BF Chapter 27

Early in the morning, as soon as Xu Shen arrived at the company office, his secretary brought in all the project tender documents he had collected, saying that Liao Zhihong had just sent them to him asking him to review them.

Liao Zhihong was the general manager of the Real Estate Development Department. However, since Xu Shen was now the person in charge of the Mong Kok project, the final decision regarding the bidding still rested with Xu Shen.

“A separate copy of these documents was sent to the review committee,” the secretary said. “They will provide a detailed evaluation report later.”

Xu Shen opened the folder; the topmost file was the joint bid proposal from the two construction companies, Tiancheng and Xinchi. Over the past few years, almost all winning bids for Zhaoqi’s engineering projects had gone to these two companies, indicating a long-standing cooperation.

Xu Shen asked, “Why is it that only their bids have detailed expert review opinions attached?”

The secretary explained, “This was something Manager Liao had people prepare in advance for you to review first, Young Master Shen. Because the company has always cooperated with them in the past and the Second Young Master trusts them deeply, the bidding process is essentially just a formality, so…”

“There is no ‘so’,” Xu Shen interrupted the secretary, tossing the documents back. “The past is the past. I report directly to my father for the Mong Kok project; I don’t need to ask for my second brother’s opinions. We’ll talk about which contractor to choose after the bid evaluation reports are released.”

At six in the evening, Xu Shen finished his work and clocked off. He went downstairs to the parking lot to get his car, where he unexpectedly ran into Chen Ping and her daughter.

Chen Ping was the wife of their uncle, Zhong Zhihua—nominally, she was Xu Shen’s aunt. Zhong Zhihua was previously imprisoned for helping a money laundering ring and died of a sudden heart attack in the correctional facility half a month ago. The mother and daughter were back at the company today to retrieve some of Zhong Zhihua’s belongings left here.

The two had just stepped out of the elevator. Chen Ping had a sorrowful expression, looking very dazed, and was supported by her daughter, Grace, as they walked toward their car. The girl was carrying a large cardboard box, but she lost her grip on it, its contents scattering all over the floor.

Panicking, she squatted down to pick them up. Xu Shen walked over, bent down, half-squatting as well, calmly taking the cardboard box and helped her gather up the items.

The girl raised her eyes and saw him, biting her lip without saying anything. When she finally took the cardboard box back, she whispered a soft thank-you to him and helped Chen Ping into the car.

Xu Shen was not familiar with this mother and daughter pair. The first time he saw them was at Xu Zijie’s funeral hall, where Chen Ping had knelt down and begged Xu Shiji to save Zhong Zhihua, only to be refused and leave in anger. The second time was also at the funeral hall; after Zhong Zhihua passed away, Xu Shen went with Xu Ziren to pay respects on behalf of the Xu family, only to be chased out by Chen Ping. The woman had wept and cursed furiously, saying she didn’t need the hypocritical comfort of the Xu Family.

Xu Shen stood by the car, watching the mother and daughter get in.

The car didn’t start right away. Half a minute later, Grace pushed open the door and stepped down and said that her mother had a few words to say to Xu Shen, asking for a few minutes of his time.

The driver also got out of the car. Xu Shen got into the vehicle and pulled the door shut.

The woman’s pale, gaunt face was devoid of emotion as she coldly spoke, “Zhihua did something wrong, but he wasn’t the only one involved. Xu Zijie was clearly aware of it and actively requested to participate; he wasn’t deceived by Zhihua. Xu Shiji destroyed the relevant evidence in advance to protect his son’s posthumous reputation, pushing all the blame onto Zhihua. Zhihua died of a heart attack simply because he was too furious to swallow it.

After my eldest sister passed away, Xu Shiji stopped viewing us as family. In his eyes, only those named Xu are his own people. Whatever mistakes his sons commit can be forgiven by him—this was true for Xu Zijie, and it was also true for Xu Ziren. Xu Ziren allowed his subordinates to accept kickbacks to win people over. The qualifications of those two construction companies are fundamentally problematic; the evaluation reports were all tampered with by them. Zhihua knew long ago and privately copied the original evaluation reports of previous projects. These are documents I found while tidying up his study.”

After the woman finished speaking, she threw over a set of documents. Xu Shen flipped through two pages, closed it, and asked, “Aunt, what is it that you want me to do?”

