Jiangqing Group, CEO’s Office.
Ling Feng said hesitantly, “President Shen… this contract this afternoon might be difficult to close.”
“Hm?” Shen Li looked up from the pile of documents.
Ling Feng stammered for a long while before finally blurting it out. “The one coming to discuss the contract this afternoon is the Shengyang Group chairman’s daughter. She specifically requested that you go alone—no assistant.”
“And then?” Shen Li asked.
Ling Feng took a deep breath and spoke frankly. “She’s coming for you. She wants… improper relations. If you want the cooperation to succeed, President Shen, you’ll have to… offer yourself.”
Shen Li’s expression shifted slightly. He lowered his head and continued reviewing documents. “This cooperation is very important.”
Ling Feng interpreted that as I’m willing to sacrifice myself for the company.
“President Shen, good luck,” Ling Feng said, turning to leave. Then he turned back and added, “Remember to take precautions.”
Shen Li: “……”
What he meant was that the cooperation was important and he’d do his best to secure it—not that he’d sell himself.
At three in the afternoon, Ling Feng drove Shen Li to the meeting place.
Before Shen Li got out of the car, Ling Feng stuffed something into his pocket.
As Shen Li walked, he took it out—it was a small square box.
When he saw the words condoms printed on it, Shen Li’s face darkened. He shoved it back into his pocket.
The meeting was set at a bar.
After entering, Shen Li spotted the partner in the dance floor.
The woman wore a red spaghetti-strap dress, her figure alluring, drawing the eyes of many men around her.
Seeing Shen Li, she curled her lips and walked over from the center of the dance floor, smiling seductively. “President Shen, have a seat.”
Her name was Sheng Wan.
Shen Li handed her the project documents. “President Sheng, this outlines the development prospects of the cooperation.”
Sheng Wan’s gaze lingered meaningfully on Shen Li. She took the documents and casually tossed them aside. “Talking about work kills the mood. Whether we cooperate or not is just a word from me. As long as President Shen keeps me entertained tonight, forget cooperation—we at Shengyang can even provide you with liquidity and bring Jiangqing back from the brink.”
What tempting terms.
Sheng Wan deliberately flirted in front of Shen Li. He averted his gaze. “How does President Sheng want to have fun?”
She picked up a drink and sat beside him, deliberately leaning closer. “Jiangqing Group’s financial crisis—who in Jiangcheng doesn’t know about it? We’re taking a risk working with you. Naturally, we want something in return. Don’t you agree?”
Shen Li calmly shifted away from her. “President Sheng has a point.”
Sheng Wan swirled her glass. “I don’t want money. I want people. I wonder if President Shen is willing to come home with me tonight?”
Shen Li pressed his lips together. “Sorry, President Sheng. I have something to attend to tonight.”
No adult would miss the meaning behind that refusal. Sheng Wan frowned in displeasure. “President Shen, let me be clear—I’m only giving you this chance because you’re easy on the eyes. Since you’re not interested, then forget about the cooperation.”
At that point, Shen Li said nothing more. He picked up the documents and left, unaware of the gaze watching him from the shadows.
Once outside the bar, Shen Li loosened his tie and let out a breath. He’d have to think of another way.
A man in a black suit walked up and stopped in front of him. “President Shen, I’m President Ji’s assistant. President Ji would like to see you.”
President Ji…
Ji Zhouye.
The assistant led him to a Maybach, respectfully opened the door, and invited him inside.
Shen Li looked at the man seated within—dressed in a suit, cool and aloof. Ji Zhouye’s long legs were crossed, a watch on his wrist, noble and distant.
Shen Li froze for a moment before getting in.
As soon as he entered, the door closed. The confined space felt suffocating.
Silence fell over the car.
After a tense moment, the pressure made Shen Li feel short of breath. Just as he was about to speak, his wrist was seized, and a figure carrying coldness pressed in.
Trapped in the corner, Shen Li pushed against the man pinning him down. “Ji Zhouye, get off.”
“Shut up.” Ji Zhouye pinched his chin, his gaze roaming with amusement. “Short on money?”
That face was inches away. Shen Li turned his head, broke free from Ji Zhouye’s hold, and shoved him away. “If you have something to say, say it. Don’t get handsy.”
His hand brushed against something.
Shen Li glanced over—and the moment he saw the box, his face turned green.
It must have fallen out during the struggle.
Meeting Ji Zhouye’s gaze, Shen Li picked it up, about to stuff it back into his pocket. Ji Zhouye grabbed his wrist first and snatched the item away.
Ji Zhouye toyed with the box, his eyes playful but his tone icy. “Can’t live without a man?”
“True. I can’t live without one,” Shen Li replied flatly. His eyes burned with sourness as he looked out the window, refusing to look at him again.
Rage clogged Ji Zhouye’s chest, nearly burning away his remaining rationality. He stared at Shen Li, his gaze deep. “So Jiangqing Group managed not to collapse all these years because you were selling your body to keep it afloat?”
Shen Li clenched his fists, veins bulging. “Ji Zhouye, you—”
He didn’t want to argue, nor did he want to stay by his side another second. Shen Li opened the car door, preparing to get out.
“Shen Li, if you dare walk away today, I’ll destroy Jiangqing Group and erase it from this world completely.” Ji Zhouye’s expression was darker than storm clouds ready to crush a city.
Shen Li froze. His jaw tightened, his expression turning even colder, eyes blazing with anger. “Ji Zhouye, what the hell is wrong with you? What do you want?”
Ji Zhouye shook the small box in his hand. “Stay with me. You already bought it—wasting it would be a shame.”
The car headed toward Ji Zhouye’s estate.
Shen Li stared out the window, expression blank, his chest tight and uncomfortable.
If Ji Zhouye was doing this just to humiliate him, then he had succeeded.
Ji Zhouye was no longer the boy he once was. Everything had changed.
Shen Li felt dazed—their brief past together felt like something from another century.
They arrived at the estate at five. Before them stood a massive modern villa, with a swimming pool, lawns, a greenhouse, and a gazebo.
Upon entering the living room, the butler came forward. Ji Zhouye said a few words, and the butler withdrew.
Shen Li was taken into the bedroom. Ji Zhouye’s voice held no warmth. “Wash yourself clean.”
Embarrassing Shen Li didn’t bring Ji Zhouye any pleasure—if anything, it made his irritability worse.
“You won’t do it for nothing.” Ji Zhouye took out a card and placed it on the table. “Three hundred million after it’s done. It’s yours.”
“So I’m worth that much,” Shen Li said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Ji Zhouye said nothing and left the bedroom.
He knew Jiangqing was Shen Li’s lifeline. Shen Li wouldn’t resist—and couldn’t.
Standing by the study window, Ji Zhouye tugged irritably at his tie. The emotions he’d buried surged out uncontrollably after their reunion.
Countless times he had thought—if Shen Li would just speak, if he would just say he was wrong, he would help Jiangqing through the crisis.
But Shen Li didn’t.
He would rather shoulder everything alone—be humiliated in negotiations, drink until he vomited blood, work nonstop for days without sleep, lower himself to beg others—than come to him.
So Ji Zhouye vented all the emotions he’d bottled up over the years onto Shen Li.
Shen Li was suffering—but how was he not suffering too?
Over all these years, who among them had truly lived well?