Duan Xingge’s self-righteous tone almost bluffed Yun Qi. He was stunned for a moment, his heart rate spiking for quite some time before he realized what Duan Xingge meant.
As it turned out, the man hadn’t noticed anything; he was simply making an issue out of nothing.
Having realized this, Yun Qi felt a sense of relief. He casually appeased him, saying, “I wanted to find you.”
Duan Xingge clearly didn’t believe him, taking it as mere pretense. Overwhelmed by his own emotions, he couldn’t help but acidly remark, “Find me? Does President Yun even believe that himself? If you want to go find your little friend, just say so; I wouldn’t say anything anyway.”
Yun Qi “tsk’d”: “If you only called because your mouth was itching, I suggest you take your shoe and slap yourself twice.”
Upon hearing this, Duan Xingge held back for a long time before finally getting to the point: “Old Mu told me that to improve the publicity effect, he wants us to wear their brand’s jewelry for the second phase of the show.”
This was something that hadn’t happened in his previous life. Yun Qi paused his actions: “You don’t even wear your own brand, yet you want to wear someone else’s? Since when were you so kind-hearted?”
Duan Xingge: “Old Mu said they are willing to offer 10% of their shares.”
Yun Qi: “…Is he crazy, or are you?”
“We’ll definitely be collaborating in the future, right? They’re just looking for the name; they don’t even have to use their jewelry—using our co-branding is fine too.” Duan Xingge was exceptionally persistent for some reason. “We’ll just say it’s a three-way collaboration. I’ve checked the design they pushed over; it’s decent enough and won’t embarrass a great designer.”
Yun Qi couldn’t help but frown, feeling like something wasn’t right.
This kind of “pie falling from the sky” always gave him an ominous premonition.
The last time he felt this way, he had just deleted Duan Xingge from his contacts, only to be tricked by the brat into joining a dating show a few days later.
But as a jeweler, he couldn’t ignore the prospect of those 10% shares.
In the end, even knowing that Duan Xingge was acting suspiciously, Yun Qi still gave in.
He was, however, unwilling to admit that even after all these years, it was still easy for him to be soft-hearted toward the kid.
“Fine. But you are responsible for communicating with his side; I don’t want to step into your mess.” Yun Qi casually opened a new document. “We don’t need their items. I will produce a new design within a week. I’ll allow them to use our brand name, and they must provide what I need. They can specify the format, but they are not allowed to interfere with other details. The share split will be 30-70.”
It went without saying who got the 30 and who got the 70.
“Still so overbearing…” Faced with such a humiliating and unequal treaty, Duan Xingge was actually able to laugh. “Fine, I’ll listen to you. I’ll go talk to them.”
After hanging up the phone, Yun Qi continued with his design work.
Just as he was about to finish the draft, a knock sounded at the office door.
Yun Qi knew who it was just by the sound of the footsteps. Without raising his head, he said, “Come in.”
“Cousin, brother, brother!” Yun Ai, who had just returned from a business trip abroad, rushed into the office, bag in hand. “Great designer, hurry up and see if my new bag looks good.”
Yun Qi looked up. The bag had a white base with a pink logo; the contrast was maxed out, and it was plastered with logos it was practically screaming the luxury brand’s name in his face.
He spoke the truth: “Tacky.”
Having said that, as if he feared it wasn’t enough, he added, “Tacky to the point of being embarrassing.”
“Hey! This is the new strawberry milk collection!” Yun Ai persisted. “Your tongue is so poisonous; couldn’t you be a bit more tactful?”
Yun Qi lowered his head and continued sketching his design: “I’ve always been like this.”
“Always been like this?” Yun Ai raised an eyebrow, directly exposing his true nature. “That person bought an incredibly ugly wood carving before… you still have it on your bedside table now. Don’t think I don’t know!”
She didn’t name who “that person” was, but both of them knew it without saying.
Or perhaps, for anyone even slightly in the know, no one dared to call that person’s name directly in front of Yun Qi.
It was like an unspoken taboo, yet its presence was incredibly strong.
Caught in the act of having double standards, Yun Qi “tsk’d” on the spot: “So, you didn’t go home to rest after your trip—why exactly are you here?”
“Hey…” Yun Ai twirled her bag and leaned against the desk. “Actually, it’s… you know, Brother, have you seen the comments online?”
Yun Qi asked a question he already knew the answer to: “What comments?”
“The comments about that crappy dating show! The second phase is about to start, and they think they’re something again. You have no idea what those people online are saying.” Yun Ai frowned and cursed, “Damn it, what kind of people are they, actually pulling you into”
Yun Qi’s brow twitched, and he interrupted: “If you curse again, I’ll have Uncle come pick you up.”
“Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay? I won’t say it again.” Yun Ai pursed her lips. After apologizing, she was still somewhat dissatisfied and added in a low voice, “Before, when that person got into a fight and got injured, nearly ending up at the police station, you didn’t even have the heart to scold him a single word. I just said one swear word, and you…”
Yun Qi looked up: “What did you say?”
