DCEO VS DCEO | Chapter 5

What? Talk things over? This isn’t going according to plan!

Yao Jing, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, started to panic. Based on how their last meeting had gone, weren’t they supposed to be yelling at each other, trading insults, throwing punches, and becoming sworn enemies?

Why were they suddenly so calm after being “caught in bed together”? Why did they want to talk?

No. He couldn’t let them have that chance.

Drooping his shoulders, Yao Jing hid behind Gu Zhan and said with reddened eyes, “President Gu, this is all my fault. I’d like to leave first.”

Out of the many strategies in Yao Jing’s sleeve, retreat was the best one. Yao Jing figured he should run now, then later think up some excuse. With enough tears, complaints, and coquettish pleading, no man could resist. He refused to believe he couldn’t fool these two.

“Jingjing, you don’t need to be afraid of him.” Fu Yan calmly swept his gaze over the cameras surrounding them. “Since members of the media are here, President Gu, why don’t you explain to everyone exactly how you forced someone into becoming your boyfriend?”

“Bullshit!” Gu Zhan snapped. “Do I look like someone who needs to force anyone? Why don’t we talk about you forcing someone into a hotel room?”

“When did I force anyone into a hotel room?” Fu Yan asked, baffled.

Yao Jing was truly panicking now. He couldn’t let them continue.

“President Fu, President Gu, please stop... My head hurts...”

For once, he wasn’t entirely pretending. His head genuinely hurt. The situation had spiraled out of control, and he had no idea how to salvage his image as the helpless, innocent victim.

Fu Yan immediately stepped forward and put an arm around his shoulders.

“Jingjing, what’s wrong?”

“Excuse me.”

A sweet voice came from the hallway.

“Mr. Fu, the suite you requested has been prepared. Here is your room key. Would you like someone to show you there now?”

The three of them looked at each other.

Actually, Fu Yan was the only one who remained completely composed.

The timing of room service was perfect. If he had truly dragged Yao Jing here with bad intentions, there would have been no reason to book a second room.

Gu Zhan also sensed that something was off. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Yao Jing.

Yao Jing didn’t dare meet his gaze. The moment he saw those sharp, intelligent eyes, he guiltily lowered his head.

Seeing his guilty expression, Fu Yan began to suspect the truth.

His voice remained gentle, but there was now a clear edge to it.

“Jingjing, why exactly did President Gu come here tonight?”

“I... I...”

Yao Jing’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment.

Fu Yan was the kind of person with a strong protective instinct. But once he had reached a conclusion, no amount of tears or weakness would sway him. He trusted his own judgment more than anything.

He looked at Yao Jing coldly.

“If you still refuse to tell the truth, not only does President Gu have ways to stop you from livestreaming—I think I do too.”

Gu Zhan frowned.

When had he ever threatened to stop Yao Jing from livestreaming?

At this point, the truth could no longer be hidden.

Yao Jing finally confessed everything.

How he had slandered Gu Zhan.

How he had tricked Fu Yan into going to the mall.

How he had lured Gu Zhan here tonight to “catch them in the act.”

He laid everything out.

By the time he was halfway through, Gu Zhan couldn’t bear listening anymore.

He hurriedly kicked all the media and PR people out of the room.

What a joke.

He had made such a huge spectacle, only to discover it was all one giant misunderstanding.

He’d become the punchline.

Seizing the opportunity amid the commotion, Yao Jing quietly slipped away.

This time, the little “fox spirit” had truly played with fire and gotten burned.

Maybe neither CEO would bother crushing a nobody like him, but both of them had repeatedly been dragged into embarrassing situations because of him. Gu Zhan had even gotten injured twice.

Yao Jing could already imagine how difficult life in Beijing was about to become.

But who could he blame?

No one but himself.

His greed had brought this upon him.

Lies were like holes dug by desire. Once a person indulged a small craving and told a small lie, they inevitably needed bigger lies to cover it up. Tiny cracks accumulated into chasms, endlessly widening until they swallowed the liar whole.

After everyone left, only Gu Zhan and Fu Yan remained.

Their eyes met several times, only to slide away again.

Neither seemed sure what to say.

The atmosphere became strangely awkward.

Gu Zhan slowly strolled over to the sofa, rolled his stiff neck, intertwined his fingers, and sat down.

Compared to Fu Yan, he appeared completely at ease.

