Black-bellied vs. Black-bellied: Ultimate ShowdownCh26 - Objective Unclear

Episode 026: Objective Unclear

Hearing Qi Yu’s response, Xu Jing frowned again. “Does your father know?” SF6mGP

Qi Yu said, voice low and serious, “He knows. Dad has seen him too.”

Xu Jing quickly realized that his actions had made Qi Yu displeased. He immediately softened his manner and said, “Alright, then I’ll leave you guys to talk first…”

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Afterwards, he cast another glance at Fu Yansheng and then turned away, looking little lost.

After sitting back down, Qi Yu felt a little upset. XRaEho

Actually, if it weren’t for Xu Jing “telling on” him to his father, Qi Yu would have been happy to introduce Complex Number to Xu Jing. But because he did, it created a knot in Qi Yu’s heart. He was afraid that Xu Jing would think too much into it, so he hid it from him.

He hadn’t expected Xu Jing to run into them here. Now, he seemed like he’d been trying to be clever, only to end up with egg on his face…

Fu Yansheng looked at him and asked in a low voice, “Feeling unhappy?”

Qi Yu was taken aback for a moment. He then recovered and shook his head.

GmBAJU

“What you are shaking your head for?” Fu Yansheng raised the cup and leaned toward him. “You might as well have ‘Bad Mood’ written all across your face.”

The man’s gentle voice had a thread of comfort.

Qi Yu clinked glasses with him and took a sip. He said, “Originally, Xu Jing asked me to have dinner with him tonight…”

“And you refused him to come and see me?” Fu Yansheng automatically finished the second half of his sentence. He smiled. sdMrI4

Qi Yu gave an “en”, and pointedly explained, “Because I already made an appointment with you earlier.”

While he had been in the United States, he had already decided on the date when he’d meet with Complex Number. He didn’t want to change it willy-nilly.

“You didn’t tell him?” Fu Yansheng moved his eyebrows slightly, “Didn’t you say that you have a good relationship with him?”

“We have a very good relationship.” Through their yearlong chat, Qi Yu had gotten used to having heart-to-heart talks with him and he couldn’t help but confide in him. “We’ve known each other for seven years. We were both abroad a few years ago and he took good care of me. I’ve always seen him as an older brother.” 6HPgpC

“An older brother, huh…” Fu Yansheng murmured, pregnant with meaning. He asked, “Since your relationship is so good, why didn’t your dad have him be your peidu? Given how he’s able to be the CEO of an investment company, he should be very outstanding, right?”

Qi Yu was stunned when he heard the word “peidu“. He looked up to see Fu Yansheng’s mouth seeming to hold a non-existent smile. He turned his eyes away, movements looking a bit unnatural…

If his father hadn’t brought it up last time, Qi Yu really wouldn’t know if he were allowed to look for a peidu.

But having Xu Jing be his peidu…Whatever the case may be, Xu Jing has served his father as secretary for several years, how could he condescend to do this kind of work? woLO4l

Qi Yu said, “My dad said he wanted to cultivate him, and so, he transferred him back here before I went to university.”

“Just because he wanted to cultivate him?” Fu Yansheng smiled and shook his head, “You really don’t understand your dad.”

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“I don’t understand my dad?” Qi Yu’s mind was filled with a question mark.

“I’ve met your father, and I can tell that he values ​​you very much and that he’s very protective of you. Everything he does is to pave the way for you.” Fu Yansheng said as he opened the dice box on the small table. He took out two dice from the box, pinching them between his index and middle finger. He then placed them on the table to demonstrate for him, “Your dad is afraid that Xu Jing will be by your side for too long and have too much influence over you. You might not be able to control him in the future. So he deliberately separated you two for a while.” eJGtdM

Qi Yu frowned. “Why do you say that?”

“You and Xu Jing have known each other for seven years, right? You are twenty this year, that is to say, when you were thirteen years old, he appeared by your side. This period of time was exactly when your three views were being shaped. His way of thinking and his way of doing things would have greatly influence you. He changed you. Feelings of reliance and trust in him were born. You even treat him as an older brother… But do you remember? I discussed with you about the principle of making friends.” Fu Yansheng tapped his fingers on the two dice, “I assume that your feelings for Xu Jing are founded on your gratitude towards him for his care and help to you. Then, looking at it from the other side, what are his feelings for you founded on? You could say that the thirteen-year-old you was just a kid who didn’t know anything so why was he so willing to spend so much thought on you?”

