Chapter 030: Internet Celebrity Escort
Qi Yu thought back and it seemed that there really had been something like this. But this incident was already many years ago. He didn’t think that Xu Jing still remembered it.
His heart felt a little warm. Thinking of how Xu Jing looked lost as he left the bar that night, he couldn’t help asking, “Are you back from Yancheng?”
“En, I just arrived at the airport. I turned on my phone and saw the photo you posted,” Xu Jing said with a smile, “So, you still use Moments?”
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?” The corners of Qi Yu’s lips twitched and he asked, “Would you like to have dinner together tonight?”
“Oh?” Xu Jing said lightly from the other end, “Don’t you need to see your online friend tonight?”
Qi Yu was caught off guard and choked.
Fortunately, Xu Jing didn’t embarrass him for too long. He said, “I’ll wait for you to get off work tonight. I’ll pick you up at Mei Wei. And, if you’re not used to eating chestnut rice, then don’t eat it. Have Cheng Lijun go buy you something else. .”
Just as he hung up, Cheng Lijun came in with a large stack of files. “President Qi, this is the information you wanted. There was a backup file in the archives. I was afraid you’d be in a hurry to look at them so I brough the backup files for you first.”
Qi Yu was relieved to see her moving so fast. He felt a little gratified. “Leave them here.”
Cheng Lijun caught a glimpse of the lunch he had barely touched before covering again and asked, “Is this meal not to your taste?”
Qi Yu was startled and decided not the be pretentious. He directly admitted, “Sorry, I don’t like chestnuts.”
Cheng Lijun: “It’s alright. Next time you can just tell me directly. I’ll buy you something else.”
Qi Yu’s eyelids lowered slightly. “Sorry to trouble you.”
After Cheng Lijun went out, Qi Yu found himself momentarily lost in thought.
He found that the people around him always seemed to be able to guess what he wanted. Sometimes through just the look in his eyes, or through an accidental shift of his tone when speaking, or through the subtle changes in his expressions, they could tell what he needed and satisfy it.
This was the case with Xu Jing and so too with Cheng Lijun.
He didn’t know if his face gave too much away or they were simply too perceptive.
It wasn’t that he hated this feeling—who doesn’t like being cared for and served by the people around him? Having all his needs taken care of in such a thoughtful manner? ——It was just that Qi Yu suddenly realized that people could be paralyzed by this kind of “thoughtfulness”.
Like when Cheng Lijun offered to buy food again for him just now. At that moment, Qi Yu felt that this person wasn’t so bad. She was actually very nice and caring. He began to reflect whether he had been too harsh on her before.
——It’s just a trivial matter of buying food but Cheng Lijun managed to get him to relax his mental defenses a little bit. What if there were more such things? Surrounding his life so impenetrably? Could he also unknowingly regard the other person as someone who could be trusted or even confided in?
Like… Xu Jing, whom he already regarded as his brother.
This was because he subconsciously felt that no one would treat him this way except for blood-related parents or siblings, even if he was the son of a billionaire.
So, has he been “paralyzed” by Xu Jing’s thoughtfulness? Did his trust in Xu Jing go beyond the normal bounds?
……!
Qi Yu was startled by his own suspicioness. When he recovered, his teeth began to itch with hate for Fu Yansheng — this was all because of that man’s principle for making friends. It made him unconsciously reflect on his interpersonal relationships with the people around him. He’s turning a bit neurotic!
Qi Yu shook his head to make himself forget these things.
A while after, Cheng Lijun came back with a new set meal. Maybe she had changed to a better restaurant, the quality of the lunch box and cuttlery looked much better.
Qi Yu ate a bit and looked through the pile of documents.
At around three o’clock in the afternoon, Qin Hanyao came to him. When he walked in, he glanced at the documents spread out on Qi Yu’s desk and said with a smile, “You’ve really thrown yourself into your work, I see.”
