Chapter 42 — You doing something like this today, are you not afraid of He Jing Long finding out?

Even though He Xiu spoke such a grand declaration of love, from beginning to end his fate of being responsible for cutting ingredients had not changed. By the time he had arrived, however, Jian Yan and Aunt Jiang were more or less done with the prep work, so he didn"t even cut two vegetables in total. All of them gathered around the table to eat the delicious hotpot.

A meal wa eaten to share joy and harmony, and this was especially the case for Aunt Jiang. She continued to speak of taking the opportunity to practice baking, inviting them to come over next time for cake.

After they finished eating hotpot, Jian Yan and He Xiu had to return to work, and Aunt Jiang didn"t have them stay. Jian Yan saw the mess of bowls and plates on the table and originally wanted to help her clean and put them away before leaving, but Aunt Jiang refused her offer. "No need, no need. Just leave it here; I"ll put it away in a moment. You and He Xiu can leave together."

Jian Yan paused in thought before saying, "Then we"ll take our leave first. We"ll come see you again."

"Okay, what kind of cake do you like? I"ll make you some next time."

With a laugh, Jian Yan said, "I like anything Aunt Jiang makes."

Aunt Jiang"s eyes curved up into smiles. "This young lady"s mouth is really sweet."

The continually ignored He Xiu finally intervened. "She merely likes to eat, not picky at all."

Jian Yan: "&h.e.l.lip;"

She glared at He Xiu, who tactfully evaded her eyes in response. His gaze focused on Aunt Jiang instead. "How about you make a red velvet cake? She likes to eat that." He still hadn"t forgotten that red velvet cake she had returned to him last time.

After Aunt Jiang agreed, the two of them went downstairs together. Jian Yan asked him, "Speaking of which, what happened to that red velvet cake last time?"

He Xiu replied, "At that time, I ate it." Once he said this, he sent her a particularly regretful glance. "Christmas limited edition red velvet cake is different from those made during normal seasons. It"s truly a pity you didn"t eat it. You can only wait for next Christmas."

Jian Yan: "&h.e.l.lip;"

Oh, then tell Qiu QIu.

With no trace of politeness, she swung her bag and smacked He Xiu with it. Although He Xiu was being beaten up, his heart still bubbled with happiness. As they said, smacks were scolding kisses, affection expressed in another form. "Are you heading straight home?"

"Mn, the deadlines for those rough sketches are rapidly approaching. I still haven"t finished drawing. What about you, heading back to Starlight General Merchandise?"

He Xiu corrected, "I"m heading to the airport."

"Airport." Jian Yan sent a puzzled look his way. "What are you doing heading to the airport? Business trip?" Starlight General Merchandise had a branch in every major city across the nation. He Xiu, as the General Manager, had to go to other parts of the country on business trips from time to time—this she knew.

He Xiu, however, said, "No, I"m picking someone up." After he said this, he winked ambiguously at Jian Yan. "How can I be willing to part with you to go on a business trip at the moment?"

"&h.e.l.lip;" Jian Yan smacked him with her bag again." How come I feel that recently you have been increasingly indecent?"

He Xiu promptly stated, "I am only indecent when with you."

"&h.e.l.lip;So who are you meeting?" She decided to straightforwardly avoid this topic.

He Xiu replied with a foreign name. "Samuel."

Jian Yan was startled. "You aren"t talking about that famous silk scarf designer, right?"

He Xiu nodded. "That"s right. I invited him over at this time because I plan to have a silk scarf promotional campaign in a few months."

Jian Yan was very curious. "Silk scarf promotional?"

"Mn. Silk scarves can be said to be a must have accessory for spring and autumn. Not only can it be tied around the neck, it can also be used as a headband, a bag accessory, or a waist decoration. By simply adding a silk scarf, you can make yourself look like a completely new person."

Jian Yan absolutely approved of this point. "When I previously recommended silk scarves to clients, I had said the same thing. Just a slight alteration can bring about a great change."