Actually, there wasn’t any need for Fu Yansheng to say it. Qi Yu was also well aware that it was more because of his father.

A lot of the people around him treat him well because of his father. sxWy4w

But Xu Jing was still different in his heart. He wasn’t an emotionless machine. He knew to distinguish between sincerity and falsehoods. Even if Xu Jing treated him well because he was Qi Yuancheng’s son, he also treated him with a lot of patience and sincerity.

Therefore, listening to Fu Yansheng’s analysis got him very annoyed. “Xu Jing’s not the kind of person who only seeks profit.”

“Qi Yu,” Fu Yansheng interrupted him calmly and said, “I am not instigating discord between you and Xu Jing. I want you to see clearly where your emotions are coming from.”

Qi Yu choked and looked at him with some wariness. “Go on.” ers31u

Fu Yansheng: “I remember you said earlier that he told your father about me, right?”

Qi Yu: “En…”

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.

Fu Yansheng: “Then why do you think he told your father?”

Hl Te: “Lf kjr kbgglfv jybea wf?” FwyNc6

Me Tjcrtfcu rwlifv jcv rtbbx tlr tfjv. “Po tf kjr kbgglfv jybea sbe, tf rtbeiv tjnf vbcf ktja sbeg vjv vlv. Lf kbeiv tjnf mbwf ab rff wf vlgfmais jcv mbcolgw atja P mtfmx bea yfobgf ifaalcu sbe jcv wf mbcalcef ab jrrbmljaf. Dea tf vlvc’a. Lf erfv j ifrr uelififrr wfatbv—tf abiv sbeg vjv.”

Qi Yu: “……”

Fu Yansheng: “This move revealed two things. First, he didn’t dare to compete directly with me and second, he was afraid that people other than him would have an influence over you and divide your trust in him — You know what this is called?”

Qi Yu: “What?” eoPzdL

Fu Yansheng: “The desire to control.”

Qi Yu: “…………”

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Fu Yansheng put away the dice and looked at Qi Yu and said, “Do you think Xu Jing doesn’t know? He may be well aware of it but he can’t tell you, because subconsciously, he wants you to be a little boy who will never grow up. So seeing you meeting with me behind his back, he might be feeling lost. He may even be jealous and angry. And his emotions will further affect you, because you care about him — if you can’t see this clearly, you might wind up being led around by him. If he finds out that he can use feelings to pin you down, he may take advantage of this down the road.”

Qi Yu looked at Fu Yansheng, his mood complicated. He asked, “Are human hearts so dirty in your eyes?” nm4Z15

Fu Yansheng stared at him without flinching: “This isn’t dirty. It’s reality, or you could say, it’s human instinct. It is easy for children to believe in pure emotions. The adult world is so cruel, but even if it is cruel, it doesn’t prevent you from continuing to trust Xu Jing — if you see all this clearly and still feel that he is worthy of trust.”

Qi Yu’s hand tightened and loosened under the table, as if trying to accept these so-called realities.

“Compared with you, your father is much more clear-headed,” Fu Yansheng said with a smile. “Do you know why your father is willing to let me be your peidu after seeing me last time?”

Qi Yu: “Why?” ZzSW2u

Fu Yansheng: “Just like how the emperors of old choose auxiliary ministers for their as heirs, your dad never wanted Xu Jing to be the only person who could influence you. My existence will, more or less, check and balance Xu Jing’s, making him unable to become your only one. Moreover, I’ve also expressed my own principles and attitude to your father — that I didn’t want to stay with you because of his wealth.”

Qi Yu said in his heart, ‘Could it be that this is just Fu Yansheng’s speech technique?’

At any rate, this was a 80k a day business chat. Since Fu Yansheng understood his father’s thinking so well, couldn’t he have chosen what his father wanted to hear?

He wasn’t going to believe so easily. pNMKlZ

Relatively speaking, Qi Yu was more willing to accept what his dad had once said-“He isn’t looking at your present; he is looking at your future.”

