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Jiang Chengyu rarely showed his emotions, but tonight his good mood was evident on his face as he gently put Shen Tang down.
If she had taken his private jet, she would still be in London now. Her return more than ten hours early indicated that she was unwilling to wait those extra hours to see him.
Her heart was yearning to return.
“You bought a plane ticket to come back?”
Shen Tang nodded. “Business was settled. I didn’t have anything important to do there, so I left your plane for Xiao Dongkai.”
She knew clearly that for Jiang Chengyu, London was a sensitive city. It held not only Xiao Ning Group but also Ning Yinquan, and the several years she had spent with Ning Yinquan.
He had been under a lot of pressure these past few days because of the target company’s issues, and she didn’t want to add to his worries. She reiterated, “I came back because I wanted to see you sooner, not because there was an urgent matter at the studio.”
Shen Tang looked at him. “London isn’t a city I linger in; Beijing is.” She paused, then changed her words, “Wherever you are, that’s where I linger.”
Xie Yuncheng and Lu Zhifei were still in the clubhouse courtyard. Near the main entrance, Qin Xing’s flashy red sports car also drove in.
However, Jiang Chengyu paid no attention to anyone else. He put his arm around Shen Tang’s shoulder, pulling her close, “Thank you.” He lowered his head and kissed her cheek.
A few meters away from them, it was Lu Zhifei who felt awkward. She averted her gaze from Jiang Chengyu.
Lu Zhifei didn’t have a penchant for watching couples intimately, but Jiang Chengyu, a man who never outwardly displayed his emotions, was suddenly doting on a woman so openly. She was dumbfounded.
Of course, an inexplicable surge of jealousy was unavoidable, and many women, including herself, would envy Shen Tang being carried and tossed by Jiang Chengyu.
She turned to Xie Yuncheng. “Are you and Jiang Chengyu meeting someone?”
Xie Yuncheng felt nothing for Lu Zhifei. Her revelation of his ‘romance’ with Shen Tang had once put him in a very passive position. Still, he maintained his gentlemanly demeanor. “Yes, we’re meeting a few friends of his.”
Qin Xing got out of his car, keys spinning in his hand, and strolled leisurely towards them, whistling.
Listening closely, the tune he was whistling was “Because of Love.”
As he passed by Jiang Chengyu and Shen Tang, his whistle suddenly grew louder.
Xie Yuncheng went ahead to the private room upstairs. Lu Zhifei waited for Qin Xing to enter the clubhouse together. She scrutinized Qin Xing from head to toe. “What’s with your mouth—stop—” She cut herself off, turning his face. “How did your face get cut?”
“Nothing, a woman scratched me during a fight.”
“You’re quite something, fighting with a woman.” Lu Zhifei continued her interrupted sentence, “When did your lips become so sealed? This isn’t like you.”
Lu Zhifei was a year older than Qin Xing. When he was little, Qin Xing used to follow her around, calling her ‘Sis’ with boundless enthusiasm. From childhood to adulthood, she had taken good care of him, but she never expected him to keep such a big secret from her.
“Do you know the big boss behind Huirui?” she deliberately baited him.
Qin Xing’s acting skills were already superb. “Of course I know him! I heard he’s from our circle, but I just don’t know who it is.”
He took half a step closer to Lu Zhifei and whispered, “Hey, did you find out? I’m dying of curiosity too. Tell me, I promise I won’t blab.”
The next second, “I... f*ck!” Qin Xing shrieked.
He had been kicked by Lu Zhifei. “Are all you women so fierce?”
“Stop pretending, Jiang Chengyu himself said he’s the boss.” Lu Zhifei made to kick him a second time, but Qin Xing quickly moved two meters away. “Sister Zhifei, you can’t be like this. You said you already know, so why are you asking me?”
He patted his chest and guaranteed, “If you ever need my help, I swear I won’t say anything that shouldn’t be said, even if you beat me to death.”
Lu Zhifei wasn’t truly angry. “Little rascal, you’ve grown up.”
She wondered, “Last time, you went to such great lengths to cover for Jiang Chengyu, and even sang a love song with Shen Tang. Did he already transfer Huirui’s shares to you then?”
“Not yet back then.” Since things had come to this, there was no need to keep it a secret anymore. Qin Xing told the truth: “Brother Jiang gifted me 0.5% of the shares, and the rest of his shares are temporarily transferred to my name.”
