Chapter 104

That sapphire—Qi Xu had it delivered to Xie Huai during the second round of negotiations, along with the carefully prepared robot.

Why didn’t Qi Xu go himself?

Because you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
The Shens’ overseas collaborations were under Qi Xu’s control, and Shen Fengkai had been eyeing them greedily. Yet they couldn’t quite figure out Xie Huai’s intentions—so they split up: Li Kaixing went to probe, while Qi Xu took his assistant to a banquet.

Li Kaixing set off in high spirits. But when he and his deputy arrived at the address they’d been given, both of them froze—Yuhai Private Club, where annual membership ran into the hundreds of thousands, nearly a million.

He turned to his deputy. “Did we… put the wrong address in the GPS?”

The deputy double-checked. “No mistake. This is the location they sent. Even the private room number matches.”

Li Kaixing looked around at the row of sports cars out front, then at his own BYD wedged among them. The contrast was painfully clear—man like his car, utterly out of place.

A place like this was made for his boss, not him. The moment he walked in, he’d look like he didn’t belong.

Still, the team had been around the block—they’d flown on private jets, cruised on yachts, attended auctions. They’d learned how to fake the right kind of confidence. Even if they couldn’t afford the membership, they’d act like they could.

He tugged his jacket straight, ready to flash the Rolex on his wrist—his one “heirloom,” bought on a tight belt just to save face.

What he didn’t expect was for Xie Huai to come to the door to greet them himself.

What on earth had they done to deserve that?

But Xie Huai didn’t look at him. Instead, his eyes were fixed somewhere beyond them, as though waiting for someone else.

Li Kaixing coughed lightly and stepped forward with a smile. “President Xie, I’m right here.”

Xie Huai glanced at him, expression flat. “Manager Li, I’m not blind.”

“Yes, of course, of course—President Xie’s eyes are sharp as stars.”

“…”

Xie Huai still didn’t move, his gaze distant.

So Li Kaixing simply waited with him—after all, only Xie Huai had membership here; he couldn’t go in alone.

A few minutes passed like they were standing in formation to greet a dignitary.

Li Kaixing finally ventured, “President Xie… are we waiting for someone else?”

Xie Huai withdrew his gaze, his tone dropping to a dangerous chill. “The Shen Group sent only two people to this meeting? Doesn’t that seem rather insincere?”

The shift in aura nearly made Li Kaixing flinch. It was like the man had just changed faces entirely.

“President Xie, please don’t misunderstand,” he said quickly. “We’re both from President Qi’s core team. Everyone’s been working day and night for this project—President Qi himself barely slept for days. We’re fully prepared, and I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with our proposal.”

The oppressive air around Xie Huai dissipated almost instantly. He said nothing, just turned and walked inside.

Somehow, Li Kaixing caught a flicker of melancholy in his back—the green gem on his tie clip seemed to dim along with it.

The suite Xie Huai had booked was lavish: entertainment area, conference room, dining area—everything pristine and gleaming.

The second round of talks went smoothly. Li Kaixing presented confidently, every answer polished and precise.

Xie Huai’s face betrayed no emotion, but Li Kaixing was sure they had it in the bag this time.

After all, every question Xie’s side could raise had been anticipated by Qi Xu himself the day before, from the opposing perspective. Li had the “answer key” spoon-fed to him—how could he possibly fail?

The negotiations wrapped up neatly, though Xie Huai still didn’t mention when they’d sign the contract.

Patience, Li told himself. A little push at the right moment couldn’t hurt. So, before dinner, he presented the gift.

They’d learned their lesson from Zhao Siran’s fiasco—never mess with Xie Huai’s personal life.

Still… would a robot really be to his taste?

According to what Li Kaixing had dug up, his boss had known Xie Huai from university—they’d both come from prominent families, so their connection wasn’t surprising.

Xie Huai’s eyes lit with faint curiosity as he saw the sleek box. “Lorz” branding, co-developed with a domestic tech firm—the latest in AI companions.

His assistant unboxed it carefully and set the robot before him.

Seeing his interest, Li Kaixing quickly pressed the power button and began his pitch.

Xie Huai listened, seemingly patient, then asked, “Manager Li, did you pick this out yourself?”

Li smiled nervously. “It was President Qi’s suggestion. Seems it struck just the right chord, didn’t it?”

He then pulled out a small velvet case—one Qi Xu had personally ordered him to deliver.

“President Xie, my boss asked me to give this to you.”

Xie Huai immediately set the robot aside and reached for the box.

He opened it—and the moment he saw the sapphire, his heart plummeted.

Returning it meant Qi Xu was cutting ties. No personal connection, no lingering attachment.

He’d known from the start that they lived in different worlds. Misunderstandings ten years ago, the cold indifference on campus, the countless times they’d passed each other by—none of it had ever turned into something good.