“Nothing!” Yun Ai immediately straightened her posture. “I just think those people online are ungrateful. They actually paired you and that person with Ming Jiao as his harem, without even looking at whether he’s worthy… Brother, maybe you shouldn’t go to the second phase.”
If he had only just learned the truth and returned to the present, Yun Qi might have truly lost interest in this dating show.
But the murderer hiding in the dark was like a buried landmine; one didn’t know when it would explode.
With the enemy in the shadows and him in the light, rather than sitting and waiting for death, it was better to take the initiative.
Yun Qi shook his head: “I have my own arrangements.”
Yun Ai misunderstood his meaning. Her expression suddenly became somewhat subtle, and after watching him for a while, she said with utmost sincerity: “I knew you two were still entangled… Can you give me a spoiler on whether the ‘Xing-Yun’ CP is still worth shipping?”
“I think your head is the one that needs to be ‘shipped’ (banged).” Yun Qi looked up at her, his tone rare in its sincerity. “If you like Xing-Yun so much, you can jump ship; I don’t mind.”
“No, no, no,” Yun Ai immediately shook her head to show loyalty. “I’m not talking about the company! I am loyal to you, Cousin. I don’t even know who this Duan Xingge is!”
After saying this, she added in a low voice: “But that dog of a man named his company ‘Xing-Yun’. If you two really get together, he’ll probably tattoo it on his forehead and show off daily that you’re his wife… who would believe that you two have really broken up?”
Yun Ai was about the same age as Duan Xingge and often went to Yun Qi’s house when they were children. Over time, she and Duan Xingge fought like cats and dogs, often arguing over whose brother Yun Qi actually was.
The little girl even cried earth-shatteringly because of the fact that, due to their different genders, she couldn’t sleep with her cousin. While hiccuping, she kept pointing at Duan Xingge, unrelenting: “I can’t… so why can he sleep with Cousin!”
Duan Xingge once shocked everyone by saying: “Because Brother promised to marry me in the future.”
As soon as these words were out, Yun Ai forgot even to cry. Her eyes went round, clearly shocked by this shameless brother-thief.
After coming to her senses, the little girl cried even more heart-wrenchingly, rushing over to hug Yun Qi: “No… I don’t want Cousin to be his wife!”
When Duan Xingge heard this, he grew anxious, and the two immediately started arguing like a mess.
Yun Qi had no choice; he finally took a portion of his red-envelope money and spent a large sum to buy them each a new model mecha toy, which finally managed to appease them.
Even today, this trick was still highly effective.
Yun Qi sighed: “How much did you buy the bag for? Put it on my tab, and I’ll transfer it to your card later.”
Yun Ai, who had just been full of complaints about someone, immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, but thinking of something, she said cautiously: “Um… Brother, I didn’t just buy one.”
Yun Qi didn’t even raise his head: “Put it all on my tab.”
Yun Ai beamed instantly: “Boss is generous! Long live the Boss! May the Boss have a child soon!”
Amidst Yun Qi’s lukewarm “Get out,” Yun Ai finally skedaddled out of the office.
By the time Yun Qi completely looked up from his designs, it was already night.
He had finished arranging his work for the next month, feeling an unprecedented fatigue, but also a trace of relaxation.
Only design could allow him to completely detach from his complicated thoughts and feel a brief moment of tranquility and focus.
Yun Qi returned home, took off his coat and gloves, and after changing, went for a swim in the pool.
This had been his habit for many days now. Previously, he didn’t learn to swim because he felt it was unnecessary, but whenever he considered something necessary, he would approach it with a hundred times the seriousness, and in the end, there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish.
After swimming, Yun Qi draped a bath towel over himself and entered the bathroom.
Under the warm yellow light, the heated water slowly enveloped his as-yet-relaxed muscles.
Leaning in the bathtub, Yun Qi thought of Yun Ai’s overreaction to the online comments during the day. He was curious, so he picked up his phone and casually clicked into Weibo.
With the second phase about to air in less than half a month, the production team was using almost all their resources on promotion.
Yun Ai had many complaints about the name of Duan Xingge’s company, but the focus online was the exact opposite of hers. In the comment sections, their focus was entirely on the CP names other than “Xing-Yun”:
“Hmm… given the homophonic nature of the Xing-Jiao CP name and Xing-Xing’s own hormones, it’s hard not to suspect that Jiao-bao will be ‘do’d’ until he can’t get out of bed.”
“F*ck, the homophone pun is top-tier.”
“That’s a younger top! Younger! Pity my baby’s waist.”
“Damn, how can Yun-Jiao lose to that! Our older top wins in terms of rich experience and many tricks. The cold flower-like CEO pampering his wife is so attractive, isn’t it?”
“Drooling now. If you ask me, the ‘sandwich cookie’ is the best, hehehe.”
Seeing that the topic had become a bit dangerous, the production team, in order to promote, didn’t hesitate to take a risk and bought a trending topic for “Sandwich Cookie.”
Coincidentally, many passersby thought this meant real cookies. When they clicked in, they were caught off guard by the frantic, suggestive language, and were stunned for a moment.
