Chapter 121

Jiang Nuo didn't like his intentional or unintentional closeness, so he quietly pulled away. But Yu Min was relentless and kept chasing after him, still saying in a voice that only Jiang Nuo and he could hear, "Boss Jiang, why are you always avoiding me? Are you afraid of me?"

"..." Jiang Nuo's eyelids twitched, and he said unhappily, "Boss Yu, why should I be afraid of you? Am I afraid that you'll sign the gambling agreement but won't be able to come up with the funds on time?"

Yu Min chuckled: "It's written in black and white, how could it be possible?"

Jiang Nuo: "Yes, it's written in black and white. Business is a win-win situation for everyone. Although you are the investor, the terms of the contract are so harsh that we can guarantee a profit regardless of the consequences. The risks are all borne by us. So, whether or not we talk about who owes whom a favor, it's all business."

Yu Min: “…”

Mr. Jiang also imitated Yu Min's behavior, moving slightly closer to him, but his words were completely contrary to Yu Min's previous 'ambiguity': "Mr. Yu, I don't appreciate your kindness. Also, don't talk to me like that. You're in your thirties, aren't you afraid of being greasy?"

Yu Min: “…”

"Look carefully," Jiang Nuo said calmly, distancing himself from him. "I'm the chairman of the Jiang Group and your partner, not some celebrity at a drinking party. I hope we can only talk business from now on."

Wei Sizu, who was standing by, was confused and had no idea what the story behind the little star was. However, Yu Min understood it immediately. It was when he and Jiang Nuo first met. Jin Lin knew that Yu Min liked men, so he picked one with outstanding looks from the newly signed artists. Unfortunately, Yu Min was so stunned by Jiang Nuo that he recognized the wrong person and almost caused a misunderstanding.

Yu Min was embarrassed to be reminded of this, "Sorry, Mr. Jiang, I was abrupt."

Jiang Nuo stopped at the point and was willing to give him face: "Mr. Yu, you're welcome."

Wei Sizu was becoming increasingly confused, but he could sense that the tense atmosphere between the two of them had finally dissipated. He then cheerfully began to arrange a drink: "Once the serious business is done, I'll arrange it. You all must give me some face."

Mr. Jiang had seen what kind of situation Wei Sizu's group was like, and he was reluctant to go, but that's how business is. You have to meet all kinds of people and go to all occasions. If you refuse too much, others will really think you are aloof and don't give face.

The bet agreement, as agreed upon in previous meetings, stipulated a 40% profit increase over the previous quarter, or repayment with 20% interest. Failure to repay would require the sale of shares, placing the onus not on the company but on the individual.

In short, capital money is not easy to get.

Fortunately, President Jiang had already estimated Xingxu's strength and future. Moreover, he had been deliberately recording the economic trends and major events of the past ten years since the first day of his rebirth. He knew that the prices of raw materials such as lithium carbonate and lithium ore would rise in the future, and the cost of new energy vehicles would also rise accordingly. If Shengchen could control as many lithium mines as possible, it would undoubtedly be beneficial to its development, and its profits would be considerable.

So no matter how you calculate it, financing is profitable now.

After finishing the business, Wei Sizu was indeed very enthusiastic in arranging the meal. The first round was naturally drinking and eating. During the meal, Yu Min did not make any inappropriate jokes with Jiang Nuo. He was very serious from beginning to end.

"It's been many years since I came back from Wall Street, but when it comes to short-selling institutions, I'm relatively familiar with the big and small movements there. For example, there's a short-selling company called 'NUO' that has recently become famous." Yu Min spoke gracefully. When he wasn't deliberately flirting, he exuded a charming and elite temperament.

This caused all the male PRs beside him to look at him with starry eyes.

Yes, a male PR.

As expected, Wei Sizu hired a bunch of messy public relations people to accompany him drinking. He hired two beautiful female public relations people for himself at once. One of them looked very similar to the popular female star xx, and was nicknamed Xiao xx (the female star's name). She just had some traces of fillers on her face, but the flaws outweighed the merits. The overall look was just one word: expensive - Jiang Nuo discovered that the bag the female public relations person carried didn't look like a high imitation, but more like the real thing, with an average price of 200,000+, not counting the cost of matching goods.

And it wasn't just her. All the male and female PRs present were dressed in designer clothes. Jiang Nuo noticed that the watch on the wrist of the boy sitting next to her was from two years ago. It didn't hold its value very well, but it could be sold for 30,000 or 40,000 yuan second-hand.

