BF Chapter 46

At five in the afternoon, Xu Shen brought Zhan Shili downstairs, preparing to attend a business dinner.

 

As they got into the car, Zhan Shili suddenly asked, “Do you want to get something to eat first? We might have to drink quite a bit later. I’m worried your stomach won’t be able to take it.”

 

Xu Shen glanced at him and said, “Whatever.”

 

“Wait in the car. I’ll go buy something,” Zhan Shili said.

 

After saying that, he went to the café upstairs and bought a few slices of cake. On his way out, he ran into Xu Zikang, who had just come downstairs.

 

“Nic, where are you going?” Xu Zikang called out to him, his gaze falling on the box of cake in his hand.

 

Zhan Shili casually replied, “Going out with Young Master Shen. We have a business dinner tonight.”

 

Xu Zikang hesitated before asking, “Are you two… really going out for business?”

 

Zhan Shili had no interest in explaining himself further: “Director Wu will be there too. What do you think?”

 

It wasn’t that he completely ignored Xu Zikang, but these days, Zhan Shili had grown increasingly cold toward him, to the point that he could no longer even be bothered to pretend. Xu Zikang deeply regretted exposing everything that day—if he had at least kept quiet about it, he could have continued pretending not to know, deceiving himself and turning a blind eye. Zhan Shili’s attitude toward him currently only made it hurt more.

 

He was not willing to just let go like this.

 

Xu Zikang had never brought up breaking up, and neither had Zhan Shili. Or perhaps their relationship had been a joke from the very beginning, and there had never really been anything to break off in the first place.

 

Regardless, even if it existed in name only, even knowing that Zhan Shili had been deceiving him all along, he still wanted to preserve this fragile relationship that was barely even there.

 

Xu Zikang opened his mouth, but no words came out.

 

Xu Shen’s call came through. Zhan Shili answered: “I’m coming down now.”

 

After hanging up, he prepared to leave, but Xu Zikang tentatively called out to him again: “Nic.”

 

Zhan Shili paused and said to Xu Zikang in a harsh voice, “I already told you everything I needed to say that day. If you can’t accept it, then there’s no need for us to continue.”

 

Xu Zikang instinctively shook his head: “No.”

 

“Think it over carefully.” With that, Zhan Shili paid no further attention to how he reacted and walked away.

 

Back at the car, Zhan Shili got into the passenger seat and handed the cake he had just bought to Xu Shen in the back: “Eat something first. Those mainlanders like drinking baijiu. I’m worried your stomach won’t be able to handle it later.”

 

Xu Shen didn’t take it and instead beckoned to him: “Nic, come sit in the back.”

 

The moment their eyes met, the tension in the air seemed to freeze, and the lingering stalemate between them from the past week shattered in an instant.

 

Zhan Shili got out of the car and climbed back in, this time taking a seat in the rear. The driver started the car.

 

He offered the cake again, but Xu Shen still didn’t take it: “I don’t want to get my hands dirty. Feed me.”

 

Zhan Shili opened the box, scooped up a bite of cake, and held it to Xu Shen’s lips, signalling with his eyes for him to eat.

 

A smile surfaced in Xu Shen’s eyes as he took the cake into his mouth: “You should eat some too. I’ll be counting on you to fend off drinks for me later.”

 

“Mn,” Zhan Shili scooped up another bite and ate it himself, suggesting, “Once we’re at the table, don’t force yourself if you can’t handle it. Take it easy.”

 

Xu Shen asked, “I saw Xu Zikang come downstairs right after you. Did you run into him when you went up to buy the cake?”

 

Zhan Shili continued feeding him: “We just talked for a bit.”

 

Xu Shen’s eyes narrowed mischievously: “He didn’t give you trouble? How did you manage to coax him this time?”

 

Zhan Shili couldn’t be bothered to answer.

 

Not wanting the driver in front to overhear them, Xu Shen took out his phone and typed something in his notes app for Zhan Shili to see: [Could it really be that the worse you treat him, the more he loves you?]

 

Zhan Shili took the phone and typed a reply underneath: [Don’t you like the bad ones too?]

