Hua Er moved quickly.
Fan Qing didn’t wait long—Jiang Mian soon came over and agreed to release him.
Fan Qing was genuinely a little surprised.
He glanced at Jiang Mian.
“How did that kid persuade you?”
Jiang Mian looked equally surprised.
“What do you mean, persuade?”
Fan Qing: ?
Something felt off…
Jiang Mian also sensed something unusual.
She cautiously asked,
“Well… wasn’t it because you appreciated his other talents and wanted him as your assistant?”
Hua Er actually said that?
He had tricked Jiang Mian?
Fan Qing was a little taken aback, but quickly laughed.
It was a clever tactic.
Jiang Mian saw his expression and understood.
Goodness, she had been outwitted by Hua Er?
That little brat.
He could have just been straightforward.
Jiang Mian couldn’t help rolling her eyes.
The brat had learned a bit of cunning, huh?
But she also felt relieved in a strange way.
…Tsk, the little brat’s pretty capable.
She looked at Hua Er several times before humming softly and turning away.
“Fan Ge, are you sure you want to take him?”
Finally, they remembered he was still here.
For the first time, Fan Qing felt a little invisible.
He nodded to Jiang Mian’s question.
“Don’t you think he’s a good prospect?”
Jiang Mian thought for a moment, then agreed.
“Alright, he does have talent in this area.”
However…
Jiang Mian glanced at Hua Er.
“If he moves behind the scenes, all your previous efforts will be wasted, and that single will be handed over to someone else at the company.”
Hua Er took a deep breath.
“…I understand. Jiang Jie, you handle it.”
That single had been something he practiced for a long time.
If he said he felt no attachment, that would be a lie.
But what Hua Er was looking forward to even more was a whole new world.
It might be harder than before, but it was exactly what he anticipated.
“You’ve thought it through, that’s enough.”
Jiang Mian nodded and quickly walked away in her high heels.
They spoke casually, but that didn’t mean there weren’t issues to resolve.
Whether it was the single itself, or the fanbase Hua Er had built from the talent show, it all still needed her attention.
Once Jiang Jie left, Hua Er suddenly felt tense.
He instinctively looked at Fan… Fan Qing in front of him.
Is the kid nervous now?
Fan Qing smiled slightly and stood up.
Hua Er instinctively took a step back.
“What are you afraid of? I’m not going to eat you.”
Fan Qing raised an eyebrow.
Wasn’t this kid usually pretty composed?
“I know,” Hua Er blurted out.
“You and Teacher Nie are a pair, and you two have a great relationship.”
Fan Qing paused mid-action.
He slowly turned his head: …?
What was that kid just saying?
Hua Er froze.
The next moment, he cursed silently in his heart.
Damn, Yuan Jing Zong whispered all that gossip into his ear, filling his mind with…
“I misspoke,” Hua Er quickly admitted.
He had indeed misspoken.
But it seemed he wasn’t as composed as usual?
Seeing Hua Er’s nervous expression, Fan Qing suddenly had an idea.
Looks like he needed to take Hua Er out to see the world.
“Do you have something a little nicer to wear? Go change, we’re going out for a bit.”
Hua Er instinctively asked,
“What… what are we going to do?”
Fan Qing looked at him with a playful smirk.
The kid still didn’t quite get it.
“You’re my assistant now. Do you think I should answer that question for you?”
…Indeed.
Hua Er reflected for two seconds and quickly composed himself.
He lifted his head slightly, his tone calm.
“Then may I ask, is there anything else I need to prepare, Fan Qing Zong?”
Good.
He adapted to the role quickly.
Fan Qing showed a hint of approval but couldn’t hide the tiniest bit of mischievousness in his tone.
“Simple. Come with me to attend a few banquets.”
The fastest way to learn? Toss him straight into the eye of the social whirlwind.
Fan Qing was intrigued.
He wasn’t joking about “a few banquets.”
Since his identity had been revealed, he had already received four or five invitations.
Clearly, these people were coming for him.
And all their schedules had been perfectly staggered.
This gave Fan Qing a rough understanding of some of the unspoken rules of high society.
But this meant he had a choice.
Either skip them all…
Or go to every single one.
Before that, though…
“…Wasn’t I supposed to stay away unless necessary?”
Jin Si pulled his impossibly long legs off the desk, his tone full of disdain.
Why is Fan Qing here again?
Don’t tell me he’s here to clean up a mess.
Jin Si’s tone left no room for doubt.
Hua Er, trailing behind Fan Qing, was dumbstruck.
Th-this… isn’t this Jin Zong, second young master’s elder brother?
Why do Fan Qing and Jin Zong seem so familiar with each other?
And the way they speak—clearly they get along well.
Hua Er was completely shocked.
When Fan Qing had told him to drive here earlier, he’d already felt this address seemed familiar.
After thinking for a while, he realized: it’s the address of Jin Zong’s company!
Shocked, Hua Er instinctively glanced at Fan Qing’s expression.
Fan Qing seems really close with Jin Zong?
But why is he here?
Fan Qing rolled his eyes at Jin Si.
“I wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for your bright idea, which has me swamped right now.”
His tone was familiar, and his attitude toward Jin Si was evidently very close.
Hua Er could only stare in disbelief.
Jin Si glanced over.
Fan Qing shows up, fine, but who’s this thing he brought with him?
Jin Si wasn’t usually particular about small details.
As for what Fan Qing said?
Jin Si sat up a little, calm and measured.
“What, don’t like my little idea? If you really don’t, I can throw another banquet just for you.”
