Chapter 14: Chi Yuheng: Just Handed Over the Salary Card
No one could bully his person.
Only he could bully Ye Ran.
Ye Ran guessed there was a fifty percent chance Chi Yuheng might be doing this for him. “Didn’t you say this supermarket is being investigated for food issues? You still want to acquire it?”
“Although there are some problems, I’ve looked into them and they aren’t actually serious; they can be improved and resolved. Qin Jian’s team is incompetent; they can’t even handle something like this. If it continues, they’ll only be dragged down. I’m essentially helping him,” Chi Yuheng said calmly.
“Are you going to acquire this whole supermarket chain?” Ye Ran asked.
Chi Yuheng answered with two certain words, “The whole thing.”
Ye Ran finally understood what it meant to give someone a knife with a smile, while the person still had to say thank you with gratitude.
The rumors outside were right; Chi Yuheng’s methods were formidable. If he ever offended him again or got caught by his “little tail,” would he be bullied until not even crumbs remained?
Ye Ran couldn’t help but shiver at the thought, and even those snacks didn’t look appetizing anymore.
After buying the things, they went to the checkout counter. The cashier saw two handsome guys together and couldn’t help but look a few more times.
It just so happened that this cashier had no other hobbies besides “shipping” (CP-ing) people. Whether it was male-male or male-female, as long as they were there, she would ship them.
But she wasn’t sure about this pair. The taller one looked more steady, while the handsome one beside him had a few strands of red-dyed hair; compared to the steady one, he looked like a handful.
There was a chance of them being a couple, but the chance of them being brothers was also quite high.
“Hello, your total is 428 RMB,” the cashier said.
Ye Ran didn’t move, waiting for Chi Yuheng to pay.
The cashier also automatically looked toward Chi Yuheng. Whether they were brothers or a couple, usually the steady one paid more often.
Yet Chi Yuheng remained as steady as a mountain.
For a moment, no one moved; the scene was frozen.
The cashier thought they hadn’t heard clearly and repeated, “Sir, your total is 428 RMB. Is it WeChat, Alipay, or cash?”
Chi Yuheng looked at Ye Ran, a handsome curve hooking his lips, as he let out a sentence from his “36-degree” mouth: “I have no money.”
Ye Ran’s voice suddenly rose, “…What?!”
It caused an auntie picking snacks at a nearby shelf to turn her head and look twice.
He hurriedly lowered his voice, tugging at Chi Yuheng’s sleeve, his eyes full of disbelief. “You brought me to the supermarket to sweep the shelves with no money? You told me you were going to take over the whole Qin family chain, but now you can’t even pull out four hundred and twenty-eight?”
None of that was the point. The point was that Ye Ran remembered he didn’t have any pocket money left either.
He had dumped it all into the newly released limited-edition skins in his game. This empty, penniless feeling caused embarrassment to instantly surge from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
The cashier’s gaze darted back and forth between the two.
Before the embarrassment could spread for even two seconds, Chi Yuheng suddenly raised his hand and pointed to Ye Ran’s pocket. “I just handed over my salary card today. All the money is with you now.”
Only then did Ye Ran remember the card Chi Yuheng had given him. “I forgot…”
President Chi’s financial power had been handed over, yet the person who received the money actually forgot.
Ye Ran quickly took out the card to pay, and the cashier was happy to “eat melons” (watch the gossip).
This is definitely a couple! The salary has been handed over; he must be managed by his wife.
After leaving the supermarket, Ye Ran stuffed the card back to Chi Yuheng. “You’d better hold onto it. If I lose it one day, would the Chi family go bankrupt?”
Chi Yuheng chuckled; this silliness of Ye Ran’s shouldn’t be something he taught him.
“It wouldn’t go to the point of bankruptcy.”
“Still, no.” Ye Ran felt in his heart that he couldn’t manage this much money. His financial management ability was average, but his spending ability was excellent.
