Chapter 102

Chapter 102

"Mr. Yan, there was no need for that." After the interview that day, Xie Yunshen couldn't help but say.

"Do what?" Yan Shiqi sat behind his desk, playing dumb.

"Why suddenly give me half of your personal assets?" Xie Yunshen placed his hands on the desk, his gaze fixed intently on him.

"Because, when I founded Yun Qi, I always thought of it as half yours and half mine. To me, it's about honoring that original agreement—a matter of principle. It's a pity I couldn't find you back then." Yan Shiqi lowered his head to sign a document, his tone casual. "As for the Yun Qi shares, transferring them involves the board and requires a more complex procedure."

"You built all this yourself. You don't need to give it to me."

"Remember when I told you not to get involved with the Top Star Gate matter? How did you answer me?" Yan Shiqi asked.

Xie Yunshen blinked, trying hard to recall. "I said, 'You might not be tall, but you're handsome?' Mr. Yan, you're really petty, huh."

Yan Shiqi frowned, placing his hand on the edge of the desk, at a loss with his line of thinking. "...That's the only part you remember?"

"...Sorry." Actually, it was mainly because Mr. Yan's expression at that time was kind of cute, so it left a deep impression.

"You wanted to know what the phone call I received the other night was about, right?" Yan Shiqi pulled an envelope from a drawer and handed it to him.

Xie Yunshen opened the envelope and found a stack of photos inside.

The photos showed him and Yan Shiqi at the seaside mall.

From their actions, they looked very close. If these photos were exposed, they would definitely cause a negative backlash.

"Who took these?" Xie Yunshen frowned.

"Not sure. Someone sent them to the newspaper's mailbox. The newspaper called me, and I paid to get them. I've had people investigating these past few days."

Xie Yunshen gazed deeply at the photos. The only person they encountered that day was Pang Hairu.

He was pretty sure that guy would do something like this. Stabbing friends in the back was something Pang Hairu had mastered to an art form.

Especially since he had specifically called Xie Yunshen a few days ago, which only increased the suspicion.

"Don't worry. Regarding this matter, I've signed a contract with the newspaper. There shouldn't be any issues for now." Yan Shiqi spoke with confidence.

"If the newspaper had published them, would the headline have been something like 'Yun Qi Chairman and His Brother in Scandalous Affair'?" Xie Yunshen asked tentatively, watching him.

Yan Shiqi lightly clenched his fist on the desk. "I'd lean more towards headlines like 'Deceiving Social Resources, Exploiting Public Empathy, Escalating to Disrupting Social Morals and Order'—that kind of accusatory labeling."

Xie Yunshen silently gave him a look that said "impressive." As expected of a big shot, sharp even in this aspect.

So, when Mr. Yan said those things during the interview, it was actually the correct move—clarifying their friendship.

This response was like giving the public a preemptive heads-up. As for the rest, they could leave it to the netizens.

They would ship the CP themselves.

Sure enough, after the interview aired, related topics immediately emerged. It started with friendship, but the tone gradually shifted.

Xie Yunshen, the Golden Bodyguard, had previously trended for his looks. Now, standing beside Yan Shiqi, those subtle expressions and their compatible auras inevitably made netizens speculate.

In this regard, Yan Shiqi truly understood netizen psychology perfectly.

But even if a romantic relationship between them were exposed later, it probably wouldn't be too shocking. After all, they had already declared themselves life-and-death friends.

"Trying to threaten me with these? Do they think I'd be controlled by others?" Yan Shiqi turned his chair slightly, casting a cold glance at the photos on the desk.

"Mr. Yan, you're so impressive." Xie Yunshen was completely captivated. Using his elbow as a pivot, he leaned right over the desk and planted a kiss on his cheek.

However, things didn't proceed so smoothly. A few days later, among the comments under the interview that were shipping friendship or the CP, some strange remarks suddenly appeared.

"Can I just say? This bodyguard has been playing this game for a long time."

"Heard he used to be a bodyguard for some crown prince in J Country and was already being pursued like crazy by him (side-eye)"

"Huh? No way! Could he be a habitual gold-digger?"

"If that's the case, even this rare friendship is probably the Chairman being deceived, right?"

"Yeah, giving away half his assets... it's hard not to see it as a scam tactic."

"He's the Golden Bodyguard though, surely not?"

"Heard that crown prince is still looking for him after being tricked."

"Can even friendship be scammed these days?"

"Yep, hid outside for three years. Heard the Chairman offered 5% shares, and he immediately jumped out to claim it."

"Last time was indeed too obvious. The moment 5% shares were mentioned, Xie Yunshen showed up right away."

"Damn, that's some toxic CP."

Whether it was orchestrated or netizens were being stirred up, such comments gradually spread, becoming more and more numerous.

Xie Yunshen hadn't paid attention at first. It was only when he returned to the Bodyguard Association that day and was reminded by a colleague that he went to see these comments.

His two good colleagues still didn't know that Xie Yunshen's partner was actually Yun Qi's Chairman, Yan Shiqi. Their previous advice-giving had all been based on automatically imagining a girlfriend.

Seeing all this, Xie Yunshen was stunned. Where did these rumors come from?

"Hey, Old Xie, you need to clarify quickly that you have a girlfriend!"

"Huh?"

Actually, what troubled Xie Yunshen now wasn't these rumors at all. They couldn't hurt his carefree heart. He was worried they might affect the big shot.

When Mr. Yan said those things in the interview, this definitely wasn't the outcome he wanted.

