Chapter 19 – You better be ready to sell yourself to me

Editor: SleepyMango123 

Proofreader: PenguinStel 🙂

The lady boss served the remaining skewers. “Lad, I haven’t seen you for so long. Your hair looks really nice.”

These words brought Ji Ran back to his senses. After she left, he finally recovered his wits.

“Are you itching for a beating or is the word ‘stupid’ written on my face?” He asked coldly.

He paid the money but still had to give half his bed to Qin Man?

Who was the patron here?!

True enough, it was easier to be impulsive at night. He had nearly agreed without hesitation!

“It’s fine if you aren’t willing. We can continue our current relationship.” Qin Man grinned. “After all, there are some things that you still have a say in. Eat up before it gets cold.”

Ji Ran picked up a lamb skewer and tore into it mercilessly.

“Since so many companies are interested in you, why don’t you go to them?” He swallowed his food. “I don’t know how much your company owes but it can at least fill a portion of the hole. It shouldn’t be to the extent of having debtors knocking on your door.”

“I planned to take a break and not work for the time being. The credit company has also recently become harsher. They increased the interest rate but I’m not willing. So, before we come to an agreement, I will not give them a single cent.”

“Fine,” Ji Ran said. “How can you tell them it’s a big shot who owes them money?”

Qin Man smiled silently.

After supper, they got into the car.

Ji Ran only drank a little. With the two lessons from before, he only drank a few glasses tonight and they were only beer. Now, he felt extremely refreshed. With the window wound down, he took a puff of his cigarette.

He watched the cars speed past him as well as the drivers’ frequent glances. Ji Ran began to grow dissatisfied.

“Can’t you drive faster?” He looked at the barometer. “50km/h? Are you a tortoise? Do you know how to drive? If you don’t, give me the wheel.”

“You’ve drunk. Plus, this is the speed limit of this road.”

“Let them catch us. In the end, it’s you who gets a demerit.” Ji Ran said impatiently. “Drive faster, I’m in a rush to go home to sleep.”

“Okay.”

The needle on the 50km/h mark gradually rose to 55km/h.

Ji Ran couldn’t bear to watch. He turned to the window and thought of the contract they had discussed.

Entering the garage, Ji Ran quickly got out of the car.

“Hey.” He stopped Qin Man. “Give me a few days to think about it.”

Qin Man stopped. “Afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”

“… Laozi is a big man, why should I be scared?” Ji Ran’s voice rose towards the end. “Your price is too high, I have to calculate it. How can I agree to a losing deal?”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you.” Qin Man raised a hand and shook the car key. “Where do I put this?”

“Keep it.” Ji Ran turned around and left for his room. “Take it when you go out. Don’t let my neighbours see you going out of my house and taking public transport. Even if you don’t care about your face, I still do.”

Qin Man laughed, “Public transport isn’t…”

“So long-winded.” The door slammed shut.

“Qin Man personally asked for this much?” Cheng Peng wiped off his sweat and threw the basketball back into the court.

“Yeah.” Ji Ran wasn’t playing so he wore a denim jacket. Sitting on the side, he glanced lazily at the stage. “Is it worth it?”

“He is really worthy of being called Qin Man.” From the side, Yu Wen Wen exclaimed in admiration. “I’ve never seen such an expensive duck.”

Evidently, he hadn’t been paying attention.

“Concentrate on your game. Don’t interrupt while the adults are speaking,” Ji Ran said.

“Hehe, speaking of which, I just discovered an amazing social app. It’s filled with muscular hunks, I’m in love.” Yu Wen Wen told him. “Do you want me to recommend it?”

“No need, keep them for yourself.” Cheng Peng laughed. “You’re so flirty every day but why don’t you have the guts to ask anyone out to play?”

Cheng Peng’s words hit the mark. Yu Wen Wen would spend every day spouting words of infatuation and occasionally go to the night club and rate the attractiveness of all the men present that night.

He only dared to talk about it but he had never seen Yu Wen Wen get involved in something like a one night stand.

“I’m happy as it is. What of it?” Yu Wen Wen happily slid down.

“Enough. What do you think about the price Qin Man raised?”

Cheng Peng drank some water and sat closer to him. After muttering for some time, he asked, “Do you know what I’m thinking of?”

“…I’m not your lover. I don’t have the time to guess what you’re thinking.” Ji Ran frowned. “Spit it out.”

“I’m thinking… Would you discard our friendship if I snatched Qin Man from you.” Cheng Peng laughed. “Do you still need to consider such a price? Do you know how many people are competing over him? I know it isn’t just a few. Moreover, all their offers aren’t bad.”

Cheng Peng gave him a figure.

Looked like Qin Man wasn’t lying to him.

This made Ji Ran even more curious. “Is he really that capable?”

Cheng Peng nodded. “He alone can be considered the most reputable person of our generation. I heard that the first project he took on was worth 8 figures. At that time, he was still in high school. I don’t need to talk about what happened afterwards.”

Ji Ran: “…”

He recalled how he gave Qin Man half his money before and suddenly had the feeling he had profited.

“But I heard there is another reason why he’s so popular.”

“What?”

“Land.”

Ji Ran was taken aback. “Land?”

“En. The Qin family has always been well-off because Qin Man’s father married the daughter of a big shot in agriculture. You probably know this, right? Qin Man’s mother is an only child. I heard that before her grandfather passed, he left her many things, including a portion of land. Do you know the implication of having such a plot of land? It’s more valuable than money itself. Especially since the top began to reclaim quite a few pieces of land in recent years. The compensation for such a piece of land is not something you can imagine.”

“I heard that after Qin Man got the money, he bought the rights to a lot of different land at a low price.” Cheng Peng sighed. “Everywhere is developing now. If this is real, Qin Man simply needs to break off a small section for those companies to fight for it.”

