BF Chapter 67

On Saturday evening, the new president of the Chamber of Commerce took office and hosted a charity dinner.

 

Xu Shen arrived a little early. As they neared the venue, Brandon took a call and told him that a lot of reporters had gathered outside, asking whether he still wanted to enter through the main entrance.

 

Ever since Xu Shen became chairman of the special development fund, he had been constantly in the spotlight. At an occasion like this today, many of the reporters were here specifically for him.

 

He had no patience for dealing with them and instructed, “Go straight into the parking garage.”

 

The driver took the car into the venue’s underground parking garage. The moment they stopped, Xu Zikang, who had apparently been waiting there for a long time, suddenly rushed out, his wheelchair blocking the front of their car as he slapped the hood hard with red-rimmed eyes.

 

The driver cursed under his breath but didn’t dare say more. Brandon turned around, saw that Xu Shen had no reaction, and mindfully opened the door and got out to shoo the man away.

 

Xu Shen got out half a minute later. Xu Zikang shoved Brandon, who was blocking him, harshly and drove his wheelchair toward Xu Shen, only to be grabbed from behind by Brandon after he turned around, keeping him from crashing directly into Xu Shen.

 

Xu Zikang’s face was twisted as he loudly demanded, “Was it you?! I’d already reached an agreement with the buyer to transfer the gallery, and we were about to sign the contract when they suddenly said they didn’t want it anymore. Were you the one interfering behind the scenes?!”

 

Xu Shen kept his hands in his pockets, casually admiring Xu Zikang’s pathetic, humiliating state, and admitted it readily: “Yeah, it was me. What can you do about it?”

 

Xu Zikang trembled with rage: “I’ve already fallen this far and have nothing left! Why are you still unwilling to let me go? Why do you have to push me so far?!”

 

“Have you honestly, truly accepted your fate?”

 

Xu Shen’s eyes dripped with contempt: “If you’ve really accepted having nothing, then give up the inheritance lawsuit, admit that grandfather’s will is invalid, and hand over the Zhaoqi shares in your hands. What are you trying to do by selling the gallery now? Raise money to hire lawyers?”

 

“I won’t accept it! Don’t get too smug, you’ll get your retribution! You definitely will!” Xu Zikang roared, veins standing out along his neck. His originally rather delicate and handsome face distorted by vicious rage.

 

“Retribution again.” Xu Shen repeated the word as though it were a joke. “Every single one of you likes talking to me about retribution, and in the end it all comes back on yourselves. How interesting.”

 

Xu Zikang’s shouting and curses were nothing but empty bluffs. Xu Shen didn’t take them seriously at all. As he walked past him, he suddenly stopped and glanced sideways at him: “And one more thing. If you want me to let you go, then stay away from Nic. I already told you before, if you keep clinging to him like a mangy dog, I’ll make sure you die an ugly death.”

 

Xu Shen left with his people. Xu Zikang stared furiously at his retreating back, his teeth chattering nonstop.

 

Zhan Shili’s car drove in at that moment. Catching sight of the scene, he parked in a space nearby. After getting out, he walked toward Xu Zikang and asked coldly, “Didn’t you understand what I told you last time? What are you doing here?”

 

Seeing Zhan Shili, Xu Zikang’s eyes grew even redder, his voice extremely hoarse: “He’s not leaving me any way to live. Am I not even allowed to come ask him for an explanation?!”

 

“What are you trying to do?” Zhan Shili pressed him.

 

“Does what I want to do have anything to do with you?” Xu Zikang was both laughing and crying, nearly hysterical. “You only have eyes for him! Is he really worth you acting like this?!”

 

“I warned you. Don’t do anything you shouldn’t. No matter what you know, pretend you’re deaf and dumb,” Zhan Shili emphasized. “You’d better remember that.”

