Chapter 97

The New Year holiday passed unusually quickly. It seemed like only yesterday they were eating the New Year’s Eve dinner, but in the blink of an eye, it was time to pack up and go back to school.

During the New Year, Xie Huai took Qi Xu around to visit relatives, visiting the Xu family, the Fang family, and the Jiang family. Qi Xu didn’t want to move, but he was willing to move while collecting red envelopes.

After the Lantern Festival, when opening the red envelopes, Qi Xu still couldn’t help but be tempted by the sight of the bills. The allure of white moonlight was irresistible.

The two old men had recently gone on vacation together and had tea together, restoring their friendship to its former state. They even shared embarrassing stories about each other’s youth at the dinner table.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was harmonious. The two elders drank a little wine with great interest, but Qi Xu didn’t touch the wine. To be precise, he no longer wanted to drink in front of Xie Huai.

That night, they stayed at the Qin family compound. Xie Huai did indeed kneel on the bed and apologize, kneeling before Qi Xu with a expressionless face, his eyes lowered in sincere repentance. However, his hands kept moving until Qi Xu’s mind went blank and he came in his hands.

Later, when Qi Xu was pinned under the Huanghuali wood tea table, struggling to breathe, Xie Huai recounted how much wine he had drunk that night.

Compared to his earlier attitude of confessing his mistakes, this was the real Xie Huai. His voice was deep, carrying a certain terrifying tenderness, causing Qi Xu’s eardrums to tremble.

Xie Huai leaned down and pressed his cold lips against the scar on Qi Xu’s lower back. Qi Xu couldn’t help but shiver. He knew that the one who had let go wasn’t just him.

After the meal, the two elderly men, their faces flushed, leaned on their canes, no longer needing assistance.

As the family walked out of the private room, laughing and chatting, the door to the adjacent private room opened.

The people on the other side noticed the Shen and Xie families approaching first, and the noisy private room fell silent.

Inside the private room was the Zeng family banquet, with Shen Zhuohai, Zeng Yun, and Shen Fengkai all present.

Qi Xu was still replying to messages in the dormitory group chat when Li Yan sent a voice message ranting about not wanting to go back to school, which made him laugh. He was about to share it with Xie Huai, but when he looked up, he saw several people standing at the door of the private room.

The Shen and Zeng families were in-laws. Shen Laoyezhi greeted the Zeng family matriarch and exchanged a few polite words, but did not mention Qi Xu once.

The Shen couple looked pale and exhausted, appearing much older and dressed more plainly than the Shen couple who had attended the charity banquet a few months ago.

Mr. Shen had personally exposed the truth behind the Shen family scandal, disregarding the family’s reputation. Shen Zhaohai dared not speak out in anger.

The adopted son they had raised for 18 years had orchestrated the kidnapping of his own biological son. Upon learning the truth, they were stunned, hoping only that Qi Xu would not be harmed. Unfortunately, Qi Xu was injured and hospitalized.

From then on, the couple never saw Qi Xu again.

When Zeng Yun saw Qi Xu, her eyes welled up with tears. She wanted to approach him but dared not. All of this was their fault; one mistake led to another.

She could only stand there, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying, and choked out, “Xiao Xu.”

Shen Zhaohai and the old Shen were father and son; there was no lingering animosity between them. After all, they had shared the New Year’s Eve dinner together. It was just that Qi Xu would never appear alongside them.

He and Qi Xu were also father and son. How could a son be enemies with his own father?

Qi Xu looked at them coldly, as if they were strangers, making no move to greet them. Not turning his head to leave was already showing the utmost kindness.

Instead, Xie Tingyao and Qin Huan Si approached Shen Zhuohai and his wife for a brief conversation.

Until they left, Qi Xu did not exchange a single word with the Shen family.

Zeng Yun watched Qi Xu supporting Qin Huan Si, and couldn’t help but feel a hint of envy. It was laughable, but the young man holding another woman’s hand was her son.

This was their just deserts. They had pushed Qi Xu further and further away, and a happy family had become an unattainable regret.

