Chapter 1808: Side Story – Juniors (59): Pleasing, Enemy Camp, A Man’s Secret_2

It’s said that his dad is quite the combative type, did some earth-shattering things when he was young. He was wondering if this guy would find a secluded spot for a face-off or something.

What does this mean now?

Trying to curry favor with me? A sugar-coated bomb? What is he up to?

But with Duan Yiyang being so courteous, Qi Lie could only be even more gracious.

Initially, he was very vigilant. After being absorbed in the game, he completely forgot about it. However, at the end of the experience, Qi Lie did raise a lot of constructive opinions. Being an outsider, the feelings were more genuine.

"Thank you, your suggestions are very objective." Duan Yiyang noted down all his advice.

Qi Lie looked at Duan Yiyang. With only the two of them present, he spoke frankly:

"Duan Yiyang, you know me, right?"

"Qi Lie." Duan Yiyang was still tapping on the computer, jotting down his words.

"You know me, but you still approach me? No confidentiality agreement, yet you let me test the new game—aren’t you afraid I might reveal these things to your competitor?"

"My dad says Qi Uncle might not be to his liking, but on the business battlefield, he’s a respectable adversary. They’ve clashed countless times over the years, never playing underhanded tricks. I believe you being his son, naturally, wouldn’t be like that." Duan Yiyang spoke the truth.

As the saying goes:

Your deepest understanding may not come from your friends, but from your adversaries.

The two have been at it for years, if one side was some sneaky villain, considering their personalities, despite being the world’s richest, they wouldn’t even bother looking at them.

Qi Lie chuckled. These words were indirect flattery. Who doesn’t like hearing compliments?

Most importantly, Qi Lie didn’t possess God’s perspective. How could he guess that Duan Yiyang approached him with other intentions, truly harboring ulterior motives, or know that his sister was bold enough to have interactions with the Duan siblings?

"Moreover, the conflicts between the elders have nothing to do with you and me, do they? Is it necessary to engage in a fight every time we meet?" Duan Yiyang laughed.

Qi Lie smirked, "Conflicts?"

He really wanted to say:

Friction from kindergarten counts as a conflict?

To be blunt, it’s just the two of them being stubborn, unwilling to bow down—both with children already, what’s the fuss about?

"Although this is our first meeting, it feels like we’ve known each other for years." Duan Yiyang closed the laptop.

"That’s true."

Qi Lie knew quite a bit about Duan Yiyang from Zeyan, and vice versa. So even though it was their first meeting, they understood each other fairly well.

"It’s rare to meet, and you’ve helped me a lot. Originally, I wanted to invite you to dinner, but I have an important meeting at four and need to return to the company. Here’s a small gift to thank you for your help today."

Duan Yiyang handed him a box, containing the latest AI gaming glasses.

Qi Lie recognized the item, knowing it was newly launched and not cheap, "You’re too polite. I wasn’t just helping; I had a lot of fun myself."

Primarily, Duan Yiyang was so polite that Qi Lie could only reciprocate accordingly.

Otherwise, it would seem too impolite.

"It’s rare in the market, but my company has plenty of them, no need to be so courteous."

"Then I won’t be courteous." Qi Lie knew this wasn’t anything rare for Duan Yiyang, and the Duan Family didn’t lack money. He thanked him and accepted it, "But today’s matter..."

"Our little secret between us."

Qi Lie chuckled:

This guy, really sensible.

"If you have any thoughts on the game experience, feel free to reach out to me."

"Sure." Qi Lie wasn’t one to be pretentious, the two families didn’t have some deep-seated hatred, no need to make meeting awkward with major enmity. Besides, he enjoyed himself today.

"Let’s exchange contact info."

"Sure."

Without much thought, Qi Lie exchanged WeChat and phone numbers with him.

Duan Yiyang originally wanted to drive him back, but Qi Lie refused. Without driving, he hailed a taxi. On the way back, he was still pondering—actually, the Duan Family wasn’t as detestable as his father made them out to be.

The Duan boy knew how to get along with people, and they had a good time together. He got to freely experience a new game and even received a gift, feeling a bit bad.

When Qi Lie returned, Zeyan was surprisingly home, seeing him so cheerful, he teased:

"After lunch, you said you were going for a walk, and you strolled back nearly at five. Quite a long walk."

Qi Lie awkwardly smiled, putting away the glasses.

Zeyan noticed his little action, but didn’t ask much. Instead, he talked about other things, "By the way, how are you and Ruan Ruan doing lately?"

"Ruan Ruan?" Qi Lie scratched his few strands of curly hair on top of his head.

"Didn’t I ask you to pursue her? Didn’t you take my words to heart? Don’t let outsiders benefit; Ruan Ruan’s a good girl..."

Qi Lie forced a laugh. No matter how good, it’s unrelated to him—she already has a boyfriend. Besides, he has no chemistry with her, yet his dad liked to meddle.

"She should be back to Beijing in a few days. When she does, we’ll go to her place for dinner—perfect for you to develop a rapport."

Qi Lie felt dizzy.

...

As winter nights draw longer, darkness fell soon after five. Zeyan and Ruan Mengxi were both home for a rare occasion, the four of them gathered around the table for a warm family dinner.

Until Qi Lie coughed lightly, cleared his throat: "Dad, I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"What deep grudge do you have with the Duan Family that’s irreconcilable?"

As soon as this was said, the atmosphere around the dining table fell sharply. Ruan Mengxi was just observing, while Qi Zhiyi stirred the porridge before him with chopsticks, feigning indifference. Zeyan put down his chopsticks, and looked at Qi Lie seriously: "Why are you asking this?"

"I went to see a robotics exhibition today and spotted the Duan Family’s booth, so just asking casually."

"Don’t talk during meals."

Everyone: "..."

In fact, at Qi Family’s dining table, Zeyan was usually the one who spoke the most.

He took a sip of porridge, looked at the siblings, "Anyway, there’s not a single good person in the Duan Family. Keep away from them, far away."

The siblings nodded in agreement, though Zeyan was unaware that both siblings have already interacted with the Duan Family. Both were worried about their family finding out, so nobody dared to say a thing.

**

At this time, Duan Yiyang just ended his meeting, waiting for his meal. His phone buzzed with a message from Qi Lie:

[Thanks for the glasses, let’s have dinner sometime.]

The item was nothing previous for the Duan Family, but Qi Lie felt it was inappropriate to accept it for free, so he wanted to reciprocate.

Duan Yiyang looked at the message, thinking that the Qi Family people were actually quite nice, and replied with a smile:

[Alright.]

[Let’s arrange a time.]

Qi Lie wasn’t particularly curious about Duan Yiyang. After all, he already knew most of what his father had told him. Little did he know, Duan Yiyang’s eagerness and attentiveness was with ulterior motives.

He had no interest in exploring Duan Yiyang’s circle, but someone had already thoroughly dug through his circle.

Qi Zhiyi’s social circle wasn’t vast, but Qi Lie’s was quite rich. Even for losing a game, he would complain, and in there, he discovered a lot.

Like Qi Zhiyi’s photos, her favorite foods and activities, even her birthday.

And Qi Zhiyi was lying in bed at this time, reminiscing about the day’s events, fingers gently pressing against her chest, her heartbeat still fluttering, feeling her heart ablaze with the warm pulse of love, the warmth of infatuation...

The feeling was like a fever, and the other party being Duan Yiyang, she might have been burning quite seriously.