The expression on Liang Han’s face as he spoke was clearly not happy, and his gaze was heavy.
This certainly did not put the person in charge on the opposite side at ease. The team members who came with him looked at each other, feeling apprehensive.
Looking at it this way, he was definitely dissatisfied with the proposal they provided!
Even though he said nice things, if everything was truly fine, why was his face so dark?
Liang Han’s reaction was truly a bit strange. The person in charge from the platform’s side had a change in expression, then smiled apologetically and cautiously at Shao Dong: “If President Liang has any thoughts, President Shao, you must give me a hint. Your project is the big one our platform is most optimistic about; it’s the focus for the next two years. Our platform has been undergoing reforms lately, and many terms are different from before! Some clauses might not be entirely to your liking, but we can always talk more.”
Another person nodded: “Yes, look, we didn’t demand to plant people in the crew, right? We respect your choices for the production in all aspects, and we’ve shown full sincerity in other areas. It’s just regarding the revenue sharing—you know how big productions are these days, it’s always hard to say if a project will turn a profit. The company’s current move toward a profit-sharing model is to prevent corruption; it’s not targeted specifically at you, nor is it looking down on President Liang’s abilities. We have to consider investment risks.”
“Yes, President Shao, please don’t misunderstand us, and please help us explain things to President Liang.”
Shao Dong had no idea what Liang Han was up to and was completely baffled. In fact, he had revealed the rough details of today’s proposal to Liang Han a few days ago.
At that time, Liang Han had no objections and even said the platform’s ideas were good. Who knew he would suddenly become so cold today, as if he couldn’t accept it?
It was very strange. Normally, he was always steady and calm, but lately, he had become irritable.
There was something going on—definitely something big—but Shao Dong didn’t know specifically what it was and couldn’t figure it out at the moment.
Shao Dong could only grit his teeth and explain to the other party: “It’s fine, don’t overthink it. He’s had other things on his mind lately; it’s not because of your proposal.”
He spoke earnestly and didn’t sound dismissive, which put the other side at ease.
Come to think of it, during this recent period, he’d been hit with black material and rumors about his love life; he had indeed encountered many trivial matters.
The person in charge sighed, expressing understanding: “Preparing for a project is just too exhausting.”
Shao Dong smiled, brushed it off, and gave Liang Han’s assistant, Xiao Zheng, a look, signaling him to go out and follow Liang Han to see exactly what was going on.
He was mainly worried because Liang Han’s facial expressions along the way suggested he might have run into something. If another situation occurred and caused trouble, it wouldn’t be good.
Xiao Zheng didn’t even need him to speak; he had stood up long ago, just waiting for him to open his mouth.
Receiving the look, he turned and walked out the door.
However, when he reached the door, he saw Liang Han—who had said he was going to the restroom—standing in the hallway looking down at his phone.
After a while, he put his phone away and looked around. Xiao Zheng was confused, not knowing what President Liang was looking for or if he was searching for someone.
The hallway was empty; there wasn’t a trace of Song Yuanxi.
Liang Han was certain that the scene he saw in the elevator earlier was absolutely not a hallucination.
He hadn’t been drinking and wasn’t drunk, so how could he be hallucinating? And the object of the hallucination was Song Yuanxi.
It was a bit ridiculous.
But if it wasn’t a hallucination, why hadn’t Song Yuanxi appeared yet?
Could it be that he didn’t know which private room Liang Han was in and couldn’t find him?
His peripheral vision caught Xiao Zheng. As if only just noticing him, Liang Han turned his head and said, “What are you coming out for? Don’t trust me? Afraid I’ll get lost?”
Xiao Zheng quickly explained, “President Shao told me to come out and check, thinking just in case there’s anything I can help with, it would be timely and convenient.”
Liang Han waved his hand: “Not needed, go back inside and rest.”
What use was an assistant coming over? He couldn’t exactly let him go find Song Yuanxi; that would lead to a misunderstanding of his motives.
“…”
Xiao Zheng blinked, let out an uncertain “Oh,” but didn’t turn around yet.
Liang Han thought for a moment and added, “Forget it, just stay here.”
If he went back now, wouldn’t everyone know he hadn’t actually gone to the restroom?
Xiao Zheng didn’t speak or move; he just stood by the side, watching him.
He didn’t know what his boss actually wanted to do.
Liang Han looked at Xiao Zheng a few times, hesitated for a few seconds, but still didn’t speak. It was useless to ask Xiao Zheng; he didn’t know anything.
