This is insane. How did the dress end up here with Han Shen? Can he just pretend he doesn’t know anything about it?
Ji Ran stood rooted to the spot, his face burning scarlet. Just being watched by Han Shen was enough to make him so mortified that he wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. It felt as though a large hand had pressed firmly against his chest, and no matter how hard he tried to breathe, he simply couldn’t draw enough air into his lungs.
He was definitely going to get scolded, wasn’t he? Maybe Han Shen would even make fun of him, or worse, think he was some kind of pervert.
The three words “I’m sorry” had already reached the tip of Ji Ran’s tongue when Han Shen simply put the dress down. He acted as though nothing had happened and said, “Let’s go.”
Ah. He wasn’t going to pursue the matter?
Thank God.
Relieved, Ji Ran hurriedly picked up the dress and followed him out.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize it was yours, so I accidentally opened the package.” Lu Ke followed him to the doorway and said with a smile, “Did you buy the dress for your girlfriend? It’s really cute.”
Girlfriend. So this was the first reaction a normal person had upon seeing a man buy a dress!
Although Ji Ran didn’t actually have a girlfriend, he still gave a very quiet hum of acknowledgment.
Thinking that he was nervous about going on his first business trip with the boss, Lu Ke even took the initiative to reassure him. “Don’t be nervous. The boss only looks intimidating. He’s actually very easy to talk to.”
Ji Ran forced an awkward smile.
“I’ll tell you a secret.” Lu Ke leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “If Samuel scolds you, just cry in front of him. The more heartbroken you cry, the better.”
“Huh?” Ji Ran looked somewhat incredulous. “The boss actually falls for that?”
“No,” Lu Ke said. “But crying will make you feel a little better.”
Ji Ran: “…”
Because of what Lu Ke had said, Ji Ran became even more nervous.
Actually, Ji Ran didn’t quite understand it himself. Although he was introverted, he wasn’t socially anxious. After four years of being tempered by university life, he was perfectly capable of handling interactions in the workplace.
His previous internships had gone without a hitch, yet for some reason, every time he encountered Han Shen, he would feel an inexplicable sense of fear, with an instinctive urge to get as far away from him as possible.
Just like now. There were only two people in the car heading to the airport: him and Han Shen. Even with an armrest separating them, Ji Ran could still clearly feel the oppressive presence Han Shen seemed to bring with him.
The air was thick with tension. Ji Ran lowered his head and stared at his knees, his hands unconsciously curling into tight fists.
Han Shen made several phone calls one after another. The situation seemed to be going poorly, and after he finally ended the last call, his expression darkened along with it.
Outside the window, torrential rain poured down, while the pressure inside the car silently continued to build.
Ji Ran opened his mouth and tried to ask, “Samuel, is there anything I can do?”
The sedan entered an intersection beneath an elevated roadway and came to a stop before a red light. The elevated bridge overhead shielded them from the pounding rain, allowing Ji Ran’s voice to reach Han Shen’s ears with perfect clarity.
Ji Ran seemed somewhat afraid of him. There was even the faintest tremor in his voice, yet he had still gathered the courage to speak to him. Obedient, well-behaved, and brave, he looked as though he would willingly do anything Han Shen asked of him.
Han Shen said, “No.”
“Oh.” Ji Ran nodded, unable to tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed.
He was only an ordinary intern. At a critical moment like this, there really wasn’t much he could do to help.
But since he had already come along on the business trip, he didn’t want to remain completely ignorant of what was happening. So, during the journey, Ji Ran began going through the project materials.
The high-speed train carriage was somewhat noisy, but Ji Ran wasn’t disturbed in the slightest. He went through the pages one by one, and before long, he was completely absorbed in the material.
Ji Ran had been a left-behind child. When he was young, he had lived with his maternal grandparents in the countryside, where there were hardly any children his age around him.
With no friends to play with and his grandparents rarely allowing him to watch television, Ji Ran’s only way of passing the time was reading. Once he started a book, he would often spend the entire day absorbed in it.
Perhaps because of this, Ji Ran’s academic performance had always been quite good. He had entered a key high school after graduating from an ordinary middle school, and later went on to attend a TOP 2 university.
Joining Feng Sheng had been the result of careful consideration on his part. The pay was good, and the position matched his professional background. He couldn’t find a better job than this one. At least, that was what he had originally believed. But ever since he had become one of Han Shen’s subordinates, Ji Ran had grown increasingly insecure, and had begun to wonder whether his decision back then had really been the right one.
In recent years, investment banks had become increasingly fond of recruiting versatile candidates. They wanted people who possessed both a financial background and knowledge of relevant industries, and this was especially true in highly specialized fields such as healthcare, AI, and intelligent automobiles.