After all, his little schemes had all remained hidden in the shadows.

On the surface, the only visible mistake was that Fu Yan had misjudged him and wrongfully accused him.

Things had somehow worked out in Gu Zhan’s favor.

Not only had Fu Yan misunderstood the “innocent” President Gu, he had nearly stolen someone else’s lover, repeatedly clashed with Gu Zhan without knowing the truth, humiliated him, and even injured him.

As someone who excelled at negotiations, Gu Zhan knew this was the perfect moment to take the high ground.

The more calm and dignified he appeared, the more control he would have.

Sure enough, after glancing several times at Gu Zhan’s leisurely, almost arrogant posture, Fu Yan looked increasingly uncomfortable.

He knew perfectly well that Gu Zhan was waiting for him to make the first move.

After all, Fu Yan was the one in the wrong.

Yao Jing’s innocent appearance had fooled him.

Gu Zhan’s strong personality had naturally put them at odds.

And Fu Yan’s instinct to protect the weak had hit every one of his blind spots.

There was no avoiding it.

He could only accept responsibility.

Born into privilege, proud but broad-minded, Fu Yan wasn’t the type to stubbornly cling to his pride.

This time, he walked over first.

He decided it was time to get to know the President Gu of Slungshot properly.

His father often praised Gu Zhan’s capabilities. And Slungshot was indeed one of the leading cross-border e-commerce companies in the country.

There would likely be opportunities for cooperation between Fu Group and Slungshot in the future.

In the adult world, interests often outweighed grudges.

One moment you were enemies; the next, you could be friends.

With an elegant smile, Fu Yan extended his hand.

Gu Zhan knew exactly when to stop pushing.

He immediately stood up and added at just the right moment:

“Don’t worry, President Fu. Those were all media outlets we work with. No one will dare spread tonight’s events.”

Fu Yan nodded approvingly.

Smiling, Gu Zhan shook his hand.

This time he didn’t squeeze hard on purpose.

Instead, his hand simply slid lightly into Fu Yan’s palm.

Fu Yan instinctively glanced down.

The hand was beautifully shaped, with long fingers and distinct knuckles, like a sculpture carved from flawless white marble.

Yet it was warmer and more alive than marble.

Its palm held a faint blush and the subtle warmth of human skin.

The only thought that crossed Fu Yan’s mind was:

President Gu has very beautiful hands.

Gu Zhan seemed to notice that he had held on a little too long and looked at him suspiciously.

Without showing any embarrassment, Fu Yan casually turned Gu Zhan’s hand over on his own.

“How’s your arm injury? I was reckless that day. I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s nothing serious. It’s already healed.”

Smiling, Gu Zhan withdrew his hand and flexed it a couple of times.

“That’s good.”

Fu Yan nodded.

“This whole matter was my misunderstanding. Whenever President Gu has time, allow me to treat you to a meal and make amends.”

“You’re being too serious. I was also at fault. Dinner sounds great. I heard your company recently launched a new business division. I’m very interested in it. Would President Fu have time to tell me more?”

Back when they were fighting over someone, neither would yield an inch.

Now that they were exchanging polite formalities, neither would yield an inch either.

Fu Yan instructed his secretary to coordinate schedules, and within a few days the apology dinner was arranged.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

In a Japanese-style restaurant, a decorative fountain near the entrance produced a gentle trickling melody.

Two tall, handsome men sat facing each other in a private booth.

“This restaurant’s sashimi is exceptionally fresh,” Fu Yan said. “It’s flown in daily from Hokkaido. I didn’t spend much time in China before, but whenever I came back, I always ate here.”

“Mhm.”

Gu Zhan smiled and tasted a piece.

“It really is fresh.”

“Then eat more.”

Fu Yan stood and poured him some wine.

Gu Zhan immediately rose and stopped him.

Fu Yan brushed aside the refusal.

“You have to drink this one. I injured you twice. If you don’t accept this toast, I’ll feel terrible.”

Gu Zhan thought:

So you know I got hurt twice. And you think one glass of wine is enough to settle it?

But outwardly he remained cheerful.

“What are you saying, President Fu? I came here to make a friend, not to drink free wine. But since you’re pouring it yourself, how could I refuse?”

They raised their glasses and drank.

After a few rounds of small talk, Gu Zhan smoothly steered the conversation toward business.

He pulled a proposal from his briefcase.

