BF Chapter 64

Zhan Shili walked into the Zhaoqi building. It had already been four months since the last time he walked out of here.

 

Xu Shen’s secretary took him directly up to the top floor in the executive elevator. When they passed his former office, Zhan Shili turned his head and glanced over. The door was half open, and Brandon was sitting behind the desk, talking on the phone.

 

Zhan Shili looked away and walked toward the chairman’s office.

 

The secretary pushed the door open and invited him in.

 

Xu Shen was leaning back on the sofa in the reception area drinking coffee, a financial magazine spread out across his lap.

 

Zhan Shili followed the secretary over. The secretary whispered, “Young Master Shen, he’s here.”

 

Xu Shen raised his eyes, gestured for Zhan Shili to sit, and addressed the secretary, “You can go now.”

 

Zhan Shili took out the share transfer agreement he had brought and handed it to Xu Shen to look over.

 

Xu Shen accepted it and flipped through a few pages before setting it down: “I’ll have my lawyer review it as soon as possible.”

 

Zhan Shili made a direct request: “I hope Young Master Shen can do me a favor and not let outsiders know these shares came from me.”

 

“Who’s the outsider?” Xu Shen asked coldly, then added, “Fine, since you don’t want He Mingzheng to know that you were the one using an offshore company to buy up shares behind his back, I won’t say anything.”

 

Zhan Shili added, “I don’t trust the people around you either.”

 

Xu Shen gave a scornful smile: “You don’t need to keep reminding me over and over that there’s something wrong with my assistant, Mr. Zhan. When you do that, it starts sounding more like you’re trying to sow discord. It’s beneath you.”

 

Zhan Shili didn’t retort: “As long as you know what you’re doing.”

 

“If you don’t want anyone to know,” Xu Shen continued, “then don’t come to Zhaoqi in person. If people see you here, it’ll make them suspicious all the same. You could’ve just emailed me the agreement.”

 

Zhan Shili looked at him, and after a brief silence, he said, “I wanted to come.”

 

Xu Shen saw the almost overbearing persistence in his eyes and was suddenly reminded of what this man had said that day—“worth a shot.” He laughed again, even more scornfully than before: “You questioned me before about whether I’d ever had even a little sincerity from beginning to end. Now that you’ve already settled on an answer and know I was only playing with you, what are you doing now? Are you really the kind of person who’s this indecisive and can’t break it off cleanly?”

 

Zhan Shili changed the subject directly: “Are you busy preparing the special development fund now? You outmaneuvered the Chamber of Commerce this time; they may not let it go so easily. Be careful.”

 

The special development fund established under the chamber’s name in cooperation with mainland government bodies and enterprises had ultimately been finalized with Zhaoqi as the lead party, and Xu Shen had even become the fund’s executive chairman, while the chamber itself had only managed to secure a vice-chairman position, shocking everyone.

 

Xu Shen asked, “What can they do if they don’t let it go? The cooperating parties specifically appointed Zhaoqi to lead and take charge. Letting the Chamber participate at all is already giving them face. At most they’ll curse me behind my back a few times, I don’t care.”

 

Zhan Shili reminded him, “Offending too many people won’t do you any good.”

 

“They think too highly of themselves.” Xu Shen was dismissive. “The Chamber has been rotten inside for years, burdened with entrenched problems and unwilling to adapt. More importantly, their interests are too entrenched. That’s exactly what the senior leaders dislike most. An acting chairman of Zhaoqi like me, with no foundation nor connections whatsoever, is actually the most suitable choice for them.”

 

“You really are good at reading people,” Zhan Shili said. “I heard the first phase alone plans to raise 100 billion?”

 

Xu Shen tilted his head slightly: “Curious? Are you asking on Zhuosheng’s behalf? Yes, 100 billion. Several different types of major projects will be involved, starting with the extension project for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bridge. Thanks to you, Zhaoqi’s previous asset sales went very smoothly, and most of the funds invested in Europe have already been recovered. For the first phase, Zhaoqi itself will put in 60%, with the rest raised externally. But Zhuosheng doesn’t get a share. There’s no use trying to curry favor with those people at the Chamber either. They don’t even have enough to divide among themselves, and ultimately, I’m the one who decides.”

 

“I never considered it. It has nothing to do with me,” Zhan Shili said. “Besides, with Zhuosheng’s current financial condition, they probably can’t spare any extra funds anyway.”

 

Xu Shen smiled faintly: “Given your target is Zhuosheng and how He Mingzheng is already overwhelmed now, are you still planning to wait? You probably don’t have the patience to wait another eight years, do you? What are you planning to do?”

 

Zhan Shili said, “Just wait and see.”

 

Xu Shen looked thoroughly uninterested.

 

With the business finished, Zhan Shili should have taken his leave, but he remained seated. His gaze slid to the magazine spread across Xu Shen’s lap, then to the hand holding it, where faint blue veins showed along the inside of his wrist beneath his sleeve.

