Unmatched Chapter 19
byChapter 19 Not Falling in Love
Zhao Shuyi took Xie Qi’s words as playful flirting and didn’t take them seriously.
The Zhao Family could help him with anything except the shareholding issue in Chaoyang Group; they couldn’t intervene there.
Chaoyang is not a publicly listed company and has a unique set of internal regulations, with its equity structure adjusted multiple times over the years. Strictly speaking, there are currently only two major power shareholders: one is the Board of Directors, and the other is Zhao Fengli.
The Board of Directors holds ninety percent of the shares. The twenty board members, excluding Zhao Fengli, each hold 4.5 percent, which are virtual shares—members enjoy company dividends but cannot transfer or sell these virtual shares, which automatically expire upon their departure.
Zhao Fengli himself holds eight percent of the shares. This is his reliance for exercising actual control over the company as its founder and Chairman of the Board.
The remaining two percent were partly inherited by Qin Zhi and Zhao Shuyi, the wife and son left behind after Zhao Huaide’s death, and the other part was sold off for financing years ago when the group faced financial strain, which does not affect the current structure.
In short, who becomes the next master of Chaoyang Group hinges on who Zhao Fengli passes his “eight percent” to.
Xie Qi’s comfort didn’t improve Zhao Shuyi’s mood, but it did shift his focus. He asked in surprise, “Xie Qi, are you addicted to dating?”
When he offered to help just now, he looked utterly infatuated, as if he would sacrifice anything if Zhao Shuyi just asked.
Zhao Shuyi looked at his handsome face, which was close by, and warned, “Although the feeling of being in love is great, you need to take it easy…”
“Why?” Xie Qi tightened his arms, embracing his waist.
This apartment was open on all sides. The windowsill behind them was short and narrow, a special design that was more decorative than functional. Not far away was a floor-to-ceiling glass door leading to a plant-filled terrace.
It was already September, and the weather was turning cooler. Some flowers hadn’t withered yet, and the night breeze carried a faint, fresh, pleasant fragrance.
Zhao Shuyi momentarily drifted off, taking a sniff. He realized that perhaps because he was getting used to living here, he finally felt a sense of belonging in his new home and didn’t feel like he was staying in a hotel anymore.
His distraction lasted only a few short seconds, but when he came back to reality, he found that Xie Qi seemed to have suffered a great slight. Xie Qi pressed his lips against Zhao Shuyi’s ear, rubbing and licking several times, reminding him to pay attention.
He was like a puppy desperate enough to nip at its owner’s trousers, clinging on and refusing to let go.
Zhao Shuyi’s ears felt hot, and he almost forgot what he was about to say. Letting Xie Qi kiss him haphazardly for a while, he finally gasped slightly, “Because you don’t like me right now… Hey, lighten up! Are you really a dog?”
He pushed Xie Qi away. “You don’t like me, and I don’t like you, that’s how we can have fun. If we don’t take it easy, it won’t be fun if we accidentally blur the lines between pretense and reality.”
Xie Qi was uncertain. “What do you mean by blurring the lines?”
“You falling in love with me. Although saying this might sound self-important.” Zhao Shuyi feigned modesty for a moment. “Anyway, it’s impossible for me to fall in love. If you can’t maintain boundaries, not only will you suffer, but I’ll be awkward too.”
“…”
Xie Qi paused, turning his eyes away and saying coldly, “Don’t worry about useless things like that. How could I possibly fall in love with you?”
He seemed angry. Zhao Shuyi also felt that his sudden words were a mood killer, so he proactively hooked his arms around Xie Qi’s waist, compensating with a kiss. Kissing led to more kissing, and soon they were back in bed.
Xie Qi was clearly carrying a temper, and his lovemaking was rougher than before, though still within Zhao Shuyi’s tolerance.
Afterward, they showered together. Xie Qi still wore a sullen face. Halfway through cleaning up, anger flared up again, and he pressed Zhao Shuyi into the bathtub for another round of intense activity.
It wasn’t their first time in the bathtub.
Besides the bathroom, they had also unlocked the study, the living room, the gym, and even the walk-in closet. Xie Qi’s technique had noticeably improved, and Zhao Shuyi’s experience had also risen sharply. Their bodies were increasingly compatible, and their tolerance for each other’s personalities had grown considerably.
So much so that even though Xie Qi kept giving him the cold shoulder, Zhao Shuyi didn’t feel annoyed; instead, he felt an urge to pinch him.
Zhao Shuyi acted on his impulse. While Xie Qi was exerting himself on top of him, Zhao Shuyi suddenly grabbed Xie Qi’s cheeks, squishing them flat and pulling them outward.
“I used to pinch you like this,” Zhao Shuyi said teasingly. “When you were little, you were chubby, like a ball. When I pinched your face, you’d get so angry you’d cry loudly. It was hilarious.”
Xie Qi was speechless.
“Are you sick?” Xie Qi was even more displeased. “You don’t remember important things, but you remember all this nonsense clearly.”
Zhao Shuyi ignored him and pinched him twice more. “It’s a shame you’re not chubby anymore. Not cute at all.”
Hearing this, Xie Qi leaned close to his ear, uttered a very vulgar obscenity, and punctuated it with a thrust of his hips.
Zhao Shuyi’s hand slipped off the edge of the tub. Shivering all over, he unconsciously sank into the water, only to be pulled out and held tight while Xie Qi continued.
When they finished, they had sweated so much it felt like a workout. Zhao Shuyi was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep, once again without taking his medication.
Lately, Xie Qi had deeply embraced the role of his husband (which he technically was) and had started interfering with his lifestyle, forbidding him from taking the pills.
