Passion Raga Novel (Completed) - Chapter 77

Epilogue

“I’d like you to find someone for me.”

When that quiet, calm voice spoke from the other end of the phone, Ling Tangyun paused the hand that was flipping through his settlement ledger, checking off areas that needed attention.

“Someone?”

Ling Tangyun furrowed his brow slightly as he repeated the question, then set his pen down. He had a feeling that if he carelessly answered the phone while working on his ledger, he might make a mistake and face severe consequences later. He even switched the phone from his left hand to his right, holding the receiver to his better-hearing right ear, just in case he misheard a single word.

“What kind of person?”

When Ling Tangyun asked suspiciously, the voice on the other end fell silent for a moment before answering calmly.

“Someone who can assist and help Ling Xinlu with his work. If possible, someone who can endure for a long time and continue to assist with the work,” the voice added. Ling Tangyun remained silent for a while after hearing this. No more words came from the other end of the line either.

After about ten seconds of silence, Ling Tangyun finally spoke. “But, you know…”

“I’m sure I’ve heard that request from you before.”

“Yes, you have.”

“As I recall, Xinlu told me not to worry about it, saying he’d handle it himself.”

“Yes, he did.”

The voice on the other end of the line remained calm. Ling Tangyun sighed, “Hmm,” and rubbed his forehead. He was a bit tired after working all day. But he couldn’t afford to make a mistake in his answer. This concerned none other than his youngest brother, Ling Xinlu.

“Yuri. There’s no problem this time, right?”

Ling Tangyun lowered his voice and asked subtly. A brief silence followed on the other end, but then a nonchalant voice continued.

“Yes, as long as the person meets the conditions, it’s fine.”

“Xinlu said it was okay too?”

“Yes.”

Only after hearing Yuri’s answer—Yuri, who would remain silent instead of answering if he couldn’t tell the truth—did Ling Tangyun’s expression relax with a “Then it’s settled.” It had been quite some time.

Once before, Yuri had asked Ling Tangyun to find someone. Ling Tangyun had readily agreed when Yuri called, asking him to find a capable person to assist Ling Xinlu in his stead.

It was at that very moment. A loud, shattering sound came from the other end of the line, followed by his youngest brother’s icy voice. His brother, who sounded like he was terrifyingly scolding Yuri for asking for such a favor, seemed to have snatched the phone from Yuri’s hand.

“Hello.”

His youngest brother greeted him in a voice that sounded like he was calling an enemy, catching Ling Tangyun off guard, who had been having a peaceful conversation with Yuri just moments before. He remembered Ling Tangyun sighing bitterly when his brother, in a brutally blunt voice that made him lose all affection, told him not to worry about finding someone to assist him, as he would handle it himself, then hung up.

It turned out that Yuri had made a decision on his own, without even asking Ling Xinlu’s intentions, to find an assistant for Ling Xinlu to replace himself. In Ling Tangyun’s judgment, Yuri’s attitude of finding a capable successor before leaving was quite satisfactory, but it seemed his twisted youngest brother didn’t see it that way.

When Ling Tangyun later met him and gently admonished him with a smile, his much younger brother, with eyes wide and glaring, casually referred to his own older brother as a stranger, saying, ‘Why should someone else decide who assists me?’ His youngest brother was just that kind of person. Since childhood, he had been lovely and full of charm, monopolizing the affection of adults—Ling Tangyun didn’t dislike his youngest brother, just found him difficult in many ways—but underneath, he was a child with an off-putting side.

However, since Ling Tangyun didn’t want to create any trouble with his youngest brother, he refrained from mentioning or interfering with his brother’s assistant issues afterward. He vaguely heard that Yuri, who had made the request to Ling Tangyun on his own initiative, had also received quite a harsh scolding from Ling Xinlu for it, as he didn’t bring up the topic of a new assistant for a while.

Then, not long ago, during a family meal on a weekend, Ling Xinlu suddenly remarked nonchalantly, “Oh, by the way, I signed a lifetime contract with Yuri Gable.” Ling Tangyun was very surprised and thought that Ling Xinlu’s assistant wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. But at the time, he was truly astonished. Perhaps “extremely unexpected” would be a more accurate description.

Ling Tangyun had known Yuri Gable for a long time. Yuri was an exceptionally capable informant, coveted by many organizations and companies who offered high salaries, yet he was a man who never signed a lifetime contract. He was a man who always loved a life of “freely seeking water and leaving.” For such a person to sign a lifetime contract was quite unexpected, and also, in a way, a little regretful. Although Yuri’s exceptional ability wasn’t particularly useful for Ling Tangyun’s business, so he had never seriously coveted putting him under his wing, it was still true that he was a talent one would be loath to lose to someone else.

But well, Ling Tangyun, who believed that relationships between people also had their own fate, quickly composed himself and, as an older brother, extended his greetings to Yuri, asking him to take good care of Xinlu in the future.

And now, Yuri, who had contacted Ling Tangyun after a long time, was asking him to “find an assistant for Ling Xinlu.”

Ling Tangyun recalled the past when his brother had glared at him with an icy demeanor, saying, “I’ll find my own assistant.” However, since Ling Xinlu had agreed to find an assistant this time, there would be no worries on that front.

