Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Back in his room, Ye Zhiqiu locked the door.

He then poured himself a glass of water, sat down at the desk, and began to carefully review the two emails Zhang Mian had forwarded to him earlier that day.

He started with the first one.

According to the forwarding information, the first email was from yesterday, sent by Wang Qitang himself.

After a long period of hesitation, just before the Spring Festival, Wang Qitang finally made up his mind.

And once he decided, he acted with great urgency.

Although the wording in the email was restrained, Ye Zhiqiu could easily see the intense enthusiasm beneath it.

He was eager and worried that the project might slip away to someone else.

The drastic and obvious change in Wang Qitang's attitude made Ye Zhiqiu pause for a moment, holding the mouse. He guessed that Wang Qitang's sudden decision was either due to advice from a wise person or because he had somehow gained an early insight into industry trends.

Xin Dongli had a professional research and development center.

Although their main business over the years had focused on engines and related fields, with many partners adding new energy vehicles to their portfolio, Xin Dongli should have already begun research in this area.

In his previous life, Ye Zhiqiu remembered that Wang Qitang's marriage partner's family was involved in cathode materials for batteries.

However, he hadn't paid particular attention to how far Xin Dongli had progressed in the field of new energy batteries.

To be precise, it wasn't particularly outstanding, which is why it didn't catch his attention.

Therefore, even if Xin Dongli had started research, they were likely following the existing product paths in the market.

He understood the importance Wang Qitang placed on the Yun Kai project, as it provided a new direction and a completely new path for him.

He also understood the reason for his hesitation in making a decision.

Ultimately, it was because Yun Kai's infrastructure seemed almost like a joke compared to a formal large-scale manufacturer like Xin Dongli.

Even if Xin Dongli suspected they were trying to get something for nothing, it wouldn't be wrong.

They lacked funds, relevant researchers, and equipment, yet wanted to share profits equally with Xin Dongli, which was taking advantage of the situation.

But there was no way around it; while they were taking advantage, they held the best plan for the development of the new energy battery industry, which was both cost-effective and profitable.

Thus, the sender of this email couldn't be some staff member from Xin Dongli's R&D center but Wang Qitang himself.

Wang Qitang's management style was consistent with his father's: innovative yet cautious.

So, Ye Zhiqiu had prepared for two scenarios.

If Xin Dongli remained indecisive before the New Year, he would abandon cooperation with them and turn to the largest new energy battery manufacturer in the country, Mind Times.

Mind Times accounted for a full thirty percent of global battery sales, a dominant position that no one could match.

As a result, they had more experience in the industry and pursued more diverse research directions.

The reason he hadn't approached Mind Times initially was that Ye Zhiqiu feared that, given their monopoly in the battery industry, if negotiations failed, they might use various means to suppress their solution.

After all, even if the future profits were promising, most people would back off if they faced malicious pressure from Mind Times after contact.

This would leave them in a very passive position.

Therefore, he chose Xin Dongli, which was eager to transform, as his primary option and kept Mind Times as a backup.

Now that Xin Dongli had even sent the contract, Ye Zhiqiu finally felt relieved.

Understanding the situation, he opened the second email.

The second email was sent early this morning by Xin Dongli's legal department.

It was clear that the legal department hadn't taken a timely holiday and had worked overnight to prepare this contract.

Ye Zhiqiu smiled slightly, skipping the pleasantries, and directly opened the attached contract sample.

He carefully reviewed the contract and found no commercial traps within it.

This showed that the other party was indeed sincere about this collaboration.

He then called Zhang Mian to discuss specific details that needed modification in the contract.

After finishing his work, Ye Zhiqiu looked out the window.

Dusk had begun to settle, and the courtyard had become lively.

Colorful lights in the flower beds lit up, forming a dazzling web of light.

Beside the web, Uncle Wang was setting off fireworks with Ye Zhixia.

