Chapter 87: But it seems it’s not the kind of important she was thinking of…

He cleared his throat, attracting the attention of the two behind him.

The wind on the street was bleak and cold, with few pedestrians. They stood under the bare branches of a plane tree at the restaurant entrance, Sun Tianyu’s hands stuffed in his pockets.

“You can go home and think carefully about the contract. I’ve known him for many years, and I’m very clear about his character. We’ve also known each other for a while; I wouldn’t try to cheat you.”

“Although Xinghui has declined now, you can easily find its past glory with a quick search online…” He rattled off the names of several artists. “Even if you don’t know them well, you’ve heard of them. They were all people he brought up.”

“It’s just that he fell ill before the new year and was hospitalized for half a year. He was originally planning to retire and go home to live out his old age. But Xinghui couldn’t find any new blood, nor could they find an experienced agent. The boss begged him for a long time before he came back.”

Sun Tianyu had said all he needed to say. As for the rest, it was up to Jiang Shi to decide.

After New Year’s Day came the final exams.

Jiang Shi returned to the rental apartment with a pile of heavily highlighted professional books. Cheng Ye wasn’t required to live on campus, so as long as Jiang Shi came back, he was there.

Jiang Shi buried his head in his books, cramming. When he looked up, he saw Cheng Ye sitting next to him, watching a video to learn how to crochet a scarf.

“…”

The video was on mute, but Jiang Shi still felt like his eyes were being assaulted by the noise.

“Seriously, Cheng Ye, what are you doing? Don’t you need to study?”

Cheng Ye’s hands were large, and his fingers were long. A standard-sized crochet hook looked tiny in his hands. He kept his head down, holding the soft gray yarn. His face and build didn’t look like they belonged to someone who would be crocheting.

At first, his movements were indeed a bit clumsy, but following the video tutorial, he got the hang of it in no time.

He answered Jiang Shi, “I finished studying last night.”

So what? Is that your reason for blatantly knitting a scarf in front of me?
“Then aren’t you busy with your company?”

Cheng Ye finished learning the basic stitches and started learning how to weave a little rabbit pattern into it.

“It’s the weekend today.” He held up the yarn and asked Jiang Shi, “Do you like this color?”

The weather was getting colder, and he planned to knit a scarf for Jiang Shi by hand.

Jiang Shi was speechless. “Are you that bored? You can buy a scarf anywhere. Why are you knitting one?”

Cheng Ye said, “It was Christmas a while ago, and I saw a lot of girls in my class knitting scarves for their boyfriends. What they have, you should have too.”

It was just that he was a bit busy during that time. Now that he had some free time, he finally put it on his schedule.

Jiang Shi’s had to be different from others’. His was more complex than the average style and even had little rabbits on it.

Cheng Ye was diligent, fulfilling the duties of a boyfriend, and now he was starting to fulfill the duties of a girlfriend.

Jiang Shi: “…”

Forget it.

He took a deep breath, let him be, and went back to his own books.

After half an hour of studying, he decided to switch things up and study from a different book. His backpack was hanging on the wall next to Cheng Ye. Too lazy to get up, Jiang Shi gave him a nudge. “Can you get me the ‘Introduction to Tourism’ from my backpack?”

Cheng Ye, holding the crochet hook, reached for the backpack on the wall. He unzipped it, rummaged inside, and found the book Jiang Shi mentioned. He pulled it out, but because of the position, he also brought out the documents behind it.

A few light pages fluttered to the floor. Cheng Ye lowered his eyes and saw that it was the contract Liu Heping had given Jiang Shi a few days ago.

Jiang Shi saw it too, and his subconscious reaction was to look at Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye’s expression didn’t change. He bent down, picked up the file, and handed it to him along with the book.

Jiang Shi paused, took them, and watched Cheng Ye crochet a little rabbit ear.

“…”

“Cheng Ye…” he called out to him. “Do you think I’m suited for this?”

Cheng Ye’s hands didn’t stop moving. “You want to sign?”

Jiang Shi rested his head on the table and tilted it to look at him. “Do you want me to sign?”

“Do you want the truth or a lie?”

Jiang Shi answered in a second. “A lie.”

Cheng Ye: “…”

Cheng Ye immediately decided to knit one less rabbit head.

“A lie, huh…” he said. “The lie is that I don’t agree.”

“And the truth?”

“The truth is I don’t agree either.”

“…”

Jiang Shi kicked him.

The kick made him miss a stitch. He let go of the yarn and unraveled it, feeling a bit helpless. “I’m not that generous, little young master.”

The entertainment industry was that kind of place. Once Jiang Shi’s face was out there, who knows how many fans and other people’s eyes it would attract. Just the thought of it was unbearable for Cheng Ye.

But he also knew that Jiang Shi was not a canary trapped in his palm. He couldn’t tie him down, and he couldn’t confine him.

The sharp tip of the crochet hook poked his hand, leaving a small indent. Cheng Ye rubbed his fingertip, then reached out, took the file from between the pages of the book, and placed it in front of Jiang Shi. “If you want to sign, then sign. I’ve already looked up the company. There are no problems. Although Liu Heping isn’t that peaceful, he has always treated the artists under him well.”

Xinghui’s decision-making level had a rigid mindset, still using old management methods. Even if they were actively making changes, if some things remained the same, they would only continue on a downward slope.

Jiang Shi wasn’t an indecisive person. The fact that he was asking Cheng Ye this way already made his choice clear.