As if to express his doubts, he asked Fu Yansheng in reply, “Then aren’t you also influencing me by teaching me? Are you not also giving me benefits? What is the difference between you and Xu Jing?”

Fu Yansheng smiled, “There may be one point that I am different from him,” the man looked into his eyes and said to him slowly, voice low, “I don’t want you to be a child, I want you to grow up quickly.”

Qi Yu: “…………” deNjg3

***

Qi Yu and Fu Yansheng’s chat in Skyline lasted for three hours, after which Fu Yansheng called a car and sent him back to the hotel before leaving.

It was already midnight.

After taking a bath, Qi Yu still didn’t feel sleepy, so he sat in the air-conditioned room and looked through his chat history with Complex Number. O6xe1P

From the time he parted from Fu Yansheng up until now, he mind was still full of the other’s meaning-laden “I want you to grow up quickly”…

At that moment, Qi Yu felt a fire ignite in his body, burning from the soles of his feet to the strands of his hair.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

He recalled Fu Yansheng’s self-confident appearance, as though he had everything under control, the tones of his voice when he sometimes bantered and sometimes spoke seriously. All of these… made him yearn.

If this person was pure and simple and just “Complex Number”, Qi Yu would definitely admire him, hold him in great esteem, and treat him as his teacher in the truest sense. ZuNSVR

But the terrible thing now was that the other party was not just “Complex Number”, but also the man who kissed him a year ago.

Qi Yu discovered that when he overlapped the two people, the boundary between them suddenly became blurred.

The jokes he made on WeChat, the emojis he posted, the days they spent interacting with each other were all stained with an ambiguous color.

Qi Yu sat there and thought about it calmly. Was there any possibility that Fu Yansheng knew who he was from the beginning? BzieSH

…After all, if the other party didn’t want him to find out, he was actually capable of doing so.

But if Fu Yansheng knew, why did he do this?

During their three hours tonight, Qi Yu didn’t see the man reveal any purpose. It was as though the other party was sitting there and chatting with him for so long simply to satisfy his curiosity.

Including that principle of making friends they’d talked about later, even that had been to console him, to advise him. CR2l7z

Looking back, applying this theory to the relationship between him and Fu Yansheng, right now, their relationship comprised of him asking favors of the other while apart from Fu Yansheng’s “I want you to grow up quickly”, he never expressed any other requirements.

But the question was, in Fu Yansheng’s eyes, what did he have to be in order to be considered “grown up”?

While he was there lost in thought, his mobile phone buzzed.

Qi Yu clicked on WeChat and saw that it was a message from Fu Yansheng. uUDtzX

F1S: “I’m home. Go and rest early, good night.”

Qi Yu kept typing and deleting in the text box for a long time. Finally, the only thing he managed to send was a “good night”.

In the afternoon the next day, Qi Yu took the time to return home and looked for the business card that he had kept in the drawer for more than a year, confirming once again that they were one and the same person.

He then went to knock on Qi Feng’s door but there was no response. Qi Yu went downstairs and asked Jiang Ying, “Mom, where’s Xiao Feng?” ieWyUo

“He and Ling Ke went to Disneyland for the day.” Jiang Ying sat on the sofa, read the newspaper.

“He and Ling Ke go to Disneyland on such a hot day?” Qi Yu frowned, “Why would he put himself through that?”

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“I’ll be taking Ling Ke to the TV station for an internship in two days. He probably wants to take advantage of these few days to play with Ling Ke.” Jiang Ying raised her eyes to look at him, “What’s the matter? Do you have anything important to ask him?”

Qi Yu said vaguely, “Nothing special. I’ll just call him.” gwrTnz

After saying so, he went upstairs again and entered his room before dialing Qi Feng’s number.

“——Hello!?” Qi Feng picked it up quickly, but it probably because he was somewhere crowded, the background noise was quite loud. “Ge? What’s up?”

“I want to ask you something,” Qi Yu pondered for a while and said, “Last year, in April… or maybe May, did anyone contact you?”

“Huh? Last April? There are too many people contacting me! Who exactly?” Qi Feng asked, puzzled. ZfAU79

“A man with the surname Fu.” Qi Yu said, voice deep.

