Chapter 31: The Banquet

Chapter 31 The Banquet

In the evening, Qin Yan changed into the suit that Qin Mo had sent over, and there was another set for Su Zhiyu, which was quite different in style from Qin Yan's.

It had more of a youthful, spirited look, while Qin Yan's was more mature.

"Young master, let's go."

"Mm."

Qin Yan waved at Su Zhiyu: "Su Zhiyu, come here."

Su Zhiyu walked over reluctantly, following him into the car in silence, and didn't say much until they arrived at the banquet.

Strangely, Qin Yan didn't speak either.

Did he not want to attend too?

That made sense—Qin Yan had always hated these hypocritical, boring banquets, and only ever went because Qin Mo forced him to.

"Young master, we've arrived."

Qin Yan ignored the man, got out of the car first, and extended his hand toward Su Zhiyu: "Get down."

Su Zhiyu froze for a moment, not sure what he meant. Qin Yan waited a beat, then simply reached in and scooped him out of the car.

"You—"

"You took too long." Qin Yan said without batting an eye, then casually placed Su Zhiyu's hand on his own wrist. "Hold onto me. You're my date tonight, and you don't leave my sight for even a second. Got it?"

Su Zhiyu wanted to argue, but thinking of Qin Mo, he inexplicably felt a sense of safety around this man, so he nodded: "Mm, okay."

Maybe staying close to Qin Yan was the safest bet.

The moment the two walked in, their contrasting black-and-white looks immediately turned heads. Most of the guests were from Qin Corporation, with a few execs and managers hoping to score a business deal.

"Oh, your company's got such young talent? Impressive." Someone praised sincerely, but his gaze lingered on the two of them.

The person beside him explained in a low voice: "President Chen, the one in the black suit is President Qin's younger brother—the second young master of the Qin family."

President Chen looked surprised for a moment, then smiled again: "President Qin's brother really has that phoenix-like presence. And who's this beside him?"

"This one... looks like some minor celebrity."

Qin Yan keenly noticed a lot of eyes sizing him and Su Zhiyu up. He frowned uncomfortably, then turned his head sharply and caught President Chen's murky gaze head-on.

President Chen was in his forties and an Alpha too, yet being stared down by this kid Qin Yan, he inexplicably felt like looking away.

"What's wrong?" Su Zhiyu asked Qin Yan first.

Qin Yan calmly looked away, using his body to block Su Zhiyu from view, and said: "Nothing. Just some annoying people who like to stare."

Su Zhiyu knew exactly what he meant.

He silently curled his lips. So Qin Yan could be protective of him too.

Before long, Qin Mo arrived. The mature man's brows carried the calm of someone who'd seen it all: "A Yan, come over here with your brother."

Qin Yan didn't want to go at all.

But he didn't have a choice.

This Qin Mo still had the upper hand for now, but one day...

"A Yan, I need to take you to meet someone. It might not be convenient with others around, so if you don't mind, Zhi Yu can go entertain himself for a bit. Is that alright?"

He asked the younger man with gentlemanly courtesy, like the perfect picture of a refined, polite nobleman.

If Qin Yan didn't know his true nature, that is.

"No!" Qin Yan roughly yanked Su Zhiyu toward him. "This isn't a place someone like him should be wandering around alone. Since we were nice enough to bring him, he needs to stay put right under my nose."

"A Yan..."

"Oh come on, brother. He's just a lowly performer who can't handle the spotlight anyway. What harm could it do if he sees? It's not like he could cause any trouble."

Seeing Qin Yan's firm stance, Qin Mo had no choice but to give in and nodded: "Fine, then let's all go together."

The three of them entered the private room. A middle-aged man sat inside, and before he could even stand to greet them, Qin Mo had already bowed to shake his hand: "Sorry to keep you waiting, President Liang."

Liang Zhao shook his head: "Not at all, not at all. Right on time. Please, have a seat."

With that, the man looked at Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu and politely gestured for them to sit: "These two must be President Qin's younger brothers, I take it? Please, have a seat."

His gaze clearly landed on Qin Yan, but he deliberately didn't specify which one was the second young master.

Qin Yan extended his hand first, dropping his usual lazy, playboy act: "Nice to meet you, President Liang. I'm Qin Yan."

Qin Mo nodded in satisfaction.

The four of them formally took their seats.

Liang Zhao smiled: "The second young master of the Qin family is indeed accomplished for someone so young. But today, President Qin, how do you plan to structure the deal?"

Qin Mo glanced at his younger brother beside him and adjusted his glasses: "President Liang, for this cooperation, I'd like Qin Yan to take the lead."

Qin Yan: ?

What the hell?

"Oh?" Liang Zhao looked at Qin Yan with keen interest. "The second young master should only be around twenty, right? President Qin is confident trusting him with such an important project?"

"Of course."

Qin Yan frantically tried to recall the original plot, but this part seemed to be summed up in just one sentence: Qin Yan followed his brother to discuss a deal.

Discuss a deal—so this was the deal in question?

Qin Mo and Liang Zhao chatted pleasantly. Qin Yan had no interest in any of this and wanted to refuse outright. He didn't want to get involved in the Qin Corporation's affairs, lest he be dragged down when the retaliation came later.

He had no intention of going down with Qin Mo.

Qin Yan impatiently rolled his neck and snuck a glance at Su Zhiyu, who was acting as decorative background. But instead, he saw Su Zhiyu staring at Liang Zhao with sparkling eyes—a fervent, expectant look he'd never seen on him before.

Qin Yan: ?

He's into this old geezer?

"A Yan." Qin Mo then handed him a document. "Take a look at this, and share your thoughts with Mr. Liang."

Qin Yan still wanted to refuse, but the look in Su Zhiyu's eyes just now...

It was gone now.

"Alright." He took it, and acting as if nothing was wrong, instructed Su Zhiyu, "You—come over here and massage my shoulders."

Surprise flickered in Su Zhiyu's eyes, then he looked down submissively. "Yes."

Liang Zhao frowned slightly with displeasure, but held his tongue out of good manners, refraining from scolding the young man for his spoiled behavior.

Qin Mo cut off Liang Zhao's stare at just the right moment, looking unfazed. "A Yan can be a bit headstrong; please don't mind him, Mr. Liang."

Hearing that, what could Liang Zhao say? He hadn't expected the two young men to be such good friends, nor had he expected Qin Yan, the Second Young Master, to be so unruly. But this other young man beside him...

He seemed steady and self-controlled, and there was hunger in his eyes just now—maybe he had potential.

Qin Mo and Liang Zhao continued their conversation.

On the side, Qin Yan leaned back in his chair, propped his legs up, rested his elbows on his knees, and began to slowly flip through the project documents.

He turned the pages very slowly.

From this angle, Su Zhiyu behind him could also read the contents of the documents word for word, but Qin Yan seemed completely oblivious, flipping through at his own pace.

Qin Yan reached the last page.

It wasn't until he felt the pressure on his shoulders shift that a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He closed the documents with satisfaction and placed them on the table.

"Mr. Liang, I've finished reviewing them."