Chapter 34

Pei Xingze countered, "You want me to be polite with you?"

Weng Shao countered in turn, "Then how does President Pei intend to be 'impolite' with me? Go on, I'm listening."

At that, the two of them looked at each other in unspoken accord.

Just then, the Rolls-Royce stopped before a red light. Dim yellow streetlamps shone through the window, casting a dark golden glow across their faces. Then the car started moving, and the muted stream of light flashed past them. Like a metallic blade in the darkness, it sliced through the depths of their ambiguity.

The car suddenly fell silent, so quiet that they could clearly hear each other breathing, so close that they could clearly hear each other's heartbeats.

Pei Xingze's gaze instinctively fell on Weng Shao's thin lips, which never yielded an inch. His long legs were crossed, one hand resting casually on his knee, while his slender, sharply defined fingers lightly rubbed together unconsciously beneath his gaze.

Pei Xingze briefly recalled their swift verbal exchange and could not help probing, "If I really wanted to offend you a little—just a little—what would you do?"

Weng Shao stared steadily at Pei Xingze for a long while, then lowered his eyes and smiled faintly. "They say that once you've eaten someone's food, your mouth goes soft; once you've taken their money, your hand goes short. I took President Pei's money, so I'm President Pei's man. Forget a little offense—even if it were a hundred million little offenses, I'd probably have no choice but to endure them. After all, I doubt I could find a boss more generous than you in this world."

As he spoke, Weng Shao suddenly hooked a finger through the delicate key ring and gave it a little shake, trying to prove that he meant every word.

Neon lights flashed past outside the window. The silver key gleamed on and off in the dark cabin, and Pei Xingze's gaze was drawn involuntarily to Weng Shao's fingertips hooked around the ring.

After a long moment, he suddenly smiled and leaned back slightly, his whole body appearing relaxed against the leather rear seat. "Don't worry. You're the top salesperson I carefully picked out. How could I bear to offend you?"

Chapter 34

Pei Xingze tapped his fingers idly against his knee. Using the motion as an excuse, he turned to look at Weng Shao. "By the way, do you remember promising me something?"

Weng Shao knew exactly what Pei Xingze meant, but he still pretended to think for a moment in confusion. "What was it?"

Pei Xingze saw through his act and teased with a soft laugh, "I just called you my lucky star, and you're already forgetting things?"

Weng Shao smiled too. "I've promised you plenty of things. If you don't say which one, how am I supposed to know?"

Pei Xingze said, "Then take a guess. I don't believe we lack even that much tacit understanding."

Since he had put it that way, Weng Shao could only indulge this little bit of pride of his. "When President Pei comes to Qingyuan City on business this time, would you like to stay at one of your own hotels, or at the Imperial Grand Court Hotel? Do you need me to make a reservation?"

Pei Xingze knew Weng Shao was teasing him about the first time they met, so he analyzed the matter with a straight face. "The Imperial Grand Court Hotel's service is quite good, but I'm worried their head chef might spit in the food..."

At that, they exchanged a smile. Pei Xingze finally revealed his true intention and said reservedly, "We should stay at our own hotel instead. At least we'll be able to sleep soundly."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up perfectly before the hotel entrance.

Weng Shao glanced at the driver and Assistant Meng in the front seats, both of whom remained perfectly composed. Though neither made a sound, they were sharp-eyed and quick-eared, even timing the stop with impeccable precision.

Noticing Weng Shao's gaze, Assistant Meng turned back with a smile, then got out and opened the car door for his boss and his boss's lucky star.

The four of them entered the hotel lobby. The general manager, who had received advance notice, was already waiting outside the revolving doors. There was no melodramatic scene of every employee lining up to welcome President Pei. Assistant Meng quietly completed the arrangements with the front desk staff, after which the general manager personally led them into the sightseeing elevator and straight to the presidential suite on the top floor.

There were two bedrooms in the suite, one master and one guest. Pei Xingze asked with a smile, "Which room would you like?"

"A guest follows the host's lead." Weng Shao leaned against the sofa, casually tugging at his tie. "Should we eat first, or shower first?"

Pei Xingze: "..."

Even Assistant Meng, who was usually unflappable, could not help glancing at Weng Shao. The general manager responsible for leading the way was so shocked that he lowered his eyes, not daring to reveal the slightest trace of surprise.

Pei Xingze said nothing. He looked helplessly at Weng Shao, then waved a hand to signal that the assistant and general manager could leave.

Once only the two of them remained in the enormous presidential suite, Pei Xingze reached out and took Weng Shao's wrist, leading him step by step into the master bedroom. In a highly restrained tone, he said, "You'll sleep here tonight. Sleep well."

After a pause, he asked again, "Do you have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places? Do you prefer a soft bed or a firm one? What kind of pillow do you like?"

