ransom
Jinnan cursed with a smile, cigarette in hand, and had to behave himself. Xu Zhiyuan was also good-tempered. He didn't get angry when he spit smoke in his face. Instead, his trembling eyelashes were very lively, containing some unspoken complex emotions.
Only at this moment did the deep eyebrows and eyes belong completely to Jin Nan. That look was not gentle, but naked, giving Jin Nan unparalleled confidence to dare to get closer to him.
Only in such a forbearing and surging gaze could Jinnan be sure of the feelings that Xu Zhiyuan had not expressed.
He is easy to feed and can be satisfied with just a little bit of money.
"Let's go have dinner later. Who are you going to meet at three o'clock? Nibed Luobo?" Jin Nan was absent-minded and stretched out his hand. When Xu Zhiyuan thought Jin Nan was going to take off his clothes, the hand helped him straighten his tie.
"Rodney," Xu Zhiyuan corrected. "I ordered room service. Just something to eat."
His tone was so serious. Jinnan was holding a cigarette between his fingers, trying to find an ashtray, but Xu Zhiyuan's hand reached out to him first and caught the still-warm ash from the cigarette.
Jinnan hissed softly, "What are you doing?"
"Catch the ash."
"Do you do this with others?"
Xu Zhiyuan didn't answer, but stared at him with his dark eyes. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the ashes from his palm.
Jinnan brought the cigarette holder to Xu Zhiyuan's mouth, and without caring whether he wanted it or not, he stuffed it directly between his lips and let go.
Xu Zhiyuan took a puff of the cigarette, and when he looked up again, Jinnan had taken off half of his clothes.
His lean torso is evenly distributed with just the right amount of muscles, neither too strong nor too thin. Apart from his overly white skin, Jin Nan has a traditionally male body that is very much in line with the public's aesthetic standards.
There were very few people who saw it, and there was one standing in front of Jin Nan who was not moved by it at all.
It was strange, because love should be preceded by shyness and timidity, but Jin Nan skipped these, leaving behind a devotion that bordered on self-abandonment. He didn't mind Xu Zhiyuan knowing everything about him; he longed to be seen and watched.
Just as Xu Zhiyuan enjoyed his surveillance, Jinnan also enjoyed Xu Zhiyuan's gaze.
He took off the pair of earrings Xu Zhiyuan had given him and carefully placed them on the edge of the table. As Xu Zhiyuan watched him leave, he walked into the bathroom, where he could hear the sound of running water.
There was no mist rising, it was a cold shower.
How could Xu Zhiyuan not be moved?
His body was stiff and painful, and he could only hold a cigarette in his mouth to calm himself with the nicotine. His blood felt like it was burning.
After a quick lunch, many people hurried on their way with documents, from the driveway to the sidewalk, from the stairs to the elevator, from one glass to another, and the signature pen to finalize the cooperation was ticked on the dinner menu. After a quick meal with toasts and drinks, Jinnan felt a little sleepy when he got the documents.
However, tomorrow was another packed day of activities. He was already drunk, and leaning on Xu Zhiyuan's shoulder, he complained, "Why is the business trip only scheduled for three days? It's so rushed! We should have seven or eight days to have some fun!"
"There's a GEA summit in the Bay Area on the 11th, not far away." Xu Zhiyuan said, "Are you going to meet Ke Zhuo tonight?"
Jinnan was stunned, feeling guilty: "How did you know?"
"Claire called a taxi for you, why would she avoid me?" Xu Zhiyuan patted the back of his hand, "His house is a bit far. Go quickly and come back soon. I'll wait for you at the hotel."
Jinnan was even more surprised: "You won't go with me?"
"I guess he doesn't want to see me." Xu Zhiyuan said, "Don't ask too much."
Jin Nan was pushed into the car. Besides the driver, there was also a jacket-wearing bodyguard who greeted him in standard Mandarin. Judging from his features, he must have a significant amount of Caucasian ancestry.
Xu Zhiyuan closed the door for him, saying goodbye with the Paname kiss on the cheek, a traditional local gesture. It was like an unprovoked kiss, gone in a split second.
Jinnan was a little reluctant, but he remembered Xu Zhiyuan's words "Go quickly and come back quickly". As soon as the car was on the road, he sent a message to Ke Zhuo and waited for a reply saying "I'm at home".
