Recently, Wang Yibo had become extremely busy. He spent his days locked in his office with the curtains drawn, and even the debt collection was no longer as urgent as it used to be.
The responsibility for debt collection still fell on Xiao Xue and Xiao Zhan, along with a large group of burly "bodyguard" uncles.
Because Xiao Zhan still couldn't get used to Yun Shen's extreme debt collection methods, they now tried to take a more diplomatic approach first, avoiding any violence. Xiao Zhan was never involved in the aggressive methods, but he was very good at playing the "good cop." He had asked Xiao Xue why Wang Yibo hadn't come lately, but Xiao Xue was unconcerned.
"Yibo's pretty familiar with the business here at Yun Shen. He's probably been focusing more on overseeing other business matters lately. Old Wang left so many businesses for him to handle, and little Wang's energy is always limited."
That day, after finishing a debt collection, Xiao Zhan returned to the office quite late. He still had some accounts to catch up on and thought, since the end of the month was near and he was feeling lazy, he decided to work overtime voluntarily.
He focused on his work for a while, mainly checking Yun Shen's financial records to see if there were any obvious issues; the rest didn't really require his attention. He felt that the entire finance department at Yun Shen was just for show, as there would be a dedicated person to handle everything in the future. It was difficult to distinguish between what was real and what was fake.
His phone buzzed with a new email. Xiao Zhan glanced at it and saw that it was from the CFA financial institution, reminding him of the last registration deadline for the 2016 CFA Level 1 exam.
Xiao Zhan's fingers paused on the keyboard. He stared at the email's subject line, and the three letters "CFA" seemed to automatically highlight themselves. If it weren't for the regular emails he still received, he might have completely forgotten about it.
It had been five years since he graduated from B University, and he still hadn't passed Level 1. He had set such grand goals for himself back in school.
The phone automatically locked, and Xiao Zhan stared at the black screen, lost in thought.
Someone snapped their fingers above his head. Xiao Zhan looked up and saw Wang Yibo in a white shirt and black trousers.
Wang Yibo chuckled. "You're so absorbed, staring at the black screen of your phone?"
Xiao Zhan had no intention of continuing the topic, just flipped the phone over and sighed. "Little Wang, you're still here so late."
Wang Yibo didn't care. "I've got a lot on my plate! It's not that late."
He looked at Xiao Zhan. "Come to my office for a moment."
He calmly gave the order and, without waiting for Xiao Zhan, turned and walked back to his office.
Xiao Zhan leaned back in his chair, letting out a long breath, and placed his phone back into his work bag. There was a lunch box inside, still with a bit of coolness from when it had just been taken out of the fridge. It was the sandwich Xiao Zhan had made in the afternoon but hadn't had time to eat. He had intended to take it home as a late-night snack, but...
Xiao Zhan hesitated for a moment, thinking about how Wang Yibo had been stuck in the office all day without leaving. He quietly sighed.
He made a cup of tea, heated the sandwich for a bit, and knocked on Wang Yibo's office door.
Wang Yibo had his hands clasped under his chin, staring at the computer screen, seemingly lost in whatever he was looking at. When he saw Xiao Zhan bring in the snack and hot tea, he was slightly surprised.
Xiao Zhan walked over, placed the sandwich and tea in front of Wang Yibo, and did so with a calm, unpretentious attitude.
"You've been so busy; you should eat something. Even if you're short on time, at least have a sandwich and a cup of tea."
Wang Yibo smiled slightly, took a sip of tea, and then slowly put the cup down.
Xiao Zhan asked, "What's the matter? Why did you call me?"
Wang Yibo answered.
"I was just looking at the recent performance of Yun Shen's sales department. Xiao Zhan, I realized you really hate sales. You did great in the first month, closing many deals and bringing in a lot of new customers. Xiao Xue even praised you to me. But the last two months have been dismal, and it's clearly not about ability, it's about attitude—lack of energy and enthusiasm. Why do you dislike sales so much?"
Xiao Zhan didn't deny it and admitted directly.
"I've never liked sales, even back in school. It's no surprise. Sales are time-consuming, and talking to people requires constant calculations, high concentration. I'm not cut out for it, I know. I'm well aware I owe you a lot of money and can't complain, so if you asked me to change, I'll try."
