Li Miao rested his chin on his hand, looking at the computer screen. Suddenly, he thought of something and opened the homepage of the investment company under the Li family’s name.
They had all already been screened for free by Li Shun’an and Li Tinghan. If he wasn’t going to be picky, there was no reason not to choose.
Li Miao scrolled through the page idly, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he stopped.
The system linked up to his vision and looked first at the photo in the upper-right corner of the screen.
A man in his twenties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with the look of a cultured scoundrel.
Hah. Just as expected, Li Miao chose people by their faces.
“Fu Hao… what a great name,” Li Miao murmured in admiration.
System: …
『It’s already a modern society. Why are you still clinging to feudal superstition?』
Li Miao copied Fu Hao’s email address and started typing as he opened his mailbox, retorting, 『Well, nobody told me modern society would still have things like a system either.』
The system got angry again and ignored Li Miao.
Li Miao chuckled softly, sent the email, and closed the computer. Next, all he had to do was wait for Fu Hao’s reply.
Far away on the other side of Haishi, at the investment company under the Li family’s name.
“Fu Hao, still not leaving?”
Fu Hao looked up with a smile. The blue light from the computer reflected off his gold-rimmed glasses. “I’ll leave in a bit.”
After his coworkers left, the polite smile on Fu Hao’s face gradually faded, turning playful.
Want to see me? His gaze fell on the computer. The screen clearly displayed the email interface, with Li Miao’s two characters standing out in the signature.
Was he the second young master from the chairman’s household, the ignorant, uneducated, arrogant, overbearing one?
Interesting.
On the other side, Shen Yu finished dealing with the pile of company work, rubbed his neck, and opened the bedroom door.
A faint citrus scent drifted in and out of the air.
Shen Yu frowned, walked to the window, hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his hand from it.
The scent on Li Miao’s body was as unreasonably overbearing as he was.
When Shen Yu lay down on the bed, his whole body was enveloped by the smell of oranges.
The blanket, the pillow… there was nowhere it didn’t reach.
He turned over irritably and fell into a deep sleep.
“Ring, ring, ring…”
The next day, he was awakened by the phone’s default ringtone.
“What is it, so early?” He closed his eyes and fumbled for his phone.
There was a two-second silence on the other end. “It’s already nine o’clock, President Shen.”
Shen Yu suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his phone screen: 9:13.
How could that be? He used to wake up before eight.
“I’m already waiting downstairs. We can leave anytime,” Bai Xin said.
“Okay.” Shen Yu got out of bed, pulled clothes from the wardrobe, and hurried through his wash-up.
Ten minutes later, he got into Bai Xin’s car, and Bai Xin handed him a bag of soy milk.
“I figured you hadn’t eaten breakfast.”
“Thanks.” Shen Yu took the soy milk. Why had he woken up so late today?
In the past, he would wake up before eight, especially after being injected with toxins. His insomnia had only grown worse, and often, as soon as dawn broke, all drowsiness vanished.
He started recalling what had been different about last night.
But there was nothing.
Last night, like always, he finished work, went to bed, and even skipped sleeping pills… Wait!
If there was anything different… that fresh citrus scent suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Thinking of the doctor saying one of the aftereffects might be that his emotions would use something as an anchor… he pressed his lips together. “Buy me a citrus-scented perfume.”
“Huh?” Bai Xin hadn’t expected Shen Yu to suddenly say that. After a moment of surprise, he immediately agreed. “Okay. What kind, exactly?”
“Something that smells like a mix of citrus and the sea,” Shen Yu said, frowning as he recalled it. “The base note… has a slight bitterness.”
“Okay.” Bai Xin agreed.
The car stopped outside a coffee shop, and Shen Yu followed the server into a private room.
The moment the private room door closed, the coffee shop’s main door opened again, and a blond boy wearing flashy sunglasses walked in.
“Do you have a reservation?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Fu.” Li Miao tilted his sunglasses down slightly.
“Alright, this way please.”
Just one corridor apart, Li Miao entered the private room opposite Shen Yu’s.
“Such strong punctuality, second young master.” Fu Hao lowered his head to glance at his watch. Not a second more, not a second less… exactly ten o’clock.
“Of course. The one thing I can say about myself is that I’m punctual.” Li Miao took off his sunglasses, clipped them to his chest, and sat down across from Fu Hao.
Fu Hao didn’t waste words either. His fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, a perfect smile on his face as he went straight to the point. “May I ask why the second young master came to see me today?”
“Interested in letting me poach you?” Li Miao asked with a smile.
Fu Hao’s stirring paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
“We’re all smart people. No need to beat around the bush, right?” Li Miao smiled, folding his hands on the table. “I want to go solo, and I’ve set my sights on you.”
Fu Hao was briefly dazed. No wonder he was Haishi’s little tyrant; he made recruiting sound like forcibly abducting a woman.
Fu Hao: “I’m sorry, but I don’t currently have any plans to switch jobs…”
Li Miao: “If you come, you’ll be a shareholder.”
Fu Hao: “Little President Li has treated me pretty well…”
Li Miao: “If you come, you’ll be a shareholder.”
Fu Hao: “I’m actually quite satisfied with my current salary and career development…”
Li Miao: “If you come, you’ll be a shareholder.”
Fu Hao: “…”
Fu Hao: “Do you have any other advantages?”
Li Miao grinned. “Nope.”
Fu Hao: “…”
“I genuinely want you.” Li Miao looked serious.
“You mean you want to hire me,” Fu Hao corrected him.
“…Fine, I genuinely want to hire you,” Li Miao continued. “To be honest, I’ve looked at a lot of investor profiles, and yours is the one I’m most satisfied with.”
“Why?” Fu Hao looked at Li Miao curiously.
“Because you’re bold enough.” Li Miao raised an eyebrow. “I can tell that your investment style is very daring, but because of company requirements, you usually can only play it safe.”
The smile on Fu Hao’s lips grew more serious.
“With me, I can hand all the funds over to you and let you do whatever you want, with no blame attached.”
Fu Hao’s expression gradually became earnest.
“Besides, if you stay at the Li Corporation, even reaching the highest position would still make you just an employee. But with me, you’ll be a partner on equal footing with me.” Li Miao smiled faintly. “A man like you… would you be willing to stay under someone else’s thumb?”
Fu Hao adjusted his glasses.
Just as he thought, the Li family was full of sharp minds. How could they have ended up with a naive sweetheart like Li Miao?
So Li Miao was actually the one hiding the deepest.
“Well? Want to take the gamble?” Li Miao was confident of victory.
Fu Hao thought for a moment, then smiled. “Didn’t you say it yourself? My investment style is bold.”
“Then I’m on board.”