Coming out of Jiushan Office, Ding Yinan arrived at a super large loft apartment on the bustling street of the city center.
This apartment was used for both commercial and residential purposes, featuring a spacious layout and a ceiling height of 5 meters. The first floor boasted several irregularly shaped desks, along with various novel entertainment equipment, creating an almost seamless blend between the office and leisure areas. Outside the immense floor-to-ceiling windows, there lay a large balcony spanning approximately ten square meters, offering a breathtaking view of the city’s vibrant scenery.
“This place is good,” Ding Yinan said.
Yuan Feng sat on the swing chair positioned on the balcony, his arms extended over the backrest, exuding an air of grandeur.
Ding Yinan nodded, unable to hide his envy.
Yuan Feng resided on the second floor of the loft apartment, while the first floor served as his workspace. Generally, the commuting time of social animals was inversely proportional to their life happiness index. Having a studio-like setup eliminated the need to spend time on the road, evoking a profound sense of happiness at the mere thought of it.
“After I saved some money before, I gritted my teeth and bought this apartment,” Yuan Feng proudly revealed. “Now, paying off the loan is just around the corner.”
This apartment cost at least several million. Observing Yuan Feng’s use of over 20,000 yuan lighters, Ding Yinan had already suspected a significant income disparity between them. However, upon further comparison, he truly grasped the substantial gap that existed.
Yuan Feng’s family background was unremarkable, and his achievements were solely attributable to his hard work.
From Ding Yinan’s perspective, social animals should toil diligently to create value for their employers. Yet, it was only today that he realized starting a business was also a viable option.
“The few employees who worked hard alongside me have also purchased cars and houses,” Yuan Feng shared. “Squad leader, don’t worry, I will certainly treat you well too.”
“Don’t address me as squad leader from this moment on,” Ding Yinan responded with a business-like demeanor, instinctively drawing clear boundaries. “You are the boss.”
With a new boss, Ding Yinan did not feel uneasy. Huo Zhixiao’s identity had gradually transformed from a boss to a boyfriend, signaling the commencement of a new career for him.
“There happens to be a small private party this weekend, and the difficulty isn’t too great, so you can get started as soon as possible,” Yuan Feng said.
“Private party?” Ding Yinan immediately grasped the point.
“That’s right, the client is a star,” Yuan Feng said. “You should know him.”
Ding Yinan usually didn’t chase stars, but he had also heard of Lin Guo’s name.
Recently, this big star had won the double best actor, which was the time when his career was booming. He was going to hold a small celebration party that weekend, inviting friends from the industry to come. Of course, he didn’t forget to generate some publicity. He hoped that some media would be present, report on it as soon as possible, and then leave the venue sensibly.
The task of Yuan Feng’s team was not only to ensure that the party was held normally but also to properly control the degree of “privacy.”
This job wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t difficult either.
Ding Yinan was good at dealing with customers, especially when it came to communication. He could always grasp the key points of the other party concisely. He contacted Lin Guo’s economic team and got a media blacklist, and then began to screen the media to be invited with Yuan Feng.
By the time the work was done, it was already evening.
An hour ago, Huo Zhixiao had sent a WeChat message asking him when he would be home, accompanied by an emoji of an angry San Baisui.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ding Yinan had joined the new job on the first day. He didn’t know how the other members of the team were doing, but the boss hadn’t said they were disbanded, so he couldn’t take the initiative to ask when he would leave work.
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Ding Yinan understood the working method of Yuan Feng’s team. After all, the overall income of the team was so high, it was impossible to have a job with more money and less work. He believed that when he got his salary, he would also have an extremely high enthusiasm for work, but…
The big, angry dog at home was really worrying.
Ding Yinan hurried home; it was already past nine o’clock in the evening.
At that moment, Huo Zhixiao was nestled on the sofa, playing games with a dejected expression, not uttering a word. He appeared completely different from his typically enthusiastic self.
“Huo Zhixiao?” Ding Yinan approached the sofa and sat down beside Huo Zhixiao. He took the initiative to rest his head on Huo Zhixiao’s shoulder, but Huo Zhixiao continued to gaze at the TV screen, not meeting his eyes.
