BF Chapter 29

After nightfall, Xu Shen was drinking coffee alone under the veranda outside the sitting room as usual. Zhan Shili came out of Xu Shiji’s study and stopped by to say goodbye before leaving.

“Is my second brother still in there?” Xu Shen casually asked as he drank his coffee.

“The boss told me to come out first,” Zhan Shili said. “He kept Second Young Master behind to speak with him alone.”

He had just handed the original copy of the bid evaluation report to Xu Shiji, which concerned a luxury residential project that Zhaoqi had previously launched on Kadoorie Hill. Both construction companies involved—Tiancheng and Xinchi—had questionable qualifications: chaotic accounts, false claims, suspicions of irregularities, and shoddy workmanship during construction. Once the matter came to light, the damage it would do to Zhaoqi’s reputation was easy to imagine.

“The boss gave Second Young Master a scolding. He wants to handle the matter discreetly, firing Liao Zhihong, blacklisting those two companies, and never working with them again and that would be the end of it.”

“That’s it?” Xu Shen said in amusement. “Liao Zhihong broke the law, didn’t he? And Zhaoqi could absolutely seek compensation from those two companies, yet they’re letting them off?”

Zhan Shili said calmly, “You know what the boss is like. If this blows up, the negative impact on Zhaoqi will be even greater.”

Xu Shen was genuinely curious: “Did Liao Zhihong save my second brother’s life in his past life? Why does my second brother indulge him so much?”

“Liao Zhihong has worked in the Real Estate Development Department for many years,” Zhan Shili explained. “Real estate is the foundation of Zhaoqi’s business, so Second Young Master has to keep it firmly under his control. And although they did cut corners, they would still keep construction safety under control; the issue is mainly false claims about the quality of the building materials.”

Xu Shen asked, “My dad wants to handle this discreetly, but if word gets out, Nic, would you be in trouble?”

Zhan Shili looked at him and said, “There’s no such thing as a wall that doesn’t let the wind through¹This is basically the Chinese idiom equivalent of the saying “there’s no secrets in the world.”. If Zhaoqi fires the general manager of the Real Estate Development Department and replaces its construction partners, all sorts of rumors are bound to spread anyways, and once they’re repeated enough times, they’ll become the truth.”

Xu Shen smiled: “Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

Zhan Shili said nothing more. He took the coffee cup straight from Xu Shen’s hand and poured the remaining half cup onto the grass beside them without a care.

“It’s already nighttime. Don’t drink this, or you won’t be able to sleep again.”

Xu Shen didn’t stop him. When the coffee cup was handed back and he reached out to take it, his fingertips brushed against Zhan Shili’s, a subtle warmth passed between them. A hint of playfulness appeared in Xu Shen’s eyes, and his fingers imperceptibly slid towards Zhan Shili’s palm, lightly scratching it.

Zhan Shili pinched his knuckles and calmly withdrew his hand: “I’m leaving, see you tomorrow.”

Xu Shen smiled and replied, “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

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As Zhan Shili had predicted, Xu Shiji had wanted to handle the matter discreetly, but rumors spread like wildfire, with rampant speculations that multiple Zhaoqi construction projects had quality issues and safety hazards.

Before the relevant government departments could intervene and launch an investigation, Zhaoqi was forced to report the matter to the authorities themselves, and Liao Zhihong and the heads of the two construction companies were subsequently taken away by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Zhaoqi’s stock price plummeted, after which the company held a press conference to clarify the construction safety concerns surrounding the projects involved, presented an assessment report issued by a professionally accredited institution, and publicly apologized for the false advertising while promising compensation.

At the subsequent executive meeting of the board of directors, Xu Ziren was openly questioned and challenged. Aside from apologizing, all he did was distance himself from the matter, implying both explicitly and otherwise that he had previously been unaware of it and had been deceived by Liao Zhihong.

Although inadequate supervision still constituted a dereliction of duty, Xu Shiji, the chairman of the board, had not said anything, so it was difficult for anyone else to keep pressing him on the issue.