 

Xu Shen leaned closer to him, muffling the laughter spilling out.

 

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The guests they were meeting tonight were senior executives from a major state-owned enterprise that had come from the mainland to Hong Kong for an inspection visit. Their company was also the leading mainland entity behind the development of Xingdu Port.

 

Xu Ziren had previously bought the Malaysian government’s stake in Xingdu Port without authorization. Now that the deal was done and there was no backing out of the contract, Xu Shen decided he might as well make the best of it and pursue a full acquisition.

 

The person who had made the introduction was another Zhaoqi director surnamed Wu. He had long been responsible for Zhaoqi’s investment projects in the mainland and had enough connections to get them a meeting, though he could hardly be considered close with the other party.

 

But whether they were close or not was just a matter of half a glass of baijiu.

 

Once the drinks were downed and everyone loosened up, conversation naturally began to flow.

 

Moreover, the other party’s executive was quite talkative: “Zhaoqi is a long-established major company here, we’ve all heard of it for years. I simply didn’t expect its current chairman, Mr. Xu, to be so young. The younger generation truly is formidable.”

 

“My father is only giving me an opportunity to gain some experience,” Xu Shen said with rare modesty. “Over the years, aside from our projects here in Hong Kong, Zhaoqi has invested in various kinds of projects throughout the mainland and overseas. Thanks to the country’s policies, we’ve been fortunate enough to ride that momentum as well. Zhaoqi was involved in the large-scale floating photovoltaic project that Director Chen led in Indonesia a couple of years ago. My father even mentioned recently that he’d had the opportunity to meet Director Chen back then.”

 

“You know Director Chen as well?” The other man immediately became interested; that deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission had previously been the head of their enterprise.

 

Xu Shen smiled: “We’ve only met in passing.” At the signing ceremony for that project years ago, Xu Shiji had indeed taken a photograph with him.

 

“Then this is fated, I suppose.” The other man smiled as well.

 

Seeing that their glasses were empty, Zhan Shili tactfully got up and refilled them. Director Wu, who had accompanied them to the dinner, also helped keep the atmosphere lively, introducing the restaurant’s signature dishes to their guests.

 

After the pleasantries, Xu Shen finally brought up the reason for the dinner: he wanted to buy the portion of Xingdu Port shares they held.

 

“I heard before that Zhaoqi was considering redeveloping Xingdu Port. Are you really planning to go through with it?” the executive asked curiously. “I should warn you in advance, this was a failed investment. Back then, one of the senior leaders personally led the delegation over to sign the deal, but it was ultimately delayed due to a myriad of negative factors. The whole thing is a mess of bad accounts. Even if you take it over, it’ll be difficult to revive it.”

 

“Zhaoqi isn’t that ambitious,” Xu Shen said frankly. “We’ll scale the project down, build a cruise terminal and private marina, and develop a resort alongside them. There might still be a chance to recoup the investment.”

 

Even if they lost money, it didn’t matter. His original intention was simply to extend an olive branch by taking this mess off the other party’s hands. In that respect, his thinking was the same as Xu Ziren’s: they both wanted to do someone a favor. The crucial difference was whom they chose to do that favor for.

 

Seeing that they were genuinely sincere, the other man spoke candidly as well: “Actually, we have been considering selling off Xingdu Port for the past couple of years. We just haven’t been able to find a suitable buyer.”

 

Xu Shen asked, “Would Zhaoqi qualify?”

 

“Mr. Xu is being far too modest. A listed company with Zhaoqi’s resources would certainly be a good choice. I was simply surprised to hear that you were interested in Xingdu Port.” The smile on the other man’s face grew noticeably warmer.

 

Xu Shen affirmed, “We’re very sincere about this. As for the price, that’s negotiable.”

 

They were willing to take the project off their hands, and the other side was also naturally happy to be rid of a headache.

 

After several rounds of drinks, they had more or less reached a verbal understanding. The finer details of the acquisition agreement would have to be discussed later in a formal setting.

 

The dinner ended with both hosts and guests thoroughly satisfied.

