《A shattered mirror is never whole.》 Chapter 1 Assistant Chen was able to sit in the position of the first deputy beside the boss because of his ability to read people''s expressions. He was familiar with every move, micro-expression, and every little habit of the two bosses. As long as the boss gave him a look, he would know how to arrange the next five or ten steps. Relying on this ability, Assistant Chen''s career can be described as smooth and rapid. But today is different. As soon as he entered the door today, he couldn''t figure out what he was thinking about. At 2:00 p.m., the first quarter sales report meeting was held in the "Asia" conference room on the sixth floor of Fengyu Group. About ten people came into the conference room one after another, and almost all the heads of several major departments were present. The supervisors were a little surprised to see that Mr. Shi, who usually showed up last, was already sitting at the table, looking like he had been waiting here for a long time. "what happened?" The channel director poked Assistant Chen and asked in a low voice before going on stage to give his report. Assistant Chen winked, signaling him to start reporting first. Slides were switched one after another on the big screen, and the afternoon passed quietly. The company executives sometimes discussed, sometimes argued and sometimes buried their heads in research, but the boss sitting at the end of the conference table remained silent, staring at the tablet in his hand with his eyes downcast. Even though he has already stepped into his thirties, the boss is still the same as he was a few years ago. The first impression he gives is always clean, elegant, and a bit bookish, like a college graduate. Even though her brows were half-furrowed and her eyelashes were slightly drawn downward, her sharp profile reflected in the floor-to-ceiling window still added a touch of softness. Assistant Chen glanced at his boss several times and found that he would stare at the tablet from time to time. He thought his boss was reviewing meeting materials, but later found out that he was not. Half an hour later. The stylus turned a few circles between his fingers, and then the boss lowered his head and wrote two large bold letters on the tablet very carefully, stroke by stroke. ¡ª¡ªS¡ª¡ªB. Assistant Chen: ¡°¡­¡± What made the boss change his rigorous and focused style and become distracted again and again during meetings? Who else can make the boss, who is usually calm, speak sweetly? While handing over the documents, he leaned over to the conference table took a peek, and found a news report with pictures and text opened on the tablet. Amidst the fireworks and the crowds of people, a straight figure in a suit raised the bronze hammer in his hand in front of a huge brass clock. The protagonist of the news is none other than the boss¡¯s high school classmate and his longtime rival, Mr. Zhou Sifu Zhou. At 9:30 a.m. New York Stock Exchange time, Danofi, a multinational automobile company headed by Mr. Zhou, rang the bell on the Staneq. "This quarter''s conservative forecast is 43 million, with the first channel accounting for more than 60%, including 16 million in public works orders. In the second quarter, transactions will continue to shift to the second and third channels, and together with follow-up orders for public works, the total will exceed 50 million." The channel director pulled up several charts and showed everyone the numbers. "For the entire first half of the year, it can reach 194.7 million." After briefly introducing a few data, he held a page-turning pen in his hand and summarized the slides behind him: "As a newcomer in the lighting industry in the southern region, this is also the first time that Fengyu has signed a billion-dollar order with an established smart home retailer. In other words, the market recognition of our new products is no less than that of those traditional first-tier brands." As soon as the channel director finished speaking, Assistant Chen quickly led the applause, and warm applause suddenly rang out in the conference room. The channel director and his colleagues smiled and nodded, straightened their collars proudly, and then looked toward the end of the long table. "Mr. Shi, look¡ª¡ª" Shi Tian said nothing, just lowered his head, and drank a sip of water. Seeing that the boss didn''t respond for a long time, the channel director felt a little embarrassed for a moment, so he had to look at Assistant Chen who was sitting behind the boss for help. Before Assistant Chen stood up to warm up the audience, a "click" sound was heard in the air, and Mr. Shi closed the tablet in his hand. "This is an optimistic scenario. What about other scenarios? Have you considered them?" "This is still a conservative estimate," the channel director said inwardly, "Even if all the pessimistic scenarios happen to us this year, the total amount can reach over 100 million." "How confident are you about this order? What about the cooperation with the supply chain?" Shi Tian asked, "I want exact figures." "The department has simulated the rolling forecast for the next year," the channel director replied immediately, "This order is a done deal. There is sufficient supply in the global supply chain. This year''s overall transaction volume will increase significantly due to this order." The boss held the pen in his hand, and Assistant Chen heard the metal pen body creaking in the palm of the boss''s hand. The creaking sound of the pen reached Assistant Chen''s ears, as if asking him for help. "Count it for me again," Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and spoke after a while, "How many are there?" "Four thousand in the first quarter¡ª" This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The channel director paused, then suddenly understood: "... Mr. Shi, you just like to listen to this part, right?" His subordinate spoke out his thoughts. Shi Tian leaned back in his chair, tilted his neck back slightly, and still looked calm: "Well done, continue." The meeting proceeded in an orderly manner, and Assistant Chen continued to secretly observe the boss''s expression. Among all the people present, he was the only one who knew why his boss cared so much about these numbers. As a lighting control system manufacturer ¡¡that has been gaining momentum in recent years, Fengyu Group was co-founded by current executive director and CEO Shi Tian and chairman of the board Ji Yuanlin. Within the company, the personal relationship between the two big bosses is no longer a secret. Mr. Shi and Mr. Ji are not only partners in starting a business together but also a couple that everyone admires. One is a financial elite who graduated from a top business school in China, and the other is a young and promising genius in the field of applied materials. They have been in love since they graduated from college and have been together for nearly eight years, creating a good story among the alumni of Peking University. In addition to their daily lives, they also work well together at work. Mr. Shi is in charge of the company''s cash flow and investment and financing, while Mr. Ji is responsible for technology and products. In just five years, Feng Yu has gone from an unknown start-up unicorn company to the second echelon of the domestic lighting industry. Just at the end of last year, when the two were traveling in Malta, Mr. Ji knelt on one knee beside