Zhou Ruo An wandered around overseas for two months and lost three jin. His appetite had never been great to begin with, and he had even less interest in white people food. It was like a tabby cat staring at Mickey Mouse—hungry, yet with no idea where to start eating.
On the last day of the year, this escape disguised as a project inspection finally came to an end. The moment Zhou Ruo An’s plane landed back in the country, he immediately sent Lin Yi a WeChat message: Tonight. Sweet and sour pork ribs.
It wasn’t until the car was already driving along the highway that the reply finally came: Busy tonight. Another day.
The partition between the driver’s seat and the back slowly rose. Sitting in the front passenger seat, Ren Yu only heard a single “Fuck.”
Ren Yu did not dare speak for a long while. Only when they were about to exit the airport expressway did he cautiously ask, “Fourth Young Master, where are we going?”
A voice came from behind the partition. “The ancestral residence.”
When Zhou Ruo An pushed open the sandalwood door to the study, Zhou Ran Ming was bent over his desk working. Sunlight slanted in through the window, splitting a glaring crack of light across the rosewood desk, perfectly wedged between the two of them.
“Uncle.” Zhou Ruo An’s face was full of humble smiles, the very image of a junior admitting fault.
Zhou Ran Ming slowly lifted his head only after writing another five or six characters. Behind his glasses, his gaze was as cold and sharp as blades. “You finally decided to come back? Done hiding?”
“What happened with Fang Fei was my negligence. I came to apologize to you.” Zhou Ruo An’s voice carried both sincerity and ingratiation. His back remained slightly bent, like worthless mud that could never stick to a wall.
Zhou Ran Ming lightly tapped the desk with his fingers as he scrutinized him. “Do you know where you went wrong?”
Zhou Ruo An lowered his head slightly, remorse written across his face. “I shouldn’t have sent Fang Fei to the mountain villa before thoroughly investigating his background. Such a huge incident happened, and people were even injured. That was my failure.”
Leaning back in his chair, Zhou Ran Ming’s gaze was hawk-like. “Only that?”
Zhou Ruo An took a deep breath, suppressing the deliberate viciousness on his face before slowly saying, “And I shouldn’t have tried to retaliate against Zhang Xu Yao.”
A cold laugh smashed over from across the desk. “The thug you hired nearly died in the back mountain. Zhang Xu Yao has already made his stance clear—this matter ends here. If anyone else refuses to know their place, he won’t show mercy again.” His fingers rapped sharply against the desk once more. “That man’s the kind who’s barefoot and unafraid of people wearing shoes. If he’s really pushed, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do.”
Out of everything said, Zhou Ruo An only heard the words “that thug nearly died in the back mountain.” His hand hanging at his side abruptly clenched into a fist.
“I overestimated you.” There was tea set out on the tea table beside the desk. Zhou Ran Ming poured tea into an empty cup, but the voice drifting through the fragrant steam suddenly changed direction. “But Jinggui Electronics’ export volume increased twelve percent year-on-year this month.”
The air seemed to freeze solid. For a full five seconds, there was not a single sound.
“Sit.” Zhou Ran Ming suddenly smiled, crow’s feet gathering into amiable arcs at the corners of his eyes. “What young person never makes mistakes? I know you suffered greatly this time, which is why you acted impulsively. But before doing anything in the future, you need to weigh the pros and cons. First understand your own capabilities, and then see whether the other party is someone you can afford to provoke.”
After freezing for a moment, Zhou Ruo An secretly pinched his thigh hard enough to force redness into his eyes. He revealed an expression both wronged and touched. “Uncle’s lesson is correct. I’ll definitely be more careful in the future.”
Zhou Ran Ming was skilled at handling fools. Seeing that the warning had already taken effect, he leisurely lifted his teacup and took a sip before casually changing the subject. “I heard you researched many end-user markets while abroad?”
“Yes. It just so happens I wanted to report my findings to you today.”
