Qi Xu realized his safe was full after he bought seven gemstones in a single week. There wasn’t even room for an eighth.
At first glance, it looked like a case of revenge shopping.
But Qi Xu wasn’t a materialistic man. He didn’t care for sports cars, yachts, parties, or people. What he did love was money making more money—and collecting gemstones.
Still, he only bought one every so often. Over the years, he’d filled just one safe. After all, gemstones were about chemistry; you had to like what you saw.
But this past week, he’d bought enough for an entire year. The dazzling colors lifted his mood every time he looked at them.
To justify his sudden splurge, Qi Xu seriously thought about what triggered it—and it took him less than a second to remember.
That blue sapphire.
The one that had once sat in his safe for a few days.
And maybe, the other rare stones he’d seen up close but could never touch. They’d stirred up something he hadn’t felt in a while—a desire to possess.
And the culprit behind it all was Xie Huai.
Whether on a video call or at a business meeting, there was always a gemstone on Xie Huai—each one more stunning than the last.
Brilliant. Blinding. Impossible to ignore.
Qi Xu stared at his filled safe, then unhesitatingly ordered another one online. The new one could probably fit another twenty stones or so.
With his current assets, his little hobby could last him a lifetime.
Li Kaixing personally signed the contract with the Xie Corporation. Ever since, he strutted around the Shen Group offices with his chest puffed out like a victorious rooster.
Especially when he ran into Shen Fengkai’s team—he practically wanted to wave the contract in their faces just to show them who the real achiever was.
The break room, as always, was where gossip brewed the hottest. And unfortunately, Li Kaixing got caught there one day—cornered by Zhao Siran.
Li Kaixing was Qi Xu’s right-hand man. Zhao Siran, Shen Fengkai’s trusted aide.
Both were smooth talkers. Their bosses didn’t bother pretending—so they did the pretending for them.
Zhao Siran held a cup of steaming tea, speaking casually.
“I heard President Xie and President Qi went to the same university—same year, too. So there’s some history there.”
Li Kaixing frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? You saying we only got the deal through connections? By that logic, didn’t your own boss rely on his late father’s contacts for his contracts?”
Zhao Siran quickly raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa, no offense meant! A contract’s a contract—it’s all for the Shen Group. I just meant, Qi Xu wasn’t at the second meeting. How did you convince Xie Huai?”
How did he convince him?
To this day, Li Kaixing still had no idea.
That night, Xie Huai had stepped out midway through dinner to take a call. While he was gone, Li tried to get some intel from Xie’s team—but they were tight-lipped.
Then Xie Huai came back, sat down, and volunteered to sign the contract.
Li almost thought he was dreaming.
It felt like a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him square in the face.
Of course, he’d never admit that. Bad for his professional image.
He straightened up, smug. “Not everyone needs dirty tricks like you. It was my professional skills that won him over. Solid proposal, flawless logic. You might wanna try hard work sometime—beats kissing the wrong asses.”
Zhao Siran had recently angered Xie Huai and been docked his bonus by Shen Fengkai, so he just swallowed his pride in silence.
Later, Li Kaixing repeated the whole conversation to Qi Xu word for word, adding confidently, “It’s probably Shen Fengkai sending him to test the waters.”
“Test what exactly?” Qi Xu asked, genuinely puzzled.
He’d just gotten back from an international economic conference and wasn’t caught up on the latest corporate gossip.
He had seen Xie Huai at that conference—though only from afar. Someone like Xie Huai was bound to draw attention anywhere he went. When the meeting ended, all Qi Xu caught was the back of his head.
Li explained, “People are saying Xie Huai went to Shen Zeyu’s studio opening. They can’t figure out why, if he’s so close to Shen Zeyu, he signed with us instead of Shen Fengkai.”
Shen Zeyu hadn’t joined the family company—he’d opened a design studio instead. Qi Xu had learned that from a friend’s post online.
He didn’t care about any of it. He kept reading his documents, but paused halfway through a page, suddenly realizing something.
“When did Shen Zeyu’s studio open?” he asked.
“The 26th. Two days ago.”
That was the day the conference ended. There’d been a typhoon in S City—no flights in or out.
Even if Xie Huai had a private jet, no one was flying in a Category 16 storm.
Qi Xu smirked. That rumor’s origin was obvious—and who it was meant for, even more so.
So Shen Zeyu thought Xie Huai signed the deal because of him? Qi Xu almost laughed. Since when did he become someone’s imaginary rival?
It had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t plan to get involved.
But someone else clearly wanted him dragged in. Shen Fengkai had ordered him to attend Old Xie’s birthday banquet, just like he’d once forced him to go to Xie Huai’s 19th birthday party.
This time, he used the excuse that Old Xie had been a lifelong friend of their late grandfather—so as the old man’s grandson, it was only proper for him to attend.
Shen Fengkai knew exactly where to hit. The late Grandfather Shen was Qi Xu’s one and only soft spot.
Over the years, Fengkai had learned that his younger brother was indifferent to almost everything—family included.
If not for their grandfather, there might be nothing left between the Shen family and Qi Xu but profit.
He still couldn’t figure out how things had come to this—how blood relatives had become little more than business associates.
