Gu Zhan met his gaze, the answer already clear in his eyes.

“I was originally planning to tell you after everything was settled. Since you happened to see it now, I might as well tell you, so you don’t overthink it.” Fu Yan opened the drawer and handed him the document envelope.

Gu Zhan took it suspiciously and opened it. After flipping through the papers for a while, his expression changed.

“This is...? You’re buying the domestic distribution rights for the Japanese brand from Chenglang?”

“Yeah. I asked Li You to handle it for me.” Fu Yan swallowed his pills in one gulp. “This is the letter of intent. Li You and Chen Lang are officially signing the contract tomorrow, and I’ll be discharged tomorrow, so I’ll go over and take a look. Thanks to you reporting Chen Lang to the tax authorities, he’s scrambling everywhere for money now, selling off whatever he can to fill the holes in his accounts.”

Gu Zhan stared at the contract. “But this price... Isn’t it about ten times what Chen Lang originally agreed to pay the Japanese brand? President Fu, no wonder Li You said you’re an idiot with too much money.”

Fu Yan smiled. “If we acquire the distribution rights now and immediately get the Japanese brand to supply us, we should still be able to make Slungshot’s final shipping deadline. A brand’s reputation with its customers is the most important thing. I think it’s worth paying any price.”

He placed both hands on Gu Zhan’s shoulders and looked sincerely into his eyes, worried that Gu Zhan might refuse.

Originally, Fu Yan had planned to tell him only after everything was settled because he was afraid Gu Zhan would think spending this much money was irrational or unnecessary. He was also worried that Gu Zhan might feel burdened and refuse his help.

Gu Zhan thought for a moment but didn’t directly reject him.

“Actually, I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing about Chen Lang either. I’ve been having people investigate him these past few days. I just didn’t tell you about the progress because you needed to rest. In fact, I already have important evidence that can bring him down. He won’t be able to act arrogant for much longer.”

“Can that evidence solve Slungshot’s shipping problem with the Japanese brand?”

Gu Zhan paused before answering honestly. “Not exactly, but...”

Fu Yan pressed his thumb gently against Gu Zhan’s lips, his palm cradling Gu Zhan’s cheek as he stroked it.

“You can think about it this way. On the surface, we’re paying far above market price for the Japanese brand’s distribution rights. But doing so can save Slungshot’s reputation with its customers in time, sparing you from having to spend even more money and effort repairing the damage later. So isn’t this contract actually a reasonable expense?”

Gu Zhan was silent for a moment.

He had to admit that fixing a problem before it became worse was certainly better than trying to repair the damage afterward. If he himself could suddenly come up with this much capital, he might also consider directly acquiring the distribution rights.

After all, Slungshot was his own “child,” something he had built from the ground up. It mattered more to him than anything.

But Fu Yan didn’t have to do this.

This was Gu Zhan’s business, not Fu Yan’s family company, Fu Corporation.

He remembered what Fu Chuyin had said: Fu Yan wants to help you protect Slungshot.

All this time, Fu Yan really had treated Slungshot as though it mattered even more than his own career.

“You... Why would you spend so much money...? You’re practically throwing money away...” The usually eloquent President Gu suddenly found himself stumbling over his words.

Fu Yan noticed the emotion in his eyes and smiled contentedly.

“Of course it’s because... I’m completely head over heels for you. Gu Zhan, everything you value is equally important to me. From now on, we shouldn’t distinguish between what’s yours and what’s mine, right?”

Gu Zhan’s eyes glistened as he met those dark eyes and nodded.

“Yeah. From now on, there’s no yours or mine.”

“As for you thinking I’m wasteful...” Fu Yan thought for a moment. “From now on, you manage the money in our household. It’s never wrong to let the wife manage the family finances.”

Gu Zhan glared at him. “You keep calling me ‘wife’ so naturally. Have you forgotten how long it’s been since I last ‘put you back in your place’?”

“Go ahead.” Fu Yan raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Why don’t you take a nap with me? Li You and the others were so noisy. I’m actually more tired than usual today.”

“Then lie down.” Gu Zhan hurriedly helped him back onto the bed. “You need to rest more so you can recover quickly. Don’t worry about things you shouldn’t be worrying about. Come on, be a good boy and lie down.”

