CH 13

The office.

Lu Jingshen’s coffee had turned cold as he absentmindedly scrolled through his phone. An hour ago, Feng Si sent a message saying “I’ve landed,” but there was no follow-up.

Across from him, the director’s face looked unpleasant as he glared at the documents placed in front of him, remaining silent for a while.

Lu Jingshen put down his phone, and the coldness in his expression indicated his diminishing patience. “Uncle Wen Zhong, sign the papers. At your age, it’s better to retire and enjoy your later years at home. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Li Wen Zhong replied sternly, “If you want me to go home, the chairman himself should come and tell me himself.”

Lu Jingshen’s voice remained calm, “He hasn’t been feeling well these past few days and needs rest. It’s inconvenient for him to meet people.”

“Do I have to sign this today? What if I refuse?” 

Lu Jingshen remained unmoved, “Uncle Wen Zhong, you’ve made enough money selling company assets these past two years. It’s enough for you to live comfortably in your later years. Let’s leave it at that. There’s no need to make it ugly.”

In an instant, Li Wen Zhong’s face turned pale, and Lu Jingshen nodded lightly. “That’s it then.”

After a brief standoff, Li Wen Zhong finally took a step forward, bent down to pick up the pen, quickly signed his name at the end of the document, and then threw the pen down with resentment, gritting his teeth.

Lu Jingshen signaled to Liu Jie to confirm his signature and ordered, “show Uncle Wen Zhong out.”

Feng Si, dressed in his pilot uniform, appeared at the office door. Liu Jie saw him and looked surprised. Feng Si had just flown back to the country after nearly ten hours on a flight, and yet he came straight to the company without even changing his clothes.

Feng Si glanced over at Li Wen Zhong’s retreating figure and gestured to Liu Jie, “What happened?”

“The boss made Mr. Li retire early,” Liu Jie didn’t go into details and didn’t bother to explain further, busying herself with her own tasks.

Feng Si furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment. When Li Wen Zhong walked out, he had a clearly visible, gnashing hatred on his face, without any attempt to conceal it.

Turning around, he pushed the door open and entered. Lu Jingshen was reading through documents, and when he heard the sound, he looked up and saw Feng Si. Without saying a word, Lu Jingshen lowered his gaze back to the papers in his hands.

Feng Si approached and glanced at the empty coffee cup on his desk, then leaned against the edge of the table, reaching out his hand towards Lu Jingshen.

Lu Jingshen paused for a moment, and when Feng Si moved his hand away, Lu Jingshen’s right cuff had an additional cufflink, a shimmering and pure blue sapphire.

“This is for you,” Feng Sì said.

Lu Jingshen’s gaze lingered on the cufflink for two seconds before asking him, “Haven’t you gone back home to rest?”

When Feng Sì’s body leaned slightly towards Lu Jingshen, he bent over and leisurely fastened another cufflink on the left cuff of Lu Jingshen’s shirt.

They were standing too close, and Feng Sì’s distinct cold aura wafted over, causing Lu Jingshen to feel a slight difficulty in breathing and the urge to avert his gaze.

However, Feng Si looked up, and their eyes met. The distance between their lips was mere inches, as if their breaths were entwined.

Lu Jingshen felt as if he were frozen in place, his mind blank, unable to say anything. The air around them seemed to solidify. After a long while, he saw Feng Si smirk and ask, “Alex, why are you staring at me like that?”

Lu Jingshen’s throat rolled, and he struggled to regain his voice, “You’re too audacious.”

Feng Si tilted his head, speaking casually, “Is that so?”

But he didn’t move away; his gaze continued to wander audaciously on Lu Jingshen’s face.

His voice contained a hint of amusement, “Why do you have such a dissatisfied look? Haven’t you taken care of yourself since that night?”

Lu Jingshen frowned. He didn’t want to discuss that topic in the office during broad daylight, but Feng Si wouldn’t let him off the hook, “Alex, did you miss me?”

Seeing Lu Jingshen’s furrowed brows, Feng Si sighed, “I missed you quite a bit.”

Lu Jingshen’s tone was firm, “weren’t you busy having dinner and going out to sea with women, and surfing and going to bars with men?”

Feng Si looked slightly surprised, then burst into laughter, “How do you know? Oh, did Young Master Lu tell you? So, you sent someone to monitor me, huh?”

Lu Jingshen moved his eyes indifferently and regained his cold and frosty demeanor.

Feng Si stared at him for a moment, shrugged casually, and stood up straight.

Half an hour later, Liu Jie knocked on the door and entered, reminding Lu Jingshen that there was a business cocktail party in the evening and they should leave early to avoid traffic.

Feng Si flipped through a magazine while leaning on the sofa. After Liu Jie left, he glanced at Lu Jingshen and asked, “Do you have a social engagement tonight?”

Lu Jingshen replied coldly, “You can go back first.”

Feng Si responded, “That won’t do. In such a gathering, I must accompany you.”

He threw the magazine aside, lazily got up, and followed Lu Jingshen into the dressing room.

Lu Jingshen changed into a high-end suit, and Feng Si’s gaze lingered around his waist. He walked up and extended his hands from behind, circling them around Lu Jingshen’s waist. Looking at Lu Jingshen’s displeased face in the mirror, he smirked and used his slender fingers to button up the front buttons of his suit.

