The meeting lasted from nine in the morning until noon. Finally, the three parties reached a consensus. Although the price Huayu had paid for its stake was low, the entire process of entering Huaqing was compliant and carried no legal risk. Under the guiding principle of a "cold treatment" approach, Huaqing would issue a brief statement emphasizing that the article contained numerous inaccuracies and that the company reserved the right to pursue legal action against the publisher.
As for the rumors regarding the ambiguous same-sex relationship between Jiang Tong and Xiao Fengtai, Fang Zhixing suggested there was no need for a specific clarification. "It’s a fabrication to begin with. Making a grand display of denying it would only make us look guilty."
Alongside the public relations efforts, Jiang Tong would also issue a personal letter to all shareholders, explaining that the transaction between Huaqing and Huayu was entirely legal and compliant, and that Huaqing had never—and would never—compromise shareholder interests for the personal gain of the management team.
Li Qianqian pointed out that the original shareholders who had sold their stock at the low point of the A-round might take this opportunity to cause trouble. Fang Zhixing waved a hand dismissively. "The combined shares of the management team and Huayu account for nearly half. The remaining stake held by those A-round folks is too small to make waves."
After the meeting adjourned, the crowd filed out. Fang Zhixing and Jiang Tong remained behind. Just as Fang Zhixing was about to leave, Jiang Tong stopped him. "Director Fang, a moment, please."
Fang Zhixing glanced at him and casually pulled the door shut.
Jiang Tong stepped forward, positioning himself between Fang Zhixing and the door. "Xiao Fengtai isn't answering my calls. Please help me contact him. I have something to say to him."
Fang Zhixing sighed. "President Jiang, to tell you the truth, if I help you, I’ll lose my job. Unlike you and President Xiao, I’m just an employee. Please understand."
Fang Zhixing’s explanation was polite but blunt. However, Jiang Tong seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to read the room, standing frozen in place.
"I’m begging you." He stared intently into Fang Zhixing’s eyes, like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood. "Just one meeting. If not a meeting, then a phone call. I have something very important to tell him."
Fang Zhixing gave a bitter smile. "President Jiang, President Xiao turned off his phone as soon as the conference call ended. I really don't know where he is right now."
Jiang Tong’s face grew paler. He swayed backward, forced to grip the door handle to steady himself. Fang Zhixing had the illusion that every word he spoke was punching an invisible hole through Jiang Tong.
*One last time,* Fang Zhixing thought miserably. *If there’s one more mess like this, I’m resigning.*
"I truly don't know where Kenneth is," he said, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But I know a few clubs he frequents. During the conference call this morning, before it ended, I vaguely heard him sending a WeChat voice message saying he hadn't seen his friends in a long time and wanted to get together tonight."
The air that had vanished from the conference room seemed to rush back in. Jiang Tong took a deep breath and shook Fang Zhixing’s hand with genuine gratitude. "Thank you."
"Can you let me out now?" Fang Zhixing said helplessly. "I'm not certain exactly where he’ll be. Just... don't tell him I told you."
As Jiang Tong was about to give his word, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open from the inside. Li Qianqian appeared, her face a mask of relief. "I finally found you! President Jiang, something big has happened!"
She handed Jiang Tong a sheet of paper. "The cornerstone investors from the A-round, Fangda and Boteng, have jointly called for a board meeting. they're demanding a vote... to remove you from your position."
Halfway through her sentence, she realized Fang Zhixing was also there. Her doe-like eyes widened in regret.
Fang Zhixing rubbed his chin. "That shouldn't be right. Their combined shares don't even reach half. Why bother drafting a proposal that absolutely cannot pass?"
"Unless..."
"Unless there is an institution willing to cooperate with them, but their stance is still wavering at this stage, forcing them to take a desperate gamble," Jiang Tong said calmly. "The neutral party must hold a significant number of shares—likely someone who came in during the C-round."