“I’m doing this for the company’s own good,” the woman said quietly. “Young Master Shen, you can handle it as you see fit.”

Xu Shen got out of the car with the documents and watched the vehicle drive away.

He returned to his own car, casually tossed the documents onto the passenger seat, and started the engine.

At best, these things could at most only prove what Liao Zhihong did; whether Xu Ziren was aware of it and intentionally condoning it was impossible to say. Therefore, Chen Ping giving these things to him was nothing more than wanting to use him as a weapon to stir up trouble in the Xu Family.

Xu Shen invited Cai Lihao for drinks that evening, so he went straight to the bar.

Cai Lihao was waiting for him in his private nightly pleasure room with a different woman beside him again. He was currently holding her affectionately, kissing her as they sang karaoke together. Xu Shen sat on the side eating fried rice, his ears poisoned by the noise, though he didn’t seem to mind.

Zhan Shili sent a message inviting him to have dinner together. He casually replied: [I have plans.]

Cai Lihao scooted over to sit next to Xu Shen and asked, “I heard that your old man was kidnapped and so scared that he now needs eight bodyguards whenever he goes out?”

“It’s not that exaggerated,” Xu Shen said as he ate, his eyes still glued to his phone, “Four at most. Though he does gasp for breath after taking only a few extra steps now, so he doesn’t go out often anyway.”

Cai Lihao laughed for a while, then sighed with emotion: “He is quite generous though. A cut on your hand in exchange for a yacht, that sure is a bargain.”

Xu Shen was too lazy to speak, still looking at his phone.

Zhan Shili, saved as “Nicky,” replied: [With your godbrother again?]

Xu Shen: [Good that you know.]

Zhan Shili: [You made me put you before others, but what about you? Where do you rank me?]

The corners of Xu Shen’s lips curled up as he slowly typed: [Depends on your performance.]

Cai Lihao continued to tease, “Which mysterious person did you make an appointment with the first day your yacht went out to sea that even I, your godbrother, had to be pushed back and couldn’t share the glory?”

Xu Shen smiled but remained silent.

A new message from Zhan Shili came in: [Can’t even ask you out. Have you given me the chance to perform?]

Xu Shen: [Alright, I’ll reflect on myself.]

Seeing that he was ignoring him and engrossed in his phone, Cai Lihao asked helplessly, “Hey kid, are you dating someone? Who is it? Getting you this invested?”

“No,” Xu Shen answered unhurriedly, “No time to date.”

“Then who are you texting?” Cai Lihao asked, somewhat speechless. “Do you have to be this invested?”

Zhan Shili: [Really not coming out?]

Xu Shen: [I really can’t today, let’s go out in the next few days. I’ll ask you out again when I’m free.]

Zhan Shili: [Seren, playing hard to get becomes rather tasteless after too long.]

Xu Shen: [Nic, have some patience.]

Cai Lihao repeated, “Hey!”

Finishing the last bite of fried rice, Xu Shen turned off his phone and set it down: “Sorry, what did you ask just now?”

Cai Lihao almost rolled his eyes, pointing at him and saying, “I asked who you were texting so intently! Ugh, and you say that you’re not dating, who do you think you’re trying to fool?”

Xu Shen replied offhandedly, “The one I told you about before, my toy.”

Cai Lihao asked dumbly, “Who?”

Xu Shen picked up his wine glass and took a slow sip: “A big beauty.”

Cai Lihao didn’t believe it at all: “Come on, what kind of big beauty is so incredible that she could get you so obsessed?”

Xu Shen rested his chin on his hand, wondering to himself, “Am I that obsessed?”

Cai Lihao said disdainfully, “Do you want me to send someone to get you a mirror?”

Xu Shen raised his eyebrows slightly.

Cai Lihao didn’t actually have anyone bring a mirror, but he called in seven or eight beauties from his establishment for Xu Shen to choose from, both men and women, some curvy and some slender.

Xu Shen swept his gaze past them with little interest and said, “They’re all mediocre and unrefined, far inferior to the toy I’ve been eyeing.”

Cai Lihao let out a weird shout, “Oh, oh, oh~! This is called falling in love!”

Xu Shen scoffed, “That’s not it. He’s very useful, the toy I’m playing with the most comfortably right now.”

