Chapter 32: Past Prologue He just wanted to save enough money for six months...
A Hotel building, from the elevator entrance to the president's office on the top floor, elegant and noble bouquets of flowers are placed along the way to welcome the new year.
The branches stretch out in the classical vase, giving off a sense of vitality that returns to nature.
Since January 1st, Aihe Hotel Group has also changed its corporate logo.
The overall design of the new logo is simpler and more powerful. The dark gold serif font attracts attention in the large white space of the building, appearing cool and sharp.
In the afternoon, the sun was covered by thick clouds.
The sky looks like blue paint spilled onto a canvas, without a trace of the hustle and bustle of a bustling city.
In the president's office, two men in suits stood in front of the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows and talked in low voices, chatting animatedly.
The person sitting in the office chair was concentrating on browsing his phone and never raised his head from beginning to end.
After a while, Su Jiahao was so thirsty from talking that he walked to the bar a few steps away, unscrewed a bottle of Perrier, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.
Zhenyan had already returned to the sofa and sat down, looking at the person opposite him who had his eyes fixed on the phone screen the entire time, and found this scene very strange.
Her slender, white index finger tapped the thick wooden edge beside her hand, reminding her, "It's your turn."
As soon as he finished speaking, he met those familiar olive-green eyes, and was able to see his face clearly.
Qin Yonglian's lips curled up unconsciously, and he asked in a very satisfied tone, "What's your turn?"
"I have a meeting later and will stay for 20 minutes at most. I won't be able to have dinner with you. So, Boss, don't you plan to assign some work?" Zhen Yan gestured.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yonglian lightly tapped the ground with his long legs and rotated the office chair a perfect 180 degrees.
"Aren't we telepathic? We can communicate through brain waves. Just focus on making drastic reforms. I'll fully support you from behind."
Su Jiahao looked at the pair who were singing the same tune and said sarcastically, "Huh, if someone didn't know, they would think you two were the perfect couple."
Zhen Yan smiled, deliberately emphasizing his tone, "No! He agrees, but I don't. I only like my little squirrel."
The atmosphere eased a little, and Qin Yonglian put away his phone contentedly.
Bai Ying went back to school to attend classes. Although he could clearly recite his WeChat conversation with her word for word, he still liked to review it word by word by swiping the screen.
Those words typed out by hand, those childish sentences that look a bit like the conversations of elementary school students, have a magical power that can transform into the laughter and talk of a bright girl.
When Bai Ying was not around, he couldn't help but want to look through those vivid chat records to fill the emptiness in his heart.
When he first moved into the president's office on this floor, Qin Yonglian made only one request for the renovation design: remove all complicated furnishings, use white as the base color, and keep it as simple as possible.
So that he can remind himself all the time that it is lonely up there and that he is only here to fulfill the work he has promised.
Several minor accidents that occurred at the after party were resolved immediately.
He properly settled the suppliers who were causing trouble in the union, and Qin's public relations were efficient, quickly diverting public opinion to actress Su's new work.
Su Jiajia has prepared a mainstream film for release in October this year, with an initial investment of 300 million yuan and filming taking place in Central Europe.
The heroine is an intellectual woman in the old era who dared to break the secular constraints. Whether in terms of image or commercial needs, she is very suitable for this role.
Su Jiajia has no worries about resources, as she is from a wealthy family. What she needs is attention and recognition.
That night, after Su Jiahao picked up his sister Su Jiajia, the siblings took the paparazzi around in circles around the car river, and the team then waited for the right opportunity to release the film press release.
It is a common practice in the circle to focus on promoting mainstream values, turning gossip and rumors into compliments, and singing the praises of human nature and life. There are many unspoken rules.
The process is not important, as long as the goal is achieved.
In the world of fame and fortune, capital sets the stage and all parties perform.
It’s just that as soon as one side of the stage finishes singing, the other side rushes on stage without waiting for the audience to clear.
Qin Yonglian thought that, sitting in this position with the title of the Crown Prince, he just had to watch the stage play out over and over again, and he himself was even forced to become one of the actors.
Some came here for fame and fortune, some nearly lost their lives, and some left their families to live just to survive...
What is dignity? What is ideal? He has long seen through it.
Everyone is born with a mission and responsibility.
In this bizarre world, the rules are made by those in power. In the past, Mr. Qin had his own rules, and now Tan Ansen has his own rules of the game.
Everyone is just a dog following orders.
*** ***
Qin Yonglian felt that it was Mr. Qin who had the foresight.
Before he passed away, the old man only retained a symbolic 100 common shares and transferred the Qin shares worth tens of billions of yuan to his eldest son Qin Ansen, who then distributed the property.