 

“What if I refuse?” Xu Zikang said bitterly. “What can you even do to me? There are reporters trying to meet me every day now. Under public scrutiny, what do you even dare do to me? If I tell any reporter about the filthy things he’s done, can he still stand there so proudly as Zhaoqi’s chairman and chairman of the special development fund?!”

 

“Xu Zikang.” Zhan Shili lowered his eyes, his cold gaze pinning him in place like a knife. “Whose heart was transplanted into you? I’ve seen your medical records. You bought your heart on the black market, didn’t you? Tell me, if I make up a story and get a few paparazzi to spread it around, that the former Third Young Master of the Xu Family dug out someone else’s heart to keep himself alive… Do you think you could explain yourself? From then on, wouldn’t you be a rat everyone wanted to beat no matter where you went? When it comes down to being filthy, who’d filthier than you?”

 

Xu Zikang nearly broke down. He never expected Zhan Shili to trample on his last shred of dignity, leaving him no way out: “You’re actually this cruel. For him, you’re actually this cruel to me…”

 

“You’re the one who thought too highly of yourself,” Zhan Shili’s words held nothing but ruthlessness. “Even now, you still can’t put yourself in the right position. Do you think you’re still the Third Young Master of the Xu Family? What right do you have to come here demanding an explanation from Seren? If you have any sense, hide far away and stop showing up to offend people’s eyes. No one cares about you. Stop thinking you matter.”

 

Xu Shen was in the lounge. The dinner hadn’t started yet, and he had no interest in going to the front hall to join the commotion this early.

 

In the video his driver sent him, Zhan Shili and Xu Zikang were confronting each other. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Xu Zikang looked even more agitated than when he had been facing Xu Shen.

 

Xu Shen stared at Zhan Shili in the video, speaking coldly to Xu Zikang, one finger propping up his temple, and didn’t move for a long while.

 

At the end of the video, Zhan Shili suddenly lifted his eyes and looked straight toward the camera.

 

Or rather, toward Xu Shen, who was watching the video at this very moment.

 

He had caught Xu Shen having someone secretly film him.

 

Xu Shen’s gaze froze slightly. He gave a soft “Tch” and turned off the screen.

 

He stood and walked out to the terrace for some air. After standing there for a while, he heard faint voices coming from the room next door.

 

The terraces were connected. Xu Shen turned and glanced over, only to find that the person inside was Zhan Shili, who had just come upstairs, while the one sitting across from him on the sofa was Ma Shouliang.

 

Xu Shen had run into Young Master Ma when he first arrived at the venue, and the man had stared at him darkly several times.

 

Ma Shouliang had been taught a lesson by Xu Shen’s people, his jaw dislocated and several teeth pulled. He had spent more than half a month in the hospital. He had reported it to the police, but nothing came of it in the end. Still, he was convinced Xu Shen had been behind it, and the people who had followed Xu Shen that night had also been hired by him.

 

He did want to keep causing trouble for Xu Shen, but unfortunately, he was too busy taking care of his own matters right now.

 

“Fuck, that bastard Gao Yongcheng screwed me over!”

 

Ma Shouliang cursed as he glared at Zhan Shili, who had apparently said something to him: “Money laundering? Stop talking nonsense. I’m not afraid of an investigation! Worst case I just run. I still have Zhuosheng shares in my hands, what am I afraid of?!”

 

Zhan Shili unhurriedly handed him his phone. When Ma Shouliang saw what was on the screen, his expression changed, and he gritted his teeth angrily: “What exactly do you want?!”

 

“I’m trying to help you, Young Master Ma,” Zhan Shili said calmly. “You came here specially today for nothing more than to find someone to save you. Rather than looking for someone else, you might as well come to me; after all, we’re both people from Zhuosheng.”

 

Ma Shouliang didn’t believe him at all: “You’d be that kind? And two billion, do you even have that kind of money?”

 

“Of course I do. As long as you sign, the money will be in your account immediately,” Zhan Shili tempted him. “My condition is very simple. I hope that Young Master Ma will speak up for me in the Zhuosheng board of directors in the future. I, too, wish to get along peacefully with you, Young Master Ma.”

