Before leaving, He Lingchuan deliberately glanced at Zhang Ying. Their eyes met, and Zhang Ying raised an eyebrow slightly, his expression ferocious.
Shortly after he left, Brother Li looked at Zhang Ying with a cold expression: "Mr. Zhang, shouldn't you give me a reasonable explanation?"
Zhang Ying spread his arms, leaned back on the sofa, and glanced at him sideways: "What kind of explanation do you want? Don't forget, you're cooperating with me now, but you're planning to help He Lingchuan?"
Zhang Ying shifted his posture, looking at him arrogantly: "I hate it when people betray me the most."
Brother Li curled his lips into a half-smile, looked Zhang Ying up and down without saying a word.
Neither of them would give in, and they parted on bad terms.
...
Half an hour later, He Lingchuan received a call from Brother Li. He was sitting in the coffee shop next to the laboratory, unable to hide his smile: "Brother Li, what brings you to call me? Aren't you with President Zhang right now?"
There are no friends when it comes to self-interest. He Lingchuan put down his coffee and deliberately asked him, "Did Zhang Ying allow you to call me?"
Not to be outdone, Brother Li retorted mercilessly to He Lingchuan's taunts: "If you're not afraid of him, why should I be?"
He was a leader, no less, and Zhang Ying was no match for him.
Hearing his words, He Lingchuan couldn't help but chuckle. He took the initiative and asked Brother Li with a cold face, "Brother Li, what good news did you call me to tell me?"
The person on the other end was silent for a moment before speaking: "How do you know it's good news?"
Zhang Ying puffed out his chest confidently: "Of course I know, please tell me, I'm all ears."
He Lingchuan didn't say anything more and waited silently for Brother Li.
A few minutes later, he heard Brother Li's slightly cheerful voice: "I do have something to tell you, but it's not convenient to talk on the phone."
He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment before sending him his address.
Less than ten minutes later, He Lingchuan heard the door open.
Brother Li spotted He Lingchuan sitting in the lobby at a glance. He walked over quickly and gave her what he thought was a friendly smile.
He Lingchuan smiled and nodded, then asked him directly, "Brother Li came all this way to see me, surely it wasn't just to tell me the bank could give me a loan?"
If it were just a small matter, he could have easily mentioned it over the phone.
He Lingchuan crossed his hands on his chin and looked at him seriously: "Brother Li, just say what you want to say."
After a moment of silence, Brother Li slowly asked, "Are you interested in cooperating with me?"
"you?"
He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. He tilted his head and looked at the person in front of him: "What do you want to cooperate on?"
"That Zhang Ying tricked me, making me lose a lot of money."
Brother Li slightly raised his head and looked directly into He Lingchuan's eyes, saying, "I allow you to open the lab, and I can even help you protect that lab and prevent Zhang Ying from taking action."
He Lingchuan pursed his lips slightly, looking at him with some surprise: "What are the conditions?"
He wasn't the kind of person who would selflessly give. He Lingchuan asked him very bluntly, "I wouldn't dare to eat a free lunch."
"Of course it can't be free."
Brother Li produced a contract, which He Lingchuan glanced at briefly and roughly understood what it was: "Protection fee?"
"You can't say that."
Brother Li put the contract away, his face hardening with displeasure: "We are a legitimate company. Protection fees are paid by those thugs on the street. This is a reasonable and legal way to protect your basic rights."
He Lingchuan had no interest in listening to his long-winded explanation and interrupted him directly: "There's not much difference."
He tilted his head, seemingly considering the feasibility of the idea.
Urged on by Brother Li, He Lingchuan had no choice but to ask, "Are you sure you can make Zhang Ying hesitate to go to this laboratory?"
If Brother Li can really help him save this laboratory, he won't have to worry about Gu Chengze anymore.
This is actually a good thing for him.
Brother Li snapped his fingers and nodded in agreement: "That's true, but whether I can completely shut out Zhang Ying is still up for debate."
He Lingchuan frowned; right now, the most important thing for him was getting a loan.
He did want to cooperate with Brother Li, but he simply didn't have any money.
Just as He Lingchuan was hesitating about whether or not to cooperate with Brother Li, he suddenly spoke up: "Didn't you say you were going to find a bank loan? I'll contact them now."
Brother Li looked at He Lingchuan with a grin and said softly, "As long as you agree, the bank can process your loan right now."
"I don't need to go?"
He Lingchuan looked surprised, his gaze towards Brother Li filled with doubt and inquiry.
"Need not."
Brother Li waved to her gently and then made a phone call to a bank employee.
He Lingchuan observed all of this and sighed, "If I don't cooperate with you, you won't help me get a loan, right?"
He saw all of this, and he knew better than anyone what Brother Li wanted most—to put it bluntly, he just wanted money.
As for the money Zhang Ying gave him, it was far from enough to satisfy his ambition.
He did not refute He Lingchuan's words, but instead admitted, "You can understand it that way."
He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment, just about to speak, when he heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him.
The footsteps sounded somewhat disordered, indicating that there was more than one person.
He Lingchuan thought it was a passerby, and with a frown, he picked up his coffee cup when he felt someone press down on his shoulder and gently pinch it a few times.
He turned around angrily, only to meet Gu Chengze's gaze. Standing beside him was Shen Yanxi, whose expression was even colder.
He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised, completely ignoring Shen Yanxi, and asked him with a smile, "Why are you here?"
"If I don't come, are you going to mortgage everything you have now?"
When Gu Chengze learned of this news, he didn't waste a moment. He rushed to the coffee shop as quickly as possible, glancing at the contract on the table out of the corner of his eye, and held it tightly in his hand.
He said to He Lingchuan with unwavering certainty, "I've said it before, even if I go bankrupt, I will never let you take such a risk."
Gu Chengze pulled the man up and dragged him away.
Watching the two of them leave, Brother Li shouted to He Lingchuan, "Mr. He, I'm waiting for your good news. I believe you'll definitely change your mind."
After leaving the coffee shop, He Lingchuan was also somewhat dissatisfied. His gaze fell on Shen Yanxi: "You were the one who told Chengze that I wanted to borrow money, right?"
Besides Shen Yanxi, He Lingchuan couldn't think of anyone else who would do such a thing.
"It's me."
Shen Yanxi readily admitted it and earnestly advised him, "I can't just stand by and watch you take out high-interest loans and do nothing about it, can I? After all, you are the father of my child."
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