In small towns, there are three types of rumors that spread the fastest.
Scandalous family gossip, superstitions, and shocking crime stories.
If someone is caught cheating, or if a family calls a spirit to tell their fortune and everything happens as predicted, or if there’s word of a deranged killer kidnapping children and gouging out eyes, news travels fast. If Mrs. Zhang on East Street mentioned it today, Uncle Zhao who was farming in the outskirts of the town will hear it tomorrow.
At some point, a new rumor started circulating, each version sounding just as believable.
—A lunatic has come to Hongcheng.
Some said an escapee from a mental institution was on the loose, while others insisted it was an escaped criminal from another province.
The details varied, but everyone was warning each other to keep an eye on their kids, especially since there was talk that a child had recently gone missing near the South Street market and hadn’t been found.
Even though there hadn’t been an official police notice, Hongshan Primary School wasn’t taking any chances. They reminded teachers and guards to keep an eye on parents during pick-up and made sure no child went home alone.
Jiang Wang had heard bits and pieces, enough to tell Xingxing to be careful and not wander off after school.
Actually, everyone in the area knew Xingwang. If Jiang Wang couldn’t pick him up, he usually went straight to the bookstore to do his homework, so there wasn’t much to worry about.
Since opening last year, the bookstore had reorganized its stock of study guides for middle and high school entrance exams, creating an internal ranking system that categorized each book.
Jiang Wang got the idea from a strategy he used to use when gaming.
The T0 tier was the cream of the crop, must-have books valuable for any student in the country, and also a must-have teaching aid for any school across the country.
The T1 tier contained generally excellent guides with only minor flaws that could be marked in an Excel spreadsheet.
The tiers continued downward, with the lowest ones reserved for poorly selling, poorly written books that weren’t even worth stocking.
Initially, his employees thought he was being too meticulous. “Just go by the sales numbers,” they said.
But over time, they saw the value in his system.
—With this sorting system, when books were updated or reprinted, they could quickly classify them into the right tiers. And when publishers pitched new books, they could compare them with their current stock to decide whether to buy in.
They all started to realize just how sharp their boss really was.
Once the system was running smoothly, Jiang Wang had a dedicated team who not only filtered and organized practice questions for collections called “The Twelve Golden Volumes” but also selected materials for the tutorial classes.
He then set off with Ji Linqiu and some other employees to recruit teachers. Young ones could be reached over the phone, but older, more experienced educators needed to be visited personally.
He urgently needed quality teachers.
In the bustling streets, tutorial centers seemed abundant, but most of them were thrown together with untrained staff or student teachers barely out of college who simply supervised kids doing exercises or memorizing words. They’d read from the book, collect their fees, and move on.
The truly skilled teachers remained low-key, operating out of their homes with only a few students per class, growing their reputations through word of mouth year after year.
Jiang Wang played mahjong with others whenever he had nothing to do. He also get to know a lot of people from the parent-teacher conference. He gradually mapped out a teacher network of the entire city.
He then began visiting each one, talking about benefits, splitting profits, and explaining his plans for expanding the tutorial school. For those willing to relocate to teach at the main city center, he brought them on board, while others who preferred small classes were offered exclusive contracts.
Business, in any era, requires sincerity above all. Success isn’t achieved by sitting comfortably in an office.
While Jiang Wang used to do all this running around alone, now that the company had grown, he had a team to handle these tasks. He made sure the HR department organized team-building events regularly, provided cooling allowances in the summer and heating subsidies in the winter, and treated the hardworking staff to dinners at good restaurants.
After Ji Linqiu resigned early, he only had to teach two classes a day at school, which freed up a lot of his time.
Accompanying Jiang Wang on his visits to teachers, he gradually understood why this man was so successful.
He had arrived alone yet managed to establish a delivery service, open four bookstores, and build his business from the ground up until it was flourishing.
People said Jiang Wang was good at fortune-telling and had great luck; they said that he could read Feng Shui and know where the lucrative locations are.
Just a few days of shadowing him left Ji Linqiu exhausted, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but filled with respect.
Jiang Wang was too hard on himself. He put his all into everything, leaving no room for laziness or hesitation.
Though many showed him deference as “Boss Jiang,” he could set his pride aside for stubborn old teachers. If he couldn’t seal the deal on the first try, he’d return a week later, again and again, until they finally softened and an agreement was reached.
He spent his days hustling, yet if any issue came up at the company, he would rush over without a word to work late into the night.
During one team-building dinner, Ji Linqiu suddenly stood up with a gentle smile and poured himself a full glass.
“Brother Wang, I’ll toast you a glass.”
The others around them cheered. “Advisor Ji, you’re so biased! You never drink, but you’re going all out with Boss Jiang tonight!”
“Did I see that right? Advisor Ji is actually drinking! You’re really giving Boss Jiang a lot of face!”
Jiang Wang felt something unusual about the moment and, hearing this, got up and poured a drink as well. “Linqiu, why the sudden toast?”
The others thought he was just being polite, but Ji Linqiu heard the warmth and affection in his tone.
His ears turned a bit red, but he smiled, looking right at Jiang Wang. “Working with you, I’ve come to understand so much that I didn’t know before.”
“Brother Wang, we still have a long journey together, and plenty of challenges ahead.”
Though the road ahead was full of obstacles, it was also bright and promising.
To work so hard side by side made it all worth it.
Jiang Wang caught the admiration in his words, and for a moment, he was speechless, then he lifted his glass and downed it.
“Well said!”