the Blue Lagoon and grandly proposed to Ms. Shi. Mr. Shi neither agreed nor refused at the time. But a few days later, he got drunk at a high school reunion and boasted in front of dozens of old classmates that he would agree to Mr. Ji''s proposal as long as Feng Yu''s profit doubled in the first half of the year. According to company gossip, the two bosses will celebrate their eighth anniversary together soon. And the company''s first-half performance forecast was released today. This means that soon, no, maybe even today, this fairy couple will be upgraded to become prospective husband and wife. -- The meeting was to take a ten-minute break. Assistant Chen saw that Shi was always looking down at his tablet, showing no intention of taking a break, so he quickly went to the tea room to pour a cup of hot coffee and handed it to the boss. Unlike Mr. Ji who never adds sugar to his coffee, Mr. Shi always adds two packets of sugar every time and always complains that it is not sweet enough. After taking the cup and taking a sip, Shi Tian was very satisfied with the sweetness of the coffee. He turned his head and looked at his assistant in confusion: "Xiao Chen, where is A-Lin?" Assistant Chen stepped forward quickly and said, "Mr. Shi, Mr. Ji said he called you at noon, but you seemed to be in a meeting and didn''t answer. Two investors from the Horner Fund just flew back from the UK and made an appointment with Mr. Ji for a dinner at Marriott." Shi Tian picked up his phone and found three missed calls and a text message. A-Lin: [Tiantian, remember to eat well on time at noon, don¡¯t get a stomachache again. I¡¯ll pick you up at the company in the evening] Shi Tian: ¡°¡­¡± This guy is too corny. He closed his phone thoughtfully, stretched his neck, and looked at everyone present: "Let''s continue the meeting. The sooner we finish the meeting, the sooner we can leave work." The sunset dyed the city skyline red, and the meeting gradually came to an end. Seeing that it was getting dark outside the window, Shi Tian simply said, "Okay, that''s enough for today. Sister Qiu still has to pick up her kids from cram school. If you''re late again, Fatty Qiu will make a scene again." Hearing the boss mention the good things his kid did, Secretary Qiu blushed: "That kid deserves a beating--" Qiu Jing, the board secretary, is a single mother. She had to get off work late a few times because of meetings. Shi Tian drove her to the school gate to pick up her son and then sent the mother and son home safely. After picking him up and dropping him off several times, the fat second-grade boy would hold on to his waistband like a pendant every time he saw him at the school gate. Before long, the whole grade knew that Fatty Qiu had a young, rich father who drove a supercar. After the meeting, Shi Tian picked up the suit hanging on the back of the chair and walked out of the meeting room. Secretary Qiu picked up the documents on the table and hurriedly left the meeting room with the boss. After the boss left, the executives present also stood up from their seats and prepared to return to the floors where their departments were located. Suddenly, there was a burst of cell phone vibrations in the conference room. ¡°Buzz¡ª¡ª¡± ¡°Buzz¡ª¡± The screens of the mobile phones on the table lit up at the same time, and everyone''s mobile mailbox showed that a new email had been received. After looking at each other, the company''s executives picked up their phones and opened them. The email was sent from an internal mailbox with the company name suffixed. The email had no title or content, only a picture attached. Executive A: ¡°¡­¡± Executive B: ¡°¡­¡± Staring at the picture in the email, everyone held their breath at the same time. The entire conference room fell into a dead silence, and even the air froze. Including Assistant Chen, the executives had various expressions on their faces, but no one spoke first. After a full minute of silence, someone finally couldn''t hold back and asked in an extremely complicated tone: "...Assistant Chen, what is this?" As everyone''s eyes were turned to him, Assistant Chen felt his vision go dark. You ask me, who should I ask? Attached to the email was a screenshot of the parking lot surveillance camera, the picture quality was very clear. The time displayed in the upper left corner of the camera was exactly 2 o''clock this afternoon when the meeting had just started. Two figures were standing in front of the pure white Maserati Quattroporte. One of them was dressed in a suit and tie, with a pair of half-frame gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He had deep facial features and a handsome look. It was none other than their other boss Ji Yuanlin. President Ji leaned against his car door, put his arm around the waist of the person in front of him, and let the person in his arms raise his hands and wrap them tightly around his neck. The boy who stood on tiptoe and asked for a kiss from Mr. Ji was a boy who looked to be in his early twenties, between a young man and a teenager. He was wearing an ordinary pure white T-shirt and dark blue jeans, with a recently popular Ducky bracelet on his left wrist. Perhaps because of the alcohol, the boy''s earlobes and cheeks were tinged with a hint of drunkenness, making his already handsome face even more lively. In the surveillance video, the two of them were hugging each other in love under the camera, and they didn''t notice the existence of the other eye at all. He felt vaguely that this college-looking boy looked familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he had seen him. At this moment, the head of the marketing department silently interrupted: "...Isn''t this Chengxi?" After listening to the marketing director''s words, Assistant Chen finally realized why he felt that person looked familiar. Cheng Xi is the exclusive advertising model for four luxury fashion brands. Recently, she switched to the film and television industry and starred in her first online movie, which was on the hot search list for several days. He usually doesn''t pay much attention to the entertainment industry, and it was only because he frequently saw the news about this person on Weibo recently that he had a vague impression of him. Why is Mr. Ji always with a newly popular model? What is their relationship? Who sent the surveillance footage to all of them through the internal email box? Most importantly, what is that person''s purpose? Assistant Chen subconsciously enlarged the photo on his phone and his eyes stopped on President Ji''s left hand that was holding Cheng Xi. There was nothing on the middle finger of his left hand. In the surveillance video, Mr. Ji was not wearing the couple ring that he always wore. In the conference room, someone subconsciously wanted to excuse Mr. Ji: "Mr. Ji, this, this, this... is it possible that he drank too much?" "Is this picture photoshopped? Could it be sent by a competitor?" "This must be a misunderstanding. Mr. Ji can''t possibly¡ª" "Everyone, calm down for a moment." Interrupting everyone''s speculation, Assistant Chen swallowed his saliva and spoke uncertainly, "Boss Shi should be with Boss Ji now. Let me call him first to find out whether he has received the photos, and then..." After a pause, his tone gradually became a little shaky: "We''ll talk about it later." Chapter 2 Shi Tian had just gotten into Ji Yuanlin''s car when he received a call from