DASFAM_45

Zhouye Investment.

By the time Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu drove over, they happened to arrive at the same time as Chu Yate. The two parties exchanged a glance and headed straight to the conference room where the team members had gathered.

"Mr. Chu."

Kailing, the deputy team leader, stood up and greeted each of them with a tense expression, "Mr. Bai, Mr. Shang."

Bai Xu pulled out a chair casually, "Sit down and talk."

In this project team, Kailing and Xie Qi each led their respective team members in preliminary preparations for different directions, which would ultimately be consolidated in the hands of Bai Xu and the others.

As his most trusted subordinate, Chu Yate had absolutely no doubt about Kailing's professional ability. If it weren't for an exceptionally difficult problem, she would never have disturbed them so lightly.

With that in mind, Chu Yate asked about the specifics first thing, "Kailing, what exactly is going on?"

The message in the group chat earlier had been sent by Kailing only as a last resort, and because she was afraid things wouldn't be explained clearly over the phone, she had called everyone back for another meeting.

Kailing exchanged a glance with the other team members, who took the cue and quickly distributed to Bai Xu and the others the list of building materials suppliers they had gathered over the past two days.

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, "I've looked over this draft invitation list. Wasn't everything fine with it?"

Per the relevant department's requirements, competing for a large amusement venue project not only required submitting an exceptionally detailed project proposal, but also listing the downstream building materials suppliers to be engaged during construction.

All the suppliers on the list were companies that met the qualification requirements.

The current priority was to reach out to these companies with cooperation invitations and compare quotes among them—naturally, the final decision rested in the hands of Zhouye Investment.

Kailing furrowed her brow, "Mr. Bai, that's exactly where the problem is."

"Every single one of these suppliers, the moment they heard we were from Zhouye Investment, turned us down without exception."

"......"

"The reasons they gave all sounded perfectly respectable."

Some were polite about it, making excuses that their company's business volume for the second half of the year was already full and they were no longer taking on outside orders.

Others were more dismissive, stating outright that they weren't willing to work with a newly established small company like Zhouye Investment.

One of the team members who had also been handling the negotiations muttered under their breath, "It's only July or August—how could they possibly have filled their entire year's order quota already? They're obviously brushing us off."

Bai Xu caught the subtle undercurrent of the situation, his expression shifting slightly.

Shang Yanxiao closed the list and pressed further, "Have you contacted any suppliers outside the list?"

Kailing had already taken that step, "We have, but the answers we got were more or less the same. A few smaller suppliers actually came forward on their own initiative hoping to cooperate, but their scale wasn't large enough—they fall outside our intended selection range."

Bai Xu cut straight to it, "It looks like someone is pulling strings behind the scenes. They're making no secret of wanting to stall Zhouye Investment's project right here in the preliminary stage."

Kailing was just about to bring that up. Her hesitant gaze drifted toward Chu Yate, "The private secretary of Director Zhou from Yuansheng Steel—she and I have a fairly good personal relationship. She, she let slip that..."

One of the team members was hearing this for the first time and couldn't help pressing, "Let slip what?"

Bai Xu looked toward Chu Yate at the same moment, already knowing the answer in his heart, "What else could it be? Which companies in Singapore carry enough 'sway' to make suppliers from all walks of business turn down outside orders just to stay on their good side—how many of those could there be?"

Chu Yate's usual teasing expression had vanished entirely. He gave a cold laugh, "It's Chu Yuncheng working behind the scenes."

Bai Xu, the mere thought of Chu Yuncheng's face making him both disgusted and exasperated, said, "What a rocky start, we've barely begun and already we've run into..."

With everyone present, he swallowed the words that were less than entirely proper.

First there had been the AW project at Juesheng Medical, then the competition with Eaglet Cinema—his feud with Chu Yuncheng had been piling up layer by layer.

Bai Xu was at a loss for words, "The last time we ran into him at the restaurant, he was still looking down on us for competing over Eaglet, saying we didn't know our own limits, and now he turns around and holds a grudge to this extent?"

He had actually gone so far as to leverage his own group's standing and connections just to strangle their competition in the cradle.

"The companies with intentions to bid are gradually becoming clearer."

Shang Yanxiao set aside any personal grievances and analyzed the situation calmly, "From the perspective of those suppliers, they would naturally choose Chu's, which has a higher chance of winning, rather than place their money-making bet on us."

After all, on the surface, no matter how you looked at it, the odds of Chu's winning the bid were far greater.

To offend a well-established, name-brand conglomerate that had already taken root in Singapore, all for the sake of a newly founded company with no reputation and no visible capital to speak of? It wasn't worth it.