Most importantly, he was like a Pi Xiu—he only liked seeing money coming in and didn’t like seeing it going out. Small expenses were okay, but if there were large ones one day—for example, if Chi Yuheng wanted to invest in a project—and a huge sum of money was transferred out, he’d be pained to death.
“You really don’t want it?” Chi Yuheng asked him, holding the card. It was also the first time the Great President Chi had a gift returned within a day of giving it.
“Really, really. Take it back quickly. Having this car as a gift already makes me very happy.”
Moreover, what he got today wasn’t just a car.
…
Early the next morning, Ye Ran opened his eyes grooggily. Just as he unlocked his phone, he received a heap of birthday wishes.
Only Chi Yuheng had come over right after midnight to personally say happy birthday; everyone else’s wishes were basically sent after daybreak.
Ye Ran looked through them one by one, replying to everyone with words of thanks.
Scrolling to the bottom of WeChat, Ye Ran saw a message from someone familiar yet strange.
It was Qiao Yubai.
He had added him on WeChat on the first day Qiao Yubai came to the Ye family.
The author’s setting for Qiao Yubai was a “good boy” heartthrob—everyone loved him, flowers wilted in his presence, and the whole world wanted to revolve around him.
In the original plot, Ye Ran wanted to build a good image for himself, so he took the initiative to add Qiao Yubai on WeChat and said that since Qiao Yubai had just arrived, he could come to him for any difficulties in Jing City. He even said that if he couldn’t solve them, there was Chi Yuheng. His plan was entirely about calculation.
Beautiful words were just talk; without a facade outside, how could Ye Ran trip Qiao Yubai up?
So, their WeChat chat history only stayed on the day they added each other.
Qiao Yubai sent Ye Ran a series of “good kitty” emojis, while Ye Ran’s reply to him was simple: a standard smiley face.
Ye Ran saw that the birthday wish Qiao Yubai sent him was very sincere. He was previously controlled by the plot, but now he had absolutely no need to go against Qiao Yubai.
Thus, he replied to Qiao Yubai with two words: Thank you.
In less than five minutes, Ye Ran’s phone was actually flooded with messages.
[It’s Xiaobai not Xiaoqiao]: (Cat peeking.jpg)
[It’s Xiaobai not Xiaoqiao]: (Cat spinning and dancing happily.jpg)
[It’s Xiaobai not Xiaoqiao]: (Cat jumping up to hug you.jpg)
…
Ye Ran stared at this string of emojis. A few seconds later, he let out a heartfelt sigh: Qiao Yubai had so many emojis.
Also, why were their WeChat nicknames so similar? Someone who didn’t know would think they were couple names.
It wasn’t until near lunchtime that Chi Yuheng and Ye Ran arrived at the Ye house.
A servant came to open the door. Upon entering, the first person Ye Ran saw was Qiao Yubai sitting obediently on the sofa.
A very basic dressing style, but the looks weren’t basic.
His skin was a translucent cold white, and his lip color was pale pink. That face was fifty percent similar to Ye Ran’s, and he smiled sincerely at whoever he saw.
No wonder he was the protagonist shou who would cause the two Ye brothers to fight.
Seeing Ye Ran and the other enter, Qiao Yubai immediately stood up to greet them.
He called to Ye Ran with a smile, “Ge.”
Ye Ran didn’t have many words and gave a slight nod.
If they were in an adversarial relationship before, they weren’t exactly warm now either.
Some relationships aren’t supported by weak blood ties.
Only after greeting “Ge” did Qiao Yubai turn his gaze to Chi Yuheng beside him. The smile on his face retracted as he said, “CEO Chi.”
Translator’s Note: A Pi Xiu (貔貅) is a mythical Chinese creature that brings wealth and has a mouth but no anus—meaning it consumes gold but never lets it out! It’s the perfect metaphor for a hoarder. Also, Qiao Yubai’s emoji game is strong. Poor Ye Ran is realizing that the “villain” life is much easier when you’re just polite.
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