Wei Sizu was more generous than he had imagined by inviting a whole room of people to drink with him.

Did Chairman Wei leave him so much property?

However, this thought was only a fleeting thought. Yu Min smiled and called out to Jiang Nuo, "Boss Jiang, are you listening?"

Jiang Nuo reacted and asked flatteringly, "How did you become so famous? Did you do any big cases? Did you win with a small force, or did you become famous through a short squeeze?"

"That's not the case," Yu Min said with a smile. "It's not that thrilling, and the number of short positions isn't that large. The main reason is that this institution's information is incredibly accurate. They have a comprehensive grasp of insider information that others can't get. Therefore, they are always successful. Although they were established not long ago, they have never failed in any of the stocks and stock index futures they shorted."

Jiang Nuo was also shocked: "So powerful?"

"Yes," Yu Min said, "short selling isn't as glamorous as outsiders imagine. It faces limited returns but unlimited risks. Your opponents aren't just shareholders and the other company's management, but also brokerages, market makers, investment banks, and even public pressure. Cases of failure abound, and even some of the industry's biggest names aren't immune. But that 'NUO' is incredibly successful, and it's incredibly mysterious. Out of curiosity, I tried to look up its actual controlling shareholder, but I found nothing. I only know it's registered in the Cayman Islands—a place so common that even searching for information there wouldn't be much value. It's as if this company just popped up out of thin air in the last few months."

"...Come to think of it," Yu Min said, "the name of this organization is a bit similar to yours."

Jiang Nuo: "How are they similar?"

Yu Min: "If I use Chinese pinyin, it can spell out your name."

Nuo……

Jiang Nuo's heart stirred, and he inexplicably thought of Gu Jiangkuo, who was far away in Southeast Asia. However, he quickly dismissed the thought. Gu Jiangkuo should be busy battling Old Man Gu. Even if he really did open a short-selling agency, it wouldn't be so soon. Moreover, there was no need to name it after him. If he linked this agency with Gu Jiangkuo, it would seem too self-indulgent.

Speaking of which, they haven't had a video call together for several days.

Usually there were only a few short messages like good morning and good night. Mr. Jiang had promised Gu Jiangkuo that he would visit him in a week, but now it was almost a month, winter had passed and spring had arrived in Yanlin, and he still hadn't found the time.

Running such a large group, I can't help myself from being busy. I don't know why the overbearing CEOs in novels seem to be able to find plenty of time every day to fall in love, or even play the small dark room imprisonment play. Don't they have to attend meetings, inspect, read documents, or socialize?

Mr. Jiang inexplicably felt a little helpless and sad. Just as he expected, distance and time have a huge destructive effect on feelings. Isn't the relationship faded now?

In the past, it was like Gu Jiangkuo's message book, reporting his schedule in detail, or saying "I miss you" endlessly. The most recent time was when Jiang Nuo took the initiative to say "good night", but the other party didn't reply for a long time, so Mr. Jiang didn't see it until the next morning.

"Mr. Jiang?"

Jiang Nuo heard someone calling him and realized that he was distracted again. It seemed that he had been distracted quite a lot tonight.

Fortunately, the person who called him was a male PR - the one wearing a famous watch, I think his name was Allen. He looked young, maybe about the same age as Jiang Nuo, and his facial features were also delicate. Unfortunately, he put on foundation and drew eyeliner, which made him look a bit feminine. He was not the type that Mr. Jiang liked.

These male PRs were hired for Jiang Nuo and Yu Min. As a result, the two of them seemed to be competing with each other, each one more upright than the other. They almost had the words "sitting in a lap without being disturbed" engraved on their foreheads. During the whole dinner, they talked about Wall Street trading cases that Wei Sizu had no chance to speak about, or the international situation of bulk futures.

Wei Sizu simply ignored them and got involved with several other investors and female public relations staff.

"Mr. Jiang, are you really the boss of Jiang Group? Your name is Jiang Nuo?" Allen asked.

Actually, this question was a bit presumptuous, but Allen was very good at showing weakness. He looked at Jiang Nuo with admiration, making it difficult for people to dislike him. Jiang Nuo teased him with a half-smile: "Yeah, what's wrong, do you know me?"

Unexpectedly, Allen said, "It's not that I know you, it's that a friend of mine... said he knows you! I want to know if he's bragging!"

Yu Min complimented him at the right moment: "It's not easy for your friend to know Mr. Jiang."

