TYRPSM Chapter24

In mid-August, the Lans Group spent a massive fortune to win the bid for the A9-03 plot in the Nanwan District of City Z, a uniquely gifted piece of land nestled against the mountains and facing the sea. This marked the first time the Lans Group had refocused its sights on a first-tier city after several years of following a master plan focused on moving into second- and third-tier markets, catching many of its competitor completely off guard.

As soon as the auction concluded, news reports flooded the internet. Du Cheng went to find Nie Yunshen in high spirits, saying that given the location of this plot combined with the Lans Group’s guarantee of quality, the developed property would undoubtedly redefine City Z’s standard for “luxury housing.” With such a massive project, major banks would surely fight tooth and nail for it; they had to secure the deal before any other bank could get ahead of them.

Nie Yunshen gave a flat “Oh” after hearing this. When Du Cheng asked what he thought, he said, “I don’t think much of it.”

Du Cheng lunged across the desk toward him. “How can you not think much of it? You think it’s easy for me to find a client this good? Aren’t you high school classmates with him? Help me set up a dinner so we can talk it over together.”

Just as he finished speaking, Nie Yunshen’s phone rang. The caller ID displayed exactly that name: “Shu An.”

Nie Yunshen snatched it up with lightning speed. He had intended to hang up but accidentally hit the answer button instead so he was forced to put the phone to his ear.

Shu An said he was nearly finished on his end and could pick him up from work that evening, asking what he wanted to eat.

Given Du Cheng’s presence, Nie Yunshen didn’t dare say much, only stammering out two words: “Whatever’s fine.”

Shu An caught on to the fact that it wasn’t a convenient time for him to talk and hang up quickly.

Nie Yunshen set his phone down only to find Du Cheng looking at him with a strange expression. Just as he was about to explain, Du Cheng beat him to it: “Was that the sister-in-law?”

“Ah, yeah. Something like that.” Nie Yunshen said, taking the easy way out.

“Bullshit!” For once, Du Cheng’s IQ was actually functioning. “I clearly heard a man’s voice!”

Before Nie Yunshen could open his mouth, Du Cheng added, “Don’t bother explaining. It’s not like I don’t know you like men. Ehere’s the fun in hiding from me?”

Nie Yunshen was nearly moved to laughter. “Right, right, right. No fun at all. My mistake, I’ll treat you to dinner later.”

Du Cheng stared at him with dogged persistence. “I don’t need you to treat me to dinner. Just help me set up a meeting with CEO Shu.”

Nie Yunshen rubbed his temples. “Look, the thing is, he and I…”

Du Cheng cut him off again. “Don’t tell me you guys aren’t on good terms! Old classmates need to stay in touch for the relationship to stay strong. You absolutely have to take this seriously for me or I’m disowning you as a brother.”

Nie Yunshen looked at him for a long while before nodding helplessly. “Fine, fine, fine. I got it.”

After work that evening, Shu An came to pick him up, and Nie Yunshen had a sudden whim to eat hot pot. Shu An wasn’t fond of spicy food but since Director Nie wanted it, he had no choice but to “risk his life to accompany the gentleman.” However, even as Director Nie ate the steaming, spicy, and fragrant hot pot, his mood remained noticeably low. Shu An asked if something had happened at work, and Nie Yunshen shot him an incredibly resentful look without saying a word before returning his focus to the battle against the tripe, throat cartilage, and tender beef.

Shu An raised an eyebrow, poured him a drink, and asked again, “Does it have to do with me?”

Nie Yunshen finished off the catfish in his oil dip with meticulous care before letting out an exaggerated sigh. “Boss Shu, you’re making things very difficult for me.”

“In what way?” Shu An asked.

Nie Yunshen set down his chopsticks and gave a brief summary of the cooperation between the Lans Group and Bank F over the past few years; nearly all the project loans had been approved by him. According to the bank’s conflict-of-interest principles, risk control personnel are strictly forbidden from having intimate contact with clients outside of a professional scope. Such close relationships could compromise the risk controller’s judgment and professional assessment of a project’s risks.

Shu An used his bamboo chopsticks to help him blanch fresh duck intestines, dunking them “seven times up and eight times down” until they were perfectly cooked before placing them in Nie Yunshen’s bowl.

