After handing the kitten over to his assistant, Xue Bao Tian pushed open the conference-room door. Directors in suits sat along both sides of the long table, his father occupying the central seat while his brother-in-law, Wei Hua, was still droning on, having just reached the “future outlook” portion of his presentation.
Dust- and dirt-stained leather shoes crossed the polished floor. Moving at an unhurried pace, Xue Bao Tian traversed almost the entire conference room before taking the empty seat to his father’s right. He lazily raised a hand, signaling for his brother-in-law to continue.
The hickeys on his neck were impossible to miss, and Xue Bao Tian wore the languid look of someone fresh from a night of drinking and debauchery. From the head of the table, Xue Kun glanced at everyone’s reactions and cursed under his breath, “Where the hell did you go fooling around this time?”
Xue Bao Tian tugged at his collar to placate his father. “I didn’t delay anything important, did I?” Then he turned toward Wei Hua. “Vice President Wei, are you finished? If you are, it’s my turn.”
He took the proposal from his assistant and casually asked, “Where’s the cat?”
Xue Bao Tian had not exactly lowered his voice, leaving his assistant somewhat embarrassed. “It’s in your office.”
“Give it some water. Turn on the air-conditioning.”
Opening the document, Xue Bao Tian began in a cool voice made slightly husky by his hangover. “I assume everyone has read the proposal I submitted to the board. I propose adding a dedicated sales section in Ruixiang’s chain pharmacies for TCM decoction pieces classified under the principle that ‘medicine and food share the same origin’…”
Elio’s Notes: 药食同源, literally “medicine and food share the same origin,” is a traditional Chinese concept referring to ingredients that may function both as food and for medicinal purposes.
An hour later, Xue Bao Tian was the only person left in the enormous conference room. The tiny, ugly tabby kitten was curled up asleep on the chair beside him, its little belly rising and falling rhythmically with every breath.
The conference-room door opened, and Wei Hua walked in wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Handsome and impeccably dressed, he had all the polish of a corporate elite.
A document in hand, he slowly approached Xue Bao Tian and planted both palms on the conference table. The slight curve of his lips could justifiably be called contemptuous. “Xue Bao Tian, sitting here savoring failure all by yourself? What good is a well-written proposal when nobody supports it?”
Opening the document in his hands, Wei Hua clicked his tongue. “This is remarkably thorough. There’s plenty of supporting data, it’s feasible, and the prospects are good. So why didn’t it pass?”
Xue Bao Tian propped his legs on the table and raised his middle finger to his lips, his voice light and lazy. “Shh. My cat’s afraid of dogs. Keep your voice down.”
Only then did Wei Hua notice the filthy little tabby. His pupils contracted slightly, and he sneered. “Looks like Young Master Xue can only score victories with his mouth these days.”
Xue Bao Tian readily nodded. “A win’s a win. Better than getting nothing at all.”
Suppressing his temper, Wei Hua pulled out a chair and sat down, placing the document on the table. “What do you think would happen if this proposal were submitted to the board under my name?”
Xue Bao Tian stroked the kitten’s head. “Unanimous approval?”
Wei Hua tapped the table twice with his fingers, a little habit of his whenever he was pleased with himself. “That’s the difference between you and me. No degree, no culture, no character. You’re erratic and unreliable. So what if you have a good eye and can spot business opportunities? Who would trust someone like you?”
Xue Bao Tian fell silent for a moment. Then, using the cigarette between his fingers to point at Wei Hua from across the table, he broke into a brilliant smile. “I feel sorry for the mosquitoes at your place. They could spend all night on your face and still fail their KPI.” He put the cigarette between his lips, drew deeply, then exhaled a cloud of smoke and raised a brow. “Nobody supported my proposal because you went around buying coffee for every director, didn’t you? The moment I submitted it, you got busy. You laid plenty of groundwork in advance, and it worked pretty well. If you hadn’t come over here to gloat afterward, it would’ve been perfect.”
