In the end, they didn’t reach any conclusions. Bian Yiqiu stated that he was open to mutual equity holdings, but the share ratios would have to be recalculated based on the market value of both parties. He wasn’t willing to lose even the slightest advantage.

Ke Mingxuan had just been moved by Bian Yiqiu’s half-teasing sigh, his heart softening for a brief moment, only to be instantly enraged. If I were to agree to an equal-value equity swap with you, I’d have to be out of my mind.

Pei Siyuan asked him what he was even thinking about. What else could he be thinking about? He was just trying to get more leverage for when he had to face his family. If Jiu’an became He Sheng’s second-largest shareholder, even if the Ke and Feng families refused to accept their relationship, they’d have to think twice before making a move against Bian Yiqiu. After all, how would it affect He Sheng?

But he couldn’t tell Bian Yiqiu this reason directly. With that man’s temper, not only would he refuse the equity swap after hearing it, there was a good chance he’d just dump him on the spot. Was Bian Yiqiu the kind of person who’d compromise for love? Ke Mingxuan genuinely wasn’t sure.

On Friday, just before getting off work, Ke Mingxuan received a call from his mother. The moment he picked up, she asked, “Young Master Ke, are you so busy you’ve forgotten you still have a family?”

Ke Mingxuan laughed and coaxed her, “How could that be? Just last night I dreamed about your braised pork hock. It had me drooling. I’ll come home tonight to see you.”

Feng Shuxian got even angrier. “Are you missing your mom or the pork knuckle?” Then she hung up in a huff, immediately turning to the housekeeper to order some pork knuckle to be bought and prepared.

Ke Mingxuan sent Bian Yiqiu a message, saying he’d be going back to the family home that night and not to pick him up for dinner. Bian Yiqiu took twenty minutes to reply with just three words: Got it.

As he drove into the estate, Ke Mingxuan saw Lin Jiayan hurrying out from inside, walking so quickly he didn’t even notice the car in front of him.

Ke Mingxuan initially thought of lowering the window to greet him but decided there wasn’t much to say. Lost in that thought for just a moment, Lin Jiayan had already passed right in front of his car.

In the rearview mirror, Ke Mingxuan saw Lin Jiayan get into a black sedan parked by the roadside. He didn’t see who was inside the car and figured it was probably just one of Lin Jiayan’s other friends. He didn’t give it much thought, turning the wheel and driving off.

As soon as Lin Jiayan got into the passenger seat, not even having the chance to fasten his seatbelt, he was yanked into someone’s arms and kissed firmly.

Being right outside his own house—and in the military district, no less—Lin Jiayan was anything but cooperative. His temper flared, and he smacked the man hard across the face, his expression cold.

“Do you even know where we are? Stop being a lunatic. Drive.”

The man, unfazed by the slap, kept his arm tightly around Lin Jiayan’s slim waist and planted a loud kiss on his lips. “Haven’t seen you in a few days, and your claws are getting sharper. Even the Tibetan mastiff I raised isn’t this fierce. What’s the deal? Got addicted to hitting me?”

Something about those last few words seemed to strike a nerve with Lin Jiayan. His face darkened further as he raised his arm to push the man away. He turned to fasten his seatbelt, straightening his clothes as he did. “Weren’t we going for dinner? Are we leaving or not?”

The man tilted his head, watching him adjust his clothes. His tongue pressed against the spot on his inner cheek where he’d been slapped, a grin slowly forming at the corner of his lips. “Dinner? Forget that. I’m eating you first.”

The black sedan pulled up at a hotel entrance. The keys were handed off to the valet as the two of them walked into the lobby, one after the other. It wasn’t until three hours later that they walked out of the room.

Lin Jiayan’s body felt weak, and his face was slightly flushed. Stepping into the elevator, he instinctively tugged at his collar to cover the marks scattered across his neck.

The man pressed the button for their floor and wrapped an arm around Lin Jiayan’s waist.

The elevator was empty, and Lin Jiayan, utterly drained, didn’t have the energy to resist. Most of his weight leaned against the man’s arm.

