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As the “dream facilitator,” wishing them success in their dreams was essentially asking for trouble.
But in this situation, they had no choice but to put on a polite front and say something.
“Best wishes.”
“Congratulations.”
Ye Jinhua glanced at her husband. “Your dream hasn’t come true yet, so why are you congratulating me?”
Chairman Fu: “...Congratulations on finding a kindred spirit.”
That much was true.
Ye Jinhua reluctantly forgave his insincerity.
Fu Jichen set down his wine glass and quickly started eating.
This was the fastest he had ever eaten in history, breaking his own record.
Seeing his son eat so quickly, Chairman Fu also sped up.
1,999 bottles.
Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
They couldn’t stay at this dining table a minute longer. At any moment, his wife might toss him a hot potato.
If he caught it, he’d burn himself.
If he threw it away, he could already foresee the miserable days awaiting him in the coming days.
Fu Jichen set down his chopsticks. “You all take your time finishing.”
Yu Qing and Ye Jinhua, who had been chatting about perfumers, both turned their heads, stunned. “Are you done already?”
Chairman Fu also set down his chopsticks. “It’s not that we ate fast; it’s that you two were too busy talking and forgot to eat.”
The two women were momentarily dazed.
Hadn’t they just exchanged a few words?
After the meal, Chairman Fu and Fu Jichen quickly retreated to the living room.
Chairman Fu poured himself a glass of warm water. He had eaten too quickly, and now his stomach was hurting.
Fu Jichen went to find the housekeeper. A short while later, he returned from the side building and tossed a few pills to his father.
Chairman Fu took a look—it was digestive medicine. He quickly popped a few into his mouth.
Fu Jichen picked up his cigarettes and lighter. “Mom, we’re going out to the yard for a smoke.”
Ye Jinhua waved her hand dismissively. She and Yu Qing were still eating and chatting, with no time to worry about what they were doing.
Out in the yard, Chairman Fu finally caught his breath.
Fu Jichen opened a pack of cigarettes and handed one to his father.
Chairman Fu waved his hand, pointing to his mouth where the pill was still dissolving.
Fu Jichen rubbed his stomach. He didn’t feel like smoking either.
Chairman Fu scolded his son. “What I said earlier, did you just brush it off as idle talk? Did you think I was trying to harm you? How does it feel now?”
Fu Jichen didn’t respond. He never expected that his mother and Yu Qing’s ultimate goal was to collect 2,000 bottles of perfume.
Chairman Fu chewed the digestive pill and swallowed it.
He glanced at his watch. “I need to head to the company. I’ll say I have a meeting this afternoon. What about you?”
Fu Jichen: “I’ll go with you.”
They stood in the yard for another fifteen minutes before heading back inside.
Ye Jinhua and Yu Qing had already finished eating. The chef made them coffee, and they sat on the terrace chatting idly.
If only there had been some sunshine, it would have been even more pleasant.
Fu Jichen and Chairman Fu moved almost in sync, both grabbing their coats and putting them on.
Ye Jinhua glanced at her husband and then at her son, understanding their little scheme. But when they were at home, they were just extras anyway—no one paid attention to them.
Before leaving, Fu Jichen reminded Yu Qing, “Come pick me up early.”
Ye Jinhua rested her forehead on her hand. “Why are you still acting like you did back in kindergarten, thinking about being picked up before you’ve even left home?”
Fu Jichen: “...”
Yu Qing turned her face away, trying to suppress a laugh.
Chairman Fu whispered to his son, “Let’s get going. Don’t invite further embarrassment.”
The two of them walked out briskly, one after the other.
The house fell silent.
Ye Jinhua and Yu Qing chatted casually. Ye Jinhua half-jokingly asked, “Back then, when you fell for Jichen, was it because of his looks or his interesting soul?”
Yu Qing didn’t hesitate. “Half and half.”
Ye Jinhua: “Those qualities come from me. His bad habits are all influenced by his father.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, both women burst into laughter.
The coffee was brewed and brought over.
Ye Jinhua asked her, “Do you want milk and sugar?”
Yu Qing declined. “I’m in a good mood today.”
The entire afternoon passed as they chatted nonstop. Their coffee went cold, and they eventually refilled their cups.
As evening approached, Yu Qing bid farewell.
For the first time, she felt that leisurely hours passed as quickly as busy ones.
During their conversation, Yu Qing and Ye Jinhua discussed why Fu Jichen always reminded his family to pick him up early when he was in kindergarten.
Once, Ye Jinhua was away on a business trip and asked Chairman Fu to pick up their child. However, Chairman Fu got caught up in meetings and completely forgot. The teacher tried contacting them several times without success.
