Chapter 17
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: Superclubs2
Lu Chuiqing was speechless for a moment. His assessment was not due to how outstanding or unique his foresight is. It was purely because he had known about the short-selling incident from his previous life, that he would spend time investigating it.
Lu Chuiqing feels a pang of guilt as if he has deceived someone, and replies, slightly disordered, “CEO Xiao, about that… I’m sorry but regarding the Qifu Provisions’ incident… I have actually heard about it from my friend, I was not the one who discovered it.”
He pauses and his expression darkens before he speaks quietly, “I’m not as insightful as you think I am… I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Surprisingly, Xiao Zhan’s face does not reveal any hint of shock or astonishment. He merely asks impassively, “Yeah? Which friend?”
“He’s… a senior working in the same industry.”
Xiao Zhan gazes at him, “Then, did your friend do the investigation too?”
“I… did the investigation.” Lu Chuiqing replies honestly, “But CEO Xiao, I would never have thought of doing the investigation if I had not heard about it from my friend in the first place.”
Xiao Zhan chuckles in response, “What, did you think that short-selling a stock only requires insight? There are hundreds and thousands of so-called inside information and rumours circulating around regarding predictions of which stocks will have a drop in their prices. It doesn’t matter who you have heard the information from. There are many who would listen to hearsays, but there aren’t many who would make the effort to seek verification.”
Lu Chuiqing’s heart beats wildly. He has suddenly realised that Xiao Zhan is actually encouraging him.
Lu Chuiqing’s mind is blanking out at the very moment. Before Lu Chuiqing has time to process what is happening, Xiao Zhan suddenly opens his mouth, his voice deep and detached, “There’s a scent of alpha pheromone on you, is that perfume?”
Some alphas are extra sensitive towards pheromones, sometimes even more so than omegas, especially those who repel against pheromones from the same third gender. Pheromones from the same third gender usually evoke feelings of disgust in an alpha as if their territory is invaded, even if the pheromones are man-made.
Lu Chuiqing’s cheeks burn, his hand reaching to cover the back of his neck subconsciously. Even the tips of his ears start to turn pink, “…Yes.”
Xiao Zhan, “Heat?”
It is, after all, a very personal topic. Lu Chuiqing covers his face lightly and begins to regret his hasty decision to talk to Xiao Zhan, “Yeah.”
The corners of Xiao Zhan’s lips lifted ever so slightly. He raises his hand, his palm resting on the top of Lu Chuiqing’s hair. Lu Chuiqing is startled by the sudden warmth he felt from Xiao Zhan’s hands and held his breath subconsciously.
Xiao Zhan’s palm caresses Lu Chuiqing’s hair for a moment, his fingers gliding faintly across the tip of Lu Chuiqing’s hair near the back of his neck, eliciting a shudder from Lu Chuiqing.
Xiao Zhan’s voice is deep and mild, “You should have more confidence in yourself, no matter in which aspect.”
Li Chuiqing lifts his head and gazes at Xiao Zhan blankly.
Xiao Zhan puts down his hand, finishing the conversation without any preempt whatsoever, changing the topic, “Do you want me to send you back?”
Li Chuiqing’s mind is still lagging behind at Xiao Zhan’s ‘no matter in which aspect’. He knows he may have overthought things, maybe he believes himself infallible—
But, is there a tiny possibility that maybe, just maybe, Xiao Zhan was not merely trying to encourage him, but also answering his question from earlier on? The question about whether Xiao Zhan will have others beside him after he has him on his side?
Although his mind is elsewhere, Lu Chuiqing can still hear Xiao Zhan’s question. He answers, still in shock, “It’s fine…”
Xiao Zhan does not insist either. He unlocks the car door, signalling to Lu Chuiqing that he can leave now.
When Lu Chuiqing finally gets his senses back, he is already standing in the car park, staring at the back of Xiao Zhan’s car as he drives further away.
There is still a slight chill from the night breeze in early May from the ending spring. Lu Chuiqing stands at the same spot blankly for a moment, the night breeze clearing his head. He thinks that he might be overthinking too much and even starts worrying about whether or not he said his goodbyes to Xiao Zhan just now.
Lu Chuiqing pats his cheeks and starts towards his apartment, his steps growing lighter.