“Our boss is the real champ!!”
“Cheers!! Another round!! I’ll pour this one, I’ll pour it!”
Jiang Wang drained his glass, eyes blazing as he looked at Ji Linqiu.
“It’s my honor.”
Ji Linqiu, who hadn’t drunk much before, felt a rush of warmth at Jiang Wang’s words, and blushing, finished his drink.
The fiery liquor seared through his chest, through his intestines, igniting his veins in a quick, fierce thrill.
They shared a smile and toasted again before sitting down.
It was a meal filled with laughter and satisfaction, with over a dozen dishes served.
At one point, Jiang Wang stepped out to settle the bill and saw a familiar figure in one of the outside booths.
Instinctively, he almost called out “Dad,” but caught himself, coughing to cover it up. He greeted him casually, “You’re here for dinner, too?”
It was definitely the drink talking. Peng Jiahui was only in his thirties now, so even if Jiang Wang called him that, Peng Jiahui wouldn’t know how to respond.
Peng Jiahui looked up and quickly stood to greet him. “Boss Jiang, long time no see!”
Jiang Wang took a cigarette from him, glancing at the pretty young woman with long hair beside Peng Jiahui, just his dad’s type.
She looked to be in her twenties, bold and feisty.
“Oh, this is my girlfriend,” Peng Jiahuisaid a bit shyly, introducing her. “Her name’s Guan Hong. Honghong, this is my… uh, my relative, also my good friend, Boss Jiang.”
Wisely, he didn’t mention his ex-wife to his date.
Jiang Wang patted Peng Jiahui’s shoulder with a grin. “I always saw you on business trips every day, I didn’t expect that you would have the time. Guess I was wrong.”
Peng Jiahui chuckled, scratching his head. “She’s an accountant at my company, treats me well, kind and thoughtful—she’s great in every way, isn’t she, Honghong?”
The woman laughed, playfully swatting his arm. “Oh, quit showing off.”
Before they finished their conversation, Ji Linqiu walked out of their private room and spotted them.
“What a coincidence, long time no see.” Wisely, he refrained from addressing Peng Jiahui as “Xingwang’s Dad,” and greeted him with a nod. “I was wondering why Brother Wang was taking so long. Turns out he ran into an old friend.”
Peng Jiahui had only been dating for a couple of months and hadn’t yet told his girlfriend about the son he had with his ex-wife, so running into Ji Linqiu made him a bit anxious.
With a casual grin, Jiang Wang slung an arm around Ji Linqiu’s shoulder. “We won’t keep you. Our company’s just here for a get-together. Let’s catch up later.”
Guan Hong’s gaze drifted over Jiang Wang and Ji Linqiu, lingering on them for a moment.
“Alright, alright, we’ll catch up later,” Peng Jiahui added, then said, “By the way, that new movie [Night at the Museum] is pretty good. We just saw it.”
“Nice, maybe we’ll grab a ticket and watch it too.”
“<We>?” Guan Hong asked suddenly.
Peng Jiahui coughed, nervous that they might bring up his son, Peng Xingwang. “Uh, probably with some friends or something.”
“Is that so?” Guan Hong’s eyes stayed fixed on the two of them.
Sensing the awkwardness, Ji Linqiu kept the conversation brief and left with Jiang Wang.
On their way home, Jiang Wang was still feeling the warmth of that toast.
“Didn’t expect it,” he said as they walked through the light drizzle, their shoes getting damp. “You’d actually take the lead in toasting me today.”
Ji Linqiu was silent for a moment, then quietly said beside the empty street, “Because I like you very much.”
Jiang Wang stopped in his tracks, looked at him for a few seconds, then turned away with a quiet chuckle.
Ji Linqiu stopped too, his voice gentle as he continued, “It’s not that I don’t want to say it. I just hadn’t found the right moment.”
“Then kiss me.” Jiang Wang leaned in with a playful gleam in his eye, then he remembered something and it made him a little annoyed. “We won’t be able to once we’re home, with that little rascal popping out anytime.”
Ji Linqiu looked at the passing cars, hesitating. “That might… not be appropriate.”
Jiang Wang rummaged through his bag, realizing he hadn’t brought an umbrella, so there was no cover from the rain.
As the drizzle began to intensify, he turned his back to the street, leaning closer and said softly, “Put my hood on for me.”
After drinking, Ji Linqiu became especially compliant. He reached up on tiptoes to pull up Jiang Wang’s hood, but before he could settle it, Jiang Wang leaned in, catching his lips in a kiss.
The raindrops were cool, but the kiss warmed his heart, and Ji Linqiu couldn’t help a soft sigh as they broke apart, feeling it wasn’t enough.
“Don’t seduce me,” Jiang Wang said, his voice hoarse. “My self-control’s terrible, you never know, I might just sneak into your room one night.”
Ji Linqiu turned away quickly, pretending not to understand.
“Hey, wait for me.”
Jiang Wang called after him, hands in his pockets. “If you don’t wait, I’ll sneak into your room tonight for sure.”
Ji Linqiu paused, then turned back, leaned up, and quickly brushed his lips against Jiang Wang’s.
Before he could pull away, Jiang Wang held him close and kissed him deeply, leaving nothing between them.
“I really, really like you,” Jiang Wang murmured, pressing a kiss to Ji Linqiu’s slightly damp hair. Then, he leaned over, his voice a mix of teasing and sincerity as he whispered something into Ji Linqiu’s ear.
“If only I’d made a move sooner.”
