Chapter 13 The Domineering CEO

"Ah...this...that..."

He stammered as he turned to look at Qingran.

Qingran was a little surprised by Yan Chen's behavior, but she wasn't angry. She raised her chin slightly and nodded: "Hmm, that's right."

ha?

Wang Lei's mind was a complete mess. He vaguely grasped the man's outstretched hand and said, "Um, my name is Wang Lei, I'm Lao Zhou's buddy."

In reality, he had no idea what he was saying.

After Yan Chen introduced himself and invited Wang Lei to come inside, Wang Lei didn't listen. He just saw Lao Zhou say something to Yan Chen, and then the two of them went inside side by side.

Wang Lei stood outside for a long time, and the first thought that came to mind was:

I can introduce my girlfriend to Lao Zhou now.

That's right, Lao Zhou is not only not single now, but his partner is also a man. After meeting him, Mei Mei will definitely not be tempted by his looks!

well.

He awkwardly walked into the main room, his hair disheveled. Inside, Qingran and Yan Chen were having breakfast with egg drop soup.

Huh, when did his breakfast bag get inside?

Wang Lei pulled out a bench and sat down, looking at the two men from both sides.

Looking at Yan Chen, he critically sized him up: No wonder he's so handsome, it turns out it's because my brother picked him out.

Looking at Qingran, his eyes were filled with a sigh: "...Cough, Lao Zhou, aren't sweet and gentle girls good enough? Why do you like men?"

Qingran glanced at him: "Why do you like women?"

"Why not? Isn't it natural for men to like women?" Wang Lei thought subconsciously.

Okay, he kind of understood what Lao Zhou meant.

Wang Lei: "So how did you two get together? How long have you been together?" His small eyes sparkled with gossip.

Qingran then repeated her online dating rhetoric: "...As for how long we've been together, it's been about two months since we officially started dating."

Yan Chen: "Mm."

Wow, so she found a partner even faster than him, and she's even doing online dating. How trendy!

"So Yan Chen, you're from out of town? How long do you plan to stay in Feixian this time?" This must be a long-distance relationship for them, Wang Lei thought worriedly for his brother.

If it's not too serious, then it's over. Just treat it as a casual fling. With his brother's looks, he's not afraid of not finding a partner.

Because of the car accident and amnesia, Qingran did not answer for Yan Chen this time.

Yan Chen didn't want to make his amnesia a public knowledge, so he simply said, "It's not decided yet."

Wang Lei nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Well, he still finds it strange for men to date each other; just thinking about it gives him a chill down his spine and goosebumps all over.

If Lao Zhou weren't his best friend, and he was afraid Lao Zhou would misunderstand and think he looked down on him, he wouldn't have bothered to be curious.

After breakfast, the three of them got ready, tucking their trouser legs in and spraying mosquito repellent, before heading out.

As soon as he entered the forest, Wang Lei charged forward like a monkey that had been freed from its cage, howling and leaping about, overturning branches and leaves with boundless energy.

Later, Qingran asked Yan Chen, "You came out with us, what about the translation forms?"

The man calmly replied, "There's still time."

Just then, Wang Lei's excited shout came from ahead: "Old Zhou, come quick, the goods have been shipped!"

Wang Lei found a huge patch of termite mushrooms, a really huge patch, growing densely, roughly estimated to be over a hundred!

It really has to be a remote, untouched mountain. They wouldn't have a chance to pick up the pieces at the foot of the mountain!

As he thought, he kept picking up the termite mushrooms with his hands, a smile spreading across his face, looking utterly satisfied.

The bumper harvest of termite mushrooms completely ignited his enthusiasm, and Wang Lei began searching even more carefully.

As a result, Qingran's voice always rang out before he could find it.

"Boletus mushrooms ahead."

"Ganba mushroom on the right."

"Ganba mushroom".

"It's termite mushrooms again."

"Green-headed mushroom".

"..."

It happened once, it happened twice, and it happened three times.

Although it wasn't as surprising as discovering it myself first, the joy of the discovery made up for it!

Wang Lei was like a mouse sneaking into a rice jar; every time Qing Ran mentioned a location, he would immediately rush over and start picking up the rice, picking up the rice, picking up the rice, picking up the rice…

Even after we finished work and descended the mountain, we were still reluctant to leave.

This feeling of picking up money from the ground—

"That feels so good," he exclaimed.

The three of them split up to go to the mushroom market. Wang Lei rode his father's motorcycle, while Qing Ran and Yan Chen took a bus with two baskets of mushrooms on their backs.

The two sides met at the market.

Upon arriving at the destination, Wang Lei volunteered to negotiate prices with the mushroom vendors. He carefully selected mushrooms and compared prices from three different vendors, eventually selling two baskets of mushrooms for a total of 1280 yuan!

One thousand two hundred a day!

Wang Lei's face was beaming with joy; he was still grinning from ear to ear as he walked out of the market.

After exchanging a few words with Yan Chen, Qingran stuffed the money from selling mushrooms into his hand.

Wang Lei grinned, holding the money, and asked, "What? You want me to split it?"

"Okay, we were able to earn so much today thanks to your sharp eyes and good command, Lao Zhou. I'll take a small portion, and you two can split the remaining thousand however you like."

280 is quite a lot!

Qingran said, "No need, they're all yours."

Seeing Wang Lei's confusion, he explained, "You lent me money two months ago."

“It’s an ancient history, why bring it up? Besides, it’s a token of my brotherly affection. Who said it was borrowed?”

Wang Lei refused to accept it.

He felt guilty about it; he only heard about his brother's adoptive father's serious illness afterward, and then he gave him money and didn't care about anything else...

Qingran didn't want to waste time on this: "Just take it when I tell you to. Do you think I'll ever be short of money in the future, given how fast I'm making money these days?"

cannot.

