Jiang Shao did not care what other people said behind his back.
Qi Mu came out after changing into formal clothes. His shirt, suit, bow tie, and cufflinks were all perfectly in place. As he lowered his eyes to straighten his sleeves, his brows and gaze looked gentle, and every movement made him resemble an aristocrat attending an evening banquet.
Jiang Shao could not look away.
Qi Mu was dressed impeccably, without exposing even a sliver of extra skin, yet Jiang Shao’s gaze still darkened as he looked at him.
If anything, seeing Qi Mu wrapped up so thoroughly only made him want to unwrap him.
He wanted to peel away those layers with his own hands and reveal the shyly flushed skin beneath, taking Qi Mu from cool and ascetic to fallen and alluring. Just imagining that contrast was enough to excite him.
It took Jiang Shao considerable effort to suppress the impulse in his heart.
Qi Mu grew uncomfortable under Jiang Shao’s stare. He raised a hand to check the time and said, “Shouldn’t we be heading to the airport?”
Do we have to leave already?
Jiang Shao felt that time had passed far too quickly.
It had only been half a day.
How did it disappear in the blink of an eye?
He did not want to go back at all.
This had been his first date with Qi Mu, the first time they had openly held hands, the first time they had walked through a mall like an ordinary couple…
For once, he had not been merely Qi Mu’s secret lover, forced to sneak around.
Why did they have to go back to work?
If only they could cast aside their identities, their reservations, propriety and morality, all those layers of shackles…
They could leave everything behind and go somewhere no one knew them.
It would be enough to spend the rest of their lives like that.
But Jiang Shao only let himself imagine it. He stepped forward, kissed the corner of Qi Mu’s lips, and said hoarsely, “Okay. Let’s go back.”
＊
The plane landed at C City Airport.
The night was quiet, and the dark sky was scattered with stars.
Jiang Shao drove Qi Mu home. He watched Qi Mu go upstairs and did not drive away until his figure had disappeared completely from sight.
When Qi Mu got home and checked the time, it was one in the morning.
He opened his phone and only then discovered several missed calls from Fang Ming Qian.
There were also two messages Fang Ming Qian had sent after his calls went unanswered.
“I’m sorry about what happened last night. Just pretend… I never said anything. I hope we can still be friends.”
“I’ll have someone handle the cooperation matters with you. Our partnership won’t be affected in any way.”
Qi Mu was silent for a moment. He did not reply, tossed his phone aside, and went to take a shower.
He needed to rest. He still had work tomorrow.
Monday.
Qi Mu arrived at the company on time and began another busy day.
The people in the President’s Office still looked listless, yawning one after another.
Zhan Xiao Hui said, “I went to the concert I’d been looking forward to for ages yesterday. I didn’t get home until midnight. I’m so sleepy. I really want to go to bed.”
Xiao Lin said, “I stayed home and didn’t go anywhere, but I stayed up gaming and didn’t sleep until three in the morning. When I woke up, all I wanted was to die in bed.”
“That’s enough from you people. You’re relying on being young and not taking care of yourselves.”
Jiang Shao sat silently in the corner and lifted his eyes.
Whenever he had heard them discussing things like this before, he had only found it boring and irritating. What a bunch of boring humans. Don’t they have anything to do every day?
What’s so special about getting a day off? Why do they have to squeeze every last second out of it?
But now he finally understood. Time off really was precious, and he badly wanted to announce that he had gone on a date over the weekend.
But forget it.
Qi Mu would never let him say it.
With nowhere to share the joy overflowing in his chest, Jiang Shao encountered this strangely sweet frustration for the first time and did not quite know what to do with it. He lowered his head, took out his phone, and sent Lu Jin Wen a message.
“I went on a date with Qi Mu this weekend.”
Several minutes passed before a reply came back. “Are you sick? If you want to show off your relationship, don’t come to me.”