Liang Han lowered his head and opened WeChat. His finger moved, then paused as if he wasn’t quite satisfied. He suddenly asked Xiao Zheng: “Is it appropriate for me to send him a message asking about this?”
“…Huh?” To such a random question, Xiao Zheng was stunned. He didn’t know what his boss wanted to ask or who he was asking, but his reaction was quick. He soon nodded and said, “It’s appropriate! Of course it’s appropriate!”
He was just an assistant; he couldn’t go against his boss’s wishes. He could only smooth things over first and fix any problems later.
Liang Han felt a bit better.
Indeed, if the other party wouldn’t message him, then as a creditor, it was only natural for him to actively ask a question and show concern about the progress of the contract termination.
After all, he was about to lend out a large sum of money. It was very common to be concerned about the borrower’s situation and movements.
He originally didn’t know why he felt so restless, constantly thinking about where Song Yuanxi was. Now, he had found a reason.
Liang Han followed his heart and sent a message asking Song Yuanxi what he was doing and how the contract termination was going.
But the other party didn’t reply.
“…”
Probably didn’t see it.
Liang Han stood in place silently for a moment, then made a phone call.
Still, no one answered.
Probably set to silent.
Liang Han looked down both ends of the hallway and, after a moment, couldn’t hold back anymore and headed for the elevator.
He decided to go to the front desk to take a look. Maybe Song Yuanxi was stopped at the front desk and couldn’t get in.
He stepped into the elevator and looked back to stop Xiao Zheng’s footsteps: “Don’t follow me down, just wait upstairs.”
Xiao Zheng nodded and stood by the elevator.
Liang Han went down to the first floor but didn’t see Song Yuanxi at the front desk. He wondered if he had gone out.
Just as he was about to head outside, he saw several people walking in through the door. The leader was coincidentally the lawyer he had arranged for Song Yuanxi.
“…”
Liang Han’s footsteps paused, and he turned to look at them.
Unexpectedly, these people were in such a hurry that they didn’t even notice him and headed straight for the elevator.
Liang Han pondered for a moment, then turned to follow them. After entering the elevator, he asked, “What are you doing here today?”
As he spoke, his expression had already turned cold, and the heat in his veins seemed to cool down.
Song Yuanxi was here, and the lawyers were here. Song Yuanxi probably hadn’t come here to see him at all today.
Perhaps he was just here to discuss business with these people.
The lawyer turned around. He had been nervous and in a rush, so he hadn’t noticed Liang Han. He was stunned for a moment before snapping back: “Mr. Song is here today to talk to his company about terminating his contract. We are rushing there now.”
His suspicion was confirmed. He really didn’t come here specifically for him; he really came to discuss business.
Liang Han’s mood sank, but he couldn’t afford to be disappointed right now. He swept a glance over the group, his eyes grave and filled with dissatisfaction: “Why weren’t you with him just now? You just let him go up by himself?”
Liang Han had sought them out hoping they would help Song Yuanxi terminate the contract. If Song Yuanxi had to handle and negotiate everything himself, then why was he spending so much money hiring them?
Liang Han was the one paying, so it was only right for him to ask this.
The lawyer explained the situation: “Mr. Song told us to wait downstairs; he said he would go up and talk himself. That way, the other side wouldn’t be as defensive. He wanted to take the opportunity to act weak, thinking he could gather more evidence of being bullied by the company.”
Liang Han’s eyebrows knitted: “Was the evidence of being blacklisted not enough?”
The lawyer explained Song Yuanxi’s reasoning: “Mr. Song’s idea was to get more evidence to help lower the liquidated damages.”
Liang Han went silent. He knew Song Yuanxi lacked money, so this behavior wasn’t too surprising, but doing this was putting himself in danger.
“Since that’s how he arranged it, what’s the situation now?”
Just as he finished asking, he realized the answer. If something hadn’t gone wrong on Song Yuanxi’s end, why would these people be coming up now?
His face darkened, and anger uncontrollably surged in his heart.
This idiot must have run into trouble.
While pressing the floor button, the lawyer replied: “We heard his boss trying to force him to drink over the comms. We called him but no one picked up. We don’t know the situation now and are afraid something happened, so we came up.”
As expected, Liang Han’s face had darkened to the extreme: “Forced drinking?”
The lawyer hummed in response, then glanced at him, momentarily unsure if he should continue.
Liang Han’s face was pitch black. In an instant, he thought of many scenarios he had heard of or even seen. At this moment, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with them about the minor details of not looking after Song Yuanxi. He just stared as the elevator reached the second floor and asked coldly and urgently, “Which room?”
