Chapter 15: 15

He Jianshan and Lin Hui arrived in Changning at 4:00 PM. Feng Juntao, Ruitao’s CEO, sent a car to drive them to the hotel. They then made an appointment to play golf the next day. Strictly speaking, Feng Juntao was actually closer in age to He Zhao. The man was only a few years younger than him. His only son, Feng Ying, was about the same age as Lin Hui. Feng Juntao was shrewd and intelligent. He was able to chum it up with just about anyone. He also really liked money. If it could make him money, he was sure to stick his hand in the pot. Ruitao and Wanzhu cooperated several times in the past, and they got along relatively well. Feng Juntao just so happened to have invested in a new golf course, so he simply had to get a bit of advice from He Jianshan.

Upon learning of the itinerary, Lin Hui immediately lost interest. At the moment, Lin Hui and He Jianshan were having dinner at the hotel restaurant. He muttered to himself as he ate, “If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have come. Did you really fly all this way for a game of golf?” 

It had been half a year since the last time the two of them went on a business trip alone. Lin Hui had been looking forward to it quite a bit because he had always liked to run around to different places with He Jianshan. Not only was he able to gain a lot of insight, he also got to watch He Jianshan do what he did best. However, it turned out that this trip really was just an ordinary “meetup”.

He Jianshan cut a piece of his steak and leisurely sent it into his mouth. “He’s interested in the project in Ninghai.”

 

 

“Ruitao’s participation doesn’t really matter to us, does it?”

He Jianshan smiled. “It depends on how many chips he’s willing to put on the table.” 

Lin Hui’s eating speed suddenly slowed down. He stared straight at He Jianshan, unable to move his eyes away. He thought to himself, “It’s impossible not to be fascinated by this kind of He Jianshan, the ever calm but always assured He Jianshan.” It was a different version of him compared to the one who usually stayed in the office building. At that moment, his entire body was filled with a sense of oppression, a sense of predation. It made him involuntarily want to surrender.

 

Lin Hui slowly lowered his head. The tips of his ears felt hot. He really felt like he was done for. How could he start fantasizing like that during an ordinary meal and conversation? If Luo Ting knew of this, he would definitely make fun of him for being sexually frustrated.

“Have you ever been to Changning before?” After a brief silence, He Jianshan suddenly spoke.

Lin Hui nodded. “I came here once with my professor while I was in college, but that was for a project. We stayed at Changning’s Institute of Agricultural Sciences for a week. I didn’t really have the chance to look around.”

 

He Jianshan was a little puzzled. “Institute of Agricultural Sciences?”

“President He, didn’t you know? I majored in horticulture. It’s basically cultivating and improving fruits and vegetables and stuff like that.”

He Jianshan was stunned. He really hadn’t known about this.

 

At that time, he’d told the human resources department that he needed an assistant. Two weeks later, Xu Huaiqing, the head of human resources, picked two people out for him. In the end, he went with Lin Hui. However, he hadn’t really taken a good look at his resume. Back when Lin Hui had just started working with him, He Jianshan had kind of guessed that Lin Hui might not have majored in business administration. However, he hadn’t expected the gap to be so wide. 

Lin Hui was simply too outstanding, so much so that his flaws and mistakes could be ignored. In He Jianshan’s eyes, they were simply like the occasional bug that had accidentally landed upon a flower petal. Blow it away and it was gone. It wasn’t even worth mentioning.

Lin Hui smiled triumphantly upon seeing He Jianshan’s hesitant expression. “It’s unexpected, isn’t it? Wanzhu’s chief assistant is actually a horticulture major.”

He Jianshan didn’t understand what he was so happy about, but he still followed along and said, “Well … it is a little surprising.”

Lin Hui casually picked up a piece of broccoli from the dinner plate and sighed dramatically. “If I hadn’t entered Wanzhu, then the vegetables we’re eating today could very well have been grown by yours truly.” 

He Jianshan couldn’t help laughing out loud. Lin Hui’s eyes widened. In a vain attempt to cover it up, He Jianshan pressed a hand against his lips and coughed lightly. Then, he affirmed Lin Hui. “It’s a loss to everyone here that they won’t be able to eat the vegetables you’ve grown.”

He Jianshan’s mood visibly improved. He was clearly in a good enough mood to joke around. Lin Hui didn’t know what had made him so happy. He stuffed the food in his mouth and chewed it twice. He felt that this trip to Changning might not be so bad after all.

