Chapter 13: · Burning Incense

Essential oils are concentrated aromatic essences extracted and distilled from plant roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits.

People unfamiliar with them often confuse the concept with ordinary vegetable oils. The flood of cheap, low-grade synthetic fragrances and imitation products on the market further muddles the basic understanding of what “essential oil” truly is.

In reality, pure, plant-derived essential oils have always been costly—each and every drop. Take rose oil, for example: five tons of flowers yield only two pounds of oil. A mere ten milliliters can sell for three to six thousand yuan. It’s simply not comparable to the cheap, low-end products commonly available.

As the largest global trader of high-end, precious essential oils, the Lanrui Group held single-handed sway over the barometer of the world’s raw essential oil market.

Every day, they sourced naturally cultivated, rare flowers and herbs from origins like Yunnan, Saswode, Provence, Damascus, and Aswan, then used precision technology to refine essential oils directly supplied to renowned perfume brands across the globe.

A monopoly like this operated with extreme low-key discretion on a daily basis. The shareholders behind it were said to be typical secretive, immensely wealthy hidden tycoons who never flaunted their power.

The reason Han Fu even knew about a company like this… was probably because Pei Zhen had only just mentioned it to him a few days ago.

…

The latest issue of Perfume Chronicle had just run a special feature: “Vanilla Empire: The Lanrui Special.”

And as it happened, Han Fu had recently switched his “eight-hour workday” into a nocturnal schedule. Every evening, when Pei Zhen settled in for his fixed routine of reading under the small lamp before bed, Han Fu would hug his pillow and scoot over, squeezing into the blankets to read together.

That night, while flipping through the Lanrui feature, Pei Zhen had just educated him, saying Lanrui was the premier supplier in the essential oil industry.

Back when he had run his Pei brand, he had also used supplies provided exclusively by Lanrui. Of course, raw materials that incredibly expensive were now far beyond the means of his current small contract factory.

There were always whispers and rumors circulating about Lanrui.

It was said that Lanrui’s President, the one the industry called “Mr. H,” was a man shrouded in mystery.

So enigmatic, in fact, that few people even knew his real name. Some speculated the ‘H’ stood for ‘He,’ from a family with a certain political background; others claimed he was surnamed ‘Hu,’ possibly being the very same Hu X currently ranked among the nation’s top richest men.

With even his name guarded so closely, other details were, naturally, even more inaccessible. Many people had done business with Lanrui for decades without ever glimpsing Mr. H’s face.

Pei Zhen, however, had been fortunate enough to meet Mr. H in person a few years ago.

“Actually, Mr. H shares your surname, Han. I met him once. He’s… quite a character—very unique, fiercely independent.”

Mr. Han was well past forty, but impeccably maintained, looking only in his early thirties. A handsome man, but unfortunately, he never cracked a smile the entire time. His arrogant, condescending manner of looking down on everyone was truly unlikable—the classic “my money makes me superior” type who was difficult to deal with.

He was constantly flanked by a perpetually smiling, inscrutable secretary who liked to wear traditional Chinese long robes, a man whose motives were impossible to divine. Consequently, the rumors about the Han family having “unfathomable power” and “connections spanning both the legal and underworld spheres” seemed much less far-fetched.

Although, yes, they did share the surname Han…

Pei Zhen had never taught Han Fu to just go and brazenly impersonate Lanrui’s President H, okay?!

Yi Changqing: “Heh, truly unexpected… to actually encounter the legendary President Han here in S City.”

Again, Mr. H was elusive and intensely private. So, having someone suddenly pop up claiming to be him—Yi Changqing didn’t want to believe it, but he also couldn’t be certain either way on such short notice.

“Mm,” Han Fu responded with his sunny, brilliant, business-appropriate smile, not a trace of cowardice in sight.

Yi Changqing: “I heard that Lanrui recently ran into some trouble with operations in Egypt?”

Han Fu: “Haha, yes, a shipment was intercepted by local armed forces. But don’t worry, it’s all been replenished already.”

Pei Zhen: “…”

Yi Changqing: “But losing goods and then restocking… wouldn’t that mean a severe loss?”

Han Fu: “Not really, actually. The Egyptian pound has depreciated severely recently. The purchase value is only a third of what it was a few years ago, so restocking actually came with a discount. Moreover, the goods were insured. All in all, we even made a bit of profit.”

Pei Zhen: “…”

He could even field that flawlessly, so naturally?!

On second thought, the profession of a “duck” always overlapped to some extent with that of a “con artist.” A necessary quality in the trade was sizing people up and responding rapidly, able to banter smoothly with all sorts of clients.

