CH 30

The keyword “project” acted like a switch, gently triggering Pei You’s sensitive nerves.

His expression gradually became serious, and he couldn’t help but lower his head to look at the projects he had selected for potential investment.

“What project is it?” Pei You handed the project proposal to Zhou Qingbo and asked, “Check if it’s on here.”

Zhou Qingbo quickly scanned the titles on several project proposals and hesitated, saying, “Actually, I—”

Before he could finish speaking, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the door. Pei You and Zhou Qingbo instinctively fell silent and turned their heads to look at the door.

The semi-transparent glass wall revealed the vague figure of the person outside. Zhou Qingbo exchanged a glance with Pei You and tacitly pushed the project proposal back to Pei You.

Neither of them said anything. After a few seconds, the person’s figure appeared at the door. Liu Xin was carrying a briefcase and stood at the doorway with a smile on his face, knocking on the door.

“Mr. Zhou, Mr. Pei,” Liu Xin greeted them warmly, his face full of smiles, “I apologize for not having a chance to meet you properly earlier. I had a previously arranged meeting, so I had to rush out.”

“It’s fine,” Zhou Qingbo’s smile became less sincere, and he seemed somewhat indifferent. He stood up from his chair, supporting himself with one hand on the armrest, and then casually extended his hand to Liu Xin for a brief handshake.

“We are all dedicated to the company’s cause,” Zhou Qingbo said with an official tone, “I came to see the Dongjiang location. It’s a good place, clean, and the employees are well-behaved. It seems you’ve been doing well in these years.”

“no,” Liu Xin humbly said, “It’s all thanks to Qing Shan’s support—Mr. Zhou, how have you been lately,how is your brother doing?”

“My brother is doing well,” Zhou Qingbo said, turning his body to lean against the table lazily, “He’s just too busy. Otherwise, he would have come to see you personally and also pay respects to your father.”

When Zhou Qingbo mentioned Liu Jiancheng, Liu Xin’s expression changed slightly. He showed a trace of melancholy and sadness as he listened to Zhou Qingbai’s words. With a sigh, he said, “Ah, my father kept thinking about Uncle Zhou before he passed away. He kept mentioning him. Later, my mother found a photo of them together when they were soldiers, and that’s when he peacefully closed his eyes.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

. Zhou Qingbo didn’t expect that after five years, Liu Xin’s skill of flattery had not diminished. He had become even more adept at it, not only knowing how to flatter and agree with others but also using subtle tactics.

“It’s true that the relationship between our fathers was good, indeed enviable,” Zhou Qingbo replied calmly, pushing back, “My dad would also talk about Uncle Liu a lot.”

Zhou Qingbo was handling the situation with ease, and Liu Xin responded appropriately. Only one person, Pei You, couldn’t help but be surprised and looked at Zhou Qingbo several times.

Just a few minutes ago, Zhou Qingbo was like a big child, unreasonable and clinging to people. But now, facing Liu Xin, he seemed to transform into a different person.

He appeared serious and indifferent, like someone on a business trip, but his work attitude seemed perfunctory. He was polite to Liu Xin, but not particularly warm. There was a subtle sense of superiority about him, almost imperceptible, as if he were an unscarred young master who had never experienced the harshness of society.

Pei You had seen Zhou Qingbo in his elite social mode and also witnessed his laid-back demeanor. However, this was the first time he had seen him like this.

Zhou Qingbo’s way of speaking was fitting to the person he was talking to, precise and calculated, and he seemed to have filled in some details in Pei You’s mind, adding a touch of nuance between “President Zhou” and “casual Zhou.”

Liu Xin seemed to sense that Zhou Qingboi didn’t want to dwell on that topic, so he changed the subject. He quickly put away the nostalgic expression on his face and smiled, “Ah, my apologies, I brought up something sad. Zhou, you’ve come here after a long time, and it’s a happy occasion. How about this? I’ll treat you and Mr. Pei to a meal at Yuefu Restaurant tonight, consider it a celebration and welcome for your return, how does that sound?”

Zhou Qingbo wasn’t surprised by Liu Xin’s suggestion. He knew Liu Xin had ulterior motives and wanted to establish a closer relationship with them while trying to get some information.

Zhou Qingbo hesitated a bit after hearing the invitation, but Pei You intervened before he could accept it.

“No, thanks for the offer,” Pei You stood up from behind his desk, his expression somewhat cold, and he sounded stern, “We still have work to finish, it’s not appropriate to go out for dinner right now.”

His sudden interruption, with such a decisive tone, surprised not only Liu Xin but even Zhou Qingbo, who knew Pei You quite well. Pei You was usually gentle and easy to talk to. Even when he was strict about work, he rarely took such a strong stance.

Zhou Qingbo lowered his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and didn’t say anything more, naturally yielding the conversation to Pei You.

