A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 13

Economic Development Zone, Danofe Asia-Pacific Headquarters.

As Cheng Xi stepped out of the elevator, he heard several secretaries and assistants outside the CEO’s office whispering about him. Upon seeing him, they quickly scattered and returned to their work.

They were gossiping about two things: first, why the big boss would make time to see him on a busy Monday morning; and second, why the big boss would rebook his flight to Los Angeles just for him.

As he passed by, Cheng Xi saw a girl look up quickly with eyes full of disdain and contempt. Having been in this industry for a long time, he was used to such looks. Back when he first started, he spent every midnight in flashy entertainment venues, and wealthy businessmen looked at him the same way. But now, even those who once looked down on him would likely never get a chance to meet him, no matter how much they tried to act friendly.

Money isn’t everything, but it can achieve many goals. If it weren’t for Ji Yuanlin, he would still be sitting in a KTV with an open collar, face red from wine, letting people insult him. He knew the people outside had guessed why he was here, which was why they looked at him like that. They were at least half right.

Walking down a bright hallway, Cheng Xi followed the CEO’s private secretary to a thick wooden door. There was an elegant carpet outside, and the walls were lined with wine cabinets under soft lights. This style was very different from the office where he first met Zhou Sifu.

The secretary gave a formal introduction: “This is where CEO Zhou takes his lunch breaks and hosts close friends. Do not look around once you are inside. I will come to get you in half an hour.”

Cheng Xi quickly said thank you.

With a meaningful look, the secretary stepped forward and knocked gently on the heavy door. “CEO Zhou, I’ve brought him.”

“Come in,” the person inside said.

Entering with his head down, Cheng Xi gripped the hem of his shirt tightly, looking very nervous. As the door closed slowly behind him, he saw a circular hall designed like a living room. It had tables, chairs, sofas, and floor lamps, along with areas specifically for tea and wine tasting.

The big boss of Danofe was sitting on a sofa working on a tablet. He wore a casual linen shirt with a round neck, and some hair fell over his forehead. He didn’t look as sharp as he did during their last meeting.

Hearing footsteps, Zhou Sifu looked up from his tablet and met Cheng Xi’s eyes. After entering, Cheng Xi said nothing. He just bit his lip and took two steps forward. When he was less than half a meter from Zhou Sifu, he raised his hand and slowly unbuttoned the top two buttons of his collar. Then, he knelt on the thick carpet and reached out his slim, beautiful fingers to touch the smooth fabric of the man’s trousers.

The man did not seem to resist.

Cheng Xi felt a secret sense of relief; the first step of his plan was a success. His young, tense voice echoed in the empty hall: “Mr. Zhou, would you like to…”

After staring down at him for two seconds, the man on the sofa unexpectedly laughed, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Is this how Mr. Cheng hooked the Chairman of Fengyu?”

Stunned, Cheng Xi quickly used his hands to support his knees and began to defend himself in a trembling voice. “CEO Zhou, I… Mr. Ji and I only have a professional relationship. It was all arranged by the talent agency.”

Zhou Sifu nodded slightly, seeming to understand. Seeing that Zhou Sifu had no intention of continuing the encounter, Cheng Xi sensibly stood up. He sat on the opposite sofa with his hands crossed nervously over his knees. After a moment, his eyes turned slightly red.

He watched Zhou Sifu sip his coffee and ignore him. He could only sit there, not daring to move. After some time, Zhou Sifu finally put down his tablet. He looked up and spoke slowly: “Mr. Cheng, if you act like this, it’s hard for me to work with you.”

“Once the news gets out, it won’t just hurt our cooperation; Danofe’s early marketing will be wasted too.” Zhou Sifu tilted his head and asked with interest, “Did Mr. Cheng not consider this risk before signing the contract?”

“Mr. Zhou, I—”

“In that case, there is no need for us to continue.” Zhou Sifu pushed a document across the coffee table. “This is a notice of contract termination for breach of contract. Mr. Cheng, please leave.”

