~Flashback:

His face had always looked aged. He had lived a life full of misdeeds when young, and as he got older, the past debts came back to haunt him even more. Thankfully, money and power are always a man’s best facade. Standing in the Chairman’s office beneath the “Virtue and Morality” plaque, few would remember the face of the former head of Tai Ping Shan street, now known as Guan Zhengying.

In fact, Jiang Quyan had never seen him in person, but he had heard rumors from the gossiping girls at the modeling agency.

For example, Boss Guan had grown up without a mother, raised in the incense halls. He started out in illegal dealings, becoming involved in gang activities at the age of 16, and was even said to have been anointed by a “red stick” (a high-ranking figure in the underworld). Another rumor was that Fuzheng, his company, was initially a gang that made money by collecting “protection fees,” with any film production in his territory needing to pay first. Additionally, his wife was said to be a “madam” at a bar in Wan Chai Phoenix Tower, and their marriage was due to the influence of her father, while secretly, Guan had a mistress in the Eastern New Territories…

So when Lin Zhifang came to find him, Jiang Quyan’s first thought wasn’t about rising in power, but worrying about getting involved with someone too dangerous to handle.

Lin Zhifang spent a month training him, making him memorize every like and dislike, with the first rule being never to bring up past matters. At night, he was sent to the master bedroom of the Guan family mansion. Guan Zhengying, in just a bathrobe, came out, and the ghastly scars on his chest terrified Jiang Quyan, making his face turn pale, and his mind raced with thoughts of being dead in the sea the next day.

Guan Zhengying seemed unfazed by the unfamiliar person in his room. “What’s your name?”

Jiang Quyan had to force himself to stop trembling: “Quyan… Ah Yan.”

“Nice name,” Guan Zhengying smiled at him, a warm, affectionate smile that one might give a lover.

Then he asked again, “What are you here for?”

Jiang Quyan hesitated: “Madam asked me to… serve you.”

“I’m asking what you’re here for, not what Madam asked you to do,” Guan Zhengying repeated.

Jiang Quyan’s head was buzzing, and he gritted his teeth before walking over to Guan Zhengying’s side. His mind was set on what Madam had told him: be proactive, make Guan Zhengying like him, and once he does, his life would change completely.

At that moment, he was only wearing a thin long shirt, with only one button loosely fastened. It would come undone with the slightest pull. If he took his clothes off and lay on the bed, Guan Zhengying would like him, as Madam had said. He was sure his face would please him.

His fingers trembled as they reached for the button. Guan Zhengying patiently waited.

But the button never came undone. Jiang Quyan lifted his head and said, “I came to assist you.”

Guan Zhengying nodded, signaling for him to continue.

“I’m useful to you,” Jiang Quyan said boldly. “I know your woman in the New Territories is pregnant. Madam knows too, and your father-in-law knows. I can help you keep that child. I’ll persuade Madam not to harm her.”

“I can also help you run your entertainment company. I’m a model, I can make money. You can use me to clean up your money from the gang and bring your company into the legitimate business world.”

Guan Zhengying listened, his expression impassive. As Jiang Quyan spoke, Guan Zhengying raised his hand and gently brushed some stray hair from the young man’s temple.

Jiang Quyan continued, “Running a gang is never a long-term solution. Tai Ping Shan is on the decline, the film association has already issued a joint statement to boycott you, and the Hong Kong government will surely crack down on gang influence. So, transitioning the company into legitimate business is the way forward. But your men only know how to collect protection fees and fight; they don’t know how to run an entertainment company. I know, and I’m willing to do it. As long as you trust me, I’ll do anything…”

He spoke hastily, and in fact, many of the words came out without thinking, just blurted out.

It wasn’t until Guan Zhengying raised his hand, signaling him to stop, that he immediately fell silent like a machine obeying orders.

Guan Zhengying smiled slightly and examined him from head to toe. “You just said your name was…?”

Jiang Quyan’s voice still trembled. “Ah Yan, Jiang Quyan. ‘Yan’ as in the ‘Yan’ from ‘coming swans and departing geese.'”

“Ah Yan.” Guan Zhengying nodded. “So, Ah Yan, what do you want?”

“I…” Jiang Quyan gathered his courage to look him in the eyes. “I want you to promise not to touch me.”

Guan Zhengying laughed out loud. He might have not felt such a pleasant emotion for a long time, so his laugh even surprised him. But he didn’t hide it; he was genuinely pleased.

“Is that it?” He looked at him as if he were watching a kindergarten performance. “Money? A position? Don’t you want any of those? You just painted a grand and beautiful picture to me. With such a brilliant career, aren’t you going to ask for some reward?”

Jiang Quyan had not thought that far ahead. At that moment, he had only wanted to avoid becoming this terrifying man’s plaything.

Now, he realized how childish his “negotiation” had been.

