On Top - Chapter 2

The old matriarch, Madam Wei, lived up in the Buddhist temple where information didn’t travel fast. She was still under the impression that Wei Chengran had simply failed to return home for a few consecutive days. In reality, that wasn’t the case at all. Su Xingyan remembered clearly that Wei Chengran hadn’t been back for nearly more than half a month, on and off.

Like rain after a long drought, and with Wei Chengran being quite drunk, it took less than fifteen minutes for him to wave the white flag, releasing himself inside Su Xingyan’s body.

Outside the window, the spring rain was still pattering down. A humid heat enveloped the entirety of Glory Port. Su Xingyan lay in Wei Chengran’s arms with his eyes closed, panting softly, a flush of lingering intimacy tinting his otherwise paper pale face. Watching him, Wei Chengran’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He couldn’t resist reaching out to gently brush aside the hair clinging to Su Xingyan’s forehead with sweat.

Su Xingyan was beautiful. Wei Chengran had thought so from the very first moment he laid eyes on him.

Resting his chin against the crown of Su Xingyan’s head, Wei Chengran closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry, Yanyan. I’ve been really busy lately. I didn’t ignore you on purpose.”

Every time Wei Chengran did something wrong, he would hold Su Xingyan like a child, admitting his faults and acting spoiled. Su Xingyan had long since grown accustomed to it. Haltingly lifting his eyelids, Su Xingyan leaned into his embrace and smiled with a touch of helplessness. “The old matriarch was asking today what exactly you’ve been so busy with.”

“What else could it be? Company business, of course. CY was just established, so there’s a whole mess of things that need sorting out. I just got thirty-eight million Hong Kong dollars in startup capital from the old man, so I can’t screw this up!”

At the mention of this, Wei Chengran grew animated, even bending his fingers to count for Su Xingyan exactly which projects CY was currently occupied with. However, to say he had received thirty-eight million Hong Kong dollars in startup capital from Wei Zhenning wasn’t entirely accurate. In truth, it was because Wei Chengran had thrown a tantrum demanding to start his own business. Left with no choice, Wei Zhenning had simply taken a half-dead subsidiary and thrown it to him.

To prevent his son from failing too miserably in his entrepreneurial venture, Wei Zhenning had also transferred a sum from his personal account. Adding it all up, it came to thirty-eight million.

This amount of money was neither a lot nor a little. The Hong Kong media loudly proclaimed that Wei Zhenning was treating his son like a beggar. But a blockhead like Wei Chengran remained completely oblivious, vigorously turning the company inside out, looking every bit the man ready to display his grand talents. “…I recently took on a new project involving autonomous driving. I feel like this field will have a lot of development potential in the next few years. What do you think, Yanyan?”

Wei Chengran enthusiastically sought Su Xingyan’s opinion. Su Xingyan was the eldest son of the Su family and currently held a twenty-three percent stake in it. Although he hadn’t managed much of the business in recent years, his commercial acumen had always been incredibly sharp. Back when Su Xingyan was at the helm of the Su family, overall efficiency had directly increased by ten percent. If the illegitimate son hadn’t later curried favor with old Master Su to successfully usurp the position, Su Xingyan would have been hailed as a dark horse in the business world by the Hong Kong media.

Su Xingyan rested quietly in Wei Chengran’s arms, listening. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes and gave a compliant smile, saying, “If you think it’s good, then it’s good. …I don’t really understand these things.”

The smile on Wei Chengran’s face froze. He stared at Su Xingyan, and after a long while, he let out a wistful sigh, showing a rare burst of self-awareness. “What’s the use of me thinking it’s good? The business world is like a battlefield. If you lose focus for even a second, you’ll be pierced by ten thousand arrows.”

“I am the commander in chief, and the commander in chief cannot make a wrong decision.”

As he spoke, he even adopted a theatrical cadence, singing a line of verse from a Beijing opera about a general marching off to war.