"Master," Uncle Wang anxiously watched Ye Zhixia light the firework, "be careful not to burn your hand."

"It's the New Year, can't you say something auspicious?" Ye Zhixia complained.

As the fuse began to smoke, Ye Zhixia covered her ears and screamed, dodging to the side.

A firework shot up, and countless others seemed to follow, rising and exploding from all directions, illuminating the world brightly.

At this moment, Ye Zhiqiu finally felt a bit of the New Year's atmosphere.

He leaned against the window, slowly finishing the cup of water that had long since gone cold. Then he sat down again, habitually taking a blank sheet of paper and laying it out in front of him, beginning to review the events of the past two days.

The words quickly filled the page, and Ye Zhiqiu paused for a moment before finally writing three characters: "Hangover Medicine."

Then, he added three more characters: "Qin Jianhe."

Since his rebirth, nothing had surprised or delighted him except for Qin Jianhe.

Ye Zhiqiu held the pen, pondering for a moment, then turned his head to look at his bedside table.

At that moment, the box of barely touched hangover medicine was quietly sitting on his cabinet.

Just like last night when he held it in his palm, this box felt heavy in his heart, carrying significant weight.

If everything could start anew, if there were no tragic experiences from his previous life...

Ye Zhiqiu thought that perhaps he might have liked Qin Jianhe.

His appearance, background, everything was top-notch, naturally.

Most importantly, Qin Jianhe was genuinely a gentleman, completely different from Qi Xin's pretentious gentleness.

In the past, with his boldness, family background wouldn't have mattered.

He would reject those he disliked decisively, but for those he liked, even if there were insurmountable obstacles, he would still dare to pursue what he wanted.

Unfortunately, although he was still bold, since the day of his rebirth, he hadn't thought about matters of the heart anymore.

It was somewhat regrettable.

Therefore, he knew better than anyone that he shouldn't continue accepting such unconditional kindness from others.

Regardless of their motives.

This time, Ye Zhiqiu's heart was cold, unable to be moved by anyone, even if it were Qin Jianhe.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes, slowly tearing the paper full of words into shreds and throwing it into the trash bin.

Then he stood up, holding the bottle of hangover medicine in his hand. After a moment of hesitation, he also threw it into the trash bin.

It was just a bottle of hangover medicine...

If needed, he could buy it himself.

The sound of knocking came; Aunt Zhao called him downstairs for dinner.

Ye Zhiqiu went to the bathroom to wash his face, changed into casual clothes, and then opened the door.

On New Year's Eve, the Ye family rarely gathered together, with both Ye Hongxian and Ye Zheng present.

Aunt Zhao had prepared a full table of dishes, and the festive music from the TV made the dining room particularly lively.

"Here," Tao Ruoqing smiled, pulling out red envelopes and handing them to Ye Zhiqiu and Ye Zhixia, "These are from your parents."

"Thank you." Ye Zhiqiu accepted it, smiling as he took his seat beside Ye Zheng.

"After the new year, you're another year older," Ye Hongxian said, "You two should start understanding things better, especially Xiao Qiu..."

Ye Hongxian looked at Ye Zhiqiu, "You won an award while still in school, and now you've entered a big company. Dad is proud of you."

Ignoring Ye Zhixia's disgruntled expression, Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes and smiled.

His phone vibrated. He looked down and saw a message from Qi Xin.

"Qi Xin: Happy New Year, darling."

Unable to hold back, Ye Zhiqiu laughed out loud.

In his previous life, "darling" was a special nickname Qi Xin used for Jiang Nan.

This time, he gave it to him, making Ye Zhiqiu feel truly "honored."

"Yi Ye Zhiqiu: Happy New Year."

"Qi Xin: In a couple of days, my father and I want to visit your house. Which day is convenient for you?"

Ye Zhiqiu's lips curled into a particularly cold smile.

If it were just a simple visit, and with Qi Ruichang coming along, it would have been most appropriate to ask Tao Ruoqing.

