No matter what An Yubei said, Ji Shang remained cold and left no room for negotiation.
An Yubei suddenly felt that his brother wasn't so nice anymore.
But why did his brother suddenly want to take him to the office?
When had he ever shown any interest?
Downstairs at the office building, An Yubei made one last attempt to resist. "Brother, I want to go home."
An Yubei had died at the office in his previous life, so he still had something of a psychological aversion to offices.
Besides, he had worked himself to death every day as a corporate slave. Now that he was comfortably off, who would want to return to a workplace and repeat the same mistakes?
An Yubei would always remember the endless bugs to fix and code to write. Working himself to the bone had even made him go bald.
"Be good, Xiao Bei. Come to work with me."
An Yubei felt bitter inside and was already growing unhappy.
Ji Shang sensed An Yubei's mood but pretended not to notice, leading him upstairs.
He had no choice. If he didn't keep an eye on An Yubei, An Yubei would run off with Lu Jinsheng.
Following Ji Shang upstairs, An Yubei truly witnessed the Ji family's wealth.
The entire skyscraper had over fifty floors, all belonging to the Ji Group. The Ji family's employees occupied a whole building.
Their formidable resources were not to be underestimated.
Walking beside Ji Shang and receiving the employees' stares made An Yubei uncomfortable all over. He only wanted to make himself less noticeable, not become the center of attention.
Fortunately, they soon entered the elevator, where Zhao Ze reported the work schedule.
"President Ji, the technical department has been dealing with hacker attacks lately. The attacker is very skilled and seems to have come prepared."
"The technical director can't handle it anymore."
"What about You Zhi?"
"He said he's been in a bad mood lately and doesn't want to come to work."
Ji Shang's brows furrowed, the corners of his mouth turning down. He was clearly displeased.
You Zhi was a computer expert the Ji Group had hired at great expense, poaching him from overseas with an annual salary of ten million, plus stock dividends at the end of the year.
His job was simple. He only had to work a few hours a day, maintaining the system and dealing with hacker attacks.
But he was very difficult to manage. He worked sporadically, coming in entirely according to his mood, which was a real headache.
The Ji family's business interests were complex, spanning real estate, healthcare, food, mining, film and television, finance, the internet, and more.
Basically, the Ji family had a hand in every profitable business on the market.
Real estate was the Ji family's main business. After Ji Shang took over, he swiftly changed their strategy, shifting their main business toward emerging industries and leading the company's transformation.
The internet was the Ji family's most successful example of that transformation. The financial software independently developed by the Ji Group made payments, wealth management, and shopping convenient, capturing sixty percent of the market within just five years of its launch.
And the financial software's success was entirely thanks to You Zhi. He had developed it and maintained it every day. Basically, no one but You Zhi could handle it.
Ji Shang asked coldly, "What's his problem this time?"
Zhao Ze cautiously glanced at Ji Shang and said, "He said there's no point in living. It's so hard to find a worthy opponent that he might as well die."
That was just humblebragging.
Ji Shang snorted. "There's always someone better out there. Does he really think he's the best in the world?"
Ji Shang hated people he couldn't control, and he hated people trying to bargain with him.
"Find someone to replace him as soon as possible. This time, I want someone obedient."
Zhao Ze swallowed nervously. Easier said than done. Where was he supposed to find a technical expert who was obedient, well-behaved, and talented?
It was as hard as reaching the heavens.
The elevator doors opened, and Ji Shang stepped out. An Yubei hung back a step and asked, "Is that You Zhi really that good?"
An Yubei had grasped the general situation. His brother had run into a disobedient employee, and that employee was exceptionally capable and had his brother by the throat.
His brother was unhappy.
Zhao Ze lowered his voice. "Young Master An, have you heard of the Honker Alliance? He's a member. Supposedly, he's one of their top leaders. President Ji spent a great deal of money to recruit him."
The annual salary was nothing. The stock dividends were the biggest expense. You Zhi received hundreds of millions in dividends every year.
There was no questioning You Zhi's technical skills, but his personality wasn't particularly likable. He respected no one, listened to no one, did whatever he pleased, and thought nothing of anyone.
An Yubei had never heard of any Honker Alliance. In his world, cybersecurity was already highly advanced and handled entirely by artificial intelligence. Technical staff had become mere decorations, with no opportunity to put their skills to use.
An Yubei felt that an arrogant, conceited jerk like You Zhi ought to go to his world and get a brutal beating from artificial intelligence.
An Yubei himself had been a corporate slave utterly trounced by artificial intelligence, eventually reduced to scraping by at a small company on a salary of three thousand a month.
That morning, Ji Shang first held a remote meeting while An Yubei listened beside him, growing drowsy.
He couldn't understand any of the business jargon. It was like listening to an incomprehensible heavenly scripture.
After finally enduring until the meeting ended, An Yubei yawned and asked when they could get off work.
Ji Shang smiled. "It's only ten."
[So why did you bring me to the office to suffer?]
[I want to lie in bed watching variety shows, not sit here listening to incomprehensible nonsense.]
Somewhat disgruntled, An Yubei sulkily refused to acknowledge Ji Shang.
Ji Shang rose from his executive chair, walked over to the sofa, and sat beside An Yubei.
"All right, Xiao Bei, don't be angry. Just think of it as keeping me company."
"You'll be starting school soon, and we'll have less and less time to see each other. I'll miss you."
Ji Shang could always coax An Yubei out of a bad mood, and he wasn't quite so angry anymore.
An Yubei turned and nestled into Ji Shang's arms, wheedling, "Brother, let's go out for hot pot tonight!"
He had been thinking about it for a long time and was craving it.
Ji Shang had never eaten hot pot, but after a moment's thought, he agreed.
While Ji Shang and An Yubei were talking, Zhao Ze hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.
"President Ji, we have a problem. The company network is down."
Ji Shang remained unhurried. "So, am I a technician?"
Zhao Ze shook his head. "No."
"Then is coming to me any use?"
Zhao Ze shook his head again.
"Then can't you see I'm keeping Xiao Bei company? Go to someone who can fix it. What use is coming to me?"
Zhao Ze silently withdrew again.
They were doomed. President Ji didn't even care about the company anymore when he was keeping his little brother company.
Left with no choice, Zhao Ze tried contacting You Zhi, but he still couldn't get through. The call showed as unreachable.
Zhao Ze sent You Zhi another message, telling him that the company network was in crisis and to return immediately.
Afraid You Zhi wouldn't read his messages, he also sent someone to You Zhi's home to pick him up in person.
The person had only just left when President Ji, who didn't care about the company, came to tour the technical department with his little brother.
Well, now Zhao Ze understood what it meant for the emperor to remain calm while the eunuch panicked.
"Brother, this is your technical department?"
An Yubei kept shaking his head as he looked around. The equipment looked quite good, but the system was far behind those in his world.
Hackers had attacked the entire network, disabling all the company's computers.
Every screen displayed the same message on a loop: "Ji Shang is trash."
Seeing Ji Shang walk in, the employees silently lowered their heads, afraid their boss would see those words and lose his temper.
Ji Shang merely glanced at them without getting angry. Instead, his gaze kept following An Yubei.
"There are more things to play with. Want to go take a look?"
An Yubei: "...!"
Their base was about to be stolen. How could he be in the mood to play?
No one was allowed to insult his brother.
Standing beside the main computer, An Yubei asked, "Brother, can you let me try?"