YA Ch15: Tomorrow

In the end, Lu Yu agreed to meet Zhao Yanqing because he said it was about Ming Yan.

He had too little information now, and Ming Yan was unwilling to tell him much. Even if it was just a provocation from Ximen Qing, he wanted to listen and see if he could extract anything useful.

Before Lu Yu could fold the small blanket and make a loving breakfast for his wife, Ming Yan was already dressed and ready to leave for work.

“Why so early?” Lu Yu, holding the blanket, looked at the clock on the wall.

“There are a lot of things today; I’ll have breakfast at the company.” Ming Yan said as he walked, fastening his tie.

Lu Yu had to put down the blanket and rush to the dressing room, “I’ll be quick.”

Ming Yan paused, as if remembering something, “What’s your work today?”

While brushing his teeth, Lu Yu opened the work schedule sent by Xiao Jiang. Today, there were no other tasks, just needing him to send the final revised plan to Lao Yang. The rest of the tasks were to continue reading and complete today’s 600,000-word reading goal.

Ming Yan nodded, “Then you don’t need to go to the company today. Work from home to save time.”

Lu Yu quickly spat out the foam and rinsed his mouth, then rushed to the hallway, grabbing the hem of Ming Yan’s suit, “Are you getting tired of me? I promise not to disturb your work.”

Ming Yan sighed helplessly, “I have a meeting with the art team today. It’s going to take all day, and I don’t have time to play with you.” With the live broadcast imminent, not only did the art team have a lot of work to complete, but there were also many other tasks to coordinate, including many tasks that Lu Yu was supposed to do but now had to be handled by him.

However, there was no need to tell Lu Xiaoyu this. He’d be grateful if Lu Yu could finish reading the 400,000 words in seven days.

“Hmph, I knew it,” Lu Yu pouted in protest, “Yesterday you called me your little darling, and today you want me to go away.”

Ming Yan flicked his forehead, “Work hard, or next week, not to mention ‘little darling,’ your little company might be gone.”

Lu Yu, clutching his forehead, swore, “Don’t worry, it won’t be gone. I’ll definitely develop the company into a big one that surpasses Tomorrow Watch, and make your father agree to our marriage!”

Hearing ‘Tomorrow Watch,’ Ming Yan was stunned for a moment, “Tomorrow Watch has been around for a hundred years…”

The implication was for Lu Yu not to compare with that hundred-year-old antique.

Lu Yu waved his hand grandly and said, “It’s okay. Our company can also last a hundred years. When your dad is 150 years old, we’ll ask him to give the centennial speech.”

Ming Yan was amused by him, holding his face and rubbing it. Whose old dad can live to 150 years old? This little rascal could really talk nonsense.

Lu Yu, with his face held by soft hands and the long fingers just pinching his ears, felt a continuous tingling sensation spreading all over his body, making him dizzy, “Isn’t this the time for a kiss?”

Ming Yan looked at the face he was holding. It was actually very handsome, just that it was so pale from not seeing the sun for so long, almost translucent. Fortunately, without the dark circles today, it looked much prettier. If he could regain his former baby fat, he would be particularly cute.

He pinched that thin cheek, “What are you thinking?”

They were just partners now. What kiss? He almost got roped in by this guy.

Lu Yu justified himself by saying, “What’s wrong? You said we dated in college, which means we were in a relationship during that time. Now I am the college version of Lu Xiaoyu, which means we are in a relationship now.”

As lovers, they naturally had the right to a kiss when their face was cupped.

Ming Yan released him, shaking his head with a smile, “Your math was taught by your language teacher, wasn’t it?”

In the end, Lu Yu didn’t manage to get a farewell kiss with his language teacher logic. Grumbling, he made himself a sandwich and headed to the study to work.

Lu Yu read a bit, then thought about the morning’s face-holding scene, feeling pleased and swaying with joy.

He pulled out an A4 piece of paper and drew a timeline on it.

When they first met, he was a sophomore, and Ming Yan was a junior. With his efficiency, it wouldn’t be a problem to catch up within a year. Ming Yan had mentioned to Lu Dongdong in the simulator that he had studied abroad, which meant Ming Yan might have gone abroad for further studies after graduation.

So they had at least dated for a year.

He didn’t know what happened afterward. Lu Dayu didn’t seem to have followed abroad, and who knows how long the long-distance relationship lasted.