But Qi Xin asked him instead.

Clearly, it was meant to further their relationship under the guise of a family meeting.

Perhaps the next step would be for Tao Ruoqing to start planning his marriage.

"Yi Ye Zhiqiu: Isn't your father and my mother old classmates? Do they need to check my schedule for a visit?"

"Qi Xin: But now there's our relationship too. My father has seen your photo, and he really likes you."

What kind of father raises what kind of child.

Qi Ruichang appeared honest, but he was even more cunning than Qi Xin.

In his previous life, he always tried to leverage Jiang Nan's family status to elevate Qi Yun.

So, he played a significant role in Qi Xin and Jiang Nan's ambiguous relationship.

And for the later, already useless Ye Zhiqiu, he didn't care at all.

Even because of Qi Xin's scandal, he was particularly proud in front of him.

As if those scandals truly proved his son's charm.

How ridiculous.

Snobbish, cold-hearted, despicable...

These traits could be said to be fully embodied in Qi Ruichang.

"New Year's Eve dinner, the whole family is here," seeing that he kept looking at his phone, Ye Hongxian became unhappy again, "What are you staring at on your phone?"

"Nothing," Ye Zhiqiu smiled and looked up, "It's Mom's old classmate who wants to come over to our house to celebrate the New Year. He asked which day would be convenient for us."

"What old classmates does your mother have?" Tao Ruoqing didn't even get her high school diploma. Speaking of classmates, Ye Hongxian couldn't help but sneer, "Even if she has any, they should ask her, not you."

At this point, he paused and suddenly realized something: "It's not that Qi guy, is it?"

Ye Zhiqiu smiled, indicating affirmation.

"No way." Ye Hongxian immediately rejected it.

He didn't care about Tao Ruoqing's friends, nor did he care when she brought Qi Xin to Ye Zhiqiu's celebration banquet before. But if this Qi guy wanted to pursue Ye Zhiqiu, he absolutely wouldn't agree.

No matter how much he disliked Ye Zhiqiu, he was still his son.

Even if he couldn't understand everything thoroughly, the family background had to be acceptable.

A family like Qi Xin's, with just a small factory making knockoffs every year...

There was no way they could associate with their Ye family.

"Why would your classmate contact him, a child, instead of you for New Year greetings?" Ye Hongxian turned to Tao Ruoqing and lashed out, "What are they thinking? If he doesn't understand as a child, don't you understand as an adult?"

Tao Ruoqing: "..."

"In the future, don't bother with such people." Ye Hongxian made the final decision.

"Since Ye Zhiqiu isn't ambitious and likes that Qi guy, why are you taking it out on my mom?" Ye Zhixia couldn't stand it anymore.

Clearly, Ye Hongxian didn't like Ye Zhiqiu at all before, but only changed his attitude after Ye Zhiqiu joined Q.L.

"Do you really think he can climb up to the young master of the Qin family?" Ye Zhixia blurted out, "How ridiculous."

"Xia Xia." Hearing this, Ye Zheng frowned and spoke first, "Watch your words."

"Brother, are you not born from Mom? You're siding with Ye Zhiqiu!" Ye Zhixia burst with anger.

"Is there no law anymore?" Hearing this, Ye Hongxian turned livid with anger.

"Ye Zhixia!" Ye Zheng shouted at Ye Zhixia again, desperately giving him eye signals.

But unfortunately, Ye Zhixia had accumulated too much resentment inside, and now that he finally had an outlet, it wasn't easy to stop.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his head and continued eating, listening to the chaos at the dining table.

Ye Hongxian was so angry that he threw down his chopsticks during the New Year's feast.

Only Ye Zhiqiu finished his meal properly. Looking at the mess on the dining table, he elegantly wiped his lips with a napkin and got up to go upstairs.

Reaching the third floor, the arguments downstairs were drowned out by intermittent fireworks and firecrackers outside.

