Pei Jinzhi turned his head upon hearing the sound.
Qin Yu then noticed that compared to their last meeting, Pei Jinzhi was wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose bridge today. The thin lenses reflected light, adding a touch of refined elegance to his originally cold and austere appearance.
When he saw Qin Yu, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed by a slight nod. “A’Yu.” His voice was magnetic and charming.
“What a coincidence, Uncle Pei.” Qin Yu walked towards him with a gentle smile, and Pei Jinzhi responded with a smile. This surprised Qian, the secretary by his side.
It was no secret that Pei Jinzhi rarely smiled. As his secretary, Qian was used to it. But today, he suddenly discovered that the other person actually smiled. It was quite unexpected. With that in mind, he couldn’t help but look at the person who made Pei Jinzhi smile. Hmm, he was a handsome stranger, and he even called Pei Jinzhi “Uncle Pei,” while Pei Jinzhi called him “A’Yu.”
Uncle! A’Yu!
Wait a minute, a flash of white light flashed in Qian’s mind. He widened his eyes and looked at Qin Yu. If he wasn’t mistaken, the person in front of him should be…
“Oh, so you’re nephew He Yu! I never expected to meet you here,” said a man with a Mediterranean hairstyle beside them. When he saw Qin Yu approaching, he stepped forward. “How is Elder He doing? It’s been a while since I last saw him…”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Wang, everything is fine,” another person came… Pei Jinzhi looked at Qin Yu, who was handling everything with ease, and the smile on his lips became even deeper.
That’s right, Qian thought to himself, this person should be He family’s second young master, He Yu. However, Qian glanced at the smile on Pei Jinzhi’s face and thought, judging by Pei Jinzhi’s attitude towards him, their relationship should be more than just in name.
Qian noticed it and so did everyone else. Everyone present was astute and they all tried to get close to Qin Yu, knowing that it would be beneficial. Both Qin Yu and Pei Jinzhi were influential figures, and anyone who could associate with them would gain something.
So, Qin Yu stood in the middle, watching the people in front of him, who was old enough to be his father, smiling and calling him “Little He” and “Nephew He” repeatedly. Some even went as far as calling him “Brother He.” Qin Yu glanced at them and then at Pei Jinzhi, thinking to himself, it can’t be, really, it can’t be. How will you address Pei Jinzhi the next time you see him?
“Little He is truly a young talent. I’ve heard about the male idol competition hosted by your company, Yingyou. It’s not just me, the entire company is discussing it. Even my son, if it weren’t for him injuring his leg recently, he would definitely sign up,” praised Mr. Zhao.
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Not an exaggeration at all,” someone next to Zhao chimed in. “Not an exaggeration at all. If it weren’t for my age, I would sign up!”
Qin Yu glanced at the man whose legs were still trembling as his assistant supported him, and a sense of relief washed over him. Thank goodness he didn’t sign up. “Thank you…” he paused.
Across from him, Pei Jinzhi mouthed a word. Qin Yu understood and continued, “Thank you, Mr. Yang.”
Although everyone present had ulterior motives for the flattery, they genuinely praised Qin Yu. They had heard about Yingyou’s recent actions, even though their own companies were not involved in the entertainment industry. It showed the significant impact of Yingyou’s talent show.
As they looked at Qin Yu’s extraordinarily handsome face, they couldn’t help but think that he truly deserved to be a member of the He family. Speaking of which, Pei Jinzhi could also be considered a half-member of the He family, and they were both unmarried. If… Some people’s thoughts suddenly became active as they stared at the shining uncle and nephew in the crowd.
After the crowd dispersed, Pei Jinzhi asked Qin Yu, “Do you need me to take you back?” This is the third conversation between Pei Jinzhi and Qin Yu, with the previous hints in mind.
“No need,” Qin Yu shook his head. “I have a driver and I remember you’re not going my way.” Pei Jinzhi had moved out of the He family’s old mansion and was currently living alone. Qin Yu knew that Pei Jinzhi’s residence was not close to the villa where the He couple lived.
Another reason was that even if they didn’t follow the plot, Qin Yu didn’t want to have too much interaction with Pei Jinzhi. After all, he was the protagonist and would have a lot of involvement with Wen Ran later on. He didn’t want to get involved in the mud again.
Seeing that Qin Yu had made up his mind, Pei Jinzhi stopped insisting and replied, “If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me.”
**********
“I told you not to disturb me! Why are you calling again?” Wen Ran impatiently spoke to the person on the other end of the phone.
“Wen Ran, I don’t want to disturb you either,” Manager Zhang sighed and said, “But I received an invitation from a magazine. They want you to do a photoshoot there on Tuesday.”
Tuesday? Wen Ran checked his calendar and realized that Tuesday is the day when Pei Jinzhi would attend the financial conference in City C. It will be a rare opportunity to see each other and he couldn’t miss it. So he told his manager, “I don’t want to go.”
“Really? Wen Ran!” Manager Zhang felt helpless. She paced back and forth and said, “There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”
“What is it?”
