Chapter 2

Shi Bochuan sat upright in a broad black leather executive chair, scrutinizing his younger brother with an inscrutable tone. "You still knew to come?"

If I'd known he was coming, I wouldn't have come.

After muttering inwardly, Shi Jihan put on a flattering smile, sweet and obedient. "I came to see whether Big Brother was still angry."

As soon as he said that, Shen Qinghuai, who had been trying to avoid him, looked over in surprise.

A moment later, he understood.

Right, playing sweet and obedient in front of Shi Bochuan was practically Shi Jihan's passive skill. It worked every time.

The kind that did not even have a cooldown.

Shi Bochuan asked coldly, "You know the investor pulling out caused losses for the company?"

Shen Qinghuai prepared himself to listen to his tearful tale of woe.

"Big Brother, you can't just look at the immediate losses." Shi Jihan disagreed.

Could what a malicious cannon fodder did even be called a mistake?

It was called building a character profile.

The two of them: ??

Shi Jihan spoke earnestly. "You need to take the long view. You have to see the enormous returns a good employee will bring you in the future."

Shi Bochuan: "?"

Shi Bochuan: "You? Enormous returns?"

Shi Jihan: "That's right. This project has a bright future. Once it succeeds, our Shi Family will become the leader of the entire industry, a commercial giant. Big Brother, you'll reach even greater heights too!"

"And stop always putting making money first and thinking you've suffered a loss this time. What's the point of a life that goes smoothly all the way? Young people need to endure more hardship."

He clenched his fist and waved it, delivering his speech with passion. "What we need to temper is the ability to bounce back after hitting rock bottom!"

Zero-Zero-Zero: [Host, who did you learn those words from?]

[Boss Gou at my internship company.]

Shi Bochuan actually took it in, a hint of emotion showing on his face. "Then what should I do now?"

Shi Jihan spoke with heartfelt sincerity. "Big Brother, give me all your shares and let me train you."

"Oh, right. If that really won't work, cancel the two-day weekend and make everyone work more overtime. Leaving work on time only means your workload isn't full enough."

Shi Bochuan looked even more moved as he pointed at the door. "Get out."

How dare he turn around and gaslight him while coveting the company's assets?

What a complete reversal of hierarchy!

Shi Jihan was cursed out from start to finish and thrown out the door.

The two people left behind looked at each other.

Shen Qinghuai met the gaze of his nominal husband. "Do you want me to get out too?"

Shi Bochuan frowned. "No, that wasn't what I meant. But you're his project team leader. How could you let him bypass you and contact the investors directly?"

The response he got was the sound of the door slamming shut.

When Shi Jihan saw Shen Qinghuai come out, he was overjoyed. "He told you to get out too?"

Two people getting thrown out—twice as lucky.

Shen Qinghuai: "."

He wanted to tell both brothers to get lost.

Shen Qinghuai did not respond and simply kept walking forward.

He had actually questioned why Shi Jihan had bypassed him to contact the investors.

If Shi Bochuan had not indulged him, would Shi Jihan have dared act so lawlessly?

In the end, it was because Shen Qinghuai's position was too insignificant. If he could make the project succeed, everything would be different.

Shen Qinghuai pushed open the door to Office Area 2403, where the project team was located, determination appearing between his brows.

The workload really was not full enough. He would work overtime tonight!

Shi Jihan planned to squeeze some more spending money out of the original male lead, so he followed along.

Then he ran straight into a familiar face.

The flame-spewing baboon locked eyes with him, the anger in his eyes suddenly burning dozens of degrees hotter. He fired off, "Why isn't Young Master Shi complaining to his brother some more so he can make things up about our team leader? What are you doing here? This tiny temple can't accommodate a great Buddha like you."

"Xu Zhiman," Shen Qinghuai stopped him. "Go borrow a dress form from the team next door. We'll need it for the meeting later. Also, call the patternmaker back. We'll be working overtime very late tonight."

Xu Zhiman snorted, tossed out a sarcastic, "What an honor to have your noble feet grace this lowly place," then slammed the door and headed to the next team.

But Shi Jihan had no energy left to care about any of that. His mind was filled with the two words he had just heard.

Overtime...

Overtime!!!

This was awful. An angry brother, an overtime-working sister-in-law, a system short one point, and a shattered him.

Shi Jihan threw a small tantrum, the light vanishing from his eyes.

He looked at Shen Qinghuai, trying to confirm that this was an illusion. "I have to work overtime too?"

"You?" Shen Qinghuai said. "You're off work."

Shi Jihan froze.

Xu Zhiman, who had dragged the dress form back, immediately became wary when he heard that. "What, were you planning to participate too? No chance!"

There was no way he would let Shi Jihan interfere with the project team's affairs again. Don't even think about using this to fight for power and profit. He had already seen through this person!

Shi Jihan: ???

There was actually something this good?

He tested the waters. "Then the meeting later...?"

Xu Zhiman said, "Don't even think about it! Give up on that idea and stop meddling in our team's work!"

Shen Qinghuai examined Shi Jihan. As long as the other man showed any dissatisfaction, he would naturally have an excuse to brush him off.

Shi Jihan did look angry. His eyes were wide, his lips trembled, and his eyes as he glared at Xu Zhiman were bright, as though he were killing him with his gaze. They battled for 108 rounds.