 

After seeing their guests into the car, Xu Shen let the smile fade from his lips and turned to jerk his chin at Zhan Shili. “Let’s go back.”

 

Director Wu bid them farewell, and Xu Shen thanked him. Most of the time, Xu Shen was actually quite easygoing. In front of others, he was much more modest than Xu Ziren, and the directors generally had a good impression of him.

 

Director Wu hurriedly said that it was all for the company and only what he should do.

 

After everyone left, only the two of them remained. Zhan Shili looked at Xu Shen’s slightly flushed face and asked, “You drank about six liang¹A “liang” is 300ml of alcohol. in total. Drunk?”

 

“You actually kept count? Then how much did you drink?” Xu Shen laughed again, amused by him. “Those people can seriously drink. If you hadn’t helped me, I really might’ve drunk myself to death at that table.”

 

Zhan Shili raised a hand and pressed it to his forehead: “You can still tell north from south, not too bad. Let’s go.”

 

Once they got into the car, Xu Shen began to feel dizzy. He took one sip from the bottle of mineral water Zhan Shili handed him, then waved it away to show he couldn’t drink any more and simply laid his head on Zhan Shili’s lap.

 

Zhan Shili massaged his temples for him: “You really feel that nauseous?”

 

“Not too nauseous,” Xu Shen closed his eyes briefly. “The cake you bought helped. At dinner they did nothing but drink and barely touched the food. If I hadn’t eaten something beforehand, then I really would feel uncomfortable.”

 

Zhan Shili’s cool fingertips rested against his temples, gently rubbing them.

 

Xu Shen felt a little better and remained still, his head using Zhan Shili’s lap as a pillow.

 

For lack of anything else to say, Zhan Shili asked, “You’re pushing this acquisition so aggressively. Are you planning to shift Zhaoqi’s development focus toward the mainland?”

 

“Not really,” Xu Shen said, voice slurring, clearly drunk. “Zhaoqi’s previous investments in the mainland were all real-estate projects, and that market isn’t doing well anymore. They’re a major state-owned enterprise with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council behind them. I just want to use them as a middleman. National policy is encouraging private enterprises to participate in major national projects now, and not many people in Hong Kong have thought of taking a slice of that pie yet. We need to get in first.”

 

Zhan Shili praised him: “You really have devoted yourself to the company as acting chairman. The boss didn’t misjudge you.”

 

Xu Shen mumbled, “Nic, are you making fun of me?”

 

“I mean it,” Zhan Shili said.

 

Xu Shen let his eyes fall again: “Acting chairman is only temporary. Sooner or later, I’m getting rid of that first word.”

 

Zhan Shili said, “Mn.”

 

Xu Shen’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, saw that it was Cai Lihao, and answered.

 

“I just finished dinner with your second brother. We’ve more or less got a deal,” Cai Lihao got straight to the point. “That Second Young Master of yours really is a piece of work. I’m the one offering him something good, but he acts all high and mighty like I’m begging him for a favor. And that’s not all, even his assistant who came with him had his nose in the air, acting like I’m some desperate nobody who has to fawn over him.”

 

Xu Shen burst out laughing. “Not every assistant can be like Nic, beautiful and good at reading the room. If you run into some snob who looks down on people, why should you be polite to him, Brother Paul? Have a few of your boys keep an eye on him and once he’s alone, give him a taste of some special treatment.”

 

Cai Lihao said in exasperation, “Like I need you to teach me that. Enough already. Stop flaunting your love life in my face, it’s disgusting.”

 

Xu Shen hung up.

 

Zhan Shili threaded his fingers through Xu Shen’s hair. “It’s done?”

 

“Mn.” Xu Shen nodded. “It’s done.”

 

Zhan Shili asked, “Happy now?”

 

Xu Shen was still smiling: “Somewhat.” 

 

Actually, he was quite happy. Ever since the shareholders’ meeting that day, there had been a knot of frustration lodged in his chest. At last, it had finally loosened.

 

Zhan Shili looked down at Xu Shen: lying sideways with his head on his lap, eyes closed and a smile lingering at the corners of his lips, face flushed from the alcohol.