“What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly!” Qi Feng shouted loudly, “——Ling Ke, I’m so thirsty!”

“I asked if a man named Fu contacted you around the end of April last year!? Did he add you on WeChat or something!?” Qi Yu raised his volume.

“Oh…” There was a pause over by the other end, “I don’t think so? I don’t remember there being someone like that. Besides, it’s been so long anyway, who’d remember something like that…” BdroMp

Qi Yu: “……”

Qi Feng: “Why are you asking?”

“It’s nothing. It’s fine, go have fun…” Qi Yu paused, “Drink more water, and be careful not to get heatstroke.”

Qi Yu hung up the phone and felt a little relieved. Zeu0cE

After all, back then, Fu Yansheng had been asking his phone number for someone else, maybe… he hadn’t actually been taking it seriously…?

***

Back at the hotel that evening, he ran into Meng Wenhui whom he hadn’t seen the past two days.

There was no language barrier for him here, and there was no need for him to worry about spending money. Qi Yu originally thought Meng Wenhui would have a good time, but he didn’t expect the young man to complain upon seeing him. “Aiya! Qi Yu, Haicheng is too hot! Yesterday, I went out for the whole day and in the end, I couldn’t stand it. It’s so much more comfortable in the hotel!” StswT

Qi Yu: “Then just stay in the hotel.”

Meng Wenhui said anxiously, “That won’t work! What’s the difference between staying in a hotel and being locked up at home by my dad! I finally managed to get out. You should take me to play more, otherwise I’ll be bored to death staying in the hotel for two months!”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Qi Yu was speechless. “I’m going to work this coming Monday. How can I take you out to play?”

“You’re going to work?” As soon as Meng Wenhui heard it, he flexed his arms excitedly, showing off his huge muscles. “Should I accompany you? I’ll protect you!” LZ6sRb

Qi Yu: “…………”

Qi Yu felt a headache coming on and said, “I’m probably just gonna be sitting in the office, looking through financial reports and reading documents. What would you need to protect me from? Are you going to protect me from mosquitoes?”

Meng Wenhui put down his arms, feeling dejected, “Ai! Then I’m gonna be so bored!”

Qi Yu was about to say something when his phone suddenly buzzed. He was surprised when he saw the caller ID. QSuTxA

Si Hang?” Qi Yu answered the phone.

“Hello? Qi Yu? Haha, I heard you’ve returned to China?” Si Hang’s frivolous voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Who’d you hear that from?” Qi Yu put on a fake smile and changed his tone.

“My dad, who else!” Si Hang said with a laugh. “Dude, now you’re in my backyard. Are you free tomorrow? Come over, I’ll treat you to a welcome dinner!” k8 tV4

Qi Yu glanced at Meng Wenhui, whose head was drooping. He had a flash of inspiration. Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Okay, but can I bring some friends?”

“Who?” Si Hang asked.

“Chinese friends from America,” Qi Yu also emphasized, “Brothers I grew up with sharing the same pair of trousers.”

“No problem, since they’re your brothers, bring them along and we’ll all have fun together!” Si Hang said enthusiastically, “I’ll send you the address on WeChat. See you tomorrow night!” ndFHSK

He hung up the phone and Qi Yu crooked his finger towards Meng Wenhui.

Meng Wenhui grew hopeful when he saw the look in his eyes. He immediately leaned in, “What is it? What is it?”

Qi Yu smiled and said, “I’ll take you to play tomorrow! I know some friends in Haicheng, and they’ll keep you happy for the next two months.”

Meng Wenhui’s eyes lit up. “Is there such a good thing?” yIJWFn

“But…” Qi Yu’s pretended to be embarrassed, “My friends are a bit snobbish, and they also like to form cliques. We’ve just come back from abroad, I’m afraid…”

Meng Wenhui immediately understood what he meant. He raised his eyebrows and said, “What are you afraid of? Tomorrow, we’ll bring the two brothers who came with us, and give each of them awesome identities. Are you still afraid of being looked down upon?”

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Qi Yu patted his arm. “Then can I leave this to you?”

Meng Wenhui puffed up his chest up and said, “Don’t worry. No way they’ll win against us from the overseas group!” BM50Xv

The author has something to say: [Little Theater]

Fu: I want you to grow up quickly.

