President Huang took the bamboo clappers from Zhao Yisen, his fondness for this young man deepening.
Zhao Yisen smiled on the surface, thinking: Of course. He had done his homework for a whole night, specifically researching President Huang’s hobbies; even these clappers had been bought by his assistant via urgent delivery.
Sitting back down, Zhao Yisen glanced at Gu Jia.
How about that? Absolutely dazzled, aren’t you?
Gu Jia: “…”
A moment later, the man’s deep gaze met his before looking away.
President Huang was still fiddling with the bamboo clappers in his hand, stroking his white beard with one hand, looking very satisfied.
“Adding the other conditions outlined in the proposal, what do you think?” Zhao Yisen asked tentatively, observing the reaction.
“Of course, if you like them, these kuaiban are yours to keep.” Seeing President Huang’s expression, he made a grand gesture.
“Good, good, good.”
Putting down the clappers, President Huang opened the proposal again, thought for a moment, and shared a smile with Zhao Yisen.
“Then it’s settled.”
…
Aside from that ill-fated fish, most of the dishes on the table were finished.
President Huang got up to go to the restroom. The Berlin Wall between Gu Jia and Zhao Yisen collapsed, and the air in the room instantly became awkward.
To avoid the awkwardness, Zhao Yisen’s gaze wandered around the room at first, but finally, he couldn’t help but glance at Gu Jia and the bowl of fish beside him, surprised to discover that Gu Jia had actually finished most of it.
Before he could express his admiration for the CEO’s stomach and taste buds, Gu Jia suddenly spoke.
“When did you learn to play the kuaiban?”
Zhao Yisen looked up and found Gu Jia’s gaze deep and penetrating, as if he were looking at a stranger.
He was startled. When he prepared this act, he hadn’t imagined Gu Jia would be there!
“…”
If there were a scale for being “out of character,” Zhao Yisen was probably off the charts today.
“I taught myself. Self-taught.”
Zhao Yisen lowered his head guiltily, his eyes subconsciously drifting toward the door… When is President Huang coming back?
Gu Jia didn’t seem satisfied with his answer.
When Zhao Yisen looked up again, Gu Jia was sitting in President Huang’s seat, looking at him with a cold, stern expression.
The suspicion in those dark golden pupils grew even stronger. Gu Jia’s gaze fell on Zhao Yisen’s earlobe: he knew that there was a very subtle mole behind Zhao Yisen’s left ear.
“…”
Staring into the other man’s light purple eyes, Gu Jia felt he must have gone mad to reach out and touch the person’s earlobe without a word.
!!!
Zhao Yisen retreated in a panic, his hand bumping into the briefcase on the chair beside him. A long, silver metal object fell out, its play button hitting the leg of the chair.
“Dang dang de lang dang, de le lang dang…”
A segment of kuaiban identical to the one just performed flowed fluently from the voice recorder.
Gu Jia’s hand froze in mid-air.
Bad.
Seeing that he had been exposed, Zhao Yisen immediately bent down to pick up the incriminating evidence.
He wanted to turn off the recorder but accidentally pressed the replay button instead.
“Dang dang de lang dang, de le lang dang…”
“Dang dang de lang dang, de le lang dang…”
“Dang dang de lang dang, de le…”
Zhao Yisen’s ears grew redder and redder amidst the kuaiban rhythm, while Gu Jia’s face grew darker and darker.
Ultimately, the man couldn’t bear it any longer and snapped the recorder in Zhao Yisen’s hand shut.
The room finally went quiet.
Zhao Yisen lowered his head in shame, his triumphant expression vanishing into thin air.
Just as he lowered his head, Gu Jia caught sight of the small mole behind his ear, hidden by his black hair.
“…”
After a long moment, Gu Jia raised his eyes, his voice cold. “How much equity are you planning to give President Huang?”
Hmm—hmm?
Zhao Yisen’s pupils shook.
With his real plan seen through so unexpectedly, he sensed the shocking insight hidden in Gu Jia’s tone.
Indeed, how could a mere kuaiban performance and a verbal agreement have possibly secured a thirty-million investment?
Hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yisen told the truth: “I, I promised to give President Huang 20% of the shares.”
That was a quarter of what he held.
This way, he could both guarantee his position as the largest shareholder and demonstrate sufficient sincerity.
The air remained silent for a while. Gu Jia offered no evaluation, but instead shifted to another topic: “Have you investigated everything Qian Zheng said?”
“I haven’t had the time for that yet…”
After taking over as CEO, Zhao Yisen had been working around the clock with no extra time, and unlike Gu Jia, he didn’t have a trustworthy and capable assistant.
Zhao Yisen looked up.
After going back, he thought carefully about what Gu Jia had said and felt that the timing of the subordinate Qian Zheng mentioned, who had run away with the money, was truly subtle.
It was as if other forces were fishing in troubled waters.
