Chapter 80: Adventure?
Chu Yan stayed in S City for a few more days. On the one hand, he wanted to make sure that Gu Ye had initially adapted to the work rhythm of Gu's company. On the other hand, he really needed to spend some time to appease a certain puppy who pretended to be magnanimous on the surface but was actually jealous inside.
Gu Ye's learning ability and speed of adaptation were truly astonishing. With Chu Yan's guidance and Vice President Sun's generous support, he had already begun participating in some of Gu's core business meetings within just a few days. While he mostly listened and learned, the few questions he occasionally raised were always to the point, demonstrating his excellent business acumen and deep thinking, which impressed even some veteran employees who had previously looked down on him.
On the day Chu Yan left City S to return to City A, Gu Ye even independently completed a briefing on the business optimization of a downstream subsidiary. Although it was a bit immature, it had a clear framework and rigorous logic, and it already had the potential to be able to stand on its own.
"Well done." Chu Yan gave a rare direct compliment after reading the briefing. "Keep it up. Feel free to ask me if you encounter any problems you can't solve."
Gu Ye's ears flushed slightly as he forced himself to nod calmly, his eyes gleaming with recognition. He dropped Chu Yan off at the airport, and as he was leaving, he looked at her, seeming to hesitate before finally whispering, "...You're in City A, be careful. Stay away from certain people." His tone was awkward, yet tinged with a subtle sense of dependence.
Chu Yan laughed and ruffled his hair: "Got it. Brother Ye, you should also work hard."
Upon returning to City A, Chu Yan's first concern was Gu Hongyuan's revenge against Ruichuang Technology. Unexpectedly, Gu's revenge came slower than expected, and its intensity seemed somewhat circuitous.
On the phone, Gu Ye updated him on the latest situation: "It wasn't Gu Hongyuan who did it directly, nor were it his illegitimate children. It was Gu Qian, the one from the side branch."
"Gu Qian?" Chu Yan had some impression of this name, but didn't know much about it.
"Well," Gu Ye explained, "Gu Qian studied abroad at a prestigious university, holds a dual master's degree in finance and management, and is very capable. She previously worked at an overseas branch and recently returned to China to take over some of her father's businesses. I guess she's unwilling to be excluded from the core circle of the main family, so she wants to take this opportunity to make a contribution and take a big gamble."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious. "Don't underestimate her because she's a girl. She's known for her ruthless and brutal methods. Her father's family is a mess, with several illegitimate children, but now they all rely on her for their livelihood. No one dares to make a move. That shows how skilled she is."
Chu Yan listened, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. Gu Hongyuan's decision to use Gu Qian, a member of the side branch, instead of the main family, was an intriguing sign. This suggests that Gu Hongyuan likely realized the complex interdependence within the main family, their deeply entangled interests. Many might not truly want to suppress Gu Qian, and might even maintain secret ties. Using a side branch elite eager to prove themselves, while maintaining distance from the main family's core interests, would, in fact, more effectively carry out his plans.
Furthermore, Gu Qian had been overseas for years, and her understanding of the domestic situation, especially of Gu Xu and Ruichuang, might not be very deep. This "information gap" could sometimes become an unexpected variable, potentially causing Gu Xu considerable trouble.
"It seems that Gu Hongyuan is determined this time." Chu Yan said lightly, "You should also pay more attention to Gu Qian's movements. If she wants to make a name for herself in Gu's company, she won't just focus on City A."
"I understand." Gu Ye replied.
At this moment, the atmosphere at Ruichuang Technology was indeed like a taut bowstring.
Upon returning to City A, Gu Xu barely rested before immediately jumping into combat mode. He knew Gu Hongyuan and the Gu family's methods better than anyone else, and revenge was inevitable. He decisively implemented a contraction strategy, cutting a series of non-core projects that, while still profitable, had uncertain prospects or were vulnerable to exploitation. He recouped the funds and concentrated all his resources on the core project of unmanned intelligent application technology, a collaboration with Professor Li.
This is undoubtedly a gamble. If it succeeds, Ruichuang will be able to become a new industry leader by leveraging its technological advantages and gain a firm foothold; if it fails, it may lose everything and collapse instantly.
But Gu Xu had no choice. He had to burn his boats and face the coming storm.
Gu Qian's initial actions were indeed, as Gu Ye had suggested, more noise than action. Her foundation in City A was still shallow, her resources limited, and her understanding of Gu Xu and Ruichuang was incomplete. For now, she only created minor nuisances for Ruichuang, such as supply chain audits, tax inspections, and the spread of unfavorable information. While these tactics were annoying, they were still within the capabilities of Gu Xu's team.
