As Jian Suiying drew near, she heard Xiao Linzi say: "You should have made it clear to him from the start, getting him on our side and we wouldn't have all this trouble."
Then came Li Yu's low voice: "You don't understand. If I'd told him, he would've stopped us back then."
Jian Suiying couldn't make heads or tails of their conversation.
Jian Suilin replied, "Work stuff."
Li Yu glanced at Jian Suiying before turning his head away.
Jian Suiying instinctively sensed these two were hiding something from him, but he couldn't guess what it was.
He glanced at Xiao Linzi, then at Li Yu. "Lunch has arrived. Let's eat. If there's anything to discuss, we can talk after we finish."
Li Yu stood up and walked toward the door with a stern expression.
As he brushed past Jian Suiying, Jian deliberately bumped him with his shoulder.
Jian Suiying shot him a meaningful look before turning and walking away.
Jian Suilin stood frozen in the conference room, gritting his teeth as he watched their retreating figures walk away together.
During dinner, Jian Suiying casually inquired: "What were you two arguing about earlier? You both seemed pretty worked up."
Li Yu kept his head down eating as he casually replied, "Nothing much, just company business." "Oh, company business? What company business could there be that I don't know about?"
Seeing she couldn't brush it off, Li Yu lifted her face and said, half-serious, half-straight: "Brother Jian, this is a conflict between us two
between us. It's hard for me to talk about. Could you please not ask?"
With Li Yu speaking so plainly, Jian Suiying couldn't press further. He reluctantly cracked his neck
and lowered his head to continue eating.
The meal was heavy with silence, as both men carried burdens in their hearts.
One harbored raging storms beneath a calm exterior, while the other was merely brimming with curiosity—and unwilling to
Li Yu keeping things from him, making him feel distant.
Though he'd hit a wall with Li Yu, Jian Suiying's curiosity hadn't been extinguished.
After lunch, he spent the entire afternoon reviewing the project with Li Yu and several others. By the time they finished, it was almost quitting time.
. Once everyone had left, Jian Suiying pulled out his phone to call Jian Suiying.
But when he dialed, the phone was already turned off. Only then did he recall that Little Lin might have already boarded the flight to Beihai.
.
This trip to Beihai was a secret business trip—Jian Suiying hadn't told anyone, fearing word might leak out.
Coercing information over the phone was the worst approach, so he didn't call again, deciding to wait until Little Lin returned. Before long, this
quickly slipped from his mind.
Jian Suilin was gone for a full week. Jian Suying wasn't idle either.
With one major company project nearing completion and the other progressing smoothly,
both projects would be ready for delivery and market launch within the year. He had to actively prepare for next year's investment projects.
, even if he did nothing but flip it, it would yield hundreds of millions in profit—let alone if he built something on it
and then reselling it.
Apart from the substantial upfront investment, this land was essentially a juicy, lucrative opportunity. With proper execution, the profits
would be measured in billions, representing a monumental leap forward for the company's future.
After several rounds of evaluation and discussion, everyone agreed the project's feasibility was exceptionally high. The only issue was funding.
funding.
Li Yu, meanwhile, maintained a cautious stance—even outright opposition.
his boss trusted him, allowing him to attend important meetings and even contribute his thoughts.
Despite his youth, he handled matters with steadiness and offered insightful perspectives. Jian Suiying took his words to heart
.
After returning from Beihai, Jian Suilin headed straight to the company.
He didn't inform Jian Suiying of his return. Before Jian Suiying could press him for details about Beihai, he needed to meet with Li Yu first.
After confirming with Li Yu that he was at the office, Jian Suilin headed straight there after landing, bypassing his home entirely.
.
Neither of them had their own private office, so they had to find a conference room to talk. This time, however, they didn't dare go to one of those semi-transparent rooms
transparent one, fearing they might be seen.
Jian Suilin arrived looking weary from travel, a suitcase in hand, sweat visible through the fabric of his crisp white shirt.
Li Yu sat expressionless across from him, watching as Jian Suilin placed a stack of documents before him. They stared at each other, each hoping to find a weakness in the other's eyes.
, each hoping to find a weakness in the other's eyes.
Jian Suilin spoke slowly, "Li Yu, this time you must help me..."
