TL: Hua
Shen Boyan took the photo and had no intention of returning it to him.
He said, “Give me the photo. I will have someone investigate it.”
Xia Shu’an had this in mind, so he didn’t refuse.
With Shen Boyan’s power and influence, it’s not hard for him to investigate a person. The next day at work, Yang Han’s simple personal investigation report had already appeared on his desk.
Assistant Qi presented the information in a very organized manner: “Yang Han, thirty-five years old, a native of Rongchuan, currently single and unemployed…”
At this point, he paused and said in a subtle tone, “According to the investigation, Yang Han seems to be a freelance manager. He will join other companies when they encounter some project difficulties and leave after the project is successful. The asking price is high, but the success rate is also high.”
“Freelance manager?” Shen Boyan became interested: “Tell me more specifically.”
“All that’s known so far is that he specializes in big cases, such as acquisition financing, or when he’s interested in competing with other big companies for a particular project, he’ll step in as a freelance manager, supposedly’specializing in solving other people’s difficulties’.”
“Specialized in solving other people’s difficulties.” As the word rolled across Shen Boyan’s tongue, he sneered and said, “I didn’t know that Rongchuan had hidden such a big shot. It’s really impressive.”
“Let’s check his case carefully again. Wait a minute—”
He lowered his gaze and thought for a moment, then said, “Let’s also check out his relationship with the Kang family and the Qiao family.”
“Yes.”
After Assistant Qi left, Shen Boyan sat quietly in his seat for a while, with a thoughtful look on his face. A moment later, he picked up his mobile phone and dialed a number: “Hello, President Qiao? Do you have time today for an afternoon tea appointment?”
…….
Qiao Zhenhua was very grateful to Shen Boyan for the wedding, which was officially canceled two days ago. In his position, the marriage of his children is not only a family matter but also a business matter. These days, he has been busy appeasing the company and some good friends. Today, he finally has time to sit down and thank Shen Boyan properly.
In a restaurant owned by Shen Boyan in the urban area, Qiao Zhenhua held Shen Boyan’s hand with both hands and said repeatedly, “I’m so grateful to President Shen for my little daughter’s wedding. If it weren’t for your generous help, I don’t know what kind of public opinion dilemma our Qiao family would be facing now. Thank you so much…”
Shen Boyan reassured him: “This matter wasn’t Miss Qiao’s fault in the first place. Miss Qiao and I are friends. I can’t just watch her being framed by others.”
After the two sides sat down, Qiao Zhenhua’s mood stabilized.
The Wenhui Group settled in Rongchuan with great momentum. Qiao was originally in a wait-and-see attitude. In addition, last year, Wenhui can be said to have completely defeated Gu, becoming Rongchuan’s number one pharmaceutical company. Its development in other industries is also booming, making it the most upwardly moving company in Rongchuan at present. Qiao Zhenhua originally had the intention to cooperate with him, and now this matter has opened up a new situation, which can be considered a blessing in disguise.
“President Qiao, I have a question. Do you know this person?”
Shen Boyan took out Yang Han’s photo. Qiao Zhenhua looked at it for a while and shook his head. Just as he was about to say that he didn’t know him, Qiao Siya shouted in surprise and said, “I’ve seen this person before!”
“You have?”
Qiao Siya: “Yes, on the day of the wedding, I went to President Kang’s lounge and met this man there. I remembered that he had a close relationship with Mrs. Kang, and she was also very kind to him.”
On the day of the wedding, those who could be placed beside them were naturally people with special relationships. As if he could sense something, Qiao Zhenhua said, “President Shen, what’s going on?”
Shen Boyan: “This man’s name is Yang Han. He is a freelance manager who specializes in stepping in and solving problems for other companies when they encounter difficulties in their big projects. This man happened to appear at the wedding. I’m worried that he’s up to something.”
Qiao Zhenhua’s eyes were sharp, and he looked thoughtful. After a while, he still said, “President Shen, you have done such a big favor for my Qiao family, so I won’t hide it from you. In fact, the Qiao family has been fighting for the East Mountain development project since two months ago, with many large enterprises competing with us. Of course, we are also very confident we can obtain this project.”
“This project is the focus of Qiao’s work for the next three years, and we’ve already invested quite a bit of funds in the early stages. If someone really wants to sabotage our plan, then rumors such as Siya being publicly humiliated by her husband at the wedding or rumors of her infidelity resulting in the marriage taking a turn for the worse will indeed cause a huge blow to Qiao.”
None of the things that make it to the top of their hierarchy are private matters; they are all public matters. There are so many couples who share the same bed and pretend to be in love in public just to protect their images.
All of this is business and profit.
