Ji Yan was momentarily rooted to the spot. This was the first major project he'd negotiated since graduating and joining the company. His father's exhortations still rang in his ears vividly, "Little Yan, the company will be yours in the future. You must work hard and don't let Dad down."
"Little Brother, have you made up your mind yet?"
In an instant, the beautiful eyes of Shen Jin Huan flashed across his mind.
The client could sense Ji Yan's inner turmoil. He took delight in shattering the pride of these young folks. In the business world, few deals were made with clean hands. He disliked Ji Yan's self-righteous clarity.
After all, he was still too green, having just stepped into society.
With a grin, he said to the ladies beside him, "What are you waiting for? Pour wine for General Manager Ji!"
"No need. I don't require any female company. You all can leave," Ji Yan's eyes grew resolute. Even if he were to lose everything, he couldn't betray Shen Jin Huan.
The client's face immediately turned cold. "Fine, since General Manager Ji is so unaccommodating, there's no need to continue this drinking session today. I'll also have to reconsider the contract."
With that, he took his leave.
The door of the private box was slammed shut with a resounding bang, the tremor far exceeding the volume of the music within the room.
Ji Yan sat in the private room, feeling vexed, and uncorked a bottle of wine, drinking alone.
Coincidentally, his father called him at that moment.
Asking about the progress, he informed his father that the project might fall through. Father Ji hastily inquired about the reason. Upon hearing his son's seemingly absurd justification, Father Ji was silent for a few seconds before saying, "In the business arena, some superficial socializing is inevitable. I'm not asking you to fool around with women outside, but when dealing with clients, you shouldn't be so rigid. Think it over carefully."
When Ji Yan returned home, the smell of alcohol still lingered on him.
Shen Jin Huan cast a glance at him and told Mi Du on the other end of the phone that she was done playing and logged off directly. She scurried over, intending to get close to Ji Yan, but halted her steps the moment she got near. The stench of alcohol! Disgusting! She shot him a disdainful look and was about to go back to resume her game.
Ji Yan let out a somewhat helpless chuckle. "I'll go take a bath and be with you in a while."
"Okay, be quick, be quick."
The hot water cascaded down from above. Ji Yan felt rather dejected. As a young man, especially one who'd stepped straight into a high position without going through the grind at the bottom rung since starting his career, having sailed through smoothly without facing setbacks before, it was only natural to feel downcast after such a major stumble all of a sudden.
After the bath, he emerged wrapped in a bathrobe.
Today, his energy seemed to have dissipated considerably. At this rate, perhaps not even seven days would be needed; it might be almost gone by tomorrow.
Shen Jin Huan pursed her lips slightly. Apparently, something had caused him distress.
Once the affection marks were fully formed, technically, what happened to this person had nothing to do with her. However, with every instance of the last bead, Shen Jin Huan would always show him a bit more care.
Looking at Ji Yan, her tone was especially tender in the stillness of the night. "Were you unhappy outside?"
All along, it seemed that Shen Jin Huan was the pampered one, with him constantly spoiling her. But tonight, with her speaking to him in such a gentle voice, Ji Yan's nose tingled all of a sudden, and a flood of grievances welled up within him. Clinging to Shen Jin Huan like a child lodging a complaint, he said, "The project tonight didn't go through."
"Well, why was that?"
"That man insisted that I get involved with other women. I refused, and then he said he'd reconsider."
"You could have agreed," Shen Jin Huan said with a smile. She'd be leaving soon anyway, so it wouldn't be a big deal if Ji Yan had complied.
"Shen Jin Huan!" Ji Yan was angry for the first time, his voice rising several octaves.