Noticing Shen Qinghuai watching him, Shi Jihan hurriedly reined in his barely concealed delight.

It was hilarious—his bared teeth simply would not go back in.

He looked around, grabbed a huge handful of tea leaves from the cabinet, and brewed Shen Qinghuai a cup of hot tea as an offering to his leader.

"Brother Huai, keep it up. I'm giving you my full support in spirit," Shi Jihan said, having completed the courtesy ritual. "Then I won't disturb you. I'm getting off work first."

Without waiting for anyone to react, he quickly turned and left, afraid that if he was even one step too late, he would be gifted with a meeting plus overtime.

Xu Zhiman was puzzled. "Did he knock his head stupid today? He actually didn't keep pestering us."

Shen Qinghuai said, "Ignore him. Hurry and finish what's in front of us. Even if he gets angry and wants revenge, I'll handle it."

With that, he lowered his head and picked up the cup, intending to moisten his throat.

Then he opened the lid and saw an entire cup of rehydrated wood ear mushrooms.

Huge pieces of wood ear mushrooms bulged out of the cup and swayed with the movement.

On the cabinet was an opened box of premium organic shredded wood ear mushrooms that Xu Zhiman had bought as a gift.

Shen Qinghuai took a deep breath, the hand holding the teacup trembling slightly.

Shi Jihan had only just gotten into the car and had not had time to celebrate not having to work when the system notification sounded beside his ear.

[Ding, Malice Points +2]

Shi Jihan: D-double happiness?

Chapter 2

Shi Jihan sighed, "As expected of me," then puffed out his chest. "So I really am a naturally gifted player."

Zero-Zero-Zero was deeply impressed. [Host, you're amazing. We had a full harvest today!]

Shi Jihan modestly waved his hand. "It's nothing. I took a shortcut. After all, I'm in the same line of work as those people doing fashion design, so acting isn't difficult."

Why didn't an academic tailor count as a tailor?

He wondered whether his thesis, painstakingly stitched together before he left, had been discovered by his advisor. His advisor would probably be moved to tears.

Shi Jihan's happiness ended the moment Shi Bochuan opened the car door.

Shi Bochuan said, "Move over. I'm sitting inside."

No, the Shi Family was so rich. Why were they still carpooling in a rideshare after work?

Shi Jihan reluctantly lifted his butt and shifted inward to make room. "Brother, you're getting off work with me too?"

"Not only are we getting off work together," Shi Bochuan said, "you've also seized my space inside the car."

[Host, you're the one carpooling.]

Shi Jihan disagreed.

What kind of thing was that to say? It was not like he had stolen Shi Bochuan's oxygen.

He should be grateful he was being allowed to breathe and live.

Shi Bochuan: "Hm?"

He said shyly, "I'm cultivating brotherly affection with Big Brother."

Shi Bochuan had never heard such nonsense before. After being stunned for a moment, he tossed the documents in his hand to him. "These are the newly selected partners. There's a banquet tomorrow night, and they'll be there too. Prepare yourself and redeem your mistakes. Don't make another error."

Shi Jihan pointed at himself, his gaze clear. "M-me?"

"Who else?"

[Ding, task issued: At the banquet, respectively max out the negative reputation of the original male lead and original male receiver. Task reward: Malice Points +20.]

[Our first task!] Zero-Zero-Zero perked up. [Host, this is a great chance to earn Malice Points!]

Shi Jihan snapped the documents shut, his gaze so resolute it looked as if he were ready to join the Party. "Leave it to me."

A so-called upper-class banquet was naturally meant to rack up angst points and make the male receiver further lose heart.

After all, Shen Qinghuai and Shi Bochuan had married in a rush. They registered their marriage not long after Father Shi passed away. Since they were still in mourning, they did not even have a proper wedding. Their vastly different social standing also led to rumors throughout their circle. Everyone said Shi Bochuan had only done it as a temporary measure to quickly obtain his maternal family's shares and secure his position in Shi Group. It did not matter who he married.

Simply put, Shen Qinghuai had picked up a leftover opportunity.

"You can't put it like that," Shi Jihan disagreed. "He definitely chose carefully. Otherwise, he would have married a Tianjin twisted dough fritter."

Zero-Zero-Zero could not keep up with that leap in logic. [What's the logical connection between a twisted dough fritter and your brother?]

"They're both essentially double-helix structures."

Shi Jihan took the pressed formalwear from the butler, put it on, and examined himself in the mirror from every angle. He was immensely satisfied and completely ignored Lurdan's speechless expression.

A stretch limousine was already waiting at the villa entrance. He opened the door and got in.

Shen Qinghuai was also in the car, arguing with Shi Bochuan. "Why won't you let me work overtime? If I don't come home tonight, shouldn't President Shi be happy?"

Shi Bochuan said quietly, "But we're married."

"Don't tell me you want to..." Shen Qinghuai looked him up and down several times. His face suddenly turned red, then white, as he gritted out, "Even if President Shi doesn't have a right hand, there should be someone else, shouldn't there?"

Shi Bochuan looked at his perfectly fine hands. What? He had them.

When they saw Shi Jihan get in, they stopped talking, leaving only an odd atmosphere in the car.

Shi Jihan had sensitive skin and immediately sensed it, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.