Chapter 1 The White Moonlight Returns Home (Part 1) Something happened at home, and now it's...
The curtains were drawn in the quiet room, and only a few dim rays of light managed to penetrate, illuminating the figure of a person lying asleep on the bed.
Her jawline was clear and well-defined, her neck was long and slender, her arm was casually wrapped around the pillow, and her high nose bridge reflected the light in the darkness.
A thin silk blanket was draped haphazardly around the waist, guiding the gaze slowly downwards: the perfectly thin abdominal muscles—any more would make them appear strong, any less would make them appear weak.
Such exquisite human proportions can be considered a masterpiece of ancient Greek sculptors.
So even when someone is slumped into a pillow, curled up and fast asleep without any regard for their image, they still possess a striking beauty.
"Buzz buzz buzz..." Yan Quan groggily pulled the noisy phone from beside his pillow. His usually clear voice sounded hoarse and indistinct due to drowsiness.
"Hi, this is Elias."
"Still speaking Hebrew here?" Yu Liang's tone was familiar and unsurprised. "You've been back in China for several days now, haven't you adjusted yet?"
"It's not that easy to adapt..." Yan Quan's eyelids were drooping with sleepiness, and she casually brushed aside the stray hairs that were hanging between her eyebrows.
He spent seven years in Federation A, which is 14 hours ahead of him across the ocean, and their lifestyles are completely different.
"What's..." Yan Quan bit her lip, quickly translating the question in her mind: "Um... is there something you need?"
"What else could it be?" A rustling sound of documents being flipped through came from the other end of the phone: "It's about that thing I told you before... In short, are you going or not?"
"That trending topic is still on Weibo. You've become quite popular. Why don't you take advantage of this popularity and make some money?"
Speaking of trending topics... Yan Quan felt even more dizzy.
He was just a passerby who accidentally wandered into the lens of a fan site of a top male star, his full face appearing in a small corner of a leaked airport photo.
Those tiny pixels were captured by sharp-eyed netizens, who then compared them side-by-side with two top male celebrities, and the headline was deliberately designed to grab attention.
"It's all about looks; I can't say who won."
This topic was featured in the entertainment section and is still trending at number one.
"Oh, this is heaven helping you! You're destined for good fortune!" The person on the other end of the phone laughed heartily.
"The guy you were with at the airport just had his reputation ruined because of molesting a minor, and his fans are still trying to whitewash him by saying 'Brother's face is full of fish, no substitute for food.' The general public was already furious."
"Seeing that you easily outshone my first public appearance after the incident, I had no choice but to stir up trouble and vent my anger."
"The masses have discerning eyes. Your face is definitely a cut above that of XX."
Having grown up with such praise, Yan Quan was used to it. Hearing this, she simply raised her eyelids slightly and said, "Hmm."
He wasn't unaware of his own beauty; he simply disliked the trouble of being inexplicably drawn into the public eye.
I should have known better than to take that flight. I shouldn't have taken off my mask when I got off the plane because it felt stuffy...
"Oh dear, we've gotten off topic... Are you going or not?" The secretary urged her a few times, and the tone on the other end of the phone became increasingly anxious: "Filming was supposed to start last month, but I kept delaying it after hearing that you were going back to China."
"If you don't give me a straight answer, I won't be able to explain myself even if I'm kicked around like a ball by the investors."
"I don't know what you're hesitating about..." The other person sighed softly, "You came back to China this time because of a family emergency, right now is the time when you need money, isn't it?"
"Even if you're restructuring your debt and looking for new financing, you still need to plug the hole in your family's debt first."
These seemingly casual words struck a nerve with Yan Quan.
He was doing just fine in Federation A, and he would never have come back if this hadn't happened.
The sudden change in his family disrupted all his plans.
He should have stayed in California forever, gotten a green card, and died of old age in Federal Republic of California.
The situation is already bad enough. If they go on variety shows and make a fool of themselves, who knows how many old stories from years ago will be stirred up again.
The face of a certain mad dog flashed through Yan Quan's mind. She held her phone in silence for a long while before finally speaking softly, "I'll think about it some more..."
“It’s all in the past, Yan Quan.” Yu Liang on the other end of the phone sensed the hidden story and let out another heavy sigh: “You never owed him anything.”
"I know……"
In the quiet space, only Yan Quan's soft breathing could be heard: "I'll give you an answer before 10 p.m. tonight."
Her head was still spinning, but after answering the phone call, all sleepiness vanished instantly. Yan Quan got out of bed, prepared to get ready, wash up, and go out to see if she could raise some funds from her family's former business partners to tide her over.
As Yan Quan passed the full-length mirror in the fitting room, he inexplicably stopped. He remembered what he had just said on the phone: "You owe him nothing..."
My fingertips traced down the flat, taut abdominal muscles, which had been obscured by the dim indoor light... but were now clearly visible in the glass mirror.
There was a red, lacerated scar there.
As time passed, the bloodstains were gradually covered by new flesh, and the glaring marks faded to pink.
But such a deep wound, such a painful memory, will never heal in this lifetime.
