CH 40

A rich breakfast was served.

Pei Yi enjoyed it slowly by the window while pricking up his ears to listen to the business conversation not far away.

Bo Yueming asked him from the beginning, “How many companies are participating in the bidding?”

What he received from Old Mr. Bo was only the most basic bidding information for the initial stage of the project of “Wencheng Sports Center,” and he didn’t know anything about the specific situation.

Song Yuanyuan replied, “In the beginning, apart from the Bo family, there was also a foreign-funded enterprise in Haishi, and five local enterprises in Wencheng.”

“…….”

Lin Zhong was taken aback. “That many?”

Song Yuanyuan nodded. “This sort of international construction project has always been favored, and this is the calculated number.”

In the early stages, there were still some small enterprises who wanted to share a piece of the pie, but once they heard that so many leading enterprises had gathered, their eagerness to make a move was naturally drained.

Bo Yueming asked directly, “What about now?”

Four months had passed since the original bidding invitation, and the situation was likely to have changed.

Song Yuanyuan spoke truthfully, “The foreign-funded enterprise in Haishi has nnounced its withdrawal, and three other local enterprises in Wencheng chose to withdraw one after another. Now, including our Bo Group, there are only three left.”

Pei Yi took a sip of soy milk and frowned slightly.

Before the first round of bidding, more than half of the original seven companies had given up. Wasn’t this a “sweet pastry” with “impressive results after winning the project?” What was this situation? 

Lin Zhong also considered this aspect, and asked on his boss’s behalf, “Have you found out what’s going on?”

“It’s not clear.”

Song Yuanyuan shook his head, and could only guess, “Perhaps the opponents are too strong,  the competition is too fierce, or there are problems with the companies, so they can’t afford this project?”

Not to mention other companies, but even their Bo project team—

The original person in charge, Feng Zheng, fled “quietly” and may have even taken away and leaked all kinds of bidding data that they had calculated before.

Almost all of the members of the project team who learned about this fell apart.

Song Yuanyuan had reported the matter to headquarters in the Imperial Capital, but there was no news after waiting for nearly a week. If Bo Yueming hadn’t come, they had all planned to pack their bags and leave.

“Do we know the whereabouts of Feng Zheng?” Bo Yueming felt that it was not easy for this man to give up halfway.

Song Yuanyuan nodded. “We called the police, but we don’t have any solid evidence on hand, and it can only be regarded as a private case of resignation. The police will not file the case. I even found a private investigator at my own expense. If there is any news, I will be notified at once.”

Pei Yi stuffed the last bite of poached egg into his mouth, feeling that Song Yuanyuan’s ability to handle things was not bad.

At least after Feng Zheng quit and disappeared, the other party’s follow-up solutions were very reliable.

In the next second, Bo Yueming said affirmatively, “Well done. I will reimburse you for Feng Zheng’s expenses, and you will meet with Lin Zhong later.”

Song Yuanyuan was overjoyed. “Thank you, Boss!”

Bo Yueming nodded. It went without saying. “Moving on, tell me in detail about the two local companies in Wencheng who are also participating in the bidding.”

“One is Shuntian Group, a leading company in Wencheng’s real estate industry. Back then, it took advantage of the development of Wencheng and firmly established its foothold. At present, nearly forty percent of the real estate development involves their shares.”

“Currently, the director with the most right to speak in the company is named Chen Shun. He is in his early fifties, and is all smiles.”

“The other is You Group, a family business of three generations, and it has been extending its industry chain.” Song Yuanyuan paused and explained briefly, “The chairman who has currently taken over the company is named You Qinian.”

You Qinian?

When Pei Yi heard this somewhat important name, a hint of interest flickered in his heart.

“Mr. Bo, he just turned thirty and took over at the beginning of the year.”

Song Yuanyuan thought about the Bo Group’s situation and mentioned a lot to Bo Yueming. “According to the gossip, the power struggle within the You clan is very serious.”

