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During a break in the meeting, Qi Xing was staring blankly at the WeChat chat interface with Ye Xingzhou when he suddenly heard someone nearby mention Ye Xingzhou's name, which instinctively diverted a bit of his attention.
It was others chatting and discussing the recent uproar over the Ye family's stock acquisition battle.
Lin Hongfei, following Shengfa's Wang Peng, had been aggressively buying Ye family stocks in the secondary market and making rapid progress. Meanwhile, the Ye family had remained passive. Just when they were on the verge of risking everything, Ye Xingzhou finally reacted and providing evidence to the Securities Regulatory Commission and filing a real-name report against them for market manipulation, insider trading, and illegal fundraising.
"The Securities Regulatory Commission has accepted the case and started an investigation and the police have also gotten involved. As for Shengfa, I don't know but Lin Hongfei was reportedly taken away directly during a board meeting. It's not just them; Ye family's third son, Ye Wanqing, also got involved and was taken away for questioning. I've heard that their second son, Ye Wanyao, is also implicated but he's abroad and didn't participate directly, so he should be able to escape this disaster."
The chatting group clicked their tongues in amazement and noting how the young master of the Ye family always kept a low profile but whenever he acted, he struck decisively without leaving any room for maneuver.
After this incident, Ye Xingzhou's position in the Ye family was completely solidified and no one could shake it.
Qi Xing felt a bit speechless; indeed, a tyrant is a tyrant. Ye Xingzhou's actions were entirely in line with his style.
However, his man was incredibly handsome and he loved him dearly.
Ye Xingzhou's WeChat message came in at the right moment: "Can you come over tonight?"
Qi Xing stared at the message. In fact, Ye Xingzhou had changed a bit; if it were before, he would have sent a command-like "Come over tonight" instead of a question.
This made Qi Xing feel quite pleased. He had made up his mind to go over shortly but deliberately teased the other party: "Let's see as it depends on my mood and whether there are any other matters to attend to."
After the meeting, Qi Xing once again left work early after a long time, leaving the company before four o'clock and driving to the Ye building.
As he took the elevator up, he casually fixed his hair in front of the elevator mirror.
The moment the door opened, he was still adjusting his hair when he met Lin Zhinian's gaze outside: "..."
Why is this person here again?
Qi Xing's first reaction was that a vixen had come to stir trouble.
But he smiled and greeted the other person, "Teacher Lin, nice to see you again."
Lin Zhinian noticed his cold demeanor but still nodded slightly and stepped into the elevator, clearly not intending to engage in conversation.
Qi Xing's mind turned and he pressed the door open button while signaling to Lin Zhinian: "Shall we chat?"
Five minutes later, they stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in an empty corridor on this floor. Lin Zhinian spoke first: "If you have something to say, Young Master Qi then please be direct as I have matters to attend to and need to hurry back."
"What are you here for? It wouldn't be to reminisce with Ye Xingzhou and play the emotional card again, would it?"
Qi Xing was indeed very direct, so much so that Lin Zhinian's expression changed instantly. However, he acted as if he hadn't noticed and continued, "Let me guess, you're dressed so formally today with even a tie on. You must not be here representing yourself, but rather your family or company? I've heard about your second uncle's situation. He previously refused to sell the company to Ye Xingzhou and even teamed up with others to target the Ye family. Now that he's hit rock bottom, he wants to turn around and ask Ye Xingzhou for help to buy Bosun?"
Lin Zhinian remained silent with a cold face, and Qi Xing knew he had guessed correctly: "But Ye Xingzhou must have refused, right? He was interested in Bosun before because he wanted those three thousand nails from that broken ship but your second uncle sold them to Shengfa. Now Bosun is just an empty shell, so only a fool would buy it. If he wants something big then he can negotiate with Shengfa, so how could he possibly pay attention to you? I think those who sent you here, including yourself, probably know this but you wouldn't be willing to give up without trying, so they pushed you out and hoped that Ye Xingzhou would help you out because of the past."
Completely hit by Qi Xing's words, Lin Zhinian felt particularly embarrassed and clenched his fist tightly: "It's none of your business."
The last time he came, he indeed had ulterior motives and wanted to seek an explanation from Ye Xingzhou, only to be met with this young master’s condescending ridicule. This time, he had nearly trampled his pride to plead with Ye Xingzhou, yet that man remained indifferent, even cold and ruthless to the point of being terrifying.
Yet Qi Xing still wouldn't let him off the hook and wanting to see him make a fool of himself.
"Don't be angry," Qi Xing waved his hand, "Relax, I'm not here to deliberately make you uncomfortable. Teacher Lin, why not take my advice? With things like this, why still care about your second uncle or those other people? Whether they go bankrupt or not has nothing to do with you. I see your second uncle hasn't treated you well and you said you haven't been happy in the Lin family, so why bother with them? You're not a teenager who needs family protection anymore. You've achieved success in your career, so why worry about having no way out after leaving the Lin family? Why sink with them?"
