14
That night, Qi Zhao slept better than he had expected.
Perhaps it was because he truly felt that from now on, he would have no more worries—for Qi Zhao, being alone was a precarious thing. There was a sense that if anything happened, he would have no one to rely on.
Humans were social animals. Qi Zhao had always liked this saying, and he never thought he could be alone. Even though he was confident in his abilities, he still hoped to have someone to lean on.
He was human, not a god; there were times when he felt tired.
And now, although this person wasn’t someone he chose, he had someone nonetheless.
Qi Zhao always had a somewhat easygoing nature. Since things were settled, he would get used to it.
Qi Wei treated him well, after all.
He rested for a few days, and while at Qi Wei’s home, he finished reading the manuscript of “Cure.” As Teacher Lu had said, there were more details in it. This version was more complete and also more depressing.
Even the ending had a dark undertone, not quite fitting the title “Cure.”
But Qi Zhao preferred this version.
He liked things that were real, not false happiness—not that he disliked happiness, but compared to blindly pursuing a “happy end,” he preferred a “true end.”
During these few days, Qi Zhao and Qi Wei’s interactions were quite normal; nothing special happened.
They even lived like roommates sharing a house. Qi Wei went to work at the company—the current head of the Qi family was still his uncle; he was just the heir. So Qi Wei woke up earlier than Qi Zhao. He would make breakfast, and Qi Zhao would come downstairs after washing up, just in time to eat with him.
Qi Zhao was also used to waking up early, but not as early as Qi Wei. Qi Wei truly only needed three or four hours of sleep a day; he was an alpha, with superior genes.
Qi Wei always cooked Z Country cuisine, which wasn’t surprising to Qi Zhao.
After all, CEOs who ate Western food every day only existed in novels. Most people preferred Chinese food. Z Country was a true culinary nation.
Today’s breakfast was rice noodle soup and soy milk. The rice noodle soup was topped with beef slices, and the braised sauce was especially fragrant. After they quietly finished breakfast, Qi Zhao said to Qi Wei, “I’m going to start applying for jobs.”
Qi Wei raised an eyebrow slightly. “Don’t you want to rest for a few more days?”
“I can’t really stay idle.”
Qi Zhao smiled at Qi Wei. “It’s been long enough.”
Qi Wei nodded. “Okay. Where do you want to apply?”
Not “I’ll arrange something for you,” but simply asking where Qi Zhao wanted to work.
Qi Zhao liked this kind of interaction. “Tang Sheng.”
Tang Sheng was the name of a company, Tang Sheng Real Estate. It wasn’t as famous as the Qi family, but it was still one of the top real estate companies in the country. More importantly, Tang Sheng Real Estate was just a subsidiary of the Tang family. Although this subsidiary occupied a significant market share, the Tang family wasn’t as limited in its development as the Qi family. They had caught the last train of the new era and had been developing new technologies with the Qi family in recent years, achieving considerable results, although their shareholding was relatively small. But at least they hadn’t been impacted by the downturn in the real estate industry, unlike the Qi family, which was in a precarious position.
Qi Wei wasn’t surprised by Qi Zhao’s choice. After all, Qi Zhao’s previous studies were all related to this field. Working in real estate would certainly be smoother for him than going elsewhere. But…
He hadn’t been mistaken.
Qi Wei lowered his eyelids slightly. Qi Zhao was “avoiding” him. His reactions whenever he touched him were also a bit strange. He could treat him like a friend, which would be much more natural, but Qi Zhao seemed to instinctively want to dodge.
He hadn’t reacted this way before when he casually put his arm around his friends’ shoulders, or even jokingly touched their faces.
Was it because he had confessed his feelings that he had become this “special”?
Or… had his omega mother’s marriage to Qi Mu left Qi Zhao with some psychological trauma?
…Qi Zhao hadn’t liked anyone so far.
The people he had arranged around Qi Zhao also felt that Qi Zhao seemed to be somewhat resistant to forming close relationships.
Qi Wei looked up, suppressing his emotions.
“Most real estate companies are laying off employees now,” Qi Wei tilted his head slightly. “Tang Sheng Real Estate isn’t hiring.”
Qi Zhao touched his nose, a little embarrassed. “I want to send my resume directly to Tang Huaiyuan’s email.”
Qi Wei: “…”
Of course, he knew who Tang Huaiyuan was.
He interacted with Tang Huaiyuan quite frequently. Qi Zhao must have seen it in the news; they had been photographed talking at banquets and auctions several times, and they occasionally went out together for business dinners.
Tang Huaiyuan was an alpha, an A+ rank alpha, and could be considered Qi Wei’s friend.
But…
Actually, Qi Zhao had known Tang Huaiyuan even earlier.
Even though their families were business rivals, they still moved in the same circles, and their paths often crossed. Qi Zhao and Tang Huaiyuan had a decent relationship. Before Qi Wei differentiated, he often saw them clinking glasses from afar, exchanging smiles, chatting about topics unrelated to their families’ businesses. Back then, they considered each other rivals, but they would occasionally eat lunch together at school.
A relationship that was both adversarial and friendly… even that made Qi Wei envious for many years.
But times had changed, and now he was the one closer to Tang Huaiyuan, they had become friends.
Qi Wei didn’t think it was beneath Qi Zhao to work under Tang Huaiyuan. He respected every choice Qi Zhao made. It was just that because it was Tang Huaiyuan, he felt a little…
“Er-ge, is it okay?”
