"Brother is definitely on your side."
"Xiao Shu, did you go to Tuowei today to discuss a collaboration?"
The Ji family had planned to have dinner tonight, and Ji Shulang had already decided to pick up Ji Shuhe. When he received her location message, he had just hung up on Wen Shaoyu. Though surprised, he didn't ask too many questions, thinking to himself that Ji Shuhe must still care about Wen Shaoyu.
Of course, he hoped the two could rekindle their relationship. At the very least, one was his friend and the other his family—they couldn't become enemies, right?
His sister had always been soft-spoken and easy to get along with. Even after years abroad, she still seemed the same. So if things went wrong between them, he'd have to find a way to hold Wen Shaoyu back.
That dog Wen Shaoyu knew it all in his heart, but his mouth was stubborn. A man could be dead for three days and his mouth would still be hard.
Well, I guess when you're dead for three days, you're supposed to be stiff. Whatever.
But when Ji Shulang saw Fang Jinshu seeing Ji Shuhe and her friend off from a distance, he felt something was off. Thanks to Wen Shaoyu's connections, he was part of the company's regular legal team, so he knew Fang Jinshu and her uncle.
Among Tuowei's past shareholders, aside from Wen Shaoyu's biological father Wen Cheng, the largest shareholder was Fang Jinshu's uncle.
Another second-generation rich kid, she had graduated from the US and joined Tuowei right after returning to China.
Of course, her timing wasn't great. When she joined, the "young master" had just quelled an "internal rebellion" with her uncle's help. People had resigned or fled, leaving behind a mess.
Selling technology, attracting investment, recruiting new technical talent—during that time, Wen Shaoyu slept less than five hours a day, worrying about everything big and small. And Fang Jinshu had stuck with him through it all.
Her business skills were actually quite good. But with her family's wealth backing her and having fought alongside Wen Shaoyu, she was always bold and unrestrained in her words and actions. Among her colleagues, her reputation was only so-so.
So if Fang Jinshu had seen them out, it probably wasn't about personal matters.
Since Ji Shuhe's friend had also gotten into the car earlier, Ji Shulang couldn't ask too many questions. After dropping Stella off at the bar street, and after his sister meticulously reminded her to drink less and call if anything came up, the siblings finally had some time alone to talk.
"Yes."
Ji Shuhe's original intent was for work, but she also secretly hoped to see Wen Shaoyu. "Our production team's post-production might not be able to create good architectural models, so we came to discuss technical support with Tuowei."
"Right, they have a project specifically for digital architecture. It's a perfect match."
Ji Shulang thought it would be easy to negotiate. Wen Shaoyu had almost pursued a career in architectural design. He had started that project with a personal agenda, and now his personal agenda met hers. Only a fool would refuse.
"So, did it work out?"
Ji Shuhe gave a bitter smile. "There's no definite answer yet. We'll have to wait and see how the shoot goes."
No definite answer?
Ji Shulang frowned, cursing Wen Shaoyu in his heart.
Don't look for a fool—the fool is right here.
But after years as a lawyer, Ji Shulang was much more meticulous than before. To avoid misunderstandings due to misaligned details, he asked further, "Xiao Shu, do you know... that Tuowei is currently run by Wen Shaoyu?"
Ji Shuhe nodded, then glanced at him. "I know. I looked up the information before coming. He even has news interviews as a youth representative. He's quite famous."
"Did you see him, then?" Ji Shulang cautiously confirmed.
"No." Ji Shuhe shook her head again.
The car fell silent. Ji Shulang said nothing, and Ji Shuhe kept rubbing the strap of her bag between her fingers until her fingertips grew warm before stopping.
She wanted to ask Ji Shulang how Wen Shaoyu had been these years, but the words got stuck in her throat. There was nothing much to ask, really.
A man who hated his father so much that even accepting a gesture of goodwill felt like betrayal—and now he had taken over that man's company? No matter how she thought about it, it must have been something that broke his spirit. It couldn't have been easy.
Ji Shulang sighed, gripping the steering wheel. "He was probably too busy to get around to it."
Then, to reassure Ji Shuhe, he added, "Xiao Shu, don't take it to heart. Wen Shaoyu isn't the same person who used to be first in both fights and studies in our alley, who would hide in his second-floor room to tutor us in math."
Feeling that wasn't convincing enough, he continued, "Don't be fooled by how well Tuowei is doing now. A couple of years ago, things were really bad. Everything now is the result of Wen Shaoyu fighting tooth and nail to hold it together. Once the team stabilized and operations returned to normal, there was less need for him to handle things personally. So he probably didn't even know you were there."
Ji Shuhe understood, of course. But thinking back to their reunion that night and Wen Shaoyu's coldness, she couldn't help feeling disheartened. "I know. It was supposed to be a business-to-business collaboration for mutual benefit. I didn't plan to use our past relationship to get anything. Besides..."
She paused. "Besides, there's not much of a relationship left now, is there?"
"Of course not!" Ji Shulang immediately retorted. "Don't you know? Wen Shaoyu is a tsundere through and through! He's probably thrilled that you're back, but he's holding back and putting on a cold face. Hey, trust me. He's become an expert at that over the years."
These years... Ji Shuhe silently pondered his choice of words. After much thought, she couldn't help asking, "Bro, why did Wen Shaoyu agree to take over Tuowei?"
Just then, the light turned red. Ji Shulang hit the brakes, the inertia pushing them forward before the seatbelt yanked them back. He scratched his head, cursing Wen Shaoyu in his heart.
That idiot had missed such a good chance to be alone with her, and now he was stuck playing the role of historian.
"It's a long story."
Too much time had passed, too many things had happened. Ji Shulang tried to summarize the most difficult years. "Let's start from after the college entrance exam."
"Wen Shaoyu's exam results were average—for him, at least. It could even be considered below his usual performance. But he still got into Xinhai University's renowned architecture program. Around the time we were filling out our preferences, we had already moved into the new house. Wen Shaoyu was also living in a resettlement apartment then. His dad came to find him specially and they had a huge fight. He said architecture was a dying field and demanded Wen Shaoyu switch to information engineering."
Ji Shulang summed it up in a few words, but Ji Shuhe could imagine the chaos.
Wen Cheng was autocratic and domineering. He might not have loved Wen Shaoyu, but he couldn't stand losing control over him. And Wen Shaoyu was stubborn—he wouldn't listen to his father even if it meant swallowing his pride.
The two of them clashing would have been a big scene. If they hadn't moved into an elevator apartment building, it would have become gossip fodder for the neighbors in Yong'anli.
"Of course, Wen Shaoyu didn't listen to him. He entered the architecture program and finished his first semester. Then, who would have guessed? His dad got into a car accident." The light turned green, and Ji Shulang stepped on the gas again. Though his eyes stayed on the road, he leaned slightly toward Ji Shuhe.
"Life really is ironic. His dad's driver had some family emergency and needed money urgently, so he took the company car out after work to drive for a ride-hailing service. Fatigue caused him to crash, sending everyone in the car to the hospital."
"Wen Shaoyu's dad survived, but he was badly hurt. His right leg was trapped in the deformed seat for too long and had to be amputated. He had multiple comminuted fractures all over his body—legs, arms, everywhere. In short, only his life was spared. He was clearly a cripple. So his stepmother started eyeing the company shares."
"Tuowei was founded by Wen Shaoyu's mother. Wen Shaoyu himself might not have wanted it, but he couldn't let someone else reap the benefits for free. And of course, Wen Cheng begged him from his hospital bed. He transferred eighty percent of his shares to Wen Shaoyu and made him promise to hold the company together no matter what."