This time, Su Xingyan truly didn’t understand the performance; he simply kept his eyes closed and smiled. Wei Chengran was the sole son of the Wei family. In the words of the Hong Kong media, he was a young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who spent his days doing nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun. He had managed a few company projects before, but all had ended in failure. The Hong Kong media’s evaluation of Wei Chengran had always been very low, saying that wealth never lasts past three generations and by Wei Chengran’s generation, he happened to be the third generation since the Wei family had struck it rich.

But what did that matter? Su Xingyan thought. The Wei family’s mountain of wealth was not something that could be squandered easily anyway. Wei Chengran only needed to live comfortably.

He listened to Wei Chengran crack several more far-fetched jokes. Su Xingyan vaguely felt something slowly flowing out from beneath him. His face warmed slightly. Casting a sidelong glare at Wei Chengran, he got up from his body and prepared to head to the bathroom.

Just as he reached the doorway, Wei Chengran suddenly called out to him.

“Yanyan.”

Su Xingyan turned his head back. Wei Chengran, bearing that still youthful face, leaned against the headboard and flashed a wide, bright smile. He asked, “Does Yanyan believe in me?”

Su Xingyan’s smile carried a hint of helplessness, as if he truly had no options when it came to this man.

Su Xingyan let out a soft sigh, and then, just like eleven years ago, gave him the answer he wanted: “Mm, I believe in you.” He gently added, “Commander in chief.”

Wei Chengran laughed happily, like an innocent child. Su Xingyan watched him, thinking quietly that if things could stay like this forever, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, when it came to living life, being happy was the most important thing.

Outside the window, the rain was still pattering down, making one feel restless and uneasy.

Glory Port had been hit by a continuous stretch of rainy weather lately. The air was thick with a damp, stifling heat, causing people’s moods to feel inexplicably oppressed.

Yan Chong narrowed his long, slender phoenix eyes, his dark gaze unreadable as he quietly scrutinized the man who had been giving an enthusiastic monologue across from him for over half an hour. It was an exceptionally beautiful man whose facial features were naturally intense and dramatic. Yet, as if oblivious to this fact, he had treated his own face like a canvas for reckless scribbling, pairing it with a clattering assortment of noisy accessories…

What did he look like?

Yan Chong narrowed his eyes and actually gave it some serious thought. Oh, it came to him, he looked like a heavily made-up clown in a circus.

“…Master Yan, have you actually been listening to a single word I’ve said?!”

Tang Songzhi also noticed Yan Chong’s distraction. He pouted in dissatisfaction, glaring at Yan Chong with a petulant, coquettish look. Yan Chong returned to reality, offering a polite yet distant smile. “I’m listening. Please continue.”

“Then I’ll keep going!” Tang Songzhi’s clear, dark eyes darted around. He began counting on his fingers, pushing his luck. “After we register the marriage, Master Yan, you absolutely cannot treat me poorly! My mom told me that you rich people are incredibly calculating. I’m simple-minded. I could never outsmart you!”

Tang Songzhi had actually grown up on the Mainland, only being brought back to Glory Port when he was fifteen or sixteen. As for the reason, it was nothing special, he was an illegitimate son of the Tang family. If he hadn’t luckily managed to outlive the primary matriarch of the Tang family until her passing, whether he would have ever been able to step foot through the Tang family doors in this lifetime would have remained an unknown.

Yan Chong saw through it but chose not to voice it. He lifted the cooled latte from the table, took a shallow sip, and replied courteously, “You are too modest. It seems to me, Mr. Tang, that you have far more calculations up your sleeve than most, not fewer.”

Tang Songzhi choked on his words for a moment, but he deliberately pushed forward. “If we get divorced, wouldn’t I be destined to leave with absolutely nothing? That won’t do. Master Yan, I want shares in the Yan family company.”

Clack.

Yan Chong set down his coffee cup. Looking through his rimless glasses, he quietly stared at Tang Songzhi. Ah, so the hidden dagger finally reveals itself.

Still too impatient.

Stared down by that gaze, Tang Songzhi felt a wave of fear. He felt as though he had been thrust back into his childhood, watching Animal World. Yan Chong’s gaze was like a lion looking at its prey, a single bite would be enough to leave a person bloody and mangled.

Tang Songzhi’s eyes darted away nervously, but he forced himself to keep going. “…Otherwise, I refuse to marry you!”