Lin Zhinian stared at him wide-eyed, seemingly not expecting Qi Xing to suddenly say such things and was momentarily stunned to respond.
Qi Xing smiled: "I’m not wrong, right? You used to get dividends at Bosun, which made working for your second uncle somewhat valuable. Now that Bosun is like this and it can't be saved anymore, so just let it go. Or are you really short on money? If so, how about this: at last year's charity gala, my grandpa donated that painting, and Ye Xingzhou spent eight million to buy it for you. You can sell it to me for a flat price of eight million."
As he spoke, his tone turned a bit sour. That bastard Ye Xingzhou, claiming he had no interest in people, yet could still generously gift an eight-million painting.
Lin Zhinian was stunned for a long time: "... You want that painting?"
Qi Xing: "Uh-huh."
Lin Zhinian frowned: "That painting isn't worth eight million at all."
Ye Xingzhou bought the painting to support Old Chen and in his eyes, the painting might not be worth a dime. Giving it to him was merely a trade-off for taking away his own painting or perhaps a way to mislead others about their relationship. But it was because of this painting that his second uncle and the others believed that Ye Xingzhou still had feelings for him and easily fell for Ye Xingzhou's trap.
Even he himself, knowing that it was fake, still couldn't help but deceive himself until now and finally waking up from the dream.
"I know but it doesn't matter. I have money and I'm not taking advantage of you. Since Ye Xingzhou spent eight million on the painting then I'll buy it for eight million. If you're willing, you can send someone to deliver the painting to Ye Xingzhou's house and I'll transfer the money to you."
After finishing, Qi Xing added, "You don't have to go personally."
Lin Zhinian stared at his smiling peach blossom eyes, paused for a moment and finally agreed: "Okay."
He indeed needed the money and there was no longer any need to pretend to be high-minded. Moreover, that painting held no significance anymore. In fact, he should have seen clearly when Ye Xingzhou unhesitatingly gave away the painting he had personally created.
"One last piece of advice, Teacher Lin, there's no need to dwell on memories that have long passed, especially those beautified by filters. It's pointless, so look forward instead." Qi Xing's tone was rarely sincere.
Lin Zhinian was momentarily taken aback again and after regaining his composure, he nodded and turned to leave.
After he left, Qi Xing hummed and also turned to head to Ye Xingzhou's office.
The receptionist, seeing him was no longer surprised and immediately greeted him with a beaming smile: "Good afternoon, Young Master Qi. The chairman is inside and there are no other people. You can go right in."
Qi Xing smiled and thanked her then pushed the door open.
Ye Xingzhou, sitting behind the desk and focused on his work, raised his eyebrows slightly upon seeing him and then returned his gaze to the documents.
Qi Xing walked over then turned sideways and directly sat on his lap. Ye Xingzhou instinctively caught him with one arm but his attention was still on the documents he was reviewing.
"You have time to come over so early today?" Ye Xingzhou asked casually while still able to multitask and continue working.
Qi Xing snorted lightly: "Then how would I know if I haven't come that the vixen showed up. Did he?"
Ye Xingzhou: "Hmm."
He pinched Qi Xing's waist lightly with one hand while the other hand calmly continued to write on the documents.
Qi Xing: "What do you mean, 'Hmm'?"
Ye Xingzhou: "You ran into him, so why are you asking me for?"
Qi Xing couldn't stand his attitude and snatched his pen and tossed it aside, even covering the documents as well.
Ye Xingzhou looked up and Qi Xing's hand was pinching his face: "Don't pretend in front of me; I can't stand it."
Ye Xingzhou helplessly explained: "He came to discuss their company's matters and wanted to sell the company to me but I refused."
Qi Xing withdrew his hand and laughed at him: "You're quite famous now as everyone outside knows you're a tyrant."
Ye Xingzhou shrugged nonchalantly: "Let them."
Qi Xing: "How did you get evidence of their insider trading? I was wondering why you were so calm before and just sitting here so composed; it turns out you were prepared all along."
Ye Xingzhou: "Wang Pengfa's assistant, the one who received you in Chonjiing City, I provided some benefits to get the information."
Qi Xing recalled that man's slick and lewd demeanor and felt a bit uncomfortable. Ye Xingzhou could deal with such shady characters; no wonder he could remain undefeated.
He didn't bother to ask further and changed the subject: "Lend me eight million and I'll pay you back once your old classmate's company makes a profit and distributes dividends."
Ye Xingzhou: "Eight million?"
Qi Xing didn't want to explain the reason: "What, are you reluctant?"
He had just told Lin Zhinian that he had money, which was a lie. All his savings were invested in Ye Xingzhou's old classmate's company. He wanted to buy back that painting but didn't want to ask his parents for money, so he could only turn to Ye Xingzhou.
Ye Xingzhou didn't ask further and just directly made a phone call and instructed someone to transfer the money to him.
Qi Xing was very satisfied, considering Ye Xingzhou was perceptive.
Afterward, Ye Xingzhou also left work early and took him home to prevent him from suddenly changing his mind and running off.