Jiang Shao ignored the abuse and asked, “Whenever we go out, Qi Mu pays. Even the hotel rooms are on him. What else should I give him? The last order was still too small.”
Lu Jin Wen replied, “Why don’t you just give him yourself?”
Jiang Shao: “I’m afraid he won’t want me.”
Lu Jin Wen stopped replying after that. No matter what Jiang Shao sent, the other side might as well have died.
Jiang Shao was helpless.
So he took out his phone and started searching: 108 Ways to Go on a Date and How to Have the Perfect Date.
It was only Monday, but he was already looking forward to next weekend.
＊
Qi Mu did not think he would have time to take next weekend off.
He was already extremely busy.
Especially now that the year was drawing to a close. There was only half a month until the Lunar New Year, and he had far too many things to do.
Factory production had to be pushed along because a batch of orders needed to be delivered before the holiday, after which the factory would close for the break. Payments on previously delivered orders needed to be collected before year-end. There were also year-end performance bonuses for the employees, New Year supplies to distribute, and more…
Qi Mu signed so many documents every day that the task alone took up a great deal of time.
Money poured out one sum after another.
There were endless meetings and an endless stream of people to see.
That afternoon, just after Qi Mu finished a meeting, the manager of the Procurement Department came to see him.
The previous procurement manager who had taken kickbacks had gone to prison. The new manager was one of Qi Mu’s trusted people, and one of his main responsibilities was overseeing the bidding process for the new factory’s construction project.
Manager Wang came in carrying documents, with a young man following behind him.
The young man looked to be in his early twenties. He wore a clean white shirt, had handsome features and an upright bearing, and still carried the youthful air of a university student.
It was a face Qi Mu had never seen before.
But there were always new hires and interns in the company. With so many employees, Qi Mu could not possibly know everyone, so he paid the young man no particular attention.
Qi Mu looked over the tender proposal and said to Manager Wang, “You’ve done well, but some details still need improvement. Here…”
Manager Wang nodded repeatedly, then turned and said, “Xiao Jiang, make sure you remember everything President Qi is saying.”
Qi Mu could not help glancing at the young man.
This young man is surnamed Jiang too?
The young man noticed Qi Mu looking at him and smiled, showing neat white teeth. His smile was gentle and slightly shy.
Manager Wang introduced him with a smile. “Right, this is the new intern in our department, Jiang Qin. He’s one of Capital University’s top students and came to intern with us over winter break…”
But Qi Mu did not hear a word of what came after that.
Only two characters remained in his mind.
Jiang Qin.
Was this the Jiang Qin he knew, or did they merely have names that sounded the same?
Qi Mu frowned slightly and looked at the young man. He had not paid much attention before, but now that he looked carefully, Jiang Qin’s brows and eyes really did bear some resemblance to Jiang Shao’s…
Their temperaments, however, were completely different.
Unless one deliberately looked for the resemblance, no one would connect the two.
Manager Wang had not noticed anything and continued praising Jiang Qin. “Xiao Jiang really lives up to being a Capital University student. He’s young, but he’s very capable and works extremely hard and reliably…”
Qi Mu suddenly asked with a serious expression, “Jiang Qin?”
Jiang Qin was far more perceptive than Manager Wang. His eyes curved as he smiled, his voice clear and his diction crisp. “Yes. Jiang as in the surname Jiang, and Qin as in admiration.”
Qi Mu’s gaze darkened slightly.
He did not believe this was a coincidence.
There was no way his company just happened to have an intern who looked like Jiang Shao and also happened to share the exact same name as Jiang Shao’s younger brother.
Why did Jiang Qin come to intern at my company?
But Qi Mu truly knew very little about Jiang Qin.
The dream had been a Long Aotian story built around showing off and face-slapping, so Jiang Shao’s family barely had any presence in it. This younger brother appeared even less often. The few times he did appear, the brothers seemed affectionate and harmonious, and he looked like an unremarkable younger brother with nothing particularly worth mentioning…
But Qi Mu remembered that they shared a father and had different mothers.
