Chapter 199 The Tailor's Test
The next morning, Su Wantang was awakened by a slight itch.
She groggily opened her eyes and saw Lu Jingyan's handsome face magnified in her vision. The man was lying on his side beside her, one hand supporting his head, the other hand holding a strand of her long hair, gently brushing it against the tip of her nose.
"Awake?" His voice was slightly hoarse from just waking up, which sounded particularly sexy.
Su Wantang groaned, turned over, turned her back to him, buried her face in the soft pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "My back aches."
A deep laugh came from behind her, and then a pair of warm hands covered her waist, kneading it with just the right amount of force.
"Who told you to try it on the windowsill last night..."
"Shut up!" Su Wantang's face flushed red instantly, the heat almost palpable even through the pillow. She abruptly turned around and reached out to cover his mouth.
Lu Jingyan took the opportunity to grab her wrist, pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and gently rubbed it. "Don't go to the company today, rest at home."
“No,” Su Wantang found a comfortable position in his arms and shook her head. “The pharmaceutical factory has just been taken over, and there’s a ton of work waiting for us. Du Kangnian and his team have all come from Shanghai. I, as the boss, can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“Then I’ll take you.” Lu Jingyan’s tone left no room for argument.
"Don't you have classes?"
"Afternoon classes."
The two lingered for a while longer before finally getting out of bed, albeit reluctantly.
After breakfast, Lu Jingyan drove Su Wantang to the entrance of Tangdixuan. Just before she got out of the car, the man suddenly grabbed the back of her head and planted a domineering kiss on her.
He only released her when Su Wantang was almost out of breath, his forehead pressed against hers, and said in a hoarse voice, "Call me if anything happens."
"Understood, Teacher Lu." Su Wantang's eyes sparkled, and she winked at him mischievously before pushing open the car door and getting out.
As the black sedan merged into the traffic, the tenderness and smile on Su Wantang's face slowly faded, replaced by calmness and sharpness.
She turned and stepped onto the stairs. When she pushed open the wooden door of Tangdixuan, she was no longer the spoiled Su Wantang in Lu Jingyan's arms, but "Bai Shu," who was in charge of a huge amount of funds and was about to build a business empire.
Qin Zheng was already waiting at the door. When he saw her come in, he immediately came up to her and said, "Boss."
Bai Shu nodded slightly, took off her coat and handed it to him, asking, "Has Manager Du and the others arrived?"
"They're all waiting in the conference room on the second floor."
Inside the conference room, Du Kangnian and his core team were already seated upright. Upon seeing Bai Shu enter, everyone stood up in unison and respectfully greeted him, "Chairman Bai."
"Please sit down." Bai Shu walked to the head seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
She cut straight to the point, "The main reason I called everyone here today is to discuss the next steps for 'Tangdi Pharmaceuticals'..."
After the meeting, everyone went to do their own work, but Du Kangnian stayed behind, looking somewhat solemn.
"Chairman Bai, there's something I find a bit strange that I need to report to you."
"Speak." Bai Shu picked up the teacup and gently blew away the foam.
Du Kangnian organized his thoughts before speaking: "Recently, a man named Andrew Liu, who claims to be a representative of the 'American Chinese Chamber of Commerce,' has contacted me several times through connections at the hotel."
"Oh?" Bai Shu paused for a moment.
“This person has expressed a strong interest in investing in our ‘Tangdi Pharmaceuticals’,” Du Kangnian said, frowning.
“I initially thought it was a business scam, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But to my surprise, he came directly to my hotel yesterday and was very sincere.”
"What are the conditions?" Bai Shu put down his teacup and asked.
“That’s the strange thing.” Du Kangnian looked puzzled.
"He was extremely generous, immediately expressing his intention to invest five million US dollars, and his requirements for the rate of return were abnormally low. I tentatively mentioned a few harsh terms, and he agreed to them all without hesitation."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch," Bai Shu said calmly.
“Yes. He has only one condition.” Du Kangnian took a deep breath. “He wants to meet you, the boss behind the scenes, and also hopes to have the opportunity to visit… the laboratory of ‘Haitang Technology’.”
Bai Shu's eyes instantly turned cold.
Tangdi Pharmaceuticals had just been established and hadn't even put up a sign yet, so there was no way the outside world would know about it. "Haitang Technology," on the other hand, was her trump card hidden behind the scenes; apart from her core confidants, no outsider could possibly know about it.