Assistant Chen. The ringing of the cell phone echoed in the narrow car. Shi Tian fastened his seat belt with one hand and answered the phone with the other: "Xiao Chen?" The person on the other end of the phone didn''t speak for a long time. Shi Tian was about to speak when he suddenly heard Assistant Chen''s trembling voice: "Mr. Shi, how are you?" "...I''m fine. What''s wrong?" Shi Tian was amused by Assistant Chen''s question and blurted out, "How are you?" ¡°I, I, I, I¡­¡± After hesitating for a while, Shi Tian heard Assistant Chen ask cautiously, "So, is President Ji with you now?" Shi Tian turned his head and glanced at the man sitting in the driver''s seat next to him. The owner of the Maserati rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, resting his arms lazily on the steering wheel, listening to business news on the car radio. The famous watch on his wrist and a couple of rings on his fingers reflected the dim light under the street lights. Realizing that Shi Tian was staring at him, Ji Yuanlin slowly sat up from the driver''s seat, and looked back at Shi Tian seriously, with a smile in his eyes. From the passenger seat where Shi Tian was sitting, he could see the man''s well-proportioned and slender figure, forming a straight line from his neck to his back, and his waist under the suit was tight and perfect. Ji Yuanlin loves fitness and has hired a personal trainer at home just to maintain his impressive body. It has to be said that his future fianc¨¦ knows how to use his appearance and personal charm to please others, even himself. "No," Shi Tian retracted his gaze, "You go." Seeing that Shi Tian had ignored him for a long time, Ji Yuanlin stepped on the accelerator: "Xiao Chen is looking for you? Is there something urgent?" Assistant Chen on the other end of the phone gasped when he vaguely heard Ji Yuanlin''s voice coming from the receiver. "No, nothing," Assistant Chen said in a panic, "Boss Shi, Boss Ji, you guys go ahead and do your work. I''m going to hang up first¡ª" Before Shi Tian could react, the call was hung up by Assistant Chen on the other end. "Why are you smiling at me?" Putting down the phone, Shi Tian narrowed his eyes and stared at his future fianc¨¦ suspiciously, "What are you so happy about?" "Our Tiantian will soon officially become a member of my family. How can I not be happy?" Ji Yuanlin tapped the steering wheel lightly. "Let''s go to Lumi¨¨res for dinner tonight. I have a reservation." Lumi¨¨res is a Michelin-starred French restaurant on the top floor of LP11 and one of Shi Tian''s favorite restaurants. It adopts a member-only reservation system and accepts facial recognition instead of credit cards. The two of them are regular customers of Lumi¨¨res and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars here every year. The vehicle slowly drove into the flow of traffic going off work, and Ji Yuanlin switched the car radio to the soothing light music channel. "You must be tired after a long day of meetings today," he said. "Take a nap in the car. I''ll call you when we''re almost there." Hearing Ji Yuanlin say this, Shi Tian yawned and felt a little sleepy. Before closing his eyes, he looked through the rearview mirror and saw a bottle of his favorite Margaux red wine on the back seat of the Maserati. The bottle was tied with a beautiful knot of dark blue silk, which happened to be the same color as his tie today. In the traditional sense, Ji Yuanlin is a good candidate in every aspect. Good-looking, well-educated, highly intelligent, hardworking, self-disciplined, and considerate to his partner. He is the type of person whose lights will be turned off when he is a guest on a dating show. Romance is an indispensable spice in a long-term relationship. During their eight years together, no matter how busy he was at work, Ji Yuanlin was always able to notice some small details that were easily overlooked. For example, since the two started dating, Ji Yuanlin would carefully prepare some small surprises every time they went out on a date, and this time was no exception. Shi Tian was leaning back in his chair, half asleep when he noticed that Ji Yuanlin had stopped the car at some point. Under the dim headlights, Ji Yuanlin slowly leaned down, and in a calm voice, he whispered his nickname in his ear. "Tiantian, I miss you." Ji Yuanlin said, "Give me a kiss." "Kiss your head," Shi Tian pushed the man away from him, "The window is still open." Ji Yuanlin completely ignored his words and took advantage of the fact that he had just woken up and was not on guard, and first touched his forehead lightly with his lips. Seeing that he did not resist much, he moved down along the side of his neck and gave him a series of skillful kisses. Shi Tian used his eyes to warn Ji Yuanlin not to mess around. He persisted for a while, but in the end, he closed his eyes and followed Ji Yuanlin. If you don''t agree, you won''t be able to sleep well tonight. The guy named Ji is usually quite normal, but today he went crazy for some reason and pounced on me as soon as he saw me. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. -- Because of the delay on the road, the two arrived at LP11 five minutes later than expected. Just as Ji Yuanlin handed the car keys to the doorman, Shi Tian had already straightened his collar, pushed open the car door, and got out. After buttoning his shirt to the top to firmly cover the kiss mark on Adam''s apple, he took off his suit jacket as usual and handed it to the restaurant manager who was waiting at the door: "Rex, sorry for the wait." "It is our honor that Mr. Shi and Mr. Ji can take the time to come and dine with us." The restaurant manager is a Frenchman, and his service attitude towards VIP customers is first-class. "Our dinner recommendation today is the seasonal Nicoise pan-fried yellowfin tuna and snow crab. You two must try it." Shi Tian nodded politely to the manager: "Sure." Ji Yuanlin followed closely behind, striding forward, greeting the manager while considerately smoothing the wrinkles on Shi Tian''s collar from behind: "Hi, Rex, long time no see." No matter what happened in private, as long as they were back in public, he and Ji Yuanlin could immediately return to normal and face others with the most perfect attitude. There was nothing wrong with their every move from head to toe, even their hair was kept neat. This is the tacit understanding they have developed over the years, and it is also the way of dealing with things that businessmen should possess. The manager took the two of them into the elevator and to the top floor of the LP11 Hotel. Ji Yuanlin reserved the same seat as before, a semi-transparent terrace box overlooking the entire city. Because Shi Tian loved their dishes the most, the restaurant specially reserved a customized menu for the two of them, all of which were Shi Tian''s favorite flavors. Under the fountain in the restaurant, a cellist is playing Paganini gracefully. In the distance, commercial buildings are scattered and towering in the night sky. The night breeze blows past your face, and the swaying candlelight and fine wine are the most pleasant moments of the day. After pouring red wine and clinking glasses gently in mid-air, Shi Tian heard Ji Yuanlin say, "Brother Shi, let''s get married." Shi Tian was not drunk at first, but he was stunned for a moment after hearing Ji Yuanlin''s words. He was silent for a moment, then turned his head