Five years ago, Chenyu Technology was founded, and three years ago, Ming Yan joined.

Lu Yu looked at the latter part of the timeline, scratching his head.

Logically, after graduation, Ming Yan should have returned to take over the family business. Why would he be messing around with his startup company?

Tomorrow Watch was a century-old family business. It used to be called Tomorrow Watch Store, initially selling foreign watches and later producing its own. Over the century, it had its ups and downs, eventually becoming a top domestic watch manufacturer.

There used to be a well-known TV commercial:

“Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many tomorrows? Seize the time.”

This line was read by various popular stars over the years, showing how significant Ming Yan’s family business was and that he was the only son.

“Ming Yan must still like Lu Dayu.” Lu Yu concluded, punching a photo of Lu Dayu in frustration. This guy was really disappointing, still stuck in place after three years!

Thinking of Tomorrow Watch, Lu Yu pondered whether he should insert some advertisements for his future father-in-law’s business in next week’s live broadcast to earn some goodwill.

He acted immediately, opening his computer to search for Tomorrow Watch to check if their slogan had changed.

Upon searching, a series of news articles about Tomorrow Watch popped up, leaving Lu Yu stunned.

“Tomorrow Watch rejects RZ Group’s acquisition proposal.”

“Tomorrow Watch faces significant impact from foreign capital pressure.”

“Tomorrow Watch issues corporate bonds to maintain operations; Chairman ‘Ming Zhigu’ says there will be no compromise.”

“Tomorrow Watch faces a debt crisis; Young Master Ming Yan returns to take charge…”

These news articles were all from five years ago. After that, there were no more updates about Tomorrow Watch, only some news related to Ming Yan.

Lu Yu was dumbfounded for a while, then slapped himself loudly. He knew nothing, understood nothing, and was even joking about becoming like Tomorrow Watch in front of Ming Yan this morning.

“Not only is Lu Dayu a jerk, but I’m also a jerk.”

He couldn’t sit still anymore, grabbed Lu Dongdong and put it on his wrist, stuffed an earphone in his ear, and rushed out the door.

Listening to the triple-speed “Shooting the Heavenly Wolf” audiobook, he headed straight to Tomorrow Watch in the city center. The newly advanced noise-canceling earphones allowed him to hear clearly with just one in, multitasking as he quickly reached the commercial street.

Located in the center of the commercial street, this Tomorrow Watch store was an old shop opened here a century ago, serving as the headquarters of Tomorrow Watch. Surrounded by century-old architectural styles, the gray and white stone-built store had a traditional vertical signboard, indicating its century-long heritage.

The shop assistant, standing listlessly behind the glass display case, seeing Lu Yu walk in, looked at him like a rare animal and said dumbfoundedly, “Sir, have a look at the watches. The new ones are suitable for wearing on the right hand, not interfering with your smart brain usage.”

Lu Yu suddenly realized that not only was Tomorrow Watch persecuted by foreign capital, but it was also impacted by smart brain technology. Now it was likely struggling.

Lu Yu picked up a watch and tried it on his right wrist, feeling somewhat helpless. Normally, people wouldn’t wear a smart brain on their left hand and a watch on their right; it looked silly.

“Huh?” A somewhat familiar voice sounded. Lu Yu turned his head and saw Zhao Yanqing, whom he had arranged to have a “cheap” meal with at noon.

Zhao Yanqing was quite surprised, “I was planning to buy a Tomorrow Watch to remind you to face Ming Yan’s situation, but you got here first. Great, I don’t have to treat you to lunch now. Let’s talk here.”

Saying this, Zhao Yanqing took the watch from Lu Yu’s hand, checked the time, and slightly raised his chin, “You still have twenty minutes to talk to me.”

Lu Yu laughed in anger, “President Ximen, do you normally have no friends? You asked me out, but then limited me to twenty minutes; it’s really annoying.”

Zhao Yanqing sneered, “My time is precious, unlike yours, who has time to stroll around.”

The shop assistant watched him waving around the expensive watch and was very worried. He reached out to catch it and timely interjected, “Mr. Ximen, do you need me to wrap this watch for you?”

“Heh, wrap it…” Zhao Yanqing didn’t finish his sentence and suddenly became furious, “Who told you I was Mr. Ximen?”