Chapter 30 Forcing Someone to Do Something Unreasonable At 9 a.m., Shen Li and Song An arrived...
At 9 a.m., Shen Li and Song An arrived at the HCL Group building. To show their sincerity, Mr. Zhou, the general manager of HCL, personally greeted them in the company lobby.
Zhou Lan was taken aback when he saw the unfamiliar face.
"Assistant Song, and who is this?"
Song Anchao raised an eyebrow at Shen Li and smoothly introduced, "Shen Li, President Shen, head of the project department."
ah?
Zhou Lan was clearly taken aback. How come he didn't know that there was a CEO Shen in the Jiang Group?
Suppressing his doubts, Zhou Lan extended his hand to Shen Li: "Hello, Mr. Shen, nice to meet you. I am Zhou Lan."
Shen Li glanced at Song An and saw that he had taken a half step back at some point. After a moment of silence, he acknowledged the identity: "Hello, President Zhou. President Jiang suddenly has some important matters to attend to, so I will be in charge of the follow-up work on HCL."
Shen Li didn't care whether Zhou Lan believed the reason or not; anyway, he was destined to have a bad day.
Sure enough, half an hour later, the atmosphere in the conference room became extremely tense. Zhou Lan, sitting at the head of the table on the right, maintained a stiff smile. To Zhou Lan's right, an elderly man with silver hair had a flushed face, angry but dared not speak.
The trouble a couple of days ago was mainly instigated by this old man. Today, seeing that Jiang Huaichuan didn't come and that Shen Li looked young and easy to talk to, Cui Xian forgot Zhou Lan's warning and jumped out first at the start of the meeting, demanding a 2-point increase.
Shen Li's face instantly turned cold, and he immediately lowered the score by 3 points.
Cui Xian: "You little brat! Do you even know what a 3% drop means?"
"5."
Cui Xian's expression changed drastically. He wanted to say something, but Zhou Lan silenced him with a warning look.
Song Anxu leaned back in his chair, watching with great satisfaction.
Shen Li was still negotiating with the other party's bottom price, while Zhou Lan had a pile of A4 papers in front of him, showing the calculations made during the negotiation.
The two sides went back and forth, each pushing the other's bottom line in the negotiations, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere.
Zhou Lan's forehead was already covered in cold sweat. He hadn't met Jiang Huaichuan many times. In his memory, Jiang Huaichuan was noble and elegant. He stood high up and looked down at everyone, as if no matter what you did, everything was under his control.
But Shen Li was different. Shen Li was very deceptive. His brown eyes were vast and calm, but as time passed, Zhou Lan's expression became more and more solemn. He realized how terrifying this gentle and refined man in front of him was.
It was past noon when the contract was signed.
Zhou Lan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, saying to Shen Li, "President Shen, let's have lunch together."
Shen Li closed his laptop, glanced at the information on his phone screen, and his already slightly furrowed brows furrowed even more. He gave Zhou Lan an apologetic look: "President Zhou, I'm really sorry, I have plans for lunch. Next time you come to City A, I'll treat you."
Zhou Lan gave Shen a deep look, confirming that Shen Li really had something urgent to attend to, and was not just making excuses for him. He smiled and said readily, "Okay, it's settled then. We don't have WeChat yet, right? Let's add each other. When I come, I'll definitely come and give your President Jiang a good beating."
After adding each other on WeChat, Shen Li left in a hurry.
Sitting in the car back to the hotel, Shen Li's worry deepened. He looked out the window, his eyes filled with unwavering concern.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Shen Li greeted Song An and headed straight to the top-floor room. He didn't even change his shoes before rushing into the room where Jiang Huaichuan was sleeping.
The room was dimly lit and filled with heavy breathing. A figure was raised in the middle of the bed. Shen Li's thermometer was shining on Jiang Huaichuan's forehead, which was covered with fine beads of sweat, and the screen lit up in bright red—39.2℃.