When they reached the sixth-floor restaurant, the two stepped out of the elevator, passing a few other guests on the way. They had barely taken a few steps when Lin Jiayan suddenly heard someone call his name. It was a voice he knew all too well.

His body stiffened as he turned around, only to see Ruan Chengjie’s deceptively refined face staring back at him.

Ruan Chengjie’s gaze swept over the man’s arm still resting on Lin Jiayan’s waist, his expression laced with amusement as he turned his attention back to Lin Jiayan. “It’s been a while. This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Aren’t you going to introduce him?”

Lin Jiayan really didn’t want to deal with him, but years of connections couldn’t be ignored. Besides, there were several unidentified men and women behind Ruan Chengjie, likely business associates, so it wasn’t the time or place to embarrass the Huarui president. Reluctantly, though with a polite and distant smile, he introduced, “Qian Ying, a friend of mine.” Then he turned to Qian Ying and added, “This is President Ruan of Huarui.”

He only mentioned Ruan’s title, skipping even the word “friend,” but Ruan Chengjie didn’t seem to care. Qian Ying, on the other hand, read into it, but apparently in the wrong direction.

With a provocative smile at Ruan Chengjie, Qian Ying tightened his grip on Lin Jiayan’s waist, pulling him closer. Lin Jiayan, caught off balance, stumbled right into his arms.

“President Ruan, a pleasure to meet you.”

Lin Jiayan’s face turned red as blood, not from embarrassment but from anger at being made a laughingstock in front of Ruan Chengjie. He couldn’t struggle too much either. If he attracted the attention of others in the restaurant, it would really be a spectacle.

Ruan Chengjie, naturally aware of Qian Ying’s deliberate provocation, didn’t bother to explain. He simply extended his hand for a brief, symbolic handshake. “Likewise.”

After a few polite words, they parted ways. Lin Jiayan shook off Qian Ying and strode into the restaurant, while Ruan Chengjie turned back toward the elevator with his companions.

“Why does the name Qian Ying sound so familiar?” one of the men beside Ruan Chengjie remarked.

Another chimed in, “Wasn’t that the owner of the White Shark, the casino ship that was all over the news last year?”

“The White Shark?” Ruan Chengjie’s lips curled slightly. “So that’s him.”

Although Qian Ying had been abroad for years and wasn’t well-known locally yet, the White Shark had been wildly popular among Z City’s upper circles for a time. Ruan Chengjie himself had gone aboard with friends a few times. Yet, for some reason, after less than six months of thriving business, the White Shark had mysteriously disappeared from international waters, leaving the city’s wealthy elites without their latest playground.

Ruan Chengjie asked, “Why did the White Shark suddenly disappear?”

One of the men replied, “Heard it was sabotaged by a rival, but I’m not sure about the details.”

“What’s there to be unsure about?” Another man took over the conversation. “The Qian family’s been at odds with Li Jiu for decades, both openly and covertly. When Li Jiu passed away, the Qian family probably figured his godson wasn’t up to the task. So they started giving Jiu’an trouble here and there. Do you think Boss Bian wouldn’t fight back to settle the score?”

“Wait a minute.” Ruan Chengjie suddenly caught a key detail. “You’re saying the Qian family’s rival is Jiu’an?”

“That’s no secret in their circles,” someone replied.

The man who spoke first retorted, “We’re not involved in that world. Who the hell cares about grudges between those gangsters?”

“They’re hardly small-time gangsters…”

Ruan Chengjie interrupted, “So you’re saying the White Shark was sunk by Bian Yiqiu?”

As they spoke, the elevator reached the ground floor. The man walking alongside him replied, “There’s no hard evidence, not even the Qian family has any, but it’s pretty much a sure thing.”

Ruan Chengjie thought to himself, What’s with these people? He was already shocked that Ke Mingxuan ended up with Bian Yiqiu, but now even the prideful Lin Jiayan had found himself involved with someone from the underworld—and Bian Yiqiu’s sworn enemy, no less. Should he interpret this as spite or sheer provocation?

