Chapter 77 Clues
Han stared at him blankly. Although she had previously convinced herself that she wanted to cooperate with Xie Ming to find a way to prevent Gu Ningwei and He Nian's marriage, she had never expected that he would have such a grand ambition.
Chengguang Group is a well-known real estate company in the country, and its properties are spread all over the country. Although the real estate company has been in recession in the past two years due to policy regulation, it is still a behemoth. She, Han, is just an ordinary person. If she wants to fight against it, it is undoubtedly like a gnat trying to shake a tree, and she is overestimating her own abilities.
Han shook his head and said to Xie Ming, "I understand your feelings about losing your loved ones, but doing this is undoubtedly too risky. I don't want to take the risk. Besides, I don't have any deep hatred with Chengguang Group, and they haven't done anything bad to me."
What's more, if Chengguang Group is destroyed, it means Gu Ningwei will be destroyed as well, which is something I don't want to see, Han said silently in his heart.
"Aren't you afraid of losing Gu Ningwei?" Xie Ming asked with a smile.
Han shook his head slightly. "I am indeed afraid of losing him, but I don't want to risk my life to deal with a behemoth that I can't handle at all."
She said self-deprecatingly: "I am nothing but a poor girl from a humble family in a shabby alley, relying on a salary to survive, and I have a mother who depends on me for everything. I am aware of my class."
"So that's how it is." Xie Ming was obviously disappointed. He said, "I was wrong about you."
"Yeah, you did see it wrong." Han's expression was indifferent.
She lowered her head and continued drinking her coffee. She didn't know why the flat white she usually liked tasted so bitter.
Xie Ming was silent for a moment. He leaned forward, his hands resting on the round low table. His dark eyes fixed on Han Que, and he whispered, "Miss Han, have you ever considered that Chengguang Group is just a paper tiger now? It's glittering on the outside, but it's actually rotten on the inside. Perhaps it will collapse on its own without anyone's intervention."
"That's his own business. As an unrelated person, there's no need for me to add fuel to the fire. Besides..." Han remained motionless. She cleared her throat and said, "Mr. Xie, I don't think I can help you. I have no connection with Chengguang Group."
"Okay." Seeing Han Que's firm attitude, Xie Ming said nothing more.
He also lowered his head to drink coffee, tapping the table lightly with his slender fingers, as if he was thinking about something!
The phone started to beep as it received a text message. Han opened it, took a look, and said to Xie Ming, "Mr. Xie, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
Since the two of them can't reach an agreement, there is nothing more to talk about. Continuing the conversation would just be a waste of each other's time.
Xie Ming nodded thoughtfully.
Han stood up and prepared to leave.
"Ms. Han." Xie Ming suddenly called her over, pointing to the seat in front of him and motioning her to sit down. "I have a clue about the He family. Are you interested?"
"The He family?" Han frowned, looked at him in surprise, and sat down again.
"Yes, to be precise, it is related to He Lian." Xie Ming said affirmatively.
"He Lian?" Han paused, shrugged, and shook her head. "Isn't she a painter of some fame? What leverage could you possibly have on her?"
Han secretly laughed at Xie Ming's stubbornness, but then he thought, if anyone else encountered such a thing, who would give up unless there was no way out at all?
"She's a famous painter, and also the fiancée that Gu Ningwei is about to announce to the public, right?" Xie Ming asked again.
"She's indeed the one he's looking for in a business marriage." Han nodded, then sarcastically said, "Your media was so hyping up that scandal a while ago, how come you've forgotten it now?"
"I know some details about He Lian's private life." Xie Ming's expression was half-smile.
"Oh, those? It seems that Mr. Gu also knows those." Han Que said indifferently, frowning slightly, and a trace of annoyance arose in his heart.
Xie Ming raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked in disbelief, "Gu Ningwei knows?"
Han nodded affirmatively.
Han recalled that when he first met He Lian, He Lian was dating a male model in the private room next door.
Gu Ningwei also explained to her that He Lian had some mental problems after her lover committed suicide by jumping off a building.
"Haha, Gu Ningwei doesn't care about a big green grassland growing on his head." Xie Ming shook his head, his eyes were mean and sarcastic. He seemed not to have imagined that the world of the rich was so absurd.
"This is his business." Han's expression was indifferent. She looked at her phone with an impatient look.
"Okay..." Xie Ming lowered his head, his expression somewhat dejected.
Han knew that he was close to Zhang Yuming, and he felt sorry for him, so he said softly, "Mr. Xie, Gu Ningwei said he would look into that matter."
Xie Ming curled the corner of his mouth sarcastically and sneered.
The ice in the coffee cup had half melted into water. Xie Ming took a sip, looked up at Han Que, and continued, "Since He Lian's private life isn't enough to affect their marriage, the question of where the He family's funds went..."
Xie Ming deliberately stopped talking midway, with a mysterious expression.
"Where did the He family's funds go?" Han looked at him in surprise.
She didn't understand capital operations and didn't quite understand what Xie Ming meant.
"I got a clue that He Lian used her gallery and painting auctions to launder money for certain people." Xie Ming's eyes were sharp.
"Money laundering? Is He Lian so bold?" Han Que shook her head. She didn't believe it. He Lian's crazy look was like an artist's behavior, but saying that she laundered money or did something illegal was beyond Han Que's imagination.
