After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Was Targeted by the Villain and the Male Lead at the Same Time

 

Li Nian watched him exude an aura of pride, satisfaction, and showiness, then began to weigh the consequences of revealing that he was the one who bought it. Would he explode with anger? Well, he estimated that he would also end up in a miserable state.

So being very tactful, Li Nian praised: “It looks great. Mr. Xu must have put a lot of thought into giving you the same little yellow duck gift.”

Jing Yicheng indeed showed a satisfied smile: “It’s also very comfortable to use.”

Nonsense, when he bought it, he thought Xu Chenghao wanted to rest his head on the table. Shouldn’t he choose the best and softest one? Li Nian complained in his mind but smiled on the surface. “It’s evident.”

Jing Yicheng looked at his business-like appearance and regarded it as a forced smile, thinking that the show-off was almost over. He then turned and went back to his work area.

Li Nian maintained a smile and watched him leave. After he turned around, his face instantly collapsed as he leaned against Xu Chenghao. “I apologize for my past ignorance!”

Xu Chenghao was placing the little yellow duck flowerpot on his table and said absentmindedly: “It’s not the first time you’ve been ignorant. Why apologize?”

Li Nian almost spewed out a mouthful of blood. “Can’t we have a decent conversation?”

“Let’s talk, talk,” Xu Chenghao adopted a formal posture. “Tell me, how did you become ignorant this time?”

Li Nian: “I used to think Jing Yicheng was a cool and awesome madman, but now I realize that I’ve misjudged him… This guy is clearly an incredibly childish brat!”

Li Nian recounted the recent incident and held his chest, saying, “Do you know how much I wanted to tell him that I sent someone to buy this little yellow duck pillow? I specifically took photos and emphasized that I wanted this design and it should be soft and good! It’s like I handpicked it! What’s he bragging about to me?!”

Xu Chenghao glanced in Jing Yicheng’s direction with surprise and saw him engrossed in reviewing documents while hugging the yellow duck pillow.

To be honest, Jing Yicheng’s image had indeed undergone a huge transformation in Xu Chenghao’s mind. From his previous cold and gloomy demeanor, Xu Chenghao had disliked him intensely, but now he found the childish and playful side of Jing Yicheng quite likable. If it weren’t for everything they had been through together, Xu Chenghao would have suspected that Jing Yicheng had been replaced.

The change was truly remarkable. It made Xu Chenghao wonder… who was Jing Yicheng imitating now?

Xu Chenghao pondered and then averted his gaze: “Nian Ge, who do you think Jing Yicheng resembles now?”

Li Nian contemplated for a moment and replied, “To be honest, he’s quite similar to you.”

“Me?” Xu Chenghao was very unhappy. “I’m not that childish!”

Li Nian hehe: “You two are cut from the same cloth.”

Xu Chenghao firmly denied: “Impossible, I’m not childish at all… In fact, I think he’s starting to resemble you a bit.”

Li Nian quickly interjected: “I know, just as handsome as me.”

“Ugh!” Xu Chenghao retorted, “Being shameless like you is true!”

Li Nian: “…”

The topic instantly shifted from serious discussion to mutual teasing. To prevent things from escalating further, Li Nian clasped his fists, indicating that they’ll meet again if fate allowed, and stood up to abruptly end the conversation.

Xu Chenghao was speechless yet amused. After watching Li Nian leave, he glanced at Jing Yicheng. Jing Yicheng was currently learning about what happened during his absence. One hand was holding a pen while the other was unconsciously rubbing the fluff on the pillow with a serious expression.

Xu Chenghao retracted his gaze and took a deep breath—never mind why he turned out this way, as long as he sat here and helped him complete the “Little Chili Pepper” mission!

Putting aside all the messy thoughts, Xu Chenghao began his work for the day.

While he may have bantered with Li Nian, he never compromises on work matters. Furthermore, with Jing Yicheng back, Xu Chenghao clearly felt that the burden of work had been halved and was no longer experiencing the hurried rush of dealing with everything alone.

Moreover, when Jing Yicheng was around, they could discuss many things together, approaching problems from different perspectives and filling in each other’s blind spots.

This was the work synergy the two had painstakingly developed over the past two months.

After all, their personalities were really different when they first started. Xu Chenghao was more stable and cautious, while Jing Yicheng belonged to the bold and unique type. Their approaches to the same matter were like night and day.

