Chapter 67: Undermining
Life after returning from B City moved quickly.
It was as if Pei Zhouye had taken personal responsibility for Wen Yan’s illness; he never treated him the way he had that one night again.
The ruthless declaration that “not a single day would be wasted” never came to fruition.
Wen Yan only now realized that Pei Zhouye’s previous behavior had actually been restrained. He didn’t dare mention it, pretending not to notice Pei Zhouye’s indulgence.
Pei Zhouye set a curfew, requiring him to be home before eight every night. This meant Wen Yan had to return home for dinner almost every evening.
Two weeks of peaceful days passed.
More and more strange decorations appeared in the house. Sometimes when Wen Yan returned during the day, he would bump into unfamiliar workers moving about.
The butler said they were people arranged by Pei Zhouye.
When he asked Pei Zhouye, the man only gave a brief, “Just renovating a few rooms.”
It was getting weirder and weirder.
The course load for the first semester of junior year was much lighter than before. Some classes had already ended in December, and the three-month internship at Pei’s Tech Company had also concluded.
With a lot of free time on his hands, Wen Yan would occasionally go to Li Si’s studio to help out.
They used to be roommates, but both had moved out of the dorms after sophomore year. Wen Yan had rented a place to take care of his parents, while Li Si was busy with his entrepreneurial venture.
Li Si had a small studio at school and a small company in the Science and Tech Innovation Park, focusing on accessory design. The capital required for this industry was immense, and the company consisted only of a few classmates.
Previously, Wen Yan, Duan Mingtao, and Wu Qingqing had gone to the Pei family’s company for an internship. Only now did Wen Yan have the time to come and help.
On a Wednesday afternoon when they were off, everyone was present, gathered in the company office.
There was a knock on the door. Under everyone’s gaze, Li Si ran to open it and hauled in a box of milk tea.
Someone joked, “Did Boss Li win the lottery? Why did you order HeyTea today?”
“I landed a big investment these past two days,” Li Si said with a beaming smile. They had been struggling because of a lack of funds. “We’ve been in talks for a while, but I was afraid of celebrating too early. I’m only telling you all now because the deal was finalized today.”
“How big?”
Li Si lowered his voice: “Nearly seven figures.”
Several people cheered.
Wen Yan was also smiling; he knew about this. He had even agreed to go with Li Si to meet the investor this afternoon, acting as the “face” of the company.
He had accompanied Li Si a few times before, but those meetings were always with the other party’s assistant. Today’s contract signing was his first time meeting the investor in person.
He said with a smile, “Boss Li, remember to give me an internship certificate.”
Li Si waved him off. “Stop teasing me. You’ve already interned at the Pei family’s company. Would you even care about my little internship certificate?”
With so many people around, some things couldn’t be said openly.
Wen Yan actually held a share in the company.
He had helped a lot; the third design draft and proposal that brought in orders were Wen Yan’s creations. He had even pulled in two big shots, Wu Qingqing and Duan Mingtao, to help. The meager compensation Li Si could offer wasn’t nearly enough in the outside world, so the shares from the partner who had previously pulled out were now divided among the three of them. No one in the office objected to this.
In the evening, outside a restaurant, Wen Yan, Li Si, and the others waited for the investor.
“They’re here, they’re here!” Li Si called out, and the group went to receive them.
When he saw the face of the newcomer, Wen Yan froze for a moment.
The other person also seemed stunned upon seeing Wen Yan, appearing as if he hadn’t known beforehand.
“Director Chen, this way please.” Li Si greeted Chen Yuchen and led him toward the private room.
There was nothing unusual during the dinner, but Wen Yan spoke very little this time.
Halfway through, Li Si stepped out, and Wen Yan followed him.
Wen Yan suddenly asked, “Was it this Director Chen before too?”
“Yeah. We’ve been talking since the month before last. I met Director Chen when we were taking orders. He’s so young, and he’s invested in a lot of other startups.” Li Si was confused. “What’s wrong?”
They had been collaborating since two months ago, and Chen Yuchen had invested in many other fields and companies.
After encountering Gu Yulan and Pei Zhouye, Wen Yan seemed to have developed a hair-trigger suspicion toward “accidental” meetings.