 

So many times before, Zhan Shili had held that wrist and gently stroked this spot, and Xu Shen would always complain that it tickled…

 

Brandon knocked and came in, handing Xu Shen a phone and saying there was a video call he needed to take personally.

 

Xu Shen didn’t care that Zhan Shili was still there. He took the phone and greeted the person on the other end.

 

The other party was Filipino, and Xu Shen wanted to discuss a business deal with him. The man said he wanted to make friends with the acting chairman of Zhaoqi and asked to meet in person, with the transaction taking place on the open sea.

 

Xu Shen agreed immediately and arranged the time and place to meet.

 

“I’ve seen things far more dangerous than that,” Xu Shen said. “What does it matter?”

 

Zhan Shili looked at him. Xu Shen had always possessed absolute confidence, no matter what the situation was.

 

He didn’t try to persuade him again. Instead, he suddenly leaned forward and crouched down on one knee in front of Xu Shen, picked up a cufflink that had fallen to the floor, took Xu Shen’s hand, and fastened it back on for him.

 

Xu Shen lowered his eyes and watched what he was doing, letting him. The atmosphere turned ambiguous for a moment. Only when Zhan Shili’s fingers brushed over his wrist did Xu Shen catch his hand in return: “Listen to me. Pestering me endlessly won’t work. When I say I don’t want to play anymore, I mean I don’t want to play anymore.”

 

Zhan Shili looked into his eyes: “I said it already last time, then just stop playing and be serious about this. I want to actually date you.”

 

Xu Shen looked as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world: “There’s a saying: once unfaithful, never trusted again. Why should I trust you?”

 

“What happened before won’t happen again.” Zhan Shili promised firmly.

 

Xu Shen didn’t believe him: “What guarantee do you have? You were actually right. We’re cut from the same cloth; we only ever put our own interests first. You’ll abandon me, and I’ll do the same. When I truly have to choose, I’ll abandon you without hesitation.”

 

“I don’t care,” Zhan Shili said. As long as they could go back to how things were before, he had already reached the point where he didn’t even care whether Xu Shen was sincere. Compared to that, he found their current state of being like strangers far harder to endure.

 

Xu Shen lowered his voice: “Don’t push your luck too far.”

 

“Would you soften toward me?” Zhan Shili asked him. “If you won’t give me a chance, how am I supposed to push my luck? The fact that I can still come here today—should I thank you for indulging me?”

 

A chill crept into Xu Shen’s eyes: “What are you so pleased about?”

 

He was unhappy, very unhappy. Softening toward someone who had betrayed him is a grave mistake; he shouldn’t.

 

“No.” Zhan Shili moved back and insisted stubbornly, “I’ve already said it more than once, I won’t give up.”

 

Xu Shen looked at him coldly, then suddenly reached out and yanked hard on his collar, tightening his fingers as he forced the word through clenched teeth: “Scram.”

 

Zhan Shili persistently finished fastening Xu Shen’s cufflink and gently smoothed the creases in his shirt cuff: “Mn.”

 

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After night fell, Brandon finished organizing the important materials needed for tomorrow’s meeting. Just before he turned off his computer, Xu Shen sent him a message telling him to deliver a document stamped with the company seal to Langting, saying he needed to see it immediately.

 

After replying, Brandon picked up the folder from his desk, gathered his things, and left, taking the elevator downstairs.

 

At this hour, almost no one remained in the Zhaoqi building except the security staff on duty. Brandon found his car in the underground parking garage and discovered that one tire had blown. There was no spare tire in the car. Worried that Xu Shen might be waiting urgently, he hesitated, then took the elevator back up to the first floor.

 

When he walked out of the company, an empty taxi happened to come along the street. Brandon casually stopped it, opened the door, and got into the back seat.

 

He gave the address and lowered his head to glance at his watch.

 

The driver said nothing, stepped on the accelerator, and the taxi silently slipped into the darkness.

 

Xu Shen sat beside the window at his desk reading documents for work. The laptop screen remained lit, and the coffee beside his hand had already gone cold.

 

As Zhaoqi’s acting chairman, he was very busy, but being busy had its advantages. If he couldn’t sleep, he could work. There was always something to help pass the time.

 

Being the acting chairman was only temporary. Once the inheritance lawsuit ended and Xu Zikang’s shares were recovered, then Xu Ziren was completely dealt with, and Xu Shiji no longer had any value left, Xu Shen would replace him.

 

With a slight turn of his head, he could catch a glimpse of the brilliantly lit city at night outside the window. Xu Shen leaned back into the chair and savoured it quietly for a moment.

 

When he had first purchased this unit, what made the deal was precisely this night view. And what he had told Zhan Shili—that he had given this place to Brandon—was a lie.

 

He had been staying here for this period of time. Zhan Shili had suggested before that he move out, but he hadn’t agreed. Now that he had more or less dealt with the Xu Family, he instead had no interest in returning.