 

Ma Shouliang may be unreliable, but he wasn’t stupid. Zhan Shili had never been well-intentioned. He was holding leverage over him, yet voluntarily offering to lend him two billion, and the only condition was that they get along peacefully on the board from now on?

 

But he really had no other choice. He had lost several billion gambling in Macau, fallen into a trap set by people introduced by Gao Yongcheng, and been used to launder money. His Zhuosheng shares had also been deliberately pledged away, leaving him unable to sell them for cash. Right now, he desperately needed someone to lend him money so he could redeem the pledged shares.

 

Zhan Shili didn’t explain further. He pushed over the loan agreement he had prepared long ago and indicated for Ma Shouliang to read it on his own: “As long as Young Master Ma signs, two billion in cash will reach your account by tomorrow.”

 

After hesitating, Ma Shouliang picked up the contract and quickly flipped through it with bloodshot eyes. He couldn’t see anything wrong with it.

 

“…You really plan to just lend me the money?”

 

Zhan Shili nodded: “To be frank, although I’ve joined Zhuosheng’s board, no one takes me seriously. Big Boss doesn’t trust me as much as he used to either. I actually do need some support.”

 

Ma Shouliang calculated quickly. It was only two billion. Once he redeemed the pledged shares, he could sell them later or wait for the dividends and immediately repay principal and interest. There shouldn’t be any problems.

 

Besides, it would be difficult to borrow the money from anyone else…

 

He struggled for a moment, then finally took the pen Zhan Shili offered and signed the contract: “Transfer the money as soon as possible. Don’t play any tricks.”

 

After Ma Shouliang left, Zhan Shili stood and walked out onto the terrace, looking toward Xu Shen, who had been caught eavesdropping but remained perfectly calm.

 

“You were eavesdropping?”

 

“You knew I was outside and didn’t even bother avoiding me,” Xu Shen tilted his head, his gaze sarcastic. “Setting another trap for someone?”

 

Zhan Shili stared at that expression and said, “It’s an opportunity he delivered to my door himself.”

 

“Mr. Zhan is so calculating and cunning.” Xu Shen tapped a finger against his shoulder. “Anyone making a deal with you needs eight hundred extra sets of eyes. Young Master Ma truly doesn’t understand what kind of person you are.”

 

Zhan Shili caught his hand and gave it a light squeeze: “What did your driver film downstairs earlier?”

 

Xu Shen pulled his hand back and tucked it into his pocket, with no intention of telling him: “I don’t need to explain myself to you, do I?”

 

The more prickly Xu Shen acted, the more Zhan Shili felt an itch in his heart. He was about to say something else when he was interrupted.

 

Brandon, who had gone to make arrangements, came in and reminded Xu Shen that the dinner was about to begin, asking him to go to the banquet hall at the front.

 

Xu Shen ignored Zhan Shili and turned around: “Let’s go.”

 

The banquet hall was already lively. The new president of the Chamber of Commerce personally came forward to shake Xu Shen’s hand and welcome him inside.

 

Plenty of people cursed him behind his back, but no one would openly make things difficult for him. On the contrary, because he was now chairman of the special development fund, many people wanted to get involved and take a share of the profits, and every one of them eagerly tried to curry favor with him. Compared with the last Chamber event he attended, he was now even more the center of attention, surrounded like the moon among stars.

 

Xu Shen disliked being surrounded by people flattering him. He exchanged a few perfunctory pleasantries, then went to sit at his seat.

 

Zhan Shili came over ten minutes later. Their seats weren’t at the same table. From a distance, Zhan Shili watched Xu Shen turn his head and speak to someone, his gaze lingering for a moment longer on the smiling side of his face.

 

These Chamber dinners were actually rather meaningless, and Zhan Shili didn’t particularly appreciate occasions like this either. Tonight, he had come to meet Ma Shouliang, and even more so, to see Xu Shen.