I hesitated and struggled for a long time.

Wang Lei: "Then I'll take it?"

Qingran nodded: "Mm."

Wang Lei: "Your boyfriend doesn't have any objections?"

He lowered his voice and glanced at Yan Chen.

Yan Chen nodded slightly, his attitude even more gentle than before: "Don't worry, I have no objection."

Wang Lei looked back at Qing Ran: "If I take the money, will you still take me mushroom picking?"

Qingran was speechless: "...Bring it."

"You hesitated!"

Wang Lei jumped up and down.

This drew a cold glance from Qingran: "Say one more word and I'll kick you out of the team right now."

Wang Lei immediately shut up, zipped up his mouth, and then happily pocketed the huge sum of 1280 yuan.

"But the day after tomorrow won't work, I have something to do there," Qingran said, remembering that she was supposed to be attending a banquet that day.

Wang Lei: "It's okay, I'll just pick them up myself." He also wants to see his true skill level.

Qingran reminded him, "Don't go too far from my house, there are wild boars in the mountains."

The ambitious Wang Lei became docile in a second.

Yan Chen did not participate in the mushroom picking on the second day. With one less person, the mushroom picking speed slowed down, and the harvest was slightly less than on the first day.

However, Qingran and his friends were lucky enough to find a nest of matsutake mushrooms that day. Matsutake mushrooms are expensive, and they sold them together with other mushrooms for 1100, not much less than the first day.

This time, Qingran and Wang Lei split the 1100, with each receiving 550.

Upon receiving his second paycheck, Wang Lei waved his hand excitedly: "Let's go, it's my treat today, let's go out to eat!"

Qingran was absent-minded.

"Old Zhou? Snap out of it." Wang Lei waved in front of him.

Qingran snapped out of her daze: "What?"

Wang Lei explained his offer to treat everyone to a meal.

Qingran politely declined, "No, I'll eat at home."

Hmph, all you know is that ice-cold face, acting like everyone has a boyfriend.

Wang Lei said with a disgusted look, "Fine, fine, you can go back now. I'll go find my Meimei to eat with."

After watching her friend say goodbye and walk away, Qingran waved for a taxi to stop, got in, and said to the driver, "To the police station."

The system asked curiously: [What is the host doing at the police station?]

Qingran said softly, "[Achen is so eager to find out about his background, I'll go ask him about the progress.]"

After saying that, he asked with apparent concern, "How far along is Su Yu's search for people?"

My host is so kind; even while carrying out the task of cultivating feelings, she doesn't forget to worry about the protagonist's progress.

After expressing his surprise, the system replied: [Let me check the backend...]

A short while later: [Found them. They couldn't find anyone at the major hospitals, so they're now checking small clinics.]

[It's like searching for a needle in a haystack; when will we ever find them?]

The man gazed regretfully at the street scene outside the window, rhythmically tapping his thigh with one hand.

[It's a pity that a couple in love are separated by distance...]

[She didn't have a lover at this time.]

The system took the correction seriously and then comforted its overly soft-hearted host.

[Don't worry about Su Yu. They'll be fine once they give up on Lan County and find Fei County.]

The investigation in Feixian County began with the hospital and the police station.

Don't worry about the hospital, as for the police station...

"[Then I can only wish them all the best in achieving their goals.]" Qingran sighed gently.

As the taxi drove along the streets of the county town, someone on the roadside happened to look up and only noticed a pair of dark eyes casually glancing past the car window.

Lan County.

Su Yu watched wearily as cars drove by in the middle of the road, held her phone to her ear, and asked the person on the other end, "Assistant Hong, is there any problem with your company's operations?"

Hong Yue replied on the phone: "Don't worry, the group has a mature operating mechanism, and there won't be any problems even if President Yan is not here for a short period of time."

"The trouble now is with those shareholders who have ulterior motives. If this goes on for too long, they will definitely start to suspect that President Yan is not showing up, and that will cause trouble."

Su Yu was extremely worried after hearing this: "What should we do?"

Hong Yue: "I will find a way to conceal it and delay for a while, so I don't have to worry for at least half a month."

Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great, but unfortunately I don't know anything about it. I can only trouble you to help Brother Yan Chen stabilize the situation."

Hong Yue: "Putting aside the fact that I work for President Yan, Yan Chen is also my classmate and friend, so this is what I should do."

Su Yu smiled with relief. Apart from him, Yan Chen had finally made a true friend.

"I will also try to find Brother Yan Chen as soon as possible," he said.

Hong Yue: "Okay, I'll come and help as soon as I finish dealing with the urgent matters at hand."

The two exchanged information and then ended their conversation.

After hanging up the phone, the two of them simultaneously wondered why a car accident could lead to them losing contact...

Even if Yan Chen was seriously injured and unconscious, he still had a cell phone and ID card on him. How could he have disappeared overnight?

*

As dusk approached, Qingran returned to her place in this world.

From afar, one could see Yan Chen reviewing the translated manuscript with a lamp lit in the main room.

The warm sunlight overhead blended with the twilight on the horizon, and the evening breeze carried the delicate fragrance of locust blossoms, making the man's figure, bent over his desk reading manuscripts, appear like a sculpture frozen in time.

Qingran stepped lightly inside, wrapped her arms around Yan Chen from behind, and asked with a relaxed posture, "Aren't you done yet?"

“Take a look around since you have nothing else to do,” Yan Chen said, putting down the translation. “You’re coming back earlier than I expected.”

Qingran said lazily, "Early? I went to the police station before I came back, I thought I would be late."

Yan Chen: "Police station?"

Qingran: "Hmm, I'll ask about the progress for you."

Feeling nervous, Yan Chen asked, "What was the result?"