Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Jiang Yicen could naturally ask Assistant An to solve his problem, but Jin Huanxin would still continue to do similar things—this was a matter between him and Jin Huanxin, and such a trivial issue didn’t warrant troubling Assistant An again.

He also had another thought: to let Jin Huanxin know how hard he was working to achieve his goals. Intimidating others didn’t require sophisticated tactics, just a little scare.

Jiang Yicen had never felt that his identity was off-limits; it was all part of his current capital, with the sole purpose of completing his work.

Assistant An wasn’t a man of many words, but when he spoke, he always delivered key information. Reaching the position of chairman’s assistant was already senior management, requiring exceptional skills in coordination, planning, time management, and adaptability while working alongside top leadership.

Assistant An told Jiang Yicen that the place they were going to was a banquet, a networking event for the industry.

Recently, the city of Lincheng had held an e-commerce brand conference. Many senior figures from Nanyuan Company were invited; the conference lasted three days. Today was the last day, and this banquet was for those participating brands to network, also inviting several celebrities. In short, it was a world of fame and fortune.

Nan Anru never liked such complicated, utilitarian occasions. Given his status, others flocked to him, so he avoided attending whenever possible. Today, he simply sent Assistant An to represent him.

Assistant An asked him, "Mr. Jiang, would you like me to introduce you to the heads of other brand companies later?"

Jiang Yicen smiled and declined, "Thanks, but not right now. I just need to find Mr. Jin to handle a work issue. After I’m done, I’ll head back on my own. Thank you."

He was just a nobody—even as the fourth son of the Jiang family, he had rarely appeared in public. Who would recognize him? Moreover, he was now just an ordinary employee at Nanyuan Company, hardly worth mentioning.

Assistant An was thorough in his work: "Alright, call me if anything comes up."

Soon, the two arrived at a five-star hotel, where the banquet was held on the tenth floor.

Assistant An’s face was his ticket in. Once Jiang Yicen entered with him, they went their separate ways.

On the way, Assistant An had already told Jiang Yicen who Jin Huanxin would be interacting with. In fact, he should have known that Jin Huanxin had been in contact with different people recently, even considering leaving. The circle was small; the higher the position, the fewer companies there were to choose from. Jin Huanxin might not even realize that his private actions had long been an open secret.

Sure enough, Assistant An’s information was very reliable. He soon spotted Jin Huanxin talking to a middle-aged career woman. Jiang Yicen held a glass of wine and waited nearby until someone called the woman away, then he stepped forward.

But at the same time, someone called out to Jin Huanxin.

"Mr. Jin."

When Jin Huanxin saw Jiang Yicen, his mind went numb: "Jiang Yicen? What are you doing here!"

How did he find this place?

Tonight’s banquet had many important guests, and everyone’s identity was checked repeatedly. He could only get in with an invitation.

He knew Jiang Yicen came from a well-off family and had entered the marketing department through connections, but generally, people in such departments couldn’t be genuinely capable employees—after all, he had seen Jiang Yicen’s skills. What was he doing here? Who was his father?

Jiang Yicen avoided the question of how he got there: "It’s like this, Mr. Jin. Could you please log into the OA system and approve a contract? I need to go to Youqian to sign the contract tomorrow morning."

Jin Huanxin was at a loss for words. He gritted his teeth and said, "Can’t it wait until tomorrow?"

He had deliberately refused to approve the contract today, purely to delay the progress of the collaboration project and annoy Jiang Yicen. After all, Nan Shuyi had specifically asked him to write the quarterly plan, handing it over to a new hire and embarrassing him. If he wasn’t happy, Jiang Yicen shouldn’t be either.

Now, he came out to have a good time, but Jiang Yicen wouldn’t let him enjoy it.

At that moment, the man standing on the other side of Jin Huanxin laughed out loud, clearly having overheard their conversation.

This man was handsome, but his face looked unnatural—clearly had work done. Jiang Yicen found him vaguely familiar but couldn’t recall where he had seen him.

The man said, "Mr. Jin, is this your subordinate?"

Jin Huanxin liked hearing words like "superior and subordinate," which directly defined their relationship.

Jin Huanxin smiled: "Yes, he probably came with another leader."

The man said, "With looks like your subordinate’s, it’s a shame he’s not in entertainment. Want to enter show business, young man?"

Jiang Yicen finally remembered who this was: it was Fang Yancheng, the spokesperson for their Nanyuan Candy packaging.

Jiang Yicen said, "I’m not interested in show business."

Jin Huanxin knew Fang Yancheng must have something to discuss with him, and Jiang Yicen’s presence was clearly an obstacle. He wanted to send Jiang Yicen away.

He said, "I’ll handle the OA later. I’ll approve it after I finish my business here."

Jiang Yicen didn’t know what he wanted to discuss with a celebrity, but if he wouldn’t even lift a finger to do it, who knew if he was just brushing him off? He hadn’t forgotten his purpose for coming here.

