For two consecutive days, Ji Yang showed up at the group headquarters on time.
That was something of a novelty.
The main reason was that the Ji family was busy preparing for the upcoming banquet, and Ji Yang found the atmosphere at home too noisy to tolerate.
In Nie Xu’s hands, the New Media Department’s problems barely seemed like problems at all. Ji Yang would sleep for two hours in the office at noon, then spend the rest of his time gaming there. Sometimes Nie Xu was present, sometimes he wasn’t. Either way, Nie Xu wasn’t affected by Ji Yang in the slightest, and Ji Yang never asked about his schedule.
On the day in question, Nie Xu happened to be away just as quitting time approached. The New Media Department suddenly received an urgent notice to attend a project meeting concerning the construction of Lan Hai Bay.
Ji Yang could only blame his bad luck.
The large conference room on the thirty-eighth floor of the group headquarters was filled with important leaders from various departments.
Ji Zhonglin was chairing the meeting in person.
The project manager, Ji Chengyi, sat in the first seat to Ji Zhonglin’s left.
Ji Yang arrived relatively late. Since his department was practically invisible within the group, his seat had been assigned to the very end of the table, near the door.
Peng Jiaying had pushed him to attend. Now, as he sat down beside Ji Yang, he leaned over and whispered, “I have no idea what’s going on. I heard plenty of people want to get involved in this project. The publicity and marketing departments were practically at each other’s throats over it. So why have they suddenly called us in?”
“Since we’re already here, let’s listen and see.” Ji Yang had stayed up late at noon, anonymously arguing with people online, and hadn’t slept well. He yawned and looked utterly unconcerned.
The man seated on their other side was a senior official from the Publicity and Communications Department. He was one of the people who had previously followed Ji Chengyi and then had his year-end bonus withheld by Ji Zhonglin at the group’s entrance. His surname was Xiang.
He looked roughly the same age as Peng Jiaying, though his hairline was already receding. Ignoring Ji Yang entirely, he addressed Peng Jiaying directly.
“Director Peng, you’re here too? Back when we worked together, I always thought that if you were a little more tactful, you wouldn’t have ended up stuck in a place like the New Media Department.” He glanced at Ji Yang. “Seeing you following Fourth Young Master around today, I’d say you’ve made quite a bit of progress.”
On the surface, his sarcasm was directed at Peng Jiaying, but Ji Yang was clearly a target as well.
It seemed the man still hadn’t gotten over what happened last time.
Ji Yang rolled his eyes at him.
Peng Jiaying spoke before he could.
“You’re giving me too much credit, Director Xiang. I only became director because nobody else was willing to take on this mess in the first place. As for how I conduct myself, I don’t need you to worry about that.”
Director Xiang gave a cold laugh, turned his head, and said nothing more.
Ji Yang looked at Peng Jiaying in surprise. “What’s gotten into you today? Since when did you become so bold?”
“I…” Peng Jiaying met Ji Yang’s sleepy eyes and choked on his words.
What he really wanted to say was: Isn’t it all because of you?
Looking for a better job while keeping one’s current position was perfectly normal in the workplace. But Peng Jiaying had never imagined that one day he would actually take a playboy young master’s empty promises seriously and start scouting company premises elsewhere.
He had investigated the company called Jianyuan. Nothing particularly remarkable showed on the surface, and it had only been established ten years ago. But upon closer examination, its rate of growth was actually rather frightening.
This young master had somehow managed to find connections and resources that could get the department affiliated with Jianyuan.
By then, everyone had arrived, and people continued filing into the room and taking their seats.
Peng Jiaying occasionally introduced the people around them to Ji Yang, who would lean over and ask a question or two.
“Ji Yang.”
Suddenly called by name, Ji Yang looked up and met Ji Zhonglin’s gaze at the head of the table.
His eldest brother seemed to have something wrong with him, too. Out of all the people talking, he had to single Ji Yang out. Everything about Ji Yang seemed to irritate him.
Frowning, Ji Zhonglin said, “Since you love talking so much, why don’t you come up here and speak from my seat?”
Ji Yang instantly became the center of attention.
“Is that allowed?” he answered with complete ease. Then, looking genuinely puzzled, he added, “But, Big Brother, I can come up and talk if you want. If you’re thinking of handing me the CEO position, though, I’ll have to decline. I don’t have the ability for that. I really couldn’t handle it.”
He managed to embody the image of the useless young master of the group to absolute perfection.
“Pfft!”
Someone couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.
Most people, of course, were still whispering and pointing, expressing their dissatisfaction with the Fourth Young Master’s return to the group.
“Quiet,” Ji Zhonglin ordered.
Once the commotion had died down, he shot Ji Yang another glare before getting down to business.
“All right. The reason I’ve gathered everyone here today is that construction on Lan Hai Bay will officially begin next week. This is one of the group’s key projects for the second half of the year, and it will require the full cooperation of every department.”
As he spoke, Ji Zhonglin gestured for Ji Chengyi to stand.
