Qi Mu returned to the hotel.
He removed his glasses and set them on the washbasin. Although the jacket had shielded him from the rain, his clothes were still considerably wet. He took off the damp garments and looked at the somewhat bedraggled man in the mirror.
He could hardly believe it.
He had genuinely run all the way back with Jiang Shao like that.
He must have lost his mind.
Only madness could have made him do something so absurd.
Qi Mu splashed cold water over his face. Now that his rationality had finally returned, he began to develop a headache over everything that had happened that day.
What exactly was Jiang Shao trying to do?
Had he taken a liking to Yu Yue Ke or not?
He had seemed very interested in Yu Yue Ke, yet his actions afterward were confusing, making it impossible to tell what he was planning. Qi Mu felt increasingly unsettled.
He drew a deep breath.
Forget it. There was no point dwelling on something he could not figure out.
It would not be difficult to keep Jiang Shao and Yu Yue Ke apart. They had only met today and did not even have each other’s contact information. From now on, whenever Qi Mu was with Jiang Shao, he simply would not invite Yu Yue Ke to meet them.
Besides, once they finished their business here, they would return to City C. Jiang Shao would have even fewer opportunities to approach Yu Yue Ke.
Qi Mu steadied himself.
He cast the tangled thoughts from his mind.
…
Two days later, Qi Mu finally received a call from Professor Lai.
Professor Lai said he was willing to cooperate with Qi Corporation. Qi Mu was delighted by the news and immediately took the contract to the university.
After they signed the letter of intent—
Qi Mu shook Professor Lai’s hand and said, “I’ll arrange for someone to coordinate the follow-up matters with you. The funding will also be transferred as soon as possible, so please don’t worry.”
Professor Lai laughed heartily. “Of course I’m not worried when President Qi is handling it.”
Qi Mu smiled. “I look forward to working with you.”
Professor Lai firmly shook Qi Mu’s hand. “Likewise.”
He did not understand why Qi Mu had so much confidence in his team, but Qi Mu was decisive, straightforward, and sincere, without any scheming or probing. Working with him was genuinely pleasant.
At noon, Professor Lai treated Qi Mu to lunch.
During the meal, Professor Lai raised a toast to him.
Qi Mu said apologetically, “I can’t drink, so I’ll use tea in place of wine and offer you a toast.”
Professor Lai had only proposed the toast as a courtesy. Since Qi Mu did not want to drink, he naturally would not force him. Smiling, he lifted his teacup and lightly clinked it against Qi Mu’s. “All right.”
The atmosphere at the table was relaxed and pleasant.
Since no one drank alcohol, the meal ended quickly.
Qi Mu stood to take his leave. “There are still matters waiting for me at the company, so I’ll be returning today. I look forward to meeting you again.”
Professor Lai escorted Qi Mu out of the university.
Driver Zhou drove them back.
Just as he had on the way there—
Jiang Shao sat in the front.
Qi Mu did not arrange to meet Yu Yue Ke again. He sent her a message saying that something had come up and he had to leave early.
Then he put down his phone and began working.
Jiang Shao’s gaze swept across the rearview mirror.
He discreetly studied Qi Mu.
The man had returned to his usual proper and composed appearance. He wore an immaculate, meticulously tailored suit, and his gentle features took on a solemn air whenever he sank into thought…
It was as though the abandon of the previous night had merely been a dream.
Jiang Shao had finally managed to pry open a narrow crack in that outer shell, yet after only a single night, the crack had sealed itself again, restoring Qi Mu to that impeccable, flawless state.
For some reason—
Jiang Shao felt strangely hollow inside.
He frowned slightly.
He wondered where that feeling had come from.
Qi Mu sat in the back, reading financial news on his tablet.
As president, he had to guide the company’s development and make major decisions, so he needed to keep abreast of current developments—such as new trends and technologies within the industry, as well as the possible consequences of unexpected events.