Jian Suiying was searching the entire company for Li Yu.
He had a task to assign him. Just half an hour ago, Li Yu was at his own desk, but now he was nowhere to be found.
. He walked over to his desk, where his phone still lay. He casually tapped the screen to unlock it, revealing the most recent call log.
Yet it reads "Sui Lin."
Xiao Linzi? Did Xiao Linzi call him?
Jian Suiying put the phone back in its place and walked outside the office. Just then, she spotted the cleaning lady and asked, "Have you seen Li Yu?"
"Little Li? Yes, I saw him. He was just with your brother, the boss." "My brother?"
"Yes."
Jian Suiying's suspicions deepened.
He had no idea Xiao Linzi had returned. He’d come to the company, and his first move wasn’t to report to him—he went straight to Li Yu? What was going on?
Jian Suiying pressed further, "Where did they go?" "I don't know, I just saw them walking that way."
He felt an unusual sense of unease.
But now, the ones keeping secrets from him were his own brother and his lover—both
his own people. The fact that they'd band together to hide something from him grated on his nerves.
So he began his search from this floor, going from office to office. He was determined to uncover what these two were scheming behind his back.
What the hell were they up to?
Li Yu could no longer sit still. He stood up, his face ashen, and shouted harshly: "Jian Suilin, have you lost your mind?!" Jian Suilin replied calmly: "No, I'm perfectly clear-headed."
"How dare you? If you actually do something like this, your brother will beat you to death!"
Jian Suilin twisted his lips into a smile. "He won't. When that time comes, the Jian family will need a new head."
Li Yu slammed the documents on the table to the floor. "What makes you think I'd help you? The grudges between you brothers..."
"The grudges between us brothers." Jian Suilin cut in. "You've been entangled in this from the start. Are you only now claiming it has nothing to do with you?"
Li Yu's expression hardened with a hint of ferocity. "True, I can't escape involvement. But I've already done what needed to be done for you.
I absolutely cannot agree to this."
Jian Suilin asked with a hint of sarcasm: "Li Yu, have you fallen for my brother?"
Li Yu panicked: "Don't talk nonsense. That's a completely different matter. No matter how wrong he was before, he's still your own brother. How could you possibly explain this to the Jian family?"
"That's none of your concern. Just help me, and once it's done, I'll give you 15% of the company shares."
Jian Suilin clenched his fists behind his back, then slowly released them. His expression grew increasingly sorrowful. "Li Yu
, you fell for my brother, didn't you?"
Li Yu stiffly turned his head, unable to respond.
Li Yu gritted his teeth: "But later you also said he treated you well, that he never deprived you of what you deserved as the young master of the Jian family.
"You told me all this yourself."
Jian Suilin's hand gently touched Li Yu's cheek.
Li Yu's eyes snapped open in surprise, her face filled with suspicion and wariness as she stared at him.
"But you shouldn't have used this method."
Jian Suilin leaned closer to Li Yu and whispered, "Li Yu, you like me, don't you?" Li Yu was struck dumb, staring at him in shock.
"You might have forgotten, but that night in Beihai, when you were drunk, you told me you liked me."
Li Yu's expression shifted repeatedly as she pressed her lips together, refusing to speak.
Jian Suilin coaxed gently, "You don't like Jian Suying—it's me you like. You know it in your heart, don't you?" A wave of desolation washed over Li Yu.
Perhaps he had changed, or perhaps he had never truly understood him. Who could have imagined that in just over a year, he would become a completely different person?
.
Though he couldn't pinpoint the exact nature of his feelings toward Jian Suilin, he racked his brain and found no trace of
the affection and tenderness he once felt for Jian Suilin.
He would never agree to Jian Suilin's current request.
He seized Jian Suilin's hand, still trying to dissuade him. "Suilin, you're right—I do like you. But that's because..."
A thunderous crash exploded beside them, shattering the quiet conference room as if it had been demolished. The sturdy wooden door was kicked open with brutal force.
Jian Suiying stormed in like a demon, his face dark and twisted, eyes bulging as he glared at the two people pressed close together, their hands clasped.
Li Yu and Jian Suilin both paled instantly.
Should I write a side story about how Li Yu and Xiao Linzi met? Like childhood friends secretly developing feelings for each other...
Is that even necessary?