“Why are you upset?” Ding Yinan asked, knowing it was a pointless question. He wasn’t really curious about the reason behind Huo Zhixiao’s anger; he just wanted Huo Zhixiao to open up and talk to him.
And it worked, as expected.
“You still have the audacity to ask?” Huo Zhixiao finally put down the controller and unwittingly fell into Ding Yinan’s trap. “You worked overtime until so late on your first day of work?”
“You know the working hours for this job aren’t fixed,” Ding Yinan replied helplessly.
“Ding Yinan,” Huo Zhixiao frowned. “You’re a family man; you can’t devote all your heart to work.”
“What family?” Ding Yinan found it amusing and raised his hand to playfully pinch Huo Zhixiao’s face. “You’re obviously my pet.”
Huo Zhixiao squinted his eyes in displeasure. “You just resigned, so you don’t take your former boss seriously anymore?”
Ding Yinan smiled and said, “Would you like to hear something you don’t know?”
Huo Zhixiao asked, “What?”
“I used to work by your side, and I also worked overtime until very late,” Ding Yinan revealed. “If Han Shuo argued with me, I would think he wasn’t being reasonable.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Zhixiao’s expression froze, and he responded in an unnatural tone, “You also think I’m being unreasonable?”
“If that’s the case, I won’t come to coax you.”
Ding Yinan wouldn’t find reasons for Han Shuo’s cheating, but that failed relationship also made him reflect. He had indeed spent too much energy on work, neglecting the need to nurture his emotional connection.
If he had to admit it, he hadn’t even paid as much attention to Han Shuo as he had to Huo Zhixiao.
He increasingly realized the truth in Huo Zhixiao’s words that work was a part of life. He didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes again, so he would strive to maintain a better balance between the two.
Huo Zhixiao’s expression completely relaxed. He wrapped his arms around Ding Yinan’s shoulders, planted a kiss on his face, and said, “Honey, why are you so good at talking?”
“Not angry anymore?” Ding Yinan asked playfully.
“If you call me husband, then I’ll be even happier,” Huo Zhixiao said with a mischievous smile.
“Well, you still have a long way to go,” Ding Yinan raised his eyebrows and changed the subject. “How is Miss Song? How did your conversation go?”
“Very well,” Huo Zhixiao replied. “She’s very nice. I almost fell for her.”
Ding Yinan: “…”
“Just kidding,” Huo Zhixiao said. “She’s like us.”
“Like us?” Ding Yinan asked.
“She’s also attracted to the same gender,” Huo Zhixiao revealed.
“Oh…?” Ding Yinan never expected that Miss Song, who seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Huo Zhixiao, would conceal her true orientation so deeply. He had initially assumed that Miss Song willingly went on a blind date, but it turned out she was pressured by her parents.
“Her partner is an actor and seems to be somewhat famous, but she didn’t provide me with all the details,” Huo Zhixiao added.
“I see,” Ding Yinan said.
“She heard that I wanted to be independent and expressed her support. She believed that it wasn’t easy for everyone. So, guess what?” Huo Zhixiao paused, as if trying to pique Ding Yinan’s curiosity, and continued, “She introduced me to a single project.”
Ding Yinan sat up straight in surprise, looked at Huo Zhixiao, and said, “Project?”
“Yeah,” Huo Zhixiao nodded. “Her girlfriend’s friend recently bought a 300-square-meter luxury house and wanted to find an interior designer.”
“Interior design…” Ding Yinan couldn’t help but frown. This was not Huo Zhixiao’s favorite job.
“It’s okay,” Huo Zhixiao rubbed Ding Yinan’s shoulders. “I’ll take it on myself, and I can’t be picky.”
Huo Zhixiao was right. With his father’s influence, it was impossible for him to immediately land high-profile projects to make money.
However, his open-minded attitude put Ding Yinan at ease.
“That client is also an actor,” Huo Zhixiao continued. “Lin Guo, the one who recently won an award.”
