“…”
Lu Zhiyue’s face had gone pale from the pain. Young Master Chi was unpredictable, and when he got angry, it caught everyone off guard.
“Lu Zhiyue, what’s wrong?” Tang Jin, hearing a faint gasp, leaned forward to look past Chi Suinian, “Your face looks even worse than before.”
Lu Zhiyue was in too much pain to speak.
Chi Suinian shot him a glance and helpfully said, “It’s just a toothache. Ignore him.”
Lu Zhiyue: “…”
“Oh, yeah, toothaches are really miserable…” Tang Jin, easily convinced, muttered and turned back to look at the auction items on stage.
He was here on an assigned task, and he managed to bid on two high-end porcelain pieces, spending over half a million yuan.
Chi Suinian also showed interest in a bottle of aged red wine. Although his tolerance had weakened over the years, his taste for wine remained. He hadn’t tasted this particular one before, and looking at the bottle on stage, he was feeling tempted.
“They actually have that wine here?” Tang Jin exclaimed in surprise. “Weren’t you looking for it for ages? What are the odds?”
It was quite the coincidence. Chi Suinian’s gaze was locked on the bottle on stage, and he raised his bidding paddle.
“…Alright, buyer number 21 has offered 300,000 yuan.”
The bottle was from a good year and from a renowned brand, so it likely had plenty of bidders. But Chi Suinian’s gaze showed determination.
Sure enough, within moments, the price soared to 500,000 yuan and kept climbing.
It finally slowed down at 700,000 yuan.
Most of the bidders were wine connoisseurs who knew that while this bottle was rare, it didn’t quite match the value of cold hard cash. 700,000 yuan was already a solid offer; any higher would be excessive.
Only then did Chi Suinian make his move to raise his paddle.
“…Buyer number 21 has bid 800,000 yuan. Any further bids?”
The room was silent; no one was competing.
“Alright… 800,000 yuan going once! 800,000 yuan going twice!”
Just as he was about to secure the bottle, Chi Suinian suddenly had a strange premonition—as if someone might swoop in at the last moment and interfere.
Though there was no reason behind the thought, Chi Suinian still instinctively glanced over at Lu Zhiyue.
Sure enough, Lu Zhiyue was raising his paddle marked “22,” ready to intrude at the critical moment.
Chi Suinian’s brow twitched with irritation, and he quickly pressed down on Lu Zhiyue’s hand, “What are you doing?”
Lu Zhiyue looked at him, confused, “Helping you with the bidding.”
“You call this helping?” Chi Suinian glared at the paddle in his hand, wanting to smash it. “Lu Zhiyue, are you at it again? Out of all the things to bid on, why compete with me?”
Lu Zhiyue’s gaze darkened. “I’m not competing with you…”
Chi Suinian lifted his wrist slightly, making Lu Zhiyue’s bidding paddle waver weakly. “Then what is this? Malicious competition?”
Lu Zhiyue’s expression remained calm, though his tone was slightly firmer, “You don’t need to bid; I’ll buy it and give it to you.”
Chi Suinian’s face gradually flushed, visibly annoyed.
Tang Jin, watching nervously from the side, thought to himself that Lu Zhiyue’s words, in this atmosphere, sounded neither like help nor like disruption… but more like provocation.
It was like stepping on Chi Suinian’s landmine and dancing.
“If you dare to bid on that bottle, Lu Zhiyue, I’ll beat you to death.”
“…”
Because of that one bottle, Chi Suinian was still fuming two hours later as he left the event.
“Young Master Chi, where’s Mr. Lu?” Lin Qi opened the back door, looking behind him, “Mr. Lu didn’t come with you?”
Chi Suinian answered darkly, “Dead.”
Lin Qi: “…Huh?”
Leaving him with two words, Chi Suinian climbed into Tang Jin’s car.
Tang Jin looked at him, puzzled, “Where are you going?”
Chi Suinian closed his eyes, “Home.” To avoid any misunderstanding, he clarified, “My own home.”