It seemed Young Master Jiang's warning had been effective; Yu Min's words were much more pleasant to the ear now. Allen, however, wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "He's a jerk, so I thought he was bragging. Mr. Jiang, his name is Xu Jiasi. Do you know him?"

"Xu Jiasi?" Jiang Nuo certainly remembered this name.

When mentioning Xu Jiasi, I think of Ding Pingzhou, the man who ruined his life. Unfortunately, when I mention him now, it seems so far away that I can hardly remember their faces.

Jiang Nuo didn't answer directly, but asked: "Why did he mention me?"

Allen didn't really want to prove his friend was bragging. He accepted Mr. Wei's host fee to entertain the bosses. What was the point of just standing there like an idiot? Now that he could talk about a topic that interested Mr. Jiang, of course he would tell him everything he knew.

"Xu Jiasi, he said he knew you and that he and I had a relationship..."

"Is it true?" The speaker was Yu Min, a 30-year-old elite man. Even his voice was raised a little, and his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses widened. However, his expression did not seem to be just gossip, but rather complicated.

Jiang Nuo was speechless: "...No."

In the previous life, because Ding Pingzhou secretly cheated on Xu Jiasi, it could be considered that Xu Jiasi interfered. But in this life, Jiang Nuo had drawn a clear line between himself and Ding Pingzhou from the beginning, so how could Xu Jiasi interfere?

Allen was a smart man. Seeing President Jiang's denial, he stopped talking and said, "I told him he was bragging. Xu Jiasi is having a miserable life now."

Jiang Nuo raised his eyebrows, showing some interest: "What?"

"He's in prison, serving a four-year sentence in Yanlin City No. 5 Prison. I think it's for extortion," Allen rambled on. "Is there something wrong with him? In front of a bunch of prisoners who haven't even graduated from elementary school, he kept insisting he was a college student studying art and that he couldn't do this or that. No one in there would tolerate him, and he was being bullied pretty badly. He was made to clean toilets and do all sorts of heavy work, even sleeping next to them."

"How do you know so clearly?" Jiang Nuo suddenly asked.

Allen choked, stuck out his tongue, and said, "He's a friend of my friend. My friend got into trouble and was in jail for a month, so he and I happened to be cellmates."

Jiang Nuo nodded, not exposing him. Instead, Yu Min, using the toast as cover, whispered, "That friend might be him. It's perfectly normal for people like them to get caught in a crackdown on pornography."

Jiang Nuo smiled and expressed his agreement.

Yu Min looked at his smile, was stunned for a moment, and drank the rest of the wine. President Jiang followed suit and had a drink with him.

Yu Min couldn't help but ask, "Who is that Xu Si to you?"

"We're schoolmates, we've met a few times," Mr. Jiang said casually. "How could I possibly have any connection with a prisoner?"

.

Mr. Jiang didn't drink much, at most he was slightly tipsy, a little dizzy, but not uncomfortable, and had no memory loss at all. He clearly remembered that Wei Sizu insisted on arranging a second show at the end, but after being rejected by Jiang Nuo on the grounds that he couldn't handle the alcohol, he took a few photos with them and left it at that.

She was also in a clear-headed state and politely declined Yu Min's offer to take her home, and instead asked the driver, Lao Liu, to take her back to the villa.

It was already past ten o'clock in the middle of the night and the lights were still on in the villa. The first one to hear Jiang Nuo's voice was the family's Alaskan dog, Wangcai, who howled excitedly and pounced on him. Unfortunately, this time the rope was replaced with an iron chain, and Wangcai failed to pounce, causing him to bark even more happily. Alaskan dogs don't bark like other dogs, but howling like a wolf was very disturbing.

In just a few minutes, Jiang Xiaomi was brought out of the villa.

As a student about to enter his second year of high school, he was not entitled to sleep before eleven o'clock. Jiang Xiaomi rushed out the door, took her brother from the driver, and began to mutter: "Brother, you've been drinking again, are you drunk? Can you have a normal conversation?"

Jiang Nuo: "...I need to put it down if I have something to do."

Jiang Xiaomi was very happy: "If I do well in this monthly exam, can you attend my parents' meeting?"