Parrying the blow effortlessly, Yan Chong replied composedly, “You will marry me whether you want to or not.”

Tang Songzhi challenged, “What if I ram my head against a wall and die?!”

Yan Chong’s smile remained entirely unfazed. “Then we’ll just hold a ghost wedding.”

It seemed Yan Chong’s patience had run out. He let out a soft sigh and took off the rimless glasses from the bridge of his nose. He truly lacked the endurance to keep playing this tedious game of house with this fool. “Mr. Tang. Tang Songzhi, was it? I assume before you came here, your esteemed father already informed you that next month is old Madam Yan’s, my grandmother’s seventieth birthday. Our wedding banquet will be held concurrently with it.”

“The invitations will be sent out in succession during this period. When the time comes, everyone from Glory Port’s high-ranking merchants down to the celebrities will attend by invitation. If anyone dares to ruin this banquet in front of so many people, I imagine… he won’t have a life left to show his face in Glory Port.”

“What do you think?”

Yan Chong spoke as if he were genuinely seeking Tang Songzhi’s input.

Tang Songzhi stared at him, he didn’t even dare to glare back!

While Tang Songzhi watched with a resentful gaze, Yan Chong had already put his rimless glasses back on. Through the transparent lenses, he smiled amiably at Tang Songzhi. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first. For matters regarding the wedding banquet, you can contact my assistant. Excuse me.”

The smile was polite and refined, exactly as it had been when they first met.

Tang Songzhi felt his skin crawl from that smile, and his hand holding the coffee cup couldn’t help but tremble. Seeing the man pick up his suit jacket to leave, Tang Songzhi couldn’t resist standing up and shouting, “Master Yan, the Yan family isn’t the sole ruler of Glory Port! What you say doesn’t just automatically go!”

Yan Chong turned back. Amidst the hazy mist of the damp air, his sharp facial features actually seemed to soften by a fraction. He let out an indifferent laugh, as if Tang Songzhi’s rage wasn’t even worth his consideration. “Oh? Then you are welcome to try and see if what I say goes or not.”

Tang Songzhi was left speechless, he didn’t dare say any more anyway. Everyone in Glory Port knew that the Yan family operated with absolute authority across both legitimate and underworld circles. Old Master Yan’s generation had built their fortune on illicit industries. It was only in recent years, as regulations tightened, that they began doing business strictly by the book. However, that core ruthlessness had long since become the foundation of how the Yan family operated.

Tang Songzhi? Tang Songzhi had no choice at all.

The rain had actually stopped. Only the muggy heat remained in the air, refusing to dissipate.

Yan Chong walked briskly down the stairs. He had an international meeting at six o’clock, so he truly didn’t have time to waste on Tang Songzhi’s nonsense.

Just as he stepped out of the building, Yan Chong’s eyes suddenly lit up. Amidst the misty, rain-soaked scenery, he spotted a man dressed in simple, plain clothing. Even though it was no longer raining, the man still held an umbrella aloft, standing properly by the roadside as if waiting for his driver to arrive.

Yan Chong’s mood inexplicably turned excellent. He covered the distance to Su Xingyan in a few swift strides. Arriving right in front of him, Yan Chong offered a polite greeting: “Madam, what a coincidence.”

“We meet again.”

Su Xingyan turned his head to see him, a flash of surprise crossing his beautiful eyes, though he wasn’t surprised by the encounter itself. He had recognized Yan Chong from a distance while upstairs. Su Xingyan had immediately set down his coffee, paid the bill hurriedly, and left, yet he hadn’t expected to run into this man again regardless.

Truly like a lingering ghost that refused to disperse.

Su Xingyan curled his lips into a cold smirk. “It’s not much of a coincidence, is it?” He then asked, “If I didn’t see incorrectly just now, Master Yan was on a blind date?”

Yan Chong let out a long breath, not bothering to hide it. “Yes.” He raised his hand, pointing specifically to his empty ring finger for Su Xingyan to see. “Very soon, I will be like you, Madam, wearing a wedding ring.”

Su Xingyan: “…”

Su Xingyan was so angered by him that he laughed. How utterly shameless.