Fortunately, after Ye Wangxing explained, they didn’t have many problems.

Wait, had their Fourth Brother really failed this time?

“Impossible, right? With Fourth Brother’s ability to calm people down…”

Li Qing thought in disbelief.

“…It was probably because of the planning proposal. Everyone might have had some differences regarding the company’s development direction,” the handsome young man said. He seemed to notice what Li Qing was thinking from his expression and gave a smile more awkward than crying.

Li Qing and Old Two first understood, then showed a bit of sympathy on their faces.

This was practically a real-world version of career affecting relationships. Even a genius player like their Fourth Brother couldn’t handle it when interests clashed.

Li Qing sighed and quietly comforted: “Fourth Brother, don’t be too upset. Out with the old, in with the new.”

However, as soon as he said it, Li Qing realized something seemed off—why was he comforting Ye Wangxing?

The ones who should have been comforted were the four who thought they had a close relationship with Ye Wangxing!

Being rejected didn’t matter so much, after all, it might have conflicted with the company’s development. But finally stepping away from Ye Wangxing’s “ship” was actually a good thing for them.

After all, if things got out of hand, it would be a huge blow to both Fourth Brother and his career.

A peaceful breakup like this was actually good.

With that in mind, Li Qing changed the direction of his words to Ye Wangxing, wishing for everyone’s well-being.

Lao Er saw Li Qing doing this and understood what the eldest thought. He quickly joined in to back him up.

“…What the eldest said is right. Being able to remain cooperative partners peacefully is already difficult. Everyone being well is also fine, isn’t it?”

“Fourth Brother, I know you’re sad, but some things really can’t be forced.”

—Like having feelings for four men.

Lao Er and Li Qing earnestly persuaded him, and finally a faintly moved expression appeared on Ye Wangxing’s face.

“You’re right. Some things can’t be forced. My current connection with them was also something I forced myself into.”

The handsome young man gave a faint, bitter smile. The worry in his eyes gradually disappeared, and his expression showed he had accepted it.

Hearing this, Li Qing and Lao Er breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Ye Wangxing didn’t think of entangling with them anymore, it was fine.

“I’ll directly apply for an international exchange. I’ll go abroad to calm down for a year or two. When I come back, I can manage my emotions and face them properly.”

Li Qing and Lao Er felt slightly conflicted. They had never thought that one sentence from them would make Ye Wangxing consider going abroad as an exchange student. Their university really had that cooperation program with foreign schools.

With Ye Wangxing’s current abilities, if he wanted to participate, he would definitely be a guaranteed candidate.

But this trip would last two years. Even though they had only spent one year together, Li Qing and Lao Er felt some reluctance.

However, thinking of Ye Wangxing’s messy emotions, they ultimately didn’t say more words of comfort. They just patted his shoulder and said: “Just make sure you’ve thought it through, and remember to inform your uncles and aunts.”

The handsome young man nodded seriously and sincerely said: “Thank you for advising me.”

Li Qing and Lao Er felt a little embarrassed seeing Ye Wangxing like this.

“No need to say thanks. Aren’t we roommates? And now you’re our benefactor, we have to treat you well, right?”

Li Qing joked with a smile to ease the atmosphere, and Lao Er quickly chimed in.

“Yes, yes. Fourth Brother, your social practice is in our hands. When the evaluation comes, don’t forget to give us top marks.”

Lao Er spoke with a smile.

The atmosphere immediately eased, and Ye Wangxing naturally didn’t ruin it. He finally recovered his mood, lifted his chin, and smiled:

“Then I’ll make good use of you two laborers. For now, follow Assistant Jiang and Assistant Liu.”

Ye Wangxing winked at them and said: “These two assistants are the private assistants of Pei Yi and Pei Shi. Learning even a bit from them will keep you busy for a while.”

Li Qing and Lao Er immediately realized Ye Wangxing was introducing them to useful connections. They respectfully clasped their fists to him, silently grateful.

They also thought that their own brother was reliable—except for Gu Yan, whose love-brain seemed to have affected even their Fourth Brother!