It's strange. Jiang Nuo had personally attended two parent-teacher meetings for Jiang Xiaomi before, but both times he was kept back by the head teacher, Teacher Tao, for a small meeting. Mr. Jiang was tortured at school, and when he got home he would double the humiliation he suffered on his younger brother. Both brothers were tortured enough. Later, the eldest young master Jiang came up with a compromise: let his assistant Wu Tong go to the meeting (and be scolded) on his behalf, and when he came back he would only convey things but not emotions. By sacrificing Mr. Wu, the affection between the two Jiang brothers could be preserved, and the possibility of Mr. Jiang domestic violence against minors could be avoided to a large extent, thus maintaining family harmony to the greatest extent.

What happened to Jiang Xiaomi today? Did she suddenly feel tired of living?

"Are you sure you can do well in the exam?" Jiang Nuo asked.

"Let's give it a try. If you agree to go, I'll have some motivation," Jiang Xiaomi said. "I can't bear to always let Uncle Wu go. Just promise me."

After all, Mr. Jiang definitely hopes that his younger brother will have a bright future and is willing to give him this motivation.

"...Yes," Jiang Nuo said, then emphasized, "but the prerequisite is that you have to show significant improvement—going from eighth to ninth from the bottom doesn't count."

"Don't worry, don't worry! Thank you, brother!" Jiang Xiaomi was very happy. At this moment, Wangcai in the yard was still howling, so Jiang Xiaomi pulled Jiang Nuo to complain, "Don't pay attention to Wangcai. No matter how pitiful he acts, you must not untie the rope. He has already chewed three pairs of my slippers this week."

"..." Jiang Nuo said as he took off his coat, "Didn't you hire someone to walk the dog? How come he's still so energetic?"

Jiang Xiaomi took her brother's coat very attentively and complained, "The dog walker said that he's been doing this for three or four years and has never seen such an energetic dog. It seems to have endless energy and never gets tired no matter how long it runs."

Jiang Nuo was extremely puzzled: "Was it fine when Gu Jiangkuo took it for a walk before?" Not only was it fine, but every time he came back from running with the dog, Wangcai would be hopeless, sticking out his tongue and not moving at all. He didn't even need a leash, and he wouldn't harm the flowers in the yard. He would just stick out his tongue and gasp for breath.

Jiang Xiaomi said seriously, "Maybe it's because of Brother Gu. He takes him running every day and trains him up. The amount of exercise Brother Gu does, wow, I doubt the word 'tired' exists in Brother Gu's dictionary. Following him, any dog ​​can become strong. Maybe that's how Wangcai evolved."

Jiang Nuo laughed and scolded: "How can it be so exaggerated?"

Jiang Xiaomi wanted to say, "You know best how strong Brother Gu is," but she was afraid of being silenced, so she held back and asked, "Where on earth has Brother Gu been? When will he be back?"

Young Master Jiang fell silent upon hearing this. Now that they were separated by mountains and seas, who knew when he would come back, or whether he could come back at all.

However, at this moment, the doorbell rang.

Jiang Nuo was still at the entrance, closest to the door, but he was too lazy to condescend to extend his hand. He told Jiang Xiaomi, "Open the door. Maybe you forgot something. Uncle Liu is here to deliver it."

Jiang Xiaomi was used to being ordered around by her brother, so she willingly dragged Jiang Nuo's suit jacket and freed up one hand to open the door.

The door was open, and outside stood a familiar tall figure, bringing with him the chill of an early spring night.

"Brother Gu!!!" Jiang Xiaomi was extremely excited. "I was just talking about you, why are you back?!"

Gu Jiangkuo rushed back overnight. He had originally planned to go tomorrow, but he couldn't bear the longing for her, so after finishing the things at hand, he bought the nearest flight and didn't send a message to Nuonuo in advance - he hadn't seen her for many days, and he wanted to give her a surprise, so he held back and didn't send a single word all the way.

As expected, Young Master Jiang was completely stunned. He had already taken off his coat and was loosening his tie, but he froze when he saw the person coming. He was wearing a shirt and a vest. The vest was slim-fitting, outlining his slender waist, making his buttocks, which were wrapped in suit pants, look even rounder and fuller.

Jiang Xiaomi didn't wait for Brother Gu's answer, but saw Gu Jiangkuo's eyes staring at his brother. Tsk, that look was so sticky that it seemed like it could be drawn into threads.

Jiang Xiaomi was very considerate and quietly stepped aside, only daring to complain in his heart: Brother, you’re on your own.

You also said you didn't know how strong Brother Gu was. I think he can show you something tonight.

"You guys chat," Jiang Xiaomi turned and ran upstairs, "I haven't finished my homework yet, I can't accompany you!"

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p.s. This chapter has 5,000 words, which is quite impressive!