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Zheng Yu An was a little embarrassed, not because of a self-interested misunderstanding of what Yan Shu Wang wanted to do to him, but because of the fact that he overreacted and acted unnaturally.
Drinking alcohol doesn’t necessarily cause problems, but getting drunk is another thing.
Zheng Yu An thought to himself, how fortunate that Yan Shu Wang did not care.
Since they ate and drank, the following collaborations would come easier. The bank's main branch gave a response fairly quickly. So Zheng Yu An drafted and sent the first version of the contract to Zhang Jin the next day.
Zheng Yu An did not expect WE GO to call back in the afternoon.
They’ve worked together for so long, so Zheng Yu An didn’t bother with the honorifics. Besides, even dogs shouting at each other everyday would have developed feelings, let alone business partners.
Zheng Yu An’s tone was a little intimate when he answered the phone, he called out "ge1" and asked, "What do you think?"
The other end of the phone was silent for a while. Then, a mellow, wine-like voice rang out: "Hello, this is Yan Shu Wang."
Zheng Yu An: "......" Well, he wasn’t wrong to call him ge.
During the finalization stage of the contract, it's not surprising that the CFO would call personally. Yan Shu Wang raised a few questions about the flow of funds, and Zheng Yu An answered professionally, in a rigorous, business manner.
"This is only the first version of the contract." Zheng Yu An took out the cigarette case from the suit pocket hanging on the chair, "Mr. Yan can mark the doubtful places, and we will discuss it later."
Yan Shu Wang said, "I don’t have many objections."
Zheng Yu An lit his cigarette, and smiled: "Then we can start drafting the second version of the contract."
Yan Shu Wang replied with a "hmm." Since he did not immediately hang up the phone, Zheng Yu An naturally could not end the call first, so he smoked while listening to the movement on the other side until Yan Shu Wang suddenly asked him: "Is Mr. Zheng still dizzy?"
A hangover is inevitable once you drink too much wine. When Zheng Yu An came to work this morning, Chen Li even said that he smelled of alcohol. Now that Yan Shu Wang suddenly mentioned it, Zheng Yu An thought of yesterday’s embarrassing event.
"After a good night's sleep, I’m much better." It’s not like he’s only stepping foot into society, a little embarrassment wouldn’t be enough to make Zheng Yu An’s heart fluctuate, he said calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Yan."
Yan Shu Wang seemed to chuckle. He lowered his volume, sounding like fine wine being swirled in a glass, and said: "Mr. Zheng is really good at drinking."
Zheng Yu An could only feel his ears getting inexplicably hot, he inhaled a mouthful of smoke into his lungs, and slowly exhaled. Then, he heard Yan Shu Wang ask him for his cell phone number.
"If anything urgent comes up, it would be more convenient to contact you directly." Yan Shu Wang explained, " As for the contract, I'll have to trouble Mr. Zheng."
Yan Shu Wang’s WeChat home page was nearly empty. His posts were public, but there were only a few, he’s never even posted ads for WE GO.
Zheng Yu An felt like he was peeking into the private life of a successful upper-class man, but he didn’t necessarily want to know too much. So he looked for a while and then closed the WeChat window.
Qin Han Guan also took a look at the new contract.
"Send a copy of it to their legal affairs department." Qin Han Guan said.
Zheng Yu An: " I already did, this version is our own to keep."
Qin Han Guan nodded: "Let’s settle things early, to avoid long nights fraught with dreams2 and minimize the chance of the cooked duck flying away3.”
Zheng Yu An was helpless to his blind use of idioms, he made himself a cup of coffee and asked, "Will you send the official contract to WE GO or should I send it?"
Even though most files are now electronically scanned, banks still have to keep paper copies of contracts to be considered standardized. Generally, signing contracts with large enterprises is like ribbon-cutting at a grand opening, some would even host a ceremony.
"You go ahead." Qin Han Guan does not like these kinds of occasions, "They are more familiar with you, didn’t you see the way they treated me like an outsider last time4?"