Using his travel time to read the news was a normal habit for him.
Qi Mu opened a news page as usual.
However, he discovered that every major outlet was promoting the same trending story that day.
#Hanxing Automotive Exposed for Serious Design Defects#
Qi Mu’s expression grew grave as he opened the article.
An anonymous source had submitted internal meeting documents from Hanxing Automotive to major websites and media outlets. The documents showed that Hanxing had knowingly concealed a potentially fatal defect and continued selling its vehicles. The defect had already caused several accidents, but Hanxing had spent heavily to bribe the media and silence the victims, forcibly suppressing public discussion.
This time, however—
The incidents that had once caused little more than a ripple before briefly appearing and vanishing without a trace were brought back into public view. This time, the media no longer remained silent and began condemning Hanxing one after another.
Public outrage rapidly spread beyond anyone’s control.
Hanxing Automotive’s stock hit its daily lower limit as soon as the market opened.
Hanxing Automotive was a long-established automobile brand under Li Group. It had once enjoyed a period of glory, but it had failed to transform and upgrade with the changing times. Its sales had repeatedly declined over the past several years, and it was already facing crisis after crisis. In its haste to preserve its remaining market share, the company had pushed an immature product onto the market, causing serious accidents. Today, the entire scandal had finally erupted.
A fiercely competitive market would not tolerate such a grave mistake. Other brands had caught the scent of blood and joined the condemnation, like a crowd rushing to push down an already collapsing wall. Every one of them hoped to tear off a piece of Hanxing for itself.
Hanxing’s prospects did not look promising.
Moreover, someone was clearly driving the scandal from behind the scenes and was unlikely to stop so easily.
Although it was undoubtedly major news, it had little to do with Qi Corporation. Logically, Qi Mu had no reason to pay it much attention…
Yet his heart was suddenly beating rather quickly.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The scene from the hotel garden that day abruptly surfaced in his mind—
Jiang Shao coldly gripping Li Xin by the collar.
A thought occurred to him.
Could this be Jiang Shao’s work?
Given Long Aotian’s vindictive nature and unwillingness to let even the slightest grudge go unanswered, it was entirely possible. Jiang Shao had nearly come to blows with Li Xin, and shortly afterward, Hanxing Automotive had fallen into this situation.
Qi Mu found it difficult to dismiss the timing as a coincidence.
But why would Jiang Shao do this? Nothing like this seemed to have happened in the dream.
However… that did not necessarily mean the course of events had changed. The dream had revealed only a limited amount of information. It had been fragmentary, one-sided, and lacking in continuity, leaving many things unseen…
Qi Mu could only use the events explicitly shown in the dream to judge whether the future had changed. As for matters the dream had never mentioned, it was impossible to determine whether they had originally been destined to happen.
Everything remained unknown.
Qi Mu secretly glanced toward the front.
Jiang Shao sat calmly in the passenger seat, occasionally smiling and exchanging a few words with Driver Zhou. Nothing about him seemed unusual. When had he arranged all of this?
Qi Mu slowly exhaled.
Whatever the truth might be, the incident had served as a reminder: just because Jiang Shao appeared relatively normal did not mean Qi Mu could genuinely treat him like an ordinary person.
Long Aotian was still the same ruthless and merciless Long Aotian.
Fortunately, Qi Mu had already decided not to maintain contact with Li Xin.
Now it seemed that decision had indeed been correct.
…
Qi Mu returned to the company that afternoon.
Zhan Xiao Hui brought in the documents that had accumulated during his absence.
Qi Mu spent the entire afternoon signing papers until even his wrist began to ache. For a moment, he had the strange illusion that he had become nothing more than a human signing machine…
Even after he finally finished his work, he still could not go home and rest because he had a business dinner that evening.
Before returning, he had already arranged to meet President Dong of Zhuoli Electric that day.
Thinking about the dinner ahead, Qi Mu rubbed his brow in frustration and sighed.
