Chapter 174: Let’s speak frankly

“Hu—”

The scalding black coffee slid down his throat.
That familiar bitterness drove away part of his unease.

Lin Yu set the cup down and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Manager Qian, you suddenly getting this serious and talking to me about life… I’m honestly not used to it.”

“How about… you go back to your old slick-tongued—uh, I mean, carefree and cynical self!”

“Personally, I think that version of you is especially handsome!”

“Heh, cut it out with the flattery.”

Manager Qian accepted the compliment without any courtesy at all.

“But your taste isn’t bad. Back when I’d just retired… tsk tsk, that face, that body—just like a Hong Kong movie cop! Walking down the street, I don’t even know how many little girls I turned heads for.”

“Retired?”

“Yeah. Got old. Fought the wars, came back covered in injuries. Stayed in the army and I’d just be dead weight…”

“And I’d been separated from my wife for too long. I owed her…”

“So I took my demobilization pay and came out to find work.”

Manager Qian waved his hand lightly, as if talking about something utterly trivial.

“Later on… to put my tigress of a wife at ease, and to fit into this peaceful era, I forced myself—through beer and fried chicken—to eat my way from Daniel Wu into a pufferfish.”

As he spoke, he patted his round belly and sighed.

“Ah… can’t be helped. Sometimes being too outstanding is a sin. For the sake of family harmony, I could only sacrifice my looks a bit.”

“……”

Lin Yu’s mouth twitched.

This fatty…

To dress up ‘binge eating’ in such a fresh, refined, and righteous way—you’re really one of a kind.

“Ah… I’ve gone off-topic, off-topic.”

Manager Qian seemed to realize it too.
He reined in his self-satisfied expression and tapped the tabletop with a chubby finger.

“Xiao Lin, today’s theme is ‘having a good talk.’ But a talk needs back-and-forth to count as a talk.”

“Look at this—half the day’s gone by, and it’s just been me bragging away while you sit there playing the straight man. That won’t do.”

“I’ve already laid out my ancient romantic history. Shouldn’t you also… open your mouth a bit and show your hand?”

“Ah…”

Lin Yu’s heart skipped.

Sure enough—this old fox was waiting right here.

“Um… Manager Qian…”

Lin Yu scratched his head awkwardly, playing dumb.

“Listen to how you’re putting it—I’m just listening attentively, humbly learning from my leader’s life experience… so, uh… what exactly do you want me to talk about?”

Manager Qian chuckled.

“No rush. Talking also has levels. Different levels, different ways of talking.”

“Levels?”

“Heh heh…”

As he spoke, Manager Qian pulled open a redwood drawer and took out an exquisite humidor.

“In the workplace, there are three kinds of ‘talking’—small talk, medium talk, and big talk.”

“Small talk is just business as usual. In this office, I’m the boss, you’re the subordinate. Question and answer.”

As he spoke, he took two thick cigars out of the box, skillfully picked up a cigar cutter, and with a snip, cut off the caps.

The crisp sound echoed sharply in the quiet office.

“But I think that’s boring. You and I have been through life and death together—no need to be so distant, right? Here, have one?”

He handed one of the cigars to Lin Yu.

“A cigar? Whoa—Cohiba? Manager Qian, you’re really going all out…”

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the dark brown cylinder.

Even from a distance, he could smell the rich tobacco aroma.
Top-tier stuff.

To be honest, he was kind of tempted.

Since he started making money, the most expensive cigarettes he’d smoked were Soft Zhonghua.

But he’d heard rich guys online say—cigarettes are cigarettes, cigars are cigars.

Completely different worlds.

What’s more, he’d once heard people brag that top Cuban cigars were rolled on the thighs of young girls.

No idea if they really carried that kind of flavor.

“Give it a try. This is the entry ticket for medium talk.”

Manager Qian smiled as he raised his lighter.

“Medium talk means clinking cups and sharing personal words. No alcohol during work hours, so we’ll make do with this—use it as a substitute. How about it?”

“Sure. Then I’ll obey rather than stand on ceremony.”

Lin Yu didn’t hesitate anymore and reached out to take the cigar.

He was going to smoke it.

Not just to satisfy a craving, but to prove—in front of this old fox—that he was still a real man.

“Zzz—”

The blue flame licked the foot of the cigar.
Lin Yu rotated it properly, letting it heat evenly, then took a deep draw.

The smoke entered his throat.

That long-forgotten, pungent, aggressively invasive tobacco flavor instantly filled his mouth.

Refreshing!

This is what a man’s supposed to—

“Ugh—!!! Cough cough cough—!!! Cough cough cough cough cough—!!!”

Suddenly, Lin Yu doubled over, coughing violently.

Tears burst out instantly.
It felt like a handful of broken glass had been shoved down his throat—burning hot.

“Cough cough… gag…”

He retched miserably, feeling like his internal organs were cramping.

How could this be?!

Before, smoking at most just made his throat uncomfortable—why was the reaction so intense now?

“Tsk tsk tsk…”

Manager Qian, on the other hand, looked as if he’d expected this.

He calmly lit his own cigar, took a satisfied puff, then exhaled a perfect smoke ring.

Through the blue-gray smoke, his gaze looked like he was observing a lab mouse.

“Here, drink some water to settle it.”

He handed over a cup of warm water, his tone carrying a meaningful hint of praise.

“Looks like… your body is much more honest than your mouth, Xiao Lin.”

“Cough… cough…”

Lin Yu snatched the cup and gulped it down, only recovering after quite a while.

His eyes were red now, tears welling up.

“Damn it… Manager Qian! Is this cigar expired?!”

He slammed the expensive cigar—only puffed once—onto the table.

“Cough cough… how… cough… is it worse than Liqun?”

“Not at all, not at all.”

Manager Qian shook his head, a sharp glint flashing in his narrowed eyes.

“This is a good thing.”

“A good thing?”

“Of course. Didn’t we mention before? After transforming too many times, over a long period, it’ll affect your original body a bit.”

“This reaction you’re having now—that’s proof of your hard work and selfless dedication!”

“Tch—stop putting a halo on me.”

“If I’ve turned out like this, it counts as a work injury, right? Instead of giving me a banner of honor, why not give me some bonus money?”

“Does this really count as a work injury? Smoking is a bad habit, you know. Carcinogenic!”

“You quit smoking indirectly because of transforming—doesn’t that mean better health and a longer life?”

“I think you should thank the company instead. The company, as your doctor, cured a chronic ailment you’ve had for years! Hahahahaha—”

“…Then thank you very much.”

Lin Yu knew he couldn’t argue with Manager Qian, but he still refused to concede verbally.

Looking at the cigar smoldering on the table, he couldn’t bear to throw it away.
All he could do was stare resentfully at that little spark, like a wronged young wife.

“So then? I’ve experienced this medium talk already.”

Lin Yu asked irritably.

“What about that big talk you mentioned earlier? What’s the procedure?”

“Hu—”

Manager Qian took a deep draw on his cigar and performed a textbook old-smoker’s dragon return.

The smoke flowed out of his mouth, then back in through his nose, finally erupting in two long streams.

Amid the swirling smoke, the smile on his face slowly faded.

The merchant’s shrewdness and the superior’s smoothness vanished entirely in that moment.

“This big talk…”

Manager Qian leaned forward, fingers interlaced under his chin, eyes blazing as they locked firmly onto Lin Yu.

“…means closing the door tight and cutting the surveillance.”

“And then—”

“Let’s speak frankly.”

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