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Pan Zheng assumed that his boss must be in a good mood now—finally seeing Yu Qing, and what’s more, she had come upstairs to see him of her own accord, even though she hadn’t stayed long.
After Yu Qing left, he immediately came over to report on the situation regarding New Tech.
However, to his surprise, the boss’s face was even darker than it had been the past two days.
In the middle of the desk lay a small bag of dried fish.
The edges of the sealed bag were bright red. Based on his years of experience buying snacks for his wife, Pan deduced that this bag of dried fish was probably spicy.
Or perhaps numbingly spicy.
Red packaging usually meant something spicy.
The boss didn’t hide anything; as soon as Pan entered the office, he saw the boss staring at the bag of dried fish without blinking.
It seemed like bad timing to give the report. Pan hesitated—is it better to wait until the boss calms down?
Fu Jichen picked up the dried fish and placed it in the drawer.
He pressed his slightly throbbing temples with two fingers. “What is it?”
“The core business of the several target tech companies the group plans to invest in overlaps with New Tech. Teacher Qiao is worried that once Fu Capital enters the competing companies, New Tech’s market share and interests will definitely be affected.”
He paused.
Pan guessed, “Teacher Qiao’s management team might want you to mediate and ask if Fu Group can abandon investing in this field.”
Fu Jichen crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, involuntarily looking at the drawer.
Without any hesitation, “Abandoning investment is impossible. I have no reason to stop the group from developing in a good direction. New Tech should not focus on how to curb others’ growth but rather on how to become stronger and more competitive.”
Pan continued, “New Tech called me to report their work, subtly hinting that their R&D funding gap is quite large. They want to apply early for intellectual property rights for new products under development.”
Fu Jichen straightened up and picked up his phone. “If they lack money, they should find ways themselves. If they know how to spend money, they should also know how to raise funds. What do I spend so much money hiring them for each year? Just to pay their salaries?”
He dialed out, and the other side quickly answered.
“What is it?”
Fu Jichen turned off his computer. “How did you get here?”
“By subway.”
“Where are you now?”
“Below your building, just gazing farewell at our President Fu’s office.”
Hearing the four words “your company,” Fu Jichen fell silent for several seconds before responding, “Wait for me nearby.”
He hung up the phone.
Secretary Pan still had one more thing to report. “Teacher Qiao invited you to play tennis at his house this Saturday. He also mentioned that friends sent him a few bottles of red wine, perfect for tasting with you. Will you go?”
The real intention wasn’t about drinking or playing tennis.
Fu Jichen thought for a moment. “I’ll go.” He took his car keys and went downstairs.
After taking a few steps, he turned back.
He was so angry he forgot to wear his coat.
Yu Qing hugged the cardboard box and found a sheltered spot.
She stood facing the building, looking up.
The floors were too high for her to determine which one was Fu Jichen’s office.
She didn’t know which window she used to stand by to look at the city, drink lemon water, and kiss him by the window.
The glass curtain wall was particularly dazzling in the sunlight. Staring at it for too long made her dizzy.
A car slowly stopped in front of her.
Yu Qing retracted her gaze.
She got into the car, bringing in a wave of cold air.
“Not wasting your time?” At this moment, she became serious again.
“Not wasting it, we’re on the way.” Fu Jichen pointed to his heart. “Just going to see a cardiologist.”
Yu Qing couldn’t help but laugh silently.
Fu Jichen wanted to live a couple more years and didn’t hold the small fish incident against her.
He started the car. Another car followed behind.
The ride was quiet, neither of them speaking.
During the traffic jam, there was nothing to do.
Fu Jichen had one hand on the steering wheel and the other supporting his chin, always looking at the tail of the car in front, not giving her half a glance.
He didn’t know what she was busy doing.
He waited for her to speak.
But she could endure.
Yu Qing took out her makeup mirror, pretending to touch up her makeup.
She adjusted the mirror angle so he was perfectly in view.
All of his expressions were captured in her eyes.
When they arrived at the apartment building, Yu Qing unbuckled her seatbelt.
Fu Jichen also got out, walked around the front of the car to her side, and gazed at her. “Nothing to say to me?”
Yu Qing put on her down jacket. “Thank you, President Fu, for driving me back.”
Fu Jichen wanted to turn and leave but held himself back.
He leaned forward, bringing his cheek close to her lips, holding the back of her head and pulling her forward. Her lips tightly pressed against the corner of his mouth for about ten seconds.
“Go home and reflect on your actions!”
He let her go.
Yu Qing watched his back. “Hey, where are you going? Are you leaving your car behind?”
“For you to drive.”
Fu Jichen took a few steps, then turned around. “Arguing is one thing, but I can’t mistreat you.”
He got into another car and left.
Yu Qing watched the car turn the corner until it disappeared from sight.
________________________________________
Early Saturday morning, Secretary Pan called Fu Jichen to remind him that he had an appointment with Qiao Weiming in the morning—to play tennis at Qiao’s place and drink some wine.
This was the boss’s private gathering. He asked, “President Fu, do you want me to accompany you?”
After thinking for a moment, Fu Jichen replied, “I’ll go by myself. Spend more time with your family on Saturday.”
Secretary Pan was slightly taken aback, not expecting the boss to suddenly be so down-to-earth.
In the past, the boss never talked about family, children, or marriage and showed no interest in them whatsoever.
Around 9 a.m., Fu Jichen headed to Qiao Weiming’s villa.