“Are you saying,” Shu An said, “that our current relationship will affect the cooperation between the Lans Group and Bank F?”

Nie Yunshen nodded. “Actually, when I first told you that line, ‘spend the night with me, and I’ll give you a three-day extension’, I was just joking. Who knew you…”

“Who knew I’d been lusting after you for so long that it was impossible to refuse?” Shu An finished his sentence with a smile.

Nie Yunshen shoveled the delicious duck intestines into his mouth with a fierce bite. “You’re sounding pretty smug about it, huh?”

Shu An gave a calm, effortless smile. “There’s nothing to be conflicted about. I’ll just move my business elsewhere.”

“On what grounds?!” Nie Yunshen slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a sharp clack. “Bank F has great service, fast processing, low interest rates, and high credit limits. On what grounds are you moving your business!”

Shu An pulled out a tissue and reached across the table to wipe a stray drop of sesame oil from the corner of Nie Yunshen’s mouth. Whether intentional or not, his thumb brushed lightly against Nie Yunshen’s lip before pulling away.

Nie Yunshen reflexively darted his tongue out to lick the spot Shu An had just touched. Shu An’s lips curled into a smile, his voice dropping into a low, tender register.

“Because you are more important than anything else.”

Director Nie was thoroughly satisfied with that answer. Inside, he was practically bubbling with joy but he forced a couple of skeptical “tsks” out of his mouth. “Congratulations, Boss Shu. Your sweet-talking skill just leveled up again.”

Boss Shu smiled but remained silent. Having been effectively coaxed into a good mood, Director Nie’s gloom vanished without a trace; by the time they finished the hot pot, he was basically back to full health. On the way home, Director Nie suddenly spoke up: “Maybe I should just quit.”

“Hmm?” Boss Shu, who was driving, glanced toward the passenger seat before quickly returning his gaze to the road ahead. “You’ve worked at Bank F for so many years. Could you really let it go?”

“I’d hate to.” Nie Yunshen said wistfully.

Just as Shu An was about to offer a few words of comfort, Nie Yunshen shifted gears and continued, “But I’d hate to lose you even more.”

Boss Shu’s hand on the steering wheel trembled. Just as his heart began to race at Director Nie’s sudden, soulful confession, he saw the guy grinning as he leaned across the center console. Pressing close to Shu An’s ear, Nie Yunshen said in a cheeky, playful tone, “Not bad for applying what I just learned on the fly, right? Are you touched?”

“I would have been if you hadn’t added that last part.” Shu An reached out to cup Nie Yunshen’s leaning head for a quick kiss with one hand and then pressed his forehead against his to push him back. “Sit properly.”

Nie Yunshen sat back obediently, but after a moment of silence, he couldn’t help himself. “Boss Shu, if I quit my job, you have to support me.”

Boss Shu replied, “I’ll support you for a lifetime.”

Nie Yunshen pretended to give it some thought. “No, that won’t do. I’m a man with ambitions.”

Boss Shu turned the steering wheel, steering the car home. “Then how about coming to the Lans Group to be my CRO?”

Nie Yunshen rubbed his chin. “I could consider it. What kind of annual salary is CEO Shu offering?”

Shu An replied, “In my eyes, you are priceless.”

“Pah! You just want to hire free labor, don’t you!”

“Baby, everything I have is yours, including the Lans Group.”

“I don’t want it; that’s too much worrying.”

“So, seeing as your boyfriend works so hard, you don’t plan on lending me a hand?”

“Nope.”

“……”

The next morning, following a credit review meeting, Du Cheng followed Nie Yunshen back into his office and asked whether he had set up that meeting with Shu An yet with zero sense of boundaries.

Nie Yunshen loosened his tie and glanced at him. “The Lans Group is an old client. If you schedule it yourself, CEO Shu isn’t going to just ignore you.”

Du Cheng gave a cheeky laugh. “It’s not that I can’t do it myself, but with your relationship in play, it’s a guaranteed win. It makes it foolproof.”

Nie Yunshen let out an incredibly melancholy sigh. Habitually, he pulled his tie all the way off, tossed it onto his desk, and then turned around. Leaning against the edge of the desk, he called out “Du Cheng” with a heavy, somber weight in his voice.