As for how many shares Jiang Chengyu actually held in Huirui, if Jiang Chengyu hadn’t said, he had to keep it a secret.
Lu Zhifei grabbed his arm. “Wait a minute, he gave you 0.5% of the shares for free?”
“Yeah.” Qin Xing scratched the fringe on his forehead. “Actually, I didn’t want to take it. I always take Brother Jiang’s stuff, and I feel ashamed. I’m a mess, but Brother Jiang helped me stand up. I can only grit my teeth and try to stay on top for a little longer.”
“...”
Huirui Industry was a large entity, but its true wealth was unknown to outsiders. 0.5% of the shares, only Jiang Chengyu could be so generous and just give it away.
Perhaps, it was Qin Xing’s sincere protection of Jiang Chengyu on those few occasions that touched him.
Lu Zhifei released Qin Xing’s arm. “Tonight, I’m treating you to drinks. Order whatever you want, no matter how expensive.”
She finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the target company could overcome its difficulties, her stock holdings would yield a significant profit.
Lu Zhifei and Qin Xing walked up the stairs. The sound of her high heels echoed in the fire escape, ‘clack-clack,’ each step distinct.
As they turned onto the third floor, the elevator doors opened, and Jiang Chengyu and Shen Tang walked out, he holding her hand.
After the princess carry and kiss in the courtyard earlier, Lu Zhifei could now face this hand-holding with composure.
When she was still friends with Jiang Chengyu, she had imagined countless times how boring it would be to date him, how his eyes saw nothing but profit.
Perhaps when she wanted to go on a date with him, he would be at a social engagement.
When she wanted to celebrate an anniversary with him, he might be on a business trip.
But looking at him now, he was also romantic.
Every romantic gesture moved one’s heart.
“Miss Shen,” Lu Zhifei called out to Shen Tang, smiling. “May I have a word with you? I’d like to discuss an important recent decision regarding the company.”
Shen Tang was a shareholder and board member of her company, so it was reasonable for Lu Zhifei to approach her on business. And Shen Tang had no reason to refuse.
“Okay.” Shen Tang let go of Jiang Chengyu’s hand. She and Lu Zhifei didn’t go into the private room but went to the sofas in the lounge area and sat down.
A waiter brought them two glasses of warm water.
The two sat facing each other.
“You possess more now than I, or even you, realize.” Lu Zhifei was still reeling from the shock of learning Jiang Chengyu was the owner of Huirui Industry. She no longer beat around the bush and spoke frankly, “With Jiang Chengyu’s financial power, you can afford custom-made clothes every day. Why bother muddying my insignificant little business?”
“Ms. Lu, you’re being humble. How can you call that an insignificant business?” Shen Tang was feeling extremely tired at the moment. She hadn’t rested well these past two days, and her internal clock was off.
She asked the waiter for another cup of coffee.
“Would you like some ice cream?” she asked Lu Zhifei.
Lu Zhifei: “I don’t have any ‘fire’ in me right now.”
No need for ice cream to cool down.
“I’m genuinely talking to you. You set the conditions, and as long as they are within a reasonable range, I’ll agree to them.” She dropped her condescending attitude, her tone sincere.
Jiang Chengyu and Shen Tang’s marriage was a done deal, and she didn’t want to waste any more emotional effort. Cutting her losses in time, before falling out with Jiang Chengyu, was the wisest choice.
Lu Zhifei laid out the facts: “Your career focus is currently in China. You simply can’t manage things in Europe and America. Besides, you need to deal with Fan Yu, then contend with me, and possibly Xiao Donghan later. You’ll be stretched thin, neglecting one thing for another, perhaps picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons. Think about it carefully.”
There was no need to think.
It was true.
The coffee was hot, Shen Tang brought it to her lips, then set it down.
“You’re reconciling with me because you don’t want to lose the social circle that comes with Jiang Chengyu.”
Lu Zhifei admitted it, nodding.
Shen Tang stirred her coffee. The bitterness of the coffee, when in a good mood, became a rich aroma.
In the time it took to drink a cup of coffee, she had decided on her withdrawal conditions.
“I will no longer serve as a director, and the voting rights for the shares will be returned to you. From now on, I will not participate in company management, but only hold shares in your company and receive dividends.”
Lu Zhifei: “Tell me your conditions.”
“First, guarantee the fashion resources for my company’s artists, and retrieve all resources from Fan Yu’s company. The second condition is a bit private. My bodyguard will deliver the relevant information to you then. It’s a favor I need from you.”