If You Qinian was able to break out of the siege in the intricate chain of family interests, it was likely that his methods would not be simple.

The bidding for the Wencheng Sports Center was his first large-scale project after taking over the You family.

Bo Yueming was silent for a few seconds, then said in a low voice, “Lin Zhong, find someone to check on Shuntian and You Group in detail. Whether it is new about public changes or private gossip, the more detailed, the better.”

Only by knowing oneself and the enemy could one make the most necessary and accurate judgments.

Lin Zhong immediately took out his tablet to write on it. “Yes.”

Bo Yueming was not a person who liked to waste time, and he made decisions with a clear mind. “Deputy Team Leader Song, keep in mind that the entire project team will meet at two o’clock this afternoon. The original bidding plan may have been leaked, so we need to overturn it and start over.”

Song Yuanyuan was unsure. “Mr. Bo, if we overturn and start over, will the time……”

Bo Yueming ordered, “Do it! I have my own measures.”

Song Yuanyuan had heard about this boss’s abilities before. The other party won a big project worth 500 million within two months, gaining a firm foothold in the Imperial Capital circle after that first battle.

Song Yuanyuan immediately put a stop to his premature objections. “Okay. Mr. Bo, I’ll notify you right away!”

This was the first time Pei Yi had seen Bo Yueming’s swift and resolute work, and his eyes were unknowingly fixed on him—

The light coming in hit his profile almost perfectly, making his jawline more distinct, and his protruding Adam’s apple rolled subtly as he spoke. He was indifferent and steady, but also a little bewitchingly attractive.

Tsk.

Why did this person look better and better?

Sure enough, after this “book character” was visualized, could he ever grow tired of watching him?

Pei Yi was in a daze, and caught Bo Yueming’s gaze unexpectedly—

The drifting sunlight passed over his dark blue eyes, cleaning away the grayness of the past. They were just like dusty blue gemstones that had regained their brilliance, so beautiful that it made one’s heart pound.

“……..”

Pei Yi forgot to breathe for a moment. The sound of his heartbeat was wrapped in an unprecedented tension, and even gave rise to the feeling that “the other party’s eyes were already healed.”

But he immediately decided that it was his own illusion.

Because within three seconds of looking at each other, Bo Yueming frowned uncertainly and asked, “Pei Yi, have you finished eating?”

If he could see, why would he need to ask such questions?

The blame could only be laid on the lethality of Bo Yueming’s eyes. According to his recollection of the plot and timeline in the book, the other party was still far away from recovery.

Pei Yi restrained his thoughts and gulped down the last bit of soy milk. “Er-ge, done.”

“I’ll be a bit busy today, you and Uncle Kai stay at the hotel and rest.”

Bo Yueming eased the cold, hard aura he had at work, and his tone was unconsciously gentle. “After a few days, I will find time to take you around Wencheng, okay?”

Pei Yi gave the appropriate “En.”

Perfect.

He recently had to share the master bedroom with Bo Yueming at night, so he could only start to deal with his game and work matters during the day.

Bo Yueming thought about the kitten getting up to no good when he was alone and coaxed teasingly, “Then be good.”

“……..”

Lin Zhong and Song Yuanyuan on the side lowered their heads slightly at the same time, minimizing their presences. 

Pei Yi caught sight of the two, and his cheeks became faintly hot—

Why did he say this in front of outsiders? What was wrong with him? Shame!

Pei Yi was not convinced. “Oh.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Bo Yueming stood up with a smile and raised his voice. “Uncle Kai, I will leave this place to you.”

Uncle Kai, who had been sitting a distance away without saying a word, responded, “Ai, don’t worry, Second Young Master. I promise to take good care of Little Sir, just call if you need anything.”

“En.”

. . . . . .

After Bo Yueming left, Pei Yi went back to the room and slept until noon. After lunch, he maintained the clumsy excuse of “watching cartoons” to gain access to the small study room in the suite.

The scale of the facilities in the suite were top-notch, worthy of the highest star hotel in Wencheng.