When Zhou Ruo An stepped out of the old residence, the overlapping dusk swallowed him into shadow. His phone had already rung twice in his pocket. Once connected, Zhou Zhe’s gentle voice crackled through the speaker. “Fourth Brother, Hanhai Pearl, Cangya Pavilion. We’re all waiting for you.”
When poor, nobody asks after you in the busy city; when rich, even distant relatives appear in the mountains. News of Zhou Ruo An’s return spread quickly. The moment he got off the plane, invitations to welcome banquets flooded in. Zhou Zhe was among them, still acting all brotherly and affectionate. Zhou Ruo An rejected every other dinner invitation and only accepted Zhou Zhe’s. Since Zhou Zhe wanted to perform brotherly affection, Zhou Ruo An did not mind acting alongside him.
The moment he stepped into the private room, the sharp scent of alcohol hit him full in the face. Zhou Zhe leaned out from the seat of honor with that benevolent-looking face of his and smiled. “You finally made it!”
“Sorry to keep Second Brother waiting.” Zhou Ruo An undid the buttons of his suit jacket and gestured for the waiter to fill the shared wine decanter. His icy bone china cup clinked against Zhou Zhe’s wine glass. “Once Uncle Ran Ming starts talking about work, he completely loses track of time. If Auntie hadn’t reminded him to take his medicine, I’d probably have been delayed even longer.”
Zhou Zhe’s smile remained unchanged, but the fingers gripping his wine glass tightened unconsciously. During the time Zhou Ruo An had been abroad, he had worked hard to perform well in front of Zhou Ran Ming in hopes of gaining greater favor, yet he had not even been allowed to step foot inside the study of the ancestral residence.
“Uncle truly exhausts himself for Shengkai.” Zhou Zhe clinked glasses and drained his cup in one gulp. Someone stepped forward to pour more wine. Zhou Ruo An casually glanced around and asked Zhou Zhe, “Is this the new secretary you hired, Second Brother?”
Fu Chun Shen’s dismissal could be said to have been entirely caused by Zhou Ruo An. Yet Zhou Zhe acted as if nothing had happened. Calmly, he gave a light “Mm,” then glanced toward the person beside him. “Toast Fourth Young Master. You’ll have to rely on Fourth Young Master’s guidance in the future.”
Their glasses clinked. Zhou Ruo An lowered his eyes. “Easy to say.”
After several rounds of drinks, the people at the table started needing the restroom frequently, and the private room door opened and closed constantly.
When the door opened again, laughter from the neighboring private room drifted in. Someone obsequiously leaned toward Zhou Zhe and Zhou Ruo An. “Master Bai from Jiangbei is hosting guests next door. Even the chairman gives him face. Should the two Young Masters Zhou go over and offer a toast?”
Master Bai? The knuckles around Zhou Ruo An’s wine glass turned white. Just as he was about to refuse, Zhou Zhe answered first. “We should indeed go say hello. Otherwise it would be impolite.”
Zhou Ruo An was acquainted with Bai Jiu to some extent. The man had once shown him respect. Pretending not to see him would have been one thing, but since Zhou Zhe intended to go, refusing himself would have looked unreasonable.
Tilting his head back, he finished the remaining wine in his cup. “We should go say hello.”
The neighboring door was left slightly ajar, and the lively atmosphere spilled out alongside the crystal chandelier’s light.
Bai Jiu sat lazily in his chair peeling shrimp. He did not seem to need anyone helping him; bright red shrimp shells had piled into a small mountain on the bone china plate.
As expected, just as Zhou Ruo An had anticipated, Lin Yi was also seated there.
He sat to Bai Jiu’s right, a black turtleneck sweater wrapped around his neck, making his jawline appear even sharper. His eyes were lowered, fingers lightly turning a wine glass, his expression indifferent.
Being the elder, Zhou Zhe naturally took the lead, offering respectful greetings. Yet all he received was a lukewarm smile. Bai Jiu tilted his head. “So the young master has returned home?”