When the two of them finished their dinner, He Jianshan called the waiter and said something in a low voice. Lin Hui just so happened to be sending a message on WeChat, so he hadn’t really minded it. After a while, the waiter brought two glasses of wine. One was handed to He Jianshan, and the other was placed in front of Lin Hui. The swirling amber liquid glistened seductively under the light. Lin Hui gave He Jianshan a puzzled look.

“It’s a loss for everyone else…” He Jianshan paused for a moment. Then, he raised his slender wine glass and lightly tapped it against Lin Hui’s. 

Ding—!

“But it’s a blessing for me.”

 

At nine thirty the next morning, Feng Juntao’s car brought He Jianshan and Lin Hui to a golf course called Song of Solomon. Feng Juntao had been waiting at the door for a long time. As soon as He Jianshan got out of the car, Feng Juntao greeted him with a smile, “President He, I hope you’ve been well since the last time we met.”

The two men walked into the private tea room. Feng Juntao called out for the young man that was fiddling with the tea leaves. “Xiao Ying, come here and meet President He.” 

The young man was slightly taller than Lin Hui. His face wasn’t particularly handsome, but he did seem rather proper and upright. His eyes seemed especially affectionate when he smiled. Lin Hui’s thoughts spun for a bit. Then, he remembered that this was Feng Juntao’s son, Feng Ying. Apparently, Feng Juntao hadn’t been is very good health for the past two years. He was eager to groom Feng Ying into his successor. Thus, regardless of whether it was a professional or private affair, he would always bring his son along.

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He Jianshan smiled and said nothing. Feng Ying shifted his gaze towards Lin Hui, who was standing beside He Jianshan. “And this is…?” 

Lin Hui quickly stretched out his hand. “Hello, Mr. Feng. I’m President He’s assistant. You can just call me Lin Hui.”

“Oh…” Feng Ying raised his eyebrows. His grip on Lin Hui’s hand tightened. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Assistant Lin.”

Feng Juntao’s honored guests naturally received special treatment. They were supposedly here to play golf, but He Jianshan and Lin Hui didn’t actually need to prepare anything. Feng Juntao had already prepared clothes and golf clubs for He Jianshan. Needless to say, Lin Hui received this treatment as well. After changing clothes, He Jianshan picked up a golf club and observed it. Upon seeing this, Lin Hui’s small town roots immediately revealed themselves. “Is it very expensive?”

“It’s alright.” 

Lin Hui let out a wow. “Compared to the golf clubs you used in Xishan, I feel the color of those golf clubs looked better.”

He Jianshan glanced at him.

He didn’t know why, but he had always liked listening to Lin Hui talk, especially if it was about trivial things like college majors or golf club colors. Lin Hui seemed a little less serious and a little more lively. He seemed a little … He Jianshan couldn’t quite put his finger on it. However, he knew that he really liked seeing this kind of Lin Hui.

He put down the golf club and said, “Changning’s a very famous tourist city. Since you didn’t have a chance to play around last time you were here, why don’t we visit the Changning Night Market?” 

“Are there no other arrangements for the evening?” Lin Hui was a little puzzled. Based on Feng Juntao’s style of doing things, he definitely would’ve arranged a full schedule.

“I can make it so that there aren’t any arrangements.”

Lin Hui, who’d never been interested in golf, finally cheered up at the prospect of visiting the night market. Blue sky. White clouds. Green grass. The environment at the golf course was very relaxing. The four of them were split into two golf carts. He Jianshan and Feng Juntao were in one golf cart, followed by Lin Hui and Feng Ying. Feng Juntao kept dragging He Jianshan along, chatting away as he played. Lin Hui didn’t like golf very much, so he mostly stayed still. Occasionally, he would glance at He Jianshan, who was some distance away. Then, he’d speak a few words with Feng Ying.

It didn’t take long for Feng Ying to sense Lin Hui’s absent-mindedness. He followed Lin Hui’s line of sight. Then, he looked back at Lin Hui. A hint of ambiguity flashed within his eyes. 

After finishing a shot, Feng Ying walked up to Lin Hui. He said with a smile, “Assistant Lin, you don’t seem to have played very much. Was it something that I did?”

Lin Hui felt a little awkward when he heard this. He quickly shook his head. “No, not at all. I’m worried I’ll embarrass myself since I’m not that good at golf. I’ll just watch you play. I might even be able to learn something.”

 

Feng Ying found this amusing. He asked again, “President He seems to be having a good chat with my dad, but Assistant Lin hasn’t really spoken much with me. I was worried that I hadn’t been a good host to you, so I’m relieved to hear you say that. By the way, how old are you this year?”