"That's all true enough."

Bai Xu was equally levelheaded when thinking through problems. He looked at Chu Yate, who was sitting across from him with a stiff expression, "Lucky for us that Chu Yuncheng still doesn't know you're our partner behind the scenes, otherwise he'd be guarding against us even more ruthlessly."

Kailing, focused on the progress, asked, "Bosses, what do we do now?"

Their preparation period was already short to begin with. If they stayed stuck on this issue, forget hoping to win the bid—even putting together a complete tender document would be a serious struggle.

Chu Yate frowned, "If we can't negotiate with suitable suppliers within Singapore, do we look overseas?"

The drawbacks of that were obvious, though—

Once overseas shipping costs went up, their quoted price would lose its competitive edge, and the profit margin would easily get squeezed down.

"How about we prepare on two fronts for now?"

"First, keep pushing hard with the suppliers here in Singapore. A man will die for wealth just as a bird will for food. While keeping our profit margin intact, we raise our offer as much as possible."

At the very least, it couldn't exceed the overseas shipping costs.

Bai Xu paused, his uncertain gaze drifting toward Shang Yanxiao.

Shang Yanxiao, in perfect sync, finished the thought for him, "Second, I'll use my own connections to find suppliers with suitable pricing in China and neighboring countries. If the shipping costs included still come out close to the higher local offer, that second option is also on the table."

Chu Yate had no objections, though he found it remarkable, "The way I see it, the two of you only need one person between you at future meetings. The level of mind-sharing you two have is really something else."

Bai Xu curved his lips slightly and didn't argue.

He turned to address the project team members present, "None of this falls on any of you, so don't let it weigh on you. The timeline is tight, but I'm confident we'll work through it. It'll be fine."

Kailing felt the tension in her chest ease a little, "Understood, Mr. Bai. We're ready to cooperate whenever needed."

With the materials suppliers having temporarily stalled the progress, pushing everyone to keep working overtime was pointless. Quitting time had come around in the blink of an eye, and Bai Xu spoke on behalf of the other two.

"It's Friday. Everyone leave on time. Use this weekend to rest up properly, and we'll regroup and start fresh Monday."

"Got it."

"Thank you, bosses."

The project team members tidied up their things and left in twos and threes.

Chu Yate remarked, "Bai Xu, the way you handle things, you're really quite well suited to be a top-level executive."

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow slightly and didn't bother being modest, "I always could have been."

As he spoke, he glanced over at Shang Yanxiao once more—

The other man was lifting his water cup with his left hand. His right shoulder, which had been injured just the night before, still looked completely rigid even now, as though he didn't dare move it freely.

Across from them, Chu Yate asked, "Getting together tonight?"

Bai Xu looked back and set his sights on him, "Second Chu, do me a favor."

Chu Yate caught the look in his eyes—a smile that was up to no good—and blanked for a moment, "What?"

Five minutes later, Chu Yate glanced through the rearview mirror at Shang Yanxiao and Bai Xu, who had gotten into the back seat, and pursed his lips.

"Having me, the distinguished Second Young Master of the Chu family, serve as your personal driver—Bai Xu, you really are..." he gave a thumbs-up toward the back, "Something else."

Bai Xu reached back and pushed the thumb down without a shred of courtesy, "Isn't it because the situation is urgent and there's no other option? Yanxiao's shoulder is still injured, and I don't have a driver's license here."

Chen Yufei and the others were all on leave today, so it wasn't appropriate to call them in to drive.

As he said this, Bai Xu clicked his seatbelt into place, "So we'll have to trouble the Second Young Master Chu to make a trip to the hospital."

Chu Yate looked back toward the front, "Ahem, driving you is fine, but there's one condition—"

"What?"

"No showing off how lovey-dovey you two are in the back seat."

With that, he slammed his foot on the gas and shot forward.

...

The results of the X-ray examination turned out to be somewhat better than expected—

Shang Yanxiao's right shoulder had sustained no bone damage, only swelling and bruising, which could be relieved by daily massage with medicated wine. However, in the short term he still needed to avoid overly strenuous 'heavy lifting' situations, so as not to cause a secondary contusion.

Bai Xu decided not to trouble Chu Yuncheng with a ride back, and instead called a designated driver to return to the villa. The two of them enjoyed a simple dinner prepared by the housekeeper, then each went back to their rooms to wash up.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door.

Without looking up, Bai Xu said, "Come in."

Shang Yanxiao opened the door and walked in, his bathrobe loosely draped over his upper body, the medicated wine for reducing swelling from the hospital still in his hand—the implication was unmistakable.