Cai Lihao was extremely skeptical, “Are you for real?”

Xu Shen took another sip of wine, the gold coin casually spinning between his fingers, his voice very soft: “I am, I like him very much, and I’m still far from getting bored of him.”

Failing to ask a certain someone out, Zhan Shili went for a drive around the city and then returned home.

He lived alone in an apartment near the company.

As soon as the car stopped in the parking lot downstairs, someone knocked on the car door. Without waiting for Zhan Shili’s consent, the person opened the car door rudely and sat directly in the passenger seat.

A hint of coldness flashed Zhan Shili’s eyes, unnoticed by the other person as he asked in a faint voice, “What other instructions does the big boss have?”

“Nothing much,” the other party said, “the big boss just had me come ask you: when can our plan begin implementation?”

Zhan Shili answered, “Not yet.”

“How much longer do we have to wait?”

“No need to be so anxious,” Zhan Shili said slowly, looking out the window. “Xu Shiji’s health is far from what it used to be after suffering one blow after another during this period of time, but he is Zhaoqi’s pillar after all. As long as he is still there, Zhaoqi’s foundation cannot be shaken. Currently, the person in charge of Zhaoqi is the second son, Xu Ziren, and most of the board of directors are on his side. If the big boss makes a move now, there is no chance of winning.”

The other party asked disdainfully, “When on earth do we still have to wait until?”

Zhan Shili replied perfunctorily, “Wait until Xu Shiji’s health gets worse, wait until Xu Ziren is kicked out of the game, and wait until that Fourth Young Master Xu takes the position; that will be when the big boss can make a move.”

“Fourth Young Master Xu?” The person looked at him suspiciously, “You mean the illegitimate child Xu Shiji recognized and brought back? What use can he have?”

Suppressing his impatience, Zhan Shili continued: “He’s quite capable. Ma Shide’s arrest and the Ma Family’s near bankruptcy was all his doing. When Xu Shiji was kidnapped, only he dared to go pay the ransom, which made Xu Shiji trust him even more. It’s only a matter of time before he takes over. Though, he’s an illegitimate child after all, and no one will truly respect him, especially the Xu Family and Xu Ziren. Once they start fighting amongst themselves, that’s when the big boss can make a move.”

The other person then asked, “You seem to be getting quite close to that illegitimate child? What is the relationship between you two?”

Zhan Shili suddenly felt a craving for candy, but with an outsider present, he could only endure it: “Gaining his trust and letting him lower his guard is the only way to better implement our plan in the future. He isn’t as easy to control as Xu Zikang, it’ll require more effort.”

“That’s true, you’re the most capable in this aspect, Nic. You really can charm anyone—the big boss doesn’t need to worry about this at all.” The person’s smile was ambiguous and sickening, clearly looking down on yet also envious of Zhan Shili’s methods, “Fine, as long as you know what you’re doing. What the big boss means is that even if the plan cannot proceed in a short time, as long as there is any useful news, you should remember to inform us as soon as possible and keep in touch with me at all times.”

Zhan Shili nodded dismissively. Once the other party left, he rolled down the window, letting the night wind pour in, blowing away the revolting atmosphere inside the car. He then pushed open the armrest compartment, took a piece of candy, unwrapped it, popped it into his mouth, and opened the door to get out of the car.

Taking the elevator upstairs, Zhan Shili’s home was the apartment room at the very end of the hallway on the seventeenth floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. At the end of the hallway, Xu Shen leaned against the door casually with one hand in his pocket, playing with his phone, seemingly having had come to wait for him here specifically.

Hearing the footsteps, Xu Shen raised his head and looked over, the corners of his mouth curling up: “Nic, where did you go? I’ve been waiting for you here for ages!”

Zhan Shili looked straight at him and stretched out his arms, all his turbulent emotions sinking deep into his eyes.

Grinning, Xu Shen jumped onto Zhan Shili and hugged him tightly.

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t/n: This chapter’s title is a little bit special!!

1. Because it isn’t ever title-dropped in the chapter itself;

2. Because it comes from an idiom, which is 同床异梦, referring to two partners sharing the same bed, but having different dreams/harbouring ulterior motives. The chapter itself is called “异梦,” which would be the “different dreams” part of “bedfellows, different dreams.” Since the original did not include the 同床/bedfellows part, I left it out as well.

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