Yan Shenyu: "..."
Otherwise, you'd better stop laughing; you really look like a villain when you laugh.
In the original novel, Xiang Yu is indeed a major antagonist who covets the protagonist.
Yan Shenyu's character is all too familiar. Wearing glasses and with bangs, he's a law-abiding citizen, but taking off his glasses and lifting his bangs, he becomes a villain who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, causing the original protagonists to suffer greatly.
Of course, these weren't the main reasons why Yan Shenyu was so wary of him. More importantly, the original owner of this body had collaborated with Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu wanted to possess the protagonist, and he wanted to persecute him. The two hit it off immediately; Xiang Yu orchestrated the kidnapping, and he fueled the scheme, firmly establishing his villainous persona.
Yan Shenyu: "..."
If he could, he really didn't want to get involved with Xiang Yu. Fortunately, this project belonged to Xie Siyan, and Xiang Yu's visit was probably just incidental.
Thinking of this, Yan Shenyu forced a smile: "President Xie, let's begin."
"No rush, let's eat first," Xie Siyan said calmly, taking a sip of Pu'er tea. "After dinner, you can discuss the details with President Xiang. This project belongs to him."
Yan Shenyu asked incredulously, "This project belongs to President Xiang?"
Xie Siyan nodded: "I mainly invest in the medical, technology and new energy fields, while Xiang Yu started in real estate and is more suitable for tourism complex projects."
"But..." Yan Shenyu said incredulously, "But why did those two people approach you last time? Didn't you go to the site to investigate in person?"
Xie Siyan: "It was me. I have a new energy project in northern Xinjiang, and Xiang Yu couldn't get away, so I helped him take a look."
"Uh..." The case is solved. So the actual developer of the ski resort is Xiang Yu, not Xie Siyan, who succeeds at everything.
What if Xiang Yu dies later in the novel, as arranged in the story? Wouldn't he lose everything?
Yan Shenyu chickened out: "I suddenly feel that this matter can be reconsidered..."
Xie Siyan quietly sipped his tea without offering any opinion.
"What?" Xiang Yu spoke after a moment of silence. "I'm not good enough?"
“The main problem is that I don’t know you well enough,” Yan Shenyu said seriously. “Investing in a project is also about investing in the future potential of a person. Since this is our first meeting, it would be risky to invest rashly.”
Moreover, as a villain who will eventually meet his demise, you are definitely not worth investing in!
"That's why I brought the materials to you." Xiang Yu smiled and then had her secretary hand over the project's business plan.
Yan Shenyu: "..."
Help……
"And what if Batur's daughter can't go home if you back out now?" Xiang Yu smiled. "Don't you think it's a bad thing to promise to help someone and then go back on your word?"
“No way,” Yan Shenyu had already thought of a solution and shook his head. “Once your resort is built, I’ll just rent a shop and change the name.”
It's simple, convenient, and low-risk.
Xiang Yu seemed a little surprised and smiled: "If you put it that way, then I'm even more willing to persuade you to invest."
Yan Shenyu: "..."
The rest of the meal was spent explaining the ski resort project to him.
To be honest, the project was pretty good in every way, and Yan Shenyu was somewhat tempted after hearing about it, but the death flag really made him hesitate.
After a moment of silence, Yan Shenyu asked him, "I'd like to think about it first, and give you an answer in three days, is that alright?"
Xiang Yu: "Okay."
“If you’re afraid of risk,” Xie Siyan suddenly said, “I can be your investment guarantor.”
"An investment guarantor?" Yan Shenyu was somewhat surprised.
Xiang Yu, who was standing next to her, also raised her eyebrows.
“Specifically, I will set a guarantee for your investment amount,” Xie Siyan explained. “If the project fails, I will return your funds to you. But if the project is profitable, I will also need to allocate 50% of the investment returns to you.”
Isn't this just like playing mahjong, where if you win, you keep it, and if you lose, I'm on the side?
Is there really such a good thing?
Yan Shenyu's already wavering resolve swayed further, and in the end, he decided to sign the contract.
After saying goodbye to his two business partners, he drove back to the Yan residence. The dinner lasted quite a while, and he got home close to midnight.
Yan Shenyu carefully drove the car into the garage and tiptoed up the garage elevator, trying to avoid Yan Zhengang's questioning without anyone noticing.
Before I even stepped into the elevator, the lights in the adjacent wine cellar came on.
Yan Zhengang came out carrying a bottle of red wine, his face displeased: "Look at the time! You're coming back so late! You..."
"Really, you're something else," Yan Shenyu quickly interrupted him, her expression even more serious than his. "Drinking so late, don't you care about your health? Don't take your youth for granted and neglect your body. You'll regret it when you get old."
"I just secretly took a couple of sips," Yan Zhengang retorted instinctively.
Only after saying it did I realize something was wrong...
Wait a minute, wasn't he scolding his son? How did it turn into his son criticizing him?
"You..." Yan Zhengang still wanted to scold him.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Mom," Yan Shenyu said quickly, not giving him a chance to react. "You should also drink less and go to bed early after you finish. I'll go upstairs now and not bother you anymore."
It wasn't until Yan Shenyu's figure disappeared through the door that Yan Zhengang realized: he had actually been tricked by this little brat!
"Wait a minute—" Yan Zhengang chased after him in his slippers.
Yan Shenyu had already rushed into the elevator and quickly pressed the close button.
You want him to stop and listen to the old monk chanting sutras? He'd be better off going back to sleep earlier.
