Chapter 72 Conditions

He Lian was stunned for a moment, her heart suddenly beating wildly and her body trembling. She secretly clenched her fists and forced herself to calm down, but her face changed expression. She said impatiently and sarcastically, "Gu Ningwei, you are such a smart person, why do you still ask me about things you don't understand?"

Gu Ningwei glanced at her and smiled brightly. He said slowly, "I just can't understand why you, He Lian, with such a carefree personality, would embarrass my people?"

"Your people?" He Lian didn't understand for a moment, "What do you mean by your people?"

"Han Que," Gu Ningwei chuckled. "She truly is mine, don't you understand?" He said with a playful expression and a teasing tone, "You don't like me, so you're not jealous of me, are you?"

He Lian was stunned for a moment, her heartbeat gradually returning to normal. She curled the corners of her lips and sneered coldly: "You're dreaming. How could I be jealous of you? I, He Lian, am not someone who lacks a boyfriend. There are so many young talents in this world who are fighting for me. When have I ever lacked a man?"

"That's good." Gu Ningwei nodded, a smile playing on the corner of his lips, a little shamelessly, "I thought so too. When has He Lian ever lacked men? But the way you embarrassed Han Que at the door just now made me suspicious. Could it be that you really are serious about this marriage?"

"What do you mean?" He Lian looked up at him warily. "You mean you didn't take it seriously?"

"Me?" Gu Ningwei smiled reluctantly, stroking his chin thoughtfully, as if lost in thought. After a moment's silence, he yawned and said casually, "I don't know. Maybe. I haven't really thought about this question." After a pause, he looked at He Lian and said with a smile, "But actually, neither you nor I should take it seriously. You see, you have someone you like, and I have mine. If we don't bother each other, wouldn't that be best for everyone?"

It turned out that he was negotiating terms with her.

He Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then she felt her clothes on her back were wet. She stood up and paced around the office, as if she was thinking, looking around at the simple furnishings around her.

The desk, the executive chair, the filing cabinet behind it, the leather sofa, and the bare white walls around it all made He Lian feel lost and unhappy. She asked, "Ah Wei, where do you put all those paintings you bought me? I've never seen you hang any of them."

"Oh. Those paintings..." Gu Ningwei casually glanced at the white walls around him and said casually, "Your paintings are not suitable for hanging in the office. I asked someone to put them away."

His mischievous smile was a subtle satire on He Lian's paintings, which were filled with bizarre lines and blocks of color and contained erotic connotations.

He Lian understood in her heart, but deliberately sneered: "What's inappropriate? Since you can be here..." She kicked the trash can at her feet, "Can't you hang my paintings?"

"That's different." Gu Ningwei said without hesitation.

"Why is it different?" He Lian glanced sideways: "Or are you just too righteous and can only do things but not say them?"

"I mean people are different." Gu Ningwei picked up the iPad on the table and started looking at the documents.

"Who's different? She's just a woman who wants to make some money with her looks. What's the difference?" He Lian said disdainfully, looking at Gu Ningwei again, "Are you blinded by lust?"

"He Lian, don't use the people around you to guess who I am." Gu Ningwei said calmly.

"So you are really in love?" He Lian said with disgust.

"Whether it's true love or not, I don't need to report it to you." Gu Ningwei said in a cold tone, looking up at her, "He Lian, you'd better go back and think about what I just said. Come see me when you have figured it out. Now..." He pointed to the iPad in his hand, "I have work to take care of."

As soon as He Lian left, Gu Ningwei angrily threw the iPad on the table and tugged at the buttons of his shirt.

He was very upset. He had never been so upset before. The numbers in the report attached to the email sent by Jiang Jin were shocking. If this continued, "Chengguang" would really be wiped out.

Poor his stubborn father, he was still in the dark and thought that his younger brother, who was born to the same mother, was working hard for the Chengguang Group's business.

Gu Ningwei sneered slightly.

Jiang Jin reminded him last time that there was a possibility that Gu Zhiguang would escape, so he quickly asked someone to pass the news to the relevant departments. Gu's family was secretly placed under border control due to huge debts, cutting off his escape route.

However, Gu Zhiguang's people could not leave, but the money was still leaving in various ways. They all had legitimate reasons for investment or consumption, and there was no way to stop it at the legal level.

He took out his phone and called Jiang Jin, his tone filled with harsh criticism: "Jiang Jin, I asked you to help me keep an eye on Zhening Bio. How did you do that? If I hadn't discovered it early, our company would have been raided."

Jiang Jin still didn't know about Wang Jianan's new venture. After listening to Gu Ningwei's brief explanation, he was also surprised. "He's moving so fast? I thought it would take at least half a year, so I've been busy with the group's affairs."

"Yes, you only remembered to please your future father-in-law, but didn't think of leaving a way out for yourself. I think you know what Zhening Bio means, so there's no need for me to repeat it to you."

"I was careless." Jiang Jin apologized repeatedly, and was curious about why Gu Ningwei rarely went to Zhening Biology, and who he hired as a spy to know everything so clearly.

"Who else could it be? Han Que." There was a hint of youthful spirit in Gu Ningwei's eyes.