“Let’s put it this way—”
Qiao Siya seemed to be thinking of something again. The two of them looked at her. Qiao Siya covered her mouth, her pupils full of belated shock.
“Actually, the day before the wedding, someone suggested to me that for the final singles party, it’s better for everyone to have a little fun and find some male models to come over. I didn’t agree because I’m afraid of causing scandals. Now that I think about it, maybe it was meant as a trap for me.”
“Miss Qiao, was it also your decision to have someone call Lu Xin over that day?”
Qiao Siya looked embarrassed. “I don’t remember clearly. It seems that someone said something like, If I’m going to get married anyway, let’s be bold and unrestrained. Then someone seemed to encourage me to go to Lu Xin and give him a slap in the face. But there were a lot of people attending the party that day, including sisters I know well and people brought by them. The atmosphere heated up as we talked, so I don’t know if they were intentionally instigating it or not.”
Indeed, it’s easy to get behind such words of defense for sisterhood, and it’s hard to pursue them after the fact when you don’t know who brought up the subject in the first place.
Qiao Zhenhua: “President Shen, do you suspect that what happened at the wedding was arranged by others?”
Shen Boyan: “I’m just guessing. After all, everything is too coincidental. I also heard that Kang Jiqing was drinking with friends the night before the wedding. A group of people all got drunk, but Kang Jiqing isn’t a person who does things without measure, and even if he got drunk, his friends should have remembered his important day.”
Yes, even the most unassuming young man always has one or two friends who know what’s appropriate, so they can’t all get drunk and sleep until the next afternoon, can they?
Qiao Siya: “Kang Jiqing also explained this to me afterwards. He said that he was drunk that day and somehow ended up sleeping in a hotel with no one around him. When he woke up, he had already missed the wedding.”
Qiao Zhenhua: “This matter is indeed full of doubts.”
Shen Boyan: “Regardless of whether there is any doubt, what happened happened, and making up for it will not help. But we can’t let others fool us for nothing.”
Qiao Zhenhua: “President Shen is right. This matter should be investigated carefully.”
Shen Boyan knows that today’s talk is almost over. Qiao Zhenhua would only hate Yang Han more than him. If Yang Han doesn’t do anything, it’s okay, but if he really did something wrong, he might not be able to live in peace for the rest of his life.
……
Things in the business world are changing rapidly.
A few days later, the well-known real estate company Qiao announced plans to cooperate with the upstart Wenhui of Rongchuan. The two companies were already well-funded, and this alliance only further strengthened their foundation. The stocks of the two companies have skyrocketed, and the balance that was originally going back and forth has quietly tilted.
Inside the general manager’s office of a certain real estate company in Rongchuan, a man in his forties was fuming.
“What idea did you come up with?!”
“Now the Qiao family isn’t only unharmed; they even get the chance to cooperate with Wenhui and the Kang family–”
“If the Kang family knows it’s you… you did it yourself; it has nothing to do with us!”
The man’s anger is justified. From their point of view, they clearly suffered a loss instead of gaining advantages. They spent a lot of money to hire Yang Han only to contribute to their opponent’s success, which made them itchy with hatred.
The man who was scolded also had a grim expression. In the past few years, his “career” has been going very smoothly. Not only has he accumulated wealth, but his reputation in the industry has also gradually increased. Now that he has suddenly encountered Waterloo, his heart has also accumulated a large pile of grievances.
He listened to the general manager’s reprimand with a cold face before returning to his temporary office.
Although he was hired by the company and was temporarily under the company’s name, he actually had his own independent department, and the people in it were all his own contacts. The office is deserted now, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his own people.
Yang Han had a cold face and a hint of gloom in his eyes. He took out his mobile phone and dialed a number: “Hey, please help me find out what the relationship between the Wenhui president and the Qiao family is and why he spoke for the Qiao family at the wedding.”
“And, again, see what weaknesses he has, you know-” His voice was steeply sinister, and his face, which had been fairly upright, suddenly twisted. “You must find his weaknesses!”
“…..”
After hanging up the phone, Yang Han inserted his fingers into his hair and took a deep breath. As he exhaled the stifling air, his agitation also eased slightly.
He was silent for a few minutes before he took out his mobile phone again and tapped on the page of a WeChat friend he had added only last week.
[Xia Shu’an]
The WeChat introduction with the name “Xia Shu’an” is very simple. The avatar is a corner of a park that can be seen everywhere. The location is Rongchuan. When you open the moments, they’re empty. There’s only an advertisement about a nursery base recruiting merchants a month ago. It looked like someone had a gun pointed at his head.
Thinking of the way Xia Shu’an was ridiculed by his former classmate on the day of the school anniversary, Yang Han felt a wave of pleasure in his heart. But it’s not enough. It’s not enough!
