Chapter 80 Chapter 80
Lu Ye had barely sat down for two minutes when Shen Xingyu rapped on his office door. He walked in unceremoniously and met the radiant Lu Ye head-on.
Shen Xingyu was stunned. He had never seen Lu Ye so relaxed so early in the morning. He was usually already in the middle of his first conference call, his expression as serious as if he were handling a major military or national issue.
"You're more energetic today than the girl at the front desk. Are you in a good mood?"
Lu Ye did not deny it. He stood up and poured Shen Xingyu a cup of freshly brewed tea. The sharp-eyed Shen Xingyu now noticed the new lumbar support on the seat.
Shen Xingyu said sarcastically: "Finally you know how to protect your waist?"
Lu Ye sighed modestly and in agreement, "Indeed, protecting your waist is a responsibility to your family's happiness."
The man on the sofa nearly spit out his tea: "What family? Where does your family come from?"
Lu Ye had a teasing smile on his face and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the poorly soundproofed door.
He and Shen Xingyu exchanged a glance. Shen Xingyu put down his teacup and went out with him to investigate. Almost everyone from the secondary business department had gathered in front of the terraced office, surrounding one person. People from other departments were also peeking in to see what was happening.
The person whose way was blocked was arrogant: "I said, I want to see your Chief Lu."
Lu Ye's assistant firmly blocked the approaching person: "Sorry, you need to make an appointment."
Shen Xingyu looked at Lu Ye suspiciously and asked silently, "Who is that person?"
Lu Ye's face darkened, his relaxed demeanor vanishing. He was slightly taller than Shen Xingyu, and as he peered over the crowd, he had a clear view of the newcomer's face.
"Zhong Xinli."
Shen Xingyu also looked surprised: "Why is she here?"
Lu Ye shook his head. Ever since he'd made his point clear, he, Zhong Xinli, and the Lijiang Financial Group had been openly at odds. The Zhong family, seemingly giving Qin Jianhe face by still cooperating with Company Z, had clearly shown their disapproval of him with their fund subscription.
Lu Ye didn't want to be associated with this so-called noble family. He had offended the daughter of the Zhong family, and she had taken revenge on him. He thought the matter was over, so why did Zhong Xinli come to visit again today?
Lu Ye thought about it, patted Shen Xingyu, and signaled him to handle it for him. Shen Xingyu was in charge of the cooperation between the company and the Lijiang Consortium, so it made sense for him to be the one to handle it.
Shen Xingyu rolled his eyes at him, pretending to negotiate. Lu Ye reluctantly cupped his hands and nodded slightly in agreement.
The suave Mr. Shen straightened his collar and walked through the crowd to Zhong Xinli.
"Miss Zhong, you're here so early. This isn't a good place to talk business. Why don't we go sit in my office first?"
He tried to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and by the way, divert everyone's attention from the entanglement between Zhong Xinli and Lu Ye. This trick was actually superfluous. No matter how Zhong Xinli made a fuss, everyone in the company had long disliked this Miss Zhong.
Word had spread throughout the company: Miss Zhong, after failing to seduce their exceptional CEO, had resorted to underhanded tactics to derail the previously agreed-upon subscription agreement. Launching a new fund was the hard work of the entire secondary department, and the sales representatives had been busy for nearly half a year. She had nearly ruined half of the company's efforts.
Most of the people present didn't give Zhong Xinli much face. As soon as Zhong Xinli entered the company, everyone from the security guard to the front desk relayed the news back to the office. Lu Ye's assistant personally stopped them, and the entire second-level department was blocked in the corridor. No one was willing to give in.
The daughter of a top consortium in City S is so narrow-minded. It's ok that she pursues love generously, but she even seeks revenge after being rejected. It's really despicable.
Zhong Xinli didn't take these people seriously at all.
They are just a bunch of mean people who gathered together for profit and are whining. What else can they do except watch the fun?
She had come to see Lu Ye, and these other insignificant people were no different from ants. She didn't need to explain herself to anyone except Lu Ye, as she was afraid of being branded as money-minded if she said even a single word.
"I want to see Lu Ye." Zhong Xinli didn't respond to Shen Xingyu's question, but said to him directly, "Ask him to come out for a moment. I have something to tell him."
Shen Xingyu tried his best to comfort her with his captivating peach blossom eyes. He waved his hand to let the people in other departments go back to work, and winked at Lu Ye's assistant, asking him to pour water.
"Chief Lu is not here today. If you have any business matters, please discuss them with me first—"
"He's here. I saw him come in." Zhong Xinli interrupted him.
Shen Xingyu's heart suddenly flared up with anger. How could this woman be so tactless and refuse to back down even when given the chance?
He had been trained to be versatile since childhood, but now facing such an unethical opponent, he was too lazy to bother with any more effort.
Shen Xingyu said mercilessly, "Just tell him what you want to talk about. I don't think you two have any private matters to discuss. As for business matters, Chief Lu has nothing to be shy about."