With that, he leisurely wiped his damp hands dry and called out loudly, “Weren’t you coming to offer a toast? Why are you standing so far away?”
A trace of surprise flashed through Zhou Zhe’s eyes. Someone like Bai Jiu, who had risen from the underworld, usually inspired either fearful avoidance or desperate attempts to curry favor—most of which ended in humiliation. Yet from Bai Jiu’s familiar tone now, it seemed he and Zhou Ruo An actually shared a fairly good personal relationship.
Zhou Zhe was skilled at hiding his emotions. He immediately suppressed the jealousy in his heart and tactfully stepped aside to make room.
“Master Bai.” Zhou Ruo An accepted the bottle of Moutai from the waiter and walked forward smiling. “What a coincidence that you’re dining here as well. Once we heard Master Bai was next door, Second Brother and I naturally had to come over and offer you a toast.”
The moment Zhou Ruo An’s voice spread through the private room, Lin Yi’s fingers paused slightly against the rim of his glass, amber liquor rippling into tiny waves.
Bai Jiu rose with his wine glass in hand and lightly patted Zhou Ruo An’s shoulder, though his hand did not move away afterward, almost half-pulling him into an embrace. Their glasses clinked together. “Young Master Zhou’s toast is tonight’s greatest surprise. Lin Yi, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes.” Lin Yi slowly lifted his head. There was no smile on his face, and his tone carried faint pressure. “Young Master Zhou disappeared for two months. Even his phone couldn’t be reached.”
Sometimes Zhou Ruo An hated the tacit understanding between himself and Lin Yi with a passion. Other times, contradictorily, he felt grateful for it. Just like now, he immediately grasped the hidden meaning behind Lin Yi’s words: with Bai Jiu present, the two of them had to act distant.
Though confused, Zhou Ruo An still followed Lin Yi’s cue and deliberately put on an awkward expression. “Well, I…”
Unsure how to continue, he intentionally trailed off and hurriedly poured wine for Lin Yi. “We haven’t seen each other in ages. Let’s have a drink first. Come, I’ll toast—”
The sentence was abruptly cut off by a young man barging in. The wheat-skinned youth squeezed inside carrying a decanter. His shirt wrapped tightly around a lean waist, making him look like a nimble leopard. He moved first to refill Lin Yi’s glass, forearm muscles tightening into smooth lines with the motion—very pleasing to the eye.
Lin Yi lightly tapped the table with his fingers in thanks before raising his glass for a symbolic clink with Zhou Ruo An. The liquor swirled in tiny vortices against the walls of the glass. “Young Master Zhou, when will the final payment be settled?”
Liquor spilled onto Lin Yi’s fingers. The young man promptly handed over a hot towel, and as he left, his fingertips lightly brushed against the back of Lin Yi’s hand.
Lin Yi did not avoid him.
Bai Jiu suddenly laughed aloud and smacked his lips. “Huang San Er, you’ve never been this attentive even toward me, your boss.” The hand resting on Zhou Ruo An’s shoulder slid half an inch lower toward his waist. “Lin Yi, some things are better said in private. No need to ruin everyone’s mood here.”
Then he turned back toward Zhou Ruo An with a grin. “Ever since he got bitten by mosquitoes, his temper’s become especially explosive. Makes me wonder whether he got poisoned.”
That joke successfully lightened the atmosphere. Zhou Ruo An and Lin Yi raised their glasses and drank without saying more.
After returning to his own private room, Zhou Ruo An felt his phone vibrate inside his suit pocket. On the lock screen was a WeChat message from Lin Yi: “Wednesday night. You prepare the ribs, I’ll cook.”
At that moment, another burst of laughter exploded from the neighboring room. Zhou Ruo An loosened his tie and allowed the waiter to refill his glass. He glanced indifferently at the message and tapped a few words onto the screen.
“Cook my ass.” Then he deleted it and rewrote: “Busy. Forget it.”
Setting down the phone, he raised his glass and drained it in one gulp.
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