This Andrew Liu not only knew about "Tangdi Pharmaceuticals", but also specifically mentioned "Haitang Technology".
This isn't a sugar daddy offering money; it's clearly a hungry wolf testing the waters!
"Have you investigated the person who invited him to see me?" Bai Shu's voice was unreadable.
Du Kangnian's forehead broke out in a fine sweat. "I checked, and he's a long-time customer of the restaurant. He has a very large business and a clean background. He met this Mr. Liu at a cocktail party."
“What looks clean is often the dirtiest underneath.” Bai Shu’s gaze darkened.
"Qin Zheng," she suddenly said.
Qin Zheng, who had been standing by the door like a shadow, immediately stepped forward and said, "Yes."
"Investigate this Andrew Liu immediately. I need all his details, especially his entry records, and who he met and where he went after arriving in Beijing. I want every single detail."
"Yes!" Qin Zheng accepted the order without uttering a word of nonsense and turned to leave.
Watching Qin Zheng's departing figure, Du Kangnian was secretly astonished. The longer he stayed by Bai Shu's side, the more unfathomable his boss seemed.
"Chairman Bai, so... should we meet with this Mr. Liu or not?"
Bai Shu turned around, a playful smile curving his lips. "Why wouldn't we see them? They've come to us with such sincerity; we can't just turn them away."
"But this is clearly a trap..."
“It’s a trap, but also an opportunity.” A hunter’s glint flashed in Bai Shu’s eyes. “I’m also curious to know who is so interested in us.”
...
At the same time, Beijing University.
After the afternoon classes ended, the students left the classroom in twos and threes.
Lu Jingyan was tidying up his lesson plans, but Jiang Fan, unusually, didn't leave immediately. Instead, he took a notebook and went up to the podium.
"Professor Lu, regarding the 'asymmetric warfare' you mentioned this morning, I reviewed the details of the Battle of Red Cliffs, and there are a few questions I don't understand."
Jiang Fan's tone was still somewhat stiff, but the provocation in his eyes was gone, replaced by a desperate desire to find a solution.
Lu Jingyan glanced at him and took the notebook. It was filled with densely written deductions and analyses, and even included simple maps.
“You’ve got the wrong angle.” Lu Jingyan pointed out the core of the problem with just one glance. “You only considered water pollution, but you ignored the impact of wind direction and air humidity on the speed of germ transmission.”
Jiang Fan was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought, his head lowered, his eyes completely changed color.
Not far away, Chu Yunfei, who had just finished organizing Lu Jingyan's documents, saw this scene and her alarm bells went off.
She dressed up carefully and spent the whole afternoon trying to find an opportunity to talk to Lu Jingyan, but the man didn't give her a single extra glance, except when it came to business.
Now, however, he is willing to spend time guiding that arrogant Jiang Fan.
Chu Yunfei's gaze fell on Jiang Fan, now tinged with scrutiny and hostility. She had a strong intuition that this Jiang Fan was not simple. His approach to Lu Jingyan was definitely not just for academic advice.
She bit her lip, walked forward gracefully, and smiled gently. "Teacher Lu, Jiang Fan, what are you talking about? I happen to have some historical materials here about the prevention and control of epidemics in ancient armies, which may be of help."
As she spoke, she naturally tried to move closer to Lu Jingyan.
Lu Jingyan, however, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. The moment she approached, he subtly shifted his body slightly to the side, creating some distance between them.
He handed the notebook back to Jiang Fan and said casually, "Go back and think about it yourself. If you can't figure it out, we can talk about it next class."
After saying that, he picked up his lesson plan, didn't even glance at Chu Yunfei, and walked straight past her.
Chu Yunfei's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, her smile freezing on her face. The humiliation of being completely ignored made her nails dig into her palms.
Meanwhile, Bai Zhu also made a decision at Tangdixuan.
She picked up the phone on the table and dialed Du Kangnian's internal line.
"Manager Du, reply to Mr. Liu and tell him that Chairman Bai appreciates his sincerity and is willing to meet with him."
"The time is set for 7 p.m. the day after tomorrow."
“The location…” Bai Shu’s fingertips tapped lightly on the table, finally stopping at a single point.
"Let's meet at the Moscow restaurant."
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