Chapter 86

Mr. Lin was considering whether to give Secretary Gao a signed album and invite him to dinner when he heard the words, “Yeh is my boss.”

Mr. Lin was taken aback.

The small and large shareholders nearby: “…”

Someone asked, “Secretary Gao, is he your boss? Wasn’t Mr. Xu your boss just now? What’s going on?”

Secretary Gao said, “Yes, Mr. Xu acquired shares in Wan Research for Yeh. Yeh is my second boss and Mr. Xu’s only son.”

The shareholders suddenly realized, “Yeh, oh, Yeh is the young master! No wonder that young man stood out before, with that mask, so handsome.”

“Young and talented, a hero out of the blue, truly deserving to be Yeh!”

After this explanation, Secretary Gao proposed visiting the second boss, Yeh. Mr. Lin, with a bewildered look, escorted him downstairs. She had wanted to ask, “Isn’t Yang Yunran’s father Yang Liming?” and “Is there some misunderstanding here?” But asking these questions seemed too absurd, so she kept them to herself.

Now that the stock price was rebounding, Mr. Lin didn’t feel much nostalgia for the former boss. The new boss showed no intention of sidelining her and wanted her to maintain her original work policy. However, Secretary Gao’s revelation about Harry Yeh’s identity meant that she only needed to direct all resources towards Yang Yunran.

Mr. Lin led Secretary Gao downstairs.

Yang Yunran was writing a song.

He looked up at the sound of a knock.

“Secretary Gao, why are you here at my company?” Yang Yunran was stunned. “Is it my father…?” He thought something had happened to Xu Xing and immediately stood up.

“Young Master,” Secretary Gao continued with the drama of the aristocracy, nodding gently. “Mr. Xu acquired the company and sent me to see you.”

“As long as Dad is okay. Wait, acquired?” Yang Yunran shifted his gaze to Mr. Lin behind Secretary Gao, realizing she wasn’t joking.

Yang Yunran was speechless for a moment.

It turned out that the recent stormy acquisition of the company was orchestrated by Xu Xing!

Thinking about everything his father had arranged for him, each and everything seemed outlandish yet had a touch of reliability, much like his father’s style.

Yang Yunran was silent for a while, then accepted the situation. “Secretary Gao, would you like to come in and sit for a while? Would you like some coffee?”

Outside the door, the shareholders who had come down were talking about Yeh. Zhou Kai was dumbfounded. “What? He’s the son of the new boss?”

The shareholders replied, “Haliyeh is your artist. Don’t you know about this?”

“It’s really surprising. It seems Mr. Xu acquired the company for the development of his son’s singing career…”

“Just found out. Mr. Xu’s acquisition case has been reported in the financial news. Investors are now more confident in the company! The stock price is finally recovering.”

The roller coaster-like stock price seriously affected the shareholders’ psychological state. Now that it was recovering, everyone was grateful to the new Mr. Xu. As for his son, the company’s second boss, all shareholders were appreciative.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Kai hurried into the room and said warmly, “The coffee is here!”

He had been worried about being audited, but now that he knew Yang Yunran was the young master, he wasn’t as concerned. With this personal connection, he wouldn’t easily be let go.

Zhou Kai swallowed his apprehension and, half a month later, accompanied Yang Yunran to Taiwan as the opening guest for William’s concert, personally taking care of things. He treated Yang Yunran like both a father and a son. He temporarily paid less attention to other artists.

Throughout, Yang Yunran’s attitude toward him hadn’t changed. Formerly just a worker, now promoted to boss, he still spoke to Zhou Kai as equals, acknowledging his efforts at work while sometimes feeling he had a bit of a bourgeois air.

Businessmen are all like this; they genuinely care only when it’s profitable. Yang Yunran understood this, so when Mr. Lin asked him, he didn’t switch managers and continued with Zhou Kai. Leaving aside other factors, Kevin’s skills in communicating and negotiating with clients are still very impressive.

After Yang Yunran’s concert, he spent two days with Williams, who then had to leave for Singapore for his next performance.

The two were also very compatible on stage, and during the encore, Williams invited Yang Yunran to play the piano. He sat in the center of the stage wearing a snowy white mask, bathed in the brilliance of countless flashlights from all directions.

“Roy,” when Williams left on a private jet, Yang Yunran also departed from the airport. The two embraced and bid farewell. Williams said, “I believe you’ll also become a globally renowned superstar in the future! Sweep all those awards!”

“Definitely. Thank you for your encouragement,” Yang Yunran replied as he boarded his own Sea Blue Samoyed private jet.

Zhou Kai had the honor of flying on the same plane as Yang Yunran. He kept taking pictures as soon as he got on board, video chatting with his family. Addressing his baby who was just a few months old, he said, “Is big brother’s plane big? Do you like it? Next time, ask Big Brother when he’ll take you out to play. Would you like to come along with the baby?”

His family’s little child couldn’t speak yet, only making vague sounds like “babbling.” She was quite adorable, though, dressed in expensive designer children’s clothes.

Yang Yunran rarely had the patience to play with his boss’s daughter for a while.

