Chapter 32

After Boyu Investment Bank returned from Wall Street to the domestic market, not only did it not experience the so-called acclimatization issues speculated by financial media, but it instead thrived like a fish in water. 

First, they unexpectedly announced the merger of Huazhong Securities, a subsidiary of Hengtai Bank, into their fold, and then they quickly secured several large IPO projects with considerable fanfare. 

The momentum was so rapid that it put considerable pressure on other investment banks. 

Reports such as “Boyu’s Assault on the Domestic Market, Zhou Yanjing Creates Another Myth” were featured prominently on various financial websites for several days. 

The bigger the steps Boyu took, the busier Zhou Yanjing became. He devoted all his energy to work, staying in an apartment near the company for several consecutive days. 

Boyu’s affairs already kept him extremely busy; there weren’t enough hours in the day, yet he also took on a particularly tricky acquisition case for the Zhou family group. 

In the past, Zhou Qizhen was very arrogant. When Zhou Qizhen wanted him to lend a hand, he had to go to great lengths to curry favor. 

Recently, for some unknown reason, he suddenly became filial, volunteering at Zhou Qizhen’s office every few days, almost wanting to sit in the chairman’s seat of the group. 

Even when Song Yunfan’s internet company rang the bell for its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, he found time in his busy schedule to fly over and willingly help out. 

Yang Kang felt he either wanted to hasten his death or had completely lost his mind. 

That afternoon, upon returning from Hong Kong, he discovered that Lin City had already been covered in a layer of white snow. 

This winter seemed colder than usual, with the first snowfall arriving early this year. 

As they exited the airport, Old Liu parked the car by the roadside. Yang Kang put his suitcase in the trunk and returned to find Zhou Yanjing still standing by the roadside, not getting in the car. 

Zhou Yanjing looked up at the swirling snowflakes, suddenly recalling something, and asked him, “Has she picked out the house?” 

During this time, Yang Kang occasionally contacted Lin Yuxi. She was quite busy with work and would only reply when she had a moment to spare. 

“She said she doesn’t want the house anymore; she just wants it converted to cash.” 

Zhou Yanjing frowned slightly. 

“Wasn’t she insisting on the house before? Why the sudden change to cash?” 

Yang Kang had no idea. It was already good enough that Lin Yuxi could reply with two words; how could she possibly tell him what she was thinking? 

“I’ve prepared cash according to the value of the apartment in Songyun Bay. Should I transfer it to her now?” 

Zhou Yanjing fished out a cigarette from his pocket, only to find the pack empty. 

He tossed the empty pack into a nearby trash can and reached out to Yang Kang. 

“Cigarette.” 

Yang Kang hesitated for a moment. 

Zhou Yanjing said coolly, “I pay you so much; are you too stingy to give me a cigarette?” 

“That’s not what I meant.” 

Yang Kang quickly pulled out his own cigarettes and handed them over, but Zhou Yanjing turned his nose up at them. “You should smoke less of this cheap stuff; it’s bad for your health.” 

As if the golden middle-size cigarettes were cheap, Yang Kang thought, or maybe I just don’t want to give you any. 

Recently, Zhou Yanjing had been smoking quite a bit, possibly due to the relentless work schedule and needing cigarettes to stay alert. In just half a month, he had finished the three months’ worth of cigarettes Yang Kang had prepared for him. 

“Zhou, smoking is bad for your health anyway.” 

He intended to advise Zhou Yanjing to cut down, but before he could say anything, Zhou Yanjing shot him a glance. 

“Still trying to argue? Learning all the bad habits from Lin Yuxi?” 

Yang Kang felt wronged, unable to discern the trap in that statement: “I haven’t followed her, nor have I learned anything.” 

Zhou Yanjing got into the car, snorting coldly. “You wish you could follow her.” 

Yang Kang:  

After finishing a phase of Boyu’s affairs, Zhou Yanjing could finally take a breather, but he looked at the empty slots on his schedule with dissatisfaction, planning to find more tasks to occupy himself with. 

The company was full of complaints, with everyone coming to Yang Kang to lament: “Assistant Yang, you should persuade Zhou to take a break; his body is made of iron, but ours aren’t!” 

Yang Kang entered the office under the eager gaze of the entire staff. 