Guan Zhengying also understood that he didn’t really need a serious answer from Jiang Quyan. He reached out to fasten the buttons of Jiang Quyan’s shirt. “Alright, since you’re brave enough, I’ll give you a chance.”

Jiang Quyan’s eyes lit up.

“Three months,” Guan Zhengying held up three fingers. “If my child is born safely, then you’ll have the right to negotiate with me. By then, you better figure out exactly what you want before you talk to me about the entertainment company.”

…..

That night, Jiang Quyan slept on the sofa in the master bedroom.

Three months later, Guan Xuexin was born at the Prince of Wales Hospital in the New Territories.

In 1989, Fuzheng Group officially established the Modeling Department, and Jiang Quyan became its manager.

Guan Zhengying kept his promise and had never touched him in the fifteen years since.

….

“Speaking of which,” Guan Zhengying turned slightly, standing under the “Hong Kong White Magnolia” inscription, “You said my wife is a prostitute?”

Jiang Quyan turned over and sat up, with Guan Zhengying’s expensive suit still draped over him. Half-naked, he leaned back on the sofa and smiled. “Did I say something wrong?”

Guan Zhengying also smiled. He was getting older, but his smile was now gentler and more kind.

Jiang Quyan, feeling bored, fiddled with his fingers. “To be fair, it was your son who barged into my office first. He called me a prawn in front of all my subordinates! Do you think I want to let that slide? I said his mother was a prostitute, at least I didn’t make a big deal out of it.”

There were reasons behind his words, and they made sense.

Guan Zhengying smiled and sat beside him, reaching out to touch the cut on his lip. Jiang Quyan winced in pain, pulling back his neck.

Guan Zhengying’s smile grew wider as he wiped the blood that had seeped from the wound. “You’re getting more and more disrespectful.”

“Wow, you’re still scolding me?” Jiang Quyan stared at him in disbelief, “Your family, one after the other, keeps bullying me. Your wife calls me ungrateful, your son calls me a male prostitute, and I haven’t even wronged you. Why do you still have to come and scold me?”

Guan Zhengying gently pressed him down. “Stop talking, or your mouth will tear, and it won’t look good.”

Jiang Quyan gave him a glare and reluctantly fell silent.

“I’ll teach Ah Hong a lesson,” Guan Zhengying casually threw a shirt at him. “His mother is seriously ill, you should empathize with him as a son.”

Jiang Quyan put on the shirt and followed his steps out. “Where are we going?”

Guan Zhengying got into his car. “To eat.”

He actually had a driver, but when taking Jiang Quyan out, he usually drove himself because he didn’t like the trendy Japanese cars. He still drove a Porsche from ten years ago, which was supposedly the third Porsche in Hong Kong, and it had even been in the newspapers back then.

Jiang Quyan sat in the passenger seat, and on the radio, Chen Baiqiang was singing “Mist and Rain.” Outside the window, the night was slowly descending over Victoria Harbour.

“Your car should be replaced. Go to the dealership tomorrow and pick one out,” Guan Zhengying said, gripping the steering wheel with one hand, looking at the road.

Jiang Quyan wasn’t buying it. “No free lunch. What are you trying to do?”

Guan Zhengying’s lips curled up slightly. “If you’re going to be Vice President, you can’t just take the subway to work. You should at least drive a Mercedes.”

Jiang Quyan suddenly turned his head. “VP? Madam didn’t say anything about that.”

“Then why bother studying abroad and getting a degree? Next time, when someone asks for your title, you can answer with confidence.”

“I don’t want to.”

“So you want to be Chairman?”

Jiang Quyan rolled down the window a little, letting the night breeze cool his face and calm his mind. “Right now is fine. I have enough money, and I have people who listen to me. That’s enough power. Getting promoted means dealing with politics, and you know I don’t like that.”

Guan Zhengying pulled the car up to the restaurant. An attendant was waiting to take his keys, and the manager, knowing Guan Zhengying was coming, waited at the door to escort him into the private room. Throughout the drive, Guan Zhengying hadn’t said a word, and Jiang Quyan followed him quietly, reading his expressions.

After they ordered their food and the waiter left, Guan Zhengying took up his teacup and rinsed his mouth. “Did the Lin family put that much pressure on you?”

“You know I’m the sandwich in the middle,” Jiang Quyan pouted. “Madam is lying in her sickbed, her mind’s still spinning, giving me a laundry list of tasks. She wants to nurture her son, support the family, and even manage your harem… How is this promotion? She’s turning me into her servant, then her son’s servant. It’s the twenty-first century! Hong Kong abolished slavery a long time ago.”

He grumbled in complaint. Guan Zhengying, however, didn’t seem displeased. “Did she say that to you?”

“If I don’t do it, she calls me an ingrate. If I do it, I’m caught in a no-win situation.” The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt.

