Shen Li’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Thinking of how hard the past year had been, even his voice carried a hint of grievance. “I didn’t have the face to ask you.”
That meal left both of them with a mix of complicated emotions.
Shen Li’s personality swung between two extremes—when he was unserious, he was really unserious, annoyingly cheeky and begging to be punched; when he went quiet, he could go ages without saying a single word.
Ji Zhouye had no way of dealing with him. Before, and even now.
After leaving the restaurant, there was a milk tea shop next door with a handful of customers. Shen Li glanced at it for two extra seconds.
Ji Zhouye couldn’t help himself—he gave Shen Li’s head a light, not-too-gentle tap. “If you want one, go buy it. Or are you waiting for me to buy it for you?”
That single sentence broke the silence.
“Then wait for me a moment,” Shen Li said, instantly reverting to his unserious self.
Like a child who’d just been scolded by a parent and then handed a piece of candy, all his unhappiness vanished in an instant.
Ji Zhouye watched his retreating figure helplessly. The gloom in his heart slowly dissipated along with the smile at the corner of Shen Li’s lips.
Even though Shen Li knew Ji Zhouye didn’t like milk tea, he still bought one for him. He got himself a pearl milk tea and brought Ji Zhouye a coconut jelly milk tea.
He’d already prepared himself to drink two cups alone, but to his surprise, Ji Zhouye didn’t say a word and accepted it.
Ji Zhouye didn’t like sweet things, so Shen Li specifically ordered his with thirty percent sugar.
On the way back, Ji Zhouye didn’t let him drive. Shen Li sat in the passenger seat, tearing open the straw wrapper and poking it into the cup.
After taking a sip, it wasn’t as good as he’d imagined—nowhere near as good as the milk tea on the pedestrian street outside N University. He complained, “It’s not as good as the one outside N University.”
Whether it was the milk tea that had changed, or the people, they both knew the answer.
Ji Zhouye glanced at him and then looked away, saying nothing.
Shen Li drank less than half the cup before setting it aside.
Back at the estate, Shen Li returned to the master bedroom, grabbed some clothes, and went into the bathroom.
Ever since the day he’d gone to the hospital with stomach pain, Ji Zhouye hadn’t touched him again—even though they slept in the same room, the same bed.
By the time Shen Li finished showering, Ji Zhouye had already washed up as well and pushed the door open to come in.
That night, the two of them lay in bed with a small distance between them. Shen Li didn’t know when he’d fallen asleep, or when he’d ended up in Ji Zhouye’s arms.
The next day, at the company.
At first, Shen Li didn’t notice anything unusual. But after Ling Feng entered his office, he sensed it—Ling Feng’s gaze toward him was off.
When Shen Li met his eyes for just two seconds, Ling Feng flusteredly looked away.
Shen Li set the documents in his hands aside, leaned back in his chair, and twirled the pen between his fingers. “You’re very free?”
“No…”
Shen Li narrowed his eyes slightly. “What is it? Say it.”
Ling Feng shook his head like a rattle drum. “Nothing.”
Whether he had something to say or not—Shen Li knew best. “Not talking? Then your year-end bonus is gone.”
Ling Feng: “……”
Using money to threaten him—no choice, he fell for it every time. His life could be negotiable, but his year-end bonus absolutely wasn’t.
“Fine, I’ll talk. I saw you get into a man’s car last night. I only saw his back, though.”
Shen Li thought for a moment. That man should’ve been Ji Zhouye. “And then?”
The company had suddenly received a large sum of money and survived the economic crisis—it was hard for Ling Feng not to overthink things. “You and him…”
Shen Li recalled what Ji Zhouye had said the night before.
Lovers also count as being together.
There was no need to dodge the issue. “It’s exactly what you think. I’m with him.”
In modern society, tolerance toward same-sex relationships was high. Even if people didn’t understand, they respected it, so sexual orientation wasn’t that hard to talk about with close friends.
Ling Feng was shocked at first. After the shock passed, he felt it wasn’t worth it for Shen Li. “For the company… is sacrificing yourself really worth it?”
“Not entirely for the company,” Shen Li said. “He’s my first love.”
Ling Feng’s mouth dropped even wider. He could accept same-sex relationships, but he’d never imagined Shen Li was part of that community. The Shen Li he knew was straighter than a steel pipe.
Suddenly, he understood something: you can’t judge a person by appearances alone.
Just like the man in front of him—who looked straighter than a steel pipe—was actually bent. “President Shen, you really hide things well.”
Ling Feng had always known Shen Li had a first love. Shen Li had mentioned it once when he was drunk at a business dinner—there’d even been a time he cried. Drunk, his eyes red, tears at the corners, looking utterly shattered.
“Go print out a share transfer contract. Meeting at three this afternoon.”
Ling Feng blinked. “A new shareholder?”
“Mm.”
Just moments ago, Ling Feng had felt it wasn’t worth it for Shen Li. Now he felt happy for him instead. “Looks like our Jiangqing Group is about to regain its former glory.”
Shen Li laughed at that, crumpled up a piece of paper, and tossed it at him. “Get to work.”
Ling Feng drafted the contract. Shen Li checked it again.
Ji Zhouye appeared in the conference room right on time at three.
The moment he entered, it was as if time froze. Everyone in the room held their breath, staring at the decisive, commanding man.
Even though everyone present more or less knew who Ji Zhouye was, Shen Li still introduced him again—as a shareholder of Jiangqing Group.