Then Mr. Qin was happy and relaxed, lived a carefree life, and enjoyed the world.
Deng Yuqian is the second largest shareholder after Qin Ansen. Qin Ansen followed his father's example and gave most of his shares to his eldest son Qin Yongli early on.
Except for the core hotel real estate and gambling/gaming businesses controlled by the Qin family, all other industries under the group are managed by professional managers. Qin Ansen is apparently in a semi-retired state.
Unexpectedly, they couldn't spend a few days in peace, and the second wife started a small lawsuit with everyone.
Oh, what you can’t get will always make you restless.
The spark was the car accident involving Tan Yongli, the former crown prince of the Tan family, and the one that turned it into a prairie fire was Tan Yonglian.
Tan Yongli, the former managing director of Tan Holdings, unexpectedly announced his retirement.
Immediately afterwards, the Qin board of directors suddenly announced a change in equity, causing an uproar in the public. A name that had briefly appeared a few years ago was added to the list of shareholders.
The first time the media sensed something extraordinary about Leon CHUM, who appeared out of nowhere, was in Mr. Qin's obituary.
The second time was after this equity change, when Leon CHUM obtained half of the equity, and the remaining equity was further divided equally among Qin Yongli, Qin Yongyi and Qin Yongzheng.
The second wife's Li Yue and her two children were also shocked by the result.
The second wife has always been at odds with the first wife, and their conflict has long been exposed to the public without any reservations.
Li Yue has always looked down on Qin Yonglian, and adhering to the principle of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", she believes that at a critical moment, this naturalized child may be able to form an alliance with him.
Before he could win over Qin Yonglian, the situation had already taken a dramatic turn.
She was angry that she didn't consider the overall situation in time, and her disdain for Qin Yonglian delayed her overall plan.
Li Yue couldn't figure out whether Tan Ansen was temporarily letting this illegitimate child take the blame or had other plans.
She didn't dare to think about what the latter was planning, for fear that it was the reason she was most unwilling to admit.
The woman got carried away and went to find Qin Ansen's two uncles to "seek justice" for her, which led to the tug-of-war in court with Qin Ansen.
This caused quite a stir in the usually peaceful Tan family.
Qin Yonglian had no interest in participating and no time.
Due to the outstanding performance of the hotel last year, at the beginning of the new year, the baton of real estate was transferred to him, and he needed to devote more energy to solving the new work.
The long TV series about a wealthy family's inheritance dispute, which the spectators had just been waiting to watch, ended with Tan Ansen and Li Yue announcing an out-of-court settlement that they would "increase family communication in the future to avoid misunderstandings."
No one knew what solution Qin Ansen used at the critical moment.
Qin Yonglian turned a deaf ear. He had no ambition and no desire.
He just wanted to save up sixpence and then go find the moon.
He realized that he had gradually returned to the ground from the lonely heights.
The past is just a prologue. He has a goal and a destination, as well as a future and expectations.
He knew that after a day of hard and boring work, he would be able to see that flower-like smile.
Someone is waiting for him.
He has a garden all his own.
Qin Yonglian curled the corners of his mouth, thinking of an interview that had just ended in the morning.
The staff were all familiar faces, and they were the same team of financial reporters who had interviewed him at the year-end party. The main purpose of this interview was to bring an end to the union farce.
In order to attract attention, the PD of the financial program asked a random question at the end:
"Before last year's annual performance report came out, what did Mr. Qin think of the industry's doubts and comments about your status as an airborne soldier?"
He didn't directly respond to the other person's words, but replied: "The airdrop thing is actually very similar to love. It's not about what level you need to reach to be able to fall in love, but whether you like the person enough and are willing to go through different tests with her."
The financial reporter was the newly appointed female host. She was used to hearing all kinds of professional terms, and she tilted her head unconsciously when she saw the pink bubbles suddenly appearing in the air.
The rumored icy boss, Mr. Tan, broke with his usual attitude and spoke freely, "It's not about whether you're ready or not, or whether you have the qualifications to be parachuted in, to pursue a career, or to fall in love. I like you, and you like me, that's enough."
"For this job, I'm willing to go through all kinds of difficulties and tests. Other people's doubts and comments are never within my consideration."
Qin Yonglian didn't say the second half of the sentence. His eyes were deep, he smiled, and his lips were pursed into a line.
This job needed him, and he completed it, that was enough.
*** ***
Qin Yonglian habitually reached into his trouser pocket to feel for a cigarette, paused, then stretched out his empty hand and pointed at the seam of his trousers with his long, bony fingers.
Seeing this, Su Jiahao threw a pack of Liqun Fuchun Mountain Villa cigarettes over. The other party took the cigarettes and threw them into the trash can with a basketball shooting gesture.