On the way, he flipped through his social media feed, something he rarely did.
Yu Qing hadn’t posted anything new.
He wondered what she had been busy with these past few days and whether she had reflected on herself.
Soon, he arrived at Qiao Weiming’s villa.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Yang was there too.
The weather was nice today, with a gentle breeze.
Qiao Yang was pushing a stroller in the yard; the child had just turned one year old and was Teacher Qiao’s grandson.
Seeing Fu Jichen’s car arrive, Qiao Yang handed the child over to the nanny.
“Uncle, Fu Jichen is here,” she called out to the house.
Fu Jichen got out of the car, and Qiao Yang greeted him with a smile. “Only now do I realize that Uncle invited you to play tennis today. I’m tagging along for the big lunch.”
She looked at his new car, which he rarely drove.
“What about your Bentley? Is it being serviced?” She tried to make conversation.
The yard wasn’t as warm as the car, so Fu Jichen put on his coat. “Yu Qing is driving it.”
Qiao Yang was stunned. That seven- or eight-million-yuan car was being driven by Yu Qing?
It wasn’t the price of the car that mattered most—it was the license plate, worth a fortune.
She was even more puzzled. “You two... aren’t separated?”
She had only found out a few days ago that Yu Qing was Yu Shaohong’s daughter and the woman Qin Moling wanted to marry. At first, she didn’t believe it, until Yu Qing resigned.
Fu Jichen countered, “Who said we were separated?”
“Uh… oh, it’s all gossip. I forgot where I heard it.” Qiao Yang went to pour him some tea.
“Yangyang, don’t bother with that. I have some here.” Qiao Weiming brought out a small tea tray. “I just brewed this.”
On the wooden stump tea table in the yard, sunlight filtered through the leaves, dancing on the table with the gentle breeze.
“Jichen, come and try this.” Qiao Weiming was informal with Fu Jichen, skipping pleasantries altogether.
Fu Jichen didn’t know much about tea; he felt all tea tasted the same.
Just like Yu Qing’s perfume—he couldn’t tell the difference.
Since Qiao Yang was there, Fu Jichen didn’t plan to stay long. “Teacher Qiao, don’t trouble the chef. I need to visit Grandfather later.”
He sighed. “Grandfather gave me an ultimatum. I have no choice but to go.”
In fact, Qiao Weiming didn’t have much to discuss with Fu Jichen today. He had invited Fu Jichen over earlier because he feared Fu Group might invest in New Tech.
If that happened, the Qiao family could lose control of New Tech.
He didn’t care much—being older, he had a more detached view of money.
But his son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t allow Fu Group to take over New Tech.
He had already asked his niece Qiao Yang—Fu Group’s proposed investment targets didn’t include New Tech.
As for preventing Fu Group from investing in this field, since Fu Jichen hadn’t agreed, he didn’t press the matter further.
Qiao Weiming expressed concern: “Still because of Yu Qing’s issue? I’ve also heard about it.”
Fu Jichen nodded. “Mm.”
“You and Yu Qing have quite a few obstacles ahead.”
“Good things come to those who wait.”
After staying for over an hour, Fu Jichen excused himself.
He didn’t actually need to visit his grandfather, nor did he have any work scheduled for the day.
After staring at his phone for a while, he called Yu Qing.
They hadn’t been in contact for five days.
“What are you busy with?”
“Working overtime.”
“Working from home?”
“At the law firm.”
Yu Qing had started at the law firm on Thursday. Her partner, Qin Yu, had just received a case referral from a brokerage firm, and she had been working late into the night every day.
Fu Jichen took out a pen and paper, wrote down the address of Shuo Yu Law Firm, and handed it to the driver. The driver understood and turned onto the road leading to Shuo Yu at the next intersection.
“What time have you been waking up these days?” Fu Jichen asked.
“Five a.m.”
“Next time you wake up at five, send me a picture so I know you’re really up.”
Yu Qing still had a lot of materials to review. “President Fu, is there anything else?”
“No. Just letting you know that I visited Teacher Qiao today, and Qiao Yang was there too.”
Yu Qing didn’t have time to feel jealous now. She asked him, “Do you plan to let Fu Group invest in New Tech?”
Instead of answering, Fu Jichen countered, “Is the case you’re handling related to Fu Group’s investment project?”
“Yes. It’s a resource obtained from the brokerage firm.” Yu Qing wanted to know, “Do you have any plans?”
“If I sell my own company to the group, how will the other shareholders react? If I sell it at a high price, they’ll accuse me of self-dealing.”
Fu Jichen continued, “If I sell it at a low price, what do I gain?”
Even if sold at market price, those shareholders wouldn’t appreciate the gesture—they’d think they overpaid and consider his company worthless.
After a few seconds…
“It’s unnecessary.”
Yu Qing hummed in agreement. “If you have time in a couple of days, I’ll find you to talk.”
“About what?”
“Certainly not romance.”
Yu Qing got to the point. “New Tech’s issues.”
Before hanging up, Fu Jichen asked her, “Do you miss me?”
Yu Qing laughed. “No, I found a replacement for you, and I look at it every day.”
Fu Jichen’s expression changed several times. No wonder she hadn’t contacted him for five days.
“...What replacement?” Could it be that she found Qin Moling and was with him?
Yu Qing: “A lucky cat.”
Fu Jichen: “...”
He pressed his chest.
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