He couldn’t wait to see Xia Shu’an fall into the quagmire and be humiliated.
Yang Han sat on the leather chair, pondering for a long time before finally sending a message.
[Yang Han: Junior, I heard that you work at Rongchuan University, right? I happen to be nearby; let’s have lunch together.]
“Xiao Xia, please send me the data from last week’s No. 1 test base.”
“Ok.”
Xia Shuan had just taken a spin around the experimental area and was about to sit down when his phone lit up. He clicked on it, and his gaze showed a hint of surprise.
He didn’t expect that Yang Han would take the initiative to contact him. After all, he, a junior, had neither background nor strength. Befriending him or not wouldn’t cause the other party to lose anything. Of course, there was also a possibility that Yang Han knew about his relationship with Shen Boyan, so he wanted to approach Shen Boyan through him.
In any case, his words seemed legit, and it was just a casual meal at school. Refusing him would be too unreasonable.
After thinking for a while, he replied.
[Xia Shu’an: Okay, I’ll wait for you, senior.]
……
It’s March, spring is approaching, and the weather is getting warmer. Compared with adults, who often stay at home and in the office, young people on the playground are the first to take off their heavy coats, showing off their youthful appearance.
The branches of the trees are green again, and the brittle buds are like a warm spring breeze blowing through your heart just by looking at them.
The sun is just right today. During the lunch break, the campus is filled with the chattering of people and the chirping of birds on the branches. It makes people even more drowsy, wishing they could sleep in a small room full of sunshine all afternoon so as not to waste this spring light—of course, this is impossible.
Just after 12 noon, Xia Shu’an walked out of the laboratory building. Because he had an appointment with someone, he didn’t go with his colleagues. As he went downstairs, he saw a man standing next to the basketball court. Through the blue net, he watched the young people inside laughing freely, his gaze filled with nostalgia and envy and a peaceful smile on his lips.
Xia Shu’an stepped forward and said, “Senior.”
Yang Han turned around and smiled. “Xiao Xia.”
…….
On both sides of the tree-lined path, white-golden sunlight shone through the branches and covered the ground with spots. The two people walked slowly, feeling the wind that still carried the remaining cold of winter on their faces.
Xia Shu’an closed the collar of his coat and said, “I’m really sorry. I was supposed to invite Senior to dinner, but now we can only eat at school…”
“It’s okay; it’s been a while since I’ve been back to college. It’s nice to feel young again. No five-star restaurant can match this.”
“That’s good……”
“Is Senior here to run errands nearby?”
“Ah, yes, some trivial matters.”
Xia Shu’an isn’t very articulate and doesn’t know how to cheer people up with his words. Fortunately, the cafeteria was just around the corner, two steps away.
At noon, the cafeteria is full of people. This cafeteria is close to the laboratory building, and most of the people who come here are people with graduate degrees or above. The age composition is similar to that of ordinary company cafeterias, but the fresh faces still retain a bit of the childishness of students.
As the host, Xia Shu’an asked, “What would you like, senior?”
Yang Han said good-naturedly, “Anything.”
“The fried noodles here are quite good. Why don’t we eat noodles?”
“Ok.”
After Xia Shu’an swiped his card, he stood in front of the counter and waited for a while, and within a few minutes, he sat down at a side table with a plate. The aroma of the food was tempting, and Xia Shu’an’s fingers also moved. With a pleasant and expectant smile on his face, he lowered his head and stirred the meat sauce.
Yang Han looked at the happy face of the young man opposite and squinted his eyes, carefully steering the topic: “How is life here? Isn’t everything kind of cheap in the university?”
Xia Shu replied calmly, “Yes, it’s much cheaper than outside, and the food is safer.”
“What about the salary and remuneration? Housing prices in Rongchuan are quite high. Do you live with your parents now or live outside by yourself?”
Xia Shu’an shook his head honestly: “I don’t live with my family.”
Yang Han thought he was renting a house outside on his own. In his imagination, the smell of dampness permeated the air of the rented room, like the smell of wood that could not be dispersed on a rainy day when he was a child.
“Can you get used to it? It’s definitely not as good as the environment at home, right?”
For some reason, Xia Shu’an always felt that Yang Han was particularly enthusiastic when he asked this question.
“Uh, it’s okay.”
After thinking about it, he felt that the physical living environment alone seemed to be a bit of a violation of “okay,” so he added, “It’s pretty good.”
Yang Han thought he was putting on a brave face and asked with “concern”: “Where do you live? Is there an elevator in the community?”
Xia Shu’an: “…” What kind of question is that?
Xia Shu’an was hesitating for an answer when a young man and woman walked by.
