I strolled in like this, and Jin Shaoyan didn't seem to care. I guess he wouldn't even be angry if I took a dump on his desk right now. In his eyes, I'm a dying man.
In Jin Shaoyan's magnificent office, a huge plasma TV occupies an entire wall.
The screen showed a live broadcast from a Hong Kong satellite TV channel. This channel specializes in horse racing, and the races hadn't started yet. The host, speaking Cantonese, was providing information on the 16 horses in the race. Horse number 1 was "Peerless," and the information displayed at the bottom of the screen showed that its win rate had reached 89%. It was a tall, red British thoroughbred, and the host's introduction of it lasted for over a minute. Then it was number 14's turn, "Repeated Defeats," an unremarkable black horse. The win rate column at the bottom of the screen was grayed out, and its best finish was "4." The camera panned across it twice and then moved on, and the host said something, but the sarcasm was obvious.
I moved a leather sofa to the front of the screen, used a potted plant as an ashtray, took out a crumpled soft white cigarette and put it in my mouth, then took out another one and pretended to throw it to Jin Shaoyan—I'm used to handing cigarettes to people.
Jin Shaoyan chuckled and shook his head, leaning back in his office chair. He pulled a sausage-shaped cigar from his cigar box, cut off the seal with a cigar cutter, and elegantly roasted the smoke with a flame.
Sigh, I lost the battle of momentum from the start. I'm still stuck at the level of a few buddies betting on football, each of us carrying a stool and a bottle of beer.
My phone was on the whole time, but Jin 2 was quite carefree, just playing by himself and ignoring me. I could keep hearing the excited shouts of the tourists on his end, mixed with the voices of the group of five and Baozi. It seemed they were watching a wild animal hunt from their sightseeing bus.
Then the race began. With the sound of a starting gun, 16 racehorses charged out of the stallion "like wild dogs let loose." "Peerless Under Heaven" unceremoniously led the pack, followed by horses number 8 and 3, then 15, 7, and so on... When I saw number 14 "repeatedly struggling," I coughed violently from the smoke: this beast was leaping and bounding forward like a lame rabbit, falling 200 meters behind after only half a lap. The jockey was having a blast, practically a bullfighter, being jostled around dizzily by "repeatedly struggling." The entire racetrack erupted in laughter, even the once-leading "Peerless Under Heaven" had its limelight stolen by this pair of clowns.
This scene was pushing me to the brink of collapse. Then, through my headphones, I heard Baozi's joyful shouts: "Gotcha! Bitten it!" I muttered angrily, "You little bastard, that horse you're talking about is about to be ridden by 'Peerless Under Heaven,' are you kidding me?"
"Hehe, don't rush me, Qiang-ge. It's 12,000 meters. Those horses have great stamina—ugh, it's disgusting, their intestines are biting out... I'll talk to you now, tell me after the race."
If a cyclist runs 12 kilometers like that, it's no wonder his prostate is shaking out.
However, the situation did improve. The "lame rabbit" hopped and skipped, like a one-legged immortal, and slowly caught up with the herd of horses ahead. It even took a step after finishing the last lap.
Jin Shaoyan chuckled coldly: "The horse you bought is a bit like you, both of you are a bit stubborn. Actually, it would definitely have a better future if it didn't go into racing but went to a circus."
This kid is just as good at insulting people as I am. If I could beat him up, I would definitely punch him!
As we were talking, number 14 jumped another step and became third to last. I glanced back at Jin Shaoyan with a smug look, and before I knew it, I was overtaken by the horse behind me and became second to last... Jin Shaoyan couldn't help but laugh out loud, picked up the phone and ordered, "Have the logistics department send up a set of cleaning clothes." I almost burst into tears.
In the first 6 laps, the "Lame Rabbit" ran fairly well, overtaking other horses and being overtaken by them. In the end, it managed to move up several places, and there were already 5 horses behind it.
Starting from lap 7, "Lame Rabbit" began to exert its strength. With extremely unpredictable movements and unconventional thinking, it leaped and darted, changing lanes and drifting, quickly moving up to 5th place at a rate of two leaps per lap. Even so, the people in the racetrack still treated it as a joke, pointing at horse number 14 and laughing so hard they were doubled over, as if they had seen a pig dribble past a player in the World Cup final and then volley a goal.
But the "lame rabbit's" momentum didn't stop; by the penultimate lap, it had overtaken 14 horses and taken second place. The laughter stopped.
Although it's second, it's still far behind "Unrivaled Under Heaven." Judging from the current situation, no one can shake its first place. Jin Shaoyan stopped his mockery and said respectfully, "With proper training and a different jockey, this horse has great potential." Judging from his tone, he still believed that "Unrivaled Under Heaven" was destined to win this race.
But those with professional horse racing experience would notice that the seemingly constant distance between "Peerless" and "Lame Rabbit" was actually closing in at a snail's pace, a mere thread's width per second. Before anyone knew it, the two horses were only a body length apart. Then, unlike the usual frenzy of the final lap, a profound silence descended. Almost everyone stood, watching the horse named Lame… well, the one that had fought on despite repeated defeats, even though they still didn't believe it would win—less than 10 meters from the finish line. In horse racing, this distance is practically meaningless, especially considering the significant gap between the two horses.
At this moment, Jin 2 asked me nervously, "Is it time to sprint?" I nodded.
"Look very closely, it's amazing!" he exclaimed excitedly.
That was absolutely amazing! Just as "Peerless" was about to touch the finish line, "Lame Rabbit," who was half a body behind, suddenly leaped high into the air, stretching out its four hooves like a nimble deer, and when it landed, it touched the finish line a nose ahead of "Peerless."