This was getting interesting.

But Lin Jiayan wasn’t acting out of spite or provocation. If Ruan Chengjie thought that, he was entirely mistaken. Lin Jiayan didn’t even know that Qian Ying and Bian Yiqiu were sworn enemies. In fact, he didn’t even know what Qian Ying actually did.

Their connection had started when Lin Jiayan, drunk at a bar, mistakenly took Qian Ying for someone else. What followed was an inexplicable one-night stand, and from that point on, this shameless man had latched onto him. Somehow, Qian Ying had figured out where he lived and worked. For over a month, he showed up at every possible opportunity, waiting for him outside the military compound in the morning, outside his workplace after hours, at the restaurant when he dined with friends, and even at karaoke sessions with classmates.

One time, Lin Jiayan went out shopping, and Qian Ying magically appeared to pay his bill.

At his wit’s end, Lin Jiayan finally confronted him, demanding to know what he wanted.

With a harmless and warm smile, Qian Ying gave a two-word answer: “Chasing you.”

Lin Jiayan raised his hand and slapped him, sneering coldly, “Chase me? Are you even worthy?”

Qian Ying caught his hand, pinned him to the wall, and kissed him so hard his legs turned to jelly. Through action, he made it abundantly clear whether or not he “worth it.”

Later, in bed, as Lin Jiayan was utterly spent from their intense sex, he no longer had the energy to question anyone’s worthiness. After all, it wasn’t that person. Maybe it didn’t matter who it was. As long as someone could fill the bloody, gaping hole in his heart, anyone would do.

During dinner, Qian Ying casually asked, “So, what’s your relationship with that President Ruan?”

Lin Jiayan, sipping his soup without even lifting his eyes, replied, “Nothing special. Just an ordinary friend.”

An ordinary friend? Then why did he stiffen up the moment he heard that voice? Qian Ying didn’t buy it.

“You sure he’s not an old flame or something?”

Lin Jiayan found the idea absurd. He wanted to explain, but it wasn’t something he could sum up in a sentence or two. In the end, he replied dismissively, “I don’t have that many old flames.”

“That’s true.” Qian Ying had a knack for bringing up things best left unsaid. “After all, your Mingxuan ge pretty much outclasses all your so-called old flames.”

He really couldn’t have picked a worse topic. Young Master Qian was the very definition of courting disaster. But what could he do? Anyone would be scarred if the person they liked cried out someone else’s name in a moment of passion. Every time he mentioned it, it was like self-torture. And yet, watching Lin Jiayan’s pain from unrequited love gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction.

As expected, Lin Jiayan’s expression darkened, and his spoon clattered loudly against the edge of the soup bowl.

“That’s right. There’s only Mingxuan ge in my heart. If you can’t stand it, then get lost.”

So Qian Ying got up without a word and really “got lost.”

Lin Jiayan was so furious he nearly flipped the table.

But just as Young Master Qian reached the elevator, he made a U-turn, swaggered back to the table, pulled out his chair, and sat down as if nothing had happened. He picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating.

Lin Jiayan glared at him. “Didn’t you leave?”

Qian Ying replied calmly, “If I leave, who’s going to take you home? Do you even have the strength to walk outside and hail a cab?”

“I’m not going home!” Lin Jiayan snapped, thoroughly incensed.

“Even more reason for me to stay,” Qian Ying countered, unbothered. “Who knows who you’ll end up drunk in bed with if I leave?”

“…” Lin Jiayan fumed silently. This little bastard Qian really is the most insufferable person alive.

Qian Ying thought to himself, One day, I’m going to deal with that Mingxuan ge of yours for good.

Blissfully unaware of the hatred he’d unwittingly earned, Ke Mingxuan was leaving his family home, satisfied from a hearty meal. Holding his phone to his ear, he casually asked, “Where are you?”

After hearing the answer, he hung up, reversed his car out of the garage, and sped toward the Celebrity Club.