slightly, with a slightly tipsy look on his face: "What did you call me?" Ji Yuanlin did not answer him directly, but just lowered his voice: "Brother, you know, I have been waiting for this day for eight years." The employees in the company call him Mr. Shi, while the elders and Ji Yuanlin usually call him Tiantian or Xiaotian. After he became an adult, few people call him that anymore. This was what Ji Yuanlin called him when they were in high school. Ji Yuanlin was one grade lower than him when he was in school. He would be shy whenever he saw him at school. His face flushed, and he didn''t dare to call him by his full name. After a long while, he stammered, "Brother Shi". Later, all the classmates in the class knew that Mr. Shi had a little follower in a lower grade, who followed him every day and called him "Brother Shi" and "Brother Shi" all the time. He still remembered that Zhou Sifu was very upset with Ji Yuanlin''s flattering behavior, so one day he gathered a few friends to block him in the alley and beat him up. As a result, he was given a serious warning by the school and had to write a 3,000-word self-criticism on the blackboard at the back of the classroom. The familiar yet unfamiliar name flashed through his mind, and Shi Tian realized that his thoughts had drifted too far, and he seemed to be under the influence of alcohol. Blown violently by the wind on the terrace, Shi Tian gradually regained consciousness. He lowered his eyes, as if thinking for a moment, then raised his head and said to Ji Yuanlin slowly: "Alin, I want Fengyu to go public." As if he didn''t know why Shi Tian suddenly brought up this, Ji Yuanlin paused for a moment while holding the wine glass. Soon, he seemed to remember something and a fleeting melancholy appeared between his eyebrows. ¡°Why go public?¡± After a while, Shi Tian heard Ji Yuanlin speak, his deep voice blending into the night behind him, "Feng Yu is financially stable now, and there is no shortage of financing. If we wait for capital to enter the market, our risk will only be higher than it is now." Shi Tian was born in the financial industry and worked in the IPO business department of a well-known investment bank before quitting his job and starting his own business with his boyfriend. With the support of a professional background and connections, choosing the path of listing has more advantages than disadvantages for them. But he could understand Ji Yuanlin''s concerns. Ji Yuanlin was a technical person and was in charge of Fengyu''s products and R&D. At the critical stage when the entire R&D department was overcoming technical difficulties, the rush to go public often led to the company''s management making wrong operational decisions, which ultimately led to losses. Thinking of this, Shi Tian smiled and did not continue the topic. He slowly raised his eyelids and met the gaze of the man in front of him, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter. Shi Tian: "Then, when are we going to get the certificate?" When Ji Yuanlin heard Shi Tian ask this, his breathing became disordered for a moment, and he couldn''t believe his ears: "...Tiantian?" "As long as the company''s profits double in the first half of the year, we will get married." Shi Tian said, "Alin, I promised you." After drinking the red wine in the glass, Shi Tian''s slightly wrinkled brows slowly relaxed. Just now, he suddenly felt a sense of relief and peace in his heart. After eight years, three thousand days, and nights, he seemed to have finally chosen to reconcile with his past self. -- After agreeing to Ji Yuanlin''s proposal, Shi Tian thought he would get drunk, but in the end, he just drank a few more glasses than usual. When he left the box halfway and went to the bathroom, he stopped and couldn''t help but move his nose. There was a faint fragrance in the air, which made people feel inexplicably familiar for some reason. I was distracted for just a second, and a small figure rushed in from the revolving door of the restaurant, holding a delicious skewer in his hand. He finally knew the source of the fragrance. The delicious and fragrant grilled pork tendons used to cost only 50 cents each at the barbecue stall in front of the school. I could eat so much of them in my pocket that I couldn¡¯t finish them during an evening study session. The little kid who rushed in from the revolving door lost his balance and tripped over the low steps covered with red carpet at the entrance, and was about to fall to the ground. Shi Tian still remembers similar scenes vividly. He also fell like this when he was a child, knocking out half of his front teeth on the stairs, and was ridiculed by his classmates for several months. He took a quick step forward, ready to open his arms to catch the child, but he didn''t expect that the child would not forget to hold on to the skewers in his hands while falling into his arms. The little boy and the barbecued meat fell into Shi Tian''s arms together, and the spicy oil splashed on his entire collar. The little boy slammed on the brakes on the spot and found that the uncle''s suit was covered with stains left by chili oil. With a hissing sound, he took several steps back. "No, sorry¡ª" Seeing the little boy standing there with his face flushed and ears red, looking like he was about to cry, Shi Tian originally wanted to say it was okay, but when he saw the boy''s appearance, he also froze there. The boy''s cheeks were white and tender, and when he blushed, they looked like a ripe peach. He looked very much like someone he knew when he was a child, almost like they were carved from the same mold. At this moment, the revolving door on the other side opened, and the French manager came in with a man and a woman and earnestly introduced the restaurant''s dishes to them. Seeing someone coming not far away, the little boy seemed to have found reinforcements. Raising his hand to wipe his nose, he stood there and cried loudly: "Master Zhou - I''m in trouble again!" Chapter 3 The name that came out of the naughty kid''s mouth was like a spell dropped from the sky, hitting Shi Tian''s head directly. The crying of the little boy echoed throughout the lobby. The man and woman at the door were attracted and looked over there. ¡­ "Master Zhou!" Fourteen-year-old Shi Tian, ??wearing slippers, climbed up the vine-covered backyard wall in two or three steps, and half of his head peeked out from the top of the wall: "Keep your voice down, my dad and mom are still at home!" There was a big locust tree with lush branches and leaves planted outside the backyard wall of his house. A boy in a school uniform was lying on his back on the thickest branch of the tree, with his schoolbag hanging between the branches, swaying slightly in the afternoon breeze. The thick tree canopy not only blocked the scorching sun but also blocked most of the boy''s face. Standing on top of the trash can and looking up, Shi Tian could only see half of the boy''s ankles exposed outside his trouser legs. The boy''s skin color is half a degree whiter than that of ordinary people as if he had not been exposed to sunlight for many years, or as if he was born that way. Seeing Shi Tian making a "hush" gesture to him from the other side of the wall, the boy leaning against the tree trunk rested his head on his arm and looked up at the sky expressionlessly, "It''s not Master Zhou." "Repeat after me, Zhou-Si-Fu." Shi Tian clenched his fists