 

Although, perhaps that wasn’t the only reason he didn’t want to return.

 

It was almost ten, and Brandon still hadn’t delivered the document. Xu Shen grew impatient and picked up his phone to call him.

 

No one answered on the other end, and the messages he sent went unanswered too.

 

Xu Shen frowned slightly. His phone had rang, but the name on the caller ID was Zhan Shili.

 

He answered: “What is it?”

 

“Seren, want to go for a drive?” Zhan Shili’s voice came through the phone, slightly muffled.

 

“No,” Xu Shen refused. “I still have work.”

 

“You’ve always slept poorly, and you’re still working this late at home?”

 

Zhan Shili’s car was parked in the open-air lot downstairs. He lifted his eyes and looked through the windshield. The top-floor apartment was lit up. Xu Shen was there.

 

Xu Shen said coldly, “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

 

“How late are you planning to work?” Zhan Shili asked. “Did you drink coffee again tonight? You’re always so disobedient.”

 

Before Xu Shen could end the call, he added, “Making your assistant deliver documents this late too, do you really need to push yourself this hard?” His voice was gentle and concerned, yet also mildly reproachful.

 

Xu Shen’s hand, about to press the end-call button, abruptly stopped. His voice sank: “What do you know? Brandon hasn’t been answering his phone. What did you do to my assistant?”

 

“You’re that worried about him?” Zhan Shili’s tone was difficult to read. “What do you think I would do to him?”

 

“Zhan Shili.” For the first time, Xu Shen called him by his full name. He was genuinely angry, not because of Brandon, but because of Zhan Shili’s attitude. “I’m the one who’s asking you.”

 

“Nothing yet, but as for what happens later, who knows,” Zhan Shili said off-handedly. “There’s something wrong with your assistant. I’m doing this for your own good.”

 

Xu Shen was very displeased: “That’s my own business—”

 

“I don’t want to see you get deceived again,” Zhan Shili said tenderly. “Wouldn’t it be better if I helped you get rid of the trouble?”

 

“Stop being so self-righteous,” Xu Shen cursed. “No one can fool me except you.”

 

Even being deceived by Zhan Shili was only because he knew perfectly well what kind of person Zhan Shili was and deliberately indulged him.

 

“Since you know he can’t be trusted,” Zhan Shili asked, “why keep him by your side?”

 

Xu Shen had no intention of explaining himself: “My business has nothing to do with you. Let him go.”

 

Zhan Shili heard the displeasure hidden in Xu Shen’s tone. He imagined the expression on his face right now at the other end of the call: it had to be vivid and beautiful, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see it.

 

After a moment’s pause, he muttered softly: “No.”

 

Listening to that borderline shameless tone, Xu Shen forced himself to remain patient: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll call the police?”

 

“Are you coming down or not?” Zhan Shili asked again. “I’m downstairs.”

 

“Let him go.”

 

“Put on another layer before coming down; it’s windy outside.”

 

They spoke at the same time, each saying their own thing.

 

Xu Shen was at wit’s end: “If you really don’t let him go, I’m calling the police right now.”

 

“Seren,” Zhan Shili’s voice was warm, but his attitude was utterly obsessive. “If you care about him this much, it only makes me want to let him go even less. What should I do?”

 

Xu Shen was almost angered into laughing: “I still haven’t signed that share purchase agreement. Aren’t you afraid I’ll change my mind if you do this?”

 

Zhan Shili asked him, “Will you?”

 

Xu Shen said, “Try and see.”

 

“You won’t,” Zhan Shili sounded certain. “You have to take back those Zhaoqi shares. You don’t actually care about him at all. He’s only an assistant. Even if he died right in front of you, you wouldn’t so much as blink, much less give up increasing your stake for him.”

 

“Since you know all that, why are you still going after him?!”

 

“I don’t want to see anyone else by your side.” Zhan Shili paused slightly before continuing as though it were nothing. “So, I can only make him disappear.”

 

For the first time, Xu Shen clearly realized just how abnormal Zhan Shili was. He had hidden it too well before, and all that calmness and rationality on the surface had actually been nothing but a disguise.

 

He doubled down loudly: “Nic, don’t provoke me. You know what I hate most is being threatened.”

 

Zhan Shili disagreed: “No, I’ve already told you, I can’t threaten you. What do you think I could possibly use to threaten you?”

 

“Then what exactly are you playing at right now?” Xu Shen demanded. “Is this fun?”

 

“You said you weren’t playing anymore,” Zhan Shili corrected him seriously. “Keep your word. I’m not going to play with you either.”

 

“If you don’t want to hear it, then I won’t say it.” Before Xu Shen could speak again, Zhan Shili’s voice grew even gentler, “Seren, I came because I just wanted to see you, alright?”

 

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t/n: Shen-shaoye, you can’t really blame him oh! You were getting addicted and wanted him addicted too lol (reconciliation countdown: 6)

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Continue Reading Ch. 65-71: click me <3