A light laugh escaped He Xiu as he said, "So for this silk scarf promotional campaign I"m putting together, I want to use very small silk scarves, allowing everyone to become fashionable."

"Sounds pretty good. The designer you sought out is Samuel?"

"Mn, his silk scarf designs received no small measure of praise from his clients. I hope this will make more people realize the charm of silk scarves. This time he"s coming to finalize the designs and plans. I"m on my way to receive him."

Jian Yan nodded in understanding. "But do you need to personally go to the airport to meet him?"

"I specifically appointed someone to receive him, but since I"m already outside the workplace, I"ll drop by the airport on the way. I can also express my sincerity this way."

"Oh&h.e.l.lip;" The majority of designers had their own eccentric characters. To rope them in, they had to rely on Director He personally taking a part in the campaign. "Then I wish you instant success."

"Thank you."

The two of them parted ways downstairs. Jian Yan drove home without any problems, but He Xiu, on the other hand, had a not-so-smooth time receiving Samuel.

Samuel"s flight had arrived at A City"s international airport on time, but the exit was slow. Thus, the staff member was unable to spot Samuel"s figure. The staff member in charge of contacting Samuel had called him right away, but the other party had not turned on his phone at all.

"Still can"t get in touch." The staff member gloomily looked at He Xiu, a lot of discontent boiling in his heart towards Samuel. Even an internationally famous top designer shouldn"t stand someone up like this, right? Moreover, they had signed a business contract.

He Xiu"s steady gaze did not falter as he pondered for a moment, saying to him, "Let"s head back to the company first."

"Okay."

The entire drive back to the workplace, the staff member continued to try to contact Samuel, to no avail.

"Continue to call Samuel; call together all the departments for an urgent meeting as well." He Xiu doled out instruction as he quickly stepped into his office.

When his secretary saw him return, she immediately stood up and said, "Director He, Young Master He Chen is here."

He Xiu"s steps faltered slightly, his brows knitting together as he asked her, "Where is he?"

"In your office, sir."

He Xiu snorted and said to her, "In the future he is not allowed to set foot in my office without my permission."

"&h.e.l.lip;Understood." Although He Xiu and He Chen were members of the He Family, the covert maneuvering countered with open antagonistic gestures between brothers was a common occurrence throughout society, so the secretary didn"t pry deeper and obediently followed his commands. After all, this Starlight General Merchandise"s master was Eldest Master He.

When He Xiu entered his office, he really did catch sight of He Chen calmly sitting in his office chair. The frost in his eyes grew colder as he walked forward to ask him, "What are you doing, coming over here instead of staying at your Starlight Park?"

He Chen chuckled and stood up from the chair. "Don"t worry, I"m not peeking at your secret doc.u.ments." He simply had no need to peek. "This appearance of yours, all covered in dust, did you just return from the airport?"

Icy eyes narrowed slightly. "This incident with Samuel is, as I suspected, your doing."

He Chen innocently spread out his hands, eyes locked onto him as he replied, "You can"t pin anything on my person, but considering you are my elder brother&h.e.l.lip;" He deliberately emphasized the two words "elder brother" with a bitingly slow and heavy drawl, a smile glimmering on his lips. "I can tell you what I know. Reportedly, Samuel was not on the afternoon flight at all, instead arriving on a morning flight."

When He Xiu only responded with a silent, steady gaze, He Chen continued, "Not only that, I also heard that he was received by people from Graceful."

"Graceful" was the previously mentioned "department store down the street," a large department store second only to Starlight General Merchandise in A City—their eternal rivals.

"Even if you dislike me, you would go as far as to leak our plans to an enemy company?"

Smile widening slightly, He Chen said, "You have no proof, only a.s.sumptions; don"t falsely accuse me."

The staff member He Xiu went to the airport with entered the office, restlessness and anxiety wafting off him as he interrupted their talk. "Director He, I just asked around. Samuel had arrived early in the morning and was received by Graceful."