He pulled the quilt over Fu Yan and carefully tucked him in.

Fu Yan grabbed his arm. “Aren’t you coming up?”

“I’ll move the companion bed over and lie beside you.”

“No.”

Fu Yan leaned against him, wrapping his arms around Gu Zhan’s waist and snuggling into his embrace.

“You... Don't you want me? Hmm?”

Gu Zhan naturally knew exactly what he meant. His eyelid twitched as he gently refused.

“Stop fooling around. You’re being discharged tomorrow. What are you in such a hurry for?”

Of course Fu Yan was in a hurry.

The two of them had finally gotten back together. They should have been passionately rekindling their relationship, but then his body had gone and let him down. They could see each other every day but couldn’t do anything. Now that the “equipment” had finally been repaired, who could possibly stand it?

Fu Yan rubbed against him, his deep voice filled with suggestiveness.

“Precisely because I’m being discharged tomorrow. If you don’t hurry up and check this one off the list, we’re going to miss out on the hospital setting.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Gu Zhan pushed him away and walked briskly over to the cabinet on the other side of the room. With a perfectly serious expression, he poured himself some water and then gulped down more than half a glass in one go.

Fu Yan wasn’t willing to give up. He continued gazing at him meaningfully.

Gu Zhan didn’t dare look at him. He shot him a glance, immediately looked away, and continued drinking from the glass.

“Don’t get any funny ideas. You’re still weak. Do you really think you can even take someone right now?”

Fu Yan refused to give up. He decided to retreat in order to advance, planning to lure Gu Zhan over first and figure out the rest later. He continued giving him suggestive looks.

“I don’t want to top you either,” Gu Zhan said coldly.

He was worried about Fu Yan.

Fu Yan had been seriously injured for his sake. Even when they took walks a little longer than usual, Gu Zhan worried that he might get tired. There was no way he could indulge his own desires and rush into something like this with a patient. What if it affected Fu Yan’s recovery and left some lasting problems? He couldn’t bear that.

Although Fu Yan, dressed in his blue hospital gown, was staring fixedly at him with an expression that made it painfully obvious how much he wanted him. It was incredibly endearing and made Gu Zhan want to protect him, and made him want to...

Gu Zhan abruptly set down the nearly empty glass.

“You should take a good nap.”

With that, he hurried out of the hospital room.

The heating in the room must have been turned up way too high. He needed to get outside and cool down.

Fu Yan watched his flustered retreat and smiled.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Early the next morning, after completing the discharge procedures, the two walked out of the hospital side by side.

Gu Zhan stuffed the luggage into the trunk. Fu Yan watched all the bags and tried to lend a hand, but Gu Zhan pushed him away.

“That one’s heavy. Don’t touch it.”

Fu Yan’s hand froze in midair, and a smile spread across his lips.

It felt so good to have someone worry about him~

After loading the luggage, Gu Zhan walked around to the side of the car and opened the door for him. He carefully shielded the top of the door, afraid Fu Yan might bump his head, and made sure he was safely seated before returning to the driver’s seat.

“How are you feeling? Tired?”

“I only walked a few steps. Why would I be tired?” Fu Yan laughed.

“It’s just...” Gu Zhan cleared his throat. “I was worried you might have overexerted yourself last night and not have any energy today.”

Fu Yan leaned close to his ear, his voice low.

“President Gu is so considerate. And you wouldn’t even let me go all the way last night. What would I be tired from?”

“Okay, I’m driving now.”

Gu Zhan moved his burning ear away and reminded him, “Put on your seat belt.”

“Mm.”

Fu Yan obediently fastened his seat belt.

“Let’s go to that teahouse on Changan Road first. We’ll go see Chen Lang together.”

“Okay.”

Gu Zhan started the car.

Before long, they arrived near the teahouse Chen Lang frequented.

Fu Yan sent Li You a message. Li You replied, Done.

The two exchanged a glance, got out of the car, and entered the teahouse.

At that moment, Chen Lang thought he had just gotten an incredible bargain from a rich second-generation heir who was an idiot with too much money.

He was eagerly pouring tea for Li You.

“Brother Li, try this Shengjian tea. Can you taste how old it is?”