“Don’t feel any psychological burden. Just treat it as if you’re going to have fun. This company doesn’t look like it’ll last for many more years anyway.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

That mouth was also quite venomous.

Compared to signing the contract, what was more important for Jiang Shi now were the final exams two days later.

From the moment he opened his eyes, he was studying. In just one short week, he had learned a whole semester’s worth of knowledge. The day he finished his exams, Cheng Ye’s scarf was also finished.

It was fluffy, with several rabbit heads scattered here and there. Jiang Shi felt that rabbits didn’t match his image at all and was not very happy about poking the rabbits when he put on the scarf.

But Cheng Ye thought it was cute. He was venturing further and further down the path of a doting husband and even wanted to knit a sweater and gloves for Jiang Shi by hand.

His increasingly busy work pulled him back onto the overbearing CEO track.

An overbearing CEO wouldn’t know how to wear a scarf. He wrapped it around once on the left, once on the right, then tied a knot, nearly strangling Jiang Shi on the spot.

Jiang Shi freed his neck. Though his mouth complained, his fingers honestly put it on.

Cheng Ye memorized how he wore it and asked him, “When are you meeting with Liu Heping?”

“Two in the afternoon.”

All around them were students who had finished their exams and were heading home. The scene of two grown men fussing over a scarf in front of the dormitory building was strange no matter how you looked at it. After putting on the scarf, Jiang Shi urged Cheng Ye to grab his luggage, and they quickly fled the scene.

Cheng Ye had to meet an important client tomorrow afternoon and couldn’t accompany Jiang Shi, but he sent his company’s legal counsel over.

The legal counsel was a young lady, who looked very young, probably only a few years out of graduation.

Jiang Shi had no idea that Cheng Ye had found a professional to accompany him to sign the contract. By the time he found out, the young lady from the legal department was already waiting for him in the car.

The girl was not an extrovert and was very nervous upon meeting Jiang Shi for the first time. “H-hello, I was introduced by CEO Cheng. He has already explained the specific situation to me.”

After hearing this, Jiang Shi’s first reaction was:
Cheng Ye is doing well for himself. People are calling him CEO Cheng now.

Jiang Shi felt he didn’t need such a professional person at all, but she was already here, so he couldn’t just send her back. He bent down and got into the car, sitting on the other side by the window, with the distance of one person between them.

“Will this delay your work?”

The girl smiled. “No, I’m on vacation today. This counts as overtime, and CEO Cheng will pay for it.”

Since someone was paying, Jiang Shi said no more.

As soon as he finished his exams, he took revenge by staying up all night playing games, only going to sleep when the sun came up. He had just washed up half an hour ago, and his head was now groggy. The moment he leaned back against the seat, his eyes closed uncontrollably.

The girl sat on the side, quietly observing Jiang Shi.

She hadn’t been at the company for long and wasn’t familiar with the higher-ups. The only time she had spoken to Cheng Ye was when he called her to accompany Jiang Shi to sign a contract.

Cheng Ye’s style at the company was always cold and hard. The salary was higher than other companies of the same level, and correspondingly, the work ability and stress tolerance required were also higher.

For him to achieve so much at such a young age was not accomplished by mere talk. She had seen his office light on at one or two in the morning, and had also seen several supervisors being scolded to tears.

Her colleagues’ evaluation of Cheng Ye was two words: devil.

This morning, the devil boss called her phone. She even suspected she had made some huge mistake, but it turned out the boss just wanted her to accompany someone to sign a contract.

Her perfectly good vacation…

Cheng Ye said, “Triple pay.”

She shot up like a carp.

For such a stingy boss to offer triple pay just to have her accompany someone to sign a contract, this client must be very important.

She got ready and went to the appointed place, only to be met by an exceptionally beautiful young man.

The weather was cold. He seemed to have come down in a hurry, just throwing on a black cotton jacket. His hair was messy, and his eyes were heavy with sleepiness. His palm-sized face was full of delicate features. When he bent down and got into the car, the dim space instantly brightened up.

A beautiful person is beautiful even if they are not well-dressed and just wearing a sack.

The legal counsel was scorched by his beauty. She secretly took out her phone, looked at the dark circles under her eyes that her makeup couldn’t cover, and silently shrank to the other side.

A ringtone came from the pocket of the young man next to her. Jiang Shi, who had closed his eyes and fallen asleep, frowned. His fingers moved reluctantly as he slowly fumbled for his phone.

The car drove on quietly.

The legal counsel didn’t intentionally eavesdrop, but she was only one seat away from Jiang Shi, and the car was quiet. A sentence or two from the phone would always drift into her ears.

She could vaguely hear a man’s voice on the other end, but couldn’t make out what was being said. The young man next to her, however, had a sour face and was clearly impatient.

“I’m in the car, the car has already left.”

“I didn’t stay up late. I’m a dog if I’m lying.”

“Playing games? How could I possibly be playing games? Don’t you just open your mouth and slander me? Believe it or not, I’ll sue you for defamation.”

“Cheng Ye, are you annoying or what? Even my mom isn’t as naggy as you. I should just call you Grandpa Cheng.”

Hearing her own boss’s name, the legal counsel was stunned for a moment, then held her breath.

Jiang Shi continued, “You’re so annoying. What’s wrong with me playing games? I’ve finished my exams. What’s wrong with playing games for a while? Do you live by the sea, controlling the heavens and the earth, and now you want to control me playing games?”

“Say one more word and I’ll block you.”

The other side went silent.

The legal counsel was in a daze.

The client was very important, but it seemed it wasn’t the kind of important she was thinking of.