Once his rapid-fire speech concluded, he realized that He Chen was inside as well and was at an immediate loss as he stood there to the side. He Xiu sighed and tilted his head to glance at him. "I know. Is every department head here yet?"

The staff member quailed as he replied, "They"re all in the conference room."

"Have them wait a moment; I"ll be right there."

"Okay." the staff member made a sound of affirmation and ran off with the same urgency and hyperactivity as he had entered. Hu, close call. He didn"t want to personally see the b.l.o.o.d.y scene of brothers destroying one another.

The office regained its previous calm. He Xiu"s stare sent He Chen"s mind into chaos, so he intended to withdraw first. "Since Director He is so preoccupied matters, then I won"t be a bother."

He walked past He Xiu only for the other to suddenly open his mouth and say, "You doing something like this today, are you not afraid of He Jing Long finding out?"

Ah, He Chen contemplated mentally. He Jing Long. In the several years since He Xiu had come to the He Family, not once had He Chen heard him say father.

Tilting his head sideways, a smile tugged at his lips as he looked back at him. "Then you secretly buying He Zhi stocks from small shareholders, are you not afraid of him finding out?"

He Xiu looked at him silently. Smile falling from his face in the end, He Chen said with a bit of resentment, "Didn"t you say you didn"t even have one thread, one hair of an interest in fighting me for the family estate? What, you now realized you really don"t want to give up?"

He Xiu countered, "The present is different from the past. I had been all alone in the world back then; nothing mattered to me. Now, however, I need to earn money to support a family." He couldn"t let Jian Yan be like his mother, exhausted from work.

He Chen thought it was absolutely hilarious. "Oh please, you spent these past several years managing Starlight General Merchandise, earning enough money for an ordinary person to eat for several lifetimes. You still don"t have enough money to support a family? Speaking of which, that high-end dress Jian Yan wore last time, how many millions did it cost?"

"Still not enough." He Xiu stared at He Chen, his gaze gentling. "Now, not only do I want to be the General Manager of Starlight General Merchandise, I want to be the CEO of He Zhi Corporation as well."

"Ah." Coldness seeped into He Chen"s expression immediately afterwards. "Such a large appet.i.te, are you not afraid of indigestion?"

He Xiu revealed his first smile since stepping foot into the office. He repeated a saying of Jian Yan"s, "I"m not afraid; my stomach is 128G."

"&h.e.l.lip;" He Chen didn"t know where that joke came from, but he wasn"t in the mood to joke anyways. He glared at He Xiu, the warning tone dripping off his words seemingly inflating his own confidence as well. "I have the He Family and Zhao Family behind me, plus the Xu Family now as well, whereas you only have an a.s.shole father who tossed your mother away and abandoned you back back then. What right do you have to fight with me?"

He Xiu snorted and asked him instead, "Does He Jing Long know you say things like this?"

He Chen didn"t reply, so He Xiu continued to say, "To deal with some people, you indeed need to use your all to fight back, yet to handle others, you simply don"t need to—they"ll merely be crushed by IQ. Which type do you think you are?"

He Chen: "&h.e.l.lip;"

He naturally thought he was the former.

"Alright, it"s better if you leave quickly. I"m afraid if you stay a moment longer, my patience will run out."

He Chen"s brows furrowed. He sent a look that was seemingly mocking yet not. "What, don"t tell me the renowned Eldest Master He actually intends to beat people up?"

He Xiu stated, "It"s not like I haven"t beaten people up before."

He Chen: "&h.e.l.lip;"

He quickly left He Xiu"s office.

Turning on his computer, He Xiu copied some information before also leaving the office for the conference room.

Only when it was 8:00PM did Jian Yan put down her pen and stop drawing at home. Perhaps because that hotpot at lunch had filled her to the point of bursting, she couldn"t be considered to be very hungry at the moment. She stretched on her chair and slipped on her wool slippers before walking over to the kitchen. Pa—ta— Pa—ta—    

To make dinner or not—even if she wasn"t particularly hungry now, she would definitely be hungry by midnight.

