good,” Lin Yushu said.
“How good?” Song Qiming inquired again.
Lin Yushu’s main point wasn’t about Du Yufei; he just wanted to express that he had to work very hard to earn the respect of others. So, he redirected the topic of conversation, saying, “Today I realized that some people respect you not for who you are, but for certain things you possess.”
“Are you referring to the people from Green Cedar Capital?”
Lin Yushu nodded, and even he wasn’t aware that there was a hint of grievance in his tone. “They’ve been speaking ill of me behind my back.”
Compared to everyone else around him, Song Qiming was somewhat different. He wasn’t strictly a part of Lin Yushu’s work life, so they could discuss personal topics, and he wasn’t strictly a part of Lin Yushu’s personal life, so they could talk about work as well.
He was like a person standing at the intersection of work and life, neither too close nor too far, just right.
“Do you care a lot about it?” Song Qiming set down his glass and looked at Lin Yushu inquisitively.
A bit,” Lin Yushu replied. “I feel like what they’re saying is true. I’m really nothing special.”
“Why do you think that way?” Song Qiming said with some surprise. “You’re talented, holding such an important position at Yong Xing at such a young age. You don’t need to prove your excellence to others; people with eyes can see it for themselves.”
“Do you really think so?” Lin Yushu asked.
“Yes, no one can question your ability at work.”
Hearing those words from Song Qiming’s mouth, Lin Yushu admitted that he felt comforted.
He loosened his knees, picked up his glass again, and softly said, “Thank you.”
“So, you still haven’t answered my question,” Song Qiming’s tone turned serious. “Just how outstanding was your senior colleague?”
Lin Yushu thought the topic had passed, and suddenly it was brought back, leaving him somewhat out of sync.
“Was he really handsome?”
“Just how wealthy was his family?”
“Do you still have feelings for him now?”
Lin Yushu couldn’t help but feel a bit bewildered. How did he not realize that Song Qiming was so gossip-prone?
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