and repeated word by word with all his strength: "Master Zhou." ¡°¡­¡±¡¡Zhou Sifu finally gave up. He changed his posture on the tree and crossed his legs: "I''m telling you, after ten days, your front tooth problem hasn''t healed yet?" Just a few days after the start of the second year of junior high school, Shi Tian fell flat on the steps of the teaching building while helping the teacher carry homework back to the classroom. The guy named Zhou happened to be passing by at that time. The class bell had been ringing for a long time and all the students were running to the classroom, but this guy was leaning against the stairs with a small pudding in his mouth, watching the show leisurely. He and Zhou Sifu were neighbors and grew up together. However, one of them was ranked second in the grade and the other was ranked last in the class. They were top students and the other was a poor student. They didn''t like each other. Zhou Sifu was naturally happy to see him make a fool of himself in public. Although Zhou Sifu helped him to the school infirmary to treat his scraped knee in the end, he still didn''t have a good impression of this man. The reason was simple, he knocked out half of his front teeth when he fell, and every time Zhou Sifu met him, he would laugh at him for his lisp. But recently, due to some special reasons, the two of them reluctantly became temporary allies. Shi Tian''s parents are getting a divorce recently, and Zhou Sifu''s adoptive father is a well-known local civil lawyer. He wants Zhou Sifu to help and see if he can ask Lawyer Zhou to appear in court and award his custody to his mother. Zhou Sifu said that it was not impossible to do him a favor, but Shi Tian had to do his homework for him every day. Shi Tian thought that compared to his parents'' problem, this was no big deal, so he gritted his teeth and agreed. To rewrite Zhou Sifu''s homework, he also practiced handwriting with his left hand to be similar to Zhou Sifu''s. He did the homework with his right hand and copied it with his left hand every day, which doubled his efficiency. To ensure that he would not be discovered by the teacher, he had to deliberately make a few mistakes every time to lower his level to the same level as Zhou Sifu. Taking the test paper that Shi Tian rolled up and handed over from the wall, Zhou Sifu waved his hand and said, "Ten days, come here." When Tian was in the second grade of junior high school, he had not grown taller yet. After trying for a long time, he stood on tiptoes and pushed up little by little, and finally, he managed to stick half of his body out. Meeting the eyes of the man leaning against the tree trunk, Shi Tian asked unhappily, "What are you doing?" As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Zhou Sifu take out a paper sports car model from the schoolbag that was dangling precariously on the branch. "This is for you. I made it by myself. I didn''t look for any references online." Zhou Sifu''s tone suddenly became serious, and his eyes quickly moved away from Shi Tian''s face. "Ten Days, give it a name." ¡°¡­For me?¡± Shi Tian was a little surprised. The paper model made by Zhou Sifu was both delicate and three-dimensional, but the material looked very fragile. Shi Tian reached out to take it, carefully holding it in his palm, not knowing where to put it for a moment. "It doesn''t matter if you haven''t thought of it yet." He heard Zhou Sifu say lightly, "Whenever you think of it, tell me at any time. That will be its name." -- The little boy stood there crying alone for a while and found that no one had come to rescue him. Especially Master Zhou, who heard my call for help but did nothing at this time. Only two waiters from the restaurant hurried over, one was busy handing a towel to the uncle who was hit to clean his clothes, and the other was squatting in front of him, asking in a low voice if he was okay. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Shi Tian saw that person just froze in place. The little boy''s sobbing gradually weakened, and his crying mixed with the passionate cello music in the restaurant, unexpectedly adding a touch of atmosphere. His eyes slowly moved away from the couple not far away. Shi Tian wiped the chili oil off his palms with a towel and nodded politely to the waiter who was cleaning him up: "I''m going to the bathroom." Under the gazes of the people around him, he turned decisively and walked towards the bathroom. Passing by the little boy, Shi Tian saw that the little boy was blinking his big eyes and looking at him with tears in his eyes with guilt. Finally, he couldn''t help it and turned back to the waiter and added: "Please send the little brother back to his parents." The little boy walked away holding the waiter''s hand, looking back at him every few steps, and he seemed a little reluctant to leave. The waiter relayed Shi Tian''s instructions to the couple, and the man''s expression suddenly became complicated and strange. Just before Shi Tian pushed open the door to the corridor, the waiter from before hurried over to him again and called out to him from behind: "Mr. Shi!" "Mr. Zhou asked me to tell you that you may have misunderstood." The waiter repeated Mr. Zhou''s words verbatim, "The child is his nephew, and the lady is not his wife, but his brother''s wife." Shi Tian paused as he pushed open the corridor door: "..." This is even weirder, okay? The company had just gone public, but Zhou Sifu did not stay in New York to attend the celebration banquet of the New York Stock Exchange but returned to China to have dinner alone with his sister-in-law. He didn''t have the heart to meddle in other people''s family affairs, especially those of Zhou. But when he recalled the moment he saw the two men coming in, the woman''s eyes were slightly red, as if she had just cried. Thinking of this, Shi Tian turned his head slightly and looked at Zhou Sifu with a meaningful expression. Seeing Shi Tian in the distance looking at him with a pitying look that said "I understand, I understand", the perfect expression on Zhou Sifu''s face cracked. He could see that Shi Tian was once again enjoying playing out the family ethics drama he had written and directed in his mind. This person has been like this since he was a child. When he is daydreaming, the micro-expressions on his face are very rich. He thinks that others can''t tell what he is thinking, but in fact, they can guess it at a glance. "That''s my old friend." Zhou Sifu said to the woman beside him, "Let''s go over and say hello. And by the way, let this guy apologize to him." Zhou Sifu deliberately emphasized the word "before". Holding her son''s hand, Zheng Ying smiled gently at Zhou Sifu: "Okay, I just returned to China not long ago, I should get to know more of Sifu''s friends."Led by the restaurant manager, the three of them walked into the lobby and came to Shi Tian. Zhou Sifu stretched out his hand and said, "Long time no see." Counting the two years when Zhou Sifu went to Singapore to serve as the president of Danofi Asia Pacific, the two had not seen each other for several years. The last time they met was two or three years ago, at a large social gathering held by the local business community. The two looked at each other for a moment among the guests, but eventually passed each other by. Shi Tian didn''t expect Zhou to walk towards him like this. He subconsciously pressed his back against the door behind