When they went to the underground parking lot to get the car, Qi Xing returned to his car to grab something and sat in front of Ye Xingzhou: "This is for you."
Ye Xingzhou looked over: "What is this?"
"A Qingming Festival gift." Qi Xing said confidently. If he wanted to pursue someone, he had to show some sincerity and giving gifts during holidays was essential. After all, the most recent holiday was Qingming Festival.
Ye Xingzhou: "A Qingming Festival gift?"
Qi Xing: "Do you have any objections?"
Ye Xingzhou opened it and unsurprisingly, it was a bright and flashy tie, clearly chosen by Qi Xing himself. Very different from the one he had casually bought to replace the one he had ruined.
But before Ye Xingzhou could express whether he liked it or not, Qi Xing reached out to pull his tie and brought him closer. He skillfully helped him untie it and put on the one he had given him.
After tying it, he looked up at Ye Xingzhou's face. The bastard was also looking at him with a playful gaze, as if watching a show.
Qi Xing smiled: "This looks much better, so vibrant. You're my daddy but not my biological father, so there's no need to match my dad's generation."
Ye Xingzhou was already used to his nonsensical chatter and said nothing, he even casually sit back and glanced at the rearview mirror before starting the car.
As soon as they entered Ye Xingzhou's home, Qi Xing jumped onto him and wrapped his arms around his neck and nibbled.
Ye Xingzhou supported him with both hands before falling back onto the sofa. But before Qi Xing could kiss him, he asked, "Do you want to eat first?"
Qi Xing thought for a moment, "Maybe later."
Ye Xingzhou chuckled softly: "Are you sure?"
He was worried that if he didn't feed this little wildcat, then he wouldn't be satisfied later.
"Don't laugh." Qi Xing scolded softly.
Every time Ye Xingzhou smiled, Qi Xing's heart raced. He suspected Ye Xingzhou was deliberately trying to seduce him.
Ye Xingzhou obediently suppressed his smile while silently staring into his eyes. Qi Xing felt increasingly flustered under his gaze and just as he was about to say something, the doorbell rang.
It was the delivery company, delivering the painting he had asked Lin Zhinian about.
After checking and confirming, Qi Xing signed for it directly.
Ye Xingzhou crossed his arms and watched from the side. Once the delivery person left, he raised his chin at Qi Xing: "Eight million?"
Qi Xing turned his face away, not wanting to answer.
The painting was indeed worthless as spending eight million on it was like throwing money away but he just didn't want to leave the painting for Lin Zhinian, even if it meant spending that money.
Ye Xingzhou's lips curled up again and Qi Xing felt embarrassed by his smile. He leaned over and pushed him back onto the sofa then climbed back onto his lap.
"I told you not to laugh besides, what's wrong with that eight million? It's not as if it's your money because I will pay you back."
Ye Xingzhou stopped smiling but his expression was still amuse: "Hmm."
Qi Xing's fingers curled around his tie and twisted it a few times. He lowered his eyes and muttered softly: "What are you laughing at? Young Master Ye is wealthy and generous. As he is able to casually give an eight-million painting to someone he's not interested in. Isn't that enviable? Unlike me, who has to borrow money to buy a painting..."
"You don't have to pay back the eight million and consider it a gift from me to you." Ye Xingzhou casually said.
Qi Xing: "No."
Who would want this second-hand item?
He didn't want it and Ye Xingzhou didn't press the issue: "Next month, tell your dad that you want a vacation and come out to play with me."
"I can't go." Qi Xing huffed, "I'm busy because I have to go abroad at the end of the month, then to New York to ring the bell. And my dad personally ordered it, so I have to go. You can have fun by yourself."
Ye Xingzhou: "What day are you going and for how long?"
"How would I know? The itinerary hasn't been set yet." After saying that, Qi Xing felt a bit gloomy and leaned on Ye Xingzhou's shoulder, "Daddy Ye, say something nice to me."
Ye Xingzhou leaned down and gently touched his ear while whispering three words.
Qi Xing felt a tickle that his attention momentarily distracted and he didn't catch what this bastard had said. He sat up straight: "What did you just say?"
Ye Xingzhou looked at him and Qi Xing's eyes were filled with hope. He was genuinely expecting him to say something.
The three words Ye Xingzhou had just said were, "I love you."
"If you didn't hear it then forget it. I just say it next time."
Qi Xing: "Why wait for next time?"
Ye Xingzhou: "So you won't look back later and say I wasn't sincere enough, not formal enough and not comparable to someone else's eight million."
Qi Xing: "..."
Fine, I let you be smug for a few more days.
"When is that next time then?"
Ye Xingzhou didn't answer but asked back: "What do you want for your birthday gift?"
Qi Xing: "Don't ask me that. Whether it compares to eight million or not and whether it matches the others who think they can run all over the town to buy cakes, that all depends on your performance."
"Okay." This time, Ye Xingzhou agreed readily.
Qi Xing let out a light breath and leaned back against his shoulder.
This was more like it.
It's just on his birthday, so he would wait for it.