The professional acumen of a duck.

Watching Han Fu respond so fluidly, no matter how uneasy Yi Changqing felt, he could only outwardly believe seven or eight parts of it. “I’ve always heard that Lanrui’s President Han is very busy and incredibly difficult to get an appointment with. I never imagined you’d have the leisure today to share a meal with President Pei here. If I hadn’t known better, I might have thought… the two of you were on a date?”

“Well, we are on a date!”

Han Fu flashed a radiant smile and then sprawled himself all over Pei Zhen like an octopus again. “Actually, years ago, back when President Pei came to our Yunnan headquarters to negotiate procurement contracts, I already appreciated him very, very much. My father was also quite taken with President Pei.”

“It’s just a pity that back then, President Pei might have held some prejudice against me—or against our Lanrui? Outside of work, whenever I called, it was always ice-cold. But thankfully, it’s not like that anymore now.”

Having said that, he even turned his head to ask Pei Zhen with a completely serious expression: “Zhenzhen, tell me, when I was desperately trying to court you back then, why on earth wouldn’t you take my calls? Could it be because you had someone else you liked? But obviously, I was so much better, right?”

Pei Zhen: “…”

Back then, when he had “business dealings” with Lanrui—that was precisely when the Pei brand was still riding its peak of success.

And at that time, Yi Changqing was still by his side.

Taken together, these words successfully made Yi Changqing’s expression turn a few shades more uncomfortable.

Silently, Pei Zhen had to admit this round was an outstanding performance by his little wolfdog. He definitely deserved a bonus red envelope when they got back!

“Changqing—I’m late!”

A crisp female voice rang out, accompanied by the click-clack of high heels. In dashed a blonde, blue-eyed girl, her arms laden with shopping bags of all sizes.

He should have realized—coming to enjoy dinner at a restaurant like this, you wouldn’t be alone.

“Sorry, hehe! I just lost track of time once I started shopping! There are so many cute little trinkets around here!”

Pei Zhen recognized the girl’s face.

Because of her outspoken personality and gorgeous, sexy appearance, she’d been a darling of perfume magazine features for years—the second daughter of Belle’s owner, Eliza, currently studying at university in Paris and frequently doing part-time modeling work.

She truly was a refreshingly candid young woman, having publicly stated in magazines many times that she liked Yi Changqing very much, even learning Chinese specifically for him. Now, she had actually become quite fluent, speaking even better than that half-blood Lister, despite being a native-born French girl.

It looked like… they were already a couple, right?

Against a top-tier, flawless heiress like this, a straight man would probably offer no resistance.

…

Gorgeous night view, tables set with roses and candles, melodious soft music—every element of the arrangement was perfect and romantic.

Under Han Fu’s cold, fake smile and dagger-like glare, Yi Changqing could only turn and pull the girl into his arms, murmuring something to her in French.

The girl started. “Eh? Why? No way! Isn’t this the No. 1 restaurant in S City? I’ve been looking forward to this for so long!”

“Lisa, be good.”

“Mmph…” The young lady, full of suspicion, naturally craned her neck to look at the two other men present.

“EH?! Han Fu? You’re Han Fu!”

Han Fu: “???”

Even though he’d been abroad, he genuinely had never gotten involved with any beautiful blonde girls! His survival instinct flared up instantly, and he snapped his head toward Pei Zhen: “Zhenzhen, I don’t know her!”

Pei Zhen: “…”

“I really don’t!”

“That seems to be him!”

In the next second, the young lady had stopped right in front of him, clasping her hands with their rainbow-colored manicured nails, eyes full of sparkling stars. “It is you, right?! The one who crushed Lister so thoroughly? I laughed so hard at that video I sprayed toothpaste everywhere! I didn’t expect you to be so tall in person, and even more handsome!”

“…” Video?

Yi Changqing: “Lisa, what are you talking about? What video?”

Eliza puffed out her cheeks, looking deeply displeased. “I knew you didn’t click it! The link I sent you multiple times the other day, the one I specifically told you to watch! When do you ever pay even a little attention to the messages I send you? You can’t search for it online anymore anyway; Cranberry paid PR to have it all taken down!”

Pei Zhen thought back. That day when Han Fu and Lister competed in identification at the library, quite a few bystanders had indeed been filming and taking photos with their phones the whole time.

So, some troublemaker had actually uploaded the video online, and it had been seen by Belle’s heiress?