“If these people are so good at constructing rumours, why do they still need to run a company? They can just go into the film industry.” After listening, Ji Ran laughed in disdain. “Why don’t they say that Qin Man is a God in man’s form, an Ares reborn?”

If Qin Man wasn’t crying about how poor he was everyday and how he didn’t have a place to live after being chased by debtors…

He would have believed it.

“This is what I heard. My dad doesn’t want to get involved in the fight so I didn’t investigate further.” Cheng Peng suddenly changed the topic. “But why did he give you such a low price?”

Before Ji Ran could react, Cheng Peng already chuckled. “Looks like your relationship is pretty good.”

Ji Ran: “…”

Recalling Qin Man’s words, his throat tightened. “Don’t talk rubbish. Who has a good relationship with him? We have a simple financial relationship.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Cheng Peng held Chen An and continued, “If you ask me, there’s no need to consider. Quickly sign it. It would be a huge loss if someone else snatched him away.”

“Enough.” Ji Ran ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. “I’ll think about it again.”

“When will Little Man Man move out? I’m waiting to move back in.”

“Even if he leaves, you don’t need to think about it. Return to your own home,” Ji Ran replied.

“You’re so stingy.” Yu Wen Wen moved closer and propped his chin up. “Right, it’s almost time for the race. Are you interested?”

Cheng Peng chimed in, “Don’t you know? He won’t take part.”

“I know… but the prize this time is Chester Kennedy’s autographed gloves.”

Ji Ran’s hands holding his phone paused.

Cheng Peng frowned. “Forget about it. It’s just a pair of gloves. If you want, I’ll help you find another one. This race is hosted by Gu Zhe, it’s definitely full of shit…”

“That glove- You can’t find it.” Ji Ran put down his phone.

Even someone like Ji Ran, who didn’t put anybody else in his eyes from a young age, had an idol he worshipped in his heart.

His idol was the top racer, Chester Kennedy. Unfortunately, he passed away in an accident during a competition years ago.

Chester Kennedy was famous for being low-key. Normally, he wouldn’t accept exclusive interviews and autographs were even rarer. Ji Ran had searched for a long time before finding a uniform shirt the other person had used before.

“When is the competition?” Ji Ran asked.

“Start of next month. Little Ran Ran, forget about the competition. How about I ask Gu Zhe if he’s willing to sell it?”

Ji Ran sneered, “Do you think he’d sell it to you?”

“Nope.” Yu Wen Wen was very honest.

He even wondered if Gu Zhe was doing it deliberately with the mind to target Ji Ran this time.

He hadn’t planned on mentioning it but this was Chester Kennedy’s gloves. If Little Ran Ran missed it, there was no saying how much he would regret it.

“How about this.” Cheng Peng suggested, “We’ll just watch. Once the match ends, we’ll buy it from the victor.”

Yu Wen Wen’s eyes lit up. “I like this idea!”

“Enough.” Ji Ran stood up. “I blacklisted Gu Zhe previously. Help me sign up.”

“You’re really going to enter?” Yu Wen Wen asked.

“Bullshit.” Ji Ran leaned forward to pat off the dirt on his clothes. “I must defeat this grandson until he’s satisfied so that he won’t talk nonsense in front of laozi ever again.”

When Ji Ran returned home, there was no one else there.

After taking a bath, he prepared to make a cup of coffee for himself before noticing the door to Qin Man’s room was ajar.

He stared at the tiny crack for a long time. Finally, he couldn’t resist going over.

This was his home. Qin Man didn’t shut the door properly… it wasn’t his fault.

He didn’t enter, but simply stood outside the door and looked in.

The guest room was extremely clean as if there hadn’t been any change. If not for the laptop on the table, he would have thought there was no one living here.

How boring.

After Ji Ran returned to his room, he stared at the various posters on his wall alongside the miniature race car figurines arranged neatly on a shelf. He could finally feel at home.

Just as he was about to look for Cheng Peng regarding more details, a message came in.

【Unknown Number: What kind of conditions did you give to Qin Man in private? He said he’s waiting for your reply. What does that mean?】

【Unknown Number: Don’t interfere. The company has nothing to do with you.】

He quickly realised who it was.

Fuck, did this Qin Man go and discuss matters with Ji Wei again?

Without thinking, he called Qin Man. The other side picked up very quickly but there was a lot of noise in the background.

“What is it?” Qin Man asked.

“Didn’t I tell you I need some time to consider? Why the hell did you go look for Ji Wei? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to afford it?”

From Qin Man’s side, a friend threw him a curious gaze which he simply gave a light cough in response. He made a hand gesture and went outside.

He wasn’t afraid that Ji Ran wouldn’t put out his money.

He was afraid Ji Ran wasn’t willing to put out himself.

“I didn’t contact Ji Wei.” Coming to a quieter area, Qin Man finally replied. “It was him who called me. But you don’t have to worry. I’m waiting for your reply so I haven’t agreed to him yet.”

“…” Ji Ran just realised he had been too rash.

So he no longer bothered to hide his overbearingness. “No way, you’re not allowed to pick up his calls either.”

Qin Man laughed helplessly. “You don’t want me, but you also don’t want me to look for others. What kind of logic is this?”

“Who said I don’t want-”

The other side suddenly grew silent while Qin Man restrained a smile. “Hmm?”

“…It’s just an employer contract, do you need to be so mushy?” Ji Ran shut his eyes in a grimace and swept his hair back in frustration.

After a moment. “… I’ll get someone to prepare the contract.”

“You better be ready to sell yourself to me.”

Qin Man’s eyes lowered. This result was completely within his expectations.

“Alright,” He smiled. “I’m always ready for you.”

T/n: Wonder who’s selling who? Thinking.jpg