When their grandfather was alive, Fengkai had once accompanied Qi Xu to Old Xie’s birthday banquet. That was before Qi Xu got too busy climbing the corporate ladder. These days, he sometimes didn’t even make it home for weekends.
Still, Qi Xu had made arrangements—he’d told his assistant, Qin, to find a suitable birthday gift. “Eighty years old, he likes calligraphy. Price doesn’t matter—just make sure it’s a good piece.”
Qin agreed right away. For someone who ran the top antique livestream in the city, it was child’s play.
The day of the banquet, Qi Xu drove himself.
He’d taken this road to the old estate countless times over the past decade. At first, he’d gone reluctantly. He hadn’t wanted to accept the Shen family—or their grandfather.
But years of patience and genuine kindness had changed him. By the time he graduated college, he’d finally accepted the old man in his heart.
College itself had been unremarkable. He had no social life, barely any memories worth keeping—except one.
Back then, rumors about him had flooded the university forum overnight. Then, just as suddenly, every post vanished. He’d never found out who erased them.
He remembered his grandfather once saying:
“You guard your heart too tightly, boy. You don’t trust easily—not even family. But that doesn’t make you cold-blooded. Someday, someone will find their way in.”
Finding their way in—yes, that wasn’t easy.
The drive was smooth; he was half an hour early.
At a green light, he pressed the gas—only for something to dart out of nowhere.
He slammed the brakes, but it was too late. A loud thud.
Heart pounding, he jumped out of the car. A filthy stray dog lay on the road, whimpering in pain.
Frowning, Qi Xu took off his jacket, covered the dog’s head to calm it, and carefully lifted it into the back seat. The poor thing trembled, whining softly.
He opened his GPS—nearest vet clinic, twenty minutes away.
Without hesitation, he sped off.
At the clinic, the vet examined the dog. “Broken leg. Might be internal injury too—we’ll need an X-ray.”
Qi Xu was a mess himself, his clothes stained with blood and paw prints.
He called his assistant. “Take Old Xie’s birthday gift to the banquet. Personally deliver it.”
If he couldn’t make it, the gift should at least arrive on time.
At the banquet, Shen Fengkai noticed his brother’s absence. Their father’s expression was already dark.
“Late for an elder’s birthday banquet. Has he no manners?”
Shen Zeyu tried to ease the tension. “Maybe he got held up. He’s busy these days—heard it’s harder to see him than our own chairman.”
It was meant as a joke, but everyone understood the subtext. Their father was the chairman.
Fengkai forced a smile. “High-level meetings require scheduling. It’s normal.”
Meanwhile, Xie Huai stood at the entrance, scanning every guest who walked in.
Xu Yichen, beside him, nudged his arm. “The entire Shen family’s here. You think Qi Xu will show up? This is your grandpa’s 80th birthday.”
Xie’s eyes never left the door.
Xu Yichen teased, “Why don’t you just call him?”
“No personal number.”
Xu Yichen blinked. “What? You two signed a contract together! And you don’t even have his phone number?”
“We talk through the project group chat,” Xie Huai replied calmly. “Important files go through email. I added him once, but he never accepted.”
Xu Yichen whistled. “Damn. Must’ve scared him off, you ruthless corporate shark.”
Xie Huai didn’t answer. He figured Qi Xu hadn’t accepted because there was no need—just like that sapphire he’d returned. Business was business; anything else, Qi Xu wanted no part of.
Xu, ever the meddler, went to ask Shen Fengkai directly, “Hey, big brother Shen, where’s Qi Xu? My friend here’s looking for him.”
That finally reminded Fengkai to call. The phone rang so long he almost hung up—until it connected.
“Do you know the banquet’s already started?” Fengkai said sharply.
No one knew what Qi Xu said on the other end, but Fengkai’s face darkened. “What do you mean, not coming? Explain.”
Xie Huai frowned slightly, tension flickering in his expression.
“I’m at a pet hospital,” came the cool voice on the other end. “That’s all. Bye.”
Fengkai repeated loudly, “Hospital? Are you hurt?”
At that, Xie’s entire posture stiffened, his focus snapping toward the phone like he could hear every breath.
Qi Xu cursed. “You deaf? I said pet hospital. The gift’s on its way.”
Fengkai exhaled in relief. “You’re fine—that’s good.”
The line went dead before he could finish.
He slipped the phone into his pocket and turned to Xie Huai with an apologetic smile. “My brother had an emergency. He won’t be attending after all.”
Even though Xu Yichen was the one asking, Fengkai made a point to address Xie Huai directly.
“It’s fine,” Xie Huai said evenly.
Then a servant came over to ask about the next part of the banquet. Xie Huai nodded and followed him away.
Xu Yichen, left behind, continued probing. “So, what happened exactly?”
Fengkai hesitated before saying, “He hit a stray dog. Took it to the vet. Always had too much compassion for his own good.”
Later that night, Xie Huai opened his phone, scrolled through the work chat, found Qi Xu’s WeChat profile—and sent another friend request.
He could only wait.
And hope this time, heaven might be kind.
Author’s note:
The first time Qi Xu didn’t accept his request, Xie Huai couldn’t sleep all night.
