CH 2.2

“Guan Yue is cold!”

—————

On the 37th floor of the HSBC Building in the International Financial Center.

In the office of Qingsong Capital China Fund, the water had boiled.

Guan Yue rolled up his shirt sleeves, picked up a kettle, poured the boiling water into the iron teapot for brewing tea. He added a bit of Assam tea leaves, and added some milk from a box. He waited for the tea to boil while reading the industry news for the day.

Guan Yue— 27 years old, an Aquarius, 188 centimeters tall, and one of the partners of Qingsong Capital China Fund. He was also the CEO of the local branch. The exact amount of his wealth was unknown. He was a part of the rental society, and hailed from Guanjiatun, Taiyuan Shanxi Province. He held a master’s degree in Politics, Philosophy and Commerce from Oxford University. His hobbies included stock trading and equestrian sports.

His sexual orientation was unknown.

Guan Yue had sharp facial features, exuding a masculine charm. Sharp eyebrows, a high nose bridge, long and distinct fingers, and a bluish stubble. There was a noticeable and seductive Adam’s apple, and his hair was pushed to the side, and he also had two subtle cuts in his hairstyle, forming an “X” shape.

Guan Yue unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt, revealing his well-defined collarbones. His recent fitness efforts had been effective, and his shoulders were slightly broader, straightening the shoulder line of his white shirt.

“Any news, President?” Tong Kai, the Chief Consultant of Greater China’s Nuolin Law Firm, sat opposite Guan Yue, basking lazily in the sun while stretching his stiff little finger and browsing his phone.

Guan Yue glanced at Tong Kai’s slender fingers and furrowed his brow slightly.

Tong Kai immediately complained, “My little finger got burned! I’ve already covered it with ointment, do you think I want to keep showing it? The intern came over to serve tea during yesterday’s afternoon meeting and accidentally poured hot water on my hand. The whole conference room thought I got electrocuted. I broke up recently, and now I got burned. Do you think I’m having bad luck because of Mercury Retrograde?

Guan Yue didn’t respond, and the two went back to looking at their phones.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, one minute passed…Tong Kai glanced at Guan Yue from the corner of his eye and sensed something was wrong. He craned his head from behind his phone to look at Guan Yue.

“President, you’ve been staring at the same news article for a minute. Is there some big news?” Tong Kai asked.

Guan Yue slightly raised an eyebrow, glanced at Tong Kai, and remained silent.

Tong Kai said in suspicion, “Your eyebrows gave you away; you’re anxious. It’s abnormal behavior. Does it mean the A-share market is going to crash again?!”

Guan Yue put his phone aside and turned to observe the kettle, lost in thought.

Tong Kai stretched his neck and glanced at the news headline on Guan Yue’s phone, muttering, “Epeus overdue on debt payments, insolvency, and applies for bankruptcy… Epeus?” Tong Kai’s refined eyebrows furrowed, “Where have I heard of them?”

Gong Yue was silent, his long fingers rhythmically tapping his desk.

Tong Kai searched for the news himself, “They started as a developer of quantitative trading software, then switched to artificial intelligence in recent years, claiming to be a unicorn company. With an E-round of financing… They ran out of money before going public… Do you know this company? Why does it sound so familiar…”

Guan Yue’s expression flickered with unease, but it quickly disappeared.

Tong Kai put down his phone and stopped paying attention to the news. He said to Guan Yue, “I don’t want to date anymore. The last junior executive I dated hurt me enough.”

“Eating with shaking legs is one thing, but shaking like this everywhere is another. Even when watching a movie, the whole row of seats in the cinema shakes.” Tong Kai imitated his ex boyfriend’s leg shaking and said, “Look at this frequency, this amplitude, are these human legs? It completely goes against ergonomics. That is a motor! And when he’s shaking, he even tilts his head to look at me. The first time I saw it, I thought he was having a stroke!”

“Living habits are one thing; no one is perfect, and I can tolerate them. But all those promises, ‘I can’t live without you,’ were all lies, lies! It was all just to trick me into helping them with legal battles and consulting on legal issues! I kept wondering why every time we went out to eat, he asked for my advice, where are all these legal battles coming from?”

“He wanted me to give him free consultation, and in the end, I found out he was straight and even had a wife and a child. The child is already two years old, you know.”

Guan Yue glanced at Tong Kai, seemingly wanting to say something but held back.

Tong Kai said with almost despair, “I think the most failed moment in my life was when I finally got him to agree to sleep with me. I had taken a bath, changed into a bathrobe and poured myself a glass of wine. As I played some music and dimmed the lights to set the mood, he came out with a chicken feather duster. I thought, ‘Oh, are you planning something else? At least get a whip or something. What’s with the chicken feather duster?’”