Li Qing and Old Two immediately blamed Gu Yan for Ye Wangxing’s earlier emotional outburst.

But this also reminded them that they hadn’t yet seen how the four men had ignored Ye Wangxing.

Their gossip instinct instantly flared.

Ye Wangxing took out his phone and opened the four pinned chat windows.

Li Qing and Old Two were shocked that Ye Wangxing even remembered to put his parents at the very top.

However, they quickly shifted their attention to the chat records.

Ye Wangxing’s labeling on WeChat was quite normal: he labeled acquaintances with their names and strangers with their occupation and name.

This allowed Li Qing and Old Two to quickly match the chat records and identify who was who.

At the same time, when they saw these chat records, their hearts skipped a beat.

Ye Wangxing didn’t notice their reactions. After showing them all the chat records, he put the phone away with a look of reflection and then told Li Qing and Old Two to report to Assistant Jiang and Assistant Liu.

Only after they stepped out of Ye Wangxing’s office did the sound of the closing door snap them awake.

They exchanged a glance and saw the same pale expressions on each other’s faces. They immediately realized they had probably thought the same thing.

They stared at each other for a long time. Just when the surrounding employees thought they were about to kiss, Li Qing finally spoke.

“Lao Er… if I’m not mistaken… the reduced number of chats those few had with Fourth Brother… doesn’t seem to mean they wanted to distance themselves from him, right?”

Li Qing’s voice trembled, as if he had discovered something incredible.

Lao Er seemed unable to stand, and he grabbed the wall beside him to steady his trembling legs before speaking, his voice shaking but accurate: “—They seem more like they were shy and wanted to show mature male charm in front of Fourth Brother.”

Li Qing fell silent at Lao Er words, and Lao Er remained silent too.

After ten minutes of quiet, Li Qing and Lao Er looked at each other, supporting each other, and saw the same shock reflected in the other’s eyes.

“Lao Er… imagine if those four men found out it was us who pushed Fourth Brother to go abroad as an exchange student…”

Li Qing said as if a fascia gun had been pressed against his throat.

“…Anyway, he definitely wouldn’t die, since it’s still in the country,”

Lao Er said, appearing calm: “—But it might feel worse than death,”

Li Qing and Lao Er were frantically thinking about how to tell Ye Wangxing when suddenly the company, for some unknown reason, became busy. It seemed the factory had been finalized, production had started, and products were ready for sale.

Li Qing and Lao Er immediately pushed the chat records out of their minds because the whole company had to focus on selling the products before the National Day holiday and building the brand’s reputation.

The company’s main focus was children’s watches, not outdoor watches or trackers suggested by others. According to Ye Wangxing, the market for this was niche but had established brands.

For a new force to enter this niche and compete would be extremely difficult.

—So he chose to focus on children’s watches.

Other directions weren’t ignored, but only a small batch was produced to test the market.

Sure enough, competing in the niche with a small batch didn’t make much impact. It was uncertain whether they would break even in two or three years—but the sales of smart children’s watches skyrocketed like a rocket.

After this direction was announced, Li Qing and Lao Er were a bit shocked. After all, which child would like a watch that tracked every move and location under parental supervision?

But the fact was, children didn’t like it—but parents loved it.

Especially Ye Wangxing’s high-precision positioning and language-civilization system thrilled the parents. They no longer had to worry about bad influences when communicating with their children.

—Although they didn’t know yet to what extent the language-civilization system could complicate things, once the parents received the watch and downloaded the app, they would find out.

This, however, made things tough for Li Qing and Lao Er. Though Assistant Jiang and Assistant Liu weren’t the busiest in the company, the various tasks and errands kept them constantly running around.

Fortunately, the assistants were pleased to have these two extra laborers, smiling at them. Li Qing and Lao Er were smart enough to handle the work, even earning a small raise.

This motivated them to work even harder. Though their families weren’t poor…

Who doesn’t like money?

