In the early stages of the mission, Su Jingxuan had already thought of a way to deal with the female lead. When it comes to handling enemies, he has always believed in tit for tat. If stealing a chicken doesn’t work, he would go for a bag of rice. He wanted to see how the other party would cope.
In the following days, Lu Jinwen showed no emotions on the surface, appearing calm. However, Su Jingxuan knew that she must be anxious inside.
For Lu Jinwen, this design competition was not just an opportunity to find a good job and become a renowned designer; it was also a convenient stepping stone for her to enter the upper-class society.
Previously, she didn’t want to live the life of an ordinary person in the lower class anymore. After staying at the Yan family for a while, she no longer wanted to return to her past. She longed to see everything she could find at the Yan family.
Only by winning the competition could she have the chance to enter the center of the Yan Design Team and become an apprentice to Master Frank.
She had full confidence in her design. She was confident enough to win the competition and earn the appreciation of Yan Junfeng. Just like Yan Guoan, who didn’t mind Yang Cailian’s identity and even brought along a sidekick, she could also be like Yang Cailian. She really liked Mr. Yan.
But she didn’t expect an unexpected competitor to appear, creating obstacles from the beginning. The young man had been opposing her from the start, showing an attitude of dislike and rejection towards her. Now, he even joined the design competition.
She knew why Jiang Zichen disliked her. After staying at the Yan family for a while, she could clearly see that Yan Junfeng was dense, and the young man liked men, even falling for her stepbrother.
Yan Junfeng had a different view of the young man, but the young man himself was unaware of it.
Although it felt a bit disgusting, the two of them were impossible. Yan Junfeng could never be with the young man. On the contrary, Mr. Yan appreciated and cared for her a lot. She had confidence in herself; she was outstanding.
But she didn’t expect Jiang Zichen to participate in the competition, and even more surprisingly, the young man had such excellent design talent. At the age of only seventeen, he stood out in the preliminary rounds and entered the finals. The design she accidentally saw was truly stunning.
Although she hadn’t seen the works of other contestants, Lu Jinwen was certain that the young man’s work would definitely take the first place. The level of that work was definitely above the master level, not even inferior to Master Frank.
This shook Lu Jinwen’s confidence, and more than that, it aroused her jealousy and unwillingness.
She no longer had the mood to draw design sketches. Just thinking about that astonishing design made her feel choked up. No, she absolutely couldn’t let Jiang Zichen win the competition.
Strong jealousy and unwillingness made it impossible for Lu Jinwen to stay calm, and countless thoughts were turning in her mind.
Su Jingxuan saw all of her expressions, smiling as he patiently waited for the fish to take the bait.
He fundamentally didn’t believe that there were genuinely kind people in this world’s main characters. Giving a little bait, Lu Jinwen immediately exposed herself.
While the design competition was in full swing, various power changes were happening within the Yan Group.
After securing Su Jingxuan’s cooperation, Yan Guorun felt relieved. His suppressed thoughts for many years finally surfaced, and he began to recklessly compete for power within the company, engaging in fierce struggles with several cunning old foxes in the group.
As for Yan Junfeng, everyone had long ignored him. As a young person who had just joined the company and had not yet familiarized himself with the business, once Yan Guoan fell, he, the heir to the group, would be just a decoration as long as Jiang Zichen didn’t side with him.
In the entire group, people with the hope of taking over the chairman position were fighting fiercely for their interests. Although the time had been advanced, the scene was still as ugly as Yan Junfeng remembered.
Yan Junfeng did not rush to step forward but, using Wang Rengui and Yan Second Uncle as the identity of foreign investors, connected with the project H. This H project had been planned for a long time within the Yan Group, presenting a great opportunity for the Yan family to ascend to a higher level. Unfortunately, due to insufficient funds and the massive startup capital required, they hadn’t found anyone willing to take the risk and cooperate, so the plan had been on hold.
This had always been a regret for the company’s shareholders. If someone could make the H project a success, they would become the undisputed leader within the Yan Group.
Wang Rengui was Yan Guorun’s most trusted assistant, and anyone introduced by him would receive a favorable first impression from Yan Guorun. However, due to his skeptical nature, Yan Guorun still hoped to negotiate with this wealthy foreign boss face to face for such a significant project.
But how could Yan Junfeng give him the chance? He directly refused the request while sending over ten billion as earnest money, showing full sincerity.
Although Yan Guorun still had doubts, the ten billion earnest money was enough to temporarily dispel his suspicions. After all, if the other party wasn’t sincerely cooperating, who would casually bring out so much money to play?
With Wang Rengui stirring the pot on the side, Yan Guorun quickly got involved in the whole process. Happily wielding the chips for the H project, he dealt with the old foxes who had been thorns in his side and, though not officially announced, became the recognized chairman within the Yan Group.
On the surface, Yan Junfeng’s influence within the company was weak, and he had no chance to counterargue. Second Uncle Yan didn’t directly kick him out of the company, but he took back the only bit of authority he had.
The plan that had been in the works for many years proceeded so smoothly, and Yan Guorun, who had almost secured the position of chairman, immediately organized a board meeting on the second day after the situation was settled, preparing to take decisive actions.