Ye Zhiqiu took his PAD and sat down at the computer to start drawing.

One month after the Spring Festival, various fashion weeks both domestically and internationally would begin.

Normally, most designers' entries should already be prepared.

This month was supposed to be used for final adjustments to the works.

Starting preparations now was actually quite late.

But it didn't matter. He had absolute confidence in himself and believed that his work would impress Meng Da and secure him a spot in the exhibition.

His skills were enough to surpass most of the current designers at Q.L, and even if he made many enemies, it didn't matter.

As long as he could seize the opportunity, everything would be worth it.

The fireworks outside continued to rise, and Ye Zhiqiu's thick eyelashes were slightly lowered as he focused intently.

Perhaps because of the unexpected disaster that fell upon him, this night was unusually quiet, and even Tao Ruoqing didn't come to call him downstairs to stay up until midnight as usual.

Ye Zhiqiu drew quietly until the fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky, and the sound of firecrackers approached like rain. His hand paused slightly.

Getting up to open the window, the cold air rushed in along with the TV's countdown to the New Year from downstairs.

At the same time, New Year greetings poured in one after another without stopping.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes and saw Gao Wenye's name.

Behind the greeting, he mentioned returning to the set on the third day of the New Year and requested to meet Ye Zhiqiu.

"I really like you. I know you have feelings for me too, but you keep me at arm's length because you're afraid of Ye Zhixia. Let's meet and clear up any misunderstandings or concerns face-to-face."

Gao Wenye's words were sincere.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes and began to reply.

"Sorry, I cannot meet you during the period you are involved with Ye Zhixia. If you insist on meeting, wait until your current project wraps up and then contact me."

Downstairs, the countdown finally ended, and the host's excited and festive voice echoed up: "Let us welcome this brand new year together."

The new year has arrived, Ye Zhiqiu thought.

"The new year has arrived," Qin Jianhe said, putting down the chess piece in his hand and smiling at Nie Yunsong. "Grandpa, let me help you upstairs to rest."

"Old age means less sleep," Nie Yunsong smiled. "Xiao Yu, accompany Grandpa outside to watch some fireworks."

"Sure." Qin Jianhe got up, fetched a down jacket for the elderly man, and carefully zipped it up to the top. Then, he took a woolen hat and placed it on the old man's head.

The woolen hat was very soft, and as he put it on, he couldn't help but think of Ye Zhiqiu again.

Ye Zhiqiu also feared the cold and liked wearing woolen hats.

But his hats were much prettier than these elderly styles.

"What are you thinking about?" Nie Yunsong asked.

His daughter and grandson were busy, so the house felt lonely. After retiring, he moved to the Ruiyi Investment nursing home.

He spent his days playing chess and tending flowers with other seniors, leading a relaxed life.

Only during holidays did Nie Fengjun bring him back for family gatherings.

"Nothing," Qin Jianhe said. "Do you need gloves?"

"No need," Nie Yunsong waved his hand. "We'll be coming back inside soon."

"Are you going out now?" As they spoke, Nie Fengjun came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands and fetching her coat. "I'll go with you."

"You stay and watch TV with Uncle Fu," Qin Jianhe said. "I'll just take Grandpa out to the courtyard for a bit and then come back."

"Got something private to discuss?" Nie Fengjun asked with a smile.

"No," Qin Jianhe cut off her further questions directly.

"I see, I see," Nie Fengjun laughed. "Go ahead then."

Nie Yunsong smiled and reached for his cane. Seeing this, Qin Jianhe held his arm.

"No need for that," he said. "I'll support you."

Nie Yunsong withdrew his hand and patted Qin Jianhe's hand affectionately.

The Nie family's villa was on a hillside, so standing in the courtyard, one could overlook the lights of thousands of homes below.

At this moment, fireworks lit up the sky like a cascade of colorful clouds blooming one after another. From their vantage point, the view was breathtakingly beautiful and vibrant.

