Chapter 32: Time to… Hunt

Liang Zhao shifted his gaze to Qin Yan, the earlier enthusiasm in his demeanor fading into cold detachment.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "I wonder if Second Master Qin has any thoughts on this?"

Qin Yan seemed either completely oblivious to the shift in the other's attitude, or simply indifferent to it.

He smiled, his tone humble: "I can only offer some surface-level thoughts. If I say anything less than satisfactory, I hope President Liang will be kind enough to correct me."

"Of course, of course."

With Liang Zhao's response, Qin Yan began elaborating his views on the project.

For a while, the entire private room echoed with the young man's impassioned voice, his words brimming with confidence, even carrying a touch of wild imagination.

As Qin Yan spoke, Liang Zhao's brows furrowed slightly at first, but by the end, his entire demeanor had turned cold and severe.

What a bunch of bullshit.

Still, out of good manners and self-control, Liang Zhao maintained his outward calm.

"A Yan." Qin Mo, who had been sitting quietly listening all along, finally couldn't help but interrupt him. "Get serious!"

Qin Yan looked utterly innocent and replied as sincerely as he could, "Brother, I am being serious."

"..."

Qin Mo was momentarily speechless.

The atmosphere in the private room turned icy, plunging into a suffocating silence.

Liang Zhao took a deep breath and was the first to break the painfully awkward tension.

"President Qin, you see, your brother is still quite young, and this project does carry considerable difficulty. However, after hearing his remarks, I just realized there are still some areas where this project could be improved."

Qin Mo was too sharp to miss the implication in Liang Zhao's words.

The collaboration was off the table—Liang Zhao intended to keep the project to look into himself.

"Very well, I'll let you handle it then, President Liang."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and wrapped up the meeting on the same page.

As soon as Liang Zhao left, Qin Mo's expression darkened. His right hand tapped lightly on the table before him, his voice brooking no argument:

"Zhi Yu, wait outside for a moment."

Hearing this, Qin Yan's heart clenched. He opened his mouth to say something, but Su Zhiyu quickly tugged at his sleeve, shaking his head at him.

Su Zhiyu turned and said to Qin Mo respectfully, "Very well, President Qin. I'll take my leave then."

With a soft click of the door closing, the room fell silent again.

Qin Mo's deep, piercing eyes shot toward Qin Yan like cold lightning bolts, as if trying to see through every secret hidden in his heart.

Finally, he spoke slowly, his tone brooking no argument: "Tell me, why did you deliberately sabotage the collaboration?"

His voice was low and cold.

Faced with the accusation, Qin Yan's heart trembled even though he'd seen it coming.

This old hand of the business world was no ordinary man—his little tricks couldn't possibly escape those sharp eyes.

Besides, he hadn't done it all on purpose. The original host of this body might have understood these business matters, but he himself was far from proficient—at best, he had a surface-level understanding.

Qin Yan pouted and gave the excuse he had already prepared in his mind: "Brother, I honestly can't work up any interest in this project. If you really want me to get into this line of work, why not let me start my own company instead?"

Qin Mo's expression softened a little. "What do you want to do?"

"Start a company. I could open a gaming company and develop the games I love. How fun would that be?"

This kind of carefree, spoiled attitude was exactly what the original owner should have had.

Just as Qin Yan expected Qin Mo to storm out in a huff, something unexpected happened—

Qin Mo actually nodded. "Fine. Start a gaming company then. I'll transfer the seed money to you in three days."

"?"

Wait, brother, so soon?

Qin Yan could hardly believe his ears.

Turns out his shady older brother was actually a walking ATM. If he'd known this would work, he would have asked to start a company much sooner—he'd have an easier time asking for cash.

With this money, he could find the right opportunities to give some to Su Zhiyu, winning brownie points while genuinely helping him out.

Qin Mo stood up and smoothed his suit. "Alright, I need to get going. You enjoy yourself and go meet more people—make some connections. It can't hurt."

With the promise of money, Qin Yan's mood lightened considerably. He gave a thumbs-up. "No problem."

"Mm."

The moment Qin Mo stepped out of the private room, Qin Yan was right behind him, pulling out his phone to text Su Zhiyu: 'Where are you?'

Su Zhiyu hadn't gone far. Upon receiving Qin Yan's message, he was about to head over when he spotted a man approaching from the corner ahead and quickly ducked back in a panic.

He didn't know if Qin Mo had seen him, but he waited a long time, and when no one came, he dared to go find Qin Yan.

"Where did you go? Why didn't you answer my texts?" Qin Yan pulled him over, clearly displeased.

Good thing nothing went wrong.

Su Zhiyu, as Qin Yan pulled him around to check him over, felt his face flush for no reason. He murmured, "I went to the restroom and didn't see your message earlier. Sorry."

"Forget it, forget it. Come take a walk with me. My brother wants me to network with some business big shots."

Su Zhiyu, tugged along, asked uncertainly, "Is it really appropriate for me to come along?"

"What's inappropriate about it? What, are you going to sell me out or something?"

Qin Yan wore a confident smile, but his hand hidden in his pocket was secretly sweating.

Su Zhiyu, Su Zhiyu—don't let me down. Please don't actually sell me out.

Su Zhiyu was momentarily dazzled by his proud smile and looked away. "I won't."

"You said you won't, so I'll trust you. Let's go, let's go—before everyone heads home and we miss our chance."

Qin Yan didn't seem to make a big deal of it. He casually picked up two glasses of red wine, handed one to Su Zhiyu, and walked toward the center of the banquet.

In the shadows, a man's scrutinizing gaze cut through the crowd, finally settling on Su Zhiyu in his white suit.

"What do you think of him?"

"Looks like good material. With the right training, he could go far."

"If you're satisfied..."

"Don't worry, this one's worth even more than the previous ones. And I'll make sure you're compensated just as well. But you need to deliver him in one piece, and our people have to check the merchandise first."

"Suit yourself."

"Then I'll wait upstairs. Looking forward to the good news."

"Of course."

The man adjusted his glasses, watching him head up the stairs, then turned his attention back to the two eye-catching figures in the crowd.

Two young men of similar age, chatting with others while occasionally clinking glasses, one of them instinctively looking out for the other.

How things had changed.

Qin Mo swirled the cocktail in his hand, slowly bringing it to his lips. A flicker of malice passed through his eyes. He only took a small sip before setting the glass down.

Time to go... hunting.