Lu Zhifei self-deprecatingly said, “Does Miss Shen think my capability is up to par?”
“Why not?” After finishing her coffee, Shen Tang put down the cup. “When you exposed my relationship with Xie Yuncheng and Ning Yinquan, General Manager Ge helped you so diligently. To this day, I still don’t know what deal you made with him.”
Lu Zhifei couldn’t tell if Shen Tang was praising or criticizing her. The conditions Shen Tang proposed were not too harsh, and she readily agreed.
Shen Tang stood up and went to the private room to find Jiang Chengyu.
As she turned the corner, she almost bumped into someone walking toward her: Zhao Chiyi, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Zhao Chiyi was on the phone, and the person in front of him made him stop. “I’ll call you back later.” Without waiting for the other party to speak, he hung up directly.
He looked at Shen Tang, with a strong sense of settling scores.
Shen Tang smiled. “Mr. Zhao, long time no see.”
“It’s been over four months, quite a long time.” The last time he saw her was on her birthday, when he gave her a bouquet of protea flowers and had a meal with her.
Zhao Chiyi had just come from a dinner party, and having drunk alcohol that evening, he reeked of it. He consciously took a few steps back, creating a suitable distance between them.
“You really can’t trust women. You said you’d completely retire, so I took over the Evergreen Hotel’s business. But then you quietly came back and started your own entertainment company.”
However, he couldn’t be as carefree as her. Once he took over the business, he had to see it through.
Unfamiliar with hotel management, he had been overwhelmed these past few months, unable to find time to come back and see her.
Shen Tang hoped he would return to his own life. “Jiang Chengyu and I are back together.”
Zhao Chiyi: “I heard. It’s nothing, even married couples can get divorced.” His phone rang. He put it on silent. “I have an appointment. I’ll find time to have dinner with you another day.”
He walked away quickly, turning the corner.
Shen Tang entered the private room. Jiang Chengyu and Xie Yuncheng were playing cards. There were no extra people sitting at their table, just four people around the card table. They seemed to be discussing business, and others had voluntarily stayed away.
She didn’t go over to disturb them and went to find Qin Xing.
Qin Xing was engrossed in his singing, eyes half-closed, his body swaying with the music.
Shen Tang sat beside him. The light from the screen happened to fall on his profile, revealing a long scratch from his jawline to his neck.
It didn’t look like a nail scratch.
She patted Qin Xing’s shoulder. “What happened to your face?”
Qin Xing opened his eyes and turned off the microphone. “Chu Ran injured me.”
“...Did you two get into a fight?” Shen Tang turned on her phone’s flashlight and shone it on his face wound. “I went to the office today and you weren’t there. Yuanyuan said you were supervising Chu Ran’s physical training. Did you fight over that?”
“No fight.”
Chu Ran didn’t want to run, so she gave him a few sheets of paper as an excuse, saying she needed to prepare for tomorrow’s show recording.
He insisted on dragging her out for a run. She tried to block him with her hand, and the papers she was holding cut his face.
Qin Xing gently touched the injured spot. “Luckily, the wound isn’t deep.”
“Shen Tang, let’s go home.” Jiang Chengyu called her.
In the past, even after finishing business, he would stay a little longer. Today, with Shen Tang present, after one round and once the important matters were discussed, he let someone else take his place.
Shen Tang reminded Qin Xing, “Go to the pharmacy and buy some anti-inflammatory cream. It will heal faster.”
“No need,” Qin Xing said. “Chu Ran said she’d buy me medicine tomorrow.”
He waved to Shen Tang. “You go back. See you at the recording site tomorrow.”
Jiang Chengyu waited at the private room door, extending his hand to her.
Shen Tang quickly walked over, took his hand, and intertwined their fingers.
After entering the elevator, Shen Tang stood in front of Jiang Chengyu, facing him. “I’ve reconciled with Lu Zhifei.”
Jiang Chengyu knew her concession was because of him. He took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. “Thank you.”
Shen Tang could now consider his perspective: “No matter what, she’s known you for over twenty years. Childhood feelings are always different, and the Lu family has been a family friend with yours for generations.”
It would never be good to have a falling out.
Perhaps, now that she had more, she naturally cared less about the small things.
In the car, Shen Tang was still worried about the collective resignation of the target company’s executives. She subtly probed, “How’s the handover work for the target company progressing?”