Wei Hua had often wondered why only a few sentences from Xue Bao Tian were enough to infuriate him and leave him at a disadvantage. Only now did he finally understand: Xue Bao Tian always managed to strike the sorest place he kept buried deepest, hitting the mark every time without ever pulling his punches.
The eyes behind Wei Hua’s lenses seemed to ignite. His expression abruptly darkened. “If it weren’t for me, those old foxes would’ve swallowed the Xue family whole no matter how many shares you owned. You think you’d have any say in the company? Dream on!”
The hostility in his voice startled the kitten awake. The timid little tabby gave a soft meow and retreated into the corner of the chair.
Xue Bao Tian stood, gathered it into his arms, and soothed its ruffled fur before looking coldly at the man opposite him. “Wei Hua, do you know why I’ve never ripped off your skin and exposed what’s underneath? First, because you genuinely helped my dad secure his position at Ruixiang a few years ago. Second, because you’ve always treated my sister fairly well. Without those two things, with all the little moves you’ve been making behind our backs, I would’ve fucking dealt with you long ago.”
Holding the kitten, he headed for the door, leaving behind one final warning in an even tone. “You and I can fight however we want. May the best man win.” His hand settled on the doorknob, and he paused before looking back at Wei Hua. “But the condition is that you stay loyal to my dad and faithful to my sister. Otherwise, when it comes to dirty tricks that can’t see the light of day, you’re nowhere near my level.”
The door opened and closed. The kitten’s faint meowing gradually receded until it could no longer be heard.
That night, Xue Bao Tian was in a foul mood and put together a drinking party. The noisy crowd only made his head ache, leaving him even more restless and irritable.
Someone sidled over with a flattering smile to toast him. Rubbing his temples, Xue Bao Tian inwardly cursed the strength of yesterday’s liquor. That cheap sorghum liquor, barely more than ten yuan a bottle, had kept him drunk all night, and even now his bones still felt weak.
He clinked glasses with the man but only took a small sip. With one arm around a woman, he pulled out his phone and sent Zhang Chi a message: Has anyone contacted you?
No reply came for a long time. Xue Bao Tian muttered, “Fuck,” then gave a quiet scoff. “Getting cocky now, huh?”
After fooling around with his fair-weather friends for half the night, Xue Bao Tian climbed into his car with his stomach churning. He stuffed a bill into the designated driver’s hand and slurred, “Go on. I need a minute to recover.”
He gulped down half a bottle of water and felt somewhat better. The air inside the car was stuffy, so he lowered the window. Cold wind rushed in, accompanied by the soft rustle of paper. Looking up, he noticed the proposal lying on the center console. He picked it up, flipped through several pages, and let out a disappointed sigh.
The phone in his pocket vibrated twice. Xue Bao Tian glanced at the time on the dashboard and guessed it was his father’s customary daily scolding.
But when he unlocked the screen, Zhang Chi’s chat window appeared first. The reply had come forty minutes earlier: A lot.
Fuck. That’s really all he wrote?
Xue Bao Tian shifted into a more comfortable position and called Zhang Chi. He was bored and looking for something to entertain himself with.
The call connected quickly, a deep male voice mingling with distant ambient noise on the other end.
“Out somewhere?” Xue Bao Tian checked the time again. “Quite the nightlife you’ve got.”
“On the bus.”
“Where to?” Xue Bao Tian asked without much interest.
“A bar.” Zhang Chi’s voice was as serious as ever. “Someone from that app invited me to meet at a bar.”
Xue Bao Tian practically sprang upright from the passenger seat. Ignoring his dizziness, he became instantly excited. “Really? Zhang’er, you’re finally acting like a man for once. Be generous when you meet him—buy him some decent drinks and get the whole thing settled tonight! Got any money? If not, Master Xue will transfer you some.”
A bus-stop announcement sounded through the phone, followed by a burst of noise. Xue Bao Tian pressed the phone tighter against his ear before he finally made out Zhang Chi’s low voice. “Two Hundred, I don’t have any experience. Come help me size him up.”