Zhuoli Electric was one of the company’s longstanding clients, but Dong Wei was difficult to deal with. He was particularly concerned with appearances and loved putting on airs. That was why Qi Mu had said he would contact him personally and show him the proper respect rather than delegating the matter to a subordinate. As the person in charge of the company, Qi Mu would never shirk a responsibility that belonged to him.
Apart from that, Dong Wei’s words and behavior also made Qi Mu dislike him. When Qi Mu had first begun dealing with Dong Wei, he had not yet understood the man’s character and had brought a female subordinate to a dinner with him. Dong Wei had not only pressured her to drink throughout the meal but had also verbally harassed her. After that, Qi Mu never brought female employees to meals with Dong Wei again. Dong Wei had later made several sarcastic remarks about it, claiming that President Qi truly knew how to cherish the fairer sex…
Qi Mu had merely smiled without explaining. With a man like that, denying it would only make him more convinced.
Besides, Qi Mu could hardly tell him the truth. That would offend him far too openly.
In any case, it appeared that drinking was unavoidable tonight. Qi Mu found his stomach medicine in a drawer of his desk and slipped it into his pocket.
When deciding who should accompany him, Qi Mu considered the matter for a moment.
Even he had to suppress his disgust whenever he ate with Dong Wei, so naturally, he could not bring a female employee. Ordinarily, he would ask one of the department managers to accompany him, but just as he was about to call someone over, a new idea suddenly occurred to him…
Wasn’t Jiang Shao now an employee of the President’s Office?
As a member of the President’s Office, accompanying the company president to entertain a client was perfectly reasonable.
Besides, with Jiang Shao there, Qi Mu would not need to worry about him being bullied or mistreated. This formidable ancestor had always been the one making other people suffer. No one had ever managed to make things difficult for him.
Furthermore…
Qi Mu had his own private motives. This formidable ancestor had aggravated him more than enough lately, leaving his frustration lodged in his chest with nowhere to go. Why should Qi Mu always have to cater to him? Being a boss to this extent almost made Qi Mu pity and admire himself.
Since Jiang Shao wanted to play the game of being a model employee, entertaining clients was naturally part of his job.
Qi Mu wanted to see just how far Jiang Shao could carry this performance.
With that thought, Qi Mu took out his phone and sent Jiang Shao a message.
Come out to dinner with me tonight.
…
An hour later—
Jiang Shao was once again sitting in Qi Mu’s car.
Seated in the front, he rubbed his fingers over his phone while staring at the single line in their chat window, his expression cold.
Ever since he had added Qi Mu as a friend—
Qi Mu had sent him only two messages in total.
One read: Received.
The other read: Come out to dinner with me tonight.
Jiang Shao had received the message just as he was preparing to leave work. The moment he saw it, delight had pushed its way out of him like wild grass growing through a crack in stone.
But his rationality soon forced him to calm down. Qi Mu had no reason to invite him to dinner alone.
Sure enough…
Qi Mu was merely bringing him along to entertain a client.
Jiang Shao sat there with a sullen expression, decidedly displeased.
But then he reconsidered. Qi Mu had so many people he could have brought—why had he chosen Jiang Shao? Generally, leaders only took trusted subordinates to business dinners. Didn’t Qi Mu’s willingness to bring him prove that he treated him differently?
At that thought, Jiang Shao no longer felt quite as unhappy.
Before long—
The car stopped outside an upscale business hotel.
The hotel was not far from the High-Tech Zone, and Qi Mu often entertained clients there.
Before arriving, Qi Mu had already instructed someone to prepare a private dining room and bring out the bottles of liquor he kept stored there. They were all expensive bottles. If the liquor were not sufficiently good, Dong Wei would undoubtedly find another reason to complain. There was no need to waste words on a problem that could be settled with a few bottles of alcohol.
Once everything was ready, Qi Mu waited patiently.
He checked his wristwatch.