The main table in the study faced an uncut glass window. The view from the high-rise was very good, and the computer was equipped with the highest configurations.

Pei Yi confirmed that Uncle Kai had gone back to his room for an afternoon nap, then locked the door and turned on the computer, immediately logging into the “Youtu” website.

A notification was sent to the small three-person group. It was news from Lou Yang.

“God Will, you’re finally willing to go online? I have squatted here to look for you 800 times per day.”

Pei Yi had Qin Yishun, Bo Yueming, and others on WeChat. He feared that adding too many people would reveal his secrets, so he put all of his work content in the small Youtu group.

In any case, the copyright facilities of the website were very strict, and there was no fear of work chats being leaked.

Pei Yi smiled and quickly typed, “Sister Yang, stop teasing me. I had some personal matters to deal with these two days. What do you need from me?”

Lou Yang at the other end replied, “I want to confirm something with you. Wait a moment.”

Not long after this line of words was typed, Pei Yi received a large “loading” picture—

“The image of the ‘human zombie’ in The Last Fog is only the initial version, and it has not been refined yet. You can see if it meets the visual requirements you have in mind.”

Pei Yi clicked on the loaded picture and was instantly amazed by the other party’s design.

This level could be reached in less than a week?

Lou Yang was not only excellent in modeling design and technology, but was also outstanding in graphic image design. The character image on the screen perfectly fit Pei Yi’s vision.

The human zombie on the screen had red eyes and white skin, and there was a string of small, mysterious characters at the corners of the eyes, making them even more strange and cold.

The white lining he wore before death was riddled with holes, revealing the material underneath. His bony hands were slightly spread, and there was a blood-stained hole in his palm, which had a strong visual impact—

Ding.

Li Yuan jumped out first to vote in favor of it. “I’ll say it first, I don’t think there is a problem.”

Pei Yi followed up, saying, “En, I think it’s good too.”

“No rush, I’m just letting you get a sense of it, it’s not the final version.”

Lou Yang lightly explained her own plan. “I just took over the art team of Dawn Games, and I need to recruit more people. Once the division of labor in the group is clear, further composition of clothing, weapons, and even appearance will be carried out.”

Modeling would not proceed until all of this was determined.

Of course, this was a long and tedious process.

Although “The Last Fog 1.0” did not need such a fine version of the image, everything Lou Yang did was for the finer 2.0 version.

Pei Yi pursed his lips in satisfaction. “Sister Yang is in charge.”

Doing things with like-minded people was truly smooth and worry-free.

The matter of the character image was unanimously approved, and Li Yuan took the opportunity to say, “By the way, if nothing else happens, the investment agreement with G.M. will be signed next week.”

“Will, although The Last Fog borrowed Dawn’s venue to begin preparations, we still have to think of a studio name for future publishing and distribution before the official signing.”

The studio could be under the banner of Dawn Games, but externally, it had to have a brand new name.

Li Yuan, who had proposed this matter, said truthfully, “I’m a name waste, you come up with one.”

After all, even his forum screen name directly adopted the same pronunciation of ‘Li Yuan’ (黎于安) as ‘Pear Garden’ (梨园), so there was really no talent for naming things.

“…….”

Pei Yi’s fingertips rested on the keyboard, and it took a moment for him to confess truthfully, “What a coincidence, so am I.”

In the beginning, he even racked his brains for Inspector’s name, but in the end, he chose it under Bo Yueming’s teasing.

The lively screen suddenly froze.

Immediately afterwards, Pei Yi and Li Yuan typed at the same time, “Sister Yang, why don’t you come up with one?”

“……..”

Lou Yang was speechless in front of her screen.

They actually gave up struggling on such an important matter as the studio name?

Are you two sure you are collaborators of the studio? Is this appropriate?

. . . . . .

The matter of choosing the studio name had to be reconsidered, and the three chatted for a while before going offline to work separately.

