My Nemesis Has Finally Gone Bankrupt Chapter 96

Chapter 96:

Actually, Qin Man wasn’t drunk at last night’s banquet. He later continued drinking with some old acquaintances from previous collaborations and had a couple more drinks.

The other party was an elder, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate for Qin Man to refuse their toast. It was also impossible for him to let his assistant drink on his behalf, so he ended up drinking too much.

During the break in the meeting, Qin Man pondered for a moment, “Liu Chen.”

Liu Chen looked up from the documents, “Yes, sir.”

“When I got drunk before, you were there, right?”

“For most of the social events, yes.”

“How did I behave?”

This question was so unexpected that Liu Chen didn’t immediately react, “…Huh?”

He turned his head and saw Qin Man waiting for his answer with a serious expression.

“Well…nothing too unusual,” Liu Chen carefully responded, “You were very quiet and often fell asleep as soon as you got in the car.”

Qin Man asked, “I didn’t randomly hug people?”

“No.”

“Or randomly kiss people?”

“No, no!” Liu Chen quickly replied, “You just occasionally said some meaningless things, nothing else.”

Qin Man fell silent.

Could all those images in his mind have just been dreams?

He took out his phone and opened the chat with Ji Ran. The panda emoji he sent in the morning was still at the bottom, and until now, there had been no reply from the other side.

Just as he was about to send another message, a call came in.

He stood up and moved to a different place before answering, “Mom, what’s up?”

“Xiao Man…” Mother Qin’s tone was strange, “Are you busy?”

“No, what’s the matter?”

Mother Qin had spent the entire morning in anxiety, “Is Xiao Ran with you?”

“Mom, just say what you want.”

“…Did you already know about Ji Ran’s relationship with Qian Qiong?” Mother Qin asked.

So it was about this matter. Qin Man lowered his eyes, “Yes.”

“And you still say yes?!” Mother Qin was furious, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Mother Qin had never liked hearing gossip. The friends she interacted with were all easygoing and friendly. She had only vaguely heard about the conflicts within the Ji family, but she wasn’t clear about the specifics. Moreover, she didn’t know that Ji Ran was the illegitimate child of the Ji family.

There are so many people with the surname Ji; what are the odds of such a coincidence?

If Father Qin hadn’t recognized and confirmed it before telling her, she probably still wouldn’t know what trouble she had inadvertently caused.

“You also didn’t tell me that you would invite her to our home.”

“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I heard she returned to the country and just decided at the last minute…” Mother Qin rubbed her temples. Now, nothing she said would help. “They even went out alone that day. They didn’t have a fight, did they? Did Xiao Ran say anything to you?”

The more she talked, the guiltier she felt. “I should call him.”

Bringing it up again would only make it more awkward.

“No need,” Qin Man interrupted her. “He’s fine, not affected at all. Just don’t make random arrangements in the future.”

“…..You still have to tell me that!” Mother Qin chided, but in the end, she still asked worriedly, “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry.” Qin Man glanced at his wristwatch. “When is your flight back?”

“We canceled the tickets. Your dad and I plan to visit Hainan for a bit. Do you want to come with us?”

“No, you two have fun.”

Hearing Qin Man say everything was fine, she finally felt a bit relieved and was in the mood to say, “I saw your photo on WeChat Moments this morning. It was really nice. When you have time, the three of us should take a family portrait.”

Qin Man raised an eyebrow. “What photo?”

“The one Qing Qing posted, of your grandfather holding your hand. Didn’t you see it?” Mother Qin said. “I even saw Xiao Ran liked the photo.”

After hanging up the phone, Qin Man opened WeChat and found the friend request he had put off the night before. He clicked to accept it.

Entering Qing Qing’s Moments, he saw the photo labeled “Family Portrait,” and sure enough, Ji Ran had liked it.

Seeing where he was positioned in the photo gave him a bit of a headache.

But he couldn’t blame Qing Qing. After all, in all the family photos taken yesterday, he was almost always in the frame.　

The break time was over, and Qin Man glanced through the glass window at the employees who had already returned to their seats. He quickly sent Ji Ran a message explaining the photo and then turned back to the room.

The meeting continued intermittently until the afternoon.

“That’s it for today. Go back and get ready. Next Monday, we’ll move into the office building. Your positions have been allocated. No meetings for the next few days, so get some good rest,” Qin Man said as he closed the file.

The employees all sighed in relief.

Meetings were exhausting, requiring intense concentration, and having them at the boss’s home only added to the tension.

Some even suspected that the boss did it on purpose—who has a dedicated meeting room in their house? The setup and decor were identical to a real conference room!

Moreover, Qin Man’s “home” was particularly empty. Apart from the bedroom, there was very little furniture, and many places were bare, making it look uninhabited.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll pay you triple the usual salary for this period,” Qin Man added.

A single sentence turned their gloomy mood into cheer.

Seeing the employees’ eyes light up, Qin Man chuckled and continued, “Dinner’s on me tonight. You guys pick a restaurant.”

Just a few minutes ago, the employees were pondering the meaning of working.

Now, that question was out of their minds.

While they noisily discussed dinner plans, Qin Man took out his phone.

He hadn’t received a single reply from his ex-boyfriend all day. Instead, Qing Qing, whom he had added a few hours ago, had sent him seven or eight messages.

He frowned unhappily.

How could this junior be so heartless? Qin Man drank so much and didn’t even get a few words of concern, let alone a reply to his messages.

Even in the morning, he was left alone at home.