"How fast a year goes by," Nie Yunsong sighed. "But only on this day does it feel like the New Year."

"Yes," Qin Jianhe agreed. "It's not as lively as when we were young."

"Times have changed," the old man sighed, then couldn't help but smile slightly.

"When I met your grandmother, it was during the New Year," Nie Yunsong said. "She had just returned from studying abroad, and her family was pressuring her to go on blind dates. I said, how could such a beautiful girl need to be forced into dating? Who wouldn't want to pursue her?"

Hearing this, Qin Jianhe chuckled softly.

The colorful fireworks exploded in his deep, dark eyes, dazzling and mesmerizing.

He had heard these stories many times, but he still enjoyed listening to them whenever Nie Yunsong recounted them.

"Your eyes are like your grandmother's," Nie Yunsong gently remarked. "Your face too."

He had seen many photos of his grandmother.

She had a somewhat masculine appearance, yet she was strikingly beautiful.

Interestingly, he didn't resemble his mother or Qin Xusheng; he looked almost exactly like his grandmother.

In contrast, Nie Fengjun resembled her father more.

"Mm-hmm," Qin Jianhe nodded.

"Because we met during the New Year," Nie Yunsong continued with a smile, "every year, we would make a date to watch the fireworks together. I promised her I would build a courtyard on this hillside so that every Spring Festival, we could enjoy tea while watching the snow, or simply look down and see the fireworks."

"You kept your promise," Qin Jianhe said. "It is indeed beautiful."

Even after all these years, it remained stunning.

"Yes," Nie Yunsong smiled. "The thing I am most proud of in my life is not creating and developing Ruiyi."

He paused. "What I am most proud of is keeping every promise I made to your grandmother."

"Mm-hmm," Qin Jianhe smiled, a rare softness in his expression. "Grandma was the happiest woman in the world."

After a moment, he added, "And you are the happiest man in the world."

"That's why," Nie Yunsong sighed, "if one is fortunate enough to find the right person, it's important to have a companion."

"Without your grandmother, no matter how successful I was in my career, my life would have been a desert."

"Did Nie Fengjun say something to you again?" Qin Jianhe laughed. "Isn't Ruiyi enough to keep her busy?"

"It's not your mother's fault," Nie Yunsong patted his hand again. "Your mother has always felt guilty about the failed marriage with your father, which affected you negatively."

The old man fell silent for a moment before continuing, "But your mother is not unreasonable. If you don't want a partner, she won't force you. For many people, living alone can be good. But if you do meet someone special, she doesn't want you to miss out on happiness because of her past mistakes."

Hearing this, Qin Jianhe lowered his gaze and remained silent.

He has always had a close relationship with his mother and maternal grandfather. In front of them, he feels there is nothing he cannot say.

The fireworks down the mountain gradually diminished, but new ones continued to rise into the sky.

Qin Jianhe looked down, his eyes lowered, and after a moment, he said, "I just don't know what the true meaning of being together is."

When he was young, he watched his exceptionally optimistic and accomplished mother wither away and become depressed because of love...

Their life was filled with arguments and suffocation.

People who had once loved each other deeply couldn't even maintain a shred of dignity in the end.

If asked whether he hated Qin Xusheng, Qin Jianhe felt that he did not.

Because Qin Xusheng wasn't worth it.

He never denied or avoided the fact that Qin Xusheng was his biological father, but he had no feelings for him, neither love nor hate.

If there were any feelings at all, they would be indifference.

"This is something you need to discover slowly, my child," Nie Yunsong smiled. "In this world, there are irresponsible people like your father, and there are loving couples like your grandparents who have been devoted to each other their entire lives, and there are men like Uncle Fu who can endlessly tolerate and heal your mother's wounds..."

"The kind of life you want to live," Nie Yunsong said, "depends on yourself, my child."