Li You hurried over and pressed down on his hand.

“President Chen, you’re too polite. You’re practically an elder to me. How could I possibly let you personally pour my tea?”

Chen Lang continued pouring with a beaming smile.

“Ah, this time I really have to thank Brother Li for helping me out in a tight spot. Let me use this cup of tea to show my appreciation. If your older brother ever gets a chance to make a fortune in the future, I certainly won’t forget you. Hahaha.”

“President Chen, you flatter me.”

Li You humbly accepted the purple clay teacup and brought it to his nose for a gentle sniff.

Then, suddenly, he looked toward the doorway.

“Fu Yan, you bastard, you finally made it. Want to try President Chen’s Shengjian? I don’t know anything about tea. President Chen said this cup is to thank me for helping him out, so I think you’re the one who should drink it.”

As soon as Chen Lang heard this, his expression stiffened.

“President Fu and President Gu, what brings you here?”

Fu Yan walked over to Li You and took the contract he handed him. He flipped through it, then looked at Chen Lang with a smile.

“Obviously, I’m here to collect my contract.”

“You bought the Japanese brand’s distribution rights?”

Chen Lang shot to his feet, his eyes widening in disbelief. He then looked toward Gu Zhan beside him, his expression filled with resentment.

“President Fu is helping Slungshot?”

The two looked at him calmly.

Their silence was confirmation enough.

Chen Lang had already completely fallen out with Gu Zhan. He hadn’t expected Gu Zhan to be such a tough opponent.

After all his efforts, he hadn’t even managed to get Feifan Select, but at least Slungshot’s brand reputation would take a substantial hit. That gave him some consolation even as he scrambled around for money to fill the holes in his accounts.

But who could have expected Gu Zhan to somehow get Fu Yan to produce such a huge amount of capital, allowing him to directly buy back the Japanese brand’s domestic distribution rights?

Chen Lang’s hand inside his suit sleeve clenched tightly.

He was furious.

He regretted rushing around frantically to raise money and losing his head in the process. Why hadn’t he thought things through more carefully before selling the Japanese brand’s distribution rights?

No matter how much he regretted it, he couldn’t afford to lose face.

Chen Lang gave a couple of mocking laughs, deliberately maintaining his composure as he sat back down.

“It’s just the distribution rights to some Japanese brand. President Fu paid ten times the market price for them. Does your father know about this? Director Fu is such a meticulous and calculating man. If he found out, wouldn’t he jump straight out of his hospital bed? Oh, right. Could it be that he’s already too sick to manage you?”

“Enough with the sarcasm!”

Fu Yan angrily stepped forward, grabbed Chen Lang by the collar, and hauled him to his feet.

“Watch your mouth. Who do you think you are to talk about my father like that?”

Fu Yan had long since learned how to deal with the superficial politeness and maneuvering of the business world. But whenever he encountered Chen Lang—the bastard who was always fawning around his father—his anger immediately flared up.

He had absolutely no desire to show this kind of person even the slightest courtesy.

This bastard didn’t deserve it.

“Young people are so hot-tempered.” Chen Lang pried at his fingers, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “I wasn’t talking about your father. I was talking about you. Remember, half a month ago, right here in this very teahouse, President Fu was talking about quite a big game. You said you were going to kick me out of the game, that you’d eat the meat and wouldn’t even let me have the soup. But what happened?”

He paused and glanced disdainfully at his secretary.

The secretary snickered along in agreement.

“In the end, you came running to me and handed me all this money. It’s far more than I would’ve made selling the Japanese-brand goods originally, and I didn’t even have to lift a finger. From the standpoint of a business partner, I should actually thank you, President Fu. But from the standpoint of a father, if I had a prodigal son like you, I’d be so angry I’d jump right out of bed too. Hahaha.”

Chen Lang laughed triumphantly.

Several of his accompanying employees saw their boss gaining the upper hand and joined in with laughter, looking at Fu Yan mockingly.

Fu Yan glared furiously at him, his lips pressed tightly together as though he were forcing himself to endure it.

A moment later—

“President Chen.”

Gu Zhan looked at him calmly and let out a contemptuous laugh.

“Did you perhaps not read the contract carefully?”