Chi Chi Asked Huo Jin for Help

Huh?

Ji Chi glanced sideways, and Huo Jin raised his wrist to check the time.

"I have a video conference later. I only have an hour."

Ji Chi's gaze fell on the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows before him. Outside, pinpoints of light shone like shooting stars, yellow interwoven with orange-an exquisite night view only money could buy.

But he had no interest in admiring it now. He only wanted to jump straight out.

And end it all.

Huo Jin only had an hour, so going somewhere else really wasn't an option.

How could the timing be so unfortunate?

Ji Chi let go of Huo Jin and explained, "I really didn't know this was a couples' restaurant."

"I'm sorry." Ji Chi sounded earnest, hoping only that Huo Jin wouldn't read too much into it.

He absolutely hadn't meant it that way.

Huo Jin answered calmly, "It's fine."

With that, Huo Jin walked farther inside. "At least the night view is nice, isn't it?"

Ji Chi murmured a guilty agreement, then followed Huo Jin to the table.

Once they sat down, Ji Chi poured Huo Jin a glass of red wine, playing the part of someone asking a favor to perfection.

"Mr. Huo," Ji Chi addressed him respectfully.

"I..." He stumbled over the opening, unsure where to begin.

Being too blunt wouldn't seem sincere or polite enough.

Huo Jin placed a morsel of food on Ji Chi's plate with his chopsticks, his husky voice as soft as a breeze and steeped in autumn. "Eat first."

Ji Chi sat ramrod straight. His lips parted, but in the end, he followed Huo Jin's wishes and said nothing more.

Since he was asking a favor, Huo Jin's wishes naturally came first.

Ji Chi lowered his eyes slightly. "All right..."

He moved the plate of seasonal vegetables in front of him over to Huo Jin. "This dish is lightly seasoned."

Huo Jin's expression remained impassive, his dark eyes sweeping over Ji Chi. "You did your homework?"

"Yes." Ji Chi made no attempt to hide it, murmuring his agreement.

Huo Jin picked up the warm water before him without drinking. "You want a favor from me?"

"Yes." Ji Chi lacked confidence.

There was an inscrutable weight behind Huo Jin's detached expression. Ji Chi heard him say, "Finish eating, then tell me what you want."

"Huh?" Ji Chi hadn't expected things to start this way.

Was this Huo Jin's way of turning him down...?

Ji Chi had dined with clients before and been rejected with this same kind of stalling, never being allowed to get to the point.

Could Huo Jin be turning him down too?

Ji Chi nodded at Huo Jin and agreed.

He had no choice.

To finish sooner, Ji Chi ate with considerable gusto. His well-behaved appearance went surprisingly well with his bulging cheeks.

He looked just like an emotionless hamster.

Huo Jin's lips curved silently. While Ji Chi wasn't looking, he picked up his phone and took a picture.

Then he saved it.

Ji Chi finished quickly, watching the clock. He still had business to discuss, and an hour wasn't enough. "I'm full."

Huo Jin glanced at him and handed him a glass of warm water.

Ji Chi accepted it. "Thank you."

Before Ji Chi could speak, Huo Jin said in a low voice, "Go ahead."

Ji Chi had come prepared. He handed Huo Jin the documents he had put together beforehand.

He checked the time. Eating had taken twenty minutes, and with the other delays...

Huo Jin had said he only had an hour.

That meant Ji Chi now had less than half an hour to explain everything.

Given how serious this matter was for the Boshen Group, that was nowhere near enough.

Ji Chi kept it brief, his expression solemn. The moment Huo Jin accepted the documents, he didn't dare pause.

"Mr. Huo, here's the situation. A hallucinogen was found in one of the Boshen Group's Omega Suppressants."

"We'd like the CE Experimental Institute to issue a clarification."

Ji Chi stood, his words firm. "The Boshen Group would like to apply for verification of all its products."

Huo Jin held the documents Ji Chi had given him, his eyes half-lowered.

His detached words made Ji Chi feel pressured. "To minimize losses? Or..."

Huo Jin didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he raised his eyes to meet Ji Chi's.

His tone was clearly questioning.

Ji Chi's heart trembled. It felt like a teacher had started a sentence and was waiting for him to supply the answer.

The restaurant's main lights weren't on. The documents were legible by candlelight, though it wasn't ideal. Huo Jin only skimmed a few pages before he understood.

He studied Ji Chi and supplied the answer inwardly: To take responsibility for their customers.

"To take responsibility for our customers." Ji Chi's expression was earnest.

The tail of Huo Jin's eyebrow lifted, his alluring voice deepening slightly. "Go on."

Ji Chi looked at Huo Jin.