I shouted, "Long live the lame rabbit!"
Jin Shaoyan temporarily forgot about winning or losing. He stared blankly at the screen and muttered, "What is that thing?"
The screen erupted in jubilation, including those who had lost money—they accepted their defeat wholeheartedly. The host was at a loss for words and could only join in the screaming along with the audience.
At that moment, Jin 2's earnest voice came through the earpiece: "Brother Qiang, I have a favor to ask of you..."
I sighed and whispered, "Don't say anything more, I know what to do."
I walked up to Jin Shaoyan, who was in a daze, and said, "Give me your car keys, and let's just forget about it."
Jin Shaoyan numbly pulled out his car keys and placed them on the table. I picked them up, and just as I was about to turn and leave, his signature smug smile reappeared on his face: "I knew you'd change your mind. People like you would never give up such a realistic benefit for the sake of so-called dignity."
As soon as he said that, Jin 2 knew things were going to get bad. He pleaded, "Brother Qiang, don't take it to heart..."
I ripped off the Bluetooth headset, put the car keys back, and said quietly, "Hey Jin, I've changed my mind—you're going to call me Brother Qiang in front of the whole company!"
Jin Shaoyan gave a stiff laugh, his tone softening: "You're kidding, right? My car costs over 3 million before tax!"
I picked up his landline and handed it to him: "Make a call and tell all your employees to come and call me Brother Qiang. Of course, you can also call security to kick me out, I can't stop you. If you can do that, I'll accept it."
Jin Shaoyan gave me one last look, his eyes turning cold. He took the phone and ordered, "Have all employees gather on the 16th floor for a meeting!"
In less than five minutes, the empty space on the 16th floor was filled with more than 500 professional men and women. Many of them had seen me before and were smirking at me. I was wearing a tank top, shorts, and "sports" flip-flops, with half a soft white sandal in my hand. This building probably hadn't seen me dressed so casually since construction began.
Jin Shaoyan walked out of the office with a gloomy face and asked Ruhua, "Is everyone here?" Ruhua nodded cautiously. Jin Shaoyan pointed at me and said, "I bet this gentleman on horse racing, and I lost. As agreed beforehand, I'll call him Brother Qiang. Listen up, all of you." After saying that, Jin Shaoyan resolutely turned around, bowed to me like a Japanese man, and shouted loudly, "Brother Qiang!"
"Don't try to act all friendly with me." I stubbed out my cigarette and strode away in front of the 500-plus people.
At this point, my feud with Jin Shaoyan is truly over.
As soon as I came out, my true colors as a petty bourgeois were revealed. I picked up the phone and asked Jin 2 with trepidation, "Won't he hire the underworld to retaliate against me?"
After hearing what had happened, Jin 2 sighed and said, "To be honest, I didn't know either. He's never suffered such a big setback before. Brother Qiang, this isn't your fault. It's my fault for not knowing how to behave in the past. If he ever causes you trouble again, just have Xiang Yu tear him apart. I have no objection."
Sigh, they're both Jin Shaoyan, how come there's such a big difference in their character?
Dinner was a big meal ordered from "Fushengyuan". Jin 1 and Jin 2 were both quite depressed today. Jin 2 was afraid of running into Jin 1 again at the same restaurant. My group of five has been having a blast these past two days. Fatty Ying has finally grasped the concept of spending money to enjoy life. While he has a concept of money, he has no concept of the amount. Now, when he buys ice cream, he doesn't even ask for change when he gives 100 yuan. Ersha's pockets are full of Nanfu batteries. He throws them away without charging them after use. Li Shishi has learned to support original books. Xiang Yu is still only interested in cars. Jin Shaoyan planned to put the spare tire of that Mercedes van on the front so he could use it as a bumper car to practice driving. I strongly advised against it—if he gets used to driving it, the streets will be littered with corpses. Liu Bang's attitude is ambiguous. He's the kind of person who "eats a bite when he has it, and doesn't care when he doesn't." Apart from showing a special fondness for steamed buns, he hasn't found a fixed hobby yet.
Baozi spent half the day with them, enjoying their lively atmosphere (she rushed back to work at 4 pm), and noticed something was off about Jin Shaoyan's spending habits. She secretly asked me, "Does Jin Shaoyan need something from you?" I nodded. It was a matter of life and death.
Baozi thought for a while, then suddenly grabbed me: "He doesn't want you to kill his twin brother, does he?" That's just how women are; they see things and then they believe them. These past few days I've been watching a Hong Kong cable TV drama about a wealthy family, and a few days ago I was also playing the melancholic card in a Korean drama.
However, that sentence also reminded me that I and Jin Yi are now irreconcilable enemies, and my intervention to save him might backfire. So I thought of Xiang Yu. But Xiang Yu said, "No interest." What an ingrate! He just gave you a car worth millions for free.
During dinner, Baozi and I were rubbing against each other very intimately. Baozi, of course, knew what I meant; she secretly pinched me, her eyes watery. It seemed she couldn't take it either. Li Shishi blushed and didn't dare look at us. Given her past profession, she shouldn't be so shy, right? Could it be... she couldn't take it either?
Jin Shaoyan shook off his gloom and said with a grin, "Brother Qiang, let's not stay at home today."
Did this guy sense my lustful heart and want to invite me out for a lavish meal? Where could a rich guy like him take me? The Emperor's? The Golden Queen's? The Hundred Flowers? I heard that the girls in those places typically cost tens of thousands a night, hahaha!
But can't we talk about this privately? You're so naive!