“I’ve always been interested in your company’s self-operated logistics project. I heard you’re looking for partners. Would Slungshot have the honor of participating?”

Fu Yan accepted the proposal and flipped through a few pages.

“The first phase is basically finalized. Several partners have already signed letters of intent. To be honest, joining now is a bit late.”

He paused.

“And although Fu Group is leading the project, we can’t just insert a partner whenever we want. If word got out, people would say we were using our size to bully smaller companies.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

A trace of disappointment flashed through Gu Zhan’s eyes.

Fu Yan glanced at him.

This was awkward.

He had just sincerely apologized, yet now when Gu Zhan was asking for help, he seemed completely uncooperative.

That didn’t sit right with him.

Although Gu Zhan appeared unconcerned about their earlier misunderstandings, bringing out the proposal now was clearly giving Fu Yan an opportunity to compensate him.

And Gu Zhan was clever.

As the injured party, asking for a favor wasn’t excessive.

Besides, Fu Yan hated feeling indebted to Gu Zhan.

As long as he hadn’t made up for this mistake, it would continue bothering him.

And now he had an opportunity.

After considering carefully, he said:

“However, a letter of intent isn’t a final contract. My father has always admired President Gu. Since you’ve brought it up today, I’ll show him your proposal when I get back.”

“That would be wonderful.”

Gu Zhan immediately moved to toast him.

Fu Yan stopped him.

“Don’t thank me yet. At best, Fu Group might be able to allocate a few percentage points of the project to Slungshot. We can’t go back on agreements with partners we’ve already negotiated with.”

“And I’ve only recently started getting involved in company operations. I can’t guarantee anything. I’ll need to attend meetings first before I can give you a definite answer.”

It wasn’t an outright promise.

But compared to people who made grand guarantees over drinks and forgot everything once sober, Fu Yan’s answer felt far more sincere.

Gu Zhan looked at him.

Fu Yan wasn’t quite what he had imagined.

He lacked the arrogance and recklessness common among wealthy second-generation heirs.

Nor was he like the smiling foxes Gu Zhan usually dealt with in business.

The two continued chatting casually for a while.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

“Yan-ge? You’re back in China?”

A young man in his early twenties entered the restaurant.

He wore graffiti-print overalls and a knit cap, and immediately spotted Fu Yan by the window.

“Yeah.”

Fu Yan looked up, pleasantly surprised to see an old acquaintance.

“How long have you been back?”

“Almost two months.”

“Huh?”

The young man approached and noticed the person sitting across from Fu Yan.

Grinning teasingly, he said:

“Yan-ge, you’ve changed your type.”

The comment was directed at Fu Yan, but his eyes were already fixed on the handsome stranger across from him.

His bright gaze openly wandered over Gu Zhan.

President Gu was accustomed to attracting this sort of attention wherever he went.

Normally he would respond with a charming smile.

Today, however, his smile was a little stiff.

It was obvious the young man had misunderstood his relationship with Fu Yan.

Unlike Fu Yan, he still preferred not to reveal his sexuality in business circles.

Fu Yan quickly introduced him.

“This is a business partner of mine, President Gu from Slungshot.”

“Oh, that explains it.”

The young man smiled sweetly.

“I was wondering. I thought your type had always been people like me.”

He extended a hand toward Gu Zhan.

“Hello, handsome. Just call me Hua Jiu. I’m Yan-ge’s ex-boyfriend. I have an exhibition at the art center this month. If you’re interested, come take a look.”

“Of course. I’ll definitely stop by if I have time.”

Gu Zhan shook his hand politely.

Hua Jiu seemed reluctant to let go.

“Handsome, can I ask something? Are you straight or gay? Seriously, the moment I walked in, I noticed your table. You can’t blame me for misunderstanding. The two of you look incredibly good together. But you two—”

Sensing Gu Zhan’s discomfort, Fu Yan interrupted.

“Xiao Jiu, President Gu and I still have business to discuss. How about we catch up another time?”

“Oh. Okay.”

Though carefree by nature, Hua Jiu wasn’t oblivious.

“Sorry for interrupting. You two continue. I’m meeting some friends inside.”

He waved cheerfully and left.

Fu Yan smiled awkwardly.

“That’s just how he is. Don’t mind him.”

Gu Zhan shook his head.

Watching Hua Jiu walk away, he commented:

“He’s pretty cute.”