Jiang Chengyu was concise: “The issue of the executives collectively jumping to Huirui Industry has been resolved.”
“How was it resolved?”
“I’m the boss behind Huirui Industry.”
“...”
Shen Tang’s shock was no less than Lu Zhifei’s. She knew he had several companies; he had mentioned it briefly a few years ago when they first started dating, saying he had many companies.
She hadn’t expected one to be a large company like Huirui Industry.
“Then how do you plan for these two companies to coexist?”
Jiang Chengyu briefly explained: “The target company and Huirui Industry have some overlapping businesses. The target company will acquire the competitive assets from Huirui Industry. After this, the target company’s competitiveness in the industry will be basically unshakeable.”
Shen Tang touched his fingertips. “They say ten fingers are connected to the heart. I, a small rookie in the business world, want to feel what you’re thinking.”
Jiang Chengyu cooperated with her. “Then tell me.”
Shen Tang looked into his eyes, her heart beating faster involuntarily.
She was afraid of saying the wrong thing, yet she eagerly wanted to express her guess: “Actually, this overlapping business between Huirui Industry and the target company has already reached a development bottleneck, and perhaps performance has started to decline. You are finding a way to overcome the bottleneck, so you set your sights on the target company. That’s why, even knowing there was a pitfall, you still insisted on acquiring it.”
Jiang Chengyu gestured for her to continue: “Continue.”
“Huirui Industry has two major core businesses, with astonishing R&D expenditures each year. Even so, there’s still a slight feeling of powerlessness, like a small horse pulling a big cart. You want to let go of one core business and wholeheartedly focus on the other.”
Jiang Chengyu smiled, not interrupting her.
“But both core businesses were developed with your hard work, and you couldn’t bear to see either decline. Coincidentally, this core business that overlaps with the target company has reached a bottleneck in the past two years. You’re preparing to find it a better home, hence the acquisition of the target company.”
The tingling sensation on their fingertips traveled upwards through their fingers.
Jiang Chengyu listened carefully to her analysis. Shen Tang continued with her hypothesis: “Huirui Industry uses the money from selling this part of its assets to focus on developing the other core business.”
After Huirui no longer had businesses that conflicted with the target company, it could hold shares in the target company, becoming a major shareholder.
For both the target company and Huirui Industry, it would be a win-win.
And the biggest winners were Jiang Chengyu and the shareholders of both companies.
After listening, Jiang Chengyu nodded. She was largely correct.
He grasped her fingers. “You’re cheating.”
“I didn’t look at your computer or documents.” Shen Tang asked, “How did I cheat?”
Jiang Chengyu: “You’re inside my heart, so naturally you know what I’m thinking.”
Shen Tang was speechless. If she was cheating, then his flirtation was foul play.
She leaned closer to him. “Mr. Jiang, how much money do you actually have? A friend of mine wants to know.”
Jiang Chengyu caressed her fingers. “You tell your friend that I only tell my wife how much money I have.” Then he said to her, “If you ask me how much money I have for yourself, I’ll tell you.”
When he said he would only tell his wife, he meant her.
Shen Tang was flustered, her ears burning.
Jiang Chengyu looked at her. “Not asking anymore?”
Shen Tang retorted, “No need to ask. When I’m free, I’ll just wander into your heart and find the answer.”
The driver silently raised the glass partition.
________________________________________
Upon arriving home, they placed their belongings in the living room. Without a word, they instinctively sought each other’s lips.
This time, they took the elevator upstairs, kissing all the way to the bedroom.
Having been apart for two days, they both yearned for each other.
The showerhead water wet Shen Tang’s long hair. She reached for a towel to wipe her eyes.
Jiang Chengyu had already entered.
She felt the strength in his waist and abdomen, comparable to his arm strength.
Jiang Chengyu looked at the person in his arms. “You still haven’t said those three words to me.”
Shen Tang: “I wrote them to you.” She reminded him, “On your Father’s Day gift.”
“That doesn’t count. You wrote that on behalf of the child.”
Shen Tang couldn’t bear the intensity he was giving, and gently bit his lip.
When he desired her for the second time, she couldn’t resist and whispered in his ear, “I love you, and I loved you sooner. A long, long time ago, even before our third anniversary.”
Jiang Chengyu kept looking into her eyes, searching his memories for every time she had been different.
Shen Tang had no recollection of how she fell asleep.