Even standing this high above him, looking down at Huo Jin, he felt as though he were looking up.

In that moment, he truly felt the gap between himself and Huo Jin.

Just as he did now.

Even his chance to speak had to be granted by Huo Jin.

If Huo Jin told him to stop, he would have to take this pile of documents and get out of the restaurant. Only if Huo Jin told him to continue could he meet his eyes in this moment.

It was like an invisible, uncrossable chasm.

He was a grain of sand waiting to be chosen.

Ji Chi drew a deep breath.

"No Omega Suppressant on the market is safer than Boshen's. Boshen's pharmaceutical division has never earned a cent of dirty money."

Ji Chi looked serious and focused. As he spoke, confidence and an unwillingness to yield radiated from within him.

"This incident was indeed caused by poor management at Boshen, but we've already recalled every affected product and compensated the victims tenfold."

"The subsequent public backlash has been severe. Our competitors have targeted every Boshen product."

Ji Chi's hand curled slightly into a fist. "I believe the Supreme Authority wouldn't let an ethical company sink without a trace."

Huo Jin nodded. "In a situation like this, you can apply directly for product verification."

Ji Chi's eyes darkened. "That takes six months."

"By then, the Boshen Group's market value will have been wiped out. So I..."

Ji Chi trailed off, his cool, clear eyes meeting Huo Jin's gaze.

Huo Jin set the documents aside. "So you came to ask me for help?"

Ji Chi didn't deny it. He had nowhere else to turn. "Yes."

Then Ji Chi added, "Whether you agree is up to you. I trust you have your own judgment, Mr. Huo."

"But the fact that the Boshen Group's Suppressants meet safety standards far above anything else on the market is, I believe, reason enough for the Supreme Universal Council to issue a clarification."

As Huo Jin listened, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "There's no evading responsibility for this incident. It's Boshen's own problem."

Ji Chi clenched his fist. He couldn't deny it. "Boshen hasn't refused to acknowledge that."

"Mm." Huo Jin gave a quiet acknowledgment.

His pleasant voice now carried a blade's thin edge. "In that case, adults have to pay the price for their actions."

"Boshen can't blame anyone else."

Ji Chi felt as though the pressure of speaking with Huo Jin made it difficult to breathe.

He was like a judge seated high above everyone else. You had no right to say no.

Not the slightest part of this was in Ji Chi's hands.

Huo Jin's meaning was easy to understand.

Ji Chi was no fool, either. Huo Jin's stern manner meant that everything had to follow the rules.

No exceptions.

This dinner had been for nothing.

Ji Chi was about to speak when he heard the faint rustle of Huo Jin unfastening his watch. "Do you think I'll help you?"

Ji Chi's expression shifted.

Huo Jin liked keeping people under his thumb far too much.

"I don't know," Ji Chi answered.

Just then, Huo Jin's phone rang, and he declined the call.

"Your time is up." Huo Jin lowered his eyes to his phone. "My meeting is about to start."

Ji Chi felt as though he had been struck by lightning. It wasn't as if he hadn't considered this outcome.

He had thought that, after he explained the situation, even shortening the testing period from six months to five would be something.

But what Huo Jin meant now...

There probably wasn't anything more to say.

How funny. Not a single exception. He wouldn't even shave off one month, so why had he come to eat a meal on Ji Chi's dime?

Had he come to laugh at him?

Eighteen thousand. If he'd known, he would have taken him out for malatang. He could have paid a hundred and still gotten change.

Young Master Ji's heart twisted with bitter pain. His hopes had been shattered.

Boshen might really be finished.

Lin Jun couldn't bear to let Boshen go. If he truly lost it, Ji Chi feared he would go mad.

Ji Chi pressed his hand against his clothes and gripped the fabric, his eyes dull. He had come full of hope; it would be a lie to say he wasn't upset. Ji Shengming and Lin Jun had pinned all their hopes on Huo Jin.

He had botched it.

Ji Chi gave Huo Jin a silent, forlorn smile. "I'm sorry... for taking up your time."

Ji Chi rubbed his fingertips together hard.

He felt enveloped in endless cotton wool.

What little uncertain hope he'd had was drenched and battered beyond recognition.

Huo Jin rose and walked over to Ji Chi, glancing sideways at him. "The documents you gave me are too basic."

Huh? Ji Chi's eyes shifted slightly. Before he could process it, he heard Huo Jin continue.

"Write out the details more clearly tomorrow and bring them to me at the CE Laboratory."

"I'll take another look."

Ji Chi's expression jolted.

He could hardly believe his ears.

"Wh... what?"

Had he agreed to take another look?

Huo Jin lowered his eyes to Ji Chi. "Didn't you hear me?"