The more Xie Yunshen thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. "I'm heading back first!"

"Wait!"

His colleague pulled him back again.

"You need to be careful. Your face is out there on the interview program now. If that perverted crown prince sees it, won't he come looking for you again?"

Xie Yunshen froze, then smiled absentmindedly. "It's fine."

How could it be fine? How had he forgotten about this?

Before, he could have kept hiding. But now, with Mr. Yan in his life, how could he hide?

When he returned with a heavy heart, he found the person he wanted to see wasn't at the villa.

"Mr. Yan!" Xie Yunshen's voice echoed through the empty hall and corridor.

Xie Yunshen's heart tightened. Ever since they got together, they had always been aware of each other's whereabouts, and Mr. Yan would never go out without a word.

He called, but no one answered.

Could he have gone back to the company?

Xie Yunshen drove to the company's underground parking lot. Just as he got out of the car, he heard faint, muffled noises in the deserted space.

In a corner of the underground garage, Pang Hairu was kneeling on the ground, held down by two men.

A long black car was parked two meters in front of him. The surrounding lights reflected off its body with an unusually cold gleam.

"What do you want?" He struggled desperately but couldn't get up.

He hadn't worked as a bodyguard for years and had gradually slacked off on training. His body had been eroded by a life of debauchery and luxury, and his skills were nowhere near what they used to be. Held down like this, he couldn't even fight back.

One of the men pulled out his phone, grabbed his finger, and forced it onto the fingerprint scanner. The phone unlocked.

"Who are you? Are you crazy? I'll..." Pang Hairu shouted with feigned composure.

A fist slammed into his ribs, forcing his cries back down his throat.

The move was expertly executed. Pang Hairu trembled in pain, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Sir." Another man handed the phone to the black car opposite.

Pang Hairu strained to lift his head, only seeing the automatic door open halfway as a hand reached out to take the phone.

Inside the dimly lit car, the tips of a pair of black leather shoes were visible.

He tried to see more, but the man beside him pressed his head down, forcing him flat against the ground.

"You... bastards!" His face scraped against the floor, flushed with anger.

"Mr. Pang, back when you were a bodyguard, you only had the skills of a Silver-level guard. Yet, you leveraged your 'good friend's' reputation time and again to secure lucrative assignments and mingle with high society. You converted those resources into personal advancement, repeatedly violated regulations, and siphoned off considerable sums from an employer suffering from Alzheimer's. When you were exposed, you stabbed your friend in the back to save yourself, letting your 'good friend' take the fall."

"You're talking nonsense! I never did that!" Pang Hairu looked shocked. The details of these matters were known almost exclusively to him and Xie Yunshen.

He tried to lift his head but was brutally forced back down by the man beside him.

"He took the Association's punishment for you, while you took the money overseas, invested it, and became a boss." The voice came from the car.

In the silent garage, that cold, steady voice contrasted sharply with Pang Hairu's frantic heartbeat.

"That's not how it was at all." Pang Hairu was terrified but forced himself to stay calm.

The black-clad man beside him received a signal and slammed a knee into the back of Pang Hairu's neck.

The fear and pressure of suffocation made his face turn red, the whites of his eyes bloodshot.

Finally, the black-clad man's knee released him.

Pang Hairu lay on the ground, clutching the floor, protesting weakly. "He... he didn't really get punished! I know... whenever he's in trouble, all sorts of high officials and VIPs rush to bail him out... He wouldn't be punished. But I'm different. If I really faced the Association's punishment, I'd be half-dead and end up in prison. I felt guilty too... I've been trying to make it up to him, but he just won't accept it!"

His phone was tossed out of the car, landing beside him.

The cracked screen still displayed his latest comment.

"Heard he used to be a bodyguard for some prince in Country J and was already being pursued like crazy by the prince (side-eye)."

Pang Hairu glanced at it, his face suddenly turning pale. He pressed his forehead to the ground, closing his eyes in deep shame and humiliation.

His face was smeared with the dust of the floor, etched with profound resentment.

Then he let out a laugh, both remorseful and mocking. "I was just venting. Anyway, no matter what trouble he gets into, a bunch of people will always rush to help him."

"Change the name of your hotpot brand. Putting his name together with yours disgusts him."

Pang Hairu froze in surprise. He finally recognized the voice. It was Yan Shiqi, Chairman of Cloud Banner, the man who was with Xie Yunshen.

"Aren't you afraid I'll report this?" He looked up at the black car.

He heard Yan Shiqi give a slight laugh, as if a deeper abyss had opened within the dark vehicle. "You're welcome to try and seek justice."

Pang Hairu's pupils dilated with fear.

The car door closed. The black sedan glided away in a smooth arc of light, disappearing from his sight.

Yes, that man didn't even need to show his face. Whenever he needed something, a crowd of people would rush to handle it for him.

No matter how desperately he, Pang Hairu, struggled to climb up, in the eyes of these people, he was just a lowly pawn to be manipulated at will.

Pang Hairu remained on the ground, only now feeling his breath return as he gasped in pain.

The two men gave his head a contemptuous pat and melted into the shadows.

When he finally managed to struggle to his feet, he suddenly saw Xie Yunshen standing behind a pillar at the opposite corner of the empty parking lot.

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Author's Note: Been really busy these past two days, sorry for the wait [facepalm laugh-cry]. Red envelopes will be dropped in the comments for this chapter, love you all [dog head holding a rose].