On the first day of school, Qi Xu and Xie Huai were both busy—busy with school matters, busy with work matters. Xie Huai had been rushing back to school from his apartment early in the morning for a week straight to attend the 8 a.m. class.

Qi Xu was at least juggling two tasks, but Xie Huai also had student council matters to attend to, leaving him spinning like a top all day long.

There’s no comparison between someone who is naturally weak and someone who is naturally full of energy. How can someone get more energetic the more they work, as if they don’t feel tired at all?

On the weekend, Qi Xu thought he could finally rest, but Xie Huai was still coming and going early and late. He was also called by Li Kaixing to discuss Yunrui’s most important project for the quarter.

Luo Zi, which had already successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was opening a branch office in the capital. The large conglomerate, with its deep pockets, had directly leased an entire commercial office building, and there were rumors that a commercial park belonging to Luo Zi was under construction.

Yunrui’s important project for the next quarter was a collaboration with Luo Zi, with only a contract on the negotiation table remaining.

Weekends are rest days, and as a university student, Qi Xu has no classes on weekends. I wonder how Li Kaixing managed to get Luozi’s representative to work overtime on the weekend for negotiations.

Li Kaixing replied, “I don’t have that kind of influence. It was Luozi’s side that set the time. It’s just a coincidence that you happen to be off on the weekend and can join us at the negotiation table. We can’t do without you.”

Qi Xu leaned back in his chair, holding a tablet to review documents: “You’ve been handling all the coordination. Today, you take the lead, and I’ll assist you.”

Luozi had connected through Li Kaixing and Zhong Aiming’s networking connections, and both sides had a strong desire to cooperate. The negotiation table was just a formality.

Li Kaixing, now brimming with confidence, stood tall and assured him, “Boss, you can count on me.”

Upon arriving at Luozi’s office building, it was early March, and a cold front was still lingering.

Qi Xu put on his coat after getting out of the car. Today’s outing was a last-minute plan, so his suit wasn’t ironed. He had rushed out and ended up wearing Xie Huai’s suit.

The two were roughly the same height, though Xie Huai was more muscular. Li Kaixing could fill out the suit’s frame, so it didn’t look out of place on him.

Luozi President Su Jianpeng’s assistant had been waiting downstairs. Upon seeing Li Kaixing and his group, he greeted them and led them straight to the top floor.

When the elevator doors opened, everyone saw that the Luozi branch office was not just a simple branch office as described, but was larger in scale than some companies, as if the headquarters had been relocated to the capital.

The assistant led them to the conference room and informed them that Su Zong was meeting with senior management and asked them to wait for a moment.

Li Kaixing sat in the middle, the first in the team, with Qi Xu sitting next to him, occasionally playing with his prayer beads while continuing to review documents. He placed great importance on this collaboration with Luozi.

“Boss, do you think we’ll have the opportunity to meet the behind-the-scenes investors after signing the contract with Luozi?”

The investor behind Luozi was a legend, with a keen eye for investment. He had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in artificial intelligence when it was still in its infancy, and ten years later, Luozi had become a leader in the AI industry.

At that time, no one could uncover the identity of Luozi’s investor. Some said he was living abroad with a net worth of over a hundred billion, while others claimed he had passed away.

Su Jianpeng is already middle-aged. Someone with the financial resources to invest in Luozi ten years ago must be an older, high-ranking businessman.

Qixu said, “We only have a cooperative relationship with Luozi. Mr. Su personally received us. You still want them to bring in the investors behind the scenes? Yunrui is currently only a small and medium-sized enterprise.”

Qi Xu spoke frankly, acknowledging Yunrui’s current scale. “You can’t become wealthy overnight. Steady development, occasionally partnering with larger entities to achieve mutual benefit, is the path that will lead us further.”

Li Kaixing nodded in agreement: “That’s true. Since Mr. Su came personally to discuss this project, it seems the investors won’t be present.”

As he spoke, the door to the meeting room opened, and the assistant manager led Su Jianpeng inside. Li Kaixing, seeing this, quickly buttoned his jacket and stood up.