“Thirty. I’m not nearly as young and promising as Mr. Feng.” 

“I’m twenty-eight. I’ll call you ge. You can call me Feng Ying. Let’s not be so formal with each other, okay?”

Feng Ying was incredibly warm and polite. Lin Hui found himself a little at a loss. Since he was here with He Jianshan, he couldn’t just brush aside the host’s goodwill. He had no choice but to say, “In that case, I’ll be impolite.”

As the two of them were chatting, He Jianshan and Feng Juntao turned their heads to look their way. He Jianshan shouted, “Lin Hui—!”

Lin Hui walked over to him. He Jianshan said with a smile, “You do this one.” 

Lin Hui nodded. “Okay.” He stepped forward. The caddy beside him handed him a new golf club.

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Upon seeing this, Feng Ying smiled and said, “I’ll finally be able to watch Lin ge play.”

Lin Hui focused on the golf ball. To be honest, Lin Hui had played golf with He Jianshan many times over the years, and he had also been to many golf courses. However, due to a bad first time experience, he’d never had much interest in the sport.

It had been his second year at Wanzhu. At that time, the company had received a very important guest. He Jianshan had been discussing business with the guest. Lin Hui, on the other hand, was responsible for taking care of the rest of the entourage, which included the guest’s son and daughter. He brought them to the golf court and tried to entertain them as best as he could. However, in the end, the job of looking after the pair of siblings fell to him. 

The siblings had grown up abroad. They were teenagers, so their personalities were a little fickle. They were the ones who had originally wanted to play golf, but, after playing for a little while, they got bored. Thus, they focused their attention on Lin Hui and asked why Lin Hui wasn’t playing with them. Lin Hui explained that he didn’t know how to play golf. The siblings volunteered to teach him. Lin Hui wanted to refuse. However, when he thought about how they were just children, he felt it wasn’t too much of a request, and so he agreed.

It had been Lin Hui’s first time playing golf. He hadn’t expected it to be such a torturous experience.

When he picked up the club, the older brother did teach him how to adjust his posture and how to exert force. However, he missed his first shot. The younger sister burst into laughter. She made a funny face and said something to her brother in English. “I can’t believe he’s such an idiot.”

Lin Hui heard it. Frankly, he didn’t really take the girl’s words to heart. However, immediately following that, it was as if a switch had been flipped. The siblings began chatting as if no one else was around. They complained that Lin Hui didn’t understand the rules, that Lin Hui wasn’t wearing the right clothes. They made fun of his movements, saying that he walked like a penguin. They also chatted about what they’d seen and heard on the way to Beijing. The entire conversation was full of unpleasant prejudices with personal attacks sprinkled in here and there. They may not have realized that Lin Hui could understand English. They hadn’t tried to avoid him at all during the conversation. The two strangers unscrupulously let out all of their malice. Even when the rest of the entourage heard what they were saying, they simply glanced at him, whispered a few words, and let them be. 

The scorching sun surged across the green turf like a tidal wave.

Lin Hui was sweating all over. His body was sticky and uncomfortable. Actually, he could’ve opened his mouth and said something. For instance, he could’ve asked them to lower their voices in English. He could already imagine what a ridiculous scene that would make. However, in the end, he simply tightened his grip on the golf club and didn’t say anything. Instead, he tried his best to play the part of the smiling idiot that was learning golf for the first time.

After golfing, Lin Hui sent them back to the hotel for a short break. Once He Jianshan finished discussing things on his end, they headed to a restaurant for dinner. The specifications of the dinner party were very high, so anyone at the table was sure to be someone of a high position. When Lin Hui took his seat at the table, the expressions on the siblings’ entourage slightly changed. Lin Hui didn’t pay them any mind. He simply continued serving the guests to the best of his abilities. Occasionally, He Jianshan would glance at him, and they would exchange a few words. Overall, he’d performed his duties as an assistant perfectly.

Just like that, the busy day came to an end. 

He Jianshan was sent back by the driver. Lin Hui had been picked up as well along the way. Both of them were a little tired. No one in the car spoke. After a while, He Jianshan asked, “How was your afternoon?”

“It was alright. I had a pretty good time. Did everything go well on your end?”

 

“Not bad.” He Jianshan revealed a smile on his face. “We’ll finally be able to move forward with Mr. Tong’s technical support.”

“That’s good.” 

The car fell quiet again.

He Jianshan glanced at Lin Hui. Then, he looked down at his phone and said, “Take tomorrow morning off. Mr. Zhao will pick you up in the afternoon.”