Wang Yibo pursed his lips.
"Forget it! Even if you try to change, you won't manage it for long. At your current pace, you could work for another ten or eight years and still slowly pay back the money. I can't think of any other ideas. Have you considered selling real estate? I know some good real estate agents."
Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes. "Can you come up with something else, Wang Zong?"
Wang Yibo, looking certain and serious, said, "I'm just giving you the fastest legal way to raise money!"
He didn't dwell on the matter further and picked up a folder from the table, handing it to Xiao Zhan.
"This is an undeveloped plot of land in the outskirts of B City. What do you think about that?"
Xiao Zhan, somewhat sceptical, opened the folder and found that it was a project that was already starting. He didn't know much about real estate, but he knew that area on the outskirts of B City had recently developed new facilities and connected to surrounding cities via high-speed rail.
Xiao Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "There's not much there yet, no residential areas, and it's far from the city centre. Are you planning to invest in that?"
Wang Yibo nodded, already knowing what Xiao Zhan was pointing out.
"It's still undeveloped, and the process might be a bit complicated, with a lot of potential variables. But now that the area is connected to surrounding cities by high-speed rail, it might become a central area in a few years. I'm mainly thinking whether I should act before the channel upgrade happens."
Xiao Zhan couldn't help but feel a bit indignant. He was working his hardest to pay off a mortgage, and here Wang Yibo was thinking about investing in an entire area.
"So, you're getting into the real estate business now?"
Wang Yibo, seemingly having seen through Xiao Zhan's thoughts, smiled faintly.
"I'm not getting into it. I already have a few properties under my belt. The scale is small, as you know, I have a lot on my plate and sometimes can't manage everything. But I've been keeping an eye on B City's real estate projects, and I don't rule out expanding into real estate in the future."
Xiao Zhan saw an opportunity and sarcastically remarked, "Not lending high-interest loans anymore?"
Wang Yibo gave him a knowing smile. "Don't worry, I'm a businessman. Any loans I've already made will be handled properly."
He picked up the cup of tea again and ate a bite of the sandwich. He chewed a couple of times, swallowed, then looked at the sandwich in his hand with a slight frown. After a moment, the frown didn't ease but instead deepened.
Xiao Zhan wasn't nervous, but anyone would start to overthink when someone else ate something they made and then frowned without saying anything. He couldn't help but comment.
"This was supposed to be my lunch. I was too busy chasing debts this afternoon to eat. I had planned to eat it quickly, but I didn't get the chance. Wang Zong, do you really need to frown so tightly? It's just a sandwich; you can't expect it to taste that great. You can't expect it to taste like caviar."
Wang Yibo didn't answer, slowly finishing the small sandwich before wiping his hands clean.
"No wonder smoked salmon is always served with chili sauce. The small tomatoes were pre-roasted, and the avocado was sliced so thinly."
Xiao Zhan froze.
These were all habits he had when making sandwiches based on his own taste. He often made them for himself and Jiang Cheng. Only now did he realize that no one else would add chili sauce to a sandwich. No one would slice avocado so thinly because of obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And who else would preheat a small oven early in the morning to roast tomatoes?
Wang Yibo's lips curled up slightly, and he lowered his eyes, looking at the empty plate.
"I didn't think it was bad; I just didn't expect it to taste almost the same as I remembered."
Xiao Zhan lowered his eyes as well, and after a moment, he said, "I'm off work now, Wang Yibo. You should head home too. Don't stay up too late. If you really have a lot to handle, get some rest and start fresh in the morning."
Wang Yibo didn't agree or disagree. He just looked at Xiao Zhan.
"Thanks for the reminder."
After Xiao Zhan left work, Wang Yibo continued to work. As Xiao Xue had mentioned, he had reviewed all the businesses in his care from top to bottom. He wasn't just sitting in the office signing documents every day.
When he finally turned off his computer, the entire Yun Shen office building was quiet, with only the distant streetlights flickering.
He stared out the window for a while, then finally lowered the blinds.
Just like the blinds, some things were better left in the dark.