7 fish: What will you do when I grow up? (⊙_⊙)

Fu: Things that can only happen between grown ups 🙂 dC1cX3

7 fish: Get out! This young master is still a baobao! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

————

7 Maple: Ke Ke! My brother called to ask about that man! His tone was so scary! QAQ

Ling Ke: How did you answer him? IezdSw

7 Maple: I pretend not to know. I was afraid he’d kill me if I didn’t!

Ling Ke: Well done. [Thumbs up]

7 Maple: I am the best. o( ̄ヘ ̄o)


Translator’s note: p6UNGW

I know a lot of readers find it off-putting how Fu Yansheng seems to be making Qi Yu question Xu Jing, but all I’ll say is that the author put it in there for a reason; she didn’t put it there for nothing. She’s following the principle of Chekhov's Gun. I’m not going to spoil how big a role it will play but I’ll let you know that it does in much later chapters (like 120+ chapter ish).

Translator's Note


The troublesome, trouble-making son of the Qi father-son duo’s family friend, whom Qi Yu was forced to bring with him back to China.

Translator's Note


The second/youngest son of Qi Yuancheng’s business partner in the Si Yuan Group. He’s the one who owns the e-sports club.

Translator's Note


The bodyguards. He bodyguards probably aren’t related to each other.

Translator's Note


baby or darling

Translator's Note


Qi Feng’s ‘Feng’ means ‘Maple’

Translator's Note


Chekhov’s gun is a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative. This encourages writers to not make false promises in their narrative by including extemporaneous details that will not ultimately pay off by the last act, chapter, or conclusion

Leave a Comment

19 comments

  1. Thank you for the chapter!! I love it when Fu reasoning Qi Yu’s independency on Xu Jing. Im sorry if I expressing it wrongly

  2. Aww.. So the Si boy won’t be able to bully our big puppy meng boy.. I hope they wouldn’t lead him astray too 🥺

  3. From my observations so far good authors never throw in info that isn’t related to the plot. If they mention something, then you can be sure that something will have an influence or be part of later happenings. It’s only bad authors who write all sorts of weird details as a filler to reach a word count.

    Thus I’m not surprised by TL’s note. Tbh, if you think about the relationship between the MC and Xu Jing, it’s a relationship between the boss’ child and an employee. Thus all of XJ’s actions have this relationship as basis. It’s exactly as ML said – he will be the boss’ bf once MC takes over for his dad. With how sentimental MC is, he’s guaranteed to put XJ in a very good position way ahead of the time he’d get there if he’d have to slowly work towards it. And, just like MC’s father said, running a business means dealing with so many people. It’s a small society in itself. Won’t all the employees try to get on XJ’s good side since he’s the boss’ ‘older brother’? All in all, there’s only benefits and no losses. Even if he personally doesn’t like him, XJ would still try to do his best to do his job well. The job here is being ‘friends’ with MC. I can’t say ‘do his best to be feiends’ bc obviously I don’t think he’s doing it for the friendship, but for the benefits it would bring to his career in the future, thus it’s a job.

  4. I love this story so much so far, knowing this is the same author who wrote Assistant Architect I’m so excited to keep reading. Thank you for the wonderful translation

  5. Xu jing already hinted wanting qi yu to lay back like when he checked in on why he isnt calling anymore which is ok but then continues with wanting him to rely on the investment thing the xu jing is dedicating for qi yu.

    But what’s more off putting is actually the following which might discourage me to continue reading:

    The title doesnt match the power dynamics more and more since qi yu is 100% dancing in the palms of Fu … qi yu is slowly becoming a yes man who always chew on Fu yenshang’s advice and fail to continue his train of thought regarding Yenshang’s blatant misdirection: the unacknowledged kiss, the schemes, Fu’s obvious hints about his own intentions (qi yu does have stupid on his forehead now given the fact that he was meant to be exemplary in the beginning chaps)
    the little theatre in this chapter is also the most off putting because of the fact that this all started with a kiss and is indeed becoming more like grooming to be an adult…who follows the principles fu yenshang has been feeding him. It doesnt work well when the power dynamic is this broken and then you use innuendos to an otherwise decent warning of re assessing intentions