Chapter 44

At the strong request of Lin Yushu, Song Qiming changed his nickname to “Lin Xiaoshu” on WeChat.

This nickname was how Lin Yushu’s family referred to him, and he felt it was already quite intimate. However, what he didn’t know was that while he wasn’t paying attention, Song Qiming added two more words after “Lin Xiaoshu,” so his full WeChat nickname became “Lin Xiaoshu Baobei” (which means “Lin Xiaoshu baby”).

If Lin Yushu saw it, he would definitely ask Song Qiming to change it back because he found it too cheesy.

As for the nickname Lin Yushu gave to Song Qiming, perhaps he wasn’t used to having a boyfriend all of a sudden, or maybe he wasn’t good at handling intimate relationships. In any case, after much thought, he decided to shorten “Song Qiming” to “Song Zong” (which means “President Song” in Chinese).

Song Qiming slightly turned his head and noticed Lin Yushu’s little move.

He pinched Lin Yushu’s waist dissatisfiedly and raised an eyebrow, saying, “I call you ‘baby,’ and you call me ‘President Song’?”

“Don’t you think,” Lin Yushu turned off his phone screen and tilted his chin, looking at Song Qiming, “it adds more of an office romance vibe?”

Everyone referred to Song Qiming as President Song, but only Lin Yushu could mischievously disturb him under the meeting table with his shoe.

On the other hand, Lin Yushu was President Lin to everyone else, but no one knew that their President Lin was Song Qiming’s baby behind the scenes.

“Office romance?” Song Qiming’s eyes suddenly darkened. He flipped over and pressed Lin Yushu beneath him, using a professional tone as he asked, “President Lin, when will you help me coordinate the office relocation that I mentioned to you earlier?”

Sensing Song Qiming’s change, Lin Yushu knew that Song Qiming was intrigued by the mention of “office romance.”

He intentionally put on an air of importance and casually said, “President Song, with your current position, you’re not qualified enough to change offices. Just wait a little longer.”

If this conversation took place in the office, Song Qiming would have no choice but to endure it from Lin Yushu.

But Lin Yushu forgot that this wasn’t the office; it was their bedroom, the territory marked by Song Qiming.

“Not qualified?” Song Qiming lowered his head, sealing Lin Yushu’s lips. His eyes were filled with a conqueror’s desire. “Then I can only work hard and strive until I’m qualified.”

“No, um, Song Qiming!” Lin Yushu tried to push against Song Qiming’s chest, but the sudden kiss made him unable to gather strength. “What kind of work is this?!”

“Work in the bedroom,” someone said matter-of-factly.

It seemed that they couldn’t casually bring up office play anymore.

That place was meant for something more blossoming.

This weekend happened to coincide with Christmas, and the S-power press conference was held as scheduled.

The venue for the press conference was a high-end mall under the Yong Xing Group, and the spacious atrium stage belonged solely to Song Qiming.

He wore a dark tight-fitting turtleneck sweater with a pair of charcoal gray suit pants. Amidst the continuous sound of camera shutters, he spoke with elegance and grace. Many passing customers stopped in their tracks to watch the press conference.

The stunning SP-01 was parked next to Song Qiming, attracting most of the camera’s attention.
This significant race car is being exhibited domestically for the first time, and many car enthusiasts have even traveled by plane to the city of Zhugang for this “pilgrimage.”

The restricted area in front of the stage is filled with invited guests and media, while those who didn’t receive an invitation have to squeeze along the upstairs railing with passing customers to watch the event.

Lin Yushu is seated in the front row, closest to the stage.

Next to him is Shao Guangjie, who manages his expressions well under the cameras. However, just a few days ago, Shao Guangjie contacted the media with the intention of mocking Song Qiming for holding the event on Christmas, calling him a “foreigner celebrating a foreign holiday.”

Lin Yushu promptly suppressed these press releases, with a legitimate reason—Shao Zhenbang didn’t want to see the two brothers in conflict.

When Lin Yushu brought up their grandfather, Shao Guangjie had nothing to say and had to come to the office to explain himself.

“Since its establishment, S-power has only used Yong Xing’s modified cars for racing. My idea is simple: I want more people to see Yong Xing and understand Yong Xing…”

On the stage, Song Qiming’s speech is extremely fluent.

In the end, it was his own script, and Lin Yushu only made a few minor modifications.

As it turns out, the German’s Chinese is not as unreliable as Lin Yushu imagined. Judging from the reactions at the scene, his “little composition” was written quite well.

At that moment, the voice of the auctioneer came through the Bluetooth earphones: “Mr. Lin, Lot 34, a round sandalwood incense table.”