But as soon as the plane landed, Zhou Kai couldn’t smile anymore.

The financial director called him, asking him to come back to the company immediately.

“Kevin, there are a few transactions that need your explanation. Are you available to come over today?” The financial director’s tone was still polite, knowing that Zhou Kai was the manager trusted by the boss.

Zhou Kai’s face immediately paled, saying, “I’m not available right now. I’m with Yeh.”

Hearing this, Yang Yunran interjected, “You don’t have to accompany me. Is there something urgent at the company? If there is, go back quickly and don’t delay.”

Because Zhou Kai had anticipated this might happen, he handled it well. When the finance department asked, he explained that it was for laundering money for a certain client: “The client’s people, I can’t offend them. Actually, the money is still in the account.”

Finally, the finance department calculated a transaction of over eight million yuan and asked him to explain each one in detail.

The most recent one was one point five million, and there was also one million from last year. Zhou Kai said, “This is a special expense. In fact, last year, I had to sign Mr. Ye. Mr. Ye didn’t agree at first. I used some other methods, and the company reimbursed me. Ms. Lin also knew about it, so this one million yuan is reasonable.”

The financial department questioned him like they were taking notes: “What other methods? What method requires a special expense of one million? I saw that you have already reimbursed one hundred thousand yuan, and you also have invoices for international flights and hotel expenses. I have no doubts about these. Where exactly did the one million yuan go? Kevin, you have to give me a reasonable explanation, otherwise I really can’t help you. If the boss asks about it, I can’t explain it, and I’ll have to hand over the company’s accounts to the prosecutor.”

Zhou Kai was sweating coldly and could only grit his teeth and say, “I’ll tell you the truth. At that time, in order to sign Mr. Ye, I had to arrange things with someone very close to him. Of course, this is his privacy, I can’t just talk about it. If you don’t believe me, ask Ms. Lin. She was aware of it too.”

“A million for arrangements?” It seemed reasonable enough; it was akin to bribery, not something easily discussed. The finance department asked, “Do you have screenshots or transfer records?”

Zhou Kai pulled out chat logs with Ms. Lin, including screenshots of transfers made to Jiang Yi. The finance department took photos with their phone and finally said, “We’ll investigate this. Kevin, you can go home now.”

The investigation results came out quickly. Ms. Lin confirmed that such an incident had indeed occurred. The finance department spent over a month compiling reports, and, due to some involvement with Yang Yunran, Secretary Gao also received a copy. After reading it, she was deeply puzzled, “Jiang Yi received a million from Zhou Kai? What’s going on with this money?”

As far as she knew, Jiang Yi dealt in research funding starting in the tens of millions. Professor Jiang was researching some highly significant biological topics, considered a national treasure in biology. Why would he accept a million as an intermediary fee?

Would someone like him even care about such a small sum?

In other words, was Jiang Yi so greedy that he could quietly pocket tens of millions just by reporting a research topic?

“Zhou Kai is Mr. Ye’s manager? He must be lying about this. Most likely, he embezzled the money!” Secretary Gao didn’t even bother asking Yang Yunran or Jiang Yi himself; she could almost deduce the truth.

She called the chief financial officer below her and said, “Make him tell the truth. If he doesn’t confess, call the prosecutor’s office to investigate his financial records.”

Secretary Gao didn’t want to involve Yang Yunran in matters that could affect his feelings. After handling the matter herself, Yang Yunran knew nothing about it until he heard that his manager had been taken away by prosecutors.

Yang Yunran still cared about Zhou Kai. He walked to the balcony and called to inquire about the situation, learning for the first time what Zhou Kai had done.

Ms. Lin said, “If the finance department hadn’t suddenly discovered it, I wouldn’t have known he had embezzled nearly ten million from the company. After all, in our filming, actors’ fees start at ten million each time, and it’s almost impossible to notice every kickback of several hundred thousand to a million. He’s done such an embarrassing thing; I can’t protect him anymore, especially since his daughter was just born, and his family is struggling.”

Yang Yunran thought for a while and said, “He’s being investigated, and I can’t help him. But I can contribute a bit towards his daughter’s milk money until he gets out.”

“Thank you on Kevin’s behalf. I never thought he would do such a thing, which made me misunderstand your boyfriend for so long. I’ve always wanted to tell you,” Ms. Lin’s tone relaxed, saying, “I’ve seen you several times in the parking lot, and I thought you were too generous with your boyfriend, even giving him a top-of-the-line Porsche worth five million. It turns out it was all a misunderstanding.”

“No, Ms. Lin, I didn’t buy him the car. It’s a big misunderstanding,” Yang Yunran explained, “My partner is a professor at the A University Biological Sciences Lab, he’s quite capable, and not that kind of person. He bought the car for me because I don’t like driving and I’m not good at it. So he drives. I didn’t know about Kevin’s situation either. My boyfriend is definitely not that kind of person.”

After hanging up the phone, Yang Yunran returned to the room from the balcony.

Their house with Jiang Yi was under renovation, so they still lived in the staff apartment arranged by the school. The building, constructed ten years ago, was full of intellectuals. Looking from the outside, almost every light was yellow.