"Young Master Bai, give me a hand?"

"Sit down."

Bai Xu agreed without hesitation.

He took the medicine bag Shang Yanxiao handed over and, following the technique he had observed at the hospital, slowly worked the medicated wine in bit by bit, "Does it hurt?"

Shang Yanxiao met his gaze squarely, "It doesn't hurt."

The warmth radiated from his palm, slowly seeping into the skin, and that faint pain seemed to matter less and less.

Bai Xu noticed the smile lingering in the depths of Shang Yanxiao's eyes. His heart gave a small, warm flutter, and he quickly changed the subject, "Has the Old Master's flight landed yet?"

The direct flight distance from N City to the capital of China was around six and a half hours.

"Not that soon, still thirty or forty minutes," Shang Yanxiao was equally concerned about Old Master Shang, and added, "I've already given Quyan a heads-up in advance. Landing that late, he'll bring a driver to pick him up."

Bai Xu felt somewhat relieved, "That's good then."

Shang Yanxiao saw through his brief discomfort from a moment ago and proactively shifted to business, "The third branch has collaborated with quite a few building materials suppliers on projects before. I'll have Xie Qi draw up the list tomorrow."

"I'm not in a convenient position to handle the liaison directly right now. Have Quyan's side send separate people to negotiate, and try to get all the intentions confirmed before next Wednesday."

"Alright."

Bai Xu responded, but inwardly he still leaned more toward building materials suppliers from Singapore itself, "I'll ask Second Chu tomorrow as well, and see if there's any channel that could arrange for me to meet with those materials company heads."

"Worst case, it'll be just like that time with Director Zhang. Once I've met with them in person, I'll work to turn the impression around and then discuss cooperation."

"Even if there's no existing channel, we can host a banquet ourselves to extend invitations and create one."

Bai Xu had always believed that human effort could overcome anything—as long as he set his mind to it, there was no project he couldn't pull off.

Shang Yanxiao had faith in his abilities, "Alright, we'll go with your plan. I'll be here to support you."

Bai Xu poured a little more medicated wine into his palm and, hearing that, teased, "What have I done to deserve this? Having Mr. Shang support me?"

Shang Yanxiao laughed despite himself, "To the outside world, I'm just your bodyguard-slash-assistant, aren't I? It's only natural. Besides, getting Young Master Bai to apply medicine for me personally, I consider that quite an honor."

Bai Xu gave an amused snort and withdrew his hands, "Alright, go wash up and sleep. Put the medicine away yourself."

"Sure."

Bai Xu went into the bathroom and scrubbed the medicinal oil thoroughly from his hands. When he turned around, he realized Shang Yanxiao had been leaning against the doorway the entire time, without having left.

Bai Xu found himself firmly held by his gaze, momentarily at a loss, "What is it?"

Shang Yanxiao stepped toward him, "There's something I need to confirm with you."

The distance between them closed in an instant. Bai Xu tried to escape the grip of Shang Yanxiao's stare, but his body shifted in the wrong direction, and his back met the wall squarely.

Bai Xu's throat tightened, "What?"

Shang Yanxiao's eyes stayed fixed on his face as he probed, word by deliberate word, "Grandfather told me today at the hotel that you admitted to him we were a couple?"

"I..."

Bai Xu drew in a quiet breath, yet found no words to refute it.

Shang Yanxiao had originally only inferred the possibility from Old Master Shang's words, but the moment he saw Bai Xu's reaction, he knew his guess was more or less right.

The delight in Shang Yanxiao's eyes deepened at once. He dipped his head closer still, "Young Master Bai, weren't we just friends with benefits? How is it that you say one thing in front of people and another behind their backs?"

"......"

Bai Xu caught the smugness Shang Yanxiao could barely keep from showing. Feeling uncomfortable, he raised a hand and pushed, "Shang Yanxiao, move."

"—Hiss!"

His palm had instinctively pressed down on the right shoulder that had just been treated, and the sharp sensation made Shang Yanxiao's expression flicker.

Seeing this, Bai Xu hastily tried to pull his hand back.

Shang Yanxiao caught it with swift reflexes and pressed on relentlessly, "I'm asking you something— answer first. Are we a couple or friends with benefits?"

Bai Xu held to his position, "The latter, of course."

Shang Yanxiao heard this entirely expected answer, and the corner of his brow gave a slight lift.

Bai Xu averted his gaze and explained on his own, "It's not like you don't know Grandfather's personality. If I dared tell him to his face that we were friends with benefits, he'd have thrown me out of the hotel the next second."

Shang Yanxiao said nothing, only stared at him.