This is the collection that Shao Hexu and Shao Hedong have their eyes on, and they had instructed Lin Yushu to secure it. Unfortunately, the auction and the press conference fell on the same date, so Lin Yushu can only support Song Qiming while keeping an eye on the auction.

“The starting price is five million.” The auctioneer said.

The noise from the press conference was somewhat overwhelming, so Lin Yushu pressed his Bluetooth earphone and said, “Bid up to fifty-four million.”

On the stage, Song Qiming opened the engine hood of the SP-01, which triggered another burst of rapid shutter sounds.

“The SP-01 is a front-engine four-wheel drive car based on the Yong Xing production platform. The future S-power models will also use the same platform to create our own supercar…”

The screen displayed the concept car designed by Song Qiming and his team, which drew inspiration from Lin Yushu for the curvature of the rear end. When they made the design, imitating the posture from behind, Song Qiming suddenly took Lin Yushu to the study, claiming to have a new idea…

“Mr. Lin, the bid has reached fifty-four million,” the auctioneer’s voice interrupted Lin Yushu’s thoughts.

Lin Yushu put away his untimely reminiscences and calmly asked, “How many more bidders are there?”

The auctioneer replied, “Four, all familiar faces—Mr. Wu, Mr. Cai, Mr. Hu, and Mr. Zhao.”

“Keep raising the bid,” Lin Yushu said. He was familiar with the net worth of these competitors, so the chances of securing the item were high.

The press conference moved on to the Q&A session, and a reporter asked Song Qiming, “By only using modified Yong Xing cars in races, are you trying to prove that your modified Yong Xing is superior to the original Yong Xing?”

This was a clear comparison between Song Qiming and Shao Guangjie.

Lin Yushu glanced at Shao Guangjie beside him and saw that he still managed his expressions well. He was indeed the heir of the Shao family, who grew up under the spotlight.

“I chose Yong Xing because Yong Xing cars have great modification potential,” Song Qiming calmly replied, “Even the best craftsman can’t unleash their full potential if the foundation is weak. The quality of Yong Xing cars is evident to everyone, and besides, I am a member of the Shao family. Is there any problem with using Yong Xing cars for racing?”

When Song Qiming mentioned that he was a member of the Shao family, Lin Yushu glanced at Shao Guangjie again, and this time his lips twitched slightly, indicating that he might still be somewhat unsettled.

“Mr. Lin, there is one more bidder competing with us,” the agent reminded through the Bluetooth earpiece.

The auctioneer’s voice filled the background: “Sixty-eight million once, sixty-eight million twice…”

Lin Yushu moved his lips: “Seventy million.”

The agent quickly conveyed the message, and the auctioneer immediately changed his tone: “Seventy million, telephone bid, seventy million once…”

The other party must have raised their paddle again, and the agent hastened his speech: “Seventy-one million, Mr. Lin.”

Lin Yushu responded, “Seventy-two million.”

The auctioneer raised his voice: “Seventy-two million, any more bids for Lot 8033? Seventy-two million once, seventy-two million twice, seventy-two million… SOLD! Congratulations to the bidder of Lot 8012 for winning the early period huanghuali round incense table!”

Meanwhile, the press conference was coming to an end. Song Qiming concluded his final remarks and walked off the stage amidst applause.

He cast a seemingly fleeting glance in the direction where Lin Yushu was seated, as if his expression conveyed, “Mission accomplished.”

Lin Yushu took off his Bluetooth earpiece, joined in the applause along with others, and exchanged a similar gaze with Song Qiming, indicating that things had gone smoothly on his end as well.

During the evening’s thank-you banquet, neither Lin Yushu nor Song Qiming drank alcohol.

Lin Yushu wasn’t the protagonist, so he didn’t need to offer toasts to others. As for those who approached him to toast, he politely declined, citing discomfort in his stomach, and others couldn’t force him to drink.

As for Song Qiming, he fully utilized his “German” advantage, claiming not to understand Chinese drinking culture and asserting that he simply didn’t drink.

By the time the banquet concluded, both of them hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol.

The Civic and the GTR left the hotel parking lot, departing from the bustling city and driving through desolate country roads until they reached the Longma Racetrack on the outskirts.

After waiting for over a month, the modified Civic engine components had finally arrived in Zhugang City.

On Christmas Eve, the racetrack was particularly lively, with many young elites accompanied by their partners, turning the remote racetrack into a grand party venue.

However, no matter how many eye-catching sports cars were parked along the track, when the Civic and GTR appeared, everyone stopped chatting and turned their attention to these two cars, giving them a nod of respect.