As the person in charge of the Mong Kok project and deputy manager of the Real Estate Development Department, Xu Shen also attended the meeting. Originally, the matter had nothing to do with him, but he was mentioned when the selection of the new department manager was discussed.

Despite having been with the company for only a short period of time, his performance on the Mong Kok New Town project had been outstanding, so it was natural for him to take over as the department’s general manager.

At this moment, however, Xu Ziren interrupted everyone and introduced another professional whom he had poached from another company with a high salary: “Gary graduated from Imperial College London and has worked for many well-known companies since returning to Hong Kong. He has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate industry, so I believe he is the most suitable person to serve as our general manager of the Real Estate Development Department.”

Everyone attending the meeting whispered among themselves, but no one voiced an opinion.

Xu Shen had anticipated that his second brother wouldn’t let him get his way so easily, so he wasn’t surprised. He was quickly thinking of a countermeasure when he heard Zhan Shili, who was attending the meeting on Xu Shiji’s behalf, say, “Everyone has seen Young Master Shen’s performance, but it’s true that he still lacks experience, so it’s reasonable to have a senior professional lead the Real Estate Development Department. However, everyone is also concerned about whether he truly has what it takes to serve as general manager, so perhaps we should give him a chance to demonstrate his abilities, and then let everyone vote to decide. What does the CEO think?”

The others echoed this sentiment one after another. There was nothing wrong with leaving the position of general manager vacant for the time being and making a decision later.

Xu Ziren suppressed his displeasure and said, “As mentioned before, the chairman of Damega²Damega, or “达美嘉” in the Chinese raws, is an actual company. That company’s English name is officially “Damega,” so I translated it like so instead of using the pinyin “Dameijia.” intends to sell the company’s core assets, many of which are high-quality assets that align with Zhaoqi’s strategic plans. If Gary can successfully acquire them, everyone can consider giving him a chance.”

Having said all that, it was difficult for the others to continue refuting Xu Ziren, so the matter was settled.

By the time the meeting ended, it was already time to get off work, and Xu Shen returned to his office to pack up his things.

His secretary followed behind him and complained quietly, “The Second Young Master would rather bring an outsider into the company than trust you, Young Master Shen. It‘s really…”

“Forget it,” Xu Shen interrupted him. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Twenty minutes later, Xu Shen went downstairs and ran into Zhan Shili in the parking lot, who was also preparing to leave. This time, he took the initiative to invite him: “Nic, want to have dinner together?”

Unfortunately, Zhan Shili already had plans with Xu Zikang today: “Sorry, I already have plans. I agreed to have dinner with your third brother at noon.”

Xu Shen asked with a smile, “Can I tag along? Don’t worry, I’ll talk less and eat more, I promise I won’t disturb your date with him.”

Zhan Shili refused outright: “No.”

“Alright,” Xu Shen said regretfully. “Forget it then, you go ahead and have fun. I’ll just ask Sister Huan to get me something to eat when I get home.”

He got into his car and was about to start the engine and leave, but Zhan Shili came back and knocked on his car window.

Xu Shen rolled down the window and looked at him, “Is there anything else?”

Zhan Shili bent down slightly, looking the person in the car in the eye: “Can you eat seafood?”

Xu Shen nodded reservedly: “I’m not a picky eater.”

Zhan Shili gestured to him: “Come on, I’ll take you along.”

Xu Shen was amused: “Didn’t you just say no?”

Zhan Shili opened the car door for him: “I changed my mind.”

Xu Shen got into Zhan Shili’s car. As he fastened his seatbelt, he asked, “I really won’t be disturbing you two? I was just joking earlier…”

Zhan Shili reached over and pinched his cheek, amusement in his eyes: “If I don’t take you, you’ll go home and just ask Sister Huan to make you something random to eat. Sounding so pitiful, how could I not take you?”

Xu Shen caught Zhan Shili’s hand and pulled it down: “You’re going on a date with him, so I’m genuinely a little uncomfortable.”

It was that same tone again, making it impossible to tell whether he was being sincere or not. When those beautiful eyes looked directly at someone while revealing its vulnerability, anyone would be easily deceived.

Who wasn’t a liar?