But this was only his conjecture; he needed further evidence, and he was very short on people to help him find it.
“So—”
Zhao Yisen looked at Gu Jia, pushing his luck a bit.
“President Gu, could I borrow Assistant Jiang for a while?”
Gu Jia: “…”
When President Huang returned from the restroom, the dinner was nearing its end.
“This is my secretary’s number. I’ve already given instructions regarding the specific investment matters; you can just discuss the details with him.”
President Huang got up cheerfully, not forgetting to take the bamboo clappers Zhao Yisen had given him before leaving.
…
The air on a summer night was a bit muggy.
Outside Zuixianju.
Jiang Mingze was waiting at the door for Gu Jia. He was surprised to see President Huang, greeted him politely, and then watched President Gu and Young Master Yi walk out one after the other.
“President Gu, Young Master Yi.”
Seeing them, he lowered his head slightly, an expression of guilt on his face.
Jiang Mingze had come to “carry thorns on his back” to ask for punishment.
After all, that morning, he had first intruded on the scene between President Gu and Young Master Yi without reading the room, and then had failed to stop Lu Ming from following them in.
It was a crime punishable by death.
Gu Jia stopped in front of Jiang Mingze, his gaze resting on this subordinate he trusted the most, wondering what he was thinking.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yisen, standing beside him, was rubbing his hands together like a fly.
Withdrawing his gaze, Gu Jia suddenly spoke: “Mingze, for this period, you will follow Yisen.”
“…President Gu?”
Jiang Mingze looked up in shock, his pupils dilating. It’s over, he thought, President Gu is really going to fire me.
Zhao Yisen stepped forward and patted his shoulder hard, kicking him while he was down: “Don’t worry, Assistant Jiang, I will definitely treat you well!”
Gu Jia: “…”
Seeing Assistant Jiang looking like he was about to faint, Zhao Yisen didn’t dare to joke anymore and quickly told him this was only a temporary arrangement.
Hearing the truth, Jiang Mingze took a breath of relief.
But—
He looked up at Gu Jia.
The job of a CEO’s assistant looked easy, but it was actually very demanding. Jiang Mingze was a bit worried; if he left…
As if reading his thoughts, Gu Jia, standing opposite him, said calmly: “It’s fine. Go back to the company tomorrow or the day after, and delegate your work.”
Besides, he really didn’t need him for the next week.
As the two spoke, the black Rolls-Royce across the street flashed its lights.
Zhao Yisen looked over and discovered it was Old Wang there to pick him up. Still feeling the effects of the alcohol, he waved happily at him.
The dim street corner, the bright lights outside Zuixianju, the passing crowd, and the young man’s hearty laughter.
Gu Jia’s gaze was drawn to them. He watched this scene quietly, hands in his pockets, wondering what he was thinking.
“…”
On the other side, Jiang Mingze was still drumming his fingers in his heart. President Gu had always done things with deep meaning; could he really just be letting him go help Young Master Yi?
He pushed up his glasses, looked at Gu Jia, and then followed Gu Jia’s gaze to Zhao Yisen. As if he had suddenly thought of something, his eyes widened.
He… gets it!
When the man’s gaze withdrew from Zhao Yisen’s retreating figure, Jiang Mingze looked straight ahead, standing straight, his tone sounding like a spy: “Rest assured, President Gu, I will definitely report Young Master Yi’s movements to you every day.”
Gu Jia’s steps faltered. “…What?”
Startled by that glare, Jiang Mingze realized his mistake and changed his approach: “…Help you take good care of all matters concerning Young Master Yi.”
A second black Rolls-Royce drove up from the intersection. Gu Jia glanced at Jiang Mingze, opened the door, and got in, leaving only a cold-faced silhouette.
Standing by the roadside, Jiang Mingze watched the black Rolls-Royce head straight for S City Airport. According to the original schedule, Gu Jia was flying to Europe tonight to attend a week-long financial summit.
President Gu had neither denied nor refused.
The contrails of the airplane drew beautiful lines across the sky.
…
The hottest days of August finally passed.
It was three or four days later when Zhao Yisen appeared at the company again.
Sitting in the CEO’s office, Jiang Mingze was already prepared to report on his findings over the past few days.
“Boss Qian’s subordinate is named Jin Chang. He is thirty-three years old, unmarried, and primarily responsible for the raw material procurement part of the Shanhe Real Estate villa project.”
“According to the records in the financial reports and the evidence produced by the Gu Group, he forged statements to embezzle the difference. In the few days after you took office, this person transferred the relevant funds overseas. He is likely no longer within the country.”
“As for whether subsequent funds were involved, I haven’t found any evidence for the moment, but…”
It is very likely.
Having said this, Assistant Jiang looked up at Zhao Yisen, a hint of worry in his eyes.
If all the later funds were taken, such a massive hole could not be filled by the thirty million provided by President Huang.