Power and Passion: A Billionaire's Secret

At nine o'clock in the evening, off the coast of Lin City, a six-story luxury cruise liner steamed smoothly over the sea.

On the main deck, Jiang Ni gracefully took a champagne glass from a tray held by a server and nodded her thanks. In her ears, a few old classmates who were also invited onboard were still heatedly discussing the guests who had arrived that day.

"I think I just saw President Yuan from the Qiulin Group! The trending search yesterday said he was abroad. What kind of backing does Bai Shu's family have, to even get someone like President Yuan who no longer attends parties at his age to come in person to celebrate his birthday?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what's President Yuan compared to the person who just walked by us, the one who frequently appears on the nightly news of the main station?"

"With this level of grandeur, is this really just a birthday party?" they couldn't help but exclaim, "What on earth does his family do?"

They were classmates with Bai Shu when they were studying abroad. Having just graduated and returned home, they received a birthday invitation from Bai Shu. Since coming aboard, in just a short half-hour, they had met many big shots who were regulars on financial news channels.

Suddenly, someone murmured, "I heard that his brother is supposedly that guy from the Qin family in Beijing."

"Wait a second, you're not talking about that Qin, Qin Jijing from LX Capital, are you?"

"..." Everyone fell silent.

Qin Jijing was the current president of LX Capital. It was said that he officially took over the company from his elders at twenty-three and had achieved great success in just five short years. Aside from the company, he had personally invested in as many as fifteen companies, which even included two recently well-known listed companies.

But of course, these were not the key points.

What was most important was that rumors always went around about him being from Beijing. Unlike other profligate sons or upstarts of the Beijing Circle, his family had a dramatically illustrious history that could be traced back four generations, all carrying a certain prestige, and they were bona fide members of the top echelon of the Beijing Circle.

If today's extravagant scene had something to do with him, then it would all make sense.

"No wonder! I just went to the bathroom and bumped into Bai Shu going upstairs with him. I even overheard Bai Shu saying that this cruise liner was a birthday present from him..."

"Sheesh, how come Bai Shu never mentioned it..." The person speaking seemed to think of something, turned their head towards a figure not far away, and asked with implied curiosity, "Hey Jiang Ni, you used to be quite close with Bai Shu, right? Did he ever talk to you about his family?"

The girl seemed disinterested in their conversation. She sat aside with her long lashes lowered, lost in thought.

When someone called her again, she snapped back to reality and shook her head while her eyes danced: "Ah? No."

"Really? He never mentioned the Qin family guy? You know, Qin Jijing. You know him, right? Are you acquainted?" Since Jiang Ni and Bai Shu were friends, maybe she knew Qin Jijing too.

At the mention of that name, the girl's eyes, which held a hint of a smile, blinked gently but still she shook her head.

"I've just returned to the country, how could I know him," she said.

Her appearance was innocent, and when she smiled, those clear, bright eyes curved slightly, staring straight at them.

For such an important occasion today, her makeup was as light and fresh as usual, but it couldn't hide her natural beauty. Sitting alone by the moonlight in her white dress, she looked innocent while responding, resembling a tame and gentle silver Jin Jila cat, harmless to humans and animals, making it hard for others to doubt her words.

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, everyone believed her and didn't press further, "Alright, alright, let's not question Jiang Ni. She grew up abroad, and she's not from Beijing, so who could she know."

Soon the topic of conversation changed, but as they talked, it shifted back to that person from the Qin family.

"Didn't you follow them to get acquainted? That was Qin Jijing!"

"I did want to, but who would dare! You could tell at a glance that he wasn't someone we could afford to offend..."

Not far away, Jiang Ni listened to their discussion, withdrew her gaze, and silently looked up in a certain direction on the fourth deck.

Qin Jijing, huh. How could she not know him?

They had met once, but they couldn't be considered acquainted just yet.

However...

Her phone in her hand vibrated, a message from Bai Shu.

["My brother is upstairs; seize your chance."]

As soon as she read these words, Jiang Ni, without almost any hesitation, placed her champagne glass on the tray of a passing waiter and silently took the elevator, unnoticed by others.

A few people behind her were still whispering about the previous topic—

"He's surrounded by several men in black suits; you can't even get close enough to greet him face to face, let alone come within three meters without being driven away by his bodyguards."

—

On the fourth floor, alongside the corridor.

The man undid one button of his suit jacket, stood with his back to the light and shadows, and leaned lazily against the wall while listening to his father's questioning over the phone.

"Was that eldest son of the Jiang family who was arrested last week related to you?"

He responded, and then the voice on the phone continued:

"Jiang Songhai is seriously ill, and he only has those two sons. The younger one is good for nothing, but fortunately, the older one has some capabilities. He had a collaboration with your uncle before. When you deal with things, don't be too ruthless; don't cut off the Jiang family's retreat.

"Are you listening? Answer me."

The man looked down, fiddled with his lighter, gently brushed his fingertip across the flint wheel, and lit a cigarette without a flicker of emotion on his face, as if the person being scolded wasn't him.

"It's his own naivety that's to blame, not others. He should bear the consequences himself. You don't need to plead on his behalf."

His words were asking for a scolding.

Just before the tirade could reach his ears, another voice came on the line.

"It's me."

At the sound, Qin Jijing's eyes and expression softened, and he casually placed the lighter on the railing, freeing a hand to remove the cigarette from his lips. His tone grew lighter: "Good morning, Mrs. Lin. Why are you up so early on the weekend?"

"Did I disturb your rest?"

There was a time difference between them; it was already morning where his mother was.

"You two are too noisy."

"Sorry." Qin Jijing exhaled helplessly, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and quickly soothed his mother: "It's just a trivial matter, I was having a casual chat with father. Don't trouble yourself over it."

"But it seems like you've managed to upset your dad quite a bit," Mrs. Lin stated calmly.

"Sorry." But this time, it wasn't as sincere as before.

Detecting little regret in his tone, Mrs. Lin laughed it off, not willing to bother with their company matters.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Wish Xiaoshu a happy birthday for me."

Qin Jijing responded warmly and waited until the call was ended before he took the phone away from his ear.

The screen was still lit, and he could see that there were messages coming in on WeChat. Bai Shu had been urging him to come back to the private room to play cards since three minutes ago.

His stride was unhurried as he walked down the middle of the corridor when he realized someone was following him, their footsteps more urgent than his own. It wasn't his bodyguard.

He didn't turn around, but he had a good guess as to who it was. Soon after, a crisp voice came from behind him:

"Mr. Qin, you've dropped something."

[Author's Note: "Delayed Sweet Love" is a short story of about two hundred thousand words. The female lead is a capricious young lady who plays dumb to her advantage and appears to be a delicate flower on the outside but is ambitious on the inside. The male lead is older and is calculating in his move, with both engaging in a mutually enthusiastic pursuit of sweet moments. All settings in this story serve the plot. Any inappropriateness is welcome to be pointed out kindly by the readers. In the end, if not satisfied with good stories, we can always change them.]