The landline at home went unanswered.
Fu Jichen waited until it was dark before his father finally remembered there was still a kid waiting at the kindergarten.
________________________________________
Fu Jichen had been busy all afternoon, and his stomach still felt uneasy. Drinking a few glasses of hot water hadn’t helped.
He wondered how his father was faring.
Probably no better than him.
Qiao Yang came over to have him sign some documents and casually mentioned NewTech.
“Qin Moling met with my cousin today.”
She had gone to her uncle’s house for lunch, but her cousin wasn’t there. She later found out that her cousin had gone out with Qin Moling.
“I wonder if Lemo Tech is planning to invest in NewTech.”
Fu Jichen grunted an “Mm.” He knew, and he had long anticipated that Yu Qing would extend her restless little claws into his NewTech.
Qiao Yang looked at him. “I can talk to my cousin and ask him to avoid mingling too much with our competitors.”
Fu Jichen signed the document and handed the report back to her. “Have you guys in finance been pretty idle lately?”
Qiao Yang pursed her lips. “It’s the end of the year. We’re very busy.”
She understood the implication behind Fu Jichen’s words—she had overstepped her bounds.
Before Fu Group had the capital to invest in NewTech, their finance department had absolutely no connection to it. At present, NewTech was solely a personal investment of Fu Jichen.
Both professionally and personally, she had no standing to interfere.
Fu Jichen’s phone rang—it was his father calling.
Qiao Yang picked up the report and left, closing the door behind her.
Fu Jichen answered, “Is your stomach still hurting?”
Chairman Fu: “...No, it’s fine.” The real reason he called was to ask whether Yu Qing was still at home.
Fu Jichen: “Why don’t you ask my mom?”
“Forget it, I don’t feel like eating with them.” After a pause, Chairman Fu added, “Or, how about I treat you to dinner? I deeply apologize for what happened twenty-seven years ago.”
He had forgotten to pick him up from kindergarten, leaving him waiting for hours.
But Fu Jichen wasn’t hungry at all; he had no appetite.
“Oh, by the way,” before hanging up, Chairman Fu mentioned a business matter. “The other two board members have surprisingly agreed to invest in your NewTech. We’ll discuss the share distribution between you and the company in the upcoming meeting.”
He was puzzled. “How did Yu Qing manage to convince them?”
Fu Jichen: “Through interest transfers. She wouldn’t have engaged them in lofty discussions or presented grand arguments.” Yu Qing herself was skilled in budgeting and investment analysis.
The other two board members also had investments in numerous companies.
Yu Qing used models to calculate how much profit they would ultimately gain if they collaborated with her.
And those profits were channeled through Yu Bank. Afterwards, Yu Bank developed these two directors’ invested companies into major clients.
Yu Qing had leveraged his resources, pulling off a clever scheme—without any direct investment, she secured benefits for Yu Bank simply through resource integration.
Chairman Fu: “With Lemo Tech coming into play, and then Lemong Drinks, it won’t be easy for you and Yu Qing to carve out a third path. But Yu Qing isn’t one to back down easily. She’s willing to face challenges head-on and actively resolve the conflicts of interest between our two families.”
After the call ended, Fu Jichen stared at the piggy bank Yu Qing had given him.
As dusk fell, an unexpected visitor arrived at the office.
Ji Qingyuan had come to see him but hadn’t mentioned anything specific on the phone earlier.
Fu Jichen had already instructed his secretary to prepare tea, though he himself stuck to plain water.
He glanced around his office. “Today, this place feels unusually radiant.”
Ji Qingyuan never visited unless it was for non-business matters.
Even when there were negotiations, they were mostly held elsewhere. Ji Qingyuan’s last visit to Fu Jichen’s office had been several years ago.
Fu Jichen handed over the tea and looked at Ji Qingyuan. “Aren’t you hot? Or is the heating in my office insufficient?”
Ji Qingyuan stood up and finally took off his overcoat.
He hadn’t slept much the previous night, and after spending the entire day discussing project development plans, his mind felt foggy.
“I had a fight with Jingxin.”
Fu Jichen didn’t tease him. “That’s good—at least she’s willing to talk to you now.”
Ji Qingyuan: “...”
Looking at Fu Jichen’s expression, it wasn’t one of schadenfreude.
From this unique perspective, it almost made sense.
But what Yu Jingxin had said was, “Qingyuan, this life we’re living is meaningless. Let’s get a divorce sooner rather than later. The child will be mine, and the assets are yours.”
In the past, no matter how monotonous their lives became, neither of them had ever considered divorce.