Xiao Zhan did not offer any substantial opinion regarding his rejection. Lu Chuiqing could not even decipher what his thoughts were regarding the topic. Regardless, Lu Chuiqing is completely released from his uneasiness after coming clear with his thoughts with Xiao Zhan.
Lu Chuiqing does feel dejected after his rejection. Yes, he likes Xiao Zhan, and Xiao Zhan, at the very least, acknowledges his potential, but his capabilities are far from enough in front of Xiao Zhan.
Lu Chuiqing is someone who has already experienced marriage. He understands how important it is for him to be at least financially independent and to be treated equally by the other party if he wishes to remain independent in a relationship.
At most, he can wait for another three to five years, giving himself ample time to prove his own capabilities. If Xiao Zhan remains single and in his mind then, he can always be the one to take the initiative to pursue Xiao Zhan!
But in three to five years… CEO Xiao’s children are probably old enough to attend kindergarten.
Lu Chuiqing lets out a deep sigh, absolutely resolved to work harder for his career.
Xiao Zhan drives straight back home. He is living in a high-class district about a twenty minutes car ride away from his company. Other than him, there is also a housekeeping auntie staying in his house. Although he does not eat at home often, he needs someone to take care of his cat.
A golden British shorthair kitten comes running down the stairs, meowing softly at him as Xiao Zhan opens the door to his apartment. The kitten goes around his ankle, acting coquettishly, its fluffy tail swiping the surface of Xiao Zhan’s shoes lightly.
Xiao Zhan returns to his bedroom with the kitten close behind him. The kitten jumps onto Xiao Zhan’s lap the moment he sits down at his desk, rubbing at his legs and rolling about.
Xiao Zhan fiddles with the kitten’s chin lightly, his other hand turning on his computer. Just then, his handphone on the desk rings, the caller ID showing “Xiao-Qiu”.
Xiao Zhan takes a glance, his fingers continue to rub at the kitten’s ears, showing no intentions to pick up the call. The phone screen dims not long after but lights up almost immediately as the other party keeps calling back, seemingly determined to keep this going until Xiao Zhan answers his call.
Finally, Xiao Zhan picks up the phone.
“CEO Xiao…” the young male’s forlorn and sad voice can be heard from the other side of the line, “You have not contacted me for a few months now… I want to meet you, please allow me to meet you… I beg you…”
Xiao Zhan strokes the kitten’s back unhurriedly, “What for?”
The “Xiao-Qiu” on Xiao Zhan’s contact list is a person named Qiu Nai, he is the young lad that went to Zhong Ming Funding’s year end’s gathering with Xiao Zhan. Qiu Nai has no interest in studying at all, stopping his education right after his high school graduation and went to act in various small roles in the neighbouring city which is famous for its movie productions.
Xiao Zhan’s good friend from his university days works as a crew member in one of the production teams in that city. Coincidentally, Qiu Nai was given a small role in the same production. Seeing his cute and obedient appearance, Xiao Zhan’s friend asked Qiu Nai to come along a few times to drink together, nothing else.
Not long after, his good friend invited Xiao Zhan, who happened to be on a business trip in the same city, out for dinner. His friend, who wished to seek Xiao Zhan’s help, introduced Qiu Nai to him.
Qiu Nai has been following Xiao Zhan around for about seven to eight months now. He did not have a stable job before this, and he struggled to have a stable income from taking up small roles. His family does not care either, so he had no choice but to rent a single bed space in a room with four to five other people. He would struggle to return the money he has borrowed from the previous month, every month. Qiu Nai could barely lead a proper life.
Since following Xiao Zhan, Xiao Zhan has given him more than enough money for him to live comfortably. Qiu Nai cleared all his debts and moved out of that cramped room and rented a much more spacious apartment with Xiao Zhan’s money. He no longer concerned himself with earning money and stayed at home every day to play games, his only hope lying solely on Xiao Zhan.
“CEO Xiao, I’m sorry, please don’t be angry with me…” there is a slight tremble in Qiu Nai’s voice, almost as if Xiao Zhan’s single sentence would be enough to destroy him, “You can not abandon me… please, I beg you! Without you, I…”
“I’m not angry with you.” Xiao Zhan drops his gaze, caressing the soft and fluffy fur on the kitten’s back, “Have you spent all the money?”
Since Xiao Zhan has not looked for him for the past couple of months, he, naturally, did not give him any money either. Although Xiao Zhan is indeed Qiu Nai’s sole financial income, that is not the reason he is begging Xiao Zhan.
