Dad, Please Try a Little Harder - Chapter 54:

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Absolutely Can’t Let Our Son Know

It! 1

Translator: Inschain Editor: Inschain

An official announcement was quickly released regarding the death of Phoenix Group’s General Manager.

It was confirmed that he had succumbed to a heart attack due to overwork and couldn’t be saved upon reaching the hospital.

Shortly after this news was released online, various conspiracy theories and rumors started to fly.

Scapegoating, power struggles, and high-level business warfare- of course, mingled among these were conjectures that came close to the “truth.”

However, family members who had rushed back from overseas, along with the internal PR team and senior staff handling the situation, already knew the ins and outs of the situation.

In a nutshell: he had played too hard and overdosed.

Much like a notorious playboy, he had died because of his misbehavior.

But of course, such details couldn’t be disclosed to the public.

After reviewing the collected evidence and statements, the family immediately declined an autopsy, hoping to put him to rest as soon as possible.

With overwhelming evidence and knowing his character, the truth was becoming increasingly clear.

Especially Xun Bailiang’s wife, who couldn’t even muster tears and had already shifted her focus to the inheritance.

Ms. Lin, who was on a business trip in Azure Bay, also announced she would cut the trip short and return to Cloud City as quickly as possible to handle subsequent matters.

For a while, Phoenix Group was in a state of internal turmoil.

Especially among Xun Bailiang’s faction, people were uneasy, and those deeply involved were already considering their exit strategies.

A new round of replacements and purges seemed inevitable.

On Saturday.

Qian Quan’s class had another 3+2 match against the Department of Philosophy, a rivalry that was considered an in-dorm derby between Qian Quan, Guo Hongyi, Gao Yan, and Shen Fei.

However, due to the significant disparity in skill levels between the two classes, both Qian Quan and Guo Hongyi played cautiously and eventually substituted.

Although beating one’s friends could be quite enjoyable, the joy was somewhat diminished if the friends didn’t put up a fight.

In the afternoon.

Qian Quan and Ding Linlang had scheduled a session to play Go.

Lately, they had been learning the Go just like Qian Quan’s dad, Qian Wenlin. However, they were still at the stage of understanding the basic rules.

Terminology like “Qi of the pieces,” “capturing stones,” “forbidden points,” “official pieces”…

The biggest difference between Go and chess, they found, was that you didn’t need to learn any special arrangements in Go. Understanding the basic rules was enough. Regardless of your skill level, strike a pose, put on a good face, and anyone could play a five-minute game of Go.

Qian Quan and Ding Linlang had grown up together, having played games like Tiger Hunt Chess, animal chess, Gomoku, Military Chess when younger, and traditional chess and Six-Week Chess as they grew older.

It was almost a daily routine for them: a game of chess until the sunset.

Now that they were learning the Go, it seemed like a natural progression from their previous endeavors.

However, their approach to Go was overly simplistic. Their sole aim was to encircle the opponent’s existing pieces.

There weren’t any particular strategies for territory control, creating momentum, or disruption.

Their “chess style” was decidedly juvenile.

In the first game, Qian Quan allowed Ding Linlang to go first. He then placed his stone right next to hers, aiming to encircle that piece, just like playing Gomoku.

Ding Linlang responded by counter-encircling Qian Quan.

Qian Quan fled; Ding Linlang pursued. They continued to place their stones rapidly, soon forming a diagonal line of pieces that looked impressive but were ultimately meaningless.

Finally, with no room to escape as they reached the board’s edge, Qian Quan lost a large group of stones.

From this experience, Qian Quan derived his first lesson in Go:

Sometimes, the more you try to escape or control the situation, the more you end up losing.

It had a philosophical nuance, akin to holding sand in your hand too tightly.

“In terms of getting started, Go is simpler than chess. But from the perspective of mastery, Go is much more complex; there are too many variations,” Ding Linlang observed.

“True, but for top professional players, each game is its own world, and there’s no straightforward answer to which is more complicated,” Qian Quan replied.

As they continued with another round of Go, they also chatted. When the topic of Qian Quan’s recent lifesaving act came up, Ding Linlang said:

“I saw online rumors that the car you saved had a female business owner inside, and some are saying she privately rewarded you with one million.”

“It’s not entirely false,” Qian Quan didn’t intend to keep it from Ding Linlang. “Her name is Lin Xiaohuang, the CEO of the Phoenix Group in Cloud City. She invited me for dinner last Wednesday and even took me as her sworn sibling.”