Qi Xu put on his bracelet under the table and stood up as well, but the familiar figure behind Su Jianpeng completely captured his attention.

Clearly, Li Kaixing had also noticed, staring in disbelief at Xie Huai, then glancing back at Qi Xu, as if to say, “Boss, how is your partner here?”

Qi Xu responded with a dismissive chuckle. He didn’t know either; if he had known, he wouldn’t be here now.

Su Jianpeng entered and shook Li Kaixing’s hand: Mr. Li, nice to meet you.”

Mr. Li and Mr. Su shook hands, while Xie Huai reached out to Qi Xu and introduced himself politely: “I’m Xie Huai, a director at Luozi.”

Li Kaixing and Su Jianpeng were both shocked. The former suddenly looked at Qi Xu and asked, “Boss, your partner is working for another company outside?”

The latter looked at Xie Huai, wondering if he had just revealed his identity so bluntly?

Qi Xu didn’t notice the two men’s expressions. He lowered his eyes and stared at the hand in front of him for a moment. Xie Huai was particularly stubborn and wouldn’t let go until Qi Xu shook his hand.

Just as Qi Xu raised his hand, Xie Huai reached forward and grabbed it, forcing a handshake in an unprecedented manner.

Qi Xu frowned unhappily and pulled his hand back: “Mr. Xie really is a smooth talker.”

Xie Huai smiled: “We hit it off right away.”

Of course, we were completely open with each other last night, and this morning we were intertwined in bed.

Qi Xu didn’t respond and sat down to discuss business.

Qi Xu had no intention of participating from the start, and now that he saw Xie Huai there, he didn’t want to speak at all.

Neither boss spoke, and fortunately, the two were only observing. Both sides had a strong desire to cooperate, and the argument was just a formality. In the end, they signed and stamped the contract, and Su Zong and Li Zong smiled broadly.

Li Kaixing had gotten too caught up in the moment, focusing on the confrontation and not noticing the tension between the boss and Xie Shao. How could these two be acting like strangers?

Oh, maybe it was just for fun.

Until the contract signing was smoothly concluded, Xie Huai packed his things and left the meeting room, with Li Kaixing and his group following behind him.

“Boss, what’s going on? Did you argue with Xie Shao?”

It didn’t seem like an argument; the two had only exchanged one sentence and hadn’t actually argued.

Qi Xu said, “No argument, but we need to settle the accounts properly at home.”

He and Xie Huai never interfered in each other’s businesses. Xie Huai learned that Yunrui was his company from Zhong Aiming.

Though they didn’t hide it, they handled work matters openly, but both parties respected each other’s privacy strongly and wouldn’t ask questions proactively.

Qi Xu and Xie Huai were in complete agreement on this point, and Qi Xu also made it clear that he didn’t want to get involved in Xie Huai’s business.

The fact that Xie Huai was the behind-the-scenes investor in Luozi was actually evident from clues such as Su Jianpeng’s avatar appearing on the computer screen during video conferences.

Yet he lay on the sofa playing Snake without even glancing at it.

Another example is that the logo of Luozi is on the cover of the documents on the desk. If he had tidied the desk once, he would have noticed it, but he was too lazy and was only concerned with finding the red envelope that had accidentally fallen under the desk.

“So you didn’t know that Xie Shao was Luozi’s investor either?” Li Kaixing sensed something was off. “Was he hiding it from you?”

Luozi was founded five years ago, and rumors of a major internal shakeup surfaced two years ago when Su Jianpeng took the CEO position, which was also when news of the investor’s funding emerged.

Two years ago, Xie Huai was only 16 years old when he invested in an artificial intelligence company.

This man was born to be a businessman.

Li Kaixing was puzzled, vaguely sensing something unusual in Qi Xu’s eyes. The contradiction between his words and actions made him realize the truth of the saying, “Even an impartial judge cannot resolve family matters.”

Qi Xu turned around, his mind momentarily confused. The memory overlapped, but in his previous life, the voice belonged to Xie Huai’s assistant at the time.

Now, standing before him, it was Xie Huai himself who spoke those words.