Nuocheng arrived at the office earlier than usual, dressed sharp in a crisp white blazer and matching wide-leg trousers, his dark tie the only real contrast against all that white. He’d paired it with a pair of black suede heels, gold straps coiling around his ankles like something alive, because if he was going to walk into a boardroom and demand respect, he intended to look devastating while doing it.
Nerves buzzed under his skin despite the confidence he’d worn out the door that morning. Today’s board meeting mattered, the kind of presentation that would either cement his standing with the regional managers or hand his cousins more ammunition to whisper about how unfit he was to inherit anything.
He found Guanting waiting near the executive elevators, already dressed sharp for the meeting, scrolling through something on his phone.
"Pops." Some of the tension eased out of his shoulders just from saying the word.
Guanting looked up, and his whole face softened the way it always did around his son. "There he is. Nervous?"
"A little." Nuocheng adjusted his tie, more for something to do with his hands than out of actual necessity. "What if they don’t like the projections?"
"They’ll love the projections." Guanting reached out and squeezed his shoulder, warm and certain. "You’ve been buried in this data for two weeks. I’ve seen the numbers. You’ve got nothing to worry about."
That was all it took. Nuocheng straightened, some fire returning to his spine, and by the time they walked into the boardroom together, he felt ready to take on anyone who doubted him.
The boardroom filled quickly, regional managers and department heads settling into their seats, a few of his cousins seated toward the back with expressions that ranged from indifferent to openly skeptical. Nuocheng ignored them and pulled up his slides.
He started with the numbers, laying out the east region’s eighteen percent sales increase in detail, breaking down which products had driven the surge and why the new snack line had outperformed every previous launch by a significant margin.
He moved through supply chain logistics next, addressing concerns one of the older board members had raised last quarter about distribution delays, showing exactly how the new partnership with regional carriers had cut delivery times nearly in half.
"Based on current performance," he said, clicking to his final slide, "I’m proposing we expand this line into three additional regions by the end of Q3, with an accompanying restaurant tie-in through our high-end dining division. Early recipe testing starts this afternoon."
One of the regional managers leaned forward, skeptical. "That’s an aggressive timeline. What happens if demand doesn’t hold once the novelty wears off?"
"The data suggests it won’t be novelty driving this." Nuocheng pulled up another chart without missing a beat. "Repeat purchase rates are already sitting at sixty-two percent after just three weeks. That’s not curiosity. That’s retention."
The room fell quiet for a moment, considering it. Finally, the chairman gave a small nod. "Approved. We’ll revisit projections again in six weeks."
Several board members made a point of shaking his hand on the way out, offering compliments that actually meant something coming from men who rarely handed them out freely.
"Good work in there," one of them said, clapping him once on the shoulder. "Your father left the company in good hands."
Nuocheng floated the rest of the way back to his office on that alone.
Guanting followed him in, closing the door behind them, already grinning like a proud father who couldn’t quite contain himself.
"You did well there." He dropped into the chair across from Nuocheng’s desk like he owned the place, which, in a sense, he still partially did. "I could hardly keep myself from clapping."
"You would’ve embarrassed me."
"I would’ve enjoyed every second of it." Guanting propped his feet up without asking permission, the way he always had since Nuocheng was a child sneaking into this same office to bother him during meetings.
"How’s Dad?" Nuocheng asked, some of the meeting’s adrenaline finally settling. "I haven’t been by in almost two weeks."
"He’s fine. Complains about it constantly, though. Says his son’s forgotten the way home." Guanting’s mouth twitched, fond despite the teasing. "You know how he gets."
"I’ll come by this weekend. I promise."
"Good. He’ll hold you to that." Guanting’s tone shifted then, losing some of its earlier lightness. "While I have you, though, there’s something we should actually talk about."
Nuocheng’s stomach dropped slightly at the change in his voice. "That sounds ominous."
"It’s not meant to be, but it is serious." Guanting leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "The board’s happy today, and rightfully so, you did excellent work. But happy boards have short memories, Nuocheng. Your cousins have been making noise again."
"They’re always making noise."
"This time it’s different. Xu Lin’s been meeting privately with two of the regional managers this past month. Nothing official yet, but it’s the kind of thing that becomes official very quickly if we’re not careful."
Nuocheng’s jaw tightened. "He’s angling for a seat on the board."
"He’s angling for more than a seat, and you know it." Guanting’s expression stayed steady, but something urgent sat underneath it. "You’re the heir. On paper, that’s settled. But paper only holds as long as the family stays united behind it, and an unmarried heir with no children gives people like Xu Lin room to whisper about instability. About whether the company’s future is secure in your hands long-term."
"I’m twenty-eight, not ancient."
"No one’s saying you’re ancient. I’m saying the board doesn’t just look at quarterly numbers when they decide who to trust, they look at the whole picture. A husband. An heir eventually. Something solid they can point to when people like Xu Lin start asking uncomfortable questions in closed-door meetings." Guanting’s voice softened, though the weight of it didn’t lessen. "I know you hate hearing this. I know your dad’s pressure already drives you up the wall. But this isn’t just about pleasing him anymore. It’s about protecting what you’ve built."
Nuocheng sat with that for a moment, the earlier lightness from the meeting draining out of him.
"I’m working on it," he finally said, quieter than before.
Guanting studied him, then nodded slowly, some of the tension easing from his own shoulders. "I know you are. I just need you to actually let yourself find someone, instead of running through every candidate we hand you like it’s a formality to get through."
"I will."
"Good." Guanting stood, straightening his jacket, the warmth returning to his expression as quickly as it had left. "Don’t stress over it today, though. You earned a good day. Go celebrate a little."