Chapter 13 Brotherly Love

Chapter 13 Brotherly Respect

Shen Zongnian finally glanced out the window, watching the cedars and cypresses recede continuously.

The sky remained a deep, opaque blue, and the figure in the rearview mirror had long since vanished completely.

But Shen Zongnian only looked for a moment before turning his attention back to his laptop.

Due to the time difference, his inbox was flooded with emails, and Shen Zongnian responded to them one by one.

While browsing through spreadsheets and documents, his social account frequently displayed new notifications. Shen Zongnian slowed his typing, glanced at the time—less than forty minutes since departure—and ignored them.

Eventually, the person sending the messages must have fallen back asleep, as the interface quieted down. Shen Zongnian’s efficiency improved greatly.

As they passed through Leyton Town, the weather began to turn unstable. The wind and snow intensified, and after crossing a frozen river, the Ghost showed signs of struggling to accelerate.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Zongnian clearly felt the car becoming unsteady, feeling loose on curves.

“Young Master, the wind has picked up. The car is swaying, and the engine is sputtering. Let me pull over and check.”

“Mm.”

Zhang Guangxiang was a veteran driver. After lifting the hood and inspecting for a while, he felt somewhat at a loss. The car had been dispatched from an overseas branch and wasn’t one of the models he usually drove for the Tan family.

After reviewing two pages of documents, Shen Zongnian noticed Zhang Guangxiang still hadn’t fixed the issue, his shoulders now covered in snow.

He closed his laptop, stepped out of the car, and walked to the front. “Uncle Zhang, let me take a look.”

Zhang Guangxiang was both surprised and embarrassed to see his employer step out. “It’s alright, Young Master. I’ll keep checking. Please wait in the car—the snow is too heavy.”

Shen Zongnian declined, taking the multimeter from Zhang Guangxiang’s hands to test the circuits. His brow furrowed, oblivious to the snow settling on his collar and back.

Zhang Guangxiang had been growing anxious—the wind howled, the snow fell heavily, and the wilderness was silent and deserted. But watching Shen Zongnian’s focused and efficient movements as he inspected the parts, he gradually felt calmed. At times, Young Master Shen seemed more like Tan Zhongshan’s own son.

The snow fell heavier still, dampening Shen Zongnian’s sleeves. But Tan Youming’s scarf was warm, as if a pair of warm hands were shielding his neck, steadfastly guarding against the harsh weather.

Just as Zhang Guangxiang was about to fetch an umbrella from the car, Shen Zongnian said, “Check the trunk for spare clutch fluid and transmission fluid.”

Zhang Guangxiang quickly found them and handed them over. After replacing the parts, the engine and transmission gradually returned to normal.

Shen Zongnian’s hands were stained with oil. He unscrewed a bottle of bottled water to wash them and said, “Switch seats. I’ll drive the second half.” Zhang Guangxiang wasn’t experienced with such severe weather and extreme road conditions, and frequent gear shifts increased the risk of friction and short circuits.

Zhang Guangxiang hesitated to let the Young Master drive for him, but Shen Zongnian was firm and offered no further explanation. “Get in the car.”

Shen Zongnian drove the second half of the journey, arriving in N State half an hour earlier than expected. He parked directly in the hotel’s parking lot and instructed Zhang Guangxiang not to mention the incident on the road to Tan Youming.

The meeting with Felipe took place at their hotel.

Although Felipe was a member of the royal family, he was outgoing and approachable, with the added bond of their past school days, making the atmosphere quite lively.

His first words upon seeing Shen Zongnian were exaggerated and surprised: “Wow, Nian, I never thought I’d see the day you showed up alone.”

Shen Zongnian was annoyed, explaining that Tan Youming had other arrangements.

Felipe expressed disbelief, asking if they had argued again.

Shen Zongnian found him nosy and denied it.

Felipe then asked about Zhao Shengge’s whereabouts.

Shen Zongnian replied coolly, “He's boating.”

Apparently, Zhao Shengge had designed a boat himself and sent Shen Zongnian thirteen versions of the design plans last month. The frequent notifications had caused Tan Youming, who was testing a game on his phone at the time, to lose several rounds.

Tan Youming had stormed into the kitchen, where Shen Zongnian was cooking, to ask, “Can I block him?”

Shen Zongnian, busy washing rice in a pot, glanced at the thirteen nearly identical design plans and said indifferently, “Delete him.”

His social account finally fell silent.

A waiter brought red wine, and the two discussed business for nearly two hours.

Though they were alumni, business was business. Felipe had always found Shen Zongnian tougher to handle than Zhao Shengge. During their university days, Zhao Shengge had been the center of their Chinese student circle, while Shen Zongnian remained on the fringes of the elite social groups, his personality almost gloomy and reclusive.

Felipe believed that if not for Tan Youming, Shen Zongnian would have disdained participating in any activities or social interactions that wasted time.

Even now, Felipe found him intimidating, more so than during their student days.

Having done business in China for years and dealt with many second-generation elites, Felipe noted that Zhao Shengge preferred a mix of carrot and stick in negotiations, often employing subtle persuasion under a veneer of gentlemanly conduct. Tan Youming, on the other hand, excelled at charming you first before striking, leaving them bewildered and defeated. Shen Zongnian was far more direct, but his directness also meant he was uncompromising, leaving little room for negotiation.

Shen Zongnian stated plainly, “I expect Huantu to secure the most favorable terms, while also relaxing standards for domestic companies. This is an integrated project requiring supporting infrastructure.”

Felipe’s smile tightened slightly as he replied slowly, “That won’t be easy.”