“206.”
It wasn’t far from where Liang Han had just been discussing business, just across a hallway.
Liang Han walked toward it with a cold face, his pace faster than the lawyers’.
He had been in this circle for a long time. Although he kept himself clean and never participated in such occasions, he had heard a lot about certain tactics.
The manager forcing Song Yuanxi to drink was clearly an attempt to get him drunk and take the opportunity to do something, leaving them with leverage to manipulate him.
Song Yuanxi was a silly idiot, actually thinking he could catch the other party’s handle this way.
If he had asked for his help, there might be a chance. Going alone to negotiate with them—he wouldn’t even know how to deal with it if he got bullied.
Although Huanhai was a big company, there were various interests and complex relationships behind the scenes. Liang Han knew a bit about it.
Years ago, the boss of Huanhai even wanted to pull him into their circle to play, but he refused.
That person was not a law-abiding, well-behaved person.
The more Liang Han thought about it, the more worried he became. His footsteps quickened uncontrollably, rushing along without regarding the people behind him.
He even completely forgot about his assistant waiting near the elevator along the way.
Xiao Zheng saw him enter the elevator and go downstairs, then suddenly turn back with several people, looking aggressive.
One of them was a lawyer they had worked with before. A thought suddenly popped into his head.
Could it be that the boss really didn’t accept the platform’s proposal and brought a lawyer over to argue with the platform?
The boss’s face was even uglier than before, looking like he was ready to kill someone.
Surely nothing bad would happen, right?
He held his breath in fear, debating whether to go into the room early to warn Shao Dong or to follow behind the boss to bolster his momentum.
Before he could finish debating, the boss didn’t even look at the private room and walked straight past it.
“…”
Xiao Zheng was stunned, and all his tension vanished instantly.
He followed behind in a daze, not knowing where the boss was going or what he was doing.
…
In private room 206, hearing Song Yuanxi say “okay,” Manager Wang and the boss exchanged a look, both showing triumphant gazes.
Manager Wang even stepped forward proactively to help Song Yuanxi open the bottle cap, advising: “It’s actually very simple, just close your eyes and drink. Don’t think too much. Rest easy.”
Song Yuanxi glanced at him, said nothing, took a sip of the wine, then covered his chest and coughed twice, emphasizing loudly: “Why does this taste so bad!”
Actually, it didn’t taste bad; it was just a bit spicy and pungent.
Although the alcohol content was high, the wine was indeed good; the other party was quite generous.
But it had nothing to do with the wine.
Song Yuanxi didn’t plan on actually drinking much. He didn’t really care about lowering the liquidated damages by drinking.
He just wanted to follow along and turn their plan against them.
Song Yuanxi looked as if his alcohol tolerance was poor, and the alcohol flushed his face. After just that one sip, his cheeks were visibly red.
The boss sat opposite him, staring. He couldn’t help but sigh—he was indeed good-looking. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have arranged a sugar daddy for him in the first place. It was just a pity he was so ungrateful.
He probably dared to be so reckless because he relied on his looks and clean background.
The boss didn’t soften his heart at all and gave Manager Wang a look to hurry him up.
Manager Wang stood by the side, not surprised. He already knew Song Yuanxi had a poor tolerance. He helped hold the bottle while continuing to persuade: “It’s okay, right? Try drinking a bit more.”
Song Yuanxi glanced at Manager Wang and took a few more small sips.
Those few sips were enough. Although Song Yuanxi was very clear-headed, he still showed a dazed gaze as if he couldn’t handle it, waving his hand and saying, “Can’t drink, can’t drink anymore! Forget it.”
He even spoke somewhat unclearly, looking like someone who couldn’t handle the alcohol and was feeling the tipsiness.
It had to be said, he had some talent for acting.
The two people opposite him didn’t see anything wrong.
The boss stared at him and gave Manager Wang another look. Manager Wang sighed and said regretfully, “Yuanxi, I noticed before that your tolerance wasn’t good. It seems after so long, your tolerance hasn’t improved. What a shame. You haven’t even finished one bottle. That’s it? That’s too bad. Why don’t you try a bit harder and just finish this one bottle?”
Song Yuanxi looked up at them, his expression pitiful, muttering about going to the restroom: “I really can’t drink anymore, I want to throw up.”
Manager Wang didn’t actually want to force him to drink; he just wanted an opportunity.
