Chapter 40#

Yan Zishu had always been clear that while he seemed to know the future, he did not have a god’s-eye view.

He was merely a butterfly on a set trajectory that had caught a glimpse of fate, entangled in a spider’s web.

Most of the time, he was just blindly doing his own thing and didn’t involve himself in the details of other people’s lives. For example, he knew Fu Xiaoyu was a dandy, but he didn’t care how many new girlfriends he had changed. Or he knew Fu Weishan went on a blind date, but who knew if he talked about food or the weather with Miss Zhu. Now he discovered that he also didn’t know when Fu Jinchi and Ji Chen got entangled together.

No, it couldn’t be said that he completely didn’t know. Since Fu Jinchi entered the company, he had been teasing Ji Chen whenever he had the chance, closing the distance in unseen places, and was particularly good at using his life experience to sell misery in exchange for others’ soft-heartedness and sympathy. What couldn’t such a person do?

Probably poaching the enemy’s corner was an exciting thing. It seemed Fu Jinchi enjoyed it tirelessly.

It was also expected, just a bit sudden.

After all, Yan Zishu himself hadn’t paid much attention to the two of them.

Even if someone asked, he could casually make up several sets of very reasonable reasons.

The office Fu Jinchi occupied was still the same, empty, probably with nothing confidential.

But at least there were a computer and office materials on the desk, making it look like he was really working.

Yan Zishu walked to the desk, picked them up, and flipped through them. Those materials were just shared data downloaded from the office system, such as meeting minutes, business cases, and various reports—documents that could be disclosed to the whole company, with no value for prying.

It was a bit like the Emperor’s New Clothes, deceiving oneself and others in all seriousness.

No wonder many employees were clicking their tongues, saying the new director was crazy about seizing power.

Yan Zishu flipped through for a while, actually not knowing what he wanted to see. He felt he was also being neurotic.

However, he eventually found a few inconspicuous printed pages related to “qualification for cultural relics and artwork appraisal and price assessment.”

Fu Jinchi had carelessly thrown them on the table. After all, just these few pages proved nothing—Yinghan Group was in the art industry, and its various qualifications, certificates, and licenses couldn’t even fit in a glass cabinet, so taking a few photocopies was nothing.

But Yan Zishu’s heart moved: the company’s core department was recently busy preparing for a government bid around the New Year.

The official announcement for this bidding project had not been issued yet, but rumors had leaked from Miss Zhu’s father.

Participating in the bidding naturally involved various qualification issues.

Yan Zishu took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and a feeling of “as expected” arose in his heart.

“As expected,” behind the seemingly nonsensical behavior, Fu Jinchi was still precisely monitoring the company’s every movement.

It was just that before he was outside, and now he had penetrated the inside.

Playing the fool to cover up his true purpose.

Even befriending Ji Chen might not be a feint.

The only certainty was that Fu Jinchi rarely shot without a target.

When this thought arose, Yan Zishu suddenly realized he was looking for an excuse, or rather, evidence?

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had to face it: he wanted to find some evidence that Fu Jinchi hadn’t been sincere with others.

Because he couldn’t understand Fu Jinchi.

But no one could understand Fu Jinchi.

The night wind was heavy, and a fierce cold wind suddenly rose. Fu Jinchi hadn’t closed the window properly before leaving, leaving a gap in the sliding window. Yan Zishu hadn’t closed the door just now, creating a convection current that blew the paper in his hand with a rustle, giving a sense of the storm coming.

Yan Zishu sighed, put the materials back, and turned off the lights and closed the door.

But after thinking about it, he couldn’t help opening the door again, tightly closing the open sliding window before turning to leave.

*

Leaving such obvious traces, Yan Zishu was prepared to be questioned by Fu Jinchi the next day.

But the other party seemed unaware, not even coming over to greet him.

Yan Zishu even inexplicably felt ignored.

Couldn’t say if he was disappointed or what, just like a small pebble in his shoe, making walking uncomfortable.

If he wanted to be serious about it, it would seem like making a big fuss. Since he really couldn’t get it out, he had to endure and continue walking.

Fu Weishan was invited by Miss Zhu’s father, Secretary Zhu, to attend an important dinner.

Now that the relationship between Fu Weishan and Miss Zhu was undecided, this meal had nothing to do with meeting the parents; it was purely an official and formal talk. Father Zhu attended in his official capacity, while Fu Weishan was a representative of young entrepreneurs. The table was full of big shots.

Naturally, what they talked about were heavyweight matters.

Yan Zishu attended with him, sitting at the table full of secretaries and assistants. But of course, the secretaries, assistants, and even drivers who could work for these leaders were not simple characters either, polite yet aloof with each other.

At their table, one could also somewhat feel the wind direction during the meal.

Halfway through the meal, a capable middle-aged man with a crew cut next to him leaned over and whispered tentatively: “The news about the establishment of the ‘Treasure Pavilion’ platform by the Ministry of Culture is coming out soon. I think your company should have it in the bag, right?”

Yan Zishu smiled: “You can’t say that. Government projects require public bidding. No one dares to say they have it in the bag.”

The middle-aged man laughed: “True, speak with strength. But your company’s strength goes without saying. I’ll toast you first.”