Although Ji Ran had graduated from a TOP 2 university, he only had a bachelor’s degree. The management trainees who had joined alongside him were all master’s students or PhD candidates, many of them with overseas educational backgrounds. The pressure this placed on Ji Ran was immense, leaving him almost afraid to relax for even a moment.
He studied the materials on Synthesized Intelligence with great seriousness, but the technical aspects involving artificial intelligence were simply too advanced. Even after looking up countless sources and references, he still felt as though he understood only fragments of what he was reading.
Ji Ran gradually became restless, and at the same time, a profound sense of helplessness began to well up inside him.
That feeling of helplessness was quickly magnified after they arrived in the capital. When Han Shen spoke with the senior executives of Synthesized Intelligence, he hadn’t brought Ji Ran into the meeting. Although this was exactly what Ji Ran had expected, when he was actually left waiting outside the door, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when Ji Ran suddenly heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps coming from next door.
Was it over?
Ji Ran hurriedly stood up. “Boss, you…”
There were several middle-aged men behind Han Shen, who appeared to be executives from the company. Ji Ran instinctively cut himself off.
Han Shen glanced at him and said expressionlessly, “Let’s leave first.”
Ji Ran nodded and followed after him at a quick jog. He desperately wanted to know the outcome of the discussion, but Han Shen didn’t tell him how things had gone. He only informed him that there was another dinner that evening.
This sent Ji Ran into another bout of anxiety.
He didn’t know whether other interns felt the same way, but Ji Ran simply couldn’t escape this state of mind. Having too much work naturally made him feel pressured, but when his superior didn’t assign him anything to do, he became even more at a loss. He would start wondering whether he had done something wrong.
He needed to be given tasks. He needed to be acknowledged. Only through those things could he find a sense of his own value in the workplace.
“Can you drink?” Han Shen suddenly asked him on the way to the restaurant.
“No.” Ji Ran instinctively shook his head.
Han Shen nodded and said nothing more.
Ji Ran immediately began regretting his answer again. Somewhat nervously, he hurried to add, “But I can learn.”
Han Shen lowered his eyes and glanced at him. He seemed about to say something, but the ringing of his phone interrupted him.
“Yes, I’m in the capital right now.” The moment the call connected, Han Shen’s expression visibly changed. He suddenly seemed much more restrained, and there was a stiffness to his manner that made his usual composure appear somewhat unnatural. Ji Ran heard him say to the person on the other end of the phone, “Thank you, but I can handle things on my side. There’s no need for you to step in, Grandpa.”
The call lasted only a very short while, but something about Han Shen was unmistakably different afterward.
Ji Ran instinctively lightened his footsteps. Even his breathing became careful and quiet, as though he was afraid of making the slightest sound.
Only then did Han Shen look at him again and say, “No need.”
Ji Ran froze for a moment before realizing that Han Shen was answering the question he had asked earlier.
He had said that he could learn to drink, but Han Shen had told him there was no need.
Ji Ran still wanted to say something, but the moment his eyes met Han Shen’s face, he fell silent again. The boss was in a bad mood, and this clearly wasn’t the right time to speak.
Besides, Ji Ran couldn’t even imagine Han Shen drinking with clients, forcing a smile and putting on a polite front while engaging in all that insincere social maneuvering. Someone like Han Shen, a heaven-blessed favorite of fate, should have been brimming with confidence and spirit, arrogant and untouchable.
The atmosphere at the dinner wasn’t particularly pleasant, but Han Shen had invited Dean Qu Gong, the principal person in charge of the Beijing Quantum Information Center. The research project under Dean Qu’s supervision had always been something Synthesized Intelligence desperately wanted to collaborate on.
Listening to everyone’s conversation throughout the dinner, it seemed that there might finally be a turning point in the negotiations.
Even so, Han Shen still drank a great deal. Ji Ran sat there with a wineglass in hand, repeatedly wanting to step in and take the alcohol for his boss, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn’t find an appropriate opportunity.
It wasn’t until the conversation gradually shifted from work to everyday matters, with everyone drinking and exchanging toasts back and forth, that the waiter came over to serve the staple dishes. By then, the dinner was nearing its end.
Ji Ran stood up, intending to leave the table and settle the bill. He had barely risen to his feet when an employee from Synthesized Intelligence beside him brought over a glass of wine and said with a smile, “You’re Xiao Ji, right? You’re really young and promising. Come, come, let me toast you.”
Ji Ran hesitated for two seconds before using the wine dispenser to pour himself a drink. He hadn’t even had the chance to raise it to his lips when a shadow suddenly fell over him.