He brought over a glass of water to feed Song Yuanxi: “Since you can’t drink wine, have a glass of water. It’ll make you feel better.”
Drink water?
Song Yuanxi stared at the water glass, his mind clear. It seemed this glass of water was their true goal.
He guessed there was something in it. Because the wine bottle was sealed, they couldn’t add anything, so he had drunk a few sips.
But he wouldn’t drink this water.
He intended to get some leverage, not to actually be bullied by them.
Song Yuanxi stared at the glass, his eyes flashing. He kept his lips tightly shut and made it look like he was grabbing the glass to drink it himself, but instead, the water spilled all over his clothes.
“Oh! Manager Wang, the water you were feeding me spilled all over my clothes!”
He seemed to be so drunk that his hands and feet were weak and he couldn’t hold the glass steadily, while also managing to blame someone else.
Manager Wang looked at the boss, his eyes showing difficulty. This was the water they had specifically prepared, and it was all spilled.
The boss was experienced and remained calm: “It’s fine. Help him to the lounge first. You can feed him water again later.”
In any case, he had booked this private room for today; no one would come to disturb them, and no one would know what they did.
There was plenty of time to wear Song Yuanxi down slowly.
Manager Wang then helped Song Yuanxi up to take him to the lounge: “Come, come, Yuanxi, there’s a restroom here.”
Song Yuanxi didn’t speak and lowered his head, following him into the lounge.
The boss watched them enter the room coldly, then called for the assistant and others waiting in the small room next door: “Go help him handle it.”
The assistant nodded and was about to lead the others to open the door and enter, but the door wouldn’t turn.
As soon as Song Yuanxi entered the lounge, he locked the door behind him and loudly muttered in Manager Wang’s ear about going to the restroom to vomit.
Manager Wang was preoccupied with the water and didn’t hear the lock. Fearing he would vomit on him, he helped him to the restroom.
Song Yuanxi breathed a sigh of relief. Once inside, before Manager Wang could react, he grabbed a large bath towel nearby, wrapped it around Manager Wang’s face, and used the momentum to pull up the hem of Manager Wang’s shirt, pinning his arms. He then pushed the man into the shower stall, turned on the showerhead, and ran out, closing the restroom door behind him.
Then, he stood by the bed, took out his phone, and turned on the camera, pointing it at the restroom door.
He also checked the recording pen in his pocket; it was recording normally, so he felt at ease using his phone to record video.
Manager Wang was completely bewildered. He finally pulled off the towel and fixed his clothes, but he was soaking wet.
Furious, he pushed the door open and muttered, “Song Yuanxi, are you crazy? What kind of drunken fit are you throwing?”
He then froze, staring at Song Yuanxi’s phone, his expression changing: “What are you doing? What is there to film?”
Saying this, he lunged toward Song Yuanxi to snatch his phone.
Suddenly, a loud kick came from the door.
At first, Song Yuanxi thought it was the boss’s people. Even Manager Wang’s darkened face paused, but then he recklessly grabbed his arm: “Give me the phone!”
Song Yuanxi naturally wouldn’t give him the phone. Just as he was about to kick the man away, he heard that the person outside was actually talking through the other door.
After Song Yuanxi went in, the door was locked. The assistant realized something was wrong but hadn’t had a chance to speak before being startled by the commotion at the private room door.
The boss also frowned. He had clearly told the waiter earlier that they didn’t need service here; how could someone still come over?
Did they have the wrong room?
Because the door was locked, it wouldn’t open. The boss thought the other party would leave.
Unexpectedly, a loud “bang” came from a kick to the door, making the boss’s heart jump.
He heard someone speaking outside: “Liao Shengping, if you don’t want the police coming for you right now, open the door immediately.”
The voice was a bit unfamiliar, but the fact that the other party called him by his name made Liao Shengping not dare to be careless.
He turned his head and saw the assistant hadn’t entered yet, so he quickly gave a look. The assistant pulled the others to stand beside Liao Shengping.
Only then did Liao Shengping feel safe opening the room door, but he was immediately met with a kick.
It gave him a fright, but fortunately, the person beside Liang Han reacted quickly and grabbed Liang Han’s arm to steady him. Liao Shengping also dodged, so the kick wasn’t serious.
Fearing Liang Han wouldn’t stop and would kick again, which would be detrimental if he injured someone, the lawyer quickly advised: “Let’s go check on Mr. Song first!”
With a dark face, Liang Han regained some rationality. He shook them off, glanced around the room, didn’t see Song Yuanxi, and then noticed two lounge doors. He walked straight over.