Ji Qingyuan’s purpose in coming today was to seek advice from Fu Jichen. “You and Yu Qing nearly broke up before. How did you reconcile?”
The sisters shared similar personalities, so perhaps there were commonalities.
Fu Jichen: “Communication and apology. I apologized.”
Ji Qingyuan nodded. He could take the initiative to apologize.
But communication? That was difficult.
Yu Jingxin had no desire to talk to him. No matter what he asked, she either brushed him off or changed the subject.
Over time, even he found it pointless.
After sitting for a while in Fu Jichen’s office, Ji Qingyuan went to find Yu Jingxin.
Yu Jingxin was working overtime today. She worked in the venture capital management department of the bank.
It was dark outside.
Yu Jingxin had spent half the afternoon staring blankly out the window.
When she came back to her senses, she couldn’t remember what she had been thinking about.
She stared at the wedding ring on her ring finger—it was cold and devoid of warmth. Now, aside from the child and the intertwined interests of both families, she could no longer find any meaning in her marriage to Ji Qingyuan.
There was a knock at the door.
Yu Jingxin moved her mouse, clicked on her computer screen, and then called out, “Come in.”
She assumed it was a subordinate coming to report on work.
As the door opened, her gaze shifted toward it.
Seeing Ji Qingyuan, Yu Jingxin froze for two seconds.
By the time she realized it, Ji Qingyuan had already closed the door and sat down across from her.
Apologies were easy to think about but incredibly difficult to voice.
Ji Qingyuan looked at Yu Jingxin. As he expected, she didn’t welcome him and kept her eyes glued to the computer screen.
“Jingxin, is there anything you want to say? Can we talk openly? Keeping it bottled up inside doesn’t help me understand.”
Because they had grown so distant, he couldn’t decipher her thoughts.
He wanted to know what she had been thinking about during these four years of waiting for him.
In front of Yu Jingxin was a stack of discarded material papers. She picked up a pen and started scribbling aimlessly on them.
There was silence for a moment.
Ji Qingyuan spoke again, “If you’re naturally quiet, I can understand that. But with your family, you have endless things to talk about.”
Yu Jingxin looked up. “It’s because I’m not familiar with you, and I don’t know what to say. I can’t just make small talk, asking if your ex has gotten married, how she’s doing, or if you still think about her often. Or should I tell you who I’ve been thinking about?”
“Isn’t that being overly sentimental?”
“Just live with your eyes closed.”
She lowered her head and continued scribbling.
Ji Qingyuan felt as if burning liquor was scorching his throat. Even unbuttoning his collar, he still felt stifled and struggled to breathe.
He thought that Fu Jichen had it easier than him.
________________________________________
Late into the night.
After more than half an hour had passed, Yu Qing was still treating herself like a seesaw, rocking back and forth.
Fu Jichen patted her back. “Let’s go to sleep.”
“Not tired.”
Fu Jichen had no choice but to continue reading his book while letting her entertain herself.
Half an hour earlier, she had aligned her navel with his, finding a central point, and lay horizontally across his abdomen, continuously swaying.
He had no idea what she was up to this time.
Tomorrow was Monday, and they had to wake up early again.
“What’s going on?”
Fu Jichen had read a few pages but couldn’t hold back anymore. Knowing it might be a trap, he still asked proactively.
Yu Qing: “I’m transmitting my thoughts to you through my navel. Did you know that the navel used to connect to the heart?”
Fu Jichen: “...”
He put down his book.
“It’s faster if you just say it out loud.”
Yu Qing crawled off and sat cross-legged on his stomach. “Actually, I don’t want to say anything at all. I want us to be telepathically connected. Even if you can’t sense it, I won’t blame you.”
Getting away with playful behavior after gaining an advantage.
Nine times out of ten, it was related to perfume.
Fu Jichen promised her: “Within twenty years, I’ll definitely make your dream come true. 1,999 bottles, right?”
Yu Qing: “I’d rather keep using my navel to transmit to you.”
Fu Jichen: “...”
He grabbed her firmly. “I’ll gather them all for you within five years.”
“Goodnight.” Yu Qing kissed him and went to sleep.
The bedroom lights were turned off.
Fu Jichen sighed quietly.
“Yu Qing.”
“Hmm?” Yu Qing yawned sleepily. “What is it? Are you going back on your word?”
Fu Jichen decided to engage in a battle of wits with her. She avoided romantic talk by missing the target, so he would play along: “Maybe I should enroll you in a shooting class. If you focus, you’ll eventually hit the bullseye.”
“What if I accidentally hit someone else’s target?”
“...”
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