"Heh..." Yan Quan stared at his reflection in the mirror, a self-deprecating smile curving his lips:
It's ridiculous, he clearly doesn't love him.
The mark of an S-class Alpha will stay with him for life.
………………
This is how the world is cold and indifferent, and how people kick you when you're down.
Yan Quan visited several business partners and investment banks with whom he had previously maintained close relationships... and unsurprisingly, he was turned away.
"Given your father's situation, we find it very difficult to believe that your company still has any possibility of turning things around..."
The Chinese translation is: "The unfinished building project is clearly doomed; investing any more money in it would be foolish."
As Yan Quan walked out of the triangular glass door, he sighed helplessly: "They've already given us face."
Those few who didn't give me face... have already filed lawsuits in court to recover their debts.
Although the lawsuit didn't do any good... his father has been in detention for several months now.
As the saying goes, those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. If you can't afford money, you can't afford money... The Republic is a society governed by the rule of law. We cannot prevent people from living just because they don't have money.
His father was well aware of this, and he maintained a calm mindset, securing a stable job in the detention center. He died in prison in his fifties, which can be considered a peaceful death.
Thinking about it this way, Yan Quan felt much better and dragged his heavy steps into the red sunset.
It was 6 p.m. in the capital, which was about 4 a.m. in California. Yan Quan's biological clock hadn't adjusted yet, and her eyelids were already drooping with sleep.
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
Is this some kind of unerring magic? Every time Yan Quan is so sleepy, someone calls him.
The contact person this time is [Mom].
With a furrowed brow, Yan Quan forced himself to pull himself together and pressed the green answer button: "Mom..."
"Son, government officials just came by. They said our house will be auctioned off by the court in a month... What are we going to do?"
Ms. Wu Yingxue has always been a gentle and submissive person, and she panics at the slightest storm.
"What should I do? Is this family going to fall apart...? What should I do now?"
"Mom, don't worry." Yan Quan replied wearily, calculating the days in her mind. Indeed, at most, it would be another month before the bankruptcy proceedings were to be enforced.
The house, car, land... all the family's assets will be auctioned off and mortgaged by the court.
"And, and also, your younger brother... he's still in school, that's when he needs money. How can we live without money? You want me to move out of the house... then where are we going to live? Sleep under a bridge?"
“It’s not that bad yet…” Yan Quan blurted out, then fell silent as he mentally reviewed the family’s current debts.
Astronomical figures...
...That's really dangerous. It made Yan Quan want to go to jail and sit with his dad.
"Son... say something... is there no hope?" Ms. Wu on the other end was already sobbing uncontrollably, her high-pitched, melodious voice trembling with each sob.
"I never want to go back to that time in my life... To have to go through those miserable days again... I... I'd rather die!"
"Mom, Mom... calm down." Yan Quan was worried that her mother might do something stupid in the heat of the moment, so she had to lie to calm her down first:
"Mom, don't be afraid, I've already thought of a solution."
"Really? Really?" Ms. Wu stopped sobbing instantly.
Yan Quan gently rested his fingertip on the side of the phone and sighed very softly: "Really, I promise."
Guarantee my ass.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Quan made the sign of the cross on his chest: Amitabha, please don't deduct my merits.
No sooner had one problem subsided than another arose. The phone rang again; this time it was Secretary Wang, his father's most capable assistant before he went to jail.
"President Yan." Yan Quan couldn't stand the way she was addressed, and he stopped her with a hand gesture to his forehead: "...Let's get to the point."
"The contractor has brought the workers to cause trouble again, demanding that we pay the back wages in one lump sum," Secretary Wang said calmly. "This time they've learned their lesson and brought reporters from the city's financial newspapers with them."
Secretary Wang's speech was usually flat and monotone, but at this moment it took on a certain comedic absurdity: "If things get out of hand, our company's stock price will really be doomed."
Yan Quan understood what he meant.
Although the news that their unfinished building project had collapsed its funding chain had spread like wildfire among investors with a bit of business sense... it was still just insider gossip and hadn't been officially brought to the forefront.
In the public eye, the Yan family remains a glamorous real estate tycoon. Some retail investors and small-scale investors are still unaware of the situation, or rather, haven't had time to sell their shares.
Holding onto this last bit of leverage, the Yan Group still has a tiny chance of reviving before the government declares forced bankruptcy a month from now.
But if a wage arrears incident escalates to the point of being broadcast on a legal channel and suddenly enters the public eye... a sharp drop in the stock price overnight is foreseeable.
By then, let alone a month, the government's bankruptcy injunction won't even be able to hold the "seventh day after death" ceremony for the Yan Group.
“Tell them… not to make a fuss yet.” Yan Quan took a deep breath and made a decision: “The project payment plus 15% compensation will be in full a week from now.”
"Okay." Secretary Wang hung up the phone without any hesitation: "President Yan, please get some rest."
It's time to get some rest...
Yan Quan's fingers clenched on the screen, a forced, bitter smile curving his thin lips: "Your CEO Yan is about to go sell his body."
The WeChat interface was glowing with a soft green light, and a short line of text conveyed the message concisely.
Yan Quan: I'll go on that show you mentioned.
A note from the author:
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