Guan Zhengying lowered his head and laughed softly. “Silly.”

Jiang Quyan frowned and “hmphed,” clearly dissatisfied with the assessment.

At that moment, a waiter entered to serve the dishes. Guan Zhengying picked up his chopsticks and placed a piece of roast goose in Jiang Quyan’s bowl. “This VP promotion is a reward for you. You’ve done well with Ah Xue, and the business in Japan has been successful. The profits were the highest last year, so it’s only right for you to get the promotion. I’ve said the same thing in the board meeting.”

Jiang Quyan obediently held the bowl and accepted the roast goose: “Thank you, boss.”

After receiving the dishes, he didn’t forget to scoop soup and pour tea for the boss, playing the role of a dutiful employee.

“Originally, they were talking about Assistant VP, saying you’re overseas, unfamiliar with the headquarters, and lack executive experience. I thought that didn’t make sense,” Guan Zhengying explained. “Fifteen years of experience, how could you not know the headquarters? If you don’t have executive experience, you gain it by doing it. Without taking the position, you’ll never get the experience. So, I made the decision: VP. If anyone disagrees, let them come talk to me directly.”

“I’m not worried about them not accepting it,” Jiang Quyan, with a piece of roast goose in his mouth, emphasized. “I just don’t want to be a sandwich anymore.”

Guan Zhengying found it cute how Jiang Quyan spoke with his mouth full of plum sauce and roast goose: “You’ve been doing this for fifteen years, a few more months won’t kill you.”

Jiang Quyan spat out the goose bone with a “pfft.”

After a while, all the dishes were served, but Guan Zhengying’s bowl of soup still hadn’t reached the bottom. He was a slow eater, never spoke with food in his mouth, and wouldn’t utter a word until he finished swallowing. His meals often lasted over an hour.

But since he was the boss, the employees couldn’t leave the table until he was done eating.

Jiang Quyan finally got the steamed grouper he liked after the dishes had turned a large circle, and as he reached for it, he listened to Guan Zhengying talking: “Ah Hong, I plan to send him to a subsidiary for some training. He’s been spoiled too much, now he’s all restless, willful, and careless. It’s embarrassing.”

Jiang Quyan couldn’t hold back and let out a small chuckle.

“Ah Xue is better. You taught her well, I don’t have to worry about her,” Guan Zhengying said. “If she wants to learn to run a company in the future, I’ll support her.”

Jiang Quyan knew Guan Xuexin’s heart well: “She’s thinking about dating, a foreign guy really likes her.”

Guan Zhengying frowned: “She’s underage. Keep an eye on her.”

“I’ve set rules: no sex before she’s of age. Everything else is fine,” Jiang Quyan said carefully. “It’s not your era anymore, boss. You can’t control it if a young person wants to date. The more you control her, the more rebellious she’ll become.”

Guan Zhengying was very satisfied with how Jiang Quyan was raising his daughter: “I’m worried about those shady men approaching her with bad intentions. You need to do background checks and make sure she doesn’t go to dangerous places, especially in Wan Chai recently. It’s not safe.”

“Lin family?” Madam Lin Zhifang’s family was from Wan Chai.

Guan Zhengying’s face showed hidden anger: “My father-in-law his son are two very different people. My father-in-law fought his way up with nothing, with courage but no strategy. When he was around, the son seemed well-behaved, but once his father passed, his ambitions became obvious. His appetite’s big, and his methods are cruel, doing underhanded things that stir up trouble in the north and east.”

Jiang Quyan remembered that Guan Zhengying’s brother-in-law, Lin Zhifang’s older brother, also had a director position in the Fuzheng Group.

“Soon, we’ll have a memorial to hold. After my wife’s passing, my brother-in-law will probably be heartbroken and make foolish decisions. I’ll have people keep an eye on him. You all need to be careful. Don’t get involved.” This was the main reason Guan Zhengying came to see Jiang Quyan today.

Jiang Quyan caught on: “You think I’m at risk?”

Guan Zhengying had already made arrangements for him: “I know you’ve been working hard. I’ll give you two months off, go relax, come back refreshed and then do your VP job. Just make sure the work handover is done.”

No employee dislikes a holiday. Jiang Quyan was pleased: “paid vacation?”

Guan Zhengying asked in return: “Of course, am I that stingy?”

Jiang Quyan immediately put down his bowl and bowed: “Boss, may your wealth be abundant and your life everlasting!”

Someone knocked on the door. The secretary hurriedly entered: “Boss, the hospital called, Madam’s condition has worsened.”

Guan Zhengying slowly put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stood up: “Let’s go.”

^[1]Author’s note: (Protection fees: In the late 1980s to early 1990s, gang forces in Hong Kong expanded, causing harm across various industries. The entertainment industry even experienced … Continue reading)