Zhao Shuyi also intended to quit and cooperated for a few days. His sleep quality relied entirely on the pre-sleep “exercise” to save it, but the effect was inconsistent, and occasionally he would still dream of those annoying things.
One time, he woke up in the middle of the night, sitting on the bed in a daze. Xie Qi woke up too, pulled him into his arms to comfort him, and said many soothing words, sounding panicked and regretful: “If it’s really unbearable, you should take the medicine…”
Zhao Shuyi shook his head. After recovering, he actually smiled.
Xie Qi asked what was funny.
Zhao Shuyi said, “Nothing, I suddenly find those people in my family quite ridiculous.”
Xie Qi looked bewildered. Zhao Shuyi hugged him and lay down. The next day, he continued to focus on work as if nothing had happened.
—Zhao Shuyi couldn’t afford to sit idly by.
His Second Uncle was mobilizing and building momentum, so he also needed to win over more people to support him.
The Old Master must consider the prevailing sentiment when drafting his will because he needs to maintain stability and prevent internal division.
Currently, many neutral directors are still observing. They haven’t taken sides because they don’t approve of Zhao Huaicheng, but they are also worried that Zhao Shuyi is too young and unreliable.
Therefore, at a time like this, Zhao Shuyi needed to be even more composed and calm, systematically doing the right things and delivering convincing results.
From early September to late September, Zhao Shuyi became increasingly busy.
Xie Qi was also busy, but Zhao Shuyi didn’t know what he was doing. When asked, Xie Qi answered vaguely, implying it was a secret that couldn’t be disclosed.
Zhao Shuyi was sensible enough not to press, suspecting it might be related to one of his father’s illegitimate children or another round of fighting with his stepmother, Li Yin.
The relationships within the Zhao Family were also complex, and Zhao Shuyi knew a little about them.
Xie Jianhe started his business with his wife. He was penniless, but his wife’s father was the CEO of a company. The father initially disagreed with his daughter marrying down, but Xie Jianhe was highly capable. He quickly won over his father-in-law with his extraordinary business acumen. With his father-in-law’s help, he flourished, and his business grew rapidly.
Coincidentally catching the wave of the era, Xie Jianhe transformed almost overnight, achieving great success.
Rumor had it that Xie Jianhe later became promiscuous, often upsetting his wife and being harshly scolded by his father-in-law. Not only did he refuse to change, but he also used ungrateful means to annex his father-in-law’s company, indirectly causing his father-in-law’s death from anger.
His wife—Xie Qi’s mother—had always been frail. After her father’s incident, she was severely affected, became bedridden, and turned into an invalid dependent on medicine. She passed away a few years after giving birth to Xie Qi.
Zhao Shuyi didn’t know how much truth was in this rumor, but Xie Jianhe annexing his father-in-law’s company was a widely known fact. That was Ringzhou Group’s first major expansion, propelling it directly from a third-tier domestic enterprise to a first-tier one, making Xie Jianhe a famous entrepreneur.
Years later, the Ringzhou Group’s empire has expanded globally, and no one remembers the name of his father-in-law’s company.
Perhaps Xie Qi remembers.
Like Zhao Shuyi, he was unhappy from childhood.
But in families like theirs, these things were commonplace.
The “rich family secrets” of the Xie Family circulated widely online, a mix of truth and falsehood. Outsiders chewed them up as entertainment, while those in the circle were unsurprised—which family didn’t have a few affairs and illegitimate child entanglements? It was nothing new.
Xie Qi didn’t like bringing these things up with Zhao Shuyi. Only once, he mentioned by chance that his father, while drunk one day, revealed his intention to divide the family assets into several portions, giving the largest share to Xie Qi, Xie Yuran, and their stepmother Li Yin, and smaller portions to the other illegitimate children. After all, they were all Xie blood, and as a father, he couldn’t shirk responsibility.
Xie Qi sneered, “He’s dreaming. No way.”
Half of Ringzhou Group was his mother’s hard work. Why should it be given to the children Xie Jianhe had with other women?
But if Xie Jianhe insisted on doing this, Xie Qi seemed powerless to stop him.
Just as Zhao Shuyi would have to accept it if Zhao Fengli insisted on passing the eight percent of shares to Zhao Huaicheng.
Unexpectedly, they still faced similar predicaments, just like when they were young.
Fortunately, they no longer fought. Their insincere mutual comfort surprisingly created a strange warmth of huddling together for warmth.
They were busy until the end of September, and the frequency of their intimacy decreased due to their busy schedules.
However, Zhao Shuyi wasn’t sure: was it because they were too busy to have time for intimacy, or was it because Xie Qi had restrained himself after Zhao Shuyi’s previous warning about not blurring the lines?
Regardless, they were genuinely busy. Xie Qi took several business trips, flying domestically and internationally, often making him unavailable. They talked on the phone frequently, but Zhao Shuyi didn’t always have time to answer.
On the last day of September, the summer heat dissipated, and an autumn rain fell.
Accompanying the rain curtain falling across the sky was the Sword of Damocles hanging over Chaoyang Group.
—Zhao Fengli couldn’t hold on any longer.
Xie Qi had just returned from a business trip. Zhao Shuyi was having dinner with him at home, and before he could even swallow a mouthful of food, he received a notification from the Old Butler.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing his reaction was off, Xie Qi looked up and asked.
Zhao Shuyi didn’t say a word. His expression froze for a few seconds, then he suddenly grabbed his car keys and strode toward the door.
He stopped at the doorway.
Under Xie Qi’s puzzled gaze, Zhao Shuyi turned back, composed his panicked expression, and walked into the walk-in closet to change into a black suit.
His face was grim. He adjusted his tie, walked up to Xie Qi, and said, “My Grandfather is failing. Come with me.”