 

In a while, Xu Shen would go onstage to give a speech as chairman of the special development fund. Zhan Shili didn’t want to miss it.

 

At the table, someone casually brought up the grudge between Zhaoqi and Zhuosheng and asked Xu Shen, “Young Master Shen, I heard your former assistant was a corporate spy Zhuosheng planted inside Zhaoqi, and now he’s even joined Zhuosheng’s board. Is that really true? Zhaoqi didn’t report him to the police?”

 

Someone else chimed in: “I think I just saw him too. He used to follow Young Master Shen everywhere, then turned around and went to Zhuosheng. He really has some nerve, daring to appear in front of you again.”

 

Xu Shen listened without much reaction. These people seemed to be standing up for him, but in reality, they were only waiting to laugh at him.

 

Only after they had said enough did he wipe his hands with the warm towel and say unhurriedly, “The whole corporate-spy thing is completely fabricated. People naturally move toward better opportunities. The fact that my assistant is able to join Zhuosheng’s board is something I’m happy for.”

 

The others laughed and smoothed things over: “Young Master Shen is truly magnanimous.”

 

Xu Shen said, “As I should be.”

 

Those who had wanted to see a joke found there was none to watch and lost interest, so they changed the subject themselves.

 

Xu Shen turned his head and noticed Brandon beside him looking hesitant, so he asked, “What do you want to say?”

 

“Nothing,” Brandon said quietly. “…I just didn’t expect you to be this magnanimous either, Young Master Shen.”

 

What he meant was something else entirely. Although he hadn’t been Xu Shen’s assistant for long, from what he understood of Xu Shen’s temperament, anyone who betrayed him probably wouldn’t come to a good end, yet that person was the exception.

 

Xu Shen’s voice cooled: “Depends on the person.”

 

Brandon’s gaze shifted slightly, and he didn’t ask any more.

 

Xu Shen had no interest in continuing either and casually took a sip of tea.

 

The banquet began with a speech by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, followed by Xu Shen’s.

 

He walked onto the stage amid applause and lights, facing countless pairs of eyes and media cameras with a calm smile, confident and composed.

 

Zhan Shili sat in the dimmer light below the stage, listening as Xu Shen spoke eloquently about the present and future of Hong Kong’s business world, every word falling onto the tip of his heart and resonating there. Xu Shen was a rising star of the future; the more dazzling he became, the more Zhan Shili wanted to possess him entirely.

 

Halfway through the dinner, a waiter came over and presented Xu Shen with a bottle of wine, saying a Mr. Zhan had sent it to him.

 

Xu Shen accepted the bottle. It had been one of the items in the charity auction earlier and had sold for more than a hundred thousand.

 

His fingers stroked the cool glass for a moment, then he had the waiter open it and pour the wine, inviting everyone at the table to share.

 

Everyone immediately praised Young Master Shen for his generosity.

 

After drinking half a glass, Xu Shen got up and went to the restroom. He stood at the sink, slowly rinsing his hands, and when he heard footsteps, he lifted his eyes toward the mirror and saw Zhan Shili coming in behind him, as though he had expected it.

 

“Why did you share the wine with the others?” Zhan Shili stopped behind him and asked.

 

“You gave it to me, so it’s mine. I can share my wine with whoever I want. I don’t need to explain myself to anyone,” Xu Shen said lazily.

 

“You gave it to me, so it’s mine. I can share my wine with whoever I want. I don’t need to explain myself to anyone,” Xu Shen said lazily.

 

Through the mirror, Zhan Shili studied that slightly languid expression. Xu Shen clearly wasn’t drunk, yet there was a faint intoxicated sensuality at the corners of his brows and eyes.

 

Catching sight of someone entering the restroom from the corner of his eye, Zhan Shili suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Xu Shen, and pulled him into the stall beside them.

 

He shut and locked the door. Before Xu Shen could react, Zhan Shili pushed him against the wall, pinned him there with his body, and raised a hand to cover his mouth.