“Really?” Ding Linlang was stunned. She searched for Lin Xiaohuang on her phone, found a breathtaking photo, and showed it to Qian Quan, “Is it her?”

Qian Quan glanced at it and nodded, “Yes.”

“So young?” Ding Linlang was surprised.

Qian Quan smiled and nodded, “Yes, and she even has a five-year-old daughter.”

“Married, huh.”

“Yes, but it seems her husband passed away.” Qian Quan said, placing a chess piece on the board. “Let’s change the subject. How is your new book?”

Qian Quan skillfully redirected the conversation, knowing that Ding Linlang’s new book was performing exceptionally well.

“It’s fine,” Ding Linlang said, looking down at the chessboard.

“Hello, your submitted manuscript has been reviewed. Unfortunately, it did not pass our publication requirements. We are sorry.”

“Additionally, while your writing is not an issue, your story lacks twists and turns and is not sufficiently engaging. It doesn’t align with current market trends. Please read the selected works from our previous issues to find an appropriate theme and re-submit your work.”

Qian Wenlin read the rejection email expressionlessly. After pondering for half a minute, he muttered, “Lacking in engagement and not trendy, huh? Alright, challenge accepted!”

Ever since the first colleague in his group had successfully gotten paid for a published piece and treated everyone to milk tea, another had followed, receiving 3,000 in fees.

For Qian Wenlin, it was no longer just about the money; it was also a matter of pride.

He decided to make sweeping changes to his rejected manuscript, making it more sensational and dramatic.

The title needed a revamp- something catchier and more eye-catching.

Over the past few days, he had collected a wealth of material for his writing. These included stories from colleagues, insights from the parents of students, and tales from his chess buddies.

Some of them were downright mind-boggling.

For instance, a chess friend told him about another friend who had two families. He would spend odd days with his wife and even days with his girlfriend, and incredibly, the wife and girlfriend got along well.

There was harmony between the wife and the concubine.

Everyone criticized this friend, labeling him disloyal and predicting future problems.

But the chess friend defended him, saying that successful men are often those with strong desires and ambitions, who couldn’t be content with just one woman.

He even proposed a “Triangle Theory” that suggested a man could not simultaneously be wealthy, handsome, and emotionally committed; he could only possess two out of the three traits.

Similarly, a woman couldn’t be beautiful, financially independent, and submissive all at once.

Drawing from these diverse sources, Qian Wenlin was constantly inspired to pinpoint what exactly would excite his readers.

That afternoon, while driving to pick up his wife from work, Qian Wenlin briefed her on his new creative direction.

The central plot focuses on a middle-aged white-collar worker. Both his marriage and his job had become monotonous, passionless cycles.

From daily routines to monthly milestones to yearly repetitions, his life had fallen into a rut.

Family, work, and social life had all fallen into a predictable pattern for him. The pressures of reality had stifled his interest in exploring new things, leading his life to stagnate like stagnant water.

Then one day, a massive personnel shift rocked his company. A senior executive left with an entire team, taking his immediate boss along.

Subsequently, headquarters initiated a new staff realignment, assigning him a new boss.

Shockingly, his new boss turned out to be his first love from college.

And she had just gotten divorced!

The story took an unexpected turn from this point.

This first-love-turned-boss frequently used her new position to interact with him, working overtime, attending social events, and going on business trips together.

“So in the end, did the guy cave?” Yang Yuhua asked.

“1 haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

“You’ve thought it through; just tell me. I won’t get angry over something like this,” Yang Yuhua assured.

“The preliminary idea is that they get intimate. During a business trip, the male protagonist’s first love, who is also his female boss, says she’s tired and invites him to her room for a massage. And then she slowly guides him towards…”

Yang Yuhua laughed, “That’s exactly what you men would imagine.”

“I can’t help it. If the story doesn’t have an unusual twist, the magazines won’t take it. My colleagues have all successfully submitted their pieces, the pressure on me is high.”

“Then just write it.”

“Okay,” Qian Wenlin nodded. “By the way, if this novel does get published, don’t tell Rocky. I don’t want to shatter the noble image I have in my son’s eyes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”

As they were almost home, Yang Yuhua suddenly asked, “Did any new teachers transfer to your school recently?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Just wondering.”

Back at home, after dinner, Qian Wenlin opened the document and changed the original title of the novel from Twenty Years of Marriage to

My Fragile Porcelain Anniversary: My First Love Becomes My Boss!