While Li Qing and Lao Er were busy, Assistant Jiang and Assistant Liu were amazed that President Ye even remembered to assign them assistants.

“…If this were President Pei, I’d probably have to choose someone from the secretary department myself by now. But which veteran could I pick? Every time I choose someone, I lose a bunch of brain cells,” Assistant Jiang sighed.

Assistant Zhang, who was eating nearby, also sighed silently.

He was Shen Jiu’s assistant. In some sense, the two interns should have been assigned to him. But unfortunately, his boss, a workaholic, recently started overworking the company to make time to propose to President Ye.

As a private assistant, he suffered directly. If the private bonuses weren’t generous, he couldn’t have hidden it for his boss. If the company-wide chat group released the boss’s proposal plans during his resignation, he would have been morally compromised.

However, such matters didn’t need to be shared with the other assistants.

Otherwise, if their boss found out about Mr. Sheng’s proposal time and rushed over to intercept, it would be bad.

Thinking this, Assistant Zhang had to admire Mr. Sheng’s skill.

First, he confided in Zhang, dumping all the company secrets—both relevant and irrelevant—onto him. And these secrets were such that it didn’t matter if others knew them, but if they came out of Zhang’s mouth, he would be in big trouble.

—For example, the fact that all four shareholders in the company were connected to President Ye.

And they weren’t exactly normal.

Big Pei constantly asked President Ye about his schedule, whether Ye had talked to others, what was said, and how Ye felt—asking in more detail than his own mother ever questioned him after a blind date.

Little Pei wasn’t much better. He didn’t interrogate, but he acted like a cuddly bear, always trying to stick close to President Ye. Although his gestures weren’t overtly flirtatious, anyone watching felt embarrassed.

—Assistant Zhang almost began to doubt his own orientation.

Then there was the champion. Although he trained hard for gold medals, after every session he called President Ye, always on video, even when others were in Ye’s office. If he noticed other shareholders were present, he casually began talking about childhood memories, excluding them from the conversation.

Assistant Zhang thought this world champion was true to his age—still a bit childish.

He had gotten used to the other three shareholders’ odd behavior. After all, they could imagine a grand drama whenever President Ye smiled at them like close friends.

This was Mr. Sheng’s observation, but Zhang found it accurate. After all…

Mr. Sheng was the one dating President Ye. He had maintained appearances for company stability, not distancing from them.

And now President Ye was gradually distancing himself from them, even outwardly distancing from Mr. Sheng to hide it, though privately they texted each other nonstop.

How did Zhang know?

Because Mr. Sheng had shown him.

Zhang could understand. After all, Mr. Sheng had personally recruited the top salesperson from Gu Group for President Ye and even gave him company shares as a token of their bond, effectively giving him company power.

Such a relationship didn’t need further explanation. This company was essentially a token of affection.

The others were just flags or trophies brought in by President Ye.

—Zhang had never seen President Ye so relaxed with others, joking about investors and behaving as if everything was casual.

Unlike unrequited attention from other shareholders, President Ye genuinely interacted with Mr. Sheng. The chat records showed a perfectly coordinated couple.

Even a few words from Mr. Sheng were fully understood by President Ye. Their chat was short but full of love.

If President Ye had spent less effort on Mr. Sheng, this effect wouldn’t exist. Zhang confirmed they were indeed dating.

So when he looked at the other two assistants before leaving the cafeteria, his face was calm, showing no concern—they knew their boss could sway the outcome subtly.

Assistant Jiang and Assistant Liu, after Zhang left, exchanged meaningful glances. In their previous company, they were senior managers, here, they were challenged by a mere subordinate. Yet they were unfazed.

—Their boss had such a strong bond with President Ye.

President Ye only needed a few words to understand their boss and perceive unspoken thoughts—something no one else could do.

Remembering their boss’s chat records, which even they couldn’t match, they understood why their boss liked President Ye so much. Thinking this, the two assistants smiled at Zhang’s departing figure with sympathy for the “loser.”

After finishing lunch, Li Qing and Lao Er saw this strange scene.