him and pressed down the door handle with his hand, but it didn''t open. Now nearly thirty years old, neither of them is a child anymore, so Shi Tian naturally can no longer turn around and run away as he did before. In front of the waiters and guests, he also extended a hand and smiled generously: "Mr. Zhou, it''s rare to see you." When he held Zhou Sifu''s hand, he felt the rough calluses on the man''s fingertips, which made his palm slightly painful. Zhou Sifu has loved tinkering with models since he was a child, studying the precise structure inside the models. He suffered countless injuries from bumps and bruises when he was a child. This is why he chose vehicle system engineering as his major in college. Zhou Sifu was different from himself. His family was relatively well-off, and he used the first pot of money given by his parents to start a business. Zhou Sifu entered the car factory right after graduation and worked hard in the workshop for several years before he gradually moved up to the company''s management position. When Shi Tian realized that he was distracted again, he found that Zhou Sifu had let go of his hand. "Hello, I''m Zheng Ying." The woman handed Shi Tian a business card with an apologetic smile on her face. "My son ran too fast just now and accidentally bumped into Mr. Shi. I apologize to you on his behalf." The little boy hid behind his mother, with only a pair of bright eyes showing. Shi Tian took the business card handed to him by Zheng Ying and found that she had the same background as Ji Yuanlin. She was an assistant professor studying applied materials at a local university. Shi Tian also handed over a business card: "Hello, I am Mr. Zhou''s high school classmate." When handing over his business card, he saw Zhou Sifu''s eyes linger on the couple ring on his left hand for a second, but he quickly retracted his gaze. Time passed so quickly that it seemed like an illusion. He knew that there was once a ring tattoo on Zhou Sifu''s unextended hand, but it was washed off after they broke up. I heard that the process of removing a tattoo is much more painful than the process of tattooing it, but Zhou Sifu still washed it clean without leaving any trace. He treated his hands so preciously, and he was as reckless when he tattooed them as he was when he washed them. According to their mutual tattoo artist friend, Zhou Sifu went to see him six or seven times just to completely remove the italic English words "Ten Days" on the ring. But he had only heard it. He didn''t have Zhou Sifu''s contact information at that time, so naturally, he didn''t know whether it was true or not. After introducing themselves to Zheng Ying, Shi Tian, and Zhou Sifu stood in the corridor looking at each other, and no one spoke. There was a moment of silence. Just as Zheng Ying was about to say something to try to break the stagnant atmosphere between the two, she suddenly heard Zhou Sifu say: "Let''s go and order food." Zhou Sifu raised his wrist to check the time, put one hand in his suit pocket, turned around, and walked forward without looking back. His leather shoes made a dull sound as they stepped on the carpet. His profile was hidden in the backlight, so it was difficult to see his expression. -- A few minutes later. Amid the sound of running water, Shi Tian slowly raised his eyes from the sink. The phone was buzzing on the sink, and several messages popped up on the screen, all from Ji Yuanlin asking why he had been in the bathroom for so long and hadn''t come back yet. After replying "right away" to Ji Yuanlin, Shi Tian shook off the water droplets on his hair on his forehead and stared at himself in the mirror in a daze. The red wine he drank had begun to take effect, and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. His reaction speed seemed to be affected by this. The corridor door could be opened by just pushing it forward, but he failed after trying several times in front of that person. The shirt is stained and cannot be worn anymore. Thinking dazedly, Shi Tian picked up his phone and prepared to ask the waiter to get a change of clothes from the car, but when he was about to send a message, he found that someone had @ed him on WeChat Moments. When he opened the Moments, he saw that just five minutes ago, Ji Yuanlin had posted a new update on his work Moments. Under the candlelight, there are two custom-made Harry Winston wedding ring boxes, with the caption: He agreed. This post was almost drowned out by the likes of their mutual friends. Among the dozens of blessings, Shi Tian found a familiar name - Milton Zhou, Greater China, Danofi. He and Zhou Sifu had no private contact information. They only added this company''s work number in the past few years and had never had any contact in normal times. After standing motionless in front of the sink for a while, he somehow lowered his eyes and clicked on the man''s avatar, opening the chat box that he had never opened before. : [Congratulations on the listing, and I hope the stock price will soar [scatter flowers][scatter flowers]] Soon, the other party''s status changed to "typing". @Danofi Greater China-Milton Zhou: [Thank you] Shi Tian exhaled slowly, and just as he was about to turn off his phone and straighten up from the sink, he heard his phone vibrate again. @Danofi Greater China-Milton. Zhou: [I also wish you a happy wedding] Chapter 4 This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Chapter 5 This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Chapter 6 If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Chapter 7 If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chapter 8 Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Chapter 9 Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Chapter 10 Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Chapter 11 As soon as CFO Cui Yuanming stepped out of the elevator, he met Legal Department Director Yu Hao and Financing Department Director Guo Yunhong, who were also rushing in, at the door of the penthouse suite. The three of them stood outside the door looking at each other, not knowing what had happened. So Mr. Shi invited them out of their rooms early in the morning. The strange thing is that Mr. Shi did not call them directly. It was the hotel front desk who notified them using the landline. ¡°Ahem¡ª¡± After clearing his throat, Cui Yuanming rang the doorbell. "Mr. Shi, are you looking for us?" There was a sound of a hair dryer and clothes rubbing against each other from the crack of the door, and Mr. Shi''s voice rang out from inside the door: "Come in." As he was standing at the front, Yu Hao was the first to push the door open and walk in. The other two followed closely behind him, but before they could even enter the door, they saw Yu Hao suddenly take a step back, his face flushed to his ears. Guo Yunhong, who was following behind him, asked in confusion: "What''s wrong, Ah Hao? Come in." "...Shi, Shizong," Yu Hao suddenly became incoherent, "He didn''t wear--" He thought he was seeing things. The first thing he saw when he entered the room was Mr. Shi standing in front of the balcony, wearing a bathrobe and drying his hair. The bathrobe was a little too big for Mr. Shi, and it hung loosely on his body, revealing his skin in the sun. Gradually, he noticed the exposed back of Mr. Shi''s neck. There were lots of kisses and teeth marks on his neck, some of which had turned purple. ...How much