Zhong Xinli's face turned pale as she suddenly saw Lu Ye's figure flash through the crowd. She realized that Lu Ye was standing quietly behind her, he just didn't want to talk to her.
She thought to herself, "This is about the chairman of Anshi Capital. I don't know if this is a public or private matter."
The man behind the crowd still stood there, showing no intention of moving forward. Instead, Shen Xingyu became anxious and grabbed her arm, trying to drag her out.
Isn't the chairman of Anshi Capital An Jiyue? Shen Xingyu knows too much about her. Who knows what Zhong Xinli will say today.
He and Lu Ye's assistant grabbed Zhong Xinli's arms and tried to take her out. Zhong Xinli, perhaps driven to desperation, shouted without caring about her image:
"An Jiyue is engaged to the heir of the Liang Group! Lu Ye, don't be fooled by her. She's clearly playing both sides!"
Shen Xingyu's eyes darkened, and it was too late to cover his mouth. Zhong Xinli, her face a mess, was released. She took a deep breath, pushed through the stunned crowd, and walked towards Lu Ye, who stood tall in front of the office door, speaking earnestly.
"She praised you on the show and invested money in your fund, but she had no good intentions. She was keeping you hanging while she was engaged to the heir to the Liang Group. It's obvious that she was just playing with you."
Zhong Xinli had originally planned to strike at the last moment yesterday, but was caught off guard by the woman who had been lurking beside her. Although the woman was so low-key that she didn't even show her face, she was still recognized by her.
The young director who dared to challenge him turned out to be the current boss of Anshi Capital.
So that's how it is. Zhong Xinli finally figured it out and breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought she'd really encountered an Awakened Person with nothing. It turned out that this young director was relying on his family background to confront her head-on.
It's hard to investigate a small director, but it's much easier to investigate the people in charge of Anshi Capital. After leaving, Zhong Xinli quickly learned about An Jiyue's situation and naturally heard about the news that Liang Sinan and An Jiyue's engagement was announced at the Liang Group dinner not long ago.
She rushed to tell Lu Ye early in the morning, hoping to warn him to be on guard. But to her surprise, even though the news had shocked everyone else present, the man in front of her remained calm and composed, as if he was not surprised by her news.
Yesterday, Lu Ye was picked up by An Jiyue in a limousine, and everyone was speculating about their relationship. Now that it was revealed that one of them was a married woman, everyone was worried for Lu Ye.
Lu Ye's eyelashes didn't even flutter. He just looked at the anxious woman in front of him with a distant and indifferent look. His hands hung loosely at his sides, and he said nonchalantly, "So?"
So what? We're engaged, so what?
So what? I'm happy with it.
Zhong Xinli's excited face gradually turned pale. She understood the meaninglessness in Lu Ye's eyes.
Even in the worst-case scenario, even if An Jiyue was really fickle, he seemed to be so indifferent.
Shen Xingyu almost knelt down to himself in his heart, and shouted his own greatness three times - fortunately, fortunately, he had given Lu Ye a shot of prevention!
Amidst the stalemate, another male voice coldly joined in, "I'm afraid Miss Zhong has misunderstood. This subscription was a joint decision made by Anshi and the Liang Group. We value Company Z's experience in fund operations, and we have unwavering faith in Chief Lu's abilities and character."
Liang Sinan stood alone outside the crowd. He was tall and strong, and although he was dressed casually, he exuded a majestic aura. He had obviously just arrived, but he didn't miss the most exciting part.
Zhong Xinli turned around, puzzled, and met Liang Sinan's stern face. She had met Liang Sinan a few times in her early years abroad, and she had always remembered him as an energetic and cheerful man. But now, he was completely different. He was alert and stern, like a cheetah, and his expression even held a hint of warning.
The Liang Group and the Lijiang Consortium had a bitter rivalry in their early years. Both companies' primary businesses were real estate, with the Liang Group dominating South China and the Lijiang Consortium focusing on East China. Back when the Liang Group was run by Cheng Qiming, it attempted to enter the East China market, but was thwarted by obstacles created by the Zhong family. That conflict dramatically altered the landscape of upstream real estate suppliers, forcing factories that once supplied both companies to choose between them or even split into two separate factories.
At the time, both of them were overseas, and these frictions did not leave much impression on them. However, recently, Zhong Xinli was called back to inherit the family business, and Liang Sinan was determined to regain the shares of Liang Group, so the old things were brought up again.
Liang Sinan was also somewhat surprised. He had always thought that the daughter of the Zhong family was fascinated by Western art and must have a noble character. He did not expect that when they met for the first time after many years, she would speak ill of him and behave inappropriately.
And the person she was humiliating happened to be An Jiuyue.
Liang Sinan walked to Zhong Xinli with a vigorous step, and said in a contemptuous and mocking voice: "Miss Zhong, if you have nothing to do, go home and read a few more business plans. If you really don't want to do these, go back and work on your highbrow art. Don't embarrass your parents here."
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