He stared blankly at the document in his hand. It was a thin sheet of A4 paper, a printed email written quite politely. Excluding the header and footer, it was only four lines long, ending with the electronic signatures of three fund partners. Jiang Tong suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu; his admission offer from S University had been just as short. He remembered it was a spring day ten years ago. He had just finished an interview and, to save money, was walking home against a biting wind. As he walked, he scrambled to pull out his phone to write a thank-you email to the interviewer. Upon opening his inbox, he saw a new message from the Dean of the Biology Department at S University. He had thought it was another rejection and almost deleted it. After hesitating for a long time, he opened it, only to have his eyes sting at the word "Congratulations" at the start of the email.
Starting from that one email, his life, which had been in a downward spiral, finally began to pull back onto the right track.
Li Qianqian didn't respond to Jiang Tong’s remark, her eyes darting toward Fang Zhixing. The latter took the hint and grinned. "I didn't hear a thing."
"I'll head out first. Let's keep in touch." He stepped out of the conference room, then seemed to remember something. He turned back and arched an eyebrow at Jiang Tong. "Good luck, President Jiang."
"What does he mean by that?" Once he was far enough away, Li Qianqian stamped her foot in anger. "Wishing you luck... what kind of sarcastic remark is that at a time like this! It’s not like Huayu would gain anything if the vote went wrong."
She suddenly gasped, looking up at Jiang Tong. "You don't think... Huayu is agreeing to act in concert with us on the surface while pulling strings behind our backs, do you?"
Jiang Tong gave a bitter smile at her words. "Qianqian, you can't be this loose-lipped with the next boss."
"President Jiang!"
"It was just a joke." Jiang Tong handed the document back to Li Qianqian. "No need to draft a statement for the shareholders. Help me set up appointments; I want to talk to each of them individually."
"Clear my schedule for tonight. I have personal business to attend to."
***
Jiang Tong had an idea of what kind of life Xiao Fengtai had led before their reunion, but he had never had the chance to witness it firsthand. Even though it was expected, when he actually arrived on the scene and saw Xiao Fengtai drinking heavily on the dance floor, pressed close against a strange girl, Jiang Tong found he was far less magnanimous than he had imagined.
"Come outside with me!" He grabbed Xiao Fengtai’s arm roughly and shouted in his ear. The music was deafening; Jiang Tong could feel his vocal cords aching from the strain, yet he could barely hear his own voice.
"I have something to tell you!" Regardless of whether Xiao Fengtai heard him, he tried to drag him out. The place was packed with people—leaping, screaming, sweating, laughing young bodies. Countless arms waved in the air like seaweed drifting with the current. Pressure pushed in from all sides, a shifting tide of human forms that felt like a swamp reeking of pungent perfume. Jiang Tong found it difficult to move even a single step.
Moreover, Xiao Fengtai was not cooperating. He frowned as he looked at Jiang Tong. Perhaps due to the alcohol, his gaze was unfocused, and his reactions were slower than usual.
"What are you doing here?" he shouted at Jiang Tong. "Who told you to come—"
Jiang Tong didn't answer, and Xiao Fengtai began to giggle to himself. He stopped struggling and instead leaned closer to Jiang Tong, making a move as if to kiss him.
Jiang Tong snatched the bottle from his hand and poured the contents over Xiao Fengtai’s head.
"Sober up." The laser lights flickered in a kaleidoscope of colors, reflecting off his expressionless face. "I have serious business to discuss with you."
By the time they finally squeezed out the main doors, both were disheveled, as if they had survived a great battle. Xiao Fengtai was particularly bedraggled. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt, and because he had been drenched from head to toe in tequila, he gave off a powerful stench of spirits, looking like an olive soaked in alcohol.
Ethanol evaporates faster than water, and the evaporation pulled heat from his skin. As the night breeze blew, Xiao Fengtai’s eyes gradually cleared, yet he remained leaning against the wall with a cavalier air. "Say what you have to say quickly. I have friends coming in a bit."
Before Jiang Tong could speak, Xiao Fengtai seemed to remember something and looked down with a smile. "Don't worry. Fang Zhixing reported to me. Huayu will stand on your side during the vote."
