Translated by Pure

Edited by Alkonost

Chapter 54.1 "Factory found!"

Occasionally, their alliance would organize a gathering for a collective activity, providing a rare chance for them all to relax amidst their busy schedules. Dai Gaofeng's proposal was not particularly unusual except that it was suggested slightly earlier than usual. The idea of going out for some leisure time under the guise of a group activity was warmly received.

However, everyone shared Lin Jingzhe’s confusion— Why Hawaii of all places?

This matter was related to the love and marriage of a junior of the Xiao Family, a matter to be kept confidential until settled. So Dai Gaofeng only responded with an enigmatic smile, "Investigation– for investigation purposes."

"Oh..." Everyone couldn't help but misunderstand, "Mr. Dai’s company is going to expand into the United States!"

They were all both envious and curious at the same time. Questions buzzed around the table, while Dai Gaofeng struggled to answer them all. Amidst this chaos, an unsocial voice broke through.

Qi Kai said, "I’m not going. I hope you all have a good time in Hawaii."

He was also considered a special case in their alliance, but his position was not the same as Xiao Chi's. Thus, when his words came out, everyone fell silent.

Almost every time a group activity was organized, this person would always be a killjoy! After being given the cold shoulder repeatedly Dai Gaofeng expectedly felt dissatisfied, but he still asked with a kind smile, "What's the matter? Why can’t you go again? Everyone will stay there for three or four days at most. Opportunities like these are hard to come by. If it’s not too urgent, just postpone your work."

Qi Kai glanced at Lin Jingzhe's direction and explained with a smile, "You might remember that I acquired land near Wubao Mountain a few months ago. I never got to finalize a specific development plan for it. I can’t leave now, so just excuse me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jingzhe finally looked at Qi Kai. 

As their eyes met, the atmosphere grew tense. Qi Kai, comparing the near completion of demolition work in Lin Jingzhe's construction project with his own unresolved issues, felt a surge of frustration. In his irritation, he reached for his cigarette case and lighter.

However, a familiar CEO next to him quickly leaned over and lightly bumped his shoulder. The man raised his chin to point in Xiao Chi's direction.

F*ck!!

Why was he the one making concessions?!

The more Qi Kai thought, the more angry he became. He felt uncomfortable seeing Xiao Chi's unexpectedly handsome half knot on the back of his head, and wished he could just smash the cigarette pack in the other's face.

Though in reality, he could only stand up and avoid his sharp gaze with a smile, "Everyone eat first, I will go out to smoke."

Dai Gaofeng watched him leave the table with a smile, then turned his head and quietly spoke to Xiao Chi in a worried voice, "I heard that he recently brought Shi Nanxing back to China—Will he ever let others live even a day in peace?"

Xiao Chi frowned. Shi Nanxing was the youngest cousin on Qi Kai's maternal side. He had a high seniority, but was not much older than Xiao Chi and the others. However, he was not a good noble son, discontent with his position and lacking awareness about his place in society. When Xiao Chi caused Qi Kai to leave Yan City because of a bank run on a real estate investment, it was Shi Nanxing who had invited him to do business together. Shi Nanxing had been involved in some dubious smuggling lines in Qunnan that had ensnared Qi Kai, leading to his conviction. Meanwhile, Shi Nanxing, the ‘mastermind behind the scenes’, was sent abroad unscathed by his family. With his past misdeeds faded from the public eye, he was now returning to China.

Xiao Chi asked, "Could Shi Nanxing be returning for Wubao Mountain?"

Dai Gaofeng shook his head and answered, "Maybe. I heard that Qi Kai had been swamped with work lately. He's partnered with a company—Qiqing Real Estate. You might have heard of them...."

A hint of bitterness was evident in Dai Gaofeng's tone as he referred to the organization that had poached from his New Era Group. He sneered before continuing, "I heard that they are a second-rate company from Qunnan Province. Didn’t Qi Kai stay in Qunnan for quite a while before? Their characters seem remarkably alike. Now that they're allies, they can continue causing each other problems."

His comments were spot on. Shortly after Qi Kai left the table, his brick phone buzzed.  The company secretary on the other end of the phone said in an extremely helpless tone, "Mr. Qi, it's best if you don't return to the office this afternoon. Mrs. Jiang and her husband are here again."

"F*ck." Qi Kai was so angry that he cursed directly with a cigarette in his mouth, "The influence still lingers on[1]."

He hung up the phone and looked back sullenly at the banquet hall behind him. Everyone had already begun to toast the newlyweds. After waiting for several months, the piece of land that he bought for more than 80 million yuan had never risen in value. A few days ago, he found someone to calculate the valuation of Wubao Mountain. The land prices in various sectors of Yan City had been rising sharply in the past few months. However, because of the high bidding price, the valuation of the land by Wubao Mountain was still lower than Qi Kai’s purchase price by more than six million yuan. Having already experienced one loss from selling land, Qi Kai was increasingly suspicious that he had been swindled. However, he was unwilling to let it go at such a staggering loss. 

Especially since a selling price of 70 million yuan wouldn't be easily achieved. 

But Qi Qing and Jiang Chacha were just two dumbas*es. They couldn't understand the deeper meaning of his actions at all. In the first few weeks, they were a little more peaceful and didn't act like the lunatics, but lately they have been jumping more and more vigorously. Leveraging their 20% equity stake, the couple constantly badgered Qi Kai into making concessions.

