Chapter 20

Chapter 20

On the way back, the car was unusually quiet.

Ye Zheng drove, Tao Ruoqing searched for news about Gao Wenye on her phone, while Ye Zhiqiu sketched his inspirations on a drawing app.

"Xiao Qiu," after a long while, Tao Ruoqing looked away from her phone screen, "did you know Gao Wenye before?"

"I've seen his movies." Ye Zhiqiu didn't look up, engrossed in tapping and sketching on the screen. "But today was the first time I met him in person."

"What do you think of him?" Tao Ruoqing asked.

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu's hand paused momentarily.

"I wouldn't dare say anything rashly," he smiled, "or Ye Zhixia might hate me in the future."

He and Ye Zhixia were around the same age, having grown up together. Though they appeared close on the surface, when it came to conflicts of interest, neither would yield to the other.

Especially Ye Zhixia, who could be quite aggressive in such matters.

Growing up, they had fought countless times, and Ye Zhiqiu was never a match for him.

If not for Tao Ruoqing's protection, his face would have been ruined long ago.

Speaking of which, this mother-son duo truly knew how to use their resources.

One would fight him to secure resources, while the other would protect him to win his trust...

Only he himself was a fool.

He forgave those who beat him and trusted those who protected him, willing to give his all.

Once, Ye Zhiqiu believed that no matter how much they fought or quarreled, they would always remain brothers.

But later, he realized that he was the only one who thought so.

And Ye Zhixia genuinely hated him.

"Do you really think your little tricks can hide from Mom?" Tao Ruoqing laughed. "Don't worry; even if he gets angry, there's still Mom to protect you."

"In that case, I'll say it," Ye Zhiqiu turned his head to think for a moment, "I think he's pretty confident and narcissistic."

At this, Ye Zheng chuckled from the front seat.

"As if anyone with eyes couldn't see that," he said.

But Tao Ruoqing didn't laugh; instead, her brows furrowed deeper.

"When you went to the restroom, did he follow you and say something to you?" Tao Ruoqing asked.

"He tried to confess to me in a sneaky way." As if such confessions were commonplace, Ye Zhiqiu spoke nonchalantly. "But I already rejected him."

Sure enough, Tao Ruoqing thought. No wonder Xia Xia came back looking so upset.

Yet Gao Wenye acted as if nothing happened, still smiling and maintaining his charm.

Like a peacock showing off its feathers, but for whom?

How infuriating!

For years, she had worked hard within the social circle of wealthy wives, aiming to marry Ye Zhixia into a prestigious family.

She naturally looked down on someone like Gao Wenye, who had no background.

But her disdain for Gao Wenye was one thing; his trampling on her son's genuine feelings was another.

The handle of her elegant leather bag deformed under her grip as Tao Ruoqing sneered, "He's dreaming. None of our Ye family is worthy of him."

"Yes," Ye Zhiqiu smiled, lowering his gaze to continue sketching on the screen.

Ye Zhixia usually listened to Tao Ruoqing, but on this matter, he seemed to have a rebellious streak.

In his previous life, he had caused a huge rift with Tao Ruoqing over Gao Wenye, almost severing their mother-son relationship.

So when Gao Wenye confessed to him, he immediately told Ye Zhixia and advised breaking up, hoping to resolve their conflict quickly.

But he underestimated Ye Zhixia's infatuation.

Even in that situation, he refused to break up and continued to cherish Gao Wenye.

Since he was born rebellious, it might be better to let Tao Ruoqing fuel the fire sooner.

If she didn't oppose it, fine; the more she opposed it, the more Ye Zhixia would cling to Gao Wenye.

The phone suddenly rang, breaking the tense silence in the car. Ye Zheng answered it on speaker while driving.

Immediately, Ye Hongxian's voice filled the car.

"Weren't you at home today?" Ye Hongxian asked.

On a weekend, Ye Hongxian actually came home?

How unusual.

Hearing his voice, Tao Ruoqing's brow twitched slightly.

"Mm," Ye Zheng replied, "we went out with Mom and Xiao Qiu to visit Xia Xia at work. We're on our way back now."

The other side fell silent for a moment.

"Have you been in touch with Old Huo recently?" Ye Hongxian asked.

Hearing Huo Jun's name, Ye Zhiqiu perked up his ears slightly.

