The conversation moved on to other topics as the two men decided to take a stroll outside, avoiding the far-too-curious eyes of the employees of the cafe.
V did 99% of the speaking, talking about various topics as Xiao Yi responded in an 'en', nod, or in special cases, a sentence.
Though he was a silent person, he listened patiently to his friend's rant about how the shareholders weren't taking him seriously anymore and they wanted to meet the second largest shareholder, Xiao Yi.
This was all spurred on by a comment from his father-in-law. "Who knows if they exist, or if you made up this alias so you could trick us and refuse to sell more shares or decision-making power!"
He spoke about how his in-laws had become increasingly greedy after getting a foot in the door, making him feel awkward and continue giving in. He gave them money, a house, a car, and 5% shares in his business. Yet, they continued to want more - it only got worse after he married their daughter with a prenuptial agreement.
V looked helplessly toward his 'brother' as he spoke. "Your sister-in-law… She's very lenient on her parents, she doesn't know how to say no to them. It makes me look like the bad guy in these situations."
Xiao Yi frowned and shook his head. "They're wrong."
V finished the last sip of his coffee and threw it away in the nearby garbage can on the side of the road. He turned and sighed. "Of course, I know they're wrong! Can you come to the next shareholder meeting so I don't need to vote on your behalf? You can wear a mask if you want, they're old men who don't pay much attention to the e-sports side."
The spontaneous meeting ended with Xiao Yi nodding in agreement. It was partly his fault, V had been speaking on his behalf for three years now without him showing his face.
One of the reasons he didn't show up to the meetings in person was that he didn't need to go when V was there. The other reason was the fact that he tried his best to stay out of the spotlight so no one could pin him to 'Frost'.
He didn't want that legacy anymore.
He'd likely be suspicious too, the CEO handling the voting rights isn't a good look but he always spoke his mind through text - it just happened that he thought similarly to V.
Soon, V had to leave and Xiao Yi made his way back to the apartment.
Xiao Yi had his head lowered as he scrolled through his phone. As he thought, the commentators from earlier had brought up his name and reminded the world of his existence, so he was being thoroughly scolded once more.
"We should be thankful he left, we don't need a scum like him in the industry!"
"Who's Frost? Isn't that the guy who abandoned his teammates and ran off with the money?"
"I can't believe I used to be his fan…"
"So young and talented but so ruthless!"
"Didn't you watch LSY-Minho's stream? That bastard went trying to mooch off others after the team disbanded. He tried to dirty our Minho's name!"
"!!! Upstairs, he even posted proof."
Xiao Yi remained expressionless as he read the scoldings but his mind was in a fight of its own, rebuking everything.
'I, this scumbag, am your father!'
'Ran off with what money? Wasn't I almost broke?'
'Haaaah what a bastard, he should be happy I'm not petty enough to release his dirty laundry too.'
There seemed to be two little demons on his shoulder, one yelling that he should create an alt and drag them through the mud whilst the other one screamed that he shouldn't disturb his peace.
The cell phone slid back into his pocket and the little demon his left shoulder disappeared in a puff of smoke while the other little demon laid back leisurely.
He wandered around for a while, only approaching the apartment building when the sun had begun to fall.
A group of men who looked like they could be models stepped out of a taxi in front of the entrance. He approached them step by step, watching as they began to retrieve their bags from the car.
Once he was closer, he could hear the shortest in the group complain. "I'm so tired, ah, I could pass out on a sofa at this point!"
"Shh, we're in public. Don't be so loud." A taller one in the group spoke coldly as he bent down and received a bag, handing it over to one of the members.
Xiao Yi walked past the group of men and entered the building, not leaving the door open in case they had bad motives. If they were relatives of a tenant or had Lee's permission, they should have a code for the building themselves.
Anyway, it wasn't his business unless they bothered him. He turned to go up the stairs and vaguely heard the doors open, then a few groans about the broken elevator.
He wasn't the only one to share the pain of walking up the stairs today.