Xu Chenghao thought Jing Yicheng was impulsive, while Jing Yicheng thought he was conservative. Xu Chenghao believed in proceeding steadily, thinking that one can’t become fat by taking one big bite. Jing Yicheng believed in being bold, always being the first to take a bite of the crab!

In the beginning, they had to argue with each other to convince the other person. But later on, as they became familiar with each other’s temperaments, they could try to accept each other’s ideas… and then, they don’t know what happened along the way, but within two months, they evolved into a situation where they each wrote half of the proposal.

This also resulted in their working style being very distinct. It was either bold progress in the early stages, a sudden brake in the later stages, a bicycle speed in the beginning, and a rocket-like ascent in the end.

Not to mention that even outsiders couldn’t understand it, Li Nian complained several times that he almost got whiplash.

But it has to be said that this approach was often very effective – you could see it from the progress of the project.

Maintaining this collaborative approach, after a busy morning, without Jing Yicheng saying anything, Xu Chenghao decided to invite him for dinner and asked Li Nian to drive them there.
Jing Yicheng was quite satisfied and even thought that going to work with an injury was not a bad experience – at least he never received such treatment before! Let’s get to know the abnormal spicy boxed lunch!

As soon as he heard President Xu was treating them to a meal, the assistant recalled the fear of being dominated by the abnormal chili pepper. So, as everyone got in the car and Li Nian adjusted the navigation, the assistant couldn’t help but remind them, “Our boss is not feeling well, so he may not be suitable for eating overly spicy things.”

The assistant was still scared by the previous dinner party and was extremely worried that Mr. Xu would be unhappy and take them to another spicy Sichuan cuisine dinner.

Li Nian looked up and glanced at Xu Chenghao through the rearview mirror when he heard the words.

Xu Chenghao nodded from the back seat; only then did Li Nian smile and say, “Don’t worry, this time we’re going to have nourishing herbal cuisine. We’ll make sure to take good care of President Jing.”

The assistant immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “Thank you so much for that.”

Li Nian: “You’re welcome.”

The way the two people in the front seat interacted was still formal and hypocritical, while the two people in the back seat were more direct.

Xu Chenghao held the little yellow duck flowerpot and said as he wiped off the nonexistent dust: “I’ll let you off this time since you’re injured, but if you make me angry again in the future, I’ll treat you to chili peppers! I’ll make you eat insanely spicy red chili peppers!”

Jing Yicheng leaned against the yellow duck pillow, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but he responded to Xu Chenghao’s words: “You can also treat me even when you’re not angry. I’m very willing.”

Xu Chenghao looked at him speechlessly: “Are you really not concerned about your throat?”

Jing Yicheng: “You said that chili peppers are precious.”

Xu Chenghao didn’t catch on and asked, “So?”

Jing Yicheng said calmly, “Such a precious thing… it would be a waste if I didn’t eat it.”

Xu Chenghao: “It’s okay, I can…”

 

Jing Yicheng seemed to know what he was going to say and interrupted directly, “For me, as long as it’s not chili peppers for me to eat, no matter how it’s handled, it’s a waste!”

Very well, that response is assertive enough.

It’s just a pity…

Xu Chenghao looked at the band-aid on his forehead and spoke expressionlessly: “Wait until your injury heals before saying that!”

Jing Yicheng: “…”

The atmosphere in the car was silent for a while.

Ten minutes later, the group arrived at the restaurant. Li Nian had done extensive research on all the dining places in the city and chose ones that were well-known, classy, and of high standards. The only downside was that there were only a few tiers of consumers, so it was really easy to run into acquaintances.

When Xu Chenghao saw Ruan Chenxuan, the other party clearly noticed him too. Not only did he not feel awkward, but he also nodded in a friendly manner. Just as he made a move, the young man sitting across from him immediately turned his head to look. It was then that Xu Chenghao noticed it was Jiang Changming.

Xu Chenghao glanced at them with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, without any further reaction, and turned around to leave.

Jing Yicheng followed closely behind him until only a few of them were left in the private room, and then he calmly said, “It seems like the partnership has been confirmed.”

Xu Chenghao: “Yeah, I already guessed it when I saw Ruan Chenxuan yesterday.”

Jing Yicheng recalled yesterday’s surveillance footage and pursed his lips slightly: “You observed quite carefully.”

