Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Confession on the Ferry Boat III (1/2)
“Say, don’t we resemble Jack and Rose from the Titanic? Too bad we can’t get on the ferry together.”
“I won’t go to the gambling house ever again.”
“I believe in you.”
“I, I…”
Those words of love had lost its chance of being ever said again.
The weirdest thing in life would probably be the fact that you would never know when there would be a second chance if you missed the one before your eyes.
What if? What if.
……
Mr. Ji pointed at the drawings displayed on the screen. His voice was slightly agitated: “This was what my father had taken a liking to, but…”
Not just one, but several people realized the strange insinuation in those words.
Had. But.
What was he trying to say? Everyone had the same suspicions in their hearts.
Mr. Ji continued, “Yesterday evening, we received a … late drawing submission.”
The screen changed, and all those drawings disappeared without a trace, replaced by the empty screen. Along with the click of the mouse, the last drawing appeared.
The room went silent.
The SI team was already in complete confusion as they slowly turned their questioning gazes towards their leaders. It was then, that they realized how dejected their design director looked. As for Lin Zhou… the smile on his face was frozen. The face that was always graceful and calm was now replaced with a twisted expression.
YL’s team did not have many attendees, but only two of them knew the truth. The rest were also puzzled about what was going on. What was worse, was that they dared not shift their gazes onto Yan Jin. They could only imagine what happened during the last evening on their own.
However, they did not lose their self-composure like SI. After all –
That drawing that filled up the entire screen had YL’s low-profile – a silver watermark. At this ver moment, that mark looked as if it were glowing.
Then, the elderly man spoke again:
“I would like to meet that designer.”
His gaze was directed straight at Yan Jin. The latter then stood up calmly as he replied respectfully: “I’m very sorry, Mr. Louis. This designer is very mysterious; they are not willing to reveal any information about themselves and they did not want to appear in person.”
The elderly man did not press on. Instead, he sighed regretfully: “Then it seems that I have wasted a trip.”
Yan Jin paused for a moment, and then replied, “To be able to receive your recognition, I would like to thank you on the behalf of YL Corporation.”
That was nothing but a speech by the winner. As soon as Yan Jin finished his sentence, YL’s team immediately clapped their hands loudly. In contrast to SI’s team on the other side, their clapping was obviously half-hearted. They did not look good as they watched the cooked duck flying away¹. The deal that was already in their hands ended up being snatched away by a nameless drawing – who could have accepted that well?
That being said, one such person just sprang up from their seat.
“Mr. Ji, Chairman Yan.” Lin Zhou barely maintained his usual image, even though anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was forcing himself to smile: “May I ask why this drawing ultimately won? Also, why was there no name on this drawing?”
The moment Lin Zhou pointed that out, he realized how forceful his attitude was, unlike the usual image that he was trying to uphold. Lin Zhou immediately added, “After all, this was a fair competition. As the opponent, we would like to know where we were lacking.”
When they heard the word ‘fair competition’, SI’s team sported awkward expressions. YL’s team however, did not have much of a reaction except for Yan Jin, as the edge of his lips slightly curled up.
It was not that Yan Jin had never used any underhanded methods before. It was just that the majority of the things that happened did not require him to use those methods. But, there was a ‘what if’ in every situation. An example would be like this time around, this special deal, that special elderly man…
PONG.
The wooden crutch hit the floor with a loud and dull sound.
Mr. Ji jolted as he immediately bent over and positioned his ears at the elderly man’s side.
“Let’s go.” That was the only thing the elderly man said.
“Yes, Father.”
When they both went past Lin Zhou without any signs of stopping, the obvious neglect was like a harsh slap on Lin Zhou’s face, making his face red with embarrassment.
Indeed, for a private deal like this order, the most important assessment was the client’s opinion. No matter the circumstances, the clients would usually give some explanation. The common reasons were ‘personal preference’, or etc. – that would be more accepting for the losing party.
But, never did Lin Zhou expect that this elderly man would react out of the norm.
When the elderly man passed by Yan Jin’s side, he raised his hand to gesture Mr. Ji to stop.
“You, well done.” The elderly man’s eyesight had deteriorated over the years, which led to him to be unable to see things that were at a slight distance away. The world was a blur in his eyes, yet he could see things that most people could not see – like the human heart, the future, and the talented young man who was suppressing his ambitious heart.
The elderly man slowly reached his right hand out, removed something, and placed it in Yan Jin’s palm.
“The Yan family can’t hold you back anymore.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Louis.”
Yan Jin revealed a rare, satisfied smile as he earned the thing that he wanted the most from this competition.
Mr. Ji then pushed the elderly man out of the doors and left with the two bodyguards that were guarding them.
Left behind were the people who were dumbstruck by the situation, as they looked at each other in dismay.
“It ended just like that?”
“Where is the judging panel? Didn’t they mention that there was a judging panel? Points weren’t even given.”
“Why did YL… didn’t they say…”
“Shhh…”
“That drawing was indeed a great one – it’s probably YL’s greatest creation ever?”