Part 2
A smile under the sun while holding a basketball, boasting about a game victory.
Every one of them was as beautiful as a pictorial; one had to admit that Jiang Ying’s looks had always been at their peak. He had the capital to make people unable to look away.
Fu Yue continued to swipe down.
His fingertip suddenly brushed over a photo, and he clicked to enlarge it.
It was a photo of an architectural model.
The model was exquisite and complex, full of unrestrained imagination.
[Jiang Ying: My “Ideal City” is about to be finished! The registration deadline is tomorrow; it’ll definitely win an award!]
[Fu Yue: Good.]
The vast amount of chat records seemed like a precious friendship where they achieved things together.
It wasn’t like the one-sided “playing him like a fool” or “toying with him” that Shen Junnian described.
He composed himself and continued scrolling down.
The subsequent chats began to get abnormal.
[Jiang Ying: Where are you? Why didn’t you come to school?]
[Jiang Ying: I called you; your phone is off.]
[Jiang Ying: What happened? I’m very worried about you.]
[Jiang Ying: Fu Yue, say something!]
A dozen messages were sent in a row, filled with anxiety and unease.
“Fu Yue” on this end, however, remained silent throughout.
Three days later, Fu Yue replied with only two words: “I’m fine.”
After that, the chat records between the two were cut off.
Like a piece of music being played halfway before being suddenly silenced.
Fu Yue frowned, locked his phone, and threw it aside.
That period was likely when he and Jiang Ying had their falling out. Most likely, he was the one who “blacklisted” Jiang Ying.
But why on earth was that?
Just as his thoughts were racing, the phone screen by his pillow suddenly lit up.
There was a soft ding-dong.
“Didn’t he just leave? What is he still worried about?” Fu Yue was too lazy to look. At this time, it was mostly likely Shen Junnian.
The other party was very persistent.
Ding-dong, the phone screen lit up again.
Fu Yue was helpless; he reached out from the pillow to grab the phone, planning to set it to silent.
He looked at the sender.
The name on the lock screen was Ji Hanmo.
He had sent two messages.
[Ji Hanmo: I saw you were online on the chat app just now. Not asleep yet?]
[Ji Hanmo: Sorry, it’s a bit late. I hope the notification didn’t disturb you.]
Fu Yue’s eyes moved slightly.
The chat app had a “read receipt” function, so he didn’t unlock the screen—he pretended not to see it.
The three unexpected visits today had already left him a bit exhausted.
Shen Junnian’s attentiveness, the Fu family’s calculations, and that dusty past with Jiang Ying were all tangled into a mess.
As for Ji Hanmo—
Fu Yue had long classified him as a “high energy consumption” target.
Dealing with him was more exhausting than dealing with those others.
Especially after that morning when the two woke up in the same bed, Fu Yue’s feelings toward him had grown a bit more complicated.
Fu Yue rubbed his temples, turned the phone facedown by his pillow, and covered half of it with the quilt. Out of sight, out of mind.
Outside the window, the city night was still bustling.
His gaze fell on the car keys and bank card on the nightstand.
—
Haicheng, November.
The preliminary intention negotiation meeting for the South City “Smart Medical Community” project was held in the International Convention Center at the Ji Group headquarters.
An hour before the meeting, many people were already sitting in the VIP lounge outside the center.
Anyone who could sit here was undoubtedly a core executive of their respective company.
Everyone’s expressions were harmonious.
In the air, however, there was a lingering tension unique to competitors.
Before long, the glass door was opened again by the conference staff.
Three people walked in from a distance.
Walking in the middle was a tall, handsome young man.
He wore a black Dior slim-fit suit with an iceberg-blue tie, his entire being exuding a unique temperament between abstinence and laziness.
On his left was the flamboyant and lively heir to the Shen Group—Shen Junnian.
On his right was a senior individual, the Chief Medical Officer of the Pei Medical Group, Pei Zhen—a medical giant known for his rigor and professionalism, and also Pei Luomian’s distant uncle.
The three walked side by side, chatting and laughing in a composed manner. They naturally formed a power circle of core stakeholders.
In an instant, countless gazes—some probing, some envious—focused on the young man in the middle.
“Who is that young man surrounded by Young Master Shen and the Pei family representative? He looks a bit unfamiliar, yet also a bit familiar…”
“You don’t know? He’s the Ji Group’s representative today. Fu Yue! That young master from the Fu family!”
Whispers spread like a tide.
“Wasn’t he very low-profile? When did he get such a grand reception?”
Low-profile?
Those in the know were scoffing in their hearts.
These people really had short memories.
Young Master Fu couldn’t have been further from the word “low-profile” in the past.
He was top-tier high-profile—high-profile troublemaking, high-profile uselessness; he was a famous joke in the circle.
Who would have thought that the joke of yesterday would turn a new leaf today and become the center of everyone’s admiration?
“Xiao Yue.”
An intimate address came.
It was the Executive Director of the Fu Group representing them—the eldest son, Fu Cheng.
But just as Fu Cheng approached in the manner of an older brother, a figure stepped forward and blocked him inconspicuously.
“Director Fu, morning!”
The speaker was Shen Junnian.
Then, he pointed to Fu Yue beside him and said to Fu Cheng: “Xiao Yue and I are discussing the project’s core algorithms; it’s a trade secret, every second counts. If you have anything to say, let’s talk at the meeting, at the meeting!”
Shen Junnian knew very well that the relationship between Fu Yue and this elder brother was very average.
So, he had no qualms about being annoying.
The only ones in the Fu family close to Fu Yue were his two older sisters. Unfortunately, they were both hiding abroad enjoying themselves.
If they were here today, Shen Junnian would have showered them with compliments long ago.
As for Fu Yue, he just gave Fu Cheng a flat look and a slight nod, considering the greeting done.
The smile on Fu Cheng’s face stiffened slightly, but he quickly suppressed it.
The main characters were in place, and the negotiation meeting officially began.
Fu Yue sat at the head of the long conference table.
This position allowed him to see everyone—including Fu Cheng’s frequent glances.
Fu Yue kept a straight face, putting on the cold posture a “Party A Boss” should have.
It wasn’t that he loved acting like a judge; it was really that this chair made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles—this seat was originally meant for someone at Ji Linye’s level; sitting here made him feel a bit out of his depth.
But Ji Hanmo insisted, so he could only act cool here and not lose face for the Ji Group.
But soon, his psychological burden disappeared.
Before long, this meeting became Shen Junnian’s personal stage.
This guy was indeed a top-tier “information center.”
Just like the spoiler materials he gave Fu Yue last night, he currently acted like a player with a full-map hack, knowing every company’s details inside out.
“Your company’s budget allocation is very interesting. Did you count the compliance costs of the legal team into technical R&D?”
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