Taking the document, Cheng Xi stared at the breach of contract penalty—a string of eight zeros. He sat on the sofa with his head down, silent for a long time.

Zhou Sifu spoke calmly: “What? Does Mr. Cheng have an objection to the amount you need to pay?”

Cheng Xi’s knuckles turned white from gripping his hands. After a long time, the young man looked up. The redness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a sharp, focused gaze.

“Mr. Zhou, I’ll tell you the truth.” Having made up his mind, Cheng Xi spoke slowly. “Serving and seducing you was my agency boss’s idea. But I have another card to play, and I want to talk to you privately.”

Sitting opposite him, Zhou Sifu smiled as if he had expected this. “Alright, let’s hear your card.”

Seeing Zhou Sifu’s expression soften, Cheng Xi sat up straight. “I can work with my agency to state that the previous rumors are false.”

“Impossible,” Zhou Sifu countered calmly. “Gossip accounts already have your photos; they’ll be all over the internet soon. This CEO Ji and his company are currently in a lot of legal trouble. If a scandal like this breaks now, how do you fix it?”

“That’s why I need you to help me, Mr. Zhou.” Cheng Xi looked steadily at the man. “Next month is my first international show in Paris. I can’t lose this chance. I know Danofe’s PR team is the best. Please have them contact the gossip accounts and use their connections to buy those photos.”

Zhou Sifu leaned back on the sofa lazily, holding his coffee cup. “Why should I help you with a losing deal like that?”

Cheng Xi didn’t answer immediately. He remembered his early days. Shortly after his debut, when he was desperate, he met the successful young businessman, Ji Yuanlin. Although it was a trade involving his body, Ji Yuanlin gave him a constant flow of money and black cards, helping him succeed in the modeling world.

As he met Ji Yuanlin more often, he became completely obedient to get the money promised. He knew Ji Yuanlin liked to be rough in bed and had a desire for violence, but he always endured it silently and never complained. Over the years, he did whatever Ji Yuanlin said. Though he sometimes acted out a little, deep down, he knew he was completely dependent on Ji Yuanlin.

The more he cared, the more he feared losing things. A psychologist told him this was a state of being under a partner’s mental control, but he was too deep in to get out. If he could keep the cooperation with Danofe’s big boss and gain a more powerful ally, he would finally have his own leverage.

His thoughts returned to the present. He saw the man opposite him still watching him patiently, waiting for an answer.

“If you help me, Danofe’s reputation won’t suffer, and I can continue to represent you during the show. I’ll promote the S260 series with everything I have during interviews. It’s a win-win.” He took a deep breath and played his trump card: “Mr. Zhou, I have evidence to prove that Mr. Ji and I truly have a normal professional relationship.”

—

Hearing this, Zhou Sifu’s expression finally changed. Stirring the sugar in his coffee, he spoke coldly: “As far as I know, the relationship between the two big bosses of Fengyu is no secret. Does the other boss know about your so-called ‘professional relationship’?”

Seeing a chance, Cheng Xi answered quickly: “The other boss doesn’t know; he doesn’t handle that side of things. Mr. Ji’s relationship with his husband hasn’t been good lately. They are fighting over partnership debts, so his husband doesn’t know about our private meetings.”

Realizing he had almost said too much, Cheng Xi quickly added in a low voice: “I… I mean professional meetings…”

Zhou Sifu raised an eyebrow, appearing noncommittal. The room went quiet. Just as Cheng Xi was getting anxious and ready to explain further, the man opposite him put down his coffee cup and picked up his tablet again.

“Go on,” Zhou Sifu said. “Tell me about your ‘evidence’.”

After a moment of hesitation, Cheng Xi whispered: “Both Mr. Ji and I have some side businesses. Because of our public status, we pretend these are private meetings on the surface.”

“We are currently doing some overseas investments together,” Cheng Xi told him.

“Overseas investments?”

“Yes,” Cheng Xi said, choosing his words carefully. “Rich people do this to keep their money’s value when they have too much. We invest in real estate abroad. We use my personal name to open accounts to avoid some business taxes and then split the profits. This isn’t illegal; several friends I know do it.”

