Chapter 55
Tang Jiulin didn't have time to stop him before Luo Yi finished speaking. He immediately looked at Tang Ruxin, who was stunned for a moment before picking up some food to eat, seemingly unconcerned.
Luo Yi's gaze shifted between Tang Jiulin and Tang Ruxin, and then he calmly picked up the napkin at hand and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"The chairman's confidentiality was thorough, even keeping it secret from the company's top management."
Tang Ruxin held her chopsticks and shook her head. "I've heard about this, but I don't know who the buyer is. Besides, I'm no longer a senior executive. I'm just a dependent now. Could you please give me a larger purchase fee so I can live comfortably for the rest of my life?"
When he suddenly heard the word "teacher", Luo Yi's expression was dazed for a moment.
"Given the current situation of our company, it is difficult for others to offer a purchase price higher than the market valuation. Please don't make things difficult for your teacher." Tang Jiulin said pertinently, but his eyes did not miss any changes in Luo Yi's expression.
"Who told you to sell it now? At least wait until the government-supervised listing is removed." Tang Ruxin said.
Tang Jiulin was too lazy to explain in detail to her. He turned to look at Luo Yi and said, "Mr. Luo, you've seen that Ruxin is still so naive. I'll have to trouble you to take care of her in the future."
Luo Yi nodded slightly and raised his glass to express his agreement.
Tang Ruxin looked at Tang Jiulin, then at Luo Yi, narrowed her eyes and asked, "What do you mean, are you entrusting your orphan to someone else?"
Tang Jiulin took a deep breath and felt that he was lucky to have lived until now without being angered to death by Tang Ruxin.
"At this stage, due diligence has been completed. We believe that Donghe Refining's current debt, litigation and problem rectification risks are within an acceptable range, and have been approved by regulatory authorities. The acquisition and rectification can be carried out simultaneously as long as no new problems arise." Luo Yi explained, with a faint smile in his eyes as he looked at Tang Ruxin.
The problem was that new problems were bound to arise. Tang Ruxin swallowed the words that would surely get her beaten to death with a cane if she uttered them. She also had no objection to Luo Yi being the victim.
"Let's not talk about business during the New Year. Today is New Year's Eve, and I thought you were alone here, so I asked you to come and have a New Year's Eve dinner with me. Come, try this braised mandarin fish, the fish head is facing you." Tang Jiulin stood up attentively and used the serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of fish for Luo Yi.
Tang Ruxin watched quietly for a moment. Tang Jiulin and Luo Yi kept their composure as they toasted each other. She knew then that Luo Yi was probably the only buyer Donghe Refining could find.
When she first met Luo Yi, she was fifteen, still young, impulsive, and lustful. By then, Luo Yi was already twenty-eight, handsome and elegant, yet aloof and aloof. His looks and temperament struck a chord with her, and it was no exaggeration to say it was love at first sight.
Tang Jiulin was busy with company matters at the time, but he wanted her and Yu Zhe to get involved in asset management as soon as possible. So he asked someone to find Luo Yi, a university professor of investment, to be their tutor. Coming from a family of scholars, Luo Yi possessed a refined character and temper, but he also had a fierce nature, relishing the bloody battles of capital.
Three months later, Luo Yi returned Yu Zhe. Yu Zhe wasn't cut out for the job; his execution and judgment were both fatally flawed. Tang Ruxin continued to study under him for three years until, on her eighteenth birthday, he left without saying goodbye and never returned.
It seemed that during the eleven years he had been away, he had not only accumulated primitive capital but also carved out his own niche. Meanwhile, she had still achieved nothing. Her only advantage over Luo Yi was her youth.
The vibration of her phone brought Tang Ruxin back to her senses. She glanced at the screen and saw a New Year's greeting message from Yu Lei.
I didn't expect this person to be so polite—no, this was a group message. Tang Ruxin unlocked her phone and read the three lines of blessing message. After confirming that none of the words in these three lines were typed by Yu Lei, she rolled her eyes and threw the phone on the table.