“Lately, we’ve been receiving fewer resources for endorsements and scripts from the agency. I’m a bit worried…” She knew about the things that had happened between Qin Yu and Wen Ran since they started dating, and combined with the fact that Qin Yu hadn’t been seen with Wen Ran lately, she suspected that the two of them had broken up.
But before she could finish, Wen Ran interrupted loudly, “What are you worried about? I’ll prepare well and shine in Director Xu’s crew. When that time comes, what resources won’t we have? Why should I care about a small magazine shoot?”
“But…” “No buts!”
“Okay, I’ll do as you say.” Manager Zhang compromised, but she couldn’t help but advise Wen Ran with concern, “Wen Ran, you have to prepare well.”
“Don’t worry!” After saying that, Wen Ran threw his phone on the bed. He was thirsty after talking so much. He stood up and wanted to go to the living room to get a glass of water, but then he noticed a message pop up on the webpage. The title seemed to be related to Pei Jinzhi, so he immediately sat back down.
“Pei Corporation Acquires Minghe Entertainment. Financial Giant Ventures into the Entertainment Industry.” Wen Ran read the title over and over again. Minghe, wasn’t that the entertainment company that had extended an olive branch to him before? But he didn’t pay attention to it because it seemed too desolate.
It wasn’t until he ran to the living room and drank a few glasses of cold water that Wen Ran finally calmed down his excitement. If only he hadn’t refused back then. Then he would have been closer to Pei Jinzhi.
Pei Jinzhi, the person he had fallen in love with at first sight when they were young. Even after many years, he couldn’t forget him. His obsession had only grown deeper, to the point where he couldn’t help but approach Qin Yu, who had a similar profile to Pei Jinzhi. He pretended that Qin Yu was his whole world, but in reality, he didn’t care about him.
Later, when he found out that Pei Jinzhi was Qin Yu’s uncle in name, he was truly surprised. It just showed how small the world was.
But that wasn’t an excuse to stop him from confessing to Pei Jinzhi. Wen Ran tightened his grip on the glass, his fingertips turning white. He had missed the opportunity before, but this time he wouldn’t hesitate. No one could stop him.
“Ah!” A voice suddenly came from the room on the right, which was where You Yi was staying. “What’s wrong, You Yi?” Wen Ran quickly put down the glass and walked to You Yi’s door.
“What happened?”
As soon as Wen Ran called at the door, You Yi immediately covered the phone he was talking on and turned to the door, “It’s nothing, Wen Ran. I just accidentally fell.”
“Oh? Are you injured?”
“No, I’m not injured at all. Don’t worry about me, go and focus on your own things!”
After persuading him to leave, You Yi stood up and raised the chair he had just kicked over. He angrily spoke into his phone, “Didn’t I tell you? Give me two more days!”
“Two more days to change your contact information?” The voice on the other end was deep and rough, clearly not buying his story.
“You’re joking, brother Jin. How could I do such a thing?”
“You Yi, it’s only natural to repay your debts. Don’t think I don’t know that you’ve moved!” The man called brother Jin sneered, “Since you dared to gamble, you should be prepared to lose everything and be prepared to repay your debts. Running away with your belongings is nothing!”
“I’m not trying to run away, my lease just expired, so I found another place.” You Yi hugged a pillow, sweat dripping down his face. “As for the money I owe, I will definitely repay it. Did I not tell you that I have a friend who is a big star?”
“I don’t care if he’s a big star or a small star, I’ll leave it at that. I won’t pressure you. Since you won’t be able to gather the money in these two days, I’ll extend the deadline and let you repay next month, how about that?”
“That’s great, thank you, brother Jin.” You Yi didn’t expect the situation to turn around and his heart instantly settled down. “I will definitely be able to repay this small amount of money.”
Although he called it a small amount, it was actually quite substantial, over five million. It was all because he was blinded by money and entered an underground gambling den with the intention of making quick money, but he ended up losing instead and owed a significant debt, with some dangerous people on the other side.
Moving in with Wen Ran this time was not only to comfort him but he also had the intention of fleeing from his debt, but he was still found. He scratched his head and sighed deeply, “It’s troublesome!”
************
“Ah Yu, the weekend is coming in two days. Do you remember what I told you?” He Huanting smiled and asked Qin Yu.
Qin Yu’s typing hand paused, and his eyes glanced away from the screen for a moment. “I remember, it’s just a favor you asked me for. What is it exactly? Just tell me.”
He Huanting glanced at him and said, “What’s the point of telling you now? It’s better to wait until that day.”
“Why are you bringing it up now then?”
“I’m not afraid you’ll forget!” He Huanting looked at Qin Yu and noticed his gaze returning to the phone screen, fingers tapping away. He guessed, “Are you chatting with someone?”
“Yes.” Qin Yu’s response was concise.
“Who?”
“You don’t know them.” As soon as Qin Yu finished speaking, he suddenly felt a dark shadow in front of him and quickly covered his phone. “What are you doing, He Huanting?”
“I saw it.” He Huanting moved away from him, “Is it fun to tease me? Being all secretive, I thought you were chatting with that little girl.”
Qin Yu nodded in agreement, “It’s fun, especially fun.”
He Huanting stared at him with a seemingly gentle gaze, “You said I don’t know…”