A few days ago, the first batch of new raw material samples from Yun Kai was released, and Zhang Mian personally sent them to professional testing institutions for relevant inspections.

On Thursday, the test results came out, and Zhang Mian was so excited he was almost speechless.

The new product performed exceptionally well in terms of anti-oxidation, corrosion resistance, flexibility, and tensile strength, even surpassing products currently on the market.

Moreover, while achieving these goals, the price could still be reduced by more than one-third compared to traditional products.

This kind of appeal is fatal to anyone in the industry.

That day, Zhang Mian sent the test results via email to various related companies and mailed samples to each of them.

Customers from other regions and abroad had not yet received the samples, but several factories and related users around the capital quickly gave clear responses and expressed strong interest in collaborating with Yun Kai.

Two of these were long-term clients that Ye Ding had been working with for years.

For Ye Ding, this blow, though not fatal, was certainly debilitating.

After all, those two clients had a stable relationship with him for many years and were placed by Ye Hongxian in the "safety net" category, confident that even if other clients had issues, these two would still give him a way out.

No wonder he's so anxious.

"Contacted him," Ye Zheng said. "He has already given his factory equipment to someone else; we can only..."

"Factory equipment?" Ye Hongxian exclaimed angrily. "Clients are gone! Clients are gone!"

The car jolted suddenly, making Tao Ruoqing break out in a cold sweat.

"The child is driving," she usually indulged and coaxed Ye Hongxian, but today she couldn't help but lose her temper. "If there's something to discuss, do it when we get home."

The other side fell silent for a moment.

"Let's talk when you get back," Ye Hongxian's tone softened. "Take advantage of the weekend, let's invite some clients out for drinks and understand the situation better."

"Okay, Dad," Ye Zheng said. "I'll be back soon."

From the conversation, Ye Zhiqiu could easily deduce that Ye Hongxian was considering playing the emotional card with the clients.

However, no matter how deep the feelings, they are worthless in the face of interests.

It seems Ye Hongxian doesn't know that Yun Kai's prices are unattainable even if they went bankrupt.

Thinking about his father's rage and despair after learning about this, Ye Zhiqiu felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

"Brother," seeing Ye Zheng hang up the phone, he barely suppressed the corners of his lips from curling. "Drop me off somewhere in the Central Business District later; I have dinner plans."

"At this hour, you still have the mood to play? Be careful your dad breaks your legs when you get back," Tao Ruoqing said.

Ye Zhiqiu laughed, not responding.

Ye Hongxian usually scowls at him, let alone now when he's furious.

Going home now would be like offering his legs to Ye Hongxian's stick.

Besides, today he's in a good mood and probably wouldn't even be able to act along with their drama.

Rather than facing chaos at home, he might as well take the opportunity to check out the boxing gym's environment.

"Where did you make plans?" Ye Zheng asked. "I'll drop you off."

"No need," Ye Zhiqiu said. "Aren't you eager to get home?"

"It won't take more than two minutes," Ye Zheng said.

Ye Zhiqiu thought for a moment and gave the location of a Western restaurant across from the Q.L office building.

Ye Zheng rerouted the navigation, and within ten minutes, the car stopped in front of the Western restaurant.

Ye Zhiqiu jumped out of the car, bought a can of iced cola from the nearby convenience store, and walked towards the tall building where the boxing gym was located, sipping the cola as he went.

In the cold weather, drinking an icy cola made Ye Zhiqiu shiver.

The excitement and pleasure in his heart instantly turned into clarity under the coldness.

Several clues quickly became clear in his mind, extending outward.

Uncle Wang, Gao Wenye, Qi Xin...

These three formed a stable equilateral triangle that could completely confine Tao Ruoqing.

The smooth progress of VIA and Yun Kai made him feel even more secure and confident.

The sweetness of the iced cola stood out more, and Ye Zhiqiu pulled down the sleeve of his cashmere sweater to wrap around the cold bottle, sipping it as he entered the boxing gym's lobby on the first floor.

Upon reaching the reception desk, he learned that the place had a strict VIP system, and non-members without appointments could not enter.

Ye Zhiqiu had to ask Jin Baobao for the name and contact information of his senior.

Soon, after receiving a call from the second boss, the receptionist immediately changed her demeanor and even called over a boxing instructor to guide Ye Zhiqiu inside.