After arriving half an hour late, Dong Wei finally made his leisurely appearance.
Qi Mu showed no displeasure. He stepped forward with a smile and offered his hand. “President Dong, it’s been a long time.”
Dong Wei shook Qi Mu’s hand and smiled with pointed significance. “It’s been a while, yet President Qi is still as handsome and distinguished as ever. You truly make a man envious.”
Qi Mu’s brow creased almost imperceptibly, but he acted as though nothing were wrong. “Please have a seat, President Dong.”
Dong Wei swaggered into the private room, pulled out a chair, and dropped into it like a one-ton barrel, seeming to make the entire area rumble. His laughter rattled like a shaken soda can, inexplicably grating to the ear.
Dong Wei swept his gaze over the food and liquor on the table and chuckled. “President Qi has prepared such a generous reception. We’ll have to drink until we drop tonight.”
Qi Mu smiled faintly. “Naturally.”
Seeing Qi Mu’s composed expression, a trace of jealousy appeared in Dong Wei’s eyes.
What he hated most was the way Qi Mu carried himself with such lofty arrogance, as though he were somehow nobler than everyone else. It was all an act. He merely relied on his pretty face to attract women.
Back then, Dong Wei had only “joked around” a little with Qi Mu’s female secretary, yet Qi Mu had never brought her to another dinner afterward.
If he protected her that much, perhaps the woman was especially good at pleasing Qi Mu in bed.
Dong Wei had spent half his life clawing his way to his current position, while Qi Mu had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Not only was Qi Mu rich, but he was also handsome. His education, background, and appearance were all superior to Dong Wei’s. Even the way he dressed made him look like a celebrity on television, making Dong Wei appear like some nouveau riche country bumpkin by comparison.
The women surrounding Dong Wei were all gold diggers interested in his money, while Qi Mu attracted more women than he did without even trying.
Dong Wei could never suppress his jealousy whenever he saw Qi Mu.
However, Qi Mu’s status was equal to his, so he could not behave too outrageously in front of him.
He could only seize whatever opportunities arose to make things difficult.
Dong Wei filled the wineglass on the table and put on what appeared to be a hearty smile. “Come, come. Same rules as always. We drink first and discuss business afterward.”
Qi Mu felt helpless.
This was hardly Qi Corporation’s first time working with Zhuoli. Dong Wei himself knew perfectly well that Qi Corporation offered both reliable quality and fair prices. If Zhuoli chose not to use Qi Corporation’s products, it would either have to switch to an inferior supplier or purchase more expensive components elsewhere. Continuing to work with Qi Corporation was the best option, and both men knew it.
Yet Dong Wei still insisted on going through this performance every time. He refused to discuss business until he had drunk to his satisfaction at the dinner table.
Qi Mu genuinely despised this kind of business drinking culture, but who could operate in the corporate world without drinking? If he repeatedly refused even a glass of liquor, it would only make him appear insincere.
It was one of those unspoken social rules. When most people behaved this way, even if you disliked it, you were forced to participate for fear of appearing unsociable and being excluded.
Qi Mu looked at the glass filled to the brim with baijiu. Before he had even taken a sip, his stomach already seemed to ache faintly.
He touched the medicine in his pocket and sighed inwardly, but the smile on his face remained perfectly courteous. “I’ll drink this first as a sign of respect.”
Qi Mu lifted the glass and prepared to drink.
A hand suddenly reached across and stopped him.
Qi Mu turned in surprise.
It was Jiang Shao, who had remained silent throughout the journey.
Jiang Shao’s face was tense as he frowned. The last time Qi Mu had drunk only a little, he had vomited terribly. He clearly could not handle alcohol, so why was he still trying to act tough?
Did he intend to torment himself until he ended up like that again?
Under Qi Mu’s bewildered gaze, Jiang Shao directly took the glass from his hand. Then he turned to Dong Wei, raised an eyebrow, and said, “I’ll drink this one for President Qi.”
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