Han Shen took the wineglass from his hand and stepped sideways, positioning himself directly in front of Ji Ran as he said, “The kid can’t drink. I’ll have a drink with President Li.”
His warm fingertips brushed against Ji Ran’s hand, touching him for only an instant before withdrawing.
Ji Ran stood there in a daze, completely stunned. For a moment, his mind went blank.
The kid…
Han Shen had actually stepped in to take the drink for him, and he had even called him a kid.
Ji Ran’s entire face flushed crimson from embarrassment, yet at the same time, an indescribable surge of excitement welled up inside him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to protest, but Han Shen had already finished the glass with President Li. Then he turned around, slipped a bank card into Ji Ran’s hand, and instructed him, “Go pay the bill.”
The man’s unusually high body temperature seemed to radiate into him. His tall, imposing figure loomed over Ji Ran like a small mountain, enveloping him completely. The heat made Ji Ran’s cheeks burn, and in a dazed state, he took the bank card and walked out of the private room.
At the front desk, he swiped the card for an enormous bill, then stepped aside to wait for the cashier to issue the invoice. His eyes wandered around the restaurant absentmindedly, until he unexpectedly noticed a convenience store across the road.
Five minutes later, Ji Ran returned to the private room with his suit bulging conspicuously.
President Li was still pestering Han Shen to drink with him and had even called over two of his subordinates to offer toasts as well.
Han Shen sat to one side with a wineglass in his hand. He had already consumed quite a lot of alcohol, yet his back remained perfectly straight, without the slightest trace of drunkenness. The restaurant’s overhead lights fell directly from above, casting a deep shadow beneath Han Shen’s brow ridge and making his emotions seem even more impossible to read.
President Li had one of his underlings clink glasses with Han Shen.
With a crisp “clink,” Han Shen raised his eyes and glanced at the man before him. Even the simple motion of lifting his glass carried an air of cold weariness.
Was he feeling unwell?
But that emotion disappeared in the blink of an eye. Han Shen lifted his chin, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed the liquid in his glass once again.
Ji Ran didn’t like dinner gatherings, and he especially disliked the culture of drinking at business tables. Yet as he stood there watching Han Shen handle the social obligations in front of him, a complicated emotion once again rose within his heart.
Han Shen’s tolerance for alcohol wasn’t particularly good. After drinking this much continuously, the alcohol had already begun to affect him, and his thoughts had slowed considerably.
President Li was a relative of an executive at Jinshi Investment Bank. He had already been eyeing this project covetously ever since the bidding process began. It had taken considerable effort to persuade the company to award the project to Jinshi Investment Bank, only for President Li to take it back from them now.
After losing such a major project, he had clearly made up his mind to make things difficult for Han Shen.
Actually, he could have refused. The project had already been secured, and no matter how much the other party disliked him, they could no longer change that fact.
But winning the bid was only the first step. The process of taking a company public was long and complicated, requiring close cooperation between the company and the investment bank. If Han Shen failed to smooth things over with all the senior executives, his subordinates would encounter plenty of unnecessary difficulties when it came time to actually execute the project.
After Han Shen finished this glass of wine, President Li launched into another string of flattering remarks and smoothly refilled his glass.
The white liquor reflected the overhead light, shimmering inside the glass with a thin ring of silvery light.
Han Shen raised his right hand. His lips had only just touched the rim of the glass when a trembling hand suddenly appeared before him and took the wineglass straight from his hand.
Han Shen’s expression froze for a moment. He raised his eyes and met Ji Ran’s tense face.
The young man in front of him was clearly unaccustomed to this kind of occasion. Every movement he made was awkward and stiff, as though he had no idea how this sort of social drinking was supposed to work. Even so, he summoned all his courage and said, “President Li, I’ll drink with you.”
Han Shen reached out, intending to take the glass back, but Ji Ran tilted his head back and downed the entire drink in one go.
The pungent, fiery liquor shot straight down his throat and rushed violently toward his head. His entire esophagus burned with a searing pain, as though it were about to catch fire.
Ji Ran couldn’t see his own face, but it must have turned frighteningly red.
Who on earth had been going around praising Moutai? He thought white liquor tasted absolutely awful.
Ji Ran put down the empty glass, then used the wine dispenser to pour himself another full glass. Without changing his expression, he said, “President Li, let me toast you. We’ll still need your cooperation with the work going forward.”
The corner of President Li’s mouth twitched before he forced out a fake smile. “Of course. We’ll definitely cooperate fully. And I’m sure everyone at Feng Sheng will have their hands full as well.”