"Our gym originally focused on Muay Thai," the instructor explained as the sightseeing elevator slowly ascended. "But due to client demand, we added many other sports."

"The first floor," the instructor pointed in the direction of Ye Zhiqiu's gaze. "is for sanda training; the students are generally younger. The second floor is for Muay Thai, the third for karate, and the fourth is our mixed martial arts arena..."

The elevator arrived, and Ye Zhiqiu followed it down.

"There's another floor, the swimming pool," the boxer said. "It's only open to members of the four floors below."

"Hmm." Ye Zhiqiu smiled and followed behind, looking around.

The mixed martial arts area was spacious, divided into various practice zones by transparent glass. As he walked through, there were small classes, duels, and individual training areas.

Just as he was about to reach the end, his phone vibrated.

He took it out and opened it, seeing Jin Baobao's message in the group chat.

"Caicai Jinbao: Go check my latest post on Moments. Click the link and vote for my senior sister, please. Thanks a lot, guys! [Bow].jpg"

Ye Zhiqiu was speechless but still obediently clicked into Moments to vote for Jin Baobao's senior sister.

After exiting the voting link, he subconsciously scrolled down his Moments feed.

In just a moment, several new posts had appeared, and one caught Ye Zhiqiu's attention.

It was Jiang Nan's latest update.

The text read: "Everything is unsaid in seven characters: All is well."

The accompanying picture was of a hand holding a wine glass. Ye Zhiqiu recognized it immediately—it belonged to Qi Xin.

In the past, Jiang Nan often posted Moments related to Qi Xin.

Whenever Ye Zhiqiu felt uncomfortable, Qi Xin would explain it away as part of their work relationship.

If Ye Zhiqiu remained unhappy, he was accused of being unreasonable, making a fuss, and being selfish.

This kind of invisible mental abuse and torment had gone on for so long that Ye Zhiqiu couldn't remember how long.

But now, seeing it again, he found it amusing.

"We're almost done here," the boxer smiled and turned back. "When you go back, consider whether you want to join a large class, a small class, or private lessons. We have everything."

"Thank you." Ye Zhiqiu looked up from his phone and thanked the young boxer with a smile.

"You're welcome, no problem." The young boxer scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.

"What about over there?" Ye Zhiqiu smiled and glanced at a corridor marked with a "High-Level VIP" metal plaque. "Can we take a look over there?"

"That area," the boxer said, looking a bit hesitant, "is a private training zone, not part of the tour."

"I'll just take a quick look, I promise not to make any noise." Ye Zhiqiu immediately raised his hand to assure him.

When he asked, his eyes were soft and harmless. After a moment's hesitation, the boxer finally nodded.

"At this time, there probably won't be many people around," he said, still reminding Ye Zhiqiu, "but please keep absolutely quiet."

"Hmm." Ye Zhiqiu nodded.

The High-Level VIP area was different from the outside. Apart from the glass doors facing the corridor, the rest of the area was completely shielded.

As the boxer had said, most of the private boxing rooms were still locked and unused at the moment.

Occasionally, a few were in use, but the occupants were so focused that none noticed them.

Ye Zhiqiu looked into each room, until he reached the last one. When he saw the figure inside, he stopped.

The man inside was tall and had long legs. His all-black combat suit was drenched in sweat, accentuating his broad shoulders and slim waist.

Sweat trickled down his temples, and his noble phoenix eyes were fierce and intense, matching his fluid movements. Every flex and extension conveyed real power.

Especially the exposed forearm, glistening with sweat under the lights, showed off healthy, taut muscles with beautiful lines, full of strength.

It was Qin Jianhe.

Ye Zhiqiu's lips curled involuntarily.

"Let's go," the boxer whispered, gesturing and leading the way.

But this time, Ye Zhiqiu didn't move right away. He subtly pressed his phone against the spotless glass and snapped a photo of the figure inside.

Today, he was in a good mood and hadn't planned to confront Jiang Nan.

But since even fate seemed to disapprove of Jiang Nan's shamelessness, it would be impolite not to respond in kind.

Wasn't Jiang Nan trying to provoke him?

Let's see whose impact is stronger.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his gaze and typed on his phone: "Brother's waist isn't a waist, it's a deadly saber."

Then, he attached the photo he had just taken, set it to be visible only to Jiang Nan, and hit send.