Not just because of Shen Zeyu. It was their own doing—one saw an enemy, the other faced his own helplessness, unable to bridge the growing divide.

By the time Xie Huai realized his feelings, they were already opponents. Qi Xu’s disdain for his social circle had been clear as day.

He regretted it deeply. After Qi Xu’s fight with Xu Yichen, why hadn’t he stopped him from leaving? That one missed chance had turned into a lifetime of them.

Was it fate’s cruelty?

No—just his own hesitation, his own punishment.

From the corner of his eye, Li Kaixing peeked at the gem in the box and blinked in surprise. So this was the blue sapphire that had fallen from Xie Huai’s tie clip—the one his boss had picked up.

My boss really is an honest man, he thought.

Dinner time arrived, and Li sat down cheerfully. But when the dishes came out, he froze.

Almost everything on the table was sweet and sour. Seriously? He hadn’t pegged President Xie for a kid’s palate.

Still, useful intel—he filed it away for future reference.

Xie Huai, however, barely touched the food.

The atmosphere at the table was warm and polite, mostly thanks to Li Kaixing’s smooth chatter. But no amount of small talk could soften the ice around Xie Huai. Nothing seemed to reach him.

He sat quietly, fingertips brushing the sapphire, eyes lowered in thought. The laughter around him felt distant, like sound bleeding through glass.

Then his phone started vibrating. Once. Twice. Over and over—relentless.

It was Xu Yichen. Again.

Finally, Xie Huai excused himself to answer.

The moment the call connected, a half-drunken, bitter voice burst out: “Congratulations, man! The person you like and the person I like—turns out they’re together now. Perfect match, huh?”

Xie Huai’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes darkened. He’d heard during dinner that Qi Xu was attending a charity gala tonight—an event of little significance, but clearly one where he’d chosen not to see him.

“You’re at the venue?” he asked.

Xu Yichen stood in the garden, swirling his wine before downing it in one go. “Yeah. My mom set me up. I show up, and surprise—my date’s the youngest Miss Chu. Seven years younger than me, still in college. Lucky me, right? And guess who I saw when I walked in—Fang Qian on Qi Xu’s arm. Your man was being all chivalrous, by the way.”

Xie Huai remembered the last time the four of them met—his welcome dinner after returning to China. They’d joked, argued, toasted like old times.

Xu had insisted he’d never confess—what if it ruins the friendship? he’d said. Same line, ten years running.

Loving someone came in two extremes: you either confessed boldly, or you buried it deep.

Both he and Xu belonged to the latter—proud, cautious cowards.

“Go break them up,” Xie Huai said flatly. “Don’t let them be alone.”

“You’re insane,” Xu hissed. “You want me to play the third wheel?”

“Then get ready to receive the wedding invitation.”

A pause. Then Xu Yichen gritted his teeth. “Fine! If it comes to that, I’ll be the damn flower boy!”

And so, for the sake of brotherhood, he went.

He marched straight up to Qi Xu and Fang Qian, forcing himself between them. “Uh… Qi Xu,” he stammered, “Xie Huai wants to talk to you.”

And handed him the phone.

Qi Xu blinked. “…?”

They weren’t even that close. Was this call really meant for him?

But since Xie Huai was technically a business partner, he took the phone politely.

“President Xie.”

A pause. Then a low, even voice came through. “President Qi, alcohol isn’t good for you. Drink less.”

Qi Xu stared for a moment. That was it?

Still, he played along. “You too.”

And that was the end of the call.

He handed the phone back to Xu Yichen, who promptly glued himself to Fang Qian for the rest of the night, leaving his own date in Qi Xu’s care.

Fortunately, Miss Chu was easy to talk to—and her family happened to be a potential partner company. A little networking wouldn’t hurt.

When the gala ended, Qi Xu escorted her to her car, waited till it drove off, then finally went to his own.

He rubbed at his temple. He wasn’t a fan of social events, though he handled them well enough. His assistant used to joke he was like a robot—operating by formula.

Maybe that was true. These rules and routines were the only way he kept himself going—following a program, giving himself purpose.

A thin thread of something still tied him to the world.

Only then did he check his phone. The work chat was exploding—over a hundred new messages.

He skimmed them. Li Kaixing had confirmed the contract signing date. The team was celebrating.

There was even a photo from dinner—taken in the meeting area. And in the background, Xie Huai, mid-turn, had accidentally been caught in the shot.

Same immaculate suit. Same poise.

But what caught Qi Xu’s eye was the tie clip.

Tonight, it was green.

Somehow, it looked even more refined than the blue one.

He wondered, absently, how it looked up close.

Author’s note:

Qi Xu: I should buy a green gemstone and see how it looks in person.