Tang Jin glanced toward the venue’s exit, spotting Lu Zhiyue’s tall figure approaching, “Not back to Lu’s place?”
“Forget it.” Chi Suinian shut the window and slouched in the passenger seat, his face clearly disgruntled. “Drive.”
Tang Jin gave a small nod, not wanting to delay. Right now, Young Master Chi was like a lit firecracker, ready to explode at any moment. Best not to poke the tiger.
The flashy red sports car sped away from the gathering of elites, while Lu Zhiyue, delayed by a conversation with a business associate, managed only to catch a glimpse of its tail lights fading into the distance.
Lin Qi said, “Mr. Lu, Young Master Chi got into that car.”
“Hm.” Lu Zhiyue frowned as he sat down in his car.
Hm? What did “hm” mean? Was he going to follow or not? Lin Qi, even if a bit slow, could see that some friction had occurred between the two. He didn’t want to ask questions, but after Lu Zhiyue got into the car, he remained silent, leaving Lin Qi uncertain of where to drive.
Lu Zhiyue opened his laptop, the glow of the screen casting a cold light in the dark backseat. He lightly tapped on the trackpad, but his mind kept drifting back to Chi Suinian’s determined departure.
Logic told him not to press too hard, but emotionally, he was bothered by Chi Suinian leaving. He even thought about tracking him down at Tang’s place and dragging him back.
But if he actually did that, Young Master Chi’s wrath would burn down the entire Lu household.
“Mr. Lu,” Lin Qi finally asked after a few minutes of silence, “where are we headed?”
Lu Zhiyue, feeling unsettled, replied, “Home.”
Lin Qi started the car and began to drive.
But suddenly he heard from the back seat, “…To Tang’s place.”
Lin Qi turned right at the next intersection.
“No, to the office.”
“…” With a neutral expression, Lin Qi changed course.
As long as the paycheck came in, Lin Qi could endure whatever unpredictable personality his boss had.
· · ·
On the highway, Chi Suinian rested his chin on his hand, watching the shifting lights on the road, until Tang Jin glanced at him for the third time. “Could you focus on driving?”
Tang Jin took a breath, “Finally, you’re talking! Still upset, Young Master Chi?”
In an irritating tone, he continued, “You’ve been so silent; I thought you’d burst. Was Lu Zhiyue too much for you?”
A drop of water hit the car window, swept away quickly by the speed, leaving a faint trace. Chi Suinian looked up at the sky and said, “Shut up.”
If he’d been fragile every time, he would’ve died of anger ages ago.
“Then why were you so quiet?” Tang Jin asked.
Chi Suinian leaned back, “Tired.”
Tang Jin: “You weren’t mad?”
Chi Suinian, not looking over, said, “What are you trying to say?”
Tang Jin paused before saying, “You’ve been acting strange these days.”
Chi Suinian turned, “Strange how?”
“Well…” Tang Jin seemed to search for the right words, “You’ve been overly lenient with Lu Zhiyue. Anyone else would’ve been punched already, but today… you seem strangely calm.”
At the auction, Tang Jin had watched Chi Suinian get so frustrated that his eyes reddened. Normally, Lu Zhiyue would have been physically hit, but this time, Chi Suinian had just muttered a harmless “I’ll beat you.”
It was strange.
Chi Suinian’s eyes shifted, but he kept looking out the window, saying nothing.
He was indeed holding back. Especially with Lu Zhiyue, his patience was unusually high.
But this wasn’t about his temperament or Lu Zhiyue suddenly becoming appealing to him. It was just… whenever he thought about how he’d been the one to pursue Lu Zhiyue in the first place, there was a barrier he couldn’t get past.
—Just looking at Lu Zhiyue’s face gave him a toothache.
He didn’t even want to get close, let alone resort to violence.
But revealing such complicated feelings would sound too melodramatic, so he just said, “Tired, don’t feel like fighting.”
After a while, he said “tired” twice, which puzzled Tang Jin, “What did you do last night? Didn’t sleep well?”
Chi Suinian seized the opportunity, “Exactly, so get me home quickly.”