The three of them ate and chatted, reminiscing about the past and talking about the future, and both the host and the guests had a great time that night.
Tang Ruxin and Luo Yi were both drunk. Tang Jiulin originally planned to ask the driver to take them there, but was rejected by Tang Ruxin.
"Uncle Yao is also going to spend the New Year with his family, so I can just take a taxi. Mr. Luo, I think you don't mind taking a taxi, right?"
Luo Yi naturally didn't mind.
After leaving Tang Jiulin's large bungalow, the two of them waited for a car side by side on the deserted street.
"We have to wait for twenty minutes. There are few trucks on New Year's Eve. I raised the price before someone accepted the order, and it's quite far from us." Tang Ruxin said while looking at her mobile phone.
Luo Yi looked at her face illuminated by the phone screen and hummed softly.
The two of them were silent for a moment, and the atmosphere grew heavy. However, Tang Ruxin had long since gotten over the panic of meeting someone so unprepared, and was able to remain calm and composed.
"You look very tired." Luo Yi said.
"It's inevitable for adults to be tired." Tang Ruxin smiled faintly, and had stopped talking nonsense in front of Tang Jiulin.
"You didn't ask me why I left so suddenly that year."
Tang Ruxin raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect him to bring this up on his own initiative.
"Teacher, you have your own life plans. I was young back then, and I did a lot of stupid things and said a lot of stupid things. Teacher, please don't take it to heart."
Luo Yi looked at her inquiringly for a long time, but could not find any flaws in her faint smile.
"You've grown up."
"It's been eleven years, that's normal." Tang Ruxin glanced at her phone. Only three minutes had passed. Time seemed to be going so slowly.
Luo Yi raised his head and looked away, looking at the dark sky in the distance, and said softly:
"Then you should be able to make the best choice now."
"What to choose?"
"Tang Jiulin wants to sell Donghe Refining to me at a price 20% lower than the final valuation. The prerequisite is that you and I get married."
"What's wrong?" Tang Ruxin's first reaction was that there was something wrong with her ears.
"He said that Donghe Refining was originally your dowry and he was just keeping it for you. If he sells it now, it should at least become your marital property."
"He could have given it to me directly. After going through so much trouble, I only got half of my own dowry?" Tang Ruxin couldn't understand Tang Jiulin's train of thought for a moment, and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Luo Yi looked at her quietly without saying anything.
Tang Ruxin was startled, her brain immediately racing. She was so familiar with Luo Yi's expression that even after all these years, it still triggered her instinctive reaction—he was testing her, think quickly!
After a few seconds, Tang Ruxin's face darkened, "I understand."
Luo Yi's eyes showed admiration, and he chuckled and said, "He really has plans for you."
"You promise?" she asked in disbelief.
"It can save 20 percent, which is hundreds of millions. Why not agree?"
"If we divorce, I'll take half and you'll lose 30%." Tang Ruxin said.
"Just stay together."
Tang Ruxin looked at him for a long time, unable to read any emotion on his face, and couldn't tell whether his words were motivated by self-interest or affection.
"Why did you leave in the first place?" she finally asked.
Luo Yi's eyes were like water, flowing quietly into her eyes.
"The things I used to suppress my emotions disappeared. After that day, I could never leave again. You are young, and years later you can classify everything as stupid words and stupid things. My life cannot afford the cost of such trial and error."
——It is true.
Tang Ruxin smiled bitterly. It was true that if she told too many lies, even she would start to believe them. Not only did Luo Yi not believe her, he also made her, back then, not believe herself either. She truly was the epitome of self-deception.
Now she was twenty-nine, and only when her life opportunities presented similar trial-and-error costs to his did he finally acknowledge her feelings from ten years ago. As expected of a venture capitalist, he wouldn't take action without a good chance of winning.
Tang Ruxin raised her head and looked at him, a sarcastic smile on her lips.
"It's too late, Luo Yi. I'm pregnant."
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