Qi Zhao hadn’t submitted his resume yet; he had only prepared a simple one. He remembered an alpha’s strong desire for control, so he specifically asked Qi Wei before taking action. “If you’re not happy with it, I won’t apply there.”
He didn’t really mind; he just wanted to find a job, something to do.
As for why he didn’t want to work under Qi Wei… Qi Zhao admitted that he wanted to “distance” himself from Qi Wei for the time being. Being together all the time would break his carefully constructed mental balance.
Qi Wei lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, suppressing his jealousy. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”
He smiled faintly. “But Tang Huaiyuan will probably be very surprised to see your resume.”
Qi Zhao thought about it and agreed. “But he’ll hire me.”
Tang Huaiyuan knew how capable he was.
Qi Wei nodded. “Of course.”
He stood up to clear the table. “Ah Zhao, don’t worry.”
Qi Wei lowered his head, his eyes curving slightly, and said gently, “I won’t say a word to him.”
Qi Zhao didn’t need him to; he understood.
Qi Zhao was slightly stunned. “…I know.”
He said, “I’m not worried about that.”
He had noticed that Qi Wei understood him very well, so he knew Qi Wei wouldn’t do anything to hurt his pride.
Qi Wei curled his lips, the smile in his eyes finally becoming genuine. He joked, “I’m just afraid that if I don’t explain, there might be some cliché drama, and you’ll misunderstand me, thinking I don’t trust your abilities and went to put in a good word for you, and then you don’t ask me… Ow.”
He winced slightly and sighed. “If you hold it against me because of this, I’ll be very sad.”
Qi Zhao laughed. “Novels do like to use that kind of plot.”
He said seriously to Qi Wei, “Er-ge, you can rest assured. No matter what, if I want to know something, I’ll ask you. I don’t like misunderstandings either.”
Just like how he had directly asked Qi Wei if he had an omega.
Qi Wei softly replied, “Okay.”
But he sighed inwardly. Qi Zhao would ask him directly about anything he wanted to know, but Qi Zhao hadn’t asked about the name of his pheromones—his pheromones were “liquor-type,” but that didn’t mean they were called “Liquor.” Alphas above A-rank had the right to name their unique pheromones when they registered.
But Qi Zhao hadn’t asked him what his pheromones were called.
Qi Wei wasn’t discouraged. There was still plenty of time. Constant dripping wears away a stone. He had waited for over a decade; waiting for another decade or so wouldn’t matter. He said slowly, “If you hear anything, you must ask me first.”
Qi Zhao thought that perhaps the internal struggles within the Qi family had led to many rumors and slanders against Qi Wei, so he nodded. “I will.”
Tang Family.
“…Mr. Qi Zhao sent you his resume.”
The assistant placed the laptop in front of Tang Huaiyuan. “How do you want to handle it?”
Tang Huaiyuan was taken aback. “Why did Qi Zhao send his resume to me? Did Qi Wei agree?”
As soon as he finished asking, he received a message from Qi Wei—
[Qi Wei: Don’t mind me.]
Tang Huaiyuan hissed. “This guy always does this. It’s like a horror movie.”
He scrolled down, looked at the resume, and thought for a moment. “…Isn’t the situation with that suburban land still problematic? I’ve been wanting to change the person in charge. Let Qi Zhao take over.”
The assistant was stunned. “…Mr. Qi Zhao is only twenty-four. Is it okay to parachute him in as the project team leader?”
This kind of project team leader wasn’t an ordinary small team leader. They had a lot of authority and decision-making power, a monthly salary of tens of thousands, and even department managers had to follow their instructions.
Tang Huaiyuan: “Don’t worry, he can handle it. Besides, I’ve been racking my brains over this. I also want to see how he’ll resolve this mess.”
The assistant acknowledged and went to the HR department to make the arrangements. The secretary behind Tang Huaiyuan was puzzled. “Is this because of Mr. Qi Wei?”
“Qi Wei told me not to mind him, so why would I do it because of him?” Tang Huaiyuan said lazily, with a hint of emotion. “People in the circle have truly forgotten about Qi Zhao during his seven years abroad.”
The secretary didn’t understand. “Is he that capable?”
Tang Huaiyuan chuckled softly. “During the peak of the real estate boom, when it was supported by the government, he was the one who foresaw that the real estate industry wasn’t sustainable in the long run and suggested that Qi Mu shouldn’t invest all his funds in it. He proposed developing new technologies, focusing on AI… He was only fifteen years old at the time. Tell me, is he capable or not?”
The secretary gasped. “This…”
Tang Huaiyuan twirled the pen in his hand. “Qi Mu thinks that after seven years abroad, he hasn’t kept up with his studies and is no longer capable, and he’s unwilling to trust him… All I can say is, his abilities are still there, but Qi Mu is like a frog in a well. I’m looking forward to Qi Zhao’s performance.”
The secretary thought for a moment. Tang Huaiyuan turned around. “Just say what you want to say.”
The secretary said hesitantly, “Boss, aren’t you afraid he’ll leak confidential information to Mr. Qi Wei…?”
Although they were currently cooperating, there were still conflicts of interest in certain areas, especially since the Qi family now wanted to leverage Qi Wei’s status as a super S-rank alpha to build their business empire.
Tang Huaiyuan burst out laughing. “If I cared about that, Qi Zhao wouldn’t be working under me… and Qi Wei wouldn’t be so infatuated with him.”
He recalled Qi Zhao from the past, so tight-lipped even at such a young age. Even after hearing about a business project accidentally leaked from him, and after being begged repeatedly, he had patiently assured him many times that he wouldn’t tell anyone…
This circle had truly forgotten him for too long.