Pei Xingze turned his head and froze—while he had been speaking, Weng Shao had already pulled off his tie and tossed it onto the bed.

Pei Xingze's gaze was drawn involuntarily to that slender black tie. Dim spotlights enclosed the small space of the master bedroom, and the black tie lay quietly on the pale bedspread like a sleek, long snake.

The dim yellow light swayed, giving Pei Xingze the constant illusion that the snake would dart onto him in the blink of an eye, its long, cold body winding tightly around his neck, arms, and chest, its smooth, icy scales brushing over his burning body before constricting until he could no longer breathe.

But it was only an illusion. Because the next second, Weng Shao sat on the tie. His long legs in dress pants crossed leisurely, as though the narrow snake tail had transformed into two legs. In his daze, Pei Xingze even seemed to hear someone whisper by his ear, "...I'm the guest. How can a guest sleep in the master bedroom?"

Pei Xingze was stunned for a moment before coming back to himself. Then he realized he was standing before Weng Shao, looking down at Weng Shao's slightly raised pale face.

The dim spotlight shone down from above, bathing Weng Shao's black hair and brows, straight nose, and pale, thin lips in muted light. From this angle, a strange desire rose involuntarily within Pei Xingze. He instinctively took half a step back, yet still stared into Weng Shao's eyes. "With me, you've never been a guest."

Pei Xingze slowly bent his knees and crouched half-kneeling before Weng Shao. From this angle, their perspectives underwent a subtle exchange. Although Weng Shao sat on the edge of the bed with one leg crossed over the other, he could still look down at Pei Xingze, who was crouched on one knee before him.

In that instant, memories buried deep in Weng Shao's mind flashed past like a revolving lantern, every frame showing moments he had spent with Pei Xingze. They had kissed countless times, embraced, touched skin to skin, yet at this moment, the man in those memories merely crouched before him with restraint, unwilling to cross the line by even half a step.

His gaze was still intimate, even burning, yet it still made Weng Shao feel like a stranger.

He did not remember him.

"Are you tired?" Pei Xingze asked with a smile. "I didn't think this through. I knew you had just gotten off work, yet I still dragged you around for so long. Let's eat first. After dinner, we can have a proper shower and catch up."

"Have you missed me, after all this time?"

Weng Shao sat on the bed, silently studying Pei Xingze for a long while before finally realizing something. Slowly, he raised his arms and unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time in front of Pei Xingze. Like someone speaking in a dream, he asked softly, "What about you? Have you missed me, after all this time?"

Chapter 35

The next morning, Weng Shao had barely arrived at the sales office when the excited manager grabbed him. "Have you heard? At next month's gala celebrating the group's hundredth anniversary, our Lakeside Garden sales team will attend as representatives of Pei Real Estate's Qingyuan City branch. The notice has already been sent to the group chat. They even want you, as an outstanding employee representative, to go onstage and share your sales experience."

Weng Shao looked indifferent, clearly not very interested, but he still curved his pair of affectionate peach-blossom eyes and said with a smile, "Congratulations, everyone."

The sales office manager beamed. "Same to you, same to you."

The others gathered around as well, grinning. "I've worked at Pei Real Estate for so many years, and this is my first time going to headquarters for the anniversary celebration."

"Same here. I've worked at Pei Real Estate for years, and I don't even know which way the headquarters' front entrance faces. This time, I'll finally get to broaden my horizons."

"We have our top salesperson here to thank for that. If Weng Shao hadn't figured out a way to gather so many home-viewing groups, the rest of us could work ourselves to death and still never achieve results this amazing."

Weng Shao smiled. "It was the result of teamwork. I couldn't have done all this alone."

"Don't be so modest. We've all seen your ability with our own eyes." The sales office manager patted Weng Shao on the shoulder and said with a wink, "Last month's salary has already been paid out. Your commission and bonuses combined must be at least nine million, right? And all by yourself, you pushed a new sales model across the entire real estate industry, making Pei Real Estate the nation's top seller in real estate. Even the company's stock price soared because of it... I wonder what reward headquarters will give you."

A newcomer who had been in the industry for less than two months had actually claimed the most prestigious top salesperson title at the talent-packed Pei Real Estate. His commission for two months exceeded what many people earned in a lifetime. No one would believe someone like that lacked ability.

What was more, Weng Shao had not become top salesperson by grinding against his coworkers. He had lifted the entire team with him and helped everyone earn money. Now, the person the Lakeside Garden sales team trusted most was Weng Shao. If they could, they would gladly work with him for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, Weng Shao could only work at Lakeside Garden for three months. After that, he would go to Jinghai City for university.

"Weng Shao, I really can't bear to see you go!"

"If only you could stay. I'd even give you my position as sales office manager!"

"Yeah! Yeah! These past two months working with you have been the most satisfying two months since I started working. If only we could work with you for the rest of our lives."