“What a coincidence,” Ding Yinan couldn’t believe that such a thing would happen to him and Huo Zhixiao. He had never been a believer in fate, but now he was starting to feel that there was some kind of mysterious magnetic field between him and Huo Zhixiao, drawing them closer and closer.
He shared his work situation with Huo Zhixiao, who was also surprised.
“So, we now have the same client?” Huo Zhixiao concluded.
“Interesting,” Ding Yinan slightly raised the corners of his lips. It truly was interesting that he and Huo Zhixiao ended up with the same client, indicating that their work still overlapped.
—Although he had just resigned, Ding Yinan already started to miss the days when he worked alongside Huo Zhixiao.
“By the way, wife, there’s something else I want to tell you,” Huo Zhixiao said.
“What is it?” Ding Yinan asked.
“I resigned.”
This time, Ding Yinan’s eyes widened, and he said in disbelief, “So fast?”
“The construction drawing of Sanyang Village had been approved in the afternoon,” Huo Zhixiao said. “In addition, Ms. Song introduced me to another client, so I didn’t want to stay any longer.”
“What did Mr. Huo say?” Ding Yinan was most concerned about this question.
“He initially thought I was joking,” Huo Zhixiao said. “But seeing you resign, I decided to follow suit.”
“Did you explain it clearly then?” Ding Yinan asked.
“I believe he understood very well,” Huo Zhixiao said. “He mentioned withdrawing the construction drawings of Sanyang Village, but I told him to do as he pleased.”
When a person is determined to quit, no amount of threats or flattery works. Huo Zhixiao valued the library project in Sanyang Village. When Huo Xun’s threats didn’t work, he should have realized that Huo Zhixiao wasn’t playing around.
“What if he really withdraws?” Ding Yinan asked.
“He won’t,” Huo Zhixiao said. “The construction drawings have already been handed over to the construction site, and he would need a valid reason to withdraw them. Besides, I’ve made up my mind to resign, and no one will take over this pro bono project. If he withdraws, he’ll be causing trouble for himself.”
Barefoot people aren’t afraid of wearing shoes. When Huo Zhixiao completely let go of everything, Huo Xun had no way to control his life anymore.
Ding Yinan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the weight that had been hanging in his heart had finally lifted.
He relaxed and chatted with Huo Zhixiao, saying, “How did you come up with a reason for resignation?”
“I said that you weren’t by my side, and I couldn’t continue,” Huo Zhixiao replied.
“Do you really mean it?” Ding Yinan could tell that Huo Zhixiao wasn’t joking from his expression.
“That’s true,” Huo Zhixiao confirmed.
“Then Mr. Huo must hate me a lot,” Ding Yinan said helplessly. “I resigned and even took his son away.”
As soon as Ding Yinan finished speaking, his phone vibrated twice. The screen displayed that he had received two WeChat messages. He picked up the phone, unlocked it, and the hidden messages were immediately revealed.
[Huo Xun: Make an offer.]
[Huo Xun: How much salary are you willing to come back to work?]
I KNEW SHE WAS GAAAYYYYY YASS MY FELLOW SAPPHIC
Lol huo xun give it up. It’s a matter of you restricting your own son’s freedom and creativity, not just him quitting to spite you 🙄
Damn, why don’t he just support his son
Thanks for the translation ❤️
Make an offer ,😂😂😂😂
I would maybe maybe 🤏 understand Mr. Hou if his son is a total scumbag. But HZX have talent. All he do is to control his son like a puppet and restrict HZX’s creativity. I’m cheering for HZX and Dingding’s freedom from that company
Me Huo it’s too late!!
Thanks for the chapter 💞
Mr
I KNEW IT!! THE SUIT WAS A GIVEAWAY, CRUSH AQUIRED HEHEHEHE
His son is almost 30, why is he so controlling over him still. He’s even controlling towards his staff, telling Ding he needs to wear a bow tie and keep his phone on to receive his calls even during vacation like wtf. I wonder how all the other people in his office and other architects put up with him