Tang Jin seemed taken aback, then said, “Why not stay at my place? You can’t even stay at your own home.”
Chi Suinian shot him a look, “What? Is my place burglarized or burnt down, that I can’t stay there?”
Tang Jin suddenly hit the brakes, nearly causing a collision.
Chi Suinian was jerked forward, almost choked by his seatbelt, and turned to hear Tang Jin stammer, “Your house wasn’t burglarized or burnt… It’s been sealed.”
“?”
· · ·
Half an hour later, Chi Suinian finally understood what “sealed” really meant.
The Chi family villa, classified as a debt-laden asset, had been seized by the court. Once the debts were accounted for, it would be auctioned off, and in the meantime, the door was sealed with a notice, preventing anyone from entering.
Standing before the grand mansion he had lived in for twenty-five years, Chi Suinian felt, for the first time, the tangible presence of bankruptcy.
The atmosphere was tense.
Tang Jin tried to console him. “It’s alright. You can always buy another house. Doesn’t your company still have Qin Suitian? He’s great at making money; you’ll be able to get the mansion back in no time.”
Chi Suinian, already irritable, felt his mood worsen, his desire for rest completely vanishing. “You should go back. I’m going to find Qin Suitian.”
Tang Jin asked, “Now?”
Chi Suinian nodded. Having been awake for so long, it was time he took a serious look at the company’s finances.
“It’s going to rain soon, and it’s hard to get a cab around here. Let me drive you.”
Before he could finish, a flash of lightning split the night sky, and with a rumble of thunder growing closer, heavy rain began to pour down.
It felt like a storm was brewing.
…
Qin Suitian was someone who appreciated a laid-back, refined lifestyle. He had a flat in the city center, fully furnished with custom-made furniture. Although he lived alone, his home exuded a cozy, lived-in vibe that was completely at odds with his meticulous and disciplined work style.
When he opened the door, he was holding a glass of red wine in one hand and a stack of documents in the other, his robe casually draped over him in a haphazard manner. Seeing Chi Suinian, he seemed momentarily stunned. “What brings you here?”
Without saying a word, Chi Suinian squeezed past him through the door. “I was in the neighborhood and have something to ask you.”
Qin Suitian chuckled. “So, which is it—were you just passing by, or do you actually need something?”
“Both,” Chi Suinian replied, pushing his way in without any courtesy.
“Take off your shoes, man! I just mopped the floor,” Qin Suitian grumbled behind him.
Chi Suinian didn’t slow down. “This floor hasn’t seen water in days; don’t try to act fancy.”
“…”
Qin Suitian clicked his tongue in mild annoyance and closed the door behind them. “Not even a hint of politeness, I see.”
Saying this, he turned, selected a wine glass from the cabinet, poured some wine, and handed it to Chi Suinian. “It’s a good vintage—want to try?”
Chi Suinian was noncommittal, taking the glass and swirling it lightly between two fingers. “What’s going on with the Chi family estate?”
“What?” Qin Suitian looked momentarily taken aback, then said, “I told you before, didn’t I? The company went bankrupt at the end of last year, and most of your assets were liquidated to pay off the debt. Even that wasn’t enough, so the house had to be used as collateral.”
Chi Suinian felt a headache coming on. “…And you still haven’t managed to redeem it?”
Qin Suitian shook his head lightly. “Actually, even if you hadn’t come to see me today, I was planning to visit you tomorrow.”
Chi Suinian frowned. “?”
They say people don’t rise early without good reason, and Qin Suitian, the old fox, was no exception. After working together for so many years, Chi Suinian knew that the only time Qin Suitian would make a personal visit was if he had an agenda.
Chi Suinian pursed his lips and waited. Sure enough, the next second, Qin Suitian grinned and said, “Our company still has a huge funding gap. The bank loan hasn’t come through yet, and several projects are on the verge of collapsing.”
“So, why don’t you go ask your husband? See if he could loan us a bit of cash to help us out?”
TL- Hey readers!! Let me know if you spot any mistakes and support me on ko-fi!