"If that's all, I'm going back in." He gave Jiang Tong a perfunctory wave and turned to leave.
Jiang Tong grabbed his hand. "I didn't come here for Huaqing."
Xiao Fengtai turned back, his confusion appearing genuinely sincere. "Besides Huaqing, what 'serious business' is there for us to talk about?"
"Have you misunderstood something?" Jiang Tong said urgently. "The exposure of the photos is indeed a bit troublesome, but the company has already issued a statement and commissioned a PR firm to handle it. I will meet with the shareholders one by one to clarify the relationship between Huayu and Huaqing."
"I never thought we would break up over this. We shouldn't let a small thing like this—"
"Enough." Xiao Fengtai interrupted him. "Let's end this here."
He tilted his head back to meet Jiang Tong’s gaze, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his lips. The neon lights reflected in his eyes—deep red, pale blue, flickering and shifting. Jiang Tong had never realized Xiao Fengtai’s gaze could be so cold.
"I'm too tired. I can't be bothered to keep playing this love game with you. I'm serious this time. Let's part on good terms. This is the end."
Jiang Tong turned a deaf ear to his rejection. "Many companies deal with smear campaigns. You said it yourself—it’s not a big problem. If I said or did anything to cause a misunderstanding, I apologize. Can you give me a chance?"
"It’s not about the PR!" Xiao Fengtai was becoming increasingly irritable. "Can we stay like this forever? If we stay together, things like this will just happen again. Are we supposed to spend our whole lives hiding, acting like middle schoolers dodging their parents?"
"What is supporting our relationship right now? It’s desire and passion; it’s an over-secretion of hormones. Desire fades with time."
"It’s better to stop here." He didn't realize that sadness was leaking into his eyes. "A clean break is best. No burdens for anyone. In a few years, we can even be friends."
Jiang Tong looked at the tiny red and blue neon lights flickering in those eyes, and in that moment, he had a sudden flash of insight.
"You're afraid."
Xiao Fengtai glared at him, the smile vanishing from his face without a trace.
"Don't flatter yourself," he said viciously. "You narcissist, you hypocrite, you selfish freak. How many times do I have to say it before you understand!"
"Don't flatter yourself! I... I have to go back to Singapore eventually."
Jiang Tong smiled. "Then go back. I can build an R&D center in Singapore."
"You know that's not what I mean."
"The Xiao family is very traditional..." he murmured. "Jiang Tong, this isn't anyone's fault. We... we just can't go back to how things were."
"Do you love me?"
Xiao Fengtai was amused by Jiang Tong’s question. He started to laugh, but as he laughed, his voice began to choke up.
"Teacher Jiang, stop being so headstrong," he said softly. "What if I love you, and what if I don't? ...What use is love?"
Jiang Tong took a step forward and gripped Xiao Fengtai’s shoulders, forcing their eyes to meet.
"Answer my question—do you want to be with me?"
"You do," Jiang Tong whispered. "We love each other. Because we love each other, every second we spend together is happy. Isn't that enough? At our age, we both know how hard happiness is to come by."
Xiao Fengtai turned his head away, lowering his eyelashes to avoid Jiang Tong’s searching, probing gaze.
"Can you give up Huaqing? Can I leave the Xiao family?" He pried Jiang Tong’s fingers away, one by one. "Sometimes this world is so strange that I truly believe supernatural forces exist. Ten years... we've gone in circles. We've changed so much, yet it feels like nothing has changed at all. We spent so much effort building something, but as soon as it sees the light, it all falls apart."
"Let me go," he sighed. "Let me off the hook. Let me be the one to leave first this time."
"No one is leaving," Jiang Tong said. "I will prove it to you. We won't repeat the mistakes of ten years ago."
"I'm sorry for hurting you ten years ago. I know you won't believe me easily. But... please have a little faith in me. Even if you have no faith, please just give me a little time."
Xiao Fengtai smiled.
"Oh, Teacher Jiang..."
He brushed past Jiang Tong and, without looking back, submerged himself once more into the clamor of the neon lights and the wine.
***
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