In the corner of the tea room's private room, a thin bamboo curtain was lowered to block out the prying eyes from outside. The sunlight passed through the fine gaps in the bamboo curtain, casting shadows on the table.

"Is it her? She usually doesn't go to the R&D department, and now she rarely comes down from the 24th floor. How could she have found out?" Jiang Jin was surprised. He didn't expect it to be Han Que, and he didn't expect that she could quickly discover the clues from some clues.

"She's very smart." Gu Ningwei's tone was full of pride. He looked at the person in front of him with a half-smile and said deliberately, "It's just that people like you can't see her good points."

"I..." Jiang Jin didn't dare to say anything and could only smile bitterly.

"But it's a good thing you don't know how good she is." Gu Ningwei didn't know what he remembered, and smiled to himself, his eyes a little dazed.

Jiang Jin remained silent, with a bitter taste in his mouth.

How could he not know her good qualities? Even if he knew, what would it matter? They would just be an ordinary couple, wearing out their feelings in the daily grind of food, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea until they got tired of each other?

Jiang Jin was not the kind of person who was content with being ordinary, and he knew that Han Que was not either.

"How are your engagement ceremony preparations going? I've seen people from the president's office busy with this matter at the group these days." Jiang Jin concealed the jealousy in his eyes and asked about this matter deliberately.

"Yeah." Gu Ningwei could not deny it.

"Do you still want to marry He Lian?" Jiang Jin asked.

Gu Ningwei raised her eyebrows and looked at him, pursed her lips, and said nothing.

"Then Han Que..." Jiang Jin said halfway and fell silent again, with a look of regret on his face.

"Do you feel heartbroken?" Gu Ningwei suddenly asked with a gloomy look.

Jiang Jin was silent for a while, then he sighed, as if he had made up his mind, "Since you already know, I won't hide it from you. Han Que and I did have a relationship." He said softly, his tone gentle.

"Yeah." Gu Ningwei looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"As you know, my grandmother was Han Que's neighbor. We grew up together, so it's not an exaggeration to say we were childhood sweethearts." Jiang Jin's tone was wistful, as if he were nostalgic. However, when he lowered his brows and met Gu Ningwei's unfriendly gaze, he suddenly sobered up and said self-deprecatingly, "I was the one who let her down. It's better not to mention it now."

"It's nothing. Everyone has a past. I already knew it." Gu Ningwei had no choice but to be tolerant and generous. Thinking about it, he felt unwilling and added: "Han told me everything."

"Oh." Jiang Jin looked surprised, but asked, "Then you still..."

"What else can I think of? The funding issue is already overwhelming me. If I can't resolve it, I'm bound to be led around by the nose."

Gu Ningwei's tone was indifferent. He looked at Jiang Jin sitting across from him, a hint of sarcasm on his lips. "You're ignoring the serious business of Zhening Company, but running around for Gu Zhiguang every day. Aren't you worried that that old fox will really use you as cannon fodder?"

Jiang Jin lowered his head, sipping Biluochun tea without saying a word. His fingers gently stroked the rim of the cup. Wiping away the remaining traces for a long moment, he smiled wryly and said, "So what if you use me as cannon fodder? Am I not cannon fodder anyway? If I hadn't been willing to be cannon fodder, do you think, with your uncle's temper, he would have agreed to my relationship with Gu Ningli?"

Gu Ningwei was silent.

Jiang Jin squinted at him and sneered, "He wouldn't agree. If there was even the slightest way or opportunity, he wouldn't agree to Gu Ningli marrying someone like me, who came from a poor family and had no one to rely on. Even if I graduated from a prestigious university and had a prestigious career background, he wouldn't even look at me, right?"

Gu Ningwei lowered his head and sipped his tea.

The new tea in the white porcelain cup has become tasteless after a few brews.

He knew that what Jiang Jin said was true. When Gu Zhiguang learned about the relationship between Gu Ningli and Jiang Jin, he was furious and wanted to find someone to kill Jiang Jin immediately.

With money comes power, and naturally there are snobbish people who will read other people's expressions and do things for them. It was just a trivial matter, so there was no need for Gu Zhiguang to show up in person. However, he also took into consideration that Jiang Jin was Gu Ningwei's friend, so he asked someone to spread the letter, and it reached Gu Ningwei's ears.

Gu Ningwei, however, dispelled his thoughts. He said, "Uncle, since you've always wanted to find someone who understands capital operations and is good at finance to be your confidant, Jiang Jin is a good choice. He's smart and clever, and he doesn't have much to rely on, so he can be in control."

Gu Zhiguang looked up at his nephew in surprise, as if he didn't know him. He always thought he was rebellious and naughty, but he didn't expect him to be so insightful, not at all like his self-righteous brother.

From then on, Gu Zhiguang took a new look at his nephew and went to Gu Zhicheng to ask him to put Gu Ningwei in his department, saying that he wanted to cultivate him well, but in fact he also wanted to keep him under control.

Gu Zhiguang agreed to the relationship between Jiang Jin and Gu Ningli, and portrayed himself as a good father who doted on his daughter. He would also tolerate and like the person his daughter liked. Jiang Jin graduated from a prestigious university and was handsome, making him a perfect candidate for the Gu family's son-in-law.