“The Last Fog” was still in the early stages of preparation, and the two mini-games “Joyful Spirit” and “Cloud Realm” had been delivered.

Pei Yi searched his mind and began to create a new mini-game. Right now, making money could not stop for the time being.

Entering a working state, Pei Yi continued to concentrate until evening. Bo Yueming still did not return from outside.

Pei Yi and Uncle Kai ate a little, and when they were finished, Pei Yi sat back in front of the computer and found that there were more unread messages in the Youtu private chat box.

Clicking into it, Pei Yi saw that the other party was the party who bought “Cloud Realm.”

“Teacher Will, are you there?”

It was sent five minutes ago.

Pei Yi typed quickly, “Hello, I’m here. Is there a problem with the game?”

The other party replied immediately, “No, I just wanted to inform Teacher that we will launch the first round of publicity at the end of the month. In order to show respect for originality, your signature and Weibo account will be attached at that time.”

This was a necessary matter written into the contract between the two parties.

Pei Yi wanted to use mini-games to expand his popularity in this world and in the Chinese game circle, and among the current most popular platforms, Weibo was certainly among the top three.

Pei Yi was a little surprised. “So fast?”

The other party said, “The framework of this game is relatively simple, and it is progressing smoothly. We want to create heat in advance through drawing samples, animations, and the like, so that we can follow up later.”

The game had already been sold, so Pei Yi naturally didn’t have to worry about after-sales.

Another message came. “Teacher, do you have a Weibo account?”

“Hold on.”

Pei Yi had not registered any extra social accounts at this point, but in consideration for the future, he opened the corresponding software and quickly registered.

After a lot of basic default information came the naming part that he hated the most.

For the sake of convenience, Pei entered his current name, “Will,” but the platform indicated that it had already been registered.

“……..”

Pei Yi was stuck for a long time before a “self-affirming” ID popped into his mind—

King of Drinking Capacity Will.

Type, click, success.

Looking at the ID, Pei Yi seemed to have regained his former drinking confidence. He contentedly sent it to the other party.

. . . . . .

Just after seven o’clock, Pei Yi officially ended his work and turned off the computer, walking out of the study.

The living room was empty and the light in the second bedroom was on. Uncle Kai had probably gone to take a shower.

Pei Yi quickly approached the tea bar and opened the fridge below. He had originally only intended to grab a small bottle of mineral water, but when he saw the dazzling array of alcohol inside, he couldn’t move away.

His love of drinking was about to come out to play again, and he gulped unconsciously. “So much? Is drinking one bottle not okay?”

Pei Yi glanced around—

The red wine and champagne he dared not drink for now, but he could take a few sips of fruit wine to enjoy himself and practice his drinking capacity at the same time.

The possibility of getting drunk was definitely not high. At worst, he would fall asleep later, and even if Bo Yueming found out when he got home, couldn’t he still use “milk” as an excuse?

Pei Yi glanced at the early time, and then remembered the Weibo name he had just chosen. Since he had the nerve to say it, he had to do it!

Before Uncle Kai could find out, he slipped away with a bottle of lychee milk wine.

. . . . . .

It was almost nine o’clock when Bo Yueming and Lin Zhong returned to the suite.

Uncle Kai, who was waiting in the living room, quickly approached and offered warm water. “Second Young Master, why were you so busy on the first day? Be careful with your eyes.”

“It’s fine.”

In order to catch up with the progress of the project, the project team held a meeting that lasted nearly four hours today. After the others got off work, Bo Yueming stayed back to study the data for a while.

Bo Yueming drank half a glass of warm water and gestured to Lin Zhong beside him, “You’ve worked hard today. Go back to your room early and rest, and sort out today’s key information tomorrow morning.”

“Boss, I’m not tired.”

Lin Zhong’s salary was quite high, and he had always been used to such work intensity. “It can be sorted out tonight.”

Bo Yueming nodded, feeling strange. It was odd that Pei Yi wasn’t waiting to greet him when he entered the door today.