Ji Ran lowered his glass slightly and clinked it against the other man’s. The moment he pulled his hand back, Han Shen snatched the wineglass away from him.
Ji Ran still wanted to say something, but Han Shen put down the glass and said, “Let’s call it a night.”
President Li was unwilling to let things end there. He poured another glass for Ji Ran and said, “I hit it off with this young fellow at first sight. Come on, one more!”
This time, Han Shen no longer gave him any face. He turned to Qu Gong and said, “Professor Qu, it’s already ten o’clock. If you get home any later, your wife is going to worry about you.”
“It’s already that late?” Qu Gong glanced at the time in surprise. “All right, all right. Then we’ll be heading off first.”
Han Shen said, “I’ll see you out.”
“No need.” Qu Gong waved his hand. “One of my students will take me home. You go take care of your business.”
One by one, everyone began to leave. In the end, only Ji Ran and Han Shen remained in the private room.
Only now did the usually immaculate and meticulous Han Shen finally show the slightest trace of fatigue. He leaned sideways against the doorframe, his expression relaxed and his body no longer held with its usual rigid composure. The lofty, distant coldness he normally carried had faded, replaced by a few traces of something much more real and human.
Ji Ran finished checking the room, making sure that no personal belongings had been left behind. Then he turned and headed toward the door.
His head was slightly dizzy, and his feet felt light and unsteady beneath him. As he walked, his body swayed from side to side, making him look almost like a little duck waddling along.
“Aren’t you unable to drink?” a deep voice sounded behind him.
It took Ji Ran four or five seconds to react before he realized that Han Shen was talking to him.
He answered, “I told you I could learn.”
There was a stubbornness in his voice that he himself didn’t even realize was there.
Han Shen’s gaze lowered onto him. Ji Ran thought he was about to say something, but Han Shen merely looked away and said calmly, “Let’s go.”
Ji Ran hurriedly followed after him. It wasn’t until he felt the pocket of his suit dragging heavily downward that he finally realized there was still something inside it. Ji Ran reached into his pocket, took out a bottle of milk, and held it out to him. “Have some. It might warm your stomach.”
Han Shen glanced at him. “Where did you get that?”
“I bought it at the convenience store by the entrance when I went to pay the bill,” Ji Ran explained, then added, “You drank quite a lot tonight. Some warm milk should make you feel a little better.”
Han Shen reached out and took the bottle. But after twisting off the cap, he handed it back.
Ji Ran blinked in confusion. Before he could figure out what was going on, Han Shen brought the bottle directly to his lips.
“Mm…”
Caught completely off guard, Ji Ran suddenly found his mouth filled with milk. He hadn’t had time to swallow, and the excess liquid spilled from the corners of his lips before sliding slowly down along the edge of his mouth and disappearing inside the collar of his shirt…
“Wipe it.”
A handkerchief was held out to him.
Ji Ran took it somewhat awkwardly. The silk handkerchief felt soft against his skin, almost as though someone’s fingers had lightly brushed across him.
The places that had been touched suddenly seemed far more sensitive. Every inch of his senses felt infinitely magnified. Even as he breathed, he could faintly catch the distinctive woody fragrance that belonged uniquely to Han Shen lingering on the handkerchief.
Perhaps it was because he had been drinking. Ji Ran felt his cheeks burning hot all over again. He lowered his head and tightened his grip around the handkerchief, thinking that perhaps Han Shen wasn’t quite as cold and heartless as he had imagined.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
This is not a bribe. It is a totally legitimate caffeine-based appreciation system.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · A cold-hearted bossChapter 2 · “Your skirt?”Chapter 3 · Ji Ran was caught off guardChapter 4 · Relax, you bit your lip until it bledChapter 5 · Don’t want toChapter 6 · Women’s clothing and DaddyChapter 7 · Ji Ran hunched over and began to sob softly.Chapter 8 · Rebellion, offense, and self-rewardChapter 9 · I hate it when people flaunt their wealth in front of meChapter 10 · CompensateChapter 11 · Why are you following me?Chapter 12 · Damn, he forgot to take off his leg chainChapter 13 · Ji Ran was indeed still afraid of him.Chapter 14 · A message came from OrcaChapter 15 · Self-blame, anger, and tears.Chapter 16 · You have to pay more!Chapter 17 · Did you come here just to yell at me?Chapter 18 · Just bear with it a little longerChapter 19 · Women’s clothing live streamChapter 20 · Could you come and pick me up?Chapter 21 Part 1 · It’s all an actChapter 21 Part 2 · It’s all an actChapter 22 · The actions could be even more brutalChapter 23 · A slapChapter 24 · He wanted to surrender a part of himself