 

Xu Shen couldn’t be bothered to struggle. He leaned against the wall without moving, his Adam’s apple shifting, his eyes glistening as he stared directly at Zhan Shili. If Zhan Shili didn’t know perfectly well about the deadlock between them now, he would certainly have thought Xu Shen’s gaze at this moment was seducing him.

 

But that didn’t matter.

 

He leaned closer and said by Xu Shen’s ear, “Someone came in.”

 

Voices sounded outside. Whoever it was was chatting idly, and inevitably the subject came around to Xu Shen.

 

“That illegitimate son of the Xu Family is really riding high now. Who wouldn’t be jealous seeing him like this? Who knows how long he’ll stay so arrogant.”

 

“None of the Xu Family can beat him, and even He Mingzheng lost to him. Didn’t you notice He Mingzheng didn’t even have the face to come support him tonight? Who knows…”

 

Inside the stall, Zhan Shili still had his hand over Xu Shen’s mouth. A thin layer of sweat had already formed where their skin touched.

 

Xu Shen’s thick lashes cast shadows beneath his eyes, trembling occasionally. Watching him, the dark fire that had been burning in Zhan Shili’s chest since earlier flared up. His fingers slowly rubbed over Xu Shen’s cheek, then he finally removed his hand, lowered his head, and bit onto his lips.

 

His tongue pushed past Xu Shen’s teeth and forced its way inside, sweeping wantonly and stealing his breath. Zhan Shili finally tasted what the bottle of wine he had personally bid on earlier was actually like.

 

The people talking outside had already left, their voices fading away.

 

Xu Shen frowned slightly, his lashes still fluttering as he stared at Zhan Shili without responding.

 

Zhan Shili had an arm locked around his waist. Every place he touched sent a shiver through Xu Shen, his body reacting honestly, yet his dark eyes remaining deep and calm.

 

Zhan Shili lost to that look in his eyes. When he pulled back, his thumb brushed across Xu Shen’s lips, his voice slightly hoarse: “You really are cold.”

 

The corner of Xu Shen’s mouth curved into a mocking arc: “Are you drunk?”

 

Zhan Shili slowly traced his eyes with his gaze, letting him say whatever he wanted as he forcibly suppressed those secret, restless urges.

 

His finger stopped at the center of Xu Shen’s lower lip, stroking it: “Young Master Shen looked so captivating giving that speech onstage. So many people were watching you…”

 

Xu Shen suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on the tip of his finger.

 

Xu Shen didn’t let go, ruthlessness showing in his gaze.

 

What finally interrupted them was the sound of a phone ringing. Xu Shen at last slowly released his bite, took out his phone, glanced at it, and answered half-heartedly.

 

Brandon asked whether something had happened on his end and why he hadn’t come back for so long.

 

Xu Shen had only said, “Nothing,” when Zhan Shili directly took the phone from his hand, ended the call, switched it off for him, and shoved it back into his pocket.

 

“How much longer until he disappears from your side?”

 

Xu Shen said displeasedly, “Don’t go too far.”

 

Zhan Shili simply set a deadline for him: “Three days. If you don’t deal with him, I’ll deal with him for you.”

 

Xu Shen’s eyes flashed with anger, and Zhan Shili greedily watched that long-missed expression, somewhat regretting that he had let him off so easily just now.

 

He caught Xu Shen’s wrist, increasing the pressure slightly.

 

Xu Shen instinctively frowned, and after a moment of silence, complained softly, “Nic, you’re hurting me. Don’t.”

 

That tone made Zhan Shili’s heart stir involuntarily, and he slowly loosened his hand.

 

“Get lost,” Xu Shen’s expression immediately changed as he shoved him viciously, slamming the door behind him as he left.

 

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t/n: oh no… my stock… x2 (reconciliation countdown: 2)

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Continue Reading Ch. 68-71: click me <3