In the May evening breeze, the thin gauze gently swayed.

Initially, the house was very quiet, filled with Jiang Yi’s personal touch.

After Yang Yunran moved in, he added many of his own things. Some were brought over, and some were habits that Jiang Yi got used to seeing, such as the violin he had recently given him, which hung on the wall with a wooden box. Sometimes they danced, and Yang Yunran occasionally pulled the violin.

Jiang Yi had just nodded and paused.

Now that Yang Yunran was back, he restarted the play. When he sat beside him, his arm naturally stretched over his shoulder, pulling him into his arms. Jiang Yi was used to this posture, and Yang Yunran was also used to kicking off his slippers.

Jiang Yi asked him, “A work call?”

Yang Yunran said, “My manager got greedy and got caught.” He didn’t explain further; the whole situation was too absurd. But considering his expectations of Zhou Kai’s character, Yang Yunran wasn’t particularly surprised to hear it.

“Oh, then let’s change to someone older,” Jiang Yi had disliked his manager for a long time, so upon hearing the news, he didn’t react much. He took Yang Yunran’s phone and muted it. This way, they wouldn’t be disturbed by any sudden offensive calls in the evening.

Jiang Yi set his own phone aside to charge, his gaze focused on the movie. Then, looking back at Yang Yunran, he rested his chin on his soft hair and nudged him gently, saying, “There’s a team-building event at the lab this weekend, camping in the suburbs. Want to come with me?”

Yang Yunran agreed readily. He had visited Jiang Yi’s lab many times before; everyone knew he would sit outside waiting. He was Professor Jiang’s boyfriend, but nobody really knew what he looked like. Students had been curious for a long time, but since Jiang Yi was a professor, no one dared to ask.

Jiang Yi lowered his head and asked, “You agreed so quickly. Aren’t you afraid of showing your face?”

“What am I afraid of?” Yang Yunran lifted his chin. “I’m not a celebrity.” In truth, there had been several close calls where he almost got exposed, but the news was always intercepted. Secretary Gao had assured him that, as long as he wished, there would be no public information released.

Therefore, Yang Yunran was very reassured; he highly approved of Secretary Gao’s competence.

Switching to a year and a half ago, Yang Yunran couldn’t have imagined having such a balanced dual life.

On one side were countless camera flashes praising his future as a superstar. On the other side was the gentle breeze, driving up the mountain to camp with a group of twenty-something-year-old graduate students.

Jiang Yi drove for two hours, then Yang Yunran took over for a while on the highway. Finally, Jiang Yi took the wheel again on the mountain road. They arrived at 3 PM with clear, cloudless weather. Jiang Yi parked the car and they got out.

Students emerged from another car behind them, calling out, “Professor Jiang, we’ll set up camp first. Did you bring the tents?”

Jiang Yi nodded, saying he brought them, then opened the trunk and said, “Let’s do it ourselves.”

Yang Yunran grabbed some tools from the car, and everyone got busy. Some went into the woods to gather firewood, while others stayed behind to set up tents.

Yang Yunran wore a duckbill cap but no mask. Quickly, someone recognized him and whispered, “Isn’t he Professor Jiang’s boyfriend? Wasn’t he a star before? He looks even more handsome in person than on TV!”

“Really? I didn’t realize it until now. Wasn’t he here before at the lab?”

Yang Yunran carried the camping toolbox over and replied casually, “He hasn’t changed, and yes, I’ve been here before.”

Surprised by his sudden appearance and response, everyone fell silent. Finally, a curious girl couldn’t resist and boldly asked, “Are you Yang Yunran? I really like you! You were on my bedroom wall!”

Yang Yunran laughed amiably and said, “Thank you. I used to be a star, but not anymore.”

Jiang Yi, dressed in a black T-shirt similar to the students, walked over expressionlessly, showing off his beautifully toned arm muscles. “Who likes him?” he asked.

The female student stuttered, “I, um… Professor, I meant before, in the past!”

Jiang Yi glanced at her, then possessively took Yang Yunran’s hand and led him away into the newly pitched tent.

Inside the tent, the space suddenly felt cramped. Yang Yunran had to sit closely next to Jiang Yi. “You don’t want others to like me?” he teased.

“No,” Jiang Yi replied firmly, pulling him close. Yang Yunran had just been doing physical labor, sweating slightly with glistening beads on his smooth, tan skin.

Yang Yunran buried his head. “What about those who chase after stars?”

“That’s not allowed either,” Jiang Yi whispered, his fingers teasingly brushing aside the strands of hair that fell onto Yang Yunran’s shoulder. Finally, his hand rested on the back of Yang Yunran’s neck. “My jealousy is smaller than you think. Though others may like you, it’s not your fault.”

“The distance between stars and their fans is vast,” Yang Yunran murmured softly, leaning in closer until their lips almost touched. “But our distance is very close, very close. Because I love you—”

Jiang Yi swiftly rolled over, regaining control. He rarely spoke this phrase, but occasionally, at the right moment, he whispered it into Yang Yunran’s ear. “Baby, I love you too.”