One confused passerby casually posted: “According to this, younger wolf dog x cold, arrogant CEO, lovers reunited, or even pseudo-incest, plus the element of rivals-to-lovers… isn’t this better to ship?”
Other confused passersby also chimed in: “True, it’s fun to ship, and there’s no middleman taking a cut.”
These two comments were insignificant amidst the overwhelming “Xing-Jiao” and “Yun-Jiao” factions, but somehow, they stirred up a thousand waves.
A crowd of fans, as if triggered, swarmed those two passersby, and the comment section turned into a total mess:
“Can the ‘Xing-Yun’ big sisters stop pretending to be passersby? Your taste is beyond appalling.”
“Can you open your dog eyes and see whose tag this is? Don’t understand ‘sandwich cookie’? Are you all sick?”
“So obsessed with KY-ing (knocking/pairing) others’ couples; I wish your husband ends up with your boyfriend.”
“In the first phase, President Yun gave a dark look as soon as he saw Xing; can you still ship this? Pseudo-incest? Younger top? Go eat something better, that’s all I can say.”
“Reunited my foot. The mirror is shattered beyond repair. If they can reunite, I’ll kowtow to you; if they can’t, you kowtow to my Jiao-bao.”
The comment section was fighting in the dark; many real passersby who wandered in also got a face full of abuse, and their tempers flared. The situation spiraled out of control.
The production team, however, was happy to see this. The more intensely the netizens fought, the higher the traffic. Even slapping the ignorant passersby was a point of pleasure for the fans.
Therefore, the production team did not stop it, but instead secretly released the trailer for the second phase. The trailer ambiguously depicted the accommodation requirement of “sharing a room” on the cruise ship, once again pushing the netizens’ enthusiasm for discussion to a new peak.
Amidst this nationwide carnival, the popularity of “A Promise of Mountains and Seas” continued to escalate.
A week before the broadcast, Yun Qi stood by the pool looking at the sunset in the distance. After a while, he picked up his phone and called his secretary: “Help me tell the production team that I’m allergic to peanuts and crab roe, and ask them to pay attention when arranging meals.”
Yun Qi was indeed allergic to crab roe, but he deliberately omitted his alcohol allergy and added peanuts, which he was not allergic to.
Those who knew he was allergic to alcohol, other than Duan Xingge, were, among the living, only his father lying in a hospital bed.
And the only person who knew about his crab roe allergy was the late Yun Mingyue… Of course, Yun Qi wasn’t sure if that keen-smelling mad dog Duan Xingge knew about it, but that wasn’t important.
After all, he had never placed Duan Xingge among his list of suspects.
By spreading the allergens separately, he could determine whether the murderer was within the production team or someone else, and could also better determine who the mastermind was.
With everything in readiness, the curtain slowly drew back.
A full week passed, and the highly anticipated broadcast day finally arrived.
In front of countless devices, countless people stared intently at the livestream room, where the number of viewers was constantly increasing.
The stream hadn’t started yet, and while it was just a black screen, it was met with countless bullet comments:
“Ahhhhh, after much pleading, it’s finally here!!”
“I’m ready, I’m ready.”
“My Jiao-jiao baby, come out quickly and let Mommy give you a kiss.”
“The most beloved ‘Shura Field’ show is about to start; please take your seats in an orderly fashion.”
Where the cameras hadn’t yet pointed, Yun Qi looked expressionlessly at the pigeon-egg ring specified by the bumpkin, Mu Jinrong, feeling dead inside.
Although Yun Qi had designed this ring himself, no matter how it was designed, the form of the diamond and the ring remained unchanged, and its symbolic meaning had long been deep-rooted—not to mention that these were couple rings.
Yun Qi looked up at the cruise ship slowly approaching in the distance, knowing full well that this second phase would likely be more turbulent than the previous life.
He silently tucked the diamond ring necklace into his collar, placing his few remaining hopes on Duan Xingge, hoping that the kid wouldn’t have a hot head and wear it on his hand, or worse, on a specific finger.
Unfortunately, Duan Xingge never disappointed in the principle of being high-profile in his actions, especially when it came to Yun Qi.
When the luxury cruise ship carrying the Jinxi Jewelry logo slowly entered the bay, the livestream screen lit up as well.
The azure sea filled the screen, and countless people typed excitedly on their keyboards. The bullet comments instantly covered the entire screen:
“Ahhhhh, my second phase, you finally arrived!!”
“I see the sea, I see the sea!”
“Cruise ship! Ahhh, I’m already excited! Will Xing be sharing a room with Jiao-bao, or will President Yun be?! The production team is too good at hooking us in, ahhh!”
“Yun-Jiao fans will never be slaves!!”
“Xing-Jiao is the real deal! Xing-Jiao, grow fiercely for me!!”
“I want to see 3P! I want to see the sandwich cookie! I want to see the three of them entangled, forgetting the world around them!!”
Follow-up question: Would you like me to continue translating the next chapter, or would you like to discuss the plot points and character dynamics introduced in this chapter?