Chapter 27: My Back is Great, It Won’t Get Sore
Shen Junnian witnessed the whole scene. A smile flickered briefly in the depths of his eyes before he stepped forward with practiced composure. He covered Fu Yueās hand on the teapot with his own and took it over.
He first refilled Fu Yueās cup, then poured one for himself. “Don’t bother yourself with this; I can handle things like this.”
His posture was a deliberate display for Jiang Yingās benefit.
Pei Luomian watched this childish “water-pouring war” with a cold eye. He simply tapped a few times on his phone, and a soft ding rang out from Fu Yueās pocket.
A message had popped up.
As Fu Yue looked over at him, Pei Luomian began walking toward him. “Fu Yue, perhaps this report on ‘Smart Medical Visionary Prospects’ will be helpful for your system design, especially Chapter Three.”
Fu Yue nodded gratefully to Pei Luomian, yet he still wanted to make one final attempt. He took out his phone and, with sincere intentions, opened his messaging app’s QR code in front of Jiang Ying.
“Mr. Jiang, can we add each other? It would be convenient to pull you into the work group.”
Jiang Ying looked at the phone Fu Yue held out. On that artistically refined face, his expression was as cold as ice. He stared at Fu Yue for a full minute before finally letting out a mocking laugh. “Fu Yue, my number hasn’t changed. Or do you think that by releasing me from your blacklist and scanning me again, you can act like nothing ever happened?”
Fu Yueās face froze. Like a clown slapped in public, he nearly dropped his phone. He cursed himself for not thinking of this. Since the original owner had a past with Jiang Ying, he should have searched his contact list beforehand.
The blood drained from Fu Yueās face.
Shen Junnian, however, acted immediately. He took out his own phone, deliberately opened his chat interface with Fu Yue, and waved it in front of Jiang Yingās eyes. “Itās fine, Fu Yue. You have me, and that’s enough. I’m online twenty-four hours a day, at your service anytime.”
The tea break ended quickly.
Returning to the meeting room, Fu Yue was a bit distracted. Ji Hanmoās expression, however, had completely darkened. He had been watching everything with a cold, detached gaze.
One of them, Shen Junnian, was bluntly using their past and intimacy as leverage. Another, Pei Luomian, seemed composed but was using thoughtfulness and professionalism to hint at his favor.
As for that Jiang YingāFu Yue didn’t realize it himself, but with Ji Hanmoās level of experience, he could faintly detect a sense of vengeful “love-turned-to-hate.”
Today, Fu Yue was like a piece of fat coveted by everyone; everyone wanted to come up and take a bite, leaving their own mark.
The second half of the meeting had a suffocating atmosphere. In Ji Hanmoās deep eyes, a storm was gathering. He sat in the head seat without saying a word, like a massive center of low pressure, making the air in the entire meeting room feel thin.
Several people who had intended to speak at length ended up making their remarks exceptionally brief. The meeting ended early.
As the crowd dispersed, Fu Yue rubbed his aching temples, picked up his things, and was the first to walk out of the meeting room. This ordeal today was more exhausting than writing ten thousand lines of code.
Just as he reached the elevator, a deep voice came from behind him.
“Fu Yue.”
It was Ji Hanmo. He had already caught up, with Monica following behind. Monica tactfully stopped a few paces away, incidentally blocking Shen Junnian, who had just tried to come forward.
“Follow me,” Ji Hanmo said.
Fu Yue nodded and followed behind him. “Are we going to do a debrief?” he asked casually.
Ji Hanmo didn’t answer.
Inside the elevator, Ji Hanmo didn’t press the button for the first floor or the underground garage; he pressed the top floor. Fu Yue followed all the way, his mind calculating how the design could accommodate the architectural plan.
With a soft beep, Ji Hanmo swiped open the door to a suite. Fu Yue was stunned for a moment but followed him in anyway. The thick carpet absorbed all sound.
Ji Hanmo took off his suit jacket, tossed it casually onto the sofa, and loosened his tie. Only then did his entire aura soften slightly.
Fu Yue let out a relaxed sigh and sank into the soft sofa, beginning to complain: “I completely failed to consider architectural structure issues. I’m a science guy, but I’m not an engineering guy.”
As he spoke, he habitually looked at Ji Hanmo. “When is the next meeting? I feel like I’m going to have to work overtime during this period.”