“Next, I’ll have the project’s deputy general manager briefly explain the areas requiring coordination between departments and the work that needs to be done going forward.”
Ji Chengyi stood and opened the folder in front of him.
“This project concerns…”
His explanation was clear and well organized.
It was also incredibly soporific.
Ji Yang spent the entire time daydreaming at the end of the table, nearly falling asleep as he listened.
He was thinking that, putting aside his personal dislike of Ji Chengyi, he had to admit the man worked hard.
Just as Ji Yang’s thoughts were wandering, he suddenly felt Peng Jiaying tugging at his sleeve. Several people in the conference room were looking at him in shock, whispering among themselves.
Ji Yang turned to look at Ji Chengyi.
Ji Chengyi was looking right back at him.
“Ji Yang, I intend to put your department in charge of publicity for the Lan Hai Bay project. We’ll approach it from two angles: pollution prevention and ecological protection. Do you have any objections?”
Ji Yang didn’t react at all.
Instead, Director Xiang was the first to stand up.
He looked both furious and astonished.
“Mr. Ji, publicity for this project was originally assigned to our department. We’ve already finalized the first draft of the publicity plan. Shouldn’t we at least be given an explanation for this decision?”
Peng Jiaying was also somewhat surprised. He leaned closer to Ji Yang and whispered, “Is this the opportunity you said we should wait for? Did you know from the beginning that the group would let our department participate in this project?”
“I didn’t know,” Ji Yang replied woodenly.
And he genuinely hadn’t known. In the novel, the New Media Department had absolutely nothing to do with the Lan Hai Bay project from beginning to end.
Lan Hai Bay was a crucial comeback project for Ji Chengyi.
If Ji Chengyi was now willing to risk alienating even his own supporters to make this decision, there could only be one reason…
“Director Xiang,” Ji Chengyi said calmly, showing no sign of displeasure at being challenged. “The group made this decision after taking all relevant factors into consideration. The work handled by the Publicity Department and the New Media Department already overlaps considerably. This decision doesn’t mean your department is being excluded. I want both departments to participate.”
Director Xiang sneered. “Participate together? That sounds nice.”
As he spoke, he pointed at Ji Yang.
“Then who’s actually going to be in charge? Me, or the Fourth Young Master of the Ji family?”
His anger was such that he even turned toward Ji Zhonglin at the head of the table.
“Mr. Ji, surely you can judge this fairly. You can’t just strip someone of the fruits of their labor because the manager of the New Media Department happens to share your surname, can you?”
Ji Zhonglin looked at Ji Yang.
Apparently unable to stand the sight of Ji Yang looking as though he hadn’t slept properly and was still enjoying the show, he tapped the table.
“Do you have nothing to say for yourself?”
“What am I supposed to say?” Ji Yang replied helplessly.
He turned directly to Ji Chengyi and asked, “Third Brother, you’ve been talking for ages. Are you really planning to put me in charge?”
“Your assistant,” Ji Chengyi replied.
As expected.
Just as he had predicted.
That answer left the entire conference room in a brief silence.
The people from the Marketing Department found it difficult to understand.
“Handing it to a newly arrived assistant? Isn’t that a little too frivolous?”
Ji Chengyi pulled out several documents from the folder beneath his hand and spread them out one by one.
“As everyone here should know, Lan Hai Bay is a relaunched project. This first document contains the materials showing that, one month after the project began, it was selected for inclusion in the national reserve of projects eligible for ecological and environmental protection financing support. The documents beneath it are the complete registration records of the more than ten private enterprises that were attracted to invest at the time. None of this would have been possible without Nie Xu.”
He continued, “Although his official title is assistant, if he becomes involved in the project again, the group will reassess his position according to the actual work he performs.”
The objections in the conference room gradually subsided.
The events had taken place only a relatively short time ago. Although Lan Hai Bay had not yet been one of Haicheng Group’s key supported projects back then, the impact it had made was well known among the company’s senior leadership.
Even Director Xiang fell silent.
Still holding a grudge against Ji Yang, he turned toward him and sneered.
“Fourth Young Master, you’re certainly generous, letting your own assistant lord it over you.”
“Didn’t you hear?” Ji Yang asked, eyes wide with feigned innocence.
Director Xiang asked, “Hear what?”
Ji Yang smiled. “He’s the man I have my eye on. What makes you so sure I’d mind?”
Then he turned toward Ji Chengyi.
“I just didn’t expect Third Brother to make the first move. But since we’ve been discussing this for so long, shouldn’t we ask the person himself what he thinks?”
Ji Chengyi gathered up the documents on the table.
“I’ve already had someone notify him.”
Ji Yang raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Peng Jiaying was at it again, muttering in his ear.
“So this is basically stealing him away by force?”
“Still, it’s a good opportunity. I also thought someone like Assistant Nie deserved to be more than just an assistant.”
“Are they personally acquainted?”
“I wonder if Assistant Nie will accept the offer.”