Making a simple stir-fry and pea shoots soup, Jian Yan pondered whether she should wash pork chops in the evening to make a stew for tomorrow. She stood in front of the refrigerator, contemplating for a moment, before running off to call He Xiu.

She asked if he wanted to come over for a meal tomorrow and that if he was, she would make pork chop stew.

He Xiu"s phone rang for an awfully long time before connecting. This had never happened before. Jian Yan saw that the call went through and became somewhat worried that she was disturbing his work or something. "Are you busy right now?"

"Mn&h.e.l.lip;" He Xiu kneaded the s.p.a.ce between his eyebrows, what seemed like a bit of exhaustion leaking into his voice. "I"ve been in a meeting all afternoon."

Jian Yan subconsciously glanced at the wall clock in the living room. "Then you haven"t eaten dinner?"

"No appet.i.te."

Jian Yan scowled and asked him, "What happened?" She recalled that He Xiu had told her he was receiving Samuel at the airport. Could it be that a problem occurred?

He Xiu"s sigh echoed through the call, followed by a low voice, "Something did indeed come up."

Jian Yan queried, "Is this concerning Samuel?"

"Mn."

Tension striking her heart, Jian Yan continued, "Something bad didn"t happen to the airplane, right?"

Finally a brief laugh left He Xiu. "No."

"Oh, that"s good&h.e.l.lip;" Jian Yan sighed in relief. "Then what"s the matter with him?"

"To be specific, it"s not him who met with a mishap—our collaboration met with one instead."

"Hm?" Could it be that Samuel wanted to increase his fee at the last moment?

He Xiu said, "I don"t know where He Chen learned of our plans, but he informed staff from Graceful of this information. Samuel arrived at A City early in the morning and was joined by the boss of Graceful."

The story had too many ups and downs, so it took Jian Yan a moment to comprehend it all before saying, "But Samuel signed a contract with you, didn"t he? Furthermore, He Chen&h.e.l.lip; Even if his relationship with you is poor, this most unfortunate occurrence also impacts the He Family business! Why is he even helping outsiders?"

He Xiu snorted, ignoring He Chen to speak of the matter with Samuel instead. "He did signed a contract with us. In the afternoon, he contacted us and said that Graceful had more sincerity than we did, declaring that he wished to give his work to the person who has the most sincerity."

Jian Yan: "&h.e.l.lip;" This excuse, truly pompous in nature, really made people want to beat him up.

"The penalty?"

"Graceful said they"ll help him a.s.sume responsibility," He Xiu paused after he said this, "but what we want is not the penalty."

Jian Yan wrinkled her brows. Sighing lightly, she asked him, "Then what way do you want him to recompense?"

He Xiu explained, "Samuel. In order to guarantee the quality of the silk scarves, we only collaborated with one specific factory. We had signed a contract with the factory in advance in addition to confirming the production schedule. If we can submit the design plans before that to the factory, then the factory wouldn"t have surplus manpower to make Samuel"s list. If we default, however, Graceful will definitely contact the factory first thing to begin production. No, they might have already done so. Not only is silk scarf manufacturing expensive, it also takes a long time. We will not be able to keep up with their progress after they begin manufacturing, and after they launch a silk scarf promotional campaign, we would not have any impact if we do the same."

Moreover, people might say they were plagiarizing Graceful"s campaign.

Jian Yan clearly understood after listening to this. Right now, the key issue was precisely their lack of ability in handing over design plans. "Have you contacted other designers? The designs for the silk scarves don"t have to be Samuel."

He Xiu admitted, "We"ve contacted many, but our contract deadline with the factory is on the twenty-fifth. With only a handful of days left, no designer is willing to commit."

This also couldn"t be blamed on them. If there was a careless mistake or something in this rushed design, then it would destroy their own reputation. They naturally weren"t willing.

Jian Yan thought for a while before brazenly proposing an idea. "If you don"t mind it, can you use my designs?"

Author"s Note:

Aaahhh didn"t update yesterday; today I made up for half, will catch up and fix tomorrow!