“Where is Pei Yi? What did he do today?”

Uncle Kai briefly reported the situation, saying, “Little Sir watched cartoons all afternoon, and went back to the bedroom not long after eating.”

“Ten minutes ago, I knocked on the door to inquire, and he said he wanted to take a shower and go to bed.”

Cartoons?

He was likely using the computer to get up to something.

Bo Yueming had his suspicions, and handed back the glass of water in his hand. “Got it.”

. . . . . .

Five minutes later.

Returning to the master bedroom, Bo Yueming closed the door lightly and silently looked around the room—

The big bed was empty, the desk lamp was turned to the lowest setting, and the small ventilation window was open. The cool wind on the upper floors made the curtains flutter, and there seemed to be a faint sweet smell in the air.

“……..”

Bo Yueming narrowed his eyes slightly as a certain guess popped up in his mind. He walked toward the brightly lit bathroom and knocked on the door twice.

— Knock, knock.

No response.

Bo Yueming called out, “Pei Yi?”

There was the sound of running water in the bathroom, but no response.

“…….”

Bo Yueming suddenly thought of his own experience of accidentally falling in the bathroom, and his heart tightened. He raised his volume, “Pei Yi? Are you in there?”

As he spoke, he subconsciously pressed the doorknob.

The bathroom door was locked and did not open, so there was obviously someone inside.

Bo Yueming was concerned by the continuous silence, and immediately searched the cabinet next to the bathroom door. As expected, he found the spare key.

Bo Yueming quickly unlocked it, not bothering with his so-called gentlemanly demeanor for the moment.

“Pei Yi? I’m coming in!”

A moment later, he decisively pushed open the bathroom door.

In the hot, steamy bathroom, the oversized bathtub was filled with running water. Pei Yi had his hands propped up on the sides, his eyes closed as he lay down against the soft rubber pillow that came with it.

A layer of essential oil foam floated on the surface of the water, obscuring his figure.

His gleaming cheek was pressed to his shoulder, revealing an attractive swath of pink, and the mole on the back of his neck was particularly obvious.

“…….”

Bo Yueming was enveloped in the bathroom heat. Risking the possibility of “revealing his secret,” he approached and whispered, “Pei Yi? Are you awake?”

Pei Yi had his eyes closed tight, frowning deeply.

His arm resting on the bathtub was lightly patted, and his subconscious mind caused him to turn around warily, but he forgot the environment he was in and almost instantly slipped down into the tub.

“Pei Yi!”

Bo Yueming was shocked.

Uncaring of his right hand that shouldn’t get wet, he quickly picked Pei Yi up from the bathtub.

Warm water had poured into Pei Yi’s nose, even if just for a moment—

Pei Yi suddenly opened his eyes and instinctively grabbed the hands of the person in front of him as if asking for help, coughing with a flushed face. “Wu! Cough, cough, cough!”

“…….”

Bo Yueming was distressed and angry.

Uncaring of his wet clothes, he picked up a thick bath towel and wrapped Pei Yi in it, half-embracing the person in his arms to place him on the sink.

He opened the small window on the side to ventilate the stuffy heat in the bathroom.

Although Pei Yi had opened his eyes due to the stimulation, he was still confused.

Bo Yueming took a deep breath and exhorted him in a rare heavy tone, “What is the matter with you! Can you just sleep in the bath alone? You know how dangerous that is!”

“……..”

Pei Yi’s brain was muddled by the alcohol.

He blinked his stinging eyes, but didn’t listen to the scolding at all.

Not long ago, Pei Yi had brought the “stolen” lychee milk wine into the master bedroom and opened the bottle to take two or three sips.

The flavor of milk and lychee was very strong, and the taste of alcohol was extremely light. Drinking it was purely for the taste.

Embracing the idea of “drink it if it’s open,” Pei Yi drank all 500 milliliters. After drinking, he hid the wine bottle and planned to wait until Bo Yueming left tomorrow to secretly find a way to throw it out.