Being an elder brother these days… it’s really getting harder.
Fan Qing scoffed.
“Then my trouble just multiplies, doesn’t it?”
Besides, “I didn’t dislike your idea. It’s good. But next time, can you give me a heads-up before using it? I’m rushing to attend events today—do I look like I have the right clothes for that?”
Jin Si understood.
A smile flickered across his smooth, almost delicate face.
“So you came here to extort clothes from me?”
After all, brothers are debts.
The path had already been laid for him, and yet he still wanted clothes prepared.
Being the elder brother these days was really no easy task.
He thought for a moment, then slightly curved his lips.
But it made sense.
Besides him, who else could be such a considerate elder brother?
“That’s not it,”
Fan Qing immediately denied.
Hua Er, who had been happily eating the gossip, froze.
Then what had they come here for?
Jin Si’s brows drew together slightly as well.
He had already picked out several brand options in his head, and now Fan Qing was saying that was not it?
So what was he supposed to do with all his arrangements?
See? Jin Si really had not expected this.
Rarely catching Jin Si off guard, Fan Qing’s mood brightened a little.
And when he thought about what he was about to say next, he felt even better.
“As for clothes and styling, Nie Luo has already prepared everything for me.”
Go on. Savor that.
Jin Si: …
“You came all the way here just for that?”
These days, younger brothers really were more trouble than they were worth.
One asked for allowance money every single day.
The other was supposedly less troublesome—but only by the tiniest margin.
And from time to time, he would still deliberately get on his nerves.
Honestly, should he just throw all younger brothers away?
The expression on Jin Si’s delicate, almost feminine face slowly turned sinister.
Of course that was not the only reason!
Fan Qing shook his head quickly, then spoke with perfect confidence.
“Of course not. It was supposed to be you preparing everything, Big Brother. Now that Nie Luo has arranged it for me instead, shouldn’t you give him a little compensation? For example… an endorsement deal?”
Jin Si was nearly driven to laughter by the sheer shamelessness.
He looked at Fan Qing with a strange expression. After a long moment, an odd little laugh slipped from his throat.
“Ah Sheng was right. You’re even more like my biological brother than Jin Yi is.”
With skin that thick, in this entire world, only Fan Qing could rival him.
Not bad. Good kid.
Hua Er: ???
What? What was that?
His gaze slowly turned vacant.
What had he just heard?
Why was President Fan calling President Jin “Big Brother”?
And what did President Jin’s comment mean?
He did not understand at all.
Hua Er’s eyes gradually lost focus.
He felt like he was ascending.
He felt enlightenment dawning.
Hua Er thought to himself—
He understood now.
As an assistant, at moments like this, one should master the art of pretending to be deaf and mute, right?
Exactly.
Only then would he avoid hearing things that were not meant to be heard!
Hua Er swiftly achieved self-realization, and his eyes went completely unfocused.
He was here—but also not here.
His body was present, but his thoughts and soul were elsewhere.
Yes. This was the correct way to be an assistant.
Fan Qing did not notice that Hua Er had reached enlightenment so quickly.
He was still haggling with Jin Si.
After going back and forth for quite some time, Jin Si was finally worn down by the pestering and gave in.
“Fine, fine. Just say it. What do you want?”
Fan Qing spoke at lightning speed.
“I heard Big Brother recently acquired a watch brand?”
Jin Si: …
“How did you find out?”
Fan Qing only smiled.
Jin Si: …
“…I barely have anything left, and you are still keeping an eye on it?”
After two seconds of speechless silence, he waved his hand.
“Take it. Take it all.”
Brat. He really could not let him in here again in the future.
The one who wanted to come was always away from home.
The one who did not need to come kept hopping around in front of him instead.
As the thought crossed his mind, Jin Si suddenly paused.
…Forget it. Better if neither of them came.
The other one was no better.
This one came to ask for endorsements; the other came to ask for money.
At this rate, he would not be able to afford raising these younger brothers much longer.
Fan Qing left in high spirits.
Before walking out, he casually tossed out a line as if it meant nothing.
“Oh, right, Big Brother. The one I brought with me is my new assistant. Over on Sheng Ge’s side… he should be coming back very soon.”
With that, he slipped away, dragging along Hua Er, who was still lost in a state of spiritual detachment.
This little gift—Jin Si would probably like it, right?
As for the endorsement, it was a win-win for Jin Si anyway.
If he did not knock on him for it, he would be wasting the opportunity.
“Brat. Could you not have said something like that earlier?”
Jin Si called after his retreating figure with a half-smile, half-curse. Then, without hesitation, he dialed Ah Sheng’s number.
“You’re coming back?”
Tang Sheng paused mid-packing.
“…Fan Qing sold me out again?”
A hint of amusement flickered through Jin Si’s eyes, though his voice sounded faintly aggrieved.
“More than that. He just came over and extorted an endorsement from me—for Nie Luo. I am starting to think I cannot afford to raise these rotten little brothers anymore. Ah Sheng, what do you think? Should I just pack them up and throw them away?”
Tang Sheng pretended not to hear.
As if he did not know who it was that had specifically thrown a small banquet for Fan Qing just a few days ago.
Did he think Tang Sheng was unaware?
At the banquet, a certain someone had practically been showing off, as though he were just short of handing every guest a copy of The Joyful Guide to Raising Younger Brothers.
And after all that, he still had the nerve to complain in front of him?
Did he really think Tang Sheng did not know that certain people were secretly enjoying the tiny annoyances that came with raising younger brothers?