He turned one handle; it was open and empty. He turned the other, and it opened too.
Song Yuanxi realized the person who came was there to help him, so he moved over to unlock the door.
Seeing this, Manager Wang was even more worried. He didn’t know why Song Yuanxi had filmed him earlier; he only thought he couldn’t let the recorded video stay in Song Yuanxi’s hands.
He rushed over again to grab the phone, wanting to take it away before people arrived.
When Liang Han opened the door, what he saw was Manager Wang grabbing Song Yuanxi’s arm and bullying him. He couldn’t hold back at that moment, stepped forward, and kicked Manager Wang away.
Manager Wang fell to the ground. Liang Han didn’t care if he was injured or not; he directly pulled Song Yuanxi behind him.
The lawyer followed into the room, filming with his phone while stopping Manager Wang’s movements and helping to check for injuries.
Liang Han turned around and looked at Song Yuanxi, checking him up and down. Confirming there were no visible injuries, he finally felt relieved.
He couldn’t help the anger in his heart: “Are you stupid? You actually dared to come negotiate alone! Weren’t you afraid of something happening! How much did you drink? Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
When Liang Han spoke, there was a slight sweat on his forehead—all from the rush of coming over.
His expression was very grave. Although his tone was a bit harsh, he was clearly very worried about his situation.
“…”
Song Yuanxi looked at Liang Han blankly, not quite reacting.
Just now, he thought the voice speaking outside sounded a bit like Liang Han, but he figured Liang Han was so busy with work every day and he hadn’t told him about the contract negotiation in advance, so Liang Han shouldn’t have come here to help him.
But to his utter surprise, it really was Liang Han.
He was truly taken aback. Why did Liang Han appear here? How did he arrive so coincidentally? Did he come specifically for him?
Then how did he know he was here?
Because Song Yuanxi had been drinking, his face was flushed. Although he wasn’t drunk, his cheeks were very red, his eyes were red, and even his neck was red.
Anyone who didn’t know him would think he was drunk.
Especially since he was staring at the man like that, unblinkingly, with an expression that was both pitiful and cute, with a kind of silly daintiness.
It was clearly a look that would soften one’s heart, yet it inexplicably made one feel a certain pressure—a strange pressure coming from the heart.
Liang Han’s fingers moved slightly. Suddenly, he felt a heavy emotion in his chest. It wasn’t that he wanted to get angry, but it was intense, thumping as if it wanted to burst out.
He didn’t know what to do to relieve that uncomfortable feeling.
Finally, he reached out and ruffled Song Yuanxi’s hair, comforting him: “Forget it, don’t be afraid. It’s okay now.”
Song Yuanxi didn’t speak. This action of Liang Han’s made him even more confused about what Liang Han’s deal was.
Liang Han didn’t say anything more.
It seemed Song Yuanxi was drunk and reacting slowly. He couldn’t expect the other party to answer his questions right now, nor could he talk about serious topics. He should let him find a place to rest properly.
Liang Han turned to look at the lawyer and said, “I’ll leave the handling here to you guys.”
He then grabbed Song Yuanxi’s arm, wanting to lead him out to find another room.
Song Yuanxi suddenly pulled his hand back, sliding the phone into his pocket.
In fact, the goal of this communication had basically been achieved.
It’s just…
Song Yuanxi glanced at Liang Han; it seemed something had gone wrong halfway.
Liang Han’s palm felt empty, and his heart seemed to follow suit, feeling a bit hollow. He turned to look at Song Yuanxi, seemingly not understanding, thinking there was still something else, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Song Yuanxi stared at Liang Han, and he couldn’t help but remember the words Xu Rao had said earlier, making him a bit worried.
Did Liang Han really have feelings for him too?
Otherwise, why would he come so timely and care for him so much?
His contract termination was at a critical moment. No other problems could arise right now. After all, he had no money; no matter how much the liquidated damages were lowered, he still needed to borrow a sum of money.
“?”
Seeing him not speak, Liang Han thought he hadn’t understood: “You’ve had too much to drink. I’ll take you to find a room to rest.”
Song Yuanxi blinked, thought about it, put on a look of total confusion, nodded, and said with a giggle: “Okay.”
He decided to pretend to be drunk to test Liang Han’s reaction and see exactly what the situation was with the man before thinking about how to handle things next.
If the man really was like Xu Rao suspected—a gay man who had just been hiding it well—then he would have to find a way to get rid of this new creditor.