Pei Yi didn’t feel drunk at all after drinking a whole bottle, and even played games on his phone for half an hour.

Seeing that the time was approaching nine o’clock, he thought that after working all afternoon, he should take a light bath and rest.

But what Pei Yi didn’t expect was that the bottle of lychee milk wine that he was casually holding looked mild and harmless, but it had surprisingly strong stamina.

He only closed his eyes for a little while, and the drunkenness lurking in his body quickened its pace and emerged vigorously.

Latent for two hours, then down in five minutes.

The King of Alcohol Capacity was gone forever.

Even though Pei Yi was awake now, he was still in a drunken state.

He paused blankly for a while, then suddenly clutched the bath towel to his body as the redness of his cheeks rose another degree. “You, you, you! Don’t look!”

He didn’t listen to a word of the lesson just now, and dared to talk back when he could barely speak?

Bo Yueming ground his teeth, angrily amused. “Haven’t you seen mine? Now we’re even.”

Having said that, he feared that Pei Yi would catch a cold after suddenly getting out of the water, so he considerately put a thick bathrobe on him.

“……..”

Pei Yi didn’t understand what he said, and muttered to himself, “So dizzy.”

“How much alcohol did you drink?”

Bo Yueming could do nothing about this little greedy kitten who stole wine again and again. Would speaking nicely work better?

Pei Yi persisted even after getting drunk, “I didn’t drink.”

Bo Yueming changed his method and didn’t mention the word alcohol. “Where is the bottle hidden?”

The drunken Pei Yi said clearly, “The drawer of the bedside table.”

After speaking, he shook his head a few beats later and changed his words with a little temper after being teased. “I didn’t drink!”

Fearing that he would fall off the sink, Bo Yueming placed his hands on the other’s sides. “Then what did you drink? Milk?”

Hearing the answer he wanted, Pei Yi confidently said, “En!”

Bo Yueming was amused and angry. “Really? Then what is your situation now? You’re drunk on milk?”

“……..”

Pei Yi didn’t answer, vaguely feeling that he shouldn’t stay here any longer.

“I, I won’t talk to you. Er-ge is coming back, I’m going to sleep!”

As he spoke, he struggled to jump down.

Bo Yueming didn’t intend to let him go, and locked him in tightly. “Wait a minute, was the wine good? I won’t tell your Er-ge.”

Pei Yi heard this and calmed down a bit.

Seeing that the person in front of him looked pretty good, he leaned closer and nodded honestly. “Delicious.”

The distance between the two drew close, and with the idea that “one must share with a drinking buddy,” Pei Yi breathed out an invitation, “Do you want some? I’ll give you a taste too, okay?”

His eyes were pure and sincere, but with a breathtaking bewitchment.

Pei Yi’s warm breath fell on the tip of his nose as he spoke, not with the scent of wine, but with the sweetness of milk.

A trace of desire instantly burst into Bo Yueming’s eyes, and he opened his teeth and claws with a change of tone. “You’ll give me a taste?”

Pei Yi subconsciously sensed a hint of crisis, and shook his head like a rattle. “No, I, I seem to have finished drinking it……”

“Hmm!”

There was a sudden change to his voice.

Bo Yueming had grabbed the back of his head resolutely and kissed him on impulse.

The soft wine-coated lips were firmly grasped, and after a little taste, the sweet flavor spread over.

Bo Yueming’s chest was hot, but he had to suppress his deeper impulses. “En, I tried it. It’s good.”

“You, I……”

Pei Yi’s eyes were wide in disbelief, his breathing unsteady.

He tightened his grip on Bo Yueming’s sleeves, and after hesitating for a long time, he couldn’t say a complete sentence.

Bo Yueming looked at this little fool Pei Yi and knew that this person would fall apart when drunk, but he still bit the kitten’s ear, taking advantage of the situation.

“If I catch you drunk again in the future, I will ‘taste’ you just like I did tonight.”