This is not the first time Qiu Nai has initiated contact with Xiao Zhan in these few months, it was just that Xiao Zhan did not answer his calls the previous few times at all. Qiu Nai has already gotten used to Xiao Zhan being in his life. Every time Xiao Zhan called him, he would dress himself up happily and go out, when there were no calls from Xiao Zhan, he would play games at home the whole day, not knowing what else he could do.
Qiu Nai knows clearly, deep in his heart, that he is not the only one beside Xiao Zhan but he does not mind. He knows that he has no right to request for Xiao Zhan to keep only him by his side. Qiu Nai could not even imagine himself asking such a thing of Xiao Zhan.
As long as Xiao Zhan is willing to have him, he is satisfied.
Qiu Nai has tried several times to ask Xiao Zhan to mark him, or not use any contraception before sexual intercourse. As long as he is pregnant with his child, there is no way Xiao Zhan would abandon him -- but Xiao Zhan has never agreed to it.
“No…” Qiu Nai, choked with sobs, begs, “CEO Xiao, please just let me meet you…”
“Xiao-Qiu,” Xiao Zhan’s voice was low and calm, but such a voice only serves as a sharp knife, drawing a cold line between them, “Be a good boy, don’t contact me anymore from now on.”
Qiu Nai’s voice comes to a stop in an instant. In the end, his voice filled with despair can be heard on the other side of the line, just like a dying canary, which got cut off by the sound of the call being hung up.
Every quarter of a year, the funding managers of Zhong Ming Funding will announce the company’s position and structure, as well as their shareholding ratio. In general, when their closed-end funds expire or at the end of each quarter, there will be a slight change in position transfers and convertible, but it is never a major transfer to ensure stable income earnings from the stock market and clients’ funding.
Towards the end of June, the funding managers start preparations for position transfers, picking out the preferable stocks for the transfer next quarter. This is a busy period for the researchers.
Lu Chuiqing is mainly in charge of three stocks, two of which were listed on the name list Xiao Zhan gave him, while the third one is a stock Lu Chuiqing has been paying attention to all this while. Lu Chuiqing has done a thorough investigation, research and analysis on all three stocks.
A week after Lu Chuiqing has submitted his report, the department announces the results. Two of Lu Chuiqing’s researched stocks are chosen, one recommended by Xiao Zhan while the other one is the stock he has found for himself.
Not only that, Assistant Manager Qian even had a conversation with Lu Chuiqing, expressing his intention to appoint Lu Chuiqing the group leader of a small researchers group for an important project.
Although all these are merely preparations, and the final results may even change, Lu Chuiqing can not help but feel happy for his achievements.
Xiao Zhan has not contacted him for almost two months, but Lu Chuiqing did see him once in the company. Lu Chuiqing only looked from afar, not arousing Xiao Zhan’s notice.
Lu Chuiqing finds it peculiar. Despite his rejection, the sight of Xiao Zhan continues to give him motivation at work. Even the worries and troubles he faces at work do not seem to distract him anymore.
On the day of the announcement, Lu Chuiqing returns home from work in a delightful mood. His phone rings just as he is waiting for the elevator. It is an unknown caller ID, stating that they are delivering from a certain flower shop, asking Lu Chuiqing to sign for the acceptance of the bouquet.
“Flowers?” Lu Chuiqing replies, bewildered, “I didn’t order any flowers, did you get the wrong number?”
The delivery man recited Lu Chuiqing’s phone number, saying that the recipient’s name is indeed his name. Lu Chuiqing’s heart skips a bit and stares blankly for a second. While marvelling at how unbelievable it is, Lu Chuiqing quickly asks the delivery man to give him a moment as he hurries downstairs.
Lu Chuiqing arrives at the entrance of the residential building and sees a delivery man holding a single rose packaged in a rectangular box, standing right there. It is a dark red, soft rectangular box with golden ribbons, the red petals are still moistened by dews. The sight of the box alone is enough to lead Lu Chuiqing to associate it with a person.
Lu Chuiqing finds a light yellow coloured card in the box. The surface of the card is decorated with a simple word handwritten by someone, in a handwriting that Lu Chuiqing has seen before, “Congratulations.”
This is Xiao Zhan’s handwriting.
how sweet and simple~ thank u for the chapter!!
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