“And then, he fell to his knees in front of me,” Tong Kai said emotionally. “He said, ‘Brother, please spare me. I admit that I deceived you, but I just wanted to consult you about how to handle the dead-end merger and acquisition case. I didn’t mean to deceive you, brother. I couldn’t dare to do it on my own. It was our boss who made me do it! Please spare my chrysanthemum!’”

Tong Kai cried with a mournful face, imitating the expression of that junior executive as he pleades, “I have a family to support. My wife doesn’t even know that I’m doing such shameful things.”

Tong Kai picked up the golden rice bowl decoration from Guan Yue’s desk and held it as if offering it, sincerely saying, “Hit me! Use this chicken feather duster and hit me like my wife does. Brother, hit my face, just like my wife does.”

Guan Yue and Tong Kai looked at each other.

“But could I hit him? How could i? After all, he did express his love for me. How could I bear to lay hands on him? He’s only twenty-five and already a high-level executive in the company, working hard, fighting in the big city. He is living under so much pressure that his legs almost are crippled from shaking, it breaks my heart to see… What else can I do? Forget it, forget it.”

Gong Yue handed Tong Kai a cup of milk tea and took away his golden rice bowl. He then took out a tube of universal glue from the stationary drawer and glued the bowl to his desk.

Tong Kai took a sip of his milk tea, sighed helplessly and shook his head.

Tong Kai had a youthful appearance, looking like a college student even though he was 29 years old. His facial features were well-defined, and his skin was as fair as milk. When he talked, his eyebrows danced with enthusiasm. He was clingy and cheerful, exuding a vibrant vitality. He spoke directly and never beat around the bush.

Tong Kai sighed, “It’s so hard to find a partner now. Either they want to take advantage of my money or my talent. Does true love still exist in this world? Hey, are you listening?”

Guan Yue’s expression carried a hint of seriousness as he focused on his phone.

Tong Kai squinted his eyes, “Are you still looking at news about Epeus? Are you planning to save that company?”

Guan Yue finally said something, “It’s impossible. I won’t take in trash.” He then subtly touched his perfectly shaped nose that was inherited from his father’s family.

——————

In the crisp autumn of September, the company began the process of liquidation. The banks and shareholders’ representatives issued their final ultimatum: before October 1st, the personal assets would be forcibly seized in the bankruptcy process. On the day of the Motherland’s birthday, Tianhe would lose almost all of his assrts and move out, finding another place to live.

The remaining employees of the company stretched their necks, waiting in the office. Originally, Tianhe had instructed the CFO to distribute the money and dismiss everyone, but all the colleagues unanimously requested to take a group photo with Tianhe as a farewell, as a memento. So Tianhe personally drove over-the driver had resigned and gone home.

In another half month, the four cars at home would be given to the bank. Tianhe would have to take find time to figure out how to hail a car.

“Boss, hello.”

“Boss, hello.”

“There are still so many people.” Tianhe scanned the room and said, “Meixi, buy tickets for everyone in the company to go to Disneyland tomorrow. Consider it my treat for everyone to have a good time. We’ll disband after the team-building event.”

“Okay,” the CFO said, “Since it’s the last time, let’s pre-book the guided tour service, just like last time.”

“Of course,” Tianhe said, “Even if we’re bankrupt, we can’t go to Disneyland and stand in line. It’s too inelegant.”

Tianhe always maintained a calm expression as he took consecutive photos with them. It went on from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and every employee came to shake hands with Tianhe.

“I can’t bear it,” several girls even cried.

“You can’t bear to leave me?” Tianhe smiled and said, “I was only CEO for less than a week.”

“We can’t bear to leave the company,” the programmers wailed, shaking hands with Tianhe one by one, tears and snot flowing. After each employee turned away, Tianhe wiped the snot from his hand on Meixi’s coat.

Gradually, the offices on the three floors quieted down, and the employees finally left. Only the CFO, vice president, and executive assistant remained.

“Goodbye, Second Boss. If you ever start over, just give me a call. I’ll go home to take care of the children and do some online business on the side. I’m available whenever you need me.”

“Definitely,” Tianhe said, “You can borrow the Bentley for a joyride and take a photo if you want.”

“Can I?” The executive assistant was pleasantly surprised, taking the car keys from Tianhe’s hand.

“Take it and enjoy for a few days. Park it in the company garage next week.” Tianhe sent away the executive assistant as well.

Looking around the large office, Tianhe said to the CFO, “Meixi, you should go back too. You will get busy with the legal affairs so your formal resignation will be in effect after the National Day holiday. Have fun tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’m leaving too.” Meixi bid farewell to Tianhe politely and left the 27th floor.

The executive office was empty, and Tianhe walked into his own office. He sat on the chair that belonged to his brother and let out a sigh. The vice president came in and sat across from him at the desk. Both of them remained silent.

