The moment Ji Hanxing addressed him as "Deputy General Manager Wang," Deputy General Manager Wang knew there was no room for negotiation.
Deputy General Manager Wang dropped his earlier pretense of goodwill and glared viciously at Ji Hanxing. "Do you really think you've made the right move?"
"If you only look at the small gains in front of you, you'll suffer a huge loss."
"I still have some influence over at Aston. If you regret it now, I can go talk to someone. There's still time."
Ji Hanxing reached out and tossed the document from earlier in front of Deputy General Manager Wang. "I'm afraid not. We've already signed a contract with another company."
Deputy General Manager Wang opened the document and saw the signatures on the contract. His face flushed red. He hadn't expected Ji Hanxing to move so quickly.
"You..."
He flung the document aside and walked straight out. It was already set in stone, with no room left to maneuver.
Only then did Deputy General Manager Wang realize Ji Hanxing's purpose this time: he had deliberately stalled him while the other side hurried to sign with the new company.
Ji Hanxing watched Deputy General Manager Wang's retreating back with cold eyes. Minister Huang had colluded with Aston's senior executives to pull those stunts. He didn't believe Deputy General Manager Wang had known nothing about it, nor did he believe Deputy General Manager Wang's dealings with Aston's senior executives were clean.
Sure enough, Deputy General Manager Wang had come to see him today to rebuild the connection between Ji Group and Aston. But after all the trouble Ji Hanxing had taken to cut out that cancer, how could he possibly allow it to grow back?
That was why he had instructed Director Zhang from the marketing department early on to contact domestic ice manufacturers and quickly fill the gap, leaving Aston no opening to interfere and making them give up on the idea completely.
Huang Wei could forget about returning to Ji Group. And Ji Hanxing wasn't refraining from suing him out of respect for Deputy General Manager Wang. He wanted Huang Wei to make trouble for Deputy General Manager Wang. If Huang Wei really went to prison, Deputy General Manager Wang could simply wash his hands of him.
But what if Huang Wei remained free? With no job, and surely some evidence against Deputy General Manager Wang in his possession, too, Ji Hanxing was waiting for them to turn on each other.
After a busy day, Ji Hanxing finally finished dealing with everything that had piled up over the past few days. Only then did he notice that Yan Jinyue had sent him a message.
Yan Jinyue told Ji Hanxing he was waiting for him in the parking garage downstairs.
The message had been sent half an hour earlier, which meant Yan Jinyue had been waiting for Ji Hanxing for at least half an hour.
Ji Hanxing quickly got up, gave Xue Hui a few instructions, and reminded Xue Hui to get off work early before immediately going to find Yan Jinyue.
He took his private elevator downstairs. As soon as he stepped out, he recognized the car Yan Jinyue had driven several times before.
He hadn't expected the big-shot villain to be so devoted, always driving the same model of car.
A man who could afford to change cars but still resisted the urge-had he kicked a drug habit or something?
Ji Hanxing walked over and was just about to knock on the window when it rolled down. Yan Jinyue sat alone in the driver's seat.
"President Yan is driving himself today?"
Yan Jinyue rested one hand on the steering wheel and tilted his head. "Today, I'm Driver Yan."
"Please get in."
Ji Hanxing opened the door and sat straight down in the passenger seat. Although Yan Jinyue had said he was acting as the driver today, Ji Hanxing couldn't actually sit in the back and make Yan Jinyue chauffeur him.
Ji Hanxing fastened his seat belt and asked Yan Jinyue, "What made you suddenly decide to invite me to dinner?"
Yan Jinyue said, "It's perfectly normal to treat a friend to dinner, isn't it, Hanxing?"
After saying that, he reached over to adjust Ji Hanxing's seat belt, his hand brushing against Ji Hanxing, whether intentionally or not.
Yan Jinyue suddenly frowned. Ji Hanxing had been so bundled up last night that he couldn't see. Only now did he notice that Ji Hanxing had visibly lost a lot of weight, and his face seemed smaller again.
Ji Hanxing naturally noticed his intense gaze and subconsciously touched his face. "Is there something on my face?"
Yan Jinyue said, "It looks like you've lost quite a bit of weight these past few days."
Ji Hanxing tugged at the corners of his mouth without saying anything.
[How could I not? These past few days haven't been fit for a human being!]
[I finally snuck off to eat my way through the night market yesterday, only to have the rotten luck of running into you. I didn't even get to eat my fill.]
[My spicy crayfish, my river snails...]
Yan Jinyue's grip on the steering wheel slowly tightened. Why couldn't he eat his fill? The only person who could keep Ji Hanxing in line should be Old Master Ji, right?
Could Old Master Ji be stopping Ji Hanxing from eating?
But as far as Yan Jinyue knew, Old Master Ji doted on Ji Hanxing. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him his one and only reason for living.
Then Yan Jinyue recalled Ji Hanxing's strange experiences, and his eyes darkened. Could there be something hidden behind all this?
Many wealthy families had plenty of sordid affairs of their own. Could it be...
If Old Master Ji had known what Yan Jinyue was thinking, he would certainly have cursed him out: Get lost! Don't pin this on an old man like me.
Ji Hanxing felt that if he kept thinking about it, his resentment could drown Yan Jinyue. He hurriedly changed the subject:
"What are we going to eat?"
[Ah, I'm hungry. What will Yan Jinyue take me to eat?]
Ji Hanxing's thoughts began to wander.
Yan Jinyue deliberately kept him guessing. "Call me by my name, Hanxing, and I'll tell you."
Ji Hanxing gave Yan Jinyue a sidelong look. "Just drive. I'll find out when we get there."
[Call you by your name? Do you think we're playing Journey to the West?]
[If I call your name, do you dare answer?]
[Capture...]
Listening to Ji Hanxing's inner thoughts, Yan Jinyue curled his lips. His mind always worked in such strange ways.
The car drove on, taking turn after turn before entering a narrow alley and stopping in front of a quaint, traditional two-story building.
Looking at the building's decor, Ji Hanxing secretly pursed his lips. Based on his years of experience working in restaurants, he had a feeling this place definitely served bland, watery food.
Yan Jinyue patted Ji Hanxing's shoulder. "What are you looking at? Why aren't you going in?"
[Judging by the decor, the food looks like it'll be bland and watery. I don't want to go in.]
Ji Hanxing's grumbling brought a flicker of amusement to Yan Jinyue's eyes. "Come on, let's go in."
"I guarantee you'll like it."
[Ha, you even guarantee I'll like it? You really know how to make big claims.]
[You only understand the persona I show on the surface. How could you understand my heart?]
Yan Jinyue gazed steadily at Ji Hanxing. He really did understand this little liar who said one thing and meant another.
"You won't be disappointed."