He and Du Cheng had worked together for years. Professionally they were colleagues; privately they were brothers. They could argue until they were red in the face over business, yet they’d jump into the fire for one another. Usually, they never address each other by their formal names. When Du Cheng was begging for a favor, he called him “Nie Ge”; when they fought, it was “Surname Nie”; and when joking around, he’d even called him “Beauty Nie” or “Baby Nie.” As for Nie Yunshen, he generally called him “Old Du,” or “Handsome Du” if he was in a good mood. If he was annoyed, it was “That guy from the Business Department,” and if a case went sideways, it was a sharp “Director Du.”

Anyone who had ever attended a post-loan meeting knew how intimidating Nie Yunshen could be when he icily barked out “Director Du.” However, absolutely no one could have guessed how terrifying it was when he suddenly called out “Du Cheng.”

Du Cheng’s brain quickly filtered through every case on his desk, but he couldn’t find a single recent issue. He then wondered if he’d offended this “great deity” lately. Not that he could recall; things were fine yesterday so why the sudden change of heart today?

Unable to come up with a reason, Du Cheng asked tremulously, “What… what happened?”

Nie Yunshen’s expression was solemn as he looked him in the eye. “My relationship with Shu An… I need to recuse myself due to a conflict of interest.”

Du Cheng blinked, then let out a massive sigh of relief.

“Holy crap, is that all? You’re just old classmates! Doing business relies exactly on these kinds of ‘not-too-close, not-too-far’ connections. It’s hardly at the level where you need to avoid the case…”

“He and I are in a relationship.”

“Let me tell you, take Ocean Industries, who just started working with us as an example. You remember President Yang, right? His son is my old classm—” Du Cheng’s sentence cut off abruptly. “Wait, what did you just say? You’re in a relationship with whom?”

Nie Yunshen stared into his eyes before articulating every word with crystal clarity, “Shu An and I. We are a couple. Therefore, I have to avoid any conflict of interest. As long as I am in this position, I’m afraid we can’t handle any more business from the Lans Group.”

The loan projects for the Lance Group were massive; within the Risk Control Department, only those at the director level or above had the authority to approve them. While Nie Yunshen’s direct superior, Jerome Chan, the Chief Risk Officer for Bank F Greater China, technically oversaw everything, he didn’t personally participate in the day-to-day project approvals. Although projects of this magnitude had to pass through a credit committee, Jerome Chan rarely interfered with a director’s decision unless there was a major oversight.

In other words, if the Lans Group wanted to continue its partnership with Bank F, the person with the final say would be Nie Yunshen.

Du Cheng stood there with his mouth agape. It took a long time before he finally muttered two words, “Holy… shit.”

Seeing him looking so utterly devastated, Nie Yunshen patted his shoulder apologetically. “Old Du, I’m sorry.”

Du Cheng’s expression was still lagging behind the reality. “You… you and Shu An… you’re really a couple?”

“Why would I lie to you about something like that?”

“That man on the phone the other day was him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! I knew it! I knew there was a reason you gave me that look when I asked if you were dating someone! You really did do something to betray me!” Du Cheng finally snapped back to his senses and unleashed a flurry of “playful” violence upon Nie Yunshen. “I’ll see you in hell, Nie Yunshen! I really didn’t think you’d be the type to ‘eat the grass near your own burrow.’ Out of all the people you could hook up with, you had to pick my biggest client? I’m not letting you off for this!”

A series of thumps and crashes echoed through the office, interspersed with muffled curses. Outside, frightened colleagues scurried about spreading the news: Director Nie and Director Du are at it again! Another disagreement, another brawl!

After venting his frustration, Director Du collapsed onto the sofa while panting heavily.

“Fine. Since that’s how it is, if we don’t do this deal, then so be it.”

Director Nie, who hadn’t dared to fight back after being chased around the room for his “crimes”, weakly added a follow-up, “It’s not just that we aren’t doing this deal… the ones we’ve done in the past might also have to be…”

“Nie Yunshen, you son of a bitch!” Director Du lunged off the sofa like leaping carp, and a fresh round of crashing sounds erupted from the office that had only just fallen silent.