“You were here when my brother took over the company, right?” Tianhe said.

“I came when your father was ill,” the vice president looked around and said, “Do you want a drink?”

“You drink,” Tianhe said with a wry smile, “I have a psychological shadow when it comes to hard liquor. My brother took me out for a drink before he fled.”

The vice president rummaged through a shelf and found a bottle of liquor and two glasses, saying, “Let’s have a little anyway.”

“They all loved the company,” Tianhe thought for a moment, and took the glass. “Their tears were real, and their reluctance was genuine.”

“Well, it’s expected given how things were; if they wanted to go for team-building, let them. If they wanted to take leave, let them. Two team-building trips a year, Paris, London, Hokkaido, wherever they like. Play games during work hours, and have a Japanese dinner after work. Who wouldn’t love such a job?” The vice president said casually.

“Mm, even the cleaning auntie earned a monthly salary of 12,000. You can feel that everyone deeply loves the company. But why didn’t anyone try to persuade him?” Tianhe said.

“Would it have made a difference?” The vice president sighed, “Everyone in the industry was singing his praises. He was already delusional, surrounded by the myths of capital newcomers and tech companies. Look at the photos on the wall; they’re still hanging there.”

On the wall hung a photo of Wen Tianyue with several heavyweight officials. The vice president continued, “With the support of the country, he could have reached the peak. He pledged invisible assets, and the bank lent him six billion. When the branch manager went back that day, your brother almost couldn’t catch his breath…”

“I’ve reviewed the project progress. Isn’t there any hope?” Tianhe asked.

The vice president shook his head numbly, “I don’t think we can pull it off anymore. The CTO made a copy for you. Maybe you can try running servers for a few years at home. The server key is in the file bag. I’m just afraid your home computer won’t be able to handle it.”

Tianhe thought for a moment, “One last question. In all these years, didn’t you ever argue with my second brother? You just let him make whatever decisions he wanted.”

The vice president said helplessly, “Argue? Did we ever have that luxury? I told him not to bet on Spain and to put it all on France. At least we would still have a few million left. If he bet on that score, maybe the whole company would have turned around.”

“You should go back too,” Tianhe exerted great effort to control himself from shouting “get lost.” “Keep in touch. Goodbye.”

The vice president finished his drink in one gulp, hugged Tianhe tightly, and walked out of the office, raising his hand in a nonchalant farewell gesture.

As the sun set, the evening light poured in from the windows, casting a golden radiance throughout the company, landing on the monitors. The employees had taken away their figurines, keyboards, and gaming mice used during work hours

Tianhe walked to the 19th floor and silently looked at the rows of seats. When he was young, his father had taken him to the first company they had. It was located on the second floor of a vegetable market in the old town. They developed quant trading software and made their first fortune. They later moved to a slightly more glamorous office building. Soon after, his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away half a year later.

After his older brother took over the company, they rented this three-story office in the New Wisteria District Technology Park.

The layout of this project development department remained the same as it had been in the old warehouse from his childhood. As the sun set, Tianhe walked between the seats, feeling like he had returned to the past.

Wen Tianyue seemed to still be by his side, sitting on the swivel chair and earnestly saying to him, “Baobao, everything Dad left for us is in the server’s hard drive. You see, he never really left.”

Tianhe quietly sat in the position of the CTO until the last ray of daylight disappeared. The melody of “Gavotte in G Major” filled the room, and as night fell, the entire office was enveloped in darkness.

In a corner office on the 19th floor, a computer suddenly powered on, and the monitor lit up.

Tianhe turned his head abruptly and sat down at the desk in the corner. The monitor was covered in thick dust. There was no nameplate on the desk; it was an abandoned workstation.

Why did it suddenly power on? Was it a poor motherboard contact?

Tianhe clicked the mouse a few times, pressed F8, but there was no response. The screen turned blue with an error message. When Tianhe leaned forward to shut down the computer by pressing and holding the power button, the blue screen suddenly flickered, and a coding language interface popped up.

“Please input the key for backup and formatting.”

Tianhe furrowed his brow. He found an adapter, and plugged in the key. Without checking the external network connection or deciding where to back up, the screen flickered again, and the mainframe began rapidly reading data.

Tianhe was dumbfounded, slightly raising his hands. He hadn’t touched the keyboard at all, so was this predetermined? Was it a virus or…an AI?

Tianhe held the key. He was about to unplug it when the screen flickered, emitting a buzzing sound before going black. Tianhe tried to restart it by pressing a few times, but the motherboard beeped, indicating a malfunction.

It had burned out.

Tianhe was at a loss. He examined the overheated mainframe, but no matter how he pressed, the computer wouldn’t turn on again.