 

Zhan Shili brushed the pad of his thumb over his cheek, pushing that flush of vermillion all the way to the corner of his eye where it stayed.

 

Xu Shen could be perfectly proper when he wanted to be, but his true nature was blunt, brutal, and terribly vindictive. The fierce expression he’d worn just now while talking about having someone “taken care of” became particularly vivid in his drunken haze with a seductive glint in his eyes that was incredibly alluring.

 

“Want to go to Langting?” Zhan Shili asked quietly.

 

Langting, their secret love nest.

 

Xu Shen held Zhan Shili’s fingers and traced idle circles against his palm with his fingertips, faintly humming in agreement.

 

Zhan Shili told the driver to take them straight to Sheung Wan.

 

Once the car stopped, he dismissed the driver for the night and remained seated.

 

They were alone in the car, and the lights were off. Xu Shen still hadn’t let go of Zhan Shili’s hand. After a quiet moment, he said, “You’ve been ignoring me these past few days. I felt awful, Nic. Don’t do that again.”

 

Only Xu Shen could turn the tables on someone and still manage to act so aggrieved.

 

Zhan Shili asked, “Wasn’t Young Master Shen the one ignoring me?”

 

For the entire past week, aside from work, Xu Shen had barely spoken to him about anything else. Even whenever Zhan Shili reported to him, Xu Shen had made sure other people were present.

 

Zhan Shili had wanted to break their stalemate, but Xu Shen had given him no chance.

 

Xu Shen complained softly, “Then couldn’t you coax me? I told you before, I want you to coax me. I was just telling my godbrother how beautiful and perceptive you were, but it looks like I wasted my breath praising you.”

 

Zhan Shili narrowed his eyes slightly: “Who’s beautiful?”

 

“You,” Xu Shen said without the slightest hesitation. “You, the great beauty. Stop changing the subject. Why didn’t you coax me?”

 

Zhan Shili didn’t argue with him: “Mn. It was my fault.”

 

Xu Shen rolled over and wrapped both arms around Zhan Shili’s waist from the front. He looked up, but in the darkness, he couldn’t make out the expression on Zhan Shili’s face: “Then how are you going to make it up to me?”

 

His eyes held a drunken glaze, his expression somewhere between petulance and amusement. Zhan Shili’s gaze stilled: “What does Young Master Shen want?”

 

Xu Shen stared straight at him: “Nic, I want you.”

 

The three words, spoken softly and tenderly, wound their way into the most hidden corner of Zhan Shili’s heart.

 

Zhan Shili pulled his hand free from Xu Shen’s grasp, caught him by the chin, and lowered his head to kiss him.

 

Xu Shen immediately parted his lips to cooperate, looping both arms around Zhan Shili’s neck and tipping his head back, eagerly reciprocating the kiss.

 

Their lips and tongues intertwined. Xu Shen swallowed repeatedly as Zhan Shili kissed him with an unusual intensity, drawing his tongue into his mouth and sucking on it as though he meant to devour him whole. It wasn’t their first time, yet somehow the sensation was exceptionally different every time.

 

Xu Shen could barely endure it. A moan slipped from him unconsciously, his breathing turning ragged.

 

He was already burning all over from the alcohol, and now the heat seemed to envelope him; he quickly found himself gasping for air.

 

After a long while, Zhan Shili finally stepped back a little and murmured, “Let’s go upstairs.”

 

Xu Shen closed his eyes and nodded obediently.

 

Zhan Shili pushed open the car door. After getting out, he immediately bent down, lifted Xu Shen from the car, and swept him into his arms.

 

Xu Shen hung both arms around his neck, leaning against his chest as he chuckled and reminded him, “There are cameras.”

 

“Doesn’t matter.”

 

Zhan Shili kept him firmly in his arms, shut the car door, and strode steadily toward the elevators.

 

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t/n: Advance chapters up to ch 62 are up on kofi shop~ ^^

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Continue Reading Ch. 47-62: click me <3

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  A “liang” is 300ml of alcohol.