Although Liu Xin was annoyed by the unexpected interference, he didn’t dare to be too impolite to Pei You, given Pei You’s position as an auditor. So, he put on a smile and said, “It’s alright, I just thought that because you’re newcomers here,  it’s only natural to have a meal together. Work is not urgent for a while; you also need to balance work and leisure.”

Liu Xin attempted to include Zhou Qingbo in the conversation, asking for his opinion.

“Mr Pei is right,” Zhou Qingbo replied with a smile,, “we still have work to do. If work gets delayed, my brother will scold me when we go back.”

With the conversation reaching that point, Liu Xin had no choice but to give up persuading them any further. He tried to keep a friendly smile and said they could celebrate together after work was done.

“Okay.” Zhou Qingbo smiled and said, “Let’s end it here for today.”

Zhou Qingbo turned his head to look at Pei You and said, “It’s almost time to leave work now.”

Pei You silently met his gaze, understanding what he meant. He quietly bowed his head and collected all the necessary documents, stuffing them into his laptop bag.

Liu Xin escorted them to the company’s door, where Zhou Qingbo politely declined his offer to personally take them back to the hotel. He then followed Pei You into the elevator.

Once the elevator doors closed, Zhou Qingbo immediately dropped his facade. He furrowed his brows slightly, reached back to stretch his shoulder, and complained in a whiny tone, “Ugh, dealing with people like him is so exhausting.”

His tone sounded sticky, just like when he used to throw tantrums and act lazy, as if he wasn’t the same person.

Pei You was also exhausted, so he could only give him a helpless look without saying anything.

Zhou Qingbo seemed pleased with Pei You’s silent approval, so he didn’t push further. Instead, he straightened his posture contentedly, swayed a bit, and leaned over to inspect the advertisements on the elevator wall with interest.

As soon as Zhou Qingbo was alone with Pei You, he relaxed, but Pei You had other concerns on his mind.

He actually didn’t want Zhou Qingbo to socialize with Liu Xin, not only because he felt Liu Xin was not a good person but also due to business reasons.

The financial statements of Dongjiang Financial Report were in chaos, with most of the major costs and financial accounting centered around ongoing projects. Trying to complete all the project inspections in a week was already hard for them to do.

Pei You didn’t want to give Liu Xin too much time to tamper with the projects, so he planned to finish all the inspections within a week. But with Zhou Qingbo with him, their schedule became even tighter.

Considering this, Pei You carefully observed Zhou Qingbo’s expression and, after briefly thinking it over, made a decision. He slowly spoke up, “Let’s go back to the hotel for now. We should rest well tonight, as we need to get up early tomorrow.”

As expected, when Zhou Qingbo heard the words “get up early,” his expression soured. He turned to Pei You, furrowing his brows slightly, his face showing reluctance.

But, Pei You was still gentler with Zhou Qingbo than with others. Though Zhou Qingbo didn’t look too pleased, he still asked, “What time do we leave tomorrow morning?”

Pei You observed his expression and considered, “7:30.”

That time was somewhat accommodating for Zhou Qingbo, still within his acceptable range. But Zhou Qingbo blinked and tried to negotiate, making a gesture, “A bit later? How about 8:00?”

Pei You shook his head, “no; we can’t leave any later.”

Zhou Qingbo didn’t know how those ten or twenty minutes would make a difference, but since Pei You had already made his point, he reluctantly compromised and accepted.

The inspection plan couldn’t be fully hidden from Liu Xin. So after returning to the hotel, Zhou Qingbo took on the task of negotiating with Liu Xin and briefly informed him of their upcoming schedule as if it was a “last-minute” notice.

Perhaps knowing that trying to stop them was futile, Liu Xin didn’t show any objections. Instead, he offered to send a driver to accompany Zhou Qingbo and Pei You during their time there.

Although having a driver was convenient, Zhou Qingbo didn’t want to work under someone else’s watchful eye. He declined Liu Xin’s offer, citing that he didn’t know when he’d naturally wake up, and he politely refused any help from Liu Xin.

“Well then,” Liu Xin said with a seemingly regretful tone, “do as you please.”

There was a pause on the phone, and then Liu Xin smiled and added, “Don’t worry, Mr. Zhou. I’ll call my employees right away and make sure they cooperate fully to ensure that the work goes smoothly this time.”

The signal was poor, causing Liu Xin’s voice to distort slightly with a faint crackling sound.

“That’s good. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can relax,” Zhou Qingbo said.

The torrential rain outside had been pouring all day and showed no signs of stopping. After hanging up the phone, Zhou Qingbo walked to the window, pulled open the curtains, and stared at the rain for a while.

The rain pounded on the floor-to-ceiling windows and trickled down the smooth glass. Zhou Qingbo gazed at the candy hawker’s stall across the street for a moment before naturally turning his attention away, lazily stretching his body with a yawn.