As soon as those words were spoken, the room erupted in silent shock. This backing was solid enough—no more worrying about the company collapsing and them losing their jobs.
Ling Feng wore the same expression as everyone else. He’d imagined many possibilities for the new shareholder—a rich man, perhaps—but he’d never imagined someone this rich.
Their reactions were exactly what Shen Li expected. He pushed the documents toward Ji Zhouye. “Take a look. If there’s no problem, sign.”
No business pleasantries. Straight to the point.
To the staff, Ji Zhouye becoming a shareholder of Jiangqing seemed like an ordinary matter for Shen Li.
Anyone else, faced with Ji Zhouye, would be scrambling to flatter him, desperate to cling to a powerful thigh.
Ji Zhouye signed his name at the end of the document, his handwriting clean and forceful.
Shen Li’s emotions were complicated. With this piece of paper, as long as Jiangqing didn’t collapse and Ji Zhouye didn’t withdraw his shares, there would always be a tie between them.
Once the contract was signed, the meeting ended.
Shen Li and Ji Zhouye left the conference room side by side.
As soon as they were gone, someone asked Ling Feng, “Assistant Ling, does President Shen know President Ji?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never heard President Shen mention it.” He wanted to know too—just how much he didn’t know about his own boss. “Alright, everyone disperse. Back to work.”
The staff left in small groups, speculating about why Ji Zhouye had invested in Jiangqing.
One man spoke up, cutting off the speculation. “Stop guessing blindly. Jiangqing went through a low point, but under President Shen’s leadership, its future prospects are still very good. President Ji is a businessman—he wouldn’t do anything that disadvantages himself.”
Everyone acknowledged Shen Li’s ability. If not for his persistence, Jiangqing would’ve collapsed long ago.
Even back then, when Jiangqing itself was struggling, Shen Li had never treated them poorly.
“You investing in Jiangqing really shocked everyone,” Shen Li said as he poured Ji Zhouye a glass of water. “They’re probably wondering how a great Buddha like you ended up thinking this was a good idea.”
“Jiangqing isn’t bad,” Ji Zhouye said. “One day, it’ll stand at the top of the business world again.”
“Then… happy cooperation.” Shen Li extended his hand.
Seeing that Ji Zhouye had no intention of shaking it, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
“Happy cooperation.”
Just as Jiangqing began to recover and show signs of improvement, Zhou Lifen returned to demand money from Shen Li.
She opened with ten million.
Shen Li naturally refused.
Zhou Lifen flew into a rage, sweeping the documents off his desk onto the floor, pointing at Shen Li behind the desk as she screeched, “Bastard! Don’t forget—this family, this company, are mine too!”
Shen Li stood up and calmly picked up the scattered papers. “My father’s will states clearly: the property goes to you, the company goes to me. Did you forget? You have no right to interfere in company affairs.”
“I won’t interfere in company affairs. I just want money.”
“I don’t have any,” Shen Li said flatly, without a ripple of emotion.
Zhou Lifen knocked the documents he’d just picked up back onto the floor. “Shen Li, don’t think I don’t know. You act all noble in front of me, but in the end, didn’t you just go crawling back to the Ji family’s son?”
With a loud bang, Shen Li slammed the documents onto the desk. “Yes. Not only did I crawl back, we’re together now. Satisfied?”
Zhou Lifen looked at him like he was insane. “Hopeless. A lunatic with an abnormal sexual orientation.”
As long as there was money, Zhou Lifen wasn’t completely unable to accept it. “Give me money. If you don’t, I’ll go ask that Ji family kid for it.”
Shen Li’s knuckles turned white. His eyes brimmed with vicious fury, his rationality on the verge of burning away. “You wouldn’t dare.”
She really wouldn’t.
Her son was a complete madman—when he lost control, no one knew what he’d do. She was only using this as a threat.
Having failed to get the money and being intimidated by Shen Li instead, Zhou Lifen was seething with anger.
The older her son got, the more impossible he became to control.
She’d never been able to control him before, but at least she’d had leverage. Now, he’d completely given up caring—no amount of threats worked anymore.
Shen Li tidied up the fallen documents and left the company at three in the afternoon.
He drove to the JH building and sat in the car, smoking as he idly waited for Ji Zhouye to get off work so they could return to the estate together.
Zhou Lifen couldn’t affect his mood. What affected him was hearing Ji Zhouye’s name come out of her mouth.
He sat there with the car window open, cigarette after cigarette, smoke dispersing into the air.
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice a figure approaching. The car door opened, and someone sat in the passenger seat. “Why are you here?”
By the time Shen Li snapped back to his senses, Ji Zhouye was already sitting beside him.
Without thinking, Shen Li blurted out, “To pick you up after work.”
It wasn’t even four yet. The sun scorched the ground—it was the hottest part of the day.
Ji Zhouye didn’t buy his nonsense. “What happened?”
Shen Li stubbed out the cigarette. Carrying a heavy scent of tobacco, he leaned over and lightly hugged Ji Zhouye. Two seconds later, he let go. “Nothing now.”
“You came just to hug me once?”
“Yeah. I wanted a hug.” Shen Li glanced at the time. “Go back to work. I’ll wait for you.”
Ji Zhouye’s eyes darkened. His Adam’s apple rolled. “Go home.”
“You’re not working anymore?”
“Go home,” Ji Zhouye said in a lower voice, “and I’ll let you hold me as much as you want.”