Qi Yu thought of getting up but Qin Hanyao said, “No need for that. Just sit down. I’m just here to tell you that the heads of the various departments have announced your arrival at the company. There are still some from junior managment who still haven’t seen you. I had them organize a dinner party for you this evening. They’re all young people in their 20s and 30s. Get to know them so that it will be convenient for you to find them in the future.”
Qi Yu was stunned. He had just made an appointment with Xu Jing at noon. Why didn’t Chief Qin tell him earlier?
But it didn’t seem like the other party had come to discuss with him, but instead, simply came inform him.
Qi Yu weighed it in his mind, and realized that getting to know the people in the company as soon as possible was more important than inviting Xu Jing out to eat. And so, he had no choice but to first agree.
After Chief Qin left, he picked up his mobile phone and sent a message to Xu Jing: “Chief Qin arranged for me to have dinner with some of the company’s managers tonight. Should we reschedule?”
Xu Jing didn’t reply. Maybe he was busy.
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.
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Hl Te mieamtfv tlr qtbcf. Lf revvfcis vlvc’a offi ilxf kbgxlcu…
——”Po tf olcvr bea atja tf mjc erf offilcur ab qlc sbe vbkc, tf wjs ajxf jvnjcajuf bo atlr vbkc atf gbjv.”
The words of Fu Yansheng’s analysis that night resounded in his mind, Qi Yu’s heart clenched. When he came to, he began to ponder this kind of problem once again. He couldn’t help inwardly spitting out a ‘f*ck’.
And that bastard dared to say that he wasn’t instigating discord! ?
Qi Yu clicked on his WeChat conversation with Complex Number and sent three emoticons in a row.
Yu: “[Tuzki Madly Shaking a Person.gif]”
Yu: “[Tuzki Madly Shaking a Person.gif]”
Yu: “[Tuzki Madly Shaking a Person.gif]”
……
After sending these out, his mood eased a little. Qi Yu sent Xu Jing another message, “Or would you like to have a late night snack instead?”
Xu Jing only responded to him just before he got off work. “I just saw your message. I was at a meeting. It’s alright. You call me when you’re finished with your dinner party.”
Qi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He then saw that Fu Yansheng was replying to him on WeChat.
F1S: “?”
F1S: “Get to work. What are you acting all spoiled for?”
F1S: “I’ll call you tonight.”
Qi Yu: “……???”
Now who the f*ck was acting spoiled! ! ! ?
***
Around six o’clock, Cheng Lijun came to pick up Qi Yu to head to the hotel for dinner.
The gathering place was two kilometers away from the company. When Qi Yu and Cheng Lijun arrived, most of them were already there.
Just as Qin Hanyao had said, most of the people present were indeed young people. The oldest wasn’t even over 40 yet. Cheng Lijun introduced them one by one. Among them were department managers and assistant managers from sales, marketing, design, quality control and other major affiliated departments. There were also people from human resources and the finance department’s accountancy group.
Upon seeing Qi Yu, their reaction was a lot different from how the older generation in senior management reacted. After all, except for his status as interim president, Qi Yu was a handsome guy with a face that wouldn’t lose out to a celebrity. Several girls a bit older than him, covered their faces and whispered, “So handsome, so handsome”.
Cheng Lijun looked around and asked the Manager Fang of their Online Marketing Department: “Is Tao Tao still not here?”
Manager Fang grabbed her phone and said, “I already asked her to come. She said that she’ll be here soon.”
Qi Yu asked, “Who is Tao Tao?”
Manager Fang immediately explained, “She’s an online celebrity endorser that Mei Wei’s Online Marketing Department signed up. She has millions of fans on the Mou Tao live broadcast platform. Generally, whenever we have important occassions, we invite her over.”
However, though she said that she would be here “soon”, that girl winded up forty minutes late.
In these forty minutes, all the dishes had already been served and Qi Yu had also talked with almost every junior manager present.
He found that during the time Tao Tao had yet to arrive, Manager Fang looked particularly anxious. She constantly checked her mobile phone and she got up every 15 minutes and to make calls.
Only when Tao Tao arrived did seem relieved. She got up and welcomed the other in. She gave the celebrity a perfunctory scolding.