As soon as his words fell, Lin Hui turned his head and asked, uncertain, “President He, I recall there not being any arrangements for tomorrow afternoon?”

“It was added last minute to the schedule.” 

Lin Hui was somewhat at a loss. “Can I ask what it is? Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out tomorrow.” He Jianshan turned off his phone.

The next afternoon, the driver took Lin Hui to Xishan Golf Club. It was the golf course where he’d accompanied Mr. Tong’s children, that pair of siblings.

By the time Lin Hui arrived, He Jianshan was already standing there waiting for him. No one else beside him other than a caddy. Lin Hui lowered the brim of his hat and shuffled over to him. “President He.” 

He Jianshan handed him the club in his hand. “Do you want to play?”

Lin Hui figured that He Jianshan already knew about what had happened yesterday. He felt a little awkward. “I don’t.”

“What about letting the coach teach you? Is that no good either?”

Lin Hui didn’t say anything. 

“Mr. Tong sent me a message last night. He said that his secretary reported to him about what his children had said while playing golf. His kids don’t know any better. He’s already taught them a lesson. He also asked me to apologize to you.”

They’d been in the car when he received the message. Although the other party didn’t say exactly what the children had said, he could imagine that it wasn’t anything good. He Jianshan had been sitting in the back row. Lin Hui was sitting in the passenger seat. He watched as Lin Hui stared out the window in a daze. He’d been busy all day long, maintaining a very high-energy state. Now, he was like a deflated balloon, quietly shrinking into the corner.

Mr. Tong’s original words were an apology to He Jianshan. However, He Jianshan wasn’t the person he was supposed to be apologizing to. It was just that Wanzhu was about to cooperate with Mr. Tong’s team. This apology was an expression of goodwill. After all, Lin Hui was one of He Jianshan’s people. He was just showing him some face. Sometimes, the world was just like this. The wealthier you were, the more arrogant you’d become. The only thing that could make a person like that yield was personal interests.

Lin Hui let out a sigh. “Oh, it’s fine. I’m not going to bicker over something like this with a child.” 

“Is this why you didn’t express your dissatisfaction at the time?”

Lin Hui was taken aback.

 

“Or … you weighed your options and decided that it was best to keep the peace.” He Jianshan took a step forward. “You didn’t have the courage to speak up.”

Lin Hui couldn’t help but take a step back. This place already gave him memories of yesterday’s unpleasantness. When coupled with He Jianshan’s cold tone of voice, Lin Hui felt a wave of grievance and embarrassment well up inside him. His eyes turned red. “I didn’t say anything at the time because they were our company’s guests. It’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble. I don’t think I did anything wrong. It’s true that I don’t know how to play golf, and I don’t particularly want to play golf. I believe that my personal ability doesn’t need to be measured by how good of a golfer I am.” 

He Jianshan stared at him for a while. Then, he smiled. “Wasn’t that pretty easy to say?”

Lin Hui turned his head to one side and pursed his lips, not looking at him.

He Jianshan left him alone and started playing golf by himself. He was just waiting for him to calm down. Sure enough, Lin Hui lost his earlier momentum after a little while. He walked to He Jianshan’s side with his head drooping. “President He, I… I…”

Lin Hui wanted to apologize, but he really didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. He hesitated for quite a while, not knowing where to start. 

He Jianshan placed the golf club in his hand. “Lin Hui, hold it tight.”

He Jianshan’s palm was very hot. Lin Hui couldn’t help shrinking back as if he’d been scalded. However, He Jianshan immediately took his hand back into his palm.

“I’m not going to make fun of you, but I’m not going to praise you either.”

Lin Hui couldn’t bear to look at He Jianshan. He simply let him correct his posture as he pleased. 

“Lin Hui, we need to constantly arm ourselves. It’s only then that we’ll have the confidence to reject all malice.”

He Jianshan had already retreated to the side. Lin Hui looked at the white ball in front of him. Then, he looked in the direction of the hole. He took a deep breath and swung…

Thunk—!

A hole in one. 

Scattered applause sounded from the golf court. Feng Ying let out an exaggerated wow. “You’re an expert! Lin ge, you’re way too humble!”

Feng Juntao also laughed and said, “President He’s got a hidden talent by his side.”

Lin Hui turned his head and looked towards He Jianshan. In that endless green expanse covered in sun, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.

The Author Has Something To Say: 

Assistant Lin’s never really been afraid of President He. He had the guts to challenge him in what was only his second year at Wanzhu.

Translator’s Note:

 

Amazing transition! Did you guys notice that seamless transition between backstory and present day?

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