effort does it take to achieve this? If it was President Ji, that would be too¡ª¡ª Hearing the door open, Shi Tian turned his head slightly and saw the head of the legal department standing stiffly at the door with a dazed look in his eyes. He didn''t explain anything, but just put down the hair dryer, symbolically pulled his collar, and said to the person outside the door: "Ah Hao, lend me your coat." ¡°Oh, oh, yes¡ª¡± After being called by Mr. Shi, Yu Hao finally came to his senses. He quickly took off his suit and handed it to Mr. Shi. After taking the casual suit he handed over, Mr. Shi put it on his shoulders. Fortunately, he was tall and fat, so the suit could cover most of the marks on his neck. "Please take a seat." Shi Tian said, "Assistant Chen will call in shortly, please wait." The three of them sat down one by one along the bed and found that the room where Mr. Shi lived was a little too empty. Apart from two ties scattered on the bed, there was no trace of another person. Director Cui couldn''t help but ask curiously, "Boss Shi, where is Boss Ji?" "That''s what I wanted to ask you too." Shi Tian stared at the three people in front of him with a calm expression, "How long has Ji Yuanlin been preparing for this plan?" Cui Yuanming was stunned for a moment, and didn''t react when he always meant: "...What plan?" He saw Yu Hao and Guo Yunhong beside him looking at each other, as if they were also confused. After observing the reactions of the three executives, Shi Tian made a preliminary judgment. These three people don''t seem to be lying, and they are probably really unaware of the situation. Soon, the bedside phone rang and Assistant Chen called. Shi Tian pressed the hands-free button and said to Assistant Chen on the phone: "Lao Cui, Ah Hao, and Brother Guo are all here. Tell us about the current situation." Assistant Chen spent about fifteen minutes recounting the entire incident from the time it was exposed to the present. This included Ji Yuanlin being taken away to cooperate with the investigation, the industrial and commercial law enforcement officers entering the group building, the company''s financial books being taken over by the tax bureau personnel, etc. Including the second-in-command of each department of the three people, all of them "voluntarily" resigned the day before the incident. After listening to Assistant Chen''s explanation of the whole story, the three people''s faces became uglier than each other. They are all smart people who can sit in the position of senior executives. Before Assistant Chen finished speaking, they already knew what was going on. Since the incident, none of the three of them have received any internal company notifications, including in the department group that they frequently use, and no one has spoken for several days. They fell into a trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain. This staff trip to the Maldives was a "Hongmen Banquet" set up for all of them. Director Cui tried to find other clues from Mr. Shi''s expression but found that Mr. Shi kept his eyes down the whole time, scribbling something on paper with a pen, looking so calm that it was a little scary. Looking up from the table, Shi Tian said to Guo Yunhong, "Mingde''s investment payback period is still long, and we don''t need to bear joint liability for losses for the time being. Ask your people to follow up immediately and have Mingde stamp a "Guarantee Contract" with the official seal." "Ah Hao, please contact your former friend in the legal profession immediately and ask him to ask the court about the property preservation requirements for the debtor''s spouse. Say it''s an emergency. If necessary, I can prepare the materials and file a civil lawsuit right away." "There is another matter that I need you to take care of." Shi Tian turned to look at Cui Yuanming and handed him the draft paper in his hand. "Since there is a problem with the flow of funds, you are the easiest to be investigated. These are several key files in my computer. I have written the subfolder numbers on them. If they want to find someone to tamper with the accounting, remember to save the original evidence in these documents and submit them to the court for processing." He arranged all the follow-up work in an orderly manner, and in just a few minutes, he proposed effective solutions to the three most difficult problems, namely guarantees, debts and unclear internal funds. After pondering Mr. Shi''s arrangements in his mind, Cui Yuanming could no longer figure out how many times he had come to admire Feng Yu, the young helmsman. He has worked for more than 20 years and served as CFO of many listed groups. He has a long career, high prestige and is highly respected in the industry. When Shi Tian first invited him to be Feng Yu''s financial director, he originally refused. At that time, he felt that the young people in these unicorn startups were very impetuous and eager for success, and not many of them could really make the company bigger and stronger. Although he was finally moved by the sincerity of the young man and became Fengyu''s CFO, he did not have high hopes for Fengyu. Unexpectedly, three years later, Fengyu''s company has continued to expand with three angel rounds of financing and the launch of new products, and has gradually become a dark horse in the lighting field in the southern region. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. This time, it was indeed because of their carelessness that they were attacked from behind. But he didn''t expect that even though he was in danger now, the first thing that Shi Zong thought of was how to clear his suspicion and get rid of unnecessary trouble. There was another thing that also surprised him a little. This was the first time he had heard of the computer key that Mr. Shi mentioned just now, and Mr. Ji probably didn''t know about it either. It seems that even though they live under the same roof and are already married, Mr. Shi still keeps something back for his lover. Thinking of this, Cui Yuanming suddenly felt regretful. He shouldn''t have listened to those people and cooperated with them to conceal Mr. Ji''s absurd behavior in order to keep the order from Baolong Electric. Household matters should be resolved by the young couple themselves. If he had reminded Mr. Shi at the beginning and let Mr. Shi be on guard in advance, perhaps this kind of thing would not have happened. etc. Cui Yuanming''s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Mr. Shi... doesn''t he know that Mr. Ji cheated on him? In front of the two "accomplices", Cui Yuanming took a deep breath and spoke carefully: "Boss Shi, Boss Ji has a partner outside, do you know about this?" As soon as the words came out, even Assistant Chen on the phone fell silent. Yu Hao and Guo Yunhong, who were sitting next to him, looked at him with horror. Yu Hao poked his back and whispered through gritted teeth: "...Old Cui, why are you bringing up such a topic?" Hearing his words, Shi Tian''s face showed a hint of doubt: "What companion?" ¡°¡­¡± Everyone present, including Assistant Chen on the phone, had the same thought in their minds: It''s over. Cui Yuanming gritted his teeth, took out his cell phone from his pocket, and flipped through the photo albums that went back one or two months. In order to avoid leaving any evidence, everyone deleted the email in the conference room. Fortunately, he suddenly