Qi Yu took a look. She was indeed a beautiful woman but her appearance inexplicably reminded him of Si Hang’s girlfriend, Bei Bei with her big eyes and a pointed chin; a face so exquisite that it looked like it had been drawn.
When Tao Tao saw Qi Yu, a hint of surprise flashed across her face. She said in a charming voice, “Hello, President Qi” and walked straight towards him. The male manager who’d been sitting next to Qi Yu spontaneously vacated his seat for the other.
“President Qi~~” Tao Tao picked up a glass and poured some wine. With a beautiful smile, she said, “I’m really sorry. When Manager Fang called me, I was still doing a live broadcast. I hurried over, but still got here so late. I’ll take this glass as penalty and apologize to you. This evening I can accompany you to drink for however long you’d like so please don’t be angry with me.”
Everyone helped to smooth things over. Qi Yu looked at them with a faint smile that was yet not a smile and said nothing.
Tao Tao finished drinking and poured some for Qi Yu. While pushing the glass toward Qi Yu, she said softly, “But President Qi, I really didn’t expect you to be so young and handsome. If I’d known I would be accompanying you tonight, I would have backed out of my live broadcast.”
When Qi Yu accepted the glass, Tao Tao seized the chance to have her fingers brush against his.
Qi Yu tried his best to ignore the other party’s subtle provocations. He lowered his eyes, smiled and said, “I was just thinking it was weird why you would invite an online celebrity even to a company dinner? Could it be that this online celebrity is part of the Online Marketing Team’s strategy meetings?” Everyone was dazed and Qi Yu raised his eyes to sweep a glance through everyone present. He said, amiably, “Turns out she came here to accompany me?”
Manager Fang hurriedly gave a ‘haha’ and said, “Isn’t it to help liven things up for you?”
…Liven things up?
Qi Yu raised his eyebrows and asked, “Manager Fang, do all of Mei Wei’s heads invite online celebrities to accompany them when they go out to group dinners?”
His voice was very gentle, revealing not the slightest hint of anger.
Manager Fang was only too happy to answer him, “It depends on the occasion. Sometimes, yes. Our Chief Liu likes Tao Tao. Tao Tao is able to carry our products very well. Last year, she single-handedly sold over 100 million worth of goods.”
Chief Liu was the general manager of Mei Wei’s Marketing Center, Liu Qi. Qi Yu met him during the meeting this morning. A middle-aged man in his forties with a nose that reached to the sky; he created a very deep impression in the people who met him.
Manager Fang explained again, “Tonight, it was Chief Liu who specially asked me to invite Tao Tao to come and accompany you to dinner.”
Qi Yu thought to himself, these people certainly have no idea what he’d seen yesterday at Huanjun Road No. 88 Clubhouse; and what kind of service he had enjoyed. If they knew, they wouldn’t have bothered to spend so much effort on such a low-version dinner party. .
And in order to wait for such an online celebrity, the dignified manager of Mei Wei’s Online Marketing Team was reduced to a fidgeting mess at the dinner table for forty whole minutes.
Qi Yu found it funny. What was going on in their domestic office? Did they think that so long as it’s a man, they could be dealt with by a beautiful woman?
He took a sip of his wine, glanced at Tao Tao, and asked, “Tao Tao, how much does it cost to ask you to accompany someone to dinner?”
Tao Tao said embarrassedly, “Oh, it hurts my feelings to talk about money at the dinner table. If you like me, President Qi, then you can just ask for me more often in the future.”
While talking, she took out her mobile phone under the table and in three seconds, showed him her WeChat QR code.
Qi Yu: “……”
Qi Yu added her on WeChat. Tao Tao, thinking herself peerlessly charming, reached for a yard after gaining an inch and tried to take Qi Yu’s hand. She didn’t expect that as soon as she knocked against him, Qi Yu would dodge out of the way.
When Tao Tao saw that Qi Yu had avoided her, her guess was that her employer might not like being ambiguous in front of others. And so, she cleverly kept some distance.