Upon seeing the number, Shen Li's heart sank. He pursed his lips, reached under the covers, and sure enough, felt a damp hand. Shen Li withdrew his hand, grabbed a few tissues, wiped the sweat from Jiang Huaichuan's forehead, and turned to go to the bathroom to fetch a basin of warm water.
A warm towel was being used to wipe his neck and body. Sensing movement, Jiang Huaichuan opened his tightly closed eyes. He raised his hand with some effort, his sweaty palm gently grasping Chen Li's fingers, and said with a smile, "Don't worry..."
Shen Li forced a smile, then grabbed Jiang Huaichuan's hand, wiped it, and tucked it back into the blankets.
Jiang Huaichuan gave a helpless twitch of his lips, a weak smile appearing in his reddened eyes.
Seeing Jiang Huaichuan staring at her, Shen Li asked softly, "Let me wipe some of your sweat off, and then we can go to the hospital for an IV drip, okay?"
Jiang Huaichuan was taken aback: "Okay, help me change my clothes."
Upon receiving the answer, Shen Li's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a bit, and he took out a thick sweater and a down jacket from the wardrobe next to him.
These items were all brought over by Shen Li in her suitcase.
Shen Li helped Jiang Huaichuan sit up, took off his sweat-soaked pajamas, changed him into a clean and refreshing cotton undershirt, put a thick turtleneck sweater on him, and zipped up his down jacket.
"Let's skip this one?" Jiang Huaichuan quickly refused as he saw Shen Li take out a scarf and hat from her suitcase.
Shen Li didn't speak, but stared intently at Jiang Huaichuan.
"Wear it, wear it." Jiang Huaichuan couldn't withstand Shen Li's gaze and quickly leaned his head forward.
After putting on his shoes, Shen Li took Jiang Huaichuan's ID card and cell phone and helped him walk outside.
Because the private doctor didn't come with us from City C, we had to go to a hospital two kilometers away for an IV drip.
Song An was already waiting by the car.
"boss……"
Song An barely managed to suppress his laughter, his eyes constantly glancing at Jiang Huaichuan's head.
Jiang Huaichuan knew perfectly well what was going on. He glanced at Song An, a cold voice escaping his throat as he said hoarsely, "Laugh if you want to."
Both the scarf and hat were from Shen Li. The scarf was a gray-black double-knit, which matched Jiang Huaichuan's temperament quite well, but the hat on his head was so ridiculous that it made people laugh.
A small pom-pom hung on the top of the off-white hat.
Jiang Huaichuan personally picked out this hat for Shen Li before the Chinese New Year, but unexpectedly, it was on Shen Li's head in just two months.
"Pfft... No, it's quite suitable." Song An quickly closed the car door and went around to the driver's seat.
Five minutes later, the three of them stood in the hospital registration hall. Jiang Huaichuan was wearing a mask, but it couldn't hide his flushed face.
Inside the consultation room, the doctor was shocked when he took Jiang Huaichuan's temperature. He looked at Jiang Huaichuan and said, "Why did you only come when you had such a high fever?" As he spoke, he kept writing out test forms.
"The fever went down in the morning, but it came back up after I slept."
"You'll need to have your blood drawn and get an IV drip first. A nurse will come to your room shortly to call you for your tests." The doctor looked at Shen Li. "You're a family member, right? Family members need to accompany you for the tests."
Shen Li nodded.
A major flu outbreak began in City C last week, affecting almost three-quarters of the population. Mild cases included colds and coughs, while severe cases involved high fever and fainting.
Jiang Huaichuan thought back and realized that he must have been infected when he left the airport.
On the day they arrived in City C, HCL Group sent a car to pick them up at the exit. While Song An and the driver were putting their luggage into the trunk, Jiang Huaichuan received a phone call and stood next to the car to make the call.
In just a short while, a middle-aged man brushed past him. Because the two were very close, Jiang Huaichuan glanced up and saw that the man's face was pale, he was covering his mouth, and he was coughing loudly.