"Quit it." The man made a prompt decision.
Su Jiahao: ???
"Wait, why are you throwing away my cigarettes if you're quitting? This one's been discontinued, it's a limited edition!"
"Girls don't like men who smoke. If you don't believe me, ask your sister."
After that, the three men looked at each other.
Of course, Su Jiahao had heard this many times. Every time he was caught smoking secretly, Su Jiajia would twist his ear and say that women hate kissing an ashtray.
Zhenyan scratched his brow and thought, "I never smoke, why doesn't the little squirrel like me yet?"
Su Jiahao sighed: "I can't even see the shadow of my aunt's third cousin's neighbor's sister. How can I know if she will like me after I quit smoking?"
Only Qin Yonglian put his hands behind his back and said proudly, "I quit smoking. Yingying said there is a reward. The prize is very beautiful."
Su Jiahao was silent for a few seconds, and finally let out a burp from the bottle of sparkling water he had just drunk. "I feel completely at peace, and I can even have another glass of iced Coke."
"If that's the case, then why are you here?" Qin Yonglian's gaze slowly shifted to Su Jiahao.
Zhenyan was attending the group's routine meeting, but Su Jiahao came to the company, still wearing a suit and tie. It was too abnormal for him to be so well-dressed.
Feeling that he was about to be seen through by his two old friends' gazes of "things are not that simple", Su Jiahao's eyes shook and his expression was unnatural.
"Ahem, I'm just worried about the trending topics from that night. The GIF of you and my sister running hand in hand was screenshotted by netizens and used as memes showing you from behind."
So what if I make an emoticon? There are thousands of emoticons in the world, one more won’t make a difference.
Zhenyan turned to look at Su Jiahao and gestured to him, "Jiahao, do you know that every time you lie, your hair becomes curly?"
"Eh?" Su Jiahao instinctively raised his hand to touch his hair, and when he reacted, he realized that he had been tricked.
"Zhen Yan! I have naturally curly hair! Leon, you have to believe me."
Qin Yonglian shrugged and spread his hands at the right time.
"Really! Although my sister liked you before, it didn't work out! Don't worry, I have carefully asked her questions, and she doesn't have you in her heart now." Su Jiahao spoke quickly.
"I was worried that your love triangle would be ruined. Fortunately, it's all in the past, and Bai Xuemei didn't care."
"Jiajia and I...she actually...never mind, let's not talk about this."
Qin Yonglian held his forehead with his hand, feeling a little depressed, and his gaze stayed on Su Jiahao's face for a few seconds.
"Jiahao, I'm more curious about what you said to Yingying?"
Someone's mouth twitched, and he hesitated for a while with his lips pursed, having a premonition that "Oh no, I think I said something wrong again, I want to go home."
"Um?"
Mr. Qin's voice was as cold as ever.
"Just, I just told you about Jiajia's unrequited love that failed, and I made a bet with you to participate in the Memory Palace Competition..."
Qin Yonglian used the tip of his tongue to push his cheek, creating a bulge on the handsome right side of his face.
He tilted his head left and right to stretch his muscles, then walked straight towards him.
Su Jiahao's heart skipped a beat. This was the standard expression that villains in movies would have before they were about to take action.
"I have explained seriously that it was Jiajia who pursued you wholeheartedly, and you never paid any attention to her. I was eager to protect my sister, so I issued a challenge to you."
"Hey! Hey! Bro~ Let's not get too close. I'm half responsible for your first million dollars you earned with your own hands."
Su Jiahao strategically leaned back as he spoke, holding up his phone, "I'm going to call Bai Ying!"
Qin Yonglian stopped and looked thoughtful.
Zhenyan, with a teasing smile on his face, also stood up and walked to Qin Yonglian's side.
The two men, whose average height was nearly 1.9 meters, stood straight and dignified.
They surrounded the weak, pitiful and helpless Su Jiahao on both sides.
Su Jiahao had nowhere to hide. He straightened up, straightened his collar and hair, and said, "This isn't a Sanda gym. Conquer others with virtue! You must conquer others with virtue!"
Qin Yonglian and Zhen Yan smiled at each other, and casually clenched their fists, making a crackling sound.
"Alright, then let's gently ask Young Master Su the real reason why he's here in a suit and tie!"
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The author has something to say: Su Jiahao calls for help: My aunt’s third cousin’s neighbor’s sister, SOS!
Dunzi waved: My little cuties, I'm fat! I want to wash you! Hug Michu one by one (*￣3￣)
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2021-02-05 00:04:03 and 2021-02-16 21:02:44~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: shiwei 3 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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