Yan Zishu hurriedly said “I dare not,” politely toasting back, and the two clinked glasses with tea instead of wine.

After the meal, Father Zhu and Fu Weishan chatted alone for a few sentences, politely inviting each other as they walked out of the hotel together.

Yan Zishu followed closely behind, and unsurprisingly, heard keywords like “Treasure Pavilion” and “platform” again.

The domestic art trading market lacked maturity, trading platforms were developing towards privatization, and transaction information was often opaque. This made the field of cultural relics and artworks mixed with good and bad, with speculators running rampant, which was not conducive to the healthy and long-term development of the art market. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture intended to build an authoritative official trading platform for cultural relics and artworks, and cooperate with legal, fair, and scientific third-party appraisal institutions to carry out cultural relic and artwork appraisal and pricing work. This was exactly the bidding project Father Zhu leaked to them in advance.

Although Yinghan Group already boasted of being the leader in the art industry, if it could get on this big ship, it would naturally be gilded with another layer of gold.

Did anyone complain about the halo on their head not being big enough?

Such a plan, from prototype to project establishment, must have been discussed for a long time. Yan Zishu even suspected that Third Uncle Fu had learned about this news earlier through rumors, which was why he precisely included Miss Zhu as Fu Weishan’s blind date.

No matter how he suspected personally, it didn’t matter. Fu Weishan was undoubtedly tempted by this cake as well.

However, even if Father Zhu held a high position and power, he didn’t have the power to designate this big cake to Yinghan based on personal preference.

For such a large-scale project, according to policy regulations, it must be open for public bidding to eliminate space for rent-seeking power.

Public bidding meant fairness and competition; anyone could freely participate.

Rice must be eaten one bite at a time, and the road must be paved one step at a time.

Previously, the projects Father Zhu introduced directly to Fu Weishan were mostly small projects with small amounts and low levels. Not because he was stingy, but because according to procurement methods, they could go through a single-source negotiation process. With Yinghan Group’s reputation, taking them down was not a problem.

In this regard, the old senior had his own considerations, sternly exhorting Fu Weishan: “For the projects you got before, don’t just care about the money. Do them well seriously, accumulate experience in cooperating with the government, and reflect it in the bid proposal. It will be a big bonus item. Understand? This is the opportunity I give you, and I hope you can give me a surprise in return.”

Fu Weishan naturally nodded: “Don’t worry, we will never perfunctory any project, nor will we miss any opportunity.”

Father Zhu admonished again: “Also remember, for the official platform we are doing, we must find the most authoritative partner institution. Remember to prepare all those qualifications and certificates I mentioned to you in advance. Don’t wait until the last minute; it will be too late! The review requirements for this bidding will be very high, and many qualifications are required. Although it is a public bidding, small enterprises with insufficient strength are not even qualified to enter. At the same time, this also means that your competitors will all be companies of equal strength. You must know this in your heart.”

Fu Weishan cursed the old thing for speaking in official jargon in his heart, but on the surface, he remained gentle, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

Yan Zishu could say he hadn’t seen him speak so humbly to anyone for a long time.

The dinner was arranged at noon, and Father Zhu had to go back to work later. He seemed to be that kind of patriarch with extremely strong desire for control. With just this bit of free time, he took the time to call his daughter. Hearing that Miss Zhu was shopping nearby, he asked her to come over without a second thought.

Miss Zhu arrived good-naturedly asking what was the matter. Father Zhu saw her standing side by side with Fu Weishan, looked them over, and thought they looked like they could go get a marriage certificate immediately. Satisfied and comfortable in his heart, he told the two young people to go shopping themselves in the afternoon.

Fu Weishan immediately furrowed his brows, but immediately managed his expression well and calmed his mind. Miss Zhu was obviously used to her old father’s autocracy. Although she showed a helpless bitter smile for a moment, she agreed sweetly.

In front of Father Zhu, Miss Zhu even reached out and took Fu Weishan’s arm.

Fu Weishan tried to pull away but failed, so he let her hold him.

“Then we’ll continue shopping at the department store.” Miss Zhu waved to her father, “You go to work quickly.”

“Alright, I’m leaving.” Father Zhu said, “You can play with your friend, but not too late. Go home for dinner at six in the evening.”

A Red Flag car drove over from the direction of the garage. Father Zhu handed his briefcase to the secretary and waited for the driver to drive the car to him.

Miss Zhu breathed a sigh of relief and let go of Fu Weishan’s hand. She turned her head, wanting to say something, but found an uninvited guest standing a distance behind them, with a gaze so intense it couldn’t be ignored: “Who is that? Someone you know?”

Fu Weishan turned his head quickly. Ji Chen was standing under the stone lion at the hotel entrance, staring at them with red eyes.

Father Zhu saw both his daughter and prospective son-in-law turning their heads, and stopped his hand reaching for the car door: “What’s wrong with you two?”

Seeing this, Yan Zishu searched further away with a feeling in his heart, and headache-inducingly discovered Fu Jinchi’s car parked by the roadside.

The owner of the car was leaning against it, looking over here to watch the excitement without fear of trouble.