Qi Mu did not understand the grudges and intrigues of wealthy families, but judging by Jiang Shao’s attitude toward Li Xin before, his relationship with the Li family was clearly not very harmonious.
So was his relationship with this younger brother really good?
Qi Mu became wary.
Just then, Jiang Shao came to find Qi Mu.
He was bringing Qi Mu some documents. His gaze swept across the room, landed on the person beside Manager Wang, and his expression changed abruptly.
Jiang Shao’s voice turned cold. “Manager Wang, who is this?”
Manager Wang felt a chill run down his back under Jiang Shao’s gaze. This was someone firmly in President Qi’s good graces!
Although Jiang Shao had not been with the company for long, Manager Wang did not dare neglect him. He gave an awkward laugh and said, “Assistant Jiang, this is our new intern, Jiang Qin. Come to think of it, you even share the same surname. A hundred years ago, you were probably one family, hahaha…”
Jiang Shao slowly savored those words, a faint chill of mockery entering his voice. “One family?”
Manager Wang: “…”
But the icy aura surrounding Jiang Shao quickly faded.
He returned to his lazy, casual manner, glanced languidly at Manager Wang, and chuckled. “You must be joking, Manager Wang.”
Jiang Shao’s gaze settled lightly on Jiang Qin.
The fact that he worked at Qi Mu’s company was no secret, and he had never tried to hide it. Even Li Xin had seen him twice, yet no one had come here before. Now Jiang Qin had suddenly appeared as an intern…
Tang Wen Rui had probably seen something that day.
Jiang Shao sneered inwardly.
Tsk. What a nuisance.
Manager Wang wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Why does the atmosphere suddenly feel a little tense? Am I imagining things?
Jiang Qin, on the other hand, remained completely composed throughout the entire exchange, maintaining a proper smile. He stood and politely said to Jiang Shao, “You must be Assistant Jiang, the person President Qi trusts most. Hello. I’m Jiang Qin, the company’s new intern.”
As he spoke, he held out a hand to Jiang Shao.
But Jiang Shao acted as if he had not seen it. He turned toward Qi Mu instead, and only then did his gaze soften. “President Qi, these are the documents you wanted.”
Jiang Qin was left hanging like that, but showed no displeasure at all and naturally withdrew his hand.
For someone so young, Jiang Qin was remarkably calculating.
Their confrontation had been brief.
Even so, Qi Mu quickly concluded that there was no such thing as brotherly affection between them.
The two brothers obviously did not have a very good relationship.
That only made the situation more troublesome.
He had no idea why Jiang Qin had come here.
Manager Wang vaguely sensed that something was off. He had already finished reporting his work, so he stood as well and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first.”
As he spoke, he motioned for Jiang Qin to follow him.
But Jiang Qin did not leave with him. Instead, he walked over to Qi Mu and looked at him sincerely, his tone humble. “President Qi, I’m new to the company and still have a lot to learn. If there’s something I don’t understand, may I come ask you for guidance?”
He looked exactly like a young man who was proactive at work, ambitious, and eager to learn.
No manager would dislike an employee like that.
Jiang Shao’s expression abruptly turned cold.
Hypocrisy really does run in the family.
He looked at Qi Mu irritably, worried that Qi Mu might be fooled by this guy.
Qi Mu looked calmly at Jiang Qin and said, “I’m very busy and may not have time to guide you. Since you’re in Procurement, ask Manager Wang if you have questions.”
It was not an excessive request, and if it had been anyone else, Qi Mu might have agreed. But since Jiang Qin had clearly come here with ulterior motives…
Qi Mu had no interest in playing along with his game.
At those words, Jiang Qin’s eyes dimmed as though he were deeply disappointed, but he still nodded and said, “All right. I understand.”
The corner of Jiang Shao’s mouth could not help lifting.
Hah. Qi Mu doesn’t have time for you.