She opened her eyes again the next morning. The person beside her had already woken up.
Shen Tang had to go to the recording site today, so she dragged her tired body out of bed to wash up.
While she was doing her makeup, Jiang Chengyu called her to wake her up, “Don’t be late.”
“I’m already up. My alarm rang three times.” Shen Tang was applying eye makeup. “You go ahead with your work, everything will go smoothly.”
Jiang Chengyu hung up the phone. He had just arrived at the target company’s office to deal with the CEO’s issues today.
Xie Yuncheng had arrived a few minutes earlier than him, and the coffee was already brewed.
He handed Jiang Chengyu the documents he had organized overnight, which were related to the CEO. “It might not be complete; we’ll supplement it today.”
Time was short, so he didn’t have time to investigate more.
Jiang Chengyu flipped through a few pages. “Enough.”
Xie Yuncheng leaned back in the sofa, having stayed up all night. He couldn’t hold on any longer. “I’m going to get some sleep.”
He had barely closed his eyes for two minutes when there was a knock at the door.
The CEO had anticipated since the handover meeting that the ‘Hongmen Banquet’ prepared for him would not be far off.
Sure enough, it came today.
“Have a seat.”
Jiang Chengyu gestured to the sofa opposite, at the other end of which Xie Yuncheng was resting with his eyes closed.
The CEO took out a contract from his bag. Polite pleasantries were useless at this point, and both parties skipped them.
“Mr. Jiang, you must have seen this contract.”
It was the labor contract he had signed with the target company back then. If he was dismissed due to the company’s acquisition, he would need to be paid 180 million in compensation.
This was his sharp sword. Even if he couldn’t keep his position, getting so much compensation meant he would only profit, not lose.
Jiang Chengyu placed a stack of documents in front of him. “I’m not interested in your contract, but you’ll definitely be interested in these documents.”
The CEO’s face turned pale after reading six pages of evidence.
Last year, he had used his position to sell a wholly-owned subsidiary controlled by the target company at a low price, and the buyer had given him a large kickback.
The investigation documents were filled with the benefits he had received over the years.
He had been very careful, but Jiang Chengyu still found leverage against him.
Jiang Chengyu: “You voluntarily resign, give up any compensation, and your old debts will be wiped clean.”
Before the CEO could speak, he added: “Tell me what pit Xiao Donghan dug for me, tell me what you know.”
After struggling for ten minutes, the materials in the CEO’s hand were almost crumpled. He had no choice but to accept Jiang Chengyu’s condition.
“All I know is that three of the core technology patents you and Mr. Xie are interested in actually require us to pay patent usage fees to another company, starting this year.”
The patent rights originally belonged to the target company, but that subsidiary was sold and became someone else’s.
It was because of these patent rights that the other party gave him a high kickback.
This fee hadn’t started to be paid this year, so it wasn’t reflected in the financial report. Plus, there were moles in Jiang Chengyu and Xie Yuncheng’s teams, which is why Jiang Chengyu didn’t discover this pitfall when signing the acquisition agreement.
Jiang Chengyu asked, “How much patent usage fee needs to be paid annually?”
CEO: “1.2 billion.”
It was equivalent to the target company’s hard-earned money being used to benefit others.
Fifteen minutes later, the CEO left Jiang Chengyu’s office.
With this outcome, he didn’t know if it was good or bad. Jiang Chengyu hadn’t completely blocked his path forward, but it seemed there wasn’t a wide road ahead either.
Xiao Donghan’s call came in, “How was it?”
Silence for a few seconds.
CEO: “I resigned.”
With nothing else to say, he ended the call.
Xiao Donghan had the speakerphone on, and Xiao Dongkai heard it. “Didn’t I warn you not to get involved in Huirui Industry’s murky waters? Now you must be regretting it.”
The fifteen executives who switched jobs paid a high compensation to the target company, but after all that jumping around, they still ended up in Jiang Chengyu’s own company.
All that money was equivalent to being directly put into Jiang Chengyu’s pocket.
Xiao Donghan threw his phone onto the coffee table, unhurried. “The show has just begun.”
Xiao Dongkai asked, “What other tricks do you have to deal with Jiang Chengyu?”
Xiao Donghan: “Jiang Chengyu’s target company will have to pay 1.2 billion yuan in patent usage fees annually to my holding company from now on. He cannot bypass my patent, otherwise the target company cannot operate.”
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