The car passed the Sacre-Coeur and entered a narrow street, eventually stopping in front of a residential building across from the Montmartre Museum. Ke Zhuo lived on the third floor, and on the sunny windowsill he kept a pot of jasmine. Not a single jasmine flower had bloomed, and insects had already eaten away half of the leaves.
Jinnan went upstairs, followed closely by his bodyguard, who hid to the side before Jinnan knocked on the door so as not to scare the person inside.
Ke Zhuo poked his head out from among them, shirtless and wearing only low-waisted jeans. Seeing Jin Nan, his lazy eyes revealed a hint of complexity, but he didn't say much.
"Come in, no need to change your shoes."
The guests were invited in, which turned out to be a small one-bedroom apartment of about 60 square meters. Things were not arranged neatly, and many clothes with tags still on were piled up on the sofa like a small mountain.
Ke Zhuo led Jin Nan to the restaurant. There was a bowl of potato pasta on the table, which made people lose their appetite at first sight.
The host sat down naturally and continued to pick up his fork. Jin Nan sat opposite him and didn't know how to start for a moment.
After all, it was something he had given away, so asking for it back would be rude. But he had to get it back. He was confused, but Ke Zhuo was not stupid.
"How's it going lately?" Jin Nan asked first. "I've seen a lot of your videos. Hua Lin is also very optimistic about you. If you're interested in returning to China in the second half of the year..."
"Keep an eye on me?" Ke Zhuo sneered, "Mr. Jin, do you really not know or are you pretending not to know?"
Jinnan was bewildered: "Know what?"
Ke Zhuo took two more mouthfuls of noodles. Carbs mixed with carbs—this was definitely not the dinner for a model after eight o'clock. Jin Nan noticed something, and his expression changed slightly.
"You young masters, bosses. You solve every problem with a wave of your hand or a word. Do you care whether your subordinates live or die?" Ke Zhuo bit off a noodle in one gulp. "RZ terminated my contract and wants to ban me, saying I provoked someone I shouldn't have provoked. Haha."
"How could that be!" Jin Nan was surprised. "I recommended you to the brand. RZ..."
Give some sweetness first, then use the gentle knife, how could Jin Nan not understand.
"Yes, I did," Ke Zhuo said. "At the beginning, I did, but after filming one or two, it was gone. The higher-ups pressured me to come to Paname. I thought it was an opportunity, but it turned out to be liquidated damages."
The situation was completely beyond Jinnan's imagination. Ke Zhuo's career change could be said to be due to him, but he had no idea who would go to such great lengths to punish Ke Zhuo, a small model who had no influence on the matter.
Everything seems more like a venting of anger.
Jinnan recalled carefully that he seemed to have signed a cooperation agreement with RZ at the beginning of the year, but it was all handled by Xu Zhiyuan and he didn't pay much attention to it.
Xu Zhiyuan.
The person Ke Zhuo contacted was Xu Zhiyuan, and Xu Zhiyuan was the only one around Jin Nan who had the ability and opportunity to directly intervene in this matter.
You shouldn’t, you absolutely shouldn’t.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to get this bad." Jin Nan lowered his head. "I'll pay for your liquidated damages. I also know a few brand designers. I'll have my assistant get you a list of their contact information. No, I'll talk to them myself."
"No thanks." Ke Zhuo said calmly, "I received a summons last month demanding payment of liquidated damages. I've already pawned all my valuables at the pawn shop."
After hearing this, Jinnan stood up and asked, "How much?"
"What?" Ke Zhuo frowned.
"How much is the deposit? Which pawn shop?"
*
At around ten o'clock in the evening, Jinnan drove the unfamiliar right-hand drive car onto the road, heading straight for the address Ke Zhuo had given him. Ke Zhuo was forced to wear a coat, which was now completely empty and leaking air.
There were only two hours left until the deadline, and Jinnan rushed to the deadline with green lights. As soon as the car stopped, he immediately took out his mobile phone and called Li Hongfang directly without caring about the time difference.
The phone rang for more than ten seconds before being picked up. Young Master Li's sleepy and angry voice came from the other end: "What's wrong, my young master?"
Jin Nankai got straight to the point: "Hongfang, do you have foreign currency from Foreign Country F? I don't have time to exchange it, and it's urgent."
"How much?" Li Hongfang jumped out of the bed. The sound of him getting dressed could be heard over the phone.
"Two hundred thousand euros," Jinnan said, "Are you sure you want to redeem it in equal amounts?"