Fu Yueās posture was relaxed, as if he were waiting for the boss to make a decision.
Ji Hanmo did not answer his question. He poured two glasses of water, placed one on the coffee table in front of Fu Yue, and then sat on the single sofa beside him, his gaze falling heavily upon him.
“Let me see your injuries.”
“?”
Fu Yue was startled. This jump in topic was a bit hard for him to keep up with. He replied with some surprise, “I’m already fine, everything’s healed.”
Ji Hanmoās gaze, however, slowly swept over Fu Yue’s back, which was covered by his shirt. His voice was low. “The meeting today was too long. You sat for several hours; I’m afraid your condition might worsen.”
This excuse was so far-fetched Fu Yue wanted to laugh. He said somewhat helplessly, “Itās not that bad. My waist is just a bit sore from sitting too long; it has nothing to do with the injuries. You saw it when you were applying the medicine yesterdayāeverything is starting to be absorbed. Itās all black and yellow; it looks hideous.”
His tone was as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
The color of Ji Hanmoās eyes deepened by a few shades. He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and then put it down.
“Don’t forget the contract.”
Fu Yueās complaint got stuck in his throat. Fine, the contract again. Just having his back looked at wasn’t a big deal.
He sighed in resignation. Under Ji Hanmoās emotionless gaze, he stood up reluctantly. Facing away from him, he began to undo the buttons of his shirt.
One, two…
As the shirt slid down, that patch of skin still bearing the terrifying marks, along with those slender and fragile shoulder blades, was once again exposed unreservedly to Ji Hanmoās gaze.
Fu Yue had wanted to warn him with a “don’t touch inappropriately, touching costs extra.” But the words were swallowed back down as they reached his lipsāthe one thing Ji Hanmo didn’t lack was money. Saying those words would instead seem like a clumsy invitation or hint.
Ji Hanmoās fingertips hovered above Fu Yueās injuries without actually touching them. The bruises that had turned purple two days ago had now clearly faded quite a bit.
āHe shouldn’t have been looking so closely.
But Ji Hanmo knew better than anyone that this was merely an excuse. A self-deceiving excuse. He was using this private inspectionāsomething others couldn’t doāto prove his ownership and to vent the possessiveness that was secretly sprouting beneath the surface.
“You said just now that your waist is sore from sitting too long?” Ji Hanmo asked.
“Ah, no, not at all. My back is great, it won’t get sore,” Fu Yue answered quickly. “Are you done looking? I want to put my clothes on.”
Seeing that Ji Hanmo didn’t object, Fu Yue hurriedly put his shirt back on.
“Is the leg healed?” Ji Hanmo suddenly asked again.
Fu Yueās finger lifted, already resting on his belt buckle. This action was so natural that it wasn’t until the cold metal touch came from his fingertip that he realized with a shockā
Ji Hanmo hadn’t even asked to see the injury, yet he was about to take off his pants out of reflex.
He must be seriously ill.
Fu Yue quickly withdrew his hand, his fingertips rubbing against the front of his shirt to hide that subconscious movement. “Itās all healed.”
Ji Hanmo nodded and didn’t press further. The atmosphere between the two returned to normalāif one ignored the redness behind Fu Yueās ears and the flash of darkness in Ji Hanmoās eyes.
“Go to the bedroom and rest for a while. We’ll have dinner here tonight,” Ji Hanmo said.
Fu Yue was curious. “We’re not going back to the company?”
“No. Tonight we…” Ji Hanmo took out his phone and glanced at it.
Fu Yue grew nervous for a moment. They weren’t going to stay overnight at the hotel, were they? He looked around; this was a standard suite with only one bedroom.
“We’re going to check out that plot of land,” Ji Hanmo said.
Fu Yue was relieved, silently complaining in his heart about the man’s long-winded way of speaking. What Ji Hanmo was talking about was the theme of today’s meetingāthe plot of land south of White Sand Island where the Smart Medical Community was to be built.
“Oh,” Fu Yue agreed, treating it as the boss’s orders, and went to the bedroom to rest.
Once the living room was empty, Ji Hanmo instantly retracted his gentle expression, his face turning cold and stern again. He dialed Monicaās number:
“Notify the legal department to prepare a contract termination letter for Jiang Yingās design firm. Simultaneously, contact the backup design firms and have their founders call me back within half an hour.”
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