Qi Yu pretended to ingratiate himself to the people around the table for about half an hour before ending the dinner.
After the meal, Cheng Lijun asked him, “President Qi, what are your plans? Would you like me to arrange a car to take you back to the hotel?
Qi Yu, seeing the online celebrity still hesitating to one side, said, “Tao Tao, where do you live? Should I give you a ride back?”
The implication of his words was quite obvious and everyone smiled in tacit understanding, pretending not to hear Qi Yu’s veiled intentions.
Tao Tao was really delighted to hear these words, “Okay. Then, please, President Qi!”
After the car came, Cheng Lijun watch as Qi Yu and Tao Tao got into the car. She thoughtfully bid Qi Yu good-bye.
***
Inside the black Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the air-conditioning was just right.
Listening to the classical music coming from the stereo, smelling the faint scent of the car’s aromatherapy, Tao Tao’s heart grew restless.
When she got into the car, she told Qi Yu her address, but Qi Yu didn’t let the chauffer drive them in that direction…
If her guess was right, this car was booked by Assistant Manager Cheng, so they were now heading to the hotel where Qi Yu was staying.
A few minutes later, the young man beside her cleared his throat and said, “Now can you tell me how much you charge for accompanying someone to a meal?”
Although she knew that the other party might want to hire her to spend the night, Tao Tao still felt a little awkward hearing Qi Yu word his question so clearly. She forced a smile and said, “I’m not that expensive. I only need 20,000 yuan per meal. Other arragements are discussed separately… I have a cooperative relationship with Mei Wei, so I usually give preferential pricing.”
She cast glances at Qi Yu as she spoke. She couldn’t help but wonder whether this person, being so young, was lacking worldly experience and was completely ignorant of the going prices? And just now at the dinner table, she had wanted to touch him, but he avoided her. It seemed he was a little shy?
Qi Yu asked again: “How many of Mei Wei’s management have you accompanied to a meal?”
“Uh…” Tao Tao was a little worried. Would the other party think her unclean? Should she lie?
While she was hesitating, the young man’s soft voice sounded above her head, “It’s okay. You can tell me frankly, I won’t embarrass you.”
Tao Tao had a vague feeling that things were proceeding differently from how she imagined, but the young man’s voice was too gentle and bewitching. It was like she was hypnotized, and she honestly answered, “Usually, it’s Chief Liu, Chief Qin, and Chief Qiu Junior…”
“Chief Qiu Junior?”
“The son of Chief Qiu of Mei Wei’s Production Department. He’s in charge of your Mei Wei’s PMC Group. He often looks for me privately.”
Qi Yu pondered for a moment and asked:, “Then when they hire you, how do they usually pay?”
Tao Tao: “There’s a designated person who gives me the money.”
“A designated person?” Qi Yu looked at her, “Is it the same person every time?”
Tao Tao: “En, someone called Wang Jie.”
Qi Yu: “Is she someone from Mei Wei?”
Tao Tao shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Qi Yu frowned. “Do you issue them an invoice?”
Tao Tao was a bit at a loss. “I don’t…”
“Oh…” Qi Yu asked, “Then is Wang Jie the one paying you tonight?”
“No, Manager Fang paid for my service of accompanying you to dinner. But what comes after, um, if you need it,” Tao Tao glanced at him, her eyes filled with tender feelings, “I also accept WeChat transfers…”
Qi Yu: “…………”
Qi Yu was quiet for a while. He then told the chauffer Tao Tao’s address, “Please head to XXX Hibiscus Street.”
Hearing these words, Tao Tao felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head and she froze… Was she being rejected? Sure enough, she was being shunned?
While she was letting her thoughts run wild, the car arrived at Hibiscus Street.
Qi Yu was sitting on the right hand side so he got up first to let Tao Tao out. Seeing the online celebrity looking at him with some resentment, Qi Yu was momentarily stunned. Then suddenly a bright and charming smile appeared on his face. He leaned in slightly and stretched out his hand, picking a strand of long hair near Tao Tao’s temple. He said softly, “Thank you for answering my questions tonight. I will find you again if I need something in the future.”