"It involves money laundering, and also involves the whereabouts of the Gu family's funds." Xie Ming leaned forward, raised his head slightly and stared at Han Que, "I think this is also the clue that Mr. Gu needs."
Han took a deep breath and didn't say anything for a long time.
She vaguely knew what Gu Ningwei was investigating, but she had never heard him mention the specific content of the investigation.
"Ms. Han, I know you don't understand finance and don't quite understand capital operations, so you just need to tell Gu Ningwei about these things, and he will naturally be interested. You should have no problem with this little thing, right?" Xie Ming continued to ask.
Han was silent for a while and shook his head firmly.
"Why? It's just a simple task. Doing so will benefit you. Don't you understand?" Xie Ming was dumbfounded.
"Mr. Xie. Have you ever heard a saying?"
"What?"
"Never interfere with other people's fate." Han looked at her with a smile: "Although I have interfered with Gu Ningwei's life, I don't want to interfere with He Lian's life. She has nothing to do with me. Whether Gu Ning chooses me or a business marriage is his own choice. I don't want to force it on him."
"Why? Don't you wish you didn't have to lose Gu Ningwei? Don't you wish you could control your own destiny? Have you ever considered that once Gu Ningwei announces their engagement, you'll become a true canary, a third party that everyone will curse and hate."
Xie Ming glanced at her with a sarcastic expression, then thought for a moment and said, "I think, Miss Han, you don't want to be drowned by public opinion, do you?"
"Are you threatening me?" Han smiled, speaking clearly, "Then let me tell you, if Gu Ningweiwei chooses to publicly announce his engagement to He Lian, and He Lian is his fiancée, we will no longer have any contact. There's no risk of me being overwhelmed by public opinion, as you mentioned. We already agreed on this."
"Oh, this is what you call love. It turns out to be just a transaction, and you still say that you are not the canary he kept." Xie Ming said sarcastically.
"Adult relationships are about mutual benefit." Han Que said softly, smiled at him, and stood up. "Thank you today, Mr. Xie, for letting me know some things I shouldn't have known."
She thought for a moment, "However, if you want to hand over the clues you have to Gu Ningwei, then you should find a way to contact him yourself. I won't be a messenger. Whether you can achieve your desired goal depends on your luck."
Han waved politely and left.
Xie Ming stared at her back for a long time, then suddenly chuckled. "Interesting," he muttered to himself, "She's truly a contradictory woman."
But it is precisely because of this contradiction that she is very special besides being beautiful.
Han left Starbucks and took a taxi to the mall to meet Gu Ningwei.
At dusk on weekends, the blue-purple sky is dyed red by the sunset glow. The streets are brightly lit, bustling with people, creating a rare sense of liveliness.
On the top of high-end commercial buildings, neon lights are shining, beautiful women are smiling sweetly on big billboards, the exterior of shopping malls is magnificent, and the display windows are full of dazzling goods.
But Han only took a quick glance, showing little interest. She followed the location Gu Ningwei had sent her, entered the mall, went straight up to the fourth floor, and walked to a quiet restaurant on the corner.
The seemingly inconspicuous door front is actually decorated very elegantly inside, with flower windows, small pavilions, pink walls and black tiles, a small bridge with flowing water, misty air, koi swimming in the pond, green lotus leaves and graceful lotus flowers.
A waitress in a new Chinese-style dress came up to greet her, but Han told her the private room number. The waiter led her all the way to the small private room at the innermost part.
When I opened the door, I saw Gu Ningwei had already arrived. He looked up at the sound and asked with a smile, "Why are you here so late?"
Han paused and said, "Ah, I have something to do."
Gu Ningwei didn't ask any more questions. He took her hand and asked her to sit next to him. Han saw only two sets of tableware on the table and asked in confusion, "Why are there only two of us?"
"It's just the two of us."
Han said, "Didn't you say you wanted to talk about something?"
"Can't we just have a meal and talk about things?" Gu Ningwei poured himself a glass of wine. As he did so, he glanced up at Han Que and asked with a smile, "Did you go see your mother? How is she? Are you used to living there?"
Han nodded and said vaguely, "It's okay."
Gu Ningwei said, "That's good, but she has just recovered, so we still can't let our guard down. In case of an emergency, you still have to be by her side."
Han hummed.
Gu Ningwei raised an eyebrow and suddenly asked, "By the way, I asked you to go get your driver's license. How's it going?"
Han complained, "I don't have the time. I'm so busy every day."
"Are you complaining to me that the workload assigned to you is too much?" Gu Ningwei chuckled.
Han was slightly stunned, then he smiled and said, "It's not too much, but it's beyond my ability and I'm overwhelmed."
Gu Ningwei nodded gently. "It's a bit difficult for you to take over this mess just now, but everything will be fine once it's on the right track. Don't worry, I'm here for you. I've met with Professor Tang and the others, and they will fully support us, so don't worry."
The dishes came: steamed fish, salted duck, garlic amaranth, and cold cucumber salad. Han Que had a bowl of bird's nest stewed with white fungus, while Gu Ningwei had a bowl of millet porridge with Liao ginseng.
The two ate and chatted, but Han thought for a moment and finally asked, "Do you think Mr. Li has other ideas?"
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