Jiang Yicen respected those who respected him, but Jin Huanxin had never shown him any respect, so he no longer needed to adhere to those formalities.

"Mr. Jin, if you approve it now, I won’t bother you anymore."

Jin Huanxin really didn’t want to lose face here, so he quickly pulled out his phone and approved the OA request. Jiang Yicen immediately received a notification that the request had been approved.

Jiang Yicen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I appreciate it. I won’t disturb you."

He kept his word, turned around, and left without hesitation.

Fang Yancheng thought this young man with good looks was just an employee with no tact; he had no idea about the conflict between him and Jin Huanxin. He had come tonight to talk with Jin Huanxin about renewing the Nanyuan endorsement, hoping to curry favor.

"Mr. Jin, this employee of yours really has no tact," Fang Yancheng said.

Jin Huanxin had lost face in front of Fang Yancheng and felt uncomfortable, adding another grudge against Jiang Yicen.

He sneered, "Young, inexperienced, and got into the company through the back door. What do you think?"

The two had known each other for years. Every May, the endorsement renewal talks would begin, but Fang Yancheng hadn’t received any renewal notice this year. He was thirty-two now and had ridden the wave of a few major IP TV dramas in his early years, but in the last two years, he hadn’t found good scripts. His oldest fans had discovered his private matters and left the fan club, which was now poorly managed. With no fans spending money, his popularity kept declining.

When he was younger, he could rely on age as an advantage and didn’t care much about acting skills. But now, young actors with both age and talent keep popping up like weeds. Fewer scripts came his way, and endorsements were scarce. His company arranged for him to do a few live streams, but he couldn’t sell a thing. Once, he tried to sell branded sports shoes during an hour-long live stream and only moved twenty pairs. The brand sued him, but luckily, the contract had loopholes, and he didn’t suffer much loss. However, this incident caused his reputation to plummet. If his popularity dipped further, he'd vanish from the entertainment scene.

The Nanyuan Candy endorsement was his last remaining hope.

Fang Yancheng said, "I have a few connections. Want me to teach this young man a lesson in not offending people?"

Jin Huanxin didn’t know if anyone had seen Jiang Yicen coming to him tonight, but he wasn’t that foolish: "Don’t get me involved. He has backing, and I still work at Nanyuan."

Fang Yancheng assured him, "Mr. Jin, don’t worry. No one will know it’s related to you. But, Mr. Jin, about this year's Nanyuan endorsement..."

When Jin Huanxin heard this, an idea struck him. He could pass the risk onto someone else.

"Since you ask, I’ll be straight with you. This year, Nanyuan Candy has canceled celebrity endorsements."

Fang Yancheng asked, "What do you mean?"

Jin Huanxin said, "Did you see the subordinate I mentioned?"

Fang Yancheng asked, "Isn’t he your subordinate? What does he have to do with it?"

Jin Huanxin replied, "It has a lot to do with it. Didn’t I tell you he got in through the back door? He canceled Nanyuan Candy's celebrity endorsement as soon as he joined."

He wasn’t entirely wrong—he just left out a lot of context.

Fang Yancheng’s anger rose: "He has the power to cancel Nanyuan Candy’s endorsement?"

Jin Huanxin sighed, "I'm about to be pushed out. Do you think he has that power?"

Fang Yancheng: "There's no way to salvage the endorsement?"

Jin Huanxin: "No. Otherwise, why do you think he chased me here? Because tomorrow he's going to sign a new contract. According to company procedures, I need to approve the contract. He's in a rush, so he came straight here to boss me around."

He purposefully or casually revealed some information about Jiang Yicen to Fang Yancheng.

The more Fang Yancheng thought about it, the more he felt Jin Huanxin was being bullied by that young man, and it stirred up anger inside him. If he lost the endorsement, he'd have one less source of income this year, making it even harder to get ahead in the entertainment industry. The company's resources wouldn't lean toward him either. Days of pent-up frustration nearly made him snap.

Fang Yancheng: "Sign a new contract?"

Jin Huanxin: "Yes. He's going to Youqian company tomorrow morning to sign the contract. That's why he's pushing me to approve it."

Fang Yancheng: "With an employee like that, Boss Jin, you must have it tough."

Jin Huanxin: "No choice. We're all just working for someone else."

Fang Yancheng mentally noted the next day's itinerary for Jiang Yicen that Jin Huanxin had let slip.

Jiang Yicen completed his task and was about to leave this glitzy scene, but before he reached the exit, he ran into an acquaintance—none other than Jiang Yiting, who had come in place of Jiang Gongming.

"Jiang Yicen, did you come with Nan Shuyi?" He thought Jiang Yicen had gotten more confident ever since he got together with Nan Shuyi.

The last incident at the Jiangs' naturally worked in their favor. Jiang Yifeng got the short end of the stick—his birthday party was ruined, but he gave his brother a sports car for his birthday, and it was over.