“Changqing, Changqing, let me tell you about this guy~ He beat Lister in that fragrance recognition contest, won a full victory of greatness! He had Lister fuming out of seven orifices! Little Lister’s nose was all bent out of shape—oh man, I almost died laughing!”

Yi Changqing: “Lisa, it’s ‘complete victory,’ ‘fuming with rage out of every orifice.’ And also, he’s actually…”

…

…

“Lanrui’s President Han? Pfft! Ahahahaha… Changqing, you got tricked!”

“How could that be possible! My father and I often have dinner with Uncle Han. Uncle Han is nowhere near that young. Someone his age… hmm, maybe his son? But that son of Uncle Han’s, tsk tsk tsk, supposedly spoiled and disobedient, and short too, short, short. Last I heard, he was seventeen or eighteen and still hadn’t grown taller. Probably like Lister, destined to stay a shorty for life.”

Seeing the blonde girl chattering away with such animated confidence, Yi Changqing frowned at Han Fu: “You’re not…?”

Han Fu beamed. “Hehe. Mr. Yi really is simple and adorable, believing everything he hears.”

Yi Changqing: “…”

“Being this easily deceived… you really need to be more careful living abroad, you know? Who knows, one day you might get sold off by bad people—shipped across the ocean to some South American blood mine, and still be helping them count the money. That would be a real loss.”

“You—!” The cold, collected demeanor Yi Changqing had maintained from the moment he appeared finally cracked, veins pulsing on his forehead.

But the young lady Eliza beside him remained completely oblivious to the sharp, hostile tension sizzling in the air. She simply tugged on Yi Changqing’s arm again, continuing her enthusiastic recommendation: “This guy is a Grasse perfumery apprentice now, super talented, super amazing! Oh right, he’s even going to participate in the Perfumer Awards this year!”

A chilling glint flashed in Yi Changqing’s eyes. He raised an intrigued “Oh?”

Han Fu: “…” Who said that? He was not participating.

Pei Zhen: “…” He was not participating. Yet, right in front of Yi Changqing, he couldn’t bring himself to say it!

Eliza: “It’s true! When I called Lister to laugh at him the other day, Lister told me himself! He even said he’s going to beat him to death in the international competition. To make even that Lister get serious… this is going to be so exciting! Han Fu, you absolutely must not lose. It would be best if you could actually make Lister cry. Haha, I’d love to see that! Please!”

Yi Changqing: “Heh. What a coincidence.”

“Coincidence?” Eliza paused. “Oh! Right! Changqing received an invitation last month, asking him to be a mentor and judge for the September China Perfumer Awards. But he was going to decline because he’s too busy with work.”

Yi Changqing: “No, actually, I’ve already accepted.”

Eliza: “Eh? Since when? You didn’t tell me…”

“Just. Now.” Yi Changqing lifted his eyes, a half-smile, half-not smile aimed at Pei Zhen.

“I’m very much looking forward to it. Since he’s President Pei’s hand-picked ‘boyfriend,’ I’m sure winning the domestic qualifiers will be a breeze, won’t it?”

Pei Zhen: “…”

“First place?” Han Fu quickly waved his hands modestly. “Mr. Yi flatters me too much. First place isn’t so easy to get.”

“But~ at the very least, qualifying for the international rounds shouldn’t be a problem. I can’t let Lister down while he’s waiting, right? Ah, that reminds me. I remember Mr. Yi previously participated in the Perfumer Awards too. Unfortunately, he never managed to qualify. Heh heh, I guess the judges that year just weren’t up to par?”

Yi Changqing gave a cold snort.

His expression remained smiling, but his eyes turned increasingly icy. “That year… it was indeed very regretful.”

Han Fu nodded, wearing a cheap expression of pitying consolation. “Oh well, what’s past is past, no use being too sad about it. And besides, later you managed to enter the Hall of Fame as the youngest perfumer ever, even if it was only with third-place results… well, I suppose that’s not bad. Oh right, Lister even made a bet with me a few days ago, to see which of us can break your Hall of Fame record first?”

Yi Changqing sneered. “Is that so? Well then, the two of you had better work yourselves to the bone and try your hardest.”

Han Fu: “Hehe, of course, of course.”

“Well then, Han Fu, is it? I’ll be waiting for you. See you at the Perfumer Awards in four months. I hope you can stun the entire audience then.”

“I’m truly… very much looking forward to it.”

When Yi Changqing spoke these words, the name he uttered was clearly “Han Fu.”

But those amber-colored eyes only stared fixedly—dead fixedly—at Pei Zhen.