Under the urging of Wang Rengui, he started to vigorously integrate all the available funds within the group and invest them into the project.
However, the H project was massive, and despite the projected funds, continuous additional funding would be needed as the market and circumstances changed.
Just when Yan Guorun had invested all of the company’s money into the project, the foreign boss, Yan Junfeng, who was supposed to cooperate and contribute funds to the project, finally made his move. He began delaying and refusing to transfer the money using various excuses.
At first, Yan Guorun didn’t find it suspicious, thinking it might be a problem with the transfer, considering the large sum of money involved.
However, as time passed without receiving the funds, and when he couldn’t contact the so-called foreign boss, Yan Guorun finally started feeling uneasy.
He had invested all the available funds into the H project, waiting for Yan Junfeng’s funding to officially launch the project. If the other party backed out at this crucial moment, it would be disastrous for him.
“Young Master Yan, what’s going on? If the money doesn’t come soon, the H project will fail, and Yan Group’s stocks will become worthless.” Wang Rengui was also anxious, as he held 5% of Yan Group’s shares.
“Manager Wang, don’t worry. I have my reasons for doing this. I don’t have the time to deal with my Second Uncle. If we’re going to seize the opportunity, we need to strike decisively. Leak the information about the shortage of funds for the Yan Group’s H project. When Yan Group’s stocks plummet, it will be our time to profit. If you have the capability at that time, I don’t mind sharing some scattered shares with you.” Yan Junfeng didn’t give Wang Rengui time to continue questioning and hung up after explaining.
After hearing this, Wang Rengui, initially stunned, turned red with excitement. Yan Junfeng was indeed formidable; while Yan Guorun had spent nearly a decade plotting and calculating for Yan Group, Yan Junfeng took a direct and cunning approach.
This move not only could bring down the current largest shareholder, Yan Guorun, but also deal with other smaller shareholders simultaneously.
With Yan Group’s stocks crashing and facing bankruptcy, the shareholders couldn’t hold on and would start selling. When Yan Junfeng reappeared, he could buy the majority at the lowest prices. After the integration, the shares of Yan Group would return to the hands of the Yan family, with a significantly increased quantity. By then, they could continue investing money in the H project, and Yan Group would turn the tide.
Connecting the entire plan from start to finish, Wang Rengui felt that his chance to rise to prominence had come. With Yan Group’s stocks plummeting, Yan Junfeng could acquire the major portion, and he could also get some smaller shares.
Adding the promised 5% ownership earlier, he would become a shareholder with a say in the board of directors and no longer a mere manager.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. The prospect of enormous profits clouded Wang Rengui’s judgment, and he began his actions that very night.
While subtly leaking information about Yan Group’s H project to competitors, he also mortgaged all the properties under his name to raise funds. Additionally, he borrowed a considerable amount.
With the push from those with ulterior motives, the news of Yan Group’s financial breakdown spread across major news media and networks overnight.
When Yan Junfeng saw the news, he sneered. Even the most experienced old foxes couldn’t resist the temptation of interests. No matter how big and delicious the cake was, it depended on whether one could eat it.
Closing his computer, the cold smile on his face disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented gentleness. He took out his phone and dialed the number given to Su Jingxuan by his staff.
However, instead of immediately connecting as he had imagined, the phone’s screen showed that the call was still ongoing, accompanied by the sweet automated voice saying, “The number you dialed is currently in a call.”
This phone, including the SIM card, was newly purchased, and besides him, nobody else knew about it. Yet, now it was in a call, and it wasn’t someone else calling in; it had to be Xiaochen calling out.
Yan Junfeng’s gaze darkened once again. He redialed, over and over, until Su Jingxuan picked up.
What came from the phone wasn’t the joyful voice he remembered but the slightly urgent tone of the youth.
“Brother Yan, I’ll call you back later. Brother Song is in the army, and there’s limited break time. I’ll talk to him first and get back to you. I haven’t seen Brother Song for so long; I miss him.”
The words “I miss him” were like a sharp knife thrust into Yan Junfeng’s heart, making his voice somewhat hoarse. He didn’t even know what he was saying, “Xiaochen, Brother Yan has said that I don’t need you to worry about the company’s affairs. I don’t need Brother Song’s help. Don’t contact him again.”
“But I… But I like him. It’s like how Uncle Yan likes Mom.” The voice from the other end was the youth’s shy and happy tone.
Blood congested in Yan Junfeng’s chest, and his voice trembled. He didn’t know what he was saying, “He is a man.”
“Do you have to be so clear-cut about liking someone? Liking is just liking, isn’t it?” The innocent and clear voice transmitted through the phone, and Yan Junfeng’s head buzzed. He didn’t even know when the call was disconnected.
On the other side, Su Jingxuan hung up Yan Junfeng’s call, stared at the still-waiting screen, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
“Yan Junfeng is such a slow-witted fool. Brother Song, I love you.”
Close to the phone screen, Su Jingxuan lay on the pillow. His voice suddenly became somewhat muffled, and he really wanted to call out the real name of his lover and say those words. The words that he hadn’t had the chance to say yet.