Tao Tao, face flushed, watched as Qi Yu return to the back seat, closed the door and had the car drive away… Her cheeks continued to heat up, heat up until she was about to explode…
-Aaaaaahhhhh!!! That was so good!!!
***
Qi Yu called Xu Jing and learned that he was still at the company. So, he asked the chauffer to head directly to Feng Mao to pick him up.
Xu Jing had been the one to choose where they were going to eat, a restaurant at a food street between Haicheng’s financial district and the western area of the Pu River.
After arriving at the place, Qi Yu got out of the car and looked up and around. The whole street was decked in red and green, the neon signs were all glittering. There were frog pot over charcoal fire, crayfish, Old Chongqing hot pot, grilled fish, fresh oysters… It was already nine in the evening, but people were still coming in and out of the shops. The whole street was ablaze with lights with no sign that any of the restaurants would be closing soon.
What are we eating? Qi Yu asked Xu Jing.
“Chaoshan Seafood Hot Pot Porridge?” Xu Jing knew that he loves rice porridge and he especially loved fresh fish and shrimp. Chaoshan-style Hot Pot Porridge was hard to come by abroad, and as a late night snack, it wouldn’t strain his stomach.
Qi Yu heard it and was really moved. “Okay.”
At the dinner party just now, his only concern was dealing with people in the company and so, he wasn’t able to eating uncomfortably and didn’t get to eat to his heart’s content.
The two entered the restaurant and were seated. Xu Jing ordered a medium sized pot and threw in a few roasts. He asked Qi Yu, “Why did you ask me out for a late night snack? Is there anything special today?”
“Nothing special,” Qi Yu was a little embarrassed to say that he was actually trying to make up for his previous refusal. “I just wanted to see you and chat.”
Moreover, Qi Yu felt a bit tired from the experiences of this day and wanted to talk to Xu Jing to unload his mind.
Xu Jing smiled, “I’ve almost forgotten when was the last time you took the initiative to look for me.”
————
The author has something to say: [Little Theater]
Little Gong Fu was in a meeting and suddenly felt his phone buzz in his trousers pocket.
He took a look. He had received his wife’s Tuzki Madly Shaking a Person emoticon x3
Today was another day of not knowing why his wife was angry…ˊ_>ˋ
💙💙💙
Poor Little Gong Fu being scolded for nothing 🤣🤣
Ooooooooo….
If Yu Jung somehow becomes a traitor then bruh (ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter la~
thanks for the chapter!
I know it feels weird for Qi Yu that he have to doubt the person he’s been close with for 7 years but what Gong Fu said is also true, you can’t let your guard down even when you’re with a friend specially when your in business world. He’s teaching QY how to read other person’s motives but still make connections to them, which will benifits himself rather than the other party. This is the world of adults like it or not every friendship is based on mutual gains, even though other person is sincere there’s always something they might want, it could even be just a company
tsk tsk grow up quickly ah, xiao Yu
I understand why Fu Yansheng taught him to look at his relations more objectively. Especially when they are somehow connected to his work. For instance if the person had absolutely nothing to do with Mei Wei like Meng Wenhui then there isn’t a need to overthink it too much.
Qi Yu is… such a pushover and only have this veiled mysteriousness when in fact, he’s full of more questions than answers. A sponge. Which is good for his age as an inexperienced youth…but also unbefitting of being called black bellied or in the context of how he was introduced? Its just contradicting given the intro of this stoic and cunning older twin who seem to know how the world works but is actually clumsy and easier to sway 😬
i really don’t understand why ppl are so hung up over the initial character settings or title, obviously that was compared to his peers/brother, and in the summary the author said it was fys raising qy to become a business owner a.k.a black bellied, the tlr even said there was other names for this novel.
sorry had to get this out cause the replys annoyed me 😭
i agree with you. like humans are multifaceted beings, even if it’s just a book character.