remembered to save a screenshot. Handing the phone to Mr. Shi, he quickly added: "Actually, it''s not necessarily the case. Nowadays, photo editing technology is so advanced. It''s possible that someone deliberately framed Mr. Ji..." The room became extremely quiet; you could hear a pin drop. Holding Cui Yuanming''s cell phone, Shi Tian stared at the two figures kissing passionately on the phone. He recognized one of them as his new husband. One minute, two minutes... time passed by, he didn''t say anything, just stared there. There was a bit of confusion in his eyes, but it didn''t seem like he was distracted, but more like confusion and bewilderment. A few minutes later, when the three saw Shi Zong closing his phone screen with a "snap", he suddenly stood up from the sofa. "None of this matters," he said. "Now, you guys should immediately find a way to protect your own private property that is not affiliated with the company. Do not use the company''s account or pass it through Ji Yuanlin''s hands." "Xiao Chen," Shi Tian walked to the phone after instructing the three senior executives, "drive my car to my house right now and take out all the cash from the safes on the second and third floors. I''ll tell Auntie to open the door for you. There''s a tennis bag on the bench in the piano room on the second floor, and there are a few keys in it. I''ll send you the address later. Put the cash you''ve taken out in batches into those properties. Don''t deposit it in the bank using my account." Assistant Chen was almost confused by Shi Tian''s series of instructions, but he quickly found a piece of paper and wrote them down one by one. He couldn''t help but interrupt Shi Tian halfway through and asked with some concern: "Mr. Shi...are you okay?" At the same time, she encountered her husband''s infidelity and career crisis, and Shi''s reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations. Anyone who encountered such a bad thing would probably quickly fall into extreme anger and sadness and might do something. Shi Zong did not show any emotion, which made him even more worried. "I met Ji Yuanlin when I was sixteen, and I was with him when I was twenty-two. This year is exactly our eighth year." "Xiao Chen," Mr. Shi asked him in a very serious tone on the other end of the phone, "How many eight years do you think there are in a person''s life?" Assistant Chen was stunned when he heard Shi Tian''s words. For some reason, the more Mr. Shi mentioned all this in a nonchalant tone, the more he felt a little sour in his heart, and it was quite uncomfortable. Yeah, what kind of bullshit is he asking? How can it be okay? This kind of relationship does not last for a month or a year, but thousands of days and nights, and it is the entire youth of an ordinary person. "I thought he just wanted money." Shi Tian pulled the corner of his mouth and pulled out a bitter smile, "I didn''t expect that he wanted me to go to jail." It was already early morning the next day when Shi Tian boarded the flight back home. After reporting the loss of his passport at the police station, and with the guarantee of several companions, he waited in the hotel for eighteen hours and finally was approved for an identity certificate that could be used for a temporary flight back to China. In order not to affect the mood of others to go out and have fun, he did not tell his old classmates that Feng Yu had suddenly encountered an accident. He only said that he had to return home temporarily for an urgent matter and would arrange everything so that everyone could have fun for a few days before going home. After the plane took off, the three executives were a little worried, so they sat together and talked about their plans after returning home. In order not to disturb Mr. Shi who was sitting across the aisle, they deliberately lowered their voices while chatting. Before boarding the plane, they had originally advised Shi not to go back yet, but to wait until they landed to see the situation before making any plans. Otherwise, if the situation was worse than expected, Tian would most likely be taken away by the Industrial and Commercial Bureau as soon as he got off the plane. The three of them did not expect that Mr. Shi¡¯s attitude would be so firm and they would return to China immediately no matter what. If I count carefully, I haven''t slept for almost twenty-four hours since I woke up yesterday. The plane was flying steadily in the clouds. Covered with a warm blanket, Shi Tian leaned against the soft seat and finally fell into a light sleep. In his dream, he dreamed that he arrived at his destination, got off the plane, and entered the arrival hall, and there was a fork in the road in front of him. A low and seductive voice appeared in his ears, asking him which way he wanted to go. If he chose to go left, Ji Yuanlin would be waiting for him at the exit of the hall. If nothing happened, Ji Yuanlin would hold a rose in his hand, smile in his eyes, and take him home. If he chooses to go right and pass through the thick fog, he will get the truth he wants. Shi Tian suddenly remembered that when he and Zhou Sifu were hiding in bed in the dormitory watching "The Matrix", he seemed to have seen a similar scene. After thinking carefully at the fork in the road, he said to the voice, "I choose to go right." As the words fell, the fog dissipated and the dream ended. Staring at the light above his head, Shi Tian didn''t blink for a long time. In addition to Lao Cui, Ahao, Brother Guo, Assistant Chen, and a few others, there was also the hotel manager and officials from the local tourism bureau, everyone felt that he was so unfortunate and pitiful, so they tried their best to accommodate all his needs, so that he could board the flight back home on time. He also felt that he was miserable and unlucky, but that was all. Whatever the outcome, he just needed an answer. After ten hours of flight, the flight arrived at the destination smoothly. After completing the immigration formalities, Shi Tian walked into the arrival hall. There was no fork in the road, only an aisle leading straight to the gate. Several local media outlets had been waiting outside the door, and when they saw him appear at the security checkpoint, they quickly raised their cameras towards him. At the end of the aisle, several uniformed law enforcement officers from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau and airport staff stood together, waiting for his arrival with solemn expressions. When he reached the door, two law enforcement officers from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau came up to him, one on each side, and showed him their IDs: ¡°Excuse me, are you Mr. Shi Tianshi?¡± Shi Tian nodded. "We are the Industrial and Commercial Bureau of the Economic Development Zone. You are suspected of two disputes involving the company''s related-party transaction damage liability and individual partnership debt. Please go back with us to assist in the investigation." After receiving the cooperation notice from the other party, Shi Tian signed his name and said, "I only have one request." "Speaking." "Let me see Ji Yuanlin." The flashlights outside the gate kept flashing. He raised his eyes and looked directly into the camera. "Before that, I will not answer any questions." Chapter 12 Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Chapter 13 Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.