Zhou Sifu narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Is that all?”

“That’s all,” Cheng Xi replied firmly.

Zhou Sifu didn’t ask more. Although the young man tried to control himself, his eyes were still darting around. Zhou Sifu’s cold reaction made Cheng Xi realize that this experienced CEO didn’t believe his story. He remembered Ji Yuanlin telling him that their private business must never be known by anyone.

But there was no turning back. If he couldn’t provide strong evidence, the man would have him kicked out, and he would face huge fines. Cheng Xi bit his lip and took out a copy of a document he had prepared. “This is a deed for a property bought in Arizona in my name six months ago. If you don’t believe me, Mr. Zhou, you can check the sender’s information behind the transfer.”

Half an hour later.

After seeing Cheng Xi off, the secretary, Alan, returned to the private lounge. He saw his boss had just opened an expensive bottle of wine and was shaking the glass to let it breathe. He looked to be in a good mood.

The secretary sat in Cheng Xi’s former spot and tasted the wine. “CEO Zhou, did you call Cheng Xi here today because of the Fengyu matter?”

The assistants outside thought the boss was having a secret tryst, but Alan knew the boss only cancelled his flight to see this model because of the trouble with Fengyu.

Zhou Sifu tossed a folder to him. “Go check if the actual buyer of this apartment is a financial account under Fengyu Group.”

The secretary agreed but asked, “CEO Zhou, are you planning to make a move against Fengyu now?”

Zhou Sifu looked up. “Do I look like a junk collector?”

“No, no, no—”

He knew the boss had always disliked Fengyu. Since Fengyu was in a crisis, if it went into liquidation, Danofe could buy it at a very low price once the debt was transferred.

“Once you find the account source,” Zhou Sifu said, “send the data to Fengyu’s CFO, Cui Yuanming, and let him deal with it.”

The secretary agreed but still didn’t fully understand the motive. His boss was clearly jumping into this mess. If evidence of Fengyu’s funds moving abroad was leaked, the debt dispute between the two bosses would get much more complicated.

No. He suddenly realized something. It depended on who moved the money. If the blame fell on one person, the other would gain the advantage. But a government investigation takes a long time. Could the boss be trying to slow down the lawsuit on purpose?

As he was thinking, the boss spoke quietly: “I have a friend.”

“He was smart and had great grades. If he studied hard before an exam, he always ranked in the top three.” Zhou Sifu looked down at his wine. “One time, his grades slipped. The teacher asked why, and he said his parents were fighting for a divorce. He spent every day finding his mother who ran away and bringing her back, so he had no time to study.”

The secretary listened closely. “What happened next?”

“During the next exam, he studied day and night and took back the first place. My classmates said that’s just his personality—as long as he has enough time, he can overcome any difficulty.”

Zhou Sifu opened his eyes. “He needs time, so I’ll give him time.”

—

After finishing his work, Zhou Sifu boarded his afternoon flight to Los Angeles. Danofe’s North American headquarters was there, and a new R&D center was in a small California town nearby. Since the company’s stock was high, he traveled there every week to meet investors and analysts.

The plane was ten minutes from takeoff. Zhou Sifu put on his headphones to start a meeting with overseas executives when Alan called out to him: “CEO Zhou, there is a call transferred from your office. The person says he is Shi Tian from Fengyu and that it’s urgent.”

Zhou Sifu’s hands stopped on the keyboard. Seeing the online meeting was connecting, Alan asked, “CEO Zhou, should I tell Mr. Shi you’re in a meeting and will call back after landing?”

Before Alan could finish, the boss reached out and signaled for the phone. He paused the meeting and spoke coldly: “Hello?”

“…”

There was a long silence on the other end. After some noise, the phone seemed to be passed to someone else. A nervous voice followed: “Uh… is this CEO Zhou of Danofe?”

“I… I am the assistant to the President of Fengyu Group. You can call me Xiao Chen.”

Zhou Sifu: “…”

Alan: “…”

The tables had turned. Karma spares no one.

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