Someone explained to their companion beside them, “Do you see that? The owner of the red Civic, Xiaolin, holds the lap record at this racetrack. And the owner of the blue GTR is even more influential. Today’s headline-making S-power team is his.”

After exchanging greetings with acquaintances, Lin Yushu drove the Civic straight to the pit.

Lu Zibo had been waiting there, helping Song Qiming unpack the engine parts while muttering, “Boss, can you also take a look at my AMG? Why do I feel like my V8 is not as impressive as your inline-six?”

Lin Yushu wanted to say that the number of cylinders wasn’t the sole determinant of performance, but with Song Qiming present, he naturally wouldn’t show off his knowledge in front of the expert.

But to his surprise, Song Qiming couldn’t be bothered to respond and simply focused on handling the parts, casually saying, “Hmm, another time.”

Seeing Song Qiming’s attitude, Lin Yushu suddenly realized that there seemed to be a pattern between him and Song Qiming.

For example, he couldn’t tolerate Shao Guangjie’s touch, but before they were together, Song Qiming often put his arm around him, and he felt it was okay.

Another example was that despite Song Qiming being so busy with work, he still found time to help him modify the Civic, but he didn’t pay much attention to Lu Zibo’s request.

Perhaps a long time ago, they had been moving closer to each other, and only now did Lin Yushu realize it.

“Well, it’s a deal, boss,” Lu Zibo said. “I have something to attend to, so I’ll go there first and come find you guys later.”

After Lu Zibo left, there were only Lin Yushu and Song Qiming left in the pit.

Unfortunately, since winter had arrived, the weather no longer allowed Song Qiming to wear a white undershirt, and Lin Yushu couldn’t enjoy the enticing sight of him working on the car.

“Baby, give me the wrench next to you,” Song Qiming said, extending his hand towards Lin Yushu while disassembling the engine.

Lin Yushu quickly looked outside the pit and, seeing that nobody was paying attention to them, breathed a sigh of relief before furrowing his brows and handing over the wrench. “Can’t you be more discreet outside?”

Song Qiming smiled and looked at Lin Yushu. “Why? Are you still afraid?”

If he could, Lin Yushu would have wanted the whole world to know that he and Song Qiming were together.

But the conditions didn’t allow for it right now, did they?

“Focus on modifying your car,” he said, leaning against the small table and acting like a supervisor, observing every move of Song Qiming.

“I’ve worked so hard,” Song Qiming skillfully removed the engine and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his gloves. “Isn’t there any reward for me?”

Thinking that Song Qiming must be up to something new, Lin Yushu’s cheeks flushed slightly. “What kind of reward do you want?”

Song Qiming said, “Help me write a speech.”

Lin Yushu didn’t react at first. “Huh?”

“There’s an Asian Economic Forum on New Year’s Day, right?” Song Qiming continued tinkering with the engine. “Today, I received an invitation to give a speech.”

“You’re going too?” Lin Yushu suddenly felt that the organizers were just looking for trouble. “Shao Guangjie is going too.”

“I know,” Song Qiming said. “That’s why I agreed.”

“Whoever agrees, writes,” Lin Yushu crossed his arms in front of his chest, acting as if it had nothing to do with him. “I’m too lazy to write for you.”

Song Qiming immediately stopped and drooped his shoulders, looking pitifully at Lin Yushu. “Wifey.”

“Don’t call me that,” Lin Yushu frowned, afraid that Song Qiming would start acting up again. He simply walked toward the pit exit. “I’ll go chat with them. You can take your time.”

The side of the racetrack was lively. Lin Yushu had already noticed when he arrived that someone had brought a Porsche 918, and many people were gathered around discussing its specifications.

He also approached with interest. Just as he did, the entrance of the racetrack suddenly resounded with the roar of an engine, and a white Lamborghini Huracan drove in.

No matter the model, the height of a Lamborghini supercar never exceeded 1.2 meters, and it was unclear why they were so obsessed with that.

However, when the car door opened, the first thing that appeared was a pair of long legs that didn’t match the 1.2-meter height.

A man dressed in black clothes and pants, wearing a black baseball cap and a mask covering most of his face, stepped out of the car. Perhaps due to his extraordinary temperament, everyone fell silent at the same time and curiously looked over.

The man glanced around and took a few steps forward, stopping right in front of Lin Yushu.

“Where’s Song Qiming?” he asked. “I heard he’s here.”

Although the mask covered his face, Lin Yushu immediately recognized him. This person was Yu Xiu.

 

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