When the bride and groom were toasting at the table, they happened to hear the topic of the crowd. They couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised. "Hawaii? We're going there for our honeymoon too! Why don't we go together?"

And so, they all chatted enthusiastically about their vacation itinerary.

Unexpectedly, the usually taciturn Xiao Chi was surprisingly enthusiastic about the conversation, often interrupting and contributing to the topic. Lin Jingzhe sat a little bored, and seeing that Xiao Chi was having a good chat, decided to leave for a breather.

This rich and luxurious wedding, where both the guests and the hosts were happy allowed him to give his most sincere blessings. However, at the same time Lin Jingzhe felt disconsolate inwardly– In his previous life, he had never been able to form a family of his own until his death.

It's not that he hadn't met a suitable partner, but it was always because it's hard for him to trust another wholeheartedly, so their relationship would always cease to develop. Friends had suggested that he marry for the sake of having a child, even if he didn’t truly love his spouse. Lin Jingzhe didn’t agree to their suggestions, he could not bear to delay a girl's future so irresponsibly.

If he did that, then what was the difference between him and Jiang Qiaqia?

But in fact, deep down in his heart... He always felt a little envious when he looked at other people's perfect lives.

He sighed, leaning against the entrance of the banquet hall. They were separated by a long distance, but his eyes fell gently but accurately on Xiao Chi. His new hairstyle looked extremely handsome, and the bride almost couldn't take her eyes off him during the toast just now. Now, as someone else made a toast, Xiao Chi raised his glass, clinking it against theirs. Lin Jingzhe, relying on sight alone, could almost hear the understated, reserved clink of their glasses.

Xiao Chi tilted his head and took a sip of his wine. His eyes swept across the room, and the moment he saw Lin Jingzhe, they softened.

The corners of Lin Jingzhe's mouth curled up. Standing in place, they continued to look into each other’s eyes with their heads tilted.

After a moment, Lin Jingzhe broke away from the gaze, his eyes regaining their vacant look. 

"Mr. Lin." 

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice behind him. Lin Jingzhe turned his head and saw Qi Kai standing outside the door. He was leaning against the pillar and looking at him insidiously. Lin Jingzhe quickly masked his emotions, and raised his eyebrows calmly. "Mr. Qi? Just now everyone said that you went to smoke a cigarette and ran away without a trace. I didn't expect you to be here."

Qi Kai scrutinized him, his brows furrowed. Just now when he was standing outside the door, for a moment he only felt that Lin Jingzhe’s back exhibited endless loneliness and sadness. However, when Lin Jingzhe turned back to face him with a familiar calm expression, Qi Kai felt that he might have read it wrong.

Concluding that his scrutiny was fruitless, Qi Kai set aside his suspicions, attributing them to his innate paranoia which often made him overthink situations. After several battles in the open and in the dark, the feud between him and Lin Jingzhe was a publicly known secret. Now that there were no outsiders around, the two sides didn't bother to put on a show, and directly spoke with barbed words.

With a cigarette in his mouth, Qi Kai said with a profound gaze, "I heard that the triangular plot project that Mr. Lin recently cooperated with Flux Realty is progressing well? Congratulations."

Qi Kai was someone who wasn’t good at anything but making trouble. Normally, Lin Jingzhe would retort or at least turn back the anger accumulated during their troubled period. But today, due to various reasons, he was really not in the mood to go tit for tat, so when he heard the other's sour words, he just chuckled nonchalantly.

He began walking towards Qi Kai, his previously inscrutable expression cracking into a smile. Qi Kai instantly stood up straight from his initial handsome posture of leaning against the pillar, and stared at Lin Jingzhe vigilantly.

He still suffered from the psychological shadow of Lin Jingzhe's personality that was completely different from his gentle appearance.

Seeing Qi Kai flinch like a coward, Lin Jingzhe rolled his eyes. "Don't move!"

Then he approached, and slowly extended  his hand towards Qi Kai.

"..." Qi Kai stiffened vigilantly. "What do you want to do? I'm warning you..."

While he hissed his threats, Qi Kai continued to stare at the hand from the corner of his eye. He watched it getting closer and closer, and then——

Reaching into the breast pocket of his shirt, he took out a pack of cigarettes with two fingers.

Lin Jingzhe chuckled, opening the pack to draw out a cigarette. Peering into the empty packet, he frowned, "Where's the lighter?"

Qi Kai: "........."

Qi Kai silently took out the lighter from his pocket and handed it to him.

Lin Jingzhe lit his cigarette and took a puff. He then squinted at the little gadget in the palm of his hand from behind the curling smoke.

"S. T. Dupont? Mr. Qi is quite extravagant." He casually threw the lighter with two gemstones inlaid on its surface back towards the owner. Without any hesitation, he pocketed Qi Kai's pack of cigarettes, a brand that was hard to come by in the market.  

Leaning against the pillar, Lin Jingzhe began to enjoy his smoke.

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Note from Pure:

In case you were unsure, S. T. Dupont is a luxury brand from Paris. The lighter mentioned above should be this one - https://www.caratco.com/products/s-t-dupont-ligne-2-lighter-prestige-orient-express 

Footnote:

[1] The influence still lingers on - The literal idiom translates to: ‘the soul of a deceased has not yet disbursed’. It’s similar to the saying misery loves company. When something bad happens, it’s going to remain bad for a while.

Translated by pure, hosted on puretl.com / do not repost!

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