“Wearing such a well-tailored outfit, but in the end, it has to be taken off.” He whispered in Lu Jingshen’s ear.

Lu Jingshen’s eyelashes twitched but he ignored him.

At half-past five, the car left the company. Feng Si casually asked Liu Jie, “When will the cocktail party end?”

She replied, “It’s hard to say, at least after eight o’clock.”

Feng Si’s mouth curled slightly, lacking enthusiasm.

The venue for the cocktail party was a five-star hotel located a forty-minute drive away. Due to traffic, they arrived at around six-thirty.

Luxurious cars were frequently entering and leaving the hotel entrance. As soon as they got out of the car, waiters greeted them and led them inside.

The brightly lit banquet hall was filled with fragrance, and people in elegant attire were mingling and toasting with each other. Men and women held their wine glasses, greeting and toasting to those they knew or wanted to know, engaging in small conversations. By clinking glasses, they established potential business connections.

Lu Jingshen was one of them. Most of the time, others approached him, and he always maintained a formulaic smile on his face. Neither overly enthusiastic nor cold, he effortlessly handled such occasions.

Feng Si had been following Lu Jingshen, wearing his pilot uniform with a flight jacket over it. He didn’t fit into that kind of gathering, but he didn’t mind, and no one paid attention to him either.

Until someone called Lu Jingshen’s name, “Jingshen.”

Lu Jingshen looked at the person approaching him, with a subtly displeased expression.

Feng Si noticed it and impolitely examined the person. He had a handsome face, wearing a suit similar to Lu Jingshen’s,  a smiling young man.

He referred to Lu Jingshen as “Jingshen.”

The person stood in front of Lu Jingshen, staring at him intently. “Jingshen, I heard that Shang Xin recently successfully acquired Xinfeng Technology. Congratulations.”

Lu Jingshen nodded lightly without much interest. He raised his wine glass, took a sip, shifted his gaze, and focused on something else.

If the person had any sense, they would read the room and leave.

Jiang Heng’s gaze stopped at the cuff of Lu Jingshen’s shirt, where a dazzling sapphire cufflink caught his attention.

It wasn’t Lu Jingshen’s style. Lu Jingshen was always restrained and wouldn’t use such flashy accessories.

In Jiang Heng’s momentary distraction, a direct voice interrupted his thoughts, “Excuse me, would you step aside, please?”

Only then did Jiang Heng divert some attention to the person beside Lu Jingshen, a person who looked calm, relaxed, and full of warning in his eyes. However, he couldn’t be mistaken for a mere assistant or bodyguard.

Feng Si stood behind Lu Jingshen, looking at Jiang Heng without smiling, “Do I have to say it again?”

Jiang Heng frowned slightly, showing his displeasure.

He asked Lu Jingshen, “Jingshen, can I talk to you privately?”

Lu Jingshen ignored him, turned his head to discuss something with Liu Jie. After an awkward silence, he quietly said, “Sorry,” and finally left.

Shortly after, another group of people came to toast Lu Jingshen. Feng Si pulled Liu Jie back a step and asked, “Who was that just now?”

Liu Jie coughed lightly, “He’s the CEO of Chuanrong Electronics, named Jiang Heng.”

Feng Si questioned, “What’s the relationship between him and your boss?”

Liu Jie shook her head slightly, clearly indicating that she didn’t intend to say.

Feng Si said, “He publicly declared his feelings for your boss, making it difficult for your boss to face him. Did they break off their friendship afterward?”

Liu Jie was shocked, “How did you know?”

Of course, it was disclosed by Lu Chixia.

That day, Lu Chixia mentioned that his brother was disgusted by homosexuality. He casually mentioned that there was a childhood friend who suddenly confessed his feelings to his brother when they were together, and everyone around them started teasing. His brother’s face turned cold on the spot, and he left directly. Not only did he break off contact with that friend, but he also never attended any gatherings of that circle afterward.

Liu Jie knew all that because Jiang Heng had come to apologize several times afterwards. But Lu Jingshen insisted on cutting ties with him, and Liu Jie accidentally overheard that information.

“So, my brother really dislikes gay people. He even opposed it when I was with Ling Zuo.”

That’s what Lu Chixia said.

“Anyway, don’t entertain any improper thoughts towards our boss. Be careful not to get kicked out.” Liu Jie said, almost biting her tongue.

Feng Si remarked, “So, Lu Jingshen also has social interactions apart from business engagements?”

Liu Jie replied irritably, “Our boss doesn’t live in a vacuum!”

Feng Si didn’t bother with her anymore. His gaze fell on Lu Jingshen, who was conversing with others, his lips slowly opening and closing.

As he spoke, he occasionally took a sip of wine, and the deep red liquid stained his lips, entering his mouth and slowly sliding down along the movement of his Adam’s apple.

Not only his lips, but also the corners of his eyes and eyebrows seemed to be tainted with the intoxicating color of wine.

Feng Si watched intently and also raised his wine glass, pouring the same wine as Lu Jingshen’s into his mouth.

He swallowed slowly, along with the sweetness and intoxication.