He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
Pei Zhouye sent him a message asking where he was.
[Wen Yan: I told you two days ago that I was going out to dinner with friends today.]
Pei Zhouye looked at the photo on his phone. There were many people in the photo, with a large gap between Wen Yan and Chen Yuchen.
But that Chen Yuchen clearly harbored ill intentions. Wen Yan refused to eat with him, but went to eat with Chen Yuchen?
[Pei Zhouye: Come back now.]
“Want to go back in together?”
Li Si had returned and saw Wen Yan standing in the hallway, looking down at his phone with a troubled expression.
Wen Yan made a decision and quickly typed a few words.
[Wen Yan: The dinner isn’t over yet. I’ll be back as soon as possible.]
He put away his phone and relaxed. “Let’s go back in.”
They didn’t discuss much business during the meal, mostly chatting about idle industry developments and campus life.
Chen Yuchen was very comfortable to talk to, lacking any overbearing pressure. He felt approachable, like someone their own age.
Wen Yan was distracted, his mind constantly drifting back to those two messages from Pei Zhouye.
“Wen Yan?” Chen Yuchen suddenly called his name.
Wen Yan snapped back to reality, realizing everyone at the table was looking at him. “Sorry, Director Chen. I was daydreaming.”
Chen Yuchen smiled. “It’s fine. You can just call me by my name. It’s not our first time meeting. We’ll probably see each other more often in the future. I really didn’t expect that the design proposal Li Si discussed with me was yours. It was very well done.”
Li Si looked at Wen Yan in shock.
No wonder Wen Yan had asked earlier. It turned out the two of them knew each other already. Perhaps this investment was even made because Chen Yuchen was doing Wen Yan a favor.
Wen Yan gave an awkward smile. “I’ll stick with Director Chen. I hope Director Chen will collaborate with our Zhiyue more in the future.”
He had met Chen Yuchen two weeks ago and only exchanged a few words. What kind of relationship could they possibly have?
When the dinner ended, the group walked out.
As the glass doors were pushed open, the draft of air brought with it the biting chill of early winter.
The moment Wen Yan saw that silhouette, his blood nearly froze.
Pei Zhouye was leaning against a car, expressionless. Dressed in a black overcoat, he exuded an aura of menace like a dark deity. His temperament and appearance were so superior that passersby couldn’t help but look back.
He lifted his eyelids, glancing between Wen Yan and Chen Yuchen, then stood up and strode over with his long legs.
“Wen Yan.”
The group was stunned.
Wen Yan, who had initially wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen him, stopped in his tracks.
A faint shudder ran down the back of his neck, and his heart hammered against his ribs.
He steeled himself to speak to Pei Zhouye: “What are you doing here?”
He hadn’t told Pei Zhouye where he was eating. With Pei Zhouye’s means, it was normal for him to know.
But he had clearly stated that he didn’t want the people around him to know about their situation.
Chen Yuchen stood there watching, and Li Si didn’t feel right about telling everyone to leave, so the group stood there with Wen Yan.
“I can’t come?” Pei Zhouye walked slowly to Wen Yan’s side, his voice cold and hard.
Wen Yan frowned, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Don’t throw a fit here.”
He instinctively tried to move away, but his wrist was caught in a death grip by the man. The force was so great it felt like his bones would shatter.
Wen Yan looked at his companions behind him in a panic. Their gazes were varied, stabbing into his back like needles.
Pei Zhouye glanced at Chen Yuchen and threatened, “Don’t come near him again. This is the last time.”
Wen Yan was dragged away. His wrist ached from the grip, and he stumbled a few steps. When he looked back, the apology on his face was tinged with a trace of humiliation.
Li Si wanted to step forward but was stopped by a look from Chen Yuchen.
Chen Yuchen’s expression was grim.
This was an opportunity he had waited so long for. Why should he give up?
Besides, hadn’t Pei Zhouye himself “undermined the wall” and snatched the person away from Gu Yulan?
He stared at their retreating backs, silent.
Translator’s Note: “Undermining the wall” (撬墙角) is a slang term for stealing someone’s romantic partner or poaching someone’s talent.
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