“But Yuri, you haven’t been in a lifetime contract with him for that long, so why are you looking for someone else to assist him at this point?”

What kind of perfect person would be suitable to assist someone as subtly difficult as Ling Xinlu? Ling Tangyun pulled out his personnel registry and casually flipped through it as he asked. But even as he asked, he seemed to understand why Yuri—or Ling Xinlu—was looking for another assistant.

It was also related to why Ling Tangyun, even though he coveted Yuri’s abilities, didn’t try too hard to keep him under his wing: even aside from his excellent abilities as an informant, Yuri was generally more capable than average people in other tasks. However, that meant “more capable than average,” not “as capable as highly skilled people in that field.” Perfectly assisting Ling Xinlu with his work would not be something that could be done with ordinary skill.

For now, it was fine. Ling Xinlu could still be considered a newcomer learning the ropes, so even Yuri, who was only above average, could help him without much difficulty. However, as time passed and Ling Xinlu’s importance in his work grew, the tasks that his assistant would have to handle would become more complex and challenging. That might be a bit too much for Yuri.

Therefore, Ling Tangyun wanted to commend Yuri’s proactive approach. It was not easy to accurately assess one’s own capabilities in a given area and compare them with the skills required by one’s position. Yet, Yuri had weighed his current capabilities against the future requirements and determined that he needed a more competent assistant, as his own efforts alone might be insufficient.

Ling Tangyun had often seen people whose shallow pride led them to take on more than they could handle, only to fail at everything. He wanted to help this wise young man, who was also his old friend, as much as possible. So, Ling Tangyun willingly pulled out his secret record book—a personnel registry where he noted down capable individuals he often met—and flipped through it.

“So, he said it’s fine as long as the person meets the conditions, Xinlu did? Well then, what exactly are those conditions?”

Young people with various useful advanced certifications, young people with enviable academic backgrounds, young people who had shown outstanding talent in something and achieved remarkable feats in their industry—Ling Tangyun’s registry contained many promising and capable individuals. It probably wouldn’t be difficult to find someone if he went by conditions.

“The basic conditions required to assist Ling Xinlu must be met, but Mr. Ling Tangyun would know more about this than I,” Yuri said, and Ling Tangyun nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it would be good to have someone with accounting skills or legal knowledge, for example. Someone who has professionally studied economics and business would be even better, and social skills are also essential.” Ling Tangyun listed the somewhat difficult conditions that could not all be met by one person simultaneously in his mind as he flipped through the registry. This precious registry contained many excellent talents who satisfied all such conditions.

“Okay, so for someone who meets those conditions, there must also be conditions set by Xinlu, right? He’s subtly picky about choosing people, so his conditions might be even harder to meet than the work ability ones. What kind of person does he want?”

“Well, that is…”

Ling Tangyun was excitedly flipping through the registry when he paused, tilted his head, and thought, “Huh?” He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like Yuri had hesitated for a moment. Yuri was rarely hesitant or indecisive, even if his habit of thinking before speaking slowed down the conversation. The clear hesitation on his part suggested that the conditions might be quite demanding.

“Why? Tell me. Does he want a Central Committee cadre as an assistant?”

“No, it’s not like that. If they have the basic necessary abilities, the conditions Ling Xinlu set aren’t particularly difficult to meet.”

“That’s a relief. So, what are they?”

“Well, first, their appearance should be below average.”

Yuri, who had seemed to hesitate again for a moment, slowly mumbled. Ling Tangyun, who had been eagerly listening, burning with a competitive spirit to find a suitable talent no matter how difficult the conditions, suddenly thought he had misheard.

“Uh, wait a minute, Yuri. I’m sorry, my hearing’s been a bit off lately. I misheard, could you repeat that?”

“Yes, their appearance should be below average.”

“The lower the better, he said,” Yuri added, his voice returning to its calm tone, as if he had become somewhat accustomed to making such an absurd statement. Ling Tangyun, meanwhile, was starting to doubt his own comprehension, wondering what this meant, as his ears didn’t seem to be failing him.

“Appearance? Right, well, when choosing someone you’ll see often, appearance matters. Okay, what else?”

Ling Tangyun mumbled awkwardly, trying to force himself to accept it, but then he fell into thought again. Why below average, and not above?

“The shorter they are and the more they weigh, the better,”

But the indifferent words flowing from the other end of the line somehow became more and more absurd the more he heard them. Ling Tangyun listened dumbfounded for a moment, then interrupted Yuri, “Wait.”

“We’re choosing someone to assist Xinlu, right? So, someone to help with his work?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Okay, go on. Are there more conditions?”

“Regarding lifestyle, it would be better if they lacked refinement, and their personality should be abrasive.”

Now, Ling Tangyun was even wondering if it was April Fool’s Day, or if Yuri was playing some kind of penalty game. And even amidst all this, Yuri continued to reel off conditions in a blunt, businesslike tone—as if he just wanted to get it all out and shut up.

“He hopes they’re already married and faithful to their family, and finally…”

Right, at least this one made a little sense. He still didn’t know what connection it had to work ability, but what about the gap between an “abrasive personality” and being “faithful to their family”?

Ling Tangyun nodded with an ambiguous expression, listening intently to the receiver. He had long since closed his proud personnel registry.

“And it would be even better if they had hydrophobia.”