Zhan Shili looked away and started the car, reminding him, “Don’t take things too far later. Other than that, do whatever you want.”

Xu Shen finally behaved himself: “Got it, I promise I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Twenty minutes later, the car arrived at its destination: a seafood restaurant near the company.

Zhan Shili had already reserved a private room ahead of time. Xu Zikang hadn’t arrived yet, so after they sat down, they called the manager in to order some food and have the tea served.

Xu Shen hadn’t expected him to choose a place like this for dinner: “You chose a place like this for a date with my third brother?”

Zhan Shili didn’t think anything of it: “What’s wrong with this place? He said he wanted seafood, so I chose this restaurant. What, did you think we had to go to some fancy French restaurant?”

Xu Shen deliberately teased, “French restaurants have so much more atmosphere and romance. Light a candle, say a few sweet words, and you can coax him into being hopelessly devoted to you again.”

Here he goes again.

Zhan Shili poured him some tea and instantly changed the subject: “Second Young Master probably didn’t report to the boss beforehand about bringing someone else in to take over the Real Estate Development Department. Now that he’s acted first and reported later, there isn’t much your dad can do about him. Since the directors have agreed to give Gary a chance, he won’t give up easily, but there’s no need to worry.”

Xu Shen raised his eyebrows slightly: “You have a way?”

Zhan Shili said, “Second Young Master won’t be able to acquire Damega‘s assets.”

Xu Shen’s interest was piqued: “Tell me more.”

Zhan Shili set down the teapot and gestured for him to try the tea first before elaborating, “It’s true that Damega intends to sell its core assets, but they also want to retain the Damega name and don’t want those commercial buildings and hotels to be renamed. What Zhaoqi has its eyes on, however, is the land beneath those properties, especially the plot in the heart of Central, which they want to repurpose. Dameijia definitely won’t agree to that, so no matter how much Second Young Master offers, Dameijia won’t sell those assets to Zhaoqi.”

Xu Shen asked, “How do you know all this?”

Zhan Shili said calmly, “Dameijia’s chairwoman, Ms. Li-Zhang³Here, I’m assuming her surname is Li (which she took from her husband) but also Zhang (her original surname). She took her husband’s surname but also kept her own, so she’s Li-Zhang Huixian. This is different from those double-character Chinese surnames like Ouyang, Zhuge, Shangguan, Sima, etc. Huixian, is close friends with Joanna. I heard Joanna mention it before when we were having tea and chatting. After Damega’s former chairman Li Zun passed away, his widow, Ms. Li-Zhang Huixian, has been managing the company ever since. Now that Ms. Li is getting older and her health isn’t good, she wants to immigrate to Canada to recuperate. This is why she plans to sell the company, but she doesn’t want the work her husband put his life into going to waste, so her only requirement is that the buyer must preserve the independent operation of these properties and cannot make any changes to them.”

Xu Shen understood: “They have to preserve the operating rights and can’t even change the names and there’s no way Zhaoqi’s board of directors would approve that. My second brother’s acquisition plan was destined to fail.”

“Mn,” Zhan Shili nodded. “So let them do whatever they want. For now, just focus on doing a good job with the Mong Kok project. You can also consider other promising project ideas. If you‘re able to gain the support of the directors, the position of general manager of the Real Estate Development Department will definitely be yours. By then, it’ll only be natural for you to join the board of directors.”

Xu Shen placed one hand over the back of Zhan Shili’s hand that was holding the teacup: “Nic, I knew you’d help me.”

Zhan Shili said helplessly, “Enough.”

Xu Shen grinned and extended a finger to scratch his palm again, only for it to be pinched hard.

At that moment, the door to the private room was pushed open behind them, and the manager escorted the tardy Xu Zikang in.

Xu Shen withdrew his hand nonchalantly, acting as though nothing had happened. He picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

Zhan Shili remained equally composed as he got up and went over to push Xu Zikang’s wheelchair to the table.

The smile on Xu Zikang’s face faltered when he saw Xu Shen. Xu Shen put down his teacup and smiled at him, saying, “Third Brother, Mr. Zhan said he invited you out for seafood. I happened to be craving some too, so I shamelessly tagged along. You don’t mind, do you?”