Zheng Yu An laughed, "Aren’t you and I the same5?"
Qin Han Guan was flattered, "Then how handsome must I be."
WE GO didn’t do anything big or ceremonial when Zheng Yu An went to finally sign the contract. Other than Yan Shu Wang, Zheng Yu An also met the CEO Xue Chen.
The man's appearance is ordinary, except he had a pair of eyes that looked like pedals of peach blossoms. Zheng Yu An knew about Xue Chen, he and Yan Shu Wang were college classmates, they decided to set up a business together and were the founders of WE GO.
As Xue Chen shook hands with him, Zheng Yu An realized that Xue Chen is shorter. Xue Chen stamped the contract, turned back to Yan Shu Wang and said, "We have to invite Xiao Zheng to eat a meal, since he came all the way here."
The JZ Park branch building is on the west side of the lake, coming over really doesn’t take that long, but this meal can't be escaped, so Zheng Yu An simply did not object.
After the contract was signed, they did an inspection tour in the afternoon as part of the routine, but also as a sign of respect to the business partner. Zheng Yu An does not feel so important that he needed to be accompanied by Yan Shu Wang, but the other party seems to have no intention to continue working, and took Zheng Yu An up and down in the two buildings.
Zhang Jin and Luo Yan had long since returned to their posts, and when they strolled to the second floor, only Yan Shu Wang and Zheng Yu An were left.
"This is the hotel department." Yan Shu Wang did not wear a suit, his button down shirt was also a casual style. His long hair was tied, his bangs fell in two strands next to his temples, when he spoke his eyes would stare at Zheng Yu An's face. The temperature of his stare isn’t hot, but it also can not be ignored at will.
The weather is already entering into early summer, even though the building has air conditioning, Zheng Yu An still felt hot. He took off his suit and hung it in his arm. He works in the bank, so he is used to wearing formal three-piece suits. Today, he wore a moderate, light blue business button down shirt with some fashionable, dark-colored embroidery.
The "click" sound of leather shoes on the marble floor is crisp and pleasant, with no dragging at all. Zheng Yu An's posture is straight; when he had to bend over to look after listening to Yan Shu Wang’s descriptions, even the curve of his spine was beautiful.
He looked through the glass at the young employees who were making phone calls in the workroom and seemed to find it interesting.
Zheng Yu An's waistline looks surprisingly slim from behind, he has long legs, and his suit pants wrap around his round, upturned hips.
"Labor cost is considered one of the advantages of online services." Zheng Yu An stood up straight again. He turned back around, looked at Yan Shu Wang and asked, "Where do we go next?"
Yan Shu Wang made eye contact with him. It was a rare instance where Yan Shu Wang had to take the lead to avoid his gaze. Yan Shu Wang lowered his eyes, pulled out his cigarette case, and said, "Does director Zheng want one?"
Zheng Yu An smiled, and decently refused: "I’m good, I'll just smoke my own."
Yan Shu Wang: "......"
The author(木更木更)'s notes：You guys are too easy to "bend"... Xiao Zheng is really quite difficult to get, otherwise Yan beauty wouldn't have liked him
1 Ge (哥) means elder brother, it is usually used in casual conversation to refer to those who are older or in a position of respect
2 "A long night fraught with dreams" (夜长梦多) is a Chinese idiom meaning: undue delay may bring trouble.
3 "The cooked duck flew away" (到嘴的鸭子飞走了) is another Chinese idiom meaning: the losing of what one has already got / failure to seize an opportunity when it is available. In this case, Qin Han Guan is worried that competitors might snatch away the opportunity to work with WE GO.
4 The original phrase in the novel is “上次喝酒你看对面给我面子吗?” which more or less translates to “did you see how the other side didn’t give me face?” But Qin Han Guan doesn’t mean that he wasn’t given respect, it’s more like saying that the other side was not as enthusiastic towards him compared to Zheng Yu An.
5 As in they both represent and act as the “face” of the bank.
The translator's notes:
I’m not very familiar with China’s workplace drinking culture, so I hope my translations don’t sound too awkward…