Yan Shenyu slept straight through until the next morning, when he was woken up by a phone call. Wu Yun's mother was about to celebrate her fiftieth birthday, and he asked Yan Shenyu to help her choose jewelry.
This was something that had been arranged beforehand, and Yan Shenyu did not refuse. Wu Yun was overjoyed and volunteered to drive over to pick him up.
While waiting for others, Yan Shenyu went to the gym on the first floor and worked out for half an hour. By the time he finished and came out, Wu Yun's car had arrived.
"Good heavens!" Upon seeing Yan Shenyu emerge, Wu Yun gasped. "There was no need for such a grand welcome."
A woman with a light sheen of sweat is most alluring.
To make it easier to exercise, Yan Shenyu wore a sports short-sleeved shirt and shorts, revealing her slender and fair limbs under the black sportswear.
The exercise had left him covered in a thin layer of sweat, his skin glowing a pale pink, and his slightly damp hair clinging to his temples. When he looked up in this direction, his bright eyes revealed a captivating power, comparable to a nuclear weapon.
"Why did you suddenly think about working out? Didn't you used to hate muscles?" Wu Yun couldn't help but reach out and pinch his arm; it was soft and looked easy to squeeze.
Yan Shenyu: "Do you know why I took the wrong phone last time?"
Wu Yun: "Why?"
Yan Shenyu said with great distress, "Because I can't beat him."
Wu Yun: "..."
What is all this nonsense? Oh well, as long as he's happy.
However, given Yan Shenyu's height and appearance, it would look good if he built up some muscle. Moreover, Wu Yun felt that Yan Shenyu's physique and energy had improved a lot, perhaps due to his fitness routine.
After lunch, Yan Shenyu took Wu Yun to the Gaozhu flagship store in the CBD.
Before entering the store, Yan Shenyu asked him about his budget.
"No budget!" Wu Yun said generously. "My mom deserves the best! Let's just do it!"
Wu Yun was full of pride, until Yan Shenyu had the shop assistant bring out a 30-carat concentric diamond necklace, a 70-carat Colombian emerald necklace, and a 300-carat gemstone tourmaline necklace...
Looking at the long string of zeros following the question mark, Wu Yun silently took back what he had just said: "I actually do have a budget."
Yan Shenyu then accompanied him to choose reasonably priced products. However, after seeing the high-end products before, they decided to lower the price range and looked at many of them, but were not very satisfied.
Wu Yun visited almost every high-end jewelry store in Beijing before finally finding an emerald necklace that was beautifully designed and reasonably priced.
Just as he was about to pay, Wu Yun suddenly spat and complained, "What bad luck! I can't even go out without running into them."
Yan Shenyu looked up and saw Xie Xiaoling walking into the store arm in arm with Xiao Zhengliang. He wanted to pretend he didn't see them, but unexpectedly, the two of them walked towards him the next moment.
"You're here too?" Xie Xiaoling walked towards Xiao Zhenliang, arm in arm, her expression as haughty as a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
Yan Shenyu wasn't in the mood for this melodramatic scene. He called over a waiter, deciding to settle the bill quickly and leave. However, just as he raised his hand, Wu Yun suddenly grabbed his arm.
Yan Shenyu looked down at the hand resting on her arm, her expression blank.
"I may lose the argument, but I won't lose face!" Wu Yun puffed out his chest and said indignantly, "Do you know what the most effective way to slap your ex in the face is? It's to find a current partner who is a hundred times better than him!"
Yan Shenyu: "You're not going to pretend to be my girlfriend, are you...?"
“That’s right,” Wu Yun said seriously, “I know I don’t look like a top, so you can say you’ve become the top, you’re the one who topped me! Anyway, I’m no worse than Xie Shiba!”
"puff……"
Yan Shenyu couldn't help but laugh.
He was wearing a white shirt, his hair simply tied back. It was an extremely ordinary outfit, but when he smiled, he exuded an amazing charm that even the most exquisite jewelry couldn't match his brilliance.
Xiao Zhenliang, standing opposite him, stopped in his tracks, momentarily lost in thought.
A fierce glint appeared in Xie Xiaoling's eyes. She tightened her grip on Xiao Zhenliang's arm, leaning her body against him as if boneless, almost completely nestling into his embrace.
Normally, Xiao Zhenliang would fall for Xie Xiaoling's coquettishness, but when this scene happened in front of Yan Shenyu, it made him somewhat irritable.
“Shenyu, how could you—” Xiao Zhenliang took a step forward, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Xie Xiaoling beside him.
"This necklace is so pretty, it goes perfectly with my purple suit. Zhengliang, you said you'd buy me a gift, so I'll take this one."
Xiao Zhenliang was annoyed by him, so he only glanced at him before turning his head away and said perfunctorily, "Whatever."
Xie Xiaoling raised her chin: "Waitress, wrap this up."
The waiter looked embarrassed, and Wu Yun, who was next to Yan Shenyu, spoke up, "I'm sorry, I picked this out first."
Xie Xiaoling: "You paid?"
"I'll pay now." Wu Yun waved his hand and pulled out a bank card. "Waiter, swipe the card."
“If you haven’t paid, then it’s not yours yet,” Xie Xiaoling scoffed, and pulled out a card as well. “Waiter, swipe the card.”
A note from the author:
①: This quote is adapted from the words of American writer Thomas Merton: "If you want to know me, don't ask me about my birth or my preferences, but ask me what I live for. Or ask me how many obstacles I have encountered on the road to pursuing my beliefs."