The second half of the sentence was addressed to Ke Zhuo, who nodded vigorously.
Jinnan rushed into the pawnshop, contract in hand, clearing a path through the hall's glittering lights and the hushed crowd. By 10:20, Li Hongfang's remittance slip hadn't arrived yet, so Xu Zhiyuan called first: "Why haven't you replied yet?"
"Something happened." Jin Nan was so anxious that he gasped for breath. It was rare for him to be so cold to Xu Zhiyuan, but when people were anxious, they would not care about etiquette or mentality.
At this moment, Jinnan only wanted to protect the gift that he had mistakenly given to Xu Zhiyuan.
The item is still there, but it will be forfeited in a few hours. The pawnshop has already contacted the buyer, and the item will change hands once the contract expires.
Xu Zhiyuan also heard the official English in the background, which was full of words like mortgage deduction and payment flow. He suddenly became alert and his tone was as cold as ice: "Jinnan, where are you?"
Jinnan didn't want Xu Zhiyuan to know about this. Li Hongfang called at this time. Jinnan said goodbye to Xu Zhiyuan in a hurry, hung up the phone first, and said "Leave it to me" before contacting Li Hongfang.
Before half past eleven, the formalities were completed and the items were redeemed. The iris crystal, whose value had increased by another 200,000 euros, lay quietly in the box, its brilliance not diminished in the slightest.
Jinnan let out a long sigh, put down his pen, and found that Xu Zhiyuan had called him four or five times in a row.
To die.
He packed up his things and called back, only to find it was raining outside when he reached the door. Xu Zhiyuan quickly answered the call, with the sound of car horns and rain in the background.
Xu Zhiyuan spoke first: "I know where you are, stay where you are."
This one sentence dispelled all thoughts of Jinnan's explanation and rebuttal.
The call never ended, and he just held the phone. People came and went, and it was a chilly rainy day in March. Ke Zhuo was shivering in his single coat.
Jinnan took a look and took off his coat and gave it to him.
"……Thanks."
"What are you going to do next? If you have nowhere else to go, do you want to come with me?"
Jin Nan lit a cigarette. The doorman in front of the pawn shop glanced at him and frowned slightly, but Jin Nan's Armani suit made him shut up.
Jinnan felt that he had to pay for his childish behavior, but he didn't know how to make up for his mistake for a while, so he had to ask for his own opinion.
"You want to help me?" Ke Zhuo's voice was a little hoarse. "I broke the agreement and sold your things, and I still..."
"I said I'd give it to you." Jin Nan was tired from standing. He took two steps back and leaned against the glass, sparks flickering on his fingertips. "It was my fault for letting you test Xu Zhiyuan. You shouldn't have to pay for it."
Ke Zhuo suddenly felt that the person in front of him was so unfamiliar.
Along the way, he'd met many people, seen and used all sorts of tricks, both good and bad, rich and poor, good and evil, and even accepted being victimized. When RZ used dirty laundry to force him to terminate his contract, Ke Zhuo couldn't refute a single word.
He considers himself not a good person, but Jinnan, a person with whom he has only a transactional relationship, is willing to help him in the heavy rain in Paname.
Even Ke Zhuo himself didn't know how RZ's sudden fallout was related to Mr. Xu, but Jinnan had to shoulder the responsibility, and such a heavy burden wouldn't fall on Ke Zhuo. He should be happy.
You should be happy.
Ke Zhuo covered his face, tears falling on the coat Jin Nan had given him. The smell of cigarette smoke mixed with a faint woody fragrance, and the corner buttons on the sleeves had been polished with a cloth.
Today, Nanyue is upright and honest, and Ke Zhuoyue feels despicable and sad.
"Can't bear to part with it?" Jin Nan held up the jewelry box in one hand, his tone amused. "It's a pity I can't give this to you. It means a lot to me. I'll give you something else some other time."
"Xiaonan, I'm sorry." Ke Zhuo said with a sob.
Jinnan was about to say something when a car horn honked from the roadside. Xu Zhiyuan rolled down the window, his face dark as ink.
"Get in the car."
It was obvious that Xu Zhiyuan had no intention of giving Ke Zhuo a ride, and Ke Zhuo didn't want the situation to escalate, so he stood on the steps without moving.
Jin Nan opened the car door and got in the passenger seat. Ke Zhuo suddenly remembered the coat on his shoulders and reached out to stop him, but Jin Nan had already closed the car door and waved at him through the window.
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