Jiang Yicen didn't want to deal with Jiang Yiting. "No, I came for something. I'm going back now."

But Jiang Yiting wasn't in a hurry to let him go. "Since you're here, stay a while. Let me introduce you to some uncles."

Jiang Yicen turned to leave. "I won't go."

But Jiang Yiting was determined not to let Jiang Yicen go and grabbed his arm. "Just meeting a few people."

He realized Jiang Yicen had a special talent for interacting with elders, and today he wanted to use that to get acquainted with a few elders.

Jiang Yicen pressed on a tendon in his hand, and Jiang Yiting's hand went numb. He frowned slightly. What kinda move was that? When did Jiang Yicen learn martial arts?

He hadn't believed before that Cao Ken was beaten by Jiang Yicen, but now he somewhat believed it.

Jiang Yicen looked at him coldly. "Please don't force me to do anything I don't want to do."

Jiang Yiting was annoyed. "What's wrong with you?"

Jiang Yicen: "You were the one who forced me first. Rude."

"You..." Jiang Yiting realized Jiang Yicen was lecturing him and couldn't find a retort for a moment.

Jiang Yicen flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

Jiang Yiting was so angry he felt a knot in his chest. "..." He couldn't believe Jiang Yicen had brushed him off!

Jiang Yiting was fairly well-known in the industry, and many people watched his every move. He was good-looking himself, and standing next to the even more handsome Jiang Yicen, with their 'tug-of-war,' drew even more attention—especially for Fang Yancheng, who was looking for a 'sugar daddy.'

Jiang Yiting was also someone Fang Yancheng wanted to get close to. He hadn't succeeded, but that low-level employee who'd wrecked his livelihood had.

·

The next morning, Jiang Yicen set out early with the contract to Youqian.

Nan Shuyi had a work dinner last night. He'd been drinking, so it wasn't safe to drive home, and he crashed at an apartment near the office. Today, the family driver dropped Jiang Yicen off at Youqian to sign the contract.

Half an hour after departure, Jiang Yicen sent Nan Shuyi a message—a quick good morning text.

Actually, he knew that after last night's work dinner, Nan Shuyi had gone back to the office to work overtime. He wasn't out of the loop anymore. Last weekend, Nan Shuyi had personally added him to their emergency response group chat. The group wasn't temporary; it had always existed. If Jiang Yicen didn't look at his phone for an hour, the group would have over a hundred new messages.

Nan Shuyi didn't reply. Probably still asleep. Let him sleep.

Jiang Yicen didn't make a habit of playing on his phone in the car.

They left early this morning, so the road to Youqian wasn't yet in rush hour. Along the way, he admired the flower galleries on the elevated roads. The municipal government of Lincheng really knew how to look out for its citizens. Seeing these flowers during commuting hours couldn't help but put anyone in a good mood.

At the same time, Jiang Yicen was amazed at what people could do. Overnight, Lincheng had turned into one giant flower garden.

Just as he was enjoying the spring scenery on the road, Jiang Yicen noticed a car had been following them, even taking the same exit ramp.

At first, he didn't think much of it, until after five red lights, and when the driver tried a shortcut to avoid traffic, the other car followed them as well.

Then, Jiang Yicen asked the driver, "Uncle Li, did you notice a car following us?"

Uncle Li had noticed even sooner. "I noticed this car on the way. It's been following us at a distance. I just took a one-way street to make sure it was really following us."

Jiang Yicen thought back over recent days. "Why are they following us?"

As they talked, they saw that when they turned, the other car went off at another intersection.

Uncle Li: "Looks like I was overthinking."

But Jiang Yicen still felt uneasy. He hadn't made any enemies recently. Who would follow him? Maybe it was nothing.

He arrived early at Youqian. At the entrance, he ran into Manager Yang, who had just arrived, and they went in together.

Their last communication had been pleasant, and this time the contract signing went very smoothly. They finished signing the contract in about an hour.

They didn't stick around and headed back to the office.

On the way back, Manager Yang chatted with Jiang Yicen.

"Do you usually take a cab to work?" Manager Yang had seen him get out of a car twice, but never saw him drive into the company garage.

"Jiang Yicen" had a driver's license, but he himself didn't dare to drive. So for now, he was chauffeured.

"More or less."

"Then you're pretty lucky—always getting picked up in luxury cars." Manager Yang didn't know how wealthy Jiang Yicen's family was. After all, he figured Jiang Yicen was just Master Nan's assistant. If his family were that rich, he wouldn't be working at Nanyuan—young masters usually start their own businesses.

Jiang Yicen thought for a moment and smiled. "Not too bad."

The cars in Nan Shuyi's garage were all obvious luxury cars, with only two being relatively business-oriented. Which car he used depended on whether Nan Shuyi had taken one of the business cars. If both were available, then either was fine.

Ding, a text message came in on Jiang Yicen's phone just in time. He glanced at it.

"Your card ending in 9999 has been credited with your salary."