Under that stare, Bai Xu inexplicably felt a prick of guilt, "You– have you stared enough? Don't think that just because your shoulder's injured and I don't dare get rough with you. Let go of me, now."

Shang Yanxiao didn't comply. Instead he dipped his head and brushed his nose lightly against Bai Xu's, "A' Xu."

The tips of Bai Xu's ears suddenly flared hot, and the breath that left him next was none too steady, "Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

Shang Yanxiao asked, feigning innocence, "Aren't we friends with benefits? Does a title still matter to you?"

Bai Xu muttered, "Stop twisting things."

Shang Yanxiao let his voice drop lower, "Then right now I want to do something that only friends with benefits do."

"......"

"I want to kiss you."

The invitation, dripping with suggestion, reached his ears, and Bai Xu felt himself burn all the more.

His thoughts were in a muddle, and he deflected on impulse, "Friends with benefits– why would they kiss each other for no reason?"

Shang Yanxiao was a breath away from his lips, and asked in exasperated amusement, "Who exactly is the one twisting things?"

"......"

Bai Xu lost the will to resist. His long lashes trembled and slowly fell.

Shang Yanxiao took in every shift in him, and with sheer force of will reined in the urge to kiss him, pulling back a step, "Alright then."

The warm, drifting breath receded with it. Bai Xu opened his eyes in a daze, and suddenly met the bright, glinting amusement pooled in Shang Yanxiao's gaze.

Shang Yanxiao turned the tables and dangled the moment before him, "Then I'll respect Young Master Bai's wishes. No kiss."

Bai Xu stared at him, eyes full of uncertainty.

"Good night. Sleep well," Shang Yanxiao pretended not to notice, and with considerable effort turned and walked back to his own room.

Click.

The small adjoining door shut, taking the charged atmosphere along with it.

It was only after the fact that Bai Xu realized Shang Yanxiao had been toying with him. He exhaled in stunned disbelief a couple of times before finally squeezing out a grumble, "Go to sleep yourself!"

He wanted to see, in the end, who would be the first to crack.

...

In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived.

Bai Xu swept his gaze over the building materials suppliers list that had been sent up again, cross-referencing it one by one against the background check files on his tablet, deliberating over which one to approach first.

Buzz, buzz buzz.

His phone vibrated with an incoming call.

Bai Xu saw the name "Chu Yate" and picked up, "Hello, Second Chu."

Chu Yate's voice came through from the other end, carrying a faint thread of excitement, "Bai Xu, are you free? About the building materials suppliers, I've found a way to meet with them in person."

Bai Xu's grip on his phone tightened involuntarily, "What?"

Chu Yate kept it brief, "The official construction investment association in Singapore holds regular events every year. The content varies, but they invite many of the major investors, building materials suppliers, and property developers in the construction sector to participate."

Bai Xu caught on, "A large-scale industry gathering?"

Chu Yate replied, "You could put it that way. But the directors, executives, and company heads on the guest list are all names that carry real weight—like the ones on our building materials supplier list, for instance..."

The voice on the other end paused for two seconds, "Director Zhou of Yuansheng Steel, Chairman Alice of Saint Paulona, and Director Cheng of Ling Steel."

Those three resounding names were indeed near the top of the building materials suppliers list.

Bai Xu understood what Chu Yate was calling to say, "Can I get in?"

Chu Yate gave a confident laugh, "Why else would I be calling you? The Chu family receives invitations every year. Chu Yuncheng has no interest in this sort of thing, so my father tossed it to me to deal with."

"I'm just letting you know. If it works for you, would you and Mr. Shang like to come along?"

Bai Xu was not about to pass up this opportunity, "Sure. What are the specifics, time and venue?"

Chu Yate replied, "I'll send you the details a bit later."

"Got it."

The call ended.

Bai Xu went straight to find Shang Yanxiao next door. He relayed everything from the call word for word, "Do you want to come along?"

Before the words had even settled, Chu Yate had already sent over the confirmed attendee list for the event.

Shang Yanxiao gave it a quick scan, "I'll go."

Bai Xu still had some hesitation in his expression, "What if someone recognizes you?"

"This project was never your task alone. There's no way I'd just sit back and do nothing," Shang Yanxiao had thought it through clearly, without the reservations he'd carried before.

"The number of people attending this gathering isn't large, and none of these companies have had any prior dealings with the Shang Group. Have Second Chu give me a different name and identity, not many people should pay it any mind."

Even if the cover eventually slipped, it wouldn't necessarily make its way back to the Shang family. And even in the worst case, if it did reach the ears of the first and second branches—

Old Master Shang, as the head of the family, already knew in advance. Whatever still needed to be investigated, Shang Yanxiao would continue to investigate.