Shen Zongnian wasn’t surprised. “I know.”

Felipe frowned. “How much time will this process add? It’ll take at least a year.” And in such projects, a single day’s cash flow amounted to millions of dollars.

Shen Zongnian stood firm. “There’s a Chinese saying: ‘Sharpening the axe won’t delay the cutting.’ Focusing only on short-term gains goes against Huantu’s principles in external transactions.”

Felipe’s jade-green eyes fixed on him, and he smiled. “Is that all?”

Shen Zongnian met his gaze calmly, even leaning back in the armchair and crossing his legs, composed under the other’s scrutiny.

“Nian, you’ve become a stranger,” Felipe sighed.

Claiming integrated projects needed supporting facilities was actually an attempt to break down technical barriers and promote the international integration of Chinese industries.

He remarked meaningfully, “I don’t recall you being this kind of person.”

During their university days, Shen Zongnian had already made a name for himself in three major international business simulation competitions. As team captain, he led the only Chinese team to the finals with forceful, iron-willed, and even ruthless tactics, snatching four trophies that Jewish students had held for five years.

However, his refusal to aid other Asian teams, instead crushing them to secure the top score, had drawn criticism to this day.

Clear objectives and profit-first actions were the impressions all judges had of this Chinese captain. Virtue, righteousness, and meddling seemed entirely foreign to him.

Integrated projects, being tedious and unrewarding tasks, led Felipe to remark tactfully, “This isn’t your style.”

“I have no style,” Shen Zongnian replied indifferently, neither explaining nor emphasizing. “Nor do I follow any rules or impressions. Huantu simply makes choices aligned with long-term thinking.”

Breaking technical barriers alone was difficult for Huantu; domestic emerging industries needed to unite and scale up to gain influence in the international market.

Felipe didn’t agree immediately. After a moment of silence, he raised his glass. “I can only propose it to the board. You should prepare for their review, and the contingency plan will undergo strict international standard assessments and negotiations. It won’t be easy.”

Shen Zongnian showed no fear. “International standards are man-made too.”

This wasn't even a preliminary discussion, and Felipe spoke quite casually, saying directly, "You can say that to me, but don’t let it reach the ears of the old guard."

Shen Zongnian replied indifferently, "If they don’t agree, they can find other suitable partners."

Seeing how casual he was being, Felipe smiled helplessly, "You should know why I haven’t agreed to Yao's proposal yet, right?"

Shen Zongnian took a sip of red wine and lifted an eyebrow.

In recent years, the economy of Port City has been declining, while Global Path has maintained close ties with the mainland economy.

Starting from the generation of Grandfather Shen Zhongwang, Global Path took the lead in actively working with the government to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two regions and participated in the initiation of the bay area joint development initiative.

During this period, Global Path experienced several years of internal power struggles. When Shen Zongnian’s uncles were in power, they terminated many contracts with enterprises in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, focusing only on Port City’s local market, which led Global Path Capital into a downturn.

It wasn’t until Shen Zongnian took over that he steered the company back on track and reestablished close cooperation with the mainland.

Compared to Port City, which relies on speculative industries like gambling, finance, and real estate as its pillars, Shen Zongnian has greater faith in the stability, diversity, and sustainable development of the mainland economy.

This is also a key reason why Global Path has remained standing and leading the pack through several economic crises.

As energy development involves national security and people's livelihoods, Felipe had to consider the political leanings and backgrounds of potential partners more carefully. Shen Zongnian has the support of mainland backing.

With the royal family’s budget shrinking in recent years, Felipe’s family places great importance on this project: "If we can successfully collaborate, we hope you will personally serve as CSO."

Shen Zongnian is the only person he trusts.

Felipe showed great sincerity, even offering sweeteners: "If you come, we can offer two additional exclusive licenses for patents."

Shen Zongnian should have refused, but after a moment of silence, he said, "I’ll consider it."

Felipe raised his glass to him with a smile, signaling the successful conclusion of the meeting.

Shen Zongnian clinked glasses with him and glanced at his phone, which had been vibrating intermittently.

It was likely that Tan Youming had woken up from his nap and sent a bunch of random messages: the sandwich was terrible, which suitcase the new Oxford shoes were in, he couldn’t find his shirt garters and would have to borrow Shen Zongnian’s for now...

Shen Zongnian skimmed through them without replying, his gaze lingering on the last message: "Quit playing dumb, where’s the location?" After a moment’s hesitation, he sent one over.

Felipe asked if it was Tan Youming.

"Yeah."

"If he were here, we could go skiing together. It probably won’t snow again tomorrow."

Felipe and Tan Youming met in the winter sports club. Back then, Shen Zongnian and Tan Youming were always joined at the hip during club activities, like conjoined twins, so Felipe once asked if the two were a couple.

Tan Youming burst out laughing and said no: "I’m not gay," then pointed at Shen Zongnian, who was adjusting his ski boots, "and neither is he."

Felipe looked at Tan Youming, who was bent over laughing, and didn’t seem entirely convinced.

Tan Youming’s charming peach-blossom eyes—an East Asian feature often associated with attractiveness—and his sharp canines occasionally gave off a playful yet mischievous air, making it hard to tell whether he was telling the truth or joking.

Felipe asked Shen Zongnian directly: "Is that true?"

Because Shen Zongnian didn’t seem like the type to lie or play pranks.

Shen Zongnian paused briefly while adjusting the ski boots, lowered his head, and calmly replied, "Yeah."

Felipe was skeptical, but over the years, the two had indeed never gotten together romantically, so he gradually came to believe it was a unique form of close brotherly bond, characteristic of the etiquette-rich Eastern nation.