Chu Yan had been to Ruichuang a few times, but each time, he either brought nutritious meals to supervise Gu Xu's meals, or went directly to the office after work to arrest him and force him to go home to rest. Gu Xu was a workaholic, he had been like this before when he was at Gu's, and now he was even more extreme for his own company, wanting to spend 24 hours a day at the office.
Chu Yan watched him, looking as if he was trying to break a minute into two, feeling both helpless and admiring. Gu Xu was just that kind of person, calm and rational, yet also ruthless to himself. If he saw the slightest opportunity, he would seize it like a cheetah, never letting go.
Just when Gu Xu and Gu Ye were both extremely busy, one was making a desperate effort in City A, while the other was striving to grow in City S—
Someone took advantage of the situation.
Chu Yu had been in a good mood recently. The cloud-based intelligent control project was progressing smoothly, with impressive results, proving his ability and vision to his family and the board of directors. Voices within the Chu Group were also growing louder for him to take over core management.
More importantly, he'd learned from certain sources about the recent turmoil within the Gu family, as well as the current predicament of Gu Xu and Gu Ye. This seemed like a godsend to him. With one of the two biggest troublemakers swamped, and the other far away in S City, if not now to make their presence felt, when would they?
Qin Xiao said: Happiness is something you have to actively strive for. If you sit back and wait for something to happen, you will only starve to death.
So, when Chu Yan was bored one day, he casually mentioned to Chu Yu on the phone that the Supernatural Club had an adventure to an uninhabited village on the outskirts of the city that weekend, and he signed up because he heard there was a natural hot spring nearby and wanted to go and relax.
Chu Yu seized the opportunity almost immediately.
"Paranormal Club? Adventure? Sounds interesting." Chu Yu's voice came through the phone, still in a serious tone, "I'm not busy this weekend, so I'll go with you."
Chu Yan: "...Brother Yu, are you sure you are interested in this kind of activity?" He really couldn't imagine Chu Yu wearing an expensive suit and going into an abandoned village.
"Well, work requires a balance between work and rest." Chu Yu lied calmly, as if he wasn't the one with the pile of papers on his desk and a packed weekend schedule. "Occasionally experiencing different activities can help expand your thinking."
On the other end of the phone, the secretary who was helping Chu Yu organize his weekend overtime schedule: "???" Boss, didn't you just say that preliminary plans for these mergers and acquisitions must be released this week?
Chu Yan raised his eyebrows, probably guessing what Chu Yu was thinking. He found it a little funny, but he didn't expose it. "Okay, then I'll tell the president to add one more person."
After he hung up the phone, he sent a message to Lu Chen, saying that he wanted to bring a friend with him to the weekend event.
Lu Chen quickly replied. His words revealed that he was initially happy Chu Yan was participating in the event, but upon hearing that Chu Yan was bringing a friend, his tone instantly dropped. He simply replied dryly, "Okay, got it."
On Friday afternoon, after the get out of class bell rang, the participants gathered at the school gate.
The location for this Psychic Club's outdoor adventure was a supposedly ancient "uninhabited village" on the outskirts of City A. In reality, the so-called "uninhabited village" had long been stomped out by internet celebrities and adventure enthusiasts, offering no real danger, more of an urban legend experience. Furthermore, there were several well-developed natural hot springs nearby, which was the real reason Chu Yan signed up—the adventure wasn't the real deal, the hot springs were the real deal.
Including Chu Yu, who had joined temporarily, there were ten people in total for this event: six men and four women. As the club president, Lu Chen arranged a minibus to pick them up.
Chu Yan carried a lightweight backpack, containing a change of clothes and toiletries. Beside him, Chu Yu had changed into branded sportswear and carried a high-quality travel bag, seemingly packed with a lot of stuff. The two of them standing together, one with a lazy and casual demeanor, the other with an undeniable elite aura, were a truly eye-catching sight.
"Brother Yu, why are you so interested all of a sudden?" While waiting for the bus, Chu Yan looked at his cousin, whose demeanor had suddenly changed, and couldn't help but jokingly said, "I remember you used to scoff at these idle activities."
Chu Yu remained calm, looking straight ahead. He answered in a calm tone, as if reporting a work report: "The intensity of work has been quite good recently, and I need to relax appropriately. Besides, being exposed to things in different fields is good for keeping my mind active."
In the distance, the secretaries working frantically overtime to deal with their boss's sudden abandonment of work sneezed collectively: "A-choo! Who's lying?"
Chu Yu certainly wasn't "lazy at work." He simply seized the opportunity presented by the enemy's main absence and decisively pushed aside all possible schedules to carve out time for the "proactive attack" strategy Qin Xiao had outlined. After all, according to his analysis, Gu Yu was already struggling, and Gu Ye in City S was even further away. If he didn't act now, when would he?
Qin Xiao was right, sometimes opportunities had to be created by oneself.
The minibus slowly approaches, and an adventure is about to begin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