Bai Xu respected Shang Yanxiao's decision, "Alright then."

Shang Yanxiao turned the question around, "What's the theme of this event?"

Bai Xu glanced at his phone screen lighting up, "Let me check. Second Chu just sent me the event planning itinerary."

Within a few seconds, his eyes lit up with surprise, "I have to say, the rich really do know how to have a good time."

Shang Yanxiao was curious, "What is it?"

Bai Xu flipped the phone around and showed him the contents, clicking his tongue in amazement, "An uninhabited island retreat. The planning team behind this association is quite bold."

Although it was nominally a wilderness exercise on an uninhabited island, the guests were after all chief executives from various companies, and the association's planning team had still made ample preparations.

Early Friday morning, Bai Xu and Shang Yanxiao arrived at the event's assembly point—

N City Deep Island Pier.

A gentle sea breeze drifted in from the harbor, taking the edge off the oppressive heat.

Shang Yanxiao scanned the crowd gathering ahead, "Where's Second Chu?"

"Look for whoever's dressed the most like a playboy," Bai Xu stepped out of the car, sharp-eyed, "There, blue-and-white floral shirt again."

"Let's head over."

"Sure."

The two walked over side by side.

Chu Yate, busy chatting in the crowd, spotted them and waved them over at once, "Come, Young Master Bai. Let me introduce everyone."

"This is Zhou Yangfan, Director Zhou of Yuansheng Steel, and Cheng Ye, Director Cheng of Ling Steel Group."

The former was on the rounder side, standing at around a hundred and seventy-five centimeters, while the latter was leaner, visibly over one-eighty in height. Both had put on sunglasses against the blazing sun. Though both were heads of well-known building materials companies, the contrast between them standing side by side was unexpectedly striking.

Unable to read their expressions through the sunglasses, Bai Xu could only nod politely, "Good to meet you both."

"Director Zhou, Director Cheng, this is Bai Xu, Young Master Bai of Zhouye Investment, and—" Chu Yate exchanged a subtle glance with Shang Yanxiao, "Yan Xiao, Mr. Yan, a colleague of Young Master Bai's."

"......"

How they had managed to come up with that.

Bai Xu seized the moment to muffle a cough, barely keeping the smile from his face.

Shang Yanxiao accepted the fabricated identity without a word and offered a low-voiced greeting.

Cheng Ye looked Bai Xu and Shang Yanxiao over through his sunglasses—both of whom hadn't been on the list. Something seemed to come to him, and he deliberately turned his head to glance at Director Zhou.

Zhou Yangfan had the same thought forming, and asked with a smile, "Young Master Bai's Zhouye Investment... that name rings a bell."

If he remembered correctly, wasn't that the investment company Chu Yuncheng had quietly asked everyone to shut out?

Chu Yate kept to the same line as before, "Bai Xu is a friend I met in Germany. He had some free time, so I invited him along for the fun. I hope neither of you minds?"

Cheng Ye was a perceptive man. He had already guessed something, but was in no hurry to bring it to light.

"I just heard from the person in charge that it'll take over three hours to sail to Xisheng Uninhabited Island. Looking at Young Master Bai's build, I wonder if he'll manage?"

Bai Xu met Cheng Ye's gaze, "Thank you for your concern, Director Cheng. I'll be fine."

The event had only just begun—there was no rush to get into business matters right away. With a three-day retreat ahead of them, there would surely be a suitable moment.

Time slipped by, and before long it was ten o'clock, the sun bearing down fiercely.

The association's head coordinator raised a megaphone and called out, "The directors, all members—the vessel is ready to depart. Please board!"

The crowd made their way to the ship in twos and threes. Bai Xu, Shang Yanxiao, and Chu Yate drifted along at the very end.

Watching the various company directors board one after another, Bai Xu lowered his voice, "By the way, what about Chairman Alice?"

Chu Yate replied, "She sent her company's general manager in her place. But I found out she's already finalized a partnership with a foreign firm, so there's no point spending energy on that anymore."

Bai Xu nodded, his interest undiminished, "Strangely enough, now that we're actually here, I'm genuinely looking forward to it."

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he'd last chartered a boat and gone out to sea.

Shang Yanxiao looked at the vessel ahead, then turned to Bai Xu with a note of concern, "This ship isn't very large. With today's wind conditions, it'll probably rock quite a bit on the way."

Bai Xu caught the faint worry tucked inside those words, but brushed it off, "It's fine."

With the real, unfeigned excitement of someone about to set out to sea, he declared with full confidence, "I don't get seasick."

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