Luckily, they had adapted, unlike their first visit when they worried that Jiang and Liu were overworked.

The pressure was indeed high. Through the champion Xie Yihan, they had linked with the National Sports Administration. Though success depended on product quality and brand value, merely establishing the connection was a good start.

This made Li Qing and Lao Er feel that their childhood friend truly cared about Ye Wangxing.

However…

“Lao Er, did we forget something?” Li Qing asked. Lao Er, clutching a file, looked at him in shock: “You didn’t forget the documents, did you?”

Li Qing quickly shook his head and helped Lao Er continue handling matters. He thought that if he could forget it, it probably wasn’t a big deal.

—Little did he know, after school started, he wished he could strangle himself for forgetting.

Not only did he fail to inform Ye Wangxing about the four people’s chat records, they only realized on the morning of school reopening that it was the first day—they didn’t even need to go to the company.

When Li Qing and Lao Er arrived at the dorm, they were overjoyed. Gu Yan, who hadn’t seen them all summer, looked at them sniffing the beds like smelling perfume and scowled.

“Can you two be a bit more serious? You’re going into your sophomore year. Why are you still like this?”

Gu Yan leaned on his bed, disdainful.

Li Qing and Lao Er glanced at him, then buried their heads back in the blankets.

Gu Yan: “…”

“Not seeing you all summer, are you planning to ignore me as your roommate?”

Li Qing and Lao Er didn’t want to talk but Lao Er finally replied half-heartedly: “Of course not, Jumping-off Brother.”

Gu Yan: “…Jumping-off Brother? Speak properly!”

Li Qing intervened, lying on the bed: “Ah, everyone calls you that now because of your heroic jump for love last semester. Your love story moved the whole school.”

He made a dramatic gesture mocking romance, but…

Gu Yan didn’t notice, straightened his back in the chair, and looked slightly proud.

“Cough, they have good taste—they know our love is exquisite.”

Li Qing and Lao Er mouths twitched.

Gu Yan then started assigning them tasks: “…On September 9, I plan to skydive from a helicopter to propose to Mu Bai. You two handle the setup, one hour for 1,000 yuan.”

His expression was no longer unpleasant, and Li Qing and Lao Er were tempted. They had earned money all summer but had no savings habits. One bought a better computer, the other replaced gadgets.

They even used some savings to research online, with a 5,000 yuan budget that could set up an internet cafe.

Now almost broke again, they welcomed extra work. Thus, Gu Yan and Lao Er fell for the lure of money.

But they had principles.

“You must wear a mascot costume to hide our faces and not make us mere props!” Lao Er said seriously.

“You can hide your face, but you still must be props and clap,” Gu Yan replied, raising his chin.

Li Qing and Lao Er rolled up their sleeves silently.

“One person 3,000 for a night, excluding previous setup costs.”

Li Qing and Lao Er: “…Alright, brother, no problem.”

The deal was settled. When they considered outsourcing to the neighboring sports academy for 200 yuan a day, their dorm door opened.

Ye Wangxing, looking more relaxed after a month’s break, entered. Li Qing and Lao Er remembered what they had forgotten, scrambled from bed, and rushed to him.

Before they spoke, Ye smiled and announced: “My inter-school project application has been submitted. The counselor said my chances are high. I’ll hear back within this month.”

The news stunned Li Qing and Lao Er. They wanted to exclaim, but someone else shouted first.

“Ah???”

They turned to see Gu Yan on a chair, almost shouting in shock.

He said: “Ye Wangxing is applying for the inter-school project? What about my uncle and cousin?”

—They were about to propose to him!

Ten minutes later, the news reached his uncle and cousin, who each sent Gu Yan a 10,000 yuan red envelope.

Gu Yan happily received the envelopes, unaware that the next second his cousin and uncle called the two assistants.

“Move the proposal/confession date forward.”

Assistants Liu and Jiang listened bewildered. Their boss had just handed them a task seemingly impossible.

“…Set it for September 9.”

Liu and Jiang: “…”

Boss! Today is already August 31!

 

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