Just then, the conference room door was pushed open from the outside.
A gust of air swept in from the corridor.
The tall figure standing in the doorway brought a wordless tension to the entire room.
Ji Chengyi looked over and smiled. “You’re here.”
He immediately stood and walked toward Nie Xu. “I assume my people have already informed you—”
“Mr. Ji.” Nie Xu swept his gaze across everyone seated at the table and interrupted him. “I came up here just to say that I won’t accept.”
Ji Chengyi’s expression froze for a moment before he replied, “Big Brother has already agreed. I’ll speak to Grandpa about it myself. Lan Hai Bay is your life’s work, too, isn’t it?”
Nie Xu’s voice remained unhurried. “I’ve already done everything I needed to do two years ago. All the documents have been filed and sealed. If anyone has questions about anything related to the project from two years ago, they can come to me anytime. An assistant is just an assistant.”
At this point, the situation no longer looked like a superior assigning work to a subordinate.
Everyone could sense that someone was asking for a favor.
And the person being asked was merely the assistant to the Fourth Young Master. Yet he had actually turned down such a golden opportunity?
Thinking about the romantic rumors that had remained a mystery between Ji Chengyi and Ji Yang ever since the Fourth Young Master returned to the company, quite a few people began looking at the situation differently.
Some of them also recalled the rumors about the Ji family’s shady business dealings in earlier years. They noticed that Nie Xu hadn’t even glanced at Ji Zhonglin, who sat at the head of the table, since entering the room.
Meanwhile, Ji Zhonglin had appeared perfectly ordinary throughout the entire exchange.
Could Nie Xu really be the mastermind behind those illegal businesses?
No wonder he had such a special status.
The people in the room couldn’t help growing wary of him.
Just as the atmosphere had reached this delicate point—
“Just accept it,” Ji Yang said.
Everyone’s attention immediately shifted back to him.
Half-turned in his seat, with one hand resting on the back of his wheelchair, Ji Yang tilted his head up to look at Nie Xu.
“I was being narrow-minded before. My Third Brother went against everyone’s objections to recommend you, after all…”
“Ji Yang,” Ji Chengyi interrupted. “Nobody asked you.”
“It’s true that nobody asked me.” Ji Yang raised a hand and examined his fingers.
He didn’t understand why Ji Chengyi was behaving so differently from the novel, practically throwing himself at Nie Xu and offering to be used by him. But now that the opportunity had landed right in front of him, Ji Yang couldn’t just sit there and watch it slip away.
He tilted his head. “But, Third Brother, have you forgotten that he’s not just an assistant? He’s also my personal bodyguard.”
Ji Yang straightened up.
“If I don’t agree, he won’t have time to help you.”
Ji Chengyi replied, “No position gives you the right to control another person. Do you really think everyone has to obey you?”
“Is that so?”
Ji Yang tilted his head back to look at Nie Xu. The next second, he said, “Nie Xu, come here.”
Nie Xu glanced at him.
Then he took two steps closer and bent down toward him.
An uproar broke out around them.
Ji Yang leaned toward Nie Xu’s ear and whispered rapidly, “I don’t care whether you’re deliberately playing hard to get or genuinely don’t want to accept his offer. Either way, agree to it first. I’ve got a surprise for you. Besides, I’ve already put on this whole show of acting all high and mighty. Don’t make me look like an idiot now.”
Nie Xu made a slight movement of his head. Instinctively, Ji Yang reached up and grabbed his head to turn it back.
Then he immediately surrendered.
“Consider it a favor, okay? I’m begging you. Big Brother, you’re practically my own flesh and blood.”
Nie Xu paused, then raised a hand and removed Ji Yang’s hand from his head.
In the same low voice, he glanced at Ji Yang and said, “I wouldn’t wish a troublesome little brother like you on anyone.”
He straightened up.
Took two steps back.
Then turned toward Ji Chengyi.
“I can take on the work, but you can forget about changing my position.”
The look Ji Chengyi gave Nie Xu was a mixture of heartache and unwillingness.
“You…”
Beside him, Ji Yang chimed in, “See? He agreed. No need to thank me.”
Peng Jiaying tugged at him.
“Stop stirring things up.”
“Why?” Ji Yang asked.
Peng Jiaying gestured toward the head of the table.
Ji Yang looked up and met Ji Zhonglin’s furious, thunderous expression.
His phone chimed.
Ji Zhonglin’s message read: This is a conference room. Who exactly are you trying to flirt with in front of everyone?
Ji Yang: “…”
Who was flirting?! What the hell was wrong with him?
Was he getting angry out of embarrassment because he had watched the person he liked lower himself to ask someone else for a favor?
Ji Yang typed back:
I helped you out, didn’t I?
Then another message:
I’d advise you not to be ungrateful.
A moment later, the harsh scraping of chairs being pushed back rang through the room.
Everyone watched as the CEO stood up.
He fastened the button at his waist with considerably more force than necessary.
“All right. Meeting adjourned!”