Xu Chenghao: “It was quite obvious. If you had seen him at that time, you would have guessed it too.”

Jing Yicheng: “Not necessarily, I can’t be bothered to look at him.”

With a half-smile, Xu Chenghao asked, “If you can’t be bothered to look at him, how did you notice the powder on his face?”

Jing Yicheng: “…”

It felt like digging a hole for oneself, but it was quite satisfying.

After leaving Jing Yicheng speechless, Xu Chenghao happily continued with their lunch.

Of course, Xu Chenghao didn’t neglect the project issues either. After they finished their meal and returned to the company, he began to inquire about the news and closely monitored the male lead’s every move.

Currently, the collaboration between the Ruan family and the Jiang family has been confirmed and publicly announced after the business banquet yesterday. This morning, it made headlines in the news, proclaiming a powerful alliance in the business world, arousing anticipation.

When the insiders learned of the news, it caused quite a stir. Those who were not well-informed might only know about the close relationship between the Jiang family and the Xu family, and they speculated about why the Jiang family suddenly chose to collaborate with the Ruan family, which positioned themselves as enemies of the Xu family.

Those who were well-informed may have heard about the Jiang family’s project and knew that the Xu and Ruan families had recently been vying for their collaboration. It seemed like the Jiang family was riding high on success.

However, they found it even more puzzling precisely because they were well-informed. How did Ruan Chenxuan manage to surpass the Xu family and rise again? After this, can the Xu family really endure it? The main concern now was how the Xu family should face the joint encirclement of the Ruan and Jiang families.

 

It seems Xu Chenghao had really angered Old Master Jiang before. After they confirmed their cooperation with the Ruan family, they deeply felt that they were standing on the same front as the Ruan family. As a result, they placed all the losses and anger on Xu Chenghao.

—Yes, they believed that the reason for the losses was because Xu Chenghao suddenly announced the abandonment of the partnership and aggressively pushed for lower prices.

As for conscience? It was worthless compared to interests.

Therefore, whether it was Old Master Jiang or Jiang Changming, they publicly expressed that the relationship between the Jiang family and the Xu family was ordinary, and they criticized Xu Chenghao for being young and ignorant of when to advance or retreat.

This was a public falling out.

In the business world, there are countless instances of turning against each other for the sake of interests. Not to mention partners and friends, even fathers and sons or brothers, can sever ties due to interests. Therefore, those in the industry could only sigh, but they were more concerned about the reaction of the Xu family.

Sure enough, they didn’t have to wait long. On the third day after the Jiang family announced the project, the Xu Group directly revealed a project that surpassed them by a long shot, severely dampening the Jiang Group’s enthusiasm.

Xu Chenghao didn’t need to make any statements or engage in verbal conflicts from a distance. He directly used his own strength to overpower all voices, and with a casual attitude, he trampled on Old Master Jiang’s evaluation of him being young and ignorant of when to advance or retreat.

– The moment that Father Xu had been waiting for has arrived!

No one will sympathize with the Jiang family; they will only kick them when they’re down and mock them for mistaking pearls for fish eyes. They mock the fact that the old Mr. Jiang, at such an old age, can’t even compare to the younger generation. He’s really grown old.

They pay more attention to the winners and cast looks of admiration, caution, desire, or admiration towards them. They envy the Xu family for having such a successor, envy Mr. Xu for being able to retire without worries and not having to bother raising children, and envy Mrs. Xu for having a capable, filial son. They even have a young girl who has set her sights on becoming Mrs. Xu Chenghao and can’t wait to marry him.

Of course, many people also sensed an extraordinary atmosphere in this game and felt that the future business landscape may change. After all, the Xu family had played it so beautifully this time, not only outwitting the Jiang and Ruan families but also taking the opportunity to move forward and leave everyone behind.

Sometimes a small mistake can lead to a huge loss, and this saying applies equally well in the business world, especially considering the significant lead the Xu Group has opened up. Anyone who sees this situation can imagine a future where the Xu family rises as the dominant commercial giant.

For a while, the Xu family became a hot topic. Not to mention how many times Mr. Xu’s phone rang and how many more visits he received from old friends daily, even Mrs. Xu’s invitations were scheduled three months in advance.

However, just as everyone’s attention was focused on the Xu family, the Ruan Group suddenly introduced a new hot topic.

 

T/N: Tripple update for my patient readers~ >3