Jiang Huaichuan sensed something was wrong and immediately turned his back, but it was too late. That evening, Jiang Huaichuan noticed that his throat was a little uncomfortable, but he just drank a few glasses of warm water and didn't pay much attention to it.
After the blood draw, Jiang Huaichuan and Shen Li returned to the ward. The nurse came over and started the IV drip. Because they would have to do tests later, Jiang Huaichuan didn't take off his coat and just leaned against the bed to calm down.
Twenty minutes later, the nurse came over and called Jiang Huaichuan over for a checkup.
The inspection was on the second floor, and even though it was a Monday, a workday, the inspection hall was still packed with people.
Jiang Huaichuan's examination was completed quickly, and he needed to wait half an hour for the report to come out. Just then, the mother and daughter in the front row left, and Shen Li pulled Jiang Huaichuan to sit down.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Shen Li gently touched the back of Jiang Huaichuan's hand.
"It hurts." Jiang Huaichuan wasn't in a good mood. His eyelids drooped, and before Shen Li could speak, he continued, "You seem to know this all too well. It hurts."
Shen Li was speechless. He had been to the hospital many times due to his health condition. Over time, he had become familiar with where to pick up the forms, where to wait for the results, and what the doctor would ask.
Jiang Huaichuan lowered his eyelids, his right hand, with an IV drip, rested on the armrest of the chair, while his left hand, intertwined with Shen Li's, rested on his thigh.
...
The sliding door to the examination room opened, and the doctor walked out, holding a form in his hand, and called out, "Are Jiang Huaichuan's family members here? Jiang Huaichuan's family members."
Upon hearing the name, Zhou Lan, who was helping his wife with her examination, paused in his tracks and subconsciously looked at the crowd on his right.
The next second, Zhou Lan saw a familiar figure stand up. He walked to the doctor's side, his eyes focused, listening attentively to what the doctor was saying.
Although the boy was wearing a mask, Zhou Lan recognized him at a glance. This was President Shen, who had driven down the acquisition price of HCL to the bone today.
However... Zhou Lan wondered, did he have to bring his boss to the hospital as a family member?
Isn't this asking too much of a question?
Zhou Lan was full of doubt. Before he could figure it out, he saw Shen Li take the form and walk to the seat where they had just been sitting. She picked up another person from the seat, and the beige fur ball behind his head swayed with the movement.
You said this is Jiang Huaichuan, the CEO of the Jiang Group. Normally, Zhou Lan would definitely jump up and glare at you, scolding you for having bad eyesight. But now, Zhou Lan's eyes are practically popping out of their sockets.
Jiang put his arm around Shen's waist, and Shen not only did not move away, but even moved closer.
With gentle eyes, Shen Li reached out and brushed away the stray hairs on Jiang Huaichuan's forehead. Seeing Jiang Huaichuan looking at her with his peach blossom eyes, Shen Li couldn't help but pinch the mask on Jiang Huaichuan's face and press it up above his nose.
Fortunately, there is no problem with his lungs.
The two walked toward the elevator.
Zhou Lan, who witnessed everything, stood there dumbfounded, supporting his wife.
What does this mean?
Having never been in a relationship, and having been married off through an arranged marriage, Mr. Zhou, who was also developing feelings for his wife, was momentarily stunned and stared blankly at her.
"Honey, did you see that? Those two boys just now, they... they..."
"I saw them." Tang Nian reluctantly looked away, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "They're just a lovey-dovey couple, aren't they? What's wrong? Do you know them?"
Love? Couple!
Zhou Lan stared wide-eyed, his lips trembling as he tried to speak seven or eight times, but he couldn't utter a single word.
ah……
No wonder……
Zhou Lan recalled Shen Li's sharp retorts that morning, especially Cui Xian, who had been the most severely criticized, and finally understood.
Is she using her feelings for ulterior motives, perhaps seeking revenge for her boyfriend?
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Author's Note: I caught a [droopy-eared rabbit head].
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