Qin Man lowered his gaze, and any lingering resentment vanished when he saw the ring on his hand.

Knowing Qin Man’s generosity, the employees chose an expensive and delicious restaurant. In the brief moment he was lost in thought, they had already decided on the place.

“That restaurant is great, but you need to reserve a spot and the dishes in the morning. The owner gets fresh ingredients based on those reservations. It’s already this late; we probably won’t get a spot.”

“Which restaurant?” Qin Man asked, snapping out of his thoughts.

The employees named the restaurant.

Qin Man pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone and made a call, chatting with the restaurant owner. After a brief conversation, he turned and asked, “If we go, we’ll have to choose from the dishes they got fresh today. Is that okay?”

A few minutes later, the reservation was confirmed.

The employees exchanged knowing glances, their expressions all conveying the same message—money really makes things easier.

Having resolved the restaurant issue, Qin Man stood up to leave.

“President Qin, why don’t you come with us?” one of the bolder employees suggested.

Qin Man paused. “Me?”

Worried that his presence might make others uncomfortable, he rarely joined his employees for meals.

“Yes, our company is about to be established. Wouldn’t you like to celebrate with us?”

“Yeah, come with us, boss. We might not get to eat properly for a while,” another person joked.

With the invitation extended this far, Qin Man couldn’t refuse.

He glanced at his empty phone screen and nodded, “You guys go ahead. I’ll change clothes and join you.”

Once the employees had all left, Qin Man went downstairs with his phone in hand, heading straight to the house across the street.

He wanted to see what Ji Ran was up to that was so important he hadn’t replied all day.

He rang the doorbell for several minutes, but no one answered.

Did he go out?

After waiting a few more minutes, Qin Man pondered for a moment, suddenly remembered something, and turned back to his house.

When Qin Man came back out, he was holding sticky notes and a pen. Ignoring the surprised and suspicious looks from the neighbors, he began sticking the notes, one by one, on Ji Ran’s front door.

——

The restaurant had arranged the largest private room for them, one that usually wasn’t available for reservations and was specifically used by the owner to entertain friends.

Even though the group of white-collar workers was used to grand settings, the room’s traditional decor and exquisite dishes made them whip out their phones, snapping numerous photos.

Initially, they were mindful of Qin Man, but after realizing he didn’t care, they became even more enthusiastic about taking pictures.

Seeing Qin Man look at his phone for the seventh time, Liu Chen couldn’t help but quietly suggest, “President Qin, if you’re in a hurry, I can take you back first.”

“No need, I’m not busy,” Qin Man replied calmly, picking up his chopsticks.

The conversation among the employees had shifted to topics of marriage and children. With a bit of alcohol in them, they spoke more freely.

“Isn’t President Qin also in a relationship?”

“You can’t just ask about the president’s personal life!”

“There’s nothing off-limits,” Qin Man smiled. “Yes, I am, but we’ve been arguing recently. Hard to appease.”

Surprised by his response, they asked even more questions.

Feeling overwhelmed but amused, Qin Man stood up, chuckling, “You all continue eating. I need to use the restroom.”

Outside the private room, Qin Man felt a slight relief.

Having worked with this group for so long, it was the first time he realized how gossipy they were. It wasn’t just the female employees; the male employees were equally curious.

Despite this newfound insight, Qin Man didn’t find it bothersome. Instead, he felt quite relaxed.

He didn’t actually need to use the restroom; he just wanted some fresh air. After resting on the mahogany balcony for a while, he turned back to the private room.

The restaurant had a traditional design with long corridors.

At the corner, a server passed by him and opened the curtain of the private room to his right, and a conversation inside caught his attention.

“I missed that competition because I was sick. Otherwise, who knows who would’ve won.”

“Don’t kid yourself; it would still have been me,” a man’s familiar, relaxed voice filled with laughter brought Qin Man to a halt.

“Want to compete again? Nah, you haven’t trained for so long; it wouldn’t be fair if I won. Speaking of which, Sui Ran did pretty well in that race, finishing fifth, right?”

“Fifth isn’t that great; don’t use this as an excuse to mock me.”

Qin Man turned his head and saw the people inside the room clearly.

The person Qin Man had been looking for all day was now sitting beside He Suiran, looking relaxed and at ease, chatting animatedly with an unfamiliar face across from them.

The atmosphere among the three was harmonious, and they seemed to be enjoying their conversation immensely.

Due to the material of the partitions, the private rooms were not soundproof, so each room was spaced apart. Standing in front of the door, Qin Man could clearly hear their conversation.

“I made you waste a plane ticket. I’ll reimburse you for your ticket to Italy tomorrow,” Ji Ran said.

“No need. I stayed willingly to talk with you, so it doesn’t count,” the person raised their glass.

Ji Ran picked up his glass and clinked it with the other’s. “Why be so polite with your future boss?”

He Suiran also raised his glass, laughing, “Alright, alright, it’s all my fault. I’ll reimburse it. Happy now?”

Under the light, Qin Man noticed that Ji Ran’s fingers were bare, with no ring on them.

Ji Ran took a small sip and put down his glass. Seeing that the door to the private room was still open, he instinctively glanced outside.

All he saw was a waiter carrying dishes in and a figure walking away briskly.

“Ji Ran, what are you looking at?” Chen Qi called out to him.

It wasn’t until the figure disappeared at the end of the corridor that Ji Ran turned back.

“…Nothing.”

Had he drunk too much?

Why did he feel that the back of that figure looked especially like Qin Man?

Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.