Xu Zikang couldn’t exactly say that he did mind, and his expression became somewhat awkward: “…It’s fine. The more the merrier.”

Xu Shen pretended to be oblivious to his displeasure: “Is your gallery that really busy? Why did you come so late? Mr. Zhan and I have been waiting for you forever. Hurry and have them serve the food, I’m really hungry.”

Xu Zikang explained that there had been a traffic jam on the way, reluctantly suppressed his discomfort, and greeted them with a smile.

Zhan Shili sat down and instructed the manager to serve the food.

Once all the food and drinks were served, Xu Shen really did exactly as he had said. He mindfully refrained from disturbing Zhan Shili and Xu Zikang’s “date,” focusing all his attention on the food and ate heartily.

Zhan Shili occasionally put food on Xu Zikang’s plate as they chatted.

Xu Zikang inquired about Zhaoqi’s current situation, and Zhan Shili briefly replied, “The company’s stock price has already recovered quite a bit since the press conference, and the shareholders have stopped making a fuss. We can take our time dealing with the compensation, and we’re also suing those two construction companies to recover our losses. The one who’s really overwhelmed lately is your second brother; you should go comfort him when you have the time.”

Thinking it over, Xu Zikang finally decided, “Forget it. Second Brother and I have never had much to say to each other, and he’s always ignored me.”

“Second Young Master is just like that,” Zhan Shili said. “You didn’t join the company to help out, yet you own more shares than he does, so it‘s not a surprise that he’s so resentful.”

“I know. I can only blame myself for being incapable.” Xu Zikang sighed softly.

Xu Shen felt like laughing, listening to them. Zhan Shili certainly was capable: on one hand, he subtly drove a wedge between Xu Zikang and his family, while on the other, he repeatedly led Xu Zikang into feeling sorry for himself before brainwashing him into believing that he was the only person who could help him, making this sickly man depend on and trust his “boyfriend” even more.

In this regard, Xu Shen had to admit that he was no match for him.

There was no need for Zhan Shili to say anything more after that. He poured Xu Zikang a bowl of seafood congee: “Have some congee first, drink it while it’s hot.”

Xu Zikang accepted it, thanking him.

Zhan Shili’s tone was gentle: “No need.”

Xu Zikang randomly asked him a question: “That cat you mentioned before, are you still keeping it?”

Without the slightest change in expression, Zhan Shili answered, “I am.”

“Do you have any pictures?” Xu Zikang asked curiously. “Can I see them?”

Zhan Shili said, “He won’t let me take any. He’s a somewhat spoiled little wildcat, not very easy to please.”

Xu Zikang looked disappointed.

As Xu Shen listened to them chat, he stretched one foot over beneath the table, the tip of his shoe lifting the hem of Zhan Shili’s suit pants before hooking around his leg, intentionally yet seemingly unintentionally probing his way up.

Zhan Shili turned around, poured him a bowl of congee as well, and handed it to him without letting anything show on his face.

“Young Master Shen, please.”

Xu Shen accepted the bowl of congee and said in exactly the same tone Xu Zikang had used earlier: “Thank you, Nic.”

Zhan Shili’s response was a casual “Mn” from the back of his throat.

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t/n: Mmmm, was stuck between subtle flirting/secretly flirting, ultimately I decided it was subtle since it was done in front of Xu Zikang but not hidden although poor dude didn‘t notice a thing.

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♡♡♡ if you like my translations, please consider buying me a kofi~! ♡♡♡

• 1
  This is basically the Chinese idiom equivalent of the saying “there’s no secrets in the world.”
• 2
  Damega, or “达美嘉” in the Chinese raws, is an actual company. That company’s English name is officially “Damega,” so I translated it like so instead of using the pinyin “Dameijia.”
• 3
  Here, I’m assuming her surname is Li (which she took from her husband) but also Zhang (her original surname). She took her husband’s surname but also kept her own, so she’s Li-Zhang Huixian. This is different from those double-character Chinese surnames like Ouyang, Zhuge, Shangguan, Sima, etc.