Once Zhou Yanjing finished signing some documents, Yang Kang gathered his courage to say, “Zhou, now that things have settled down at the company, do you want to take a couple of days off? You haven’t been home in half a month…” 

Zhou Yanjing raised his eyelids. “What would I go home for?” 

Yang Kang choked a bit. 

That was indeed a good question. 

He changed his approach: “Mainly, everyone has been following you and working non-stop lately, and their bodies can’t take it anymore. You’re full of energy and in good health, but they’re staying up late and losing hair thirty-year-old souls in eighty-year-old bodies. If this goes on, someone might have a sudden health crisis, and that would cost a fortune in compensation.” 

Yang Kang’s words were all learned from being with Zhou Yanjing over the years, and he felt like he was showing off in front of a master. 

Zhou Yanjing sneered, “What, do you think I can’t afford it?” 

That wasn’t quite the point. 

The secretary wasn’t wrong; since he returned to the country, Zhou Yanjing had become increasingly difficult to manage. Given that Yang Kang had been with him for a long time, he could sense a bit of his thoughts. 

Yang Kang repeated in his mind: For Boyu, for Boyu, for Boyu… 

Then, with a sense of urgency, he spoke up. 

“Zhou, you’re not scared to go home, are you?” 

The sound of shattering in the president’s office frightened the outside secretaries into silence. 

“Oh no, oh no! Assistant Yang isn’t going to be in trouble in there, is he? Boohoo…” 

Before long, the door opened, and Yang Kang walked out. 

The secretaries immediately asked anxiously, “Are you okay, Assistant Yang?” 

“I’m fine. I accidentally broke a teacup.” 

Yang Kang adjusted his tie, relieved, and then announced, “Inform the other departments that the president says everyone has been working hard lately, so we’re giving a three-day break. Everyone should go home and rest well.” 

The entire Boyu erupted in cheers, and before work hours ended, the place was almost empty. By the time Zhou Yanjing came out of his office, there was no one left but Yang Kang. 

“Everyone ran away faster than rabbits.” Zhou Yanjing was annoyed to see Yang Kang. “You can go too.” 

Old Liu had caught a bad cold the previous day, and Zhou Yanjing drove himself through the snow-covered streets, feeling a sense of desolation, as if he were homeless. 

In the end, he turned the car around and headed back to Songyun Bay. 

Upon entering, he found the house warm with heating, like spring, yet it felt eerily empty. 

Zhou Yanjing paused for a moment and called out, “Lin Yuxi?” 

His tone was colder than he realized. 

The empty house echoed back his voice. 

He tossed his coat onto the sofa and headed straight for the master bedroom on the second floor. Opening the wardrobe, he saw that Lin Yuxi’s clothes and belongings were still there, and his tense muscles finally relaxed. 

As he went downstairs, he heard several meows. 

He walked into the room where the cats were kept. As soon as he cracked the door open, a calico cat squeezed out, followed by a bunch of kittens scurrying outside, their little backsides bouncing as they sniffed around Zhou Yanjing’s pant legs. 

Zhou Yanjing tried to use his foot to nudge them back inside, but none of them obeyed. They jumped over his shoes and bolted outside. 

When Chen Sao came back from grocery shopping, she was startled to see several cats running wild in the living room, with two of them rolling and fighting on the sofa. 

The house was filled with cat hair, and Zhou Yanjing, face darkened, retreated far away while holding his nose and sneezing profusely. 

Chen Sao was alarmed. “Oh my, how did they all get out?!” 

Zhou Yanjing replied, “The door wasn’t shut properly; that’s how it was when I got back.” 

Chen Sao didn’t dare to doubt him but was puzzled. All the doors and windows had been fitted with childproof locks. Could that calico cat have evolved? 

With those skills, it could go out and unlock doors for money. 

She hurriedly chased the cats back inside, but the tabby kittens, nearly two months old, were showing athletic prowess. The more she chased, the more they seemed to enjoy it, and after a sweaty struggle, she managed to catch two, only for the other two to escape again as she was putting the third back. 

Zhou Yanjing stood at the top of the stairs. “Call Yuxi and tell her to come back and catch the cats.” 

Chen Sao turned back with a cat toy in hand. “Madam is out of town for an academic conference and won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.” 

Zhou Yanjing shoved his hands in his pockets, mumbling meaninglessly, “She’s quite busy.”