Of course, in the end, she managed to restrain herself with kindness.
On the way back, Ho Qijun received a phone call. Lin Wei initially didn’t pay much attention, but the system suddenly popped up with a reminder: [The person calling Ho Qijun is his office’s newly appointed assistant, someone from Old Madam Ho’s circle.]
Not long ago, Ho Qijun had replaced all the people around him to confront Old Madam Ho, as the previous batch had been assigned to him when he first joined the company, and he didn’t trust them. He didn’t expect that amidst those newly appointed, there would still be a hidden agenda.
The system continued: [This person actually appeared in the original narrative too. He was supposed to be trusted by Ho Qijun; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been promoted. In the original, to curry favor with Old Madam Ho, he leaked the female lead’s whereabouts to a group of kidnappers, which led to the female lead being kidnapped and inadvertently losing her baby!]
Lin Wei remembered this plot point; however, in the original story, this informant didn’t even have a name—just a brief mention that he had nearly forgotten until now.
After Ho Qijun finished his call, Lin Wei caught a glimpse of the call page showing the words “Assistant Yu.” The system muttered in his mind, lamenting how Assistant Yu ended up with a miserable fate in the original story.
To be honest, Lin Wei felt that this ending had a semblance of deservedness to it. However, given the task at hand, he couldn’t let Ho Qijun get his hands dirty, so he could only find a way to expose him beforehand.
With this in mind, Lin Wei casually asked, “How is everything prepared for the company? When do you need me to handle the equity transfer?”
Ho Qijun originally planned to stir things up after Fu Xiaoqing left, so since Lin Wei asked, he felt it better to seize the day: “Let’s do it tomorrow! I’ll call Fang Yueyue too; she has a small stake, and she’s willing to transfer it to me.”
Lin Wei took a moment to remember the name: “Isn’t she the girl you went on a blind date with?”
“Yeah, that’s her. But don’t get me wrong; we’re just friends! She can be a bit quirky once you get to know her, but she’s quite loyal. You’ll see for yourself tomorrow,” Ho Qijun responded ambiguously, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the car window.
“That’s nothing to worry about,” Lin Wei smiled and brushed it off.
By the time they reached home, it was already dark. Ho Qijun watched with wide eyes as Lin Wei headed straight for his own house. Tsk, he couldn’t help but feel a bit displeased; why was he being so decisive?
Staying a few more days would not bother him at all!
Unfortunately, neither Lin Wei nor the system could hear his inner thoughts.
The next day, Lin Wei made breakfast, waiting for Ho Qijun to join him to go to Ho Shi. When Ho Qijun took his first bite, he was stunned—he had no idea Lin Wei was such a good cook. It made the meals prepared by Fu Xiaoqing over the past few months seem like pig feed!
In a flash, he remembered a night when he had stomach cramps and drank a bowl of pumpkin porridge. He had asked Fu Xiaoqing to cook it a few times afterward, but she couldn’t replicate the taste. He had thought perhaps his taste was off due to being sick that day, or that his memory might have embellished the taste of that porridge!
So, that bowl of porridge was actually made by Lin Wei?
He thought this to himself and unconsciously voiced his curiosity.
Caught in “red-handed” mode, Lin Wei couldn’t say it was takeout, so he had to admit, “Xiaoqing was busy studying for exams at that time, so I didn’t want to trouble her.”
“Oh, I see.” Ho Qijun felt a slight warmth in his heart but didn’t delve further.
Afterward, they arrived at Ho Shi. Ho Qijun had already notified Fang Yueyue the previous night. For some unknown reason, she was overly eager, arriving even before the two of them, and was already waiting in Ho Qijun’s office.
Ho Qijun felt a headache when Assistant Yu mentioned her, but there was no escaping this situation. He could only take a deep breath, turned to Lin Wei, and asked, “Do you remember what I said to you when I got drunk at the bar that one night?”
Lin Wei thought for a couple of seconds before nodding; the memory of that embarrassing moment was not so easily forgotten.
“Good to know.” Ho Qijun said no more, allowing Assistant Yu to handle his own tasks as he wasn’t needed at the moment.
Lin Wei discreetly studied Assistant Yu several times. If judging by appearance, he did look like an efficient and capable social elite, perfectly attired in a crisp suit, and there was no hint of the unscrupulous side he exhibited in the original story.
He felt guarded and devised strategies, but when he turned back, he saw Ho Qijun’s face had darkened: “Looks good to you?”
Lin Wei couldn’t help but laugh, helplessly responding, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous. Do you see me as a thief?”
“…What?! Who’s jealous?” Ho Qijun’s heart raced; he couldn’t come up with a retort at all.
Just then, Fang Yueyue’s voice rang from outside the office as she suddenly peeked her head in, her gaze flitting between Ho Qijun and Lin Wei, her eyes practically sparkling.
“Ho Qijun! Is this the boyfriend you said always annoys you?” Fang Yueyue exclaimed, unable to contain her admiration, “How is your boyfriend so handsome?!”
In the aftermath of a slip of the tongue at the blind date banquet, Old Madam Ho didn’t believe it, but Fang Yueyue did. When Ho Qijun later heard her inquire about it, he didn’t know what had gotten into him; he simply didn’t deny it.
Who would have thought that Fang Yueyue would later show such relentless interest in this matter? Now, if he were to speak the truth, Ho Qijun felt he had lost too much face.
Otherwise, Fang Yueyue would undoubtedly ask why he didn’t clarify that it was merely a temporary excuse to protest against the blind date.
He couldn’t just say… that he somewhat enjoyed the subtle feeling of being misunderstood for that brief moment, could he?
The culprit glanced anxiously at the still-stunned Lin Wei due to Fang Yueyue’s words, inexplicably feeling a surge of confidence. At least he was sure that Lin Wei would never let him become a laughingstock in front of others.
Ho Qijun quietly exchanged an “I won’t let you expose me” look with Lin Wei and then nodded modestly: “Yes.”
“…???” Lin Wei finally came to his senses, looking at him as if getting to know him all over again.
However, this time, Ho Qijun accurately predicted that Lin Wei wouldn’t put him in an awkward position. So when Fang Yueyue’s curious gaze slid toward him, he immediately concealed his puzzlement and smiled in affirmation.