Chapter 11 It’s Time to Let Go
The Jiang family had originally been complacent and thought that they could snatch the European market from the Ling family this time, but they did not expect that what they were waiting for was sanctions from the Ling family.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the office building, snowflakes were falling, and the flickering lights made Jiang Qichen's distorted face appear bright and dim.
Cooperation with the Ling family had been severed, funds frozen, and even the European clients they had contacted had gone silent. The financial statements from the Finance Department lay spread out on the mahogany conference table, the glaring deficit like a wound that would never heal.
Overnight, Jiang's stock price plummeted, and partners called one after another, urging them to settle payments in advance.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to keep your mouths shut and not leak it?" Jiang Yi's father Jiang Qichen looked at the people standing in front of him with some annoyance. There were broken teacups and lamps on the ground.
He grabbed the jade ashtray at hand and smashed it against the wall. The green fragments splashed on the custom-made Persian carpet, like a bloody abstract painting.
The sales director stepped forward, his collar soaked with sweat. "Mr. Jiang, we didn't say anything. But the Ling family's connections and relationships are beyond our reach. They have their own connections in Europe, too. If we mess with their cake and eat it, the Ling family will definitely not let it go."
He secretly glanced at Jiang Qichen's gradually purple face, swallowed his saliva and continued, "I heard that the Ling family held a secret board meeting. Even the supplier we agreed with in Belgium received double the price of liquidated damages from the Ling Group last night."
"Ling Shen... Ling Shen... Yes, he won't do anything to the Jiang family. Jiang Yi is his savior, and Jiang Yi is a member of the Jiang family."
Jiang Qichen took a step back and fell into the chair. His gold-rimmed glasses slid to the tip of his nose, revealing the deep grooves at the corners of his eyes.
He unconsciously rubbed the agarwood bracelet on his left wrist - it was the thank-you gift Ling Shen gave him after he recovered, but now it hurt his skin.
No one present spoke. The central air conditioner made a low hum, as if the whole world had fallen into silence.
They all knew that the Ling family's current actions were not at all out of concern for Jiang Yi. Yes, the Jiang family was originally just a small company under the Ling family. If it weren't for Jiang Yi's accidental rescue of Ling Shen, relying on this life-saving grace, the Jiang family would have gradually grown from an unknown small company to a well-known enterprise today.
But in the final analysis, everything the Jiang family has is given by the Ling family. However, now this dog that was originally kept in captivity wants to bite back, how can the Ling family, as its owner, show mercy?
The crystal chandelier swayed slightly, and reflected in Jiang Qichen's pupils was the never-extinguished neon logo of the Ling Group building.
The so-called life-saving grace had probably worn away over the years. Everything that was happening now was enough to show that the Ling family no longer wanted to endure it.
Meanwhile, Ling Shen had already landed in Europe. Lucas, whom Jiang Qichen considered a distinguished guest, stood at the airport exit, watching Ling Shen walk out and warmly embraced him.
"Hey, Ling, you haven't been here for a long time." Lucas's big hands patted Ling Shen's back, and the scent of cologne mixed with cigar blew in his face.
Ling Shen frowned slightly, then calmly took a half step back, using the force to break free from Lucas's embrace. He smiled and said, "Lucas, you're too enthusiastic."
"Hahaha!" The two smiled at each other and walked towards the parking lot. The black Maybach drove smoothly out of the airport highway, and the cedar scent from the car's aromatherapy gradually diluted the tobacco smell on Ling Shen's body.
The car drove towards Lucas's manor. Ling Shen leaned his forehead against the car window, watching the shadows of the sycamore trees on the glass become mottled and flowing dark patterns.
Ling Shen looked at his friend beside him and said, "Lucas, what you did this time was really not fair."
Lucas tapped the leather seat armrests with his slender fingers, his blue-gray eyes flashing with cunning, "You're wronging me. I'm doing this for you, aren't I?" He took out two bottles of whiskey from the car refrigerator, and the amber liquor rippled in the crystal glass.
"For me? Where do you get that from?" Ling Shen took the wine glass, and the crisp sound of ice cubes colliding was particularly clear in the closed compartment.
Lucas gave Ling Shen a meaningful look. "Didn't your childhood sweetheart run away? If I do this, won't I just force him back?"
Ling Shen looked at Lucas, who looked very proud, speechlessly, and shook his head to look out the car window.
The dusk cast a layer of dark gold on the distant forest. I suddenly discovered that not far from the manor I hadn't visited for a long time, a Gothic spire pierced the clouds, and a Baroque-style carved iron gate shone coldly in the sunset. It was actually a building even more magnificent than Lucas Manor.
"How come there are more neighbors next to your garden even though I haven't been here for so long?" Ling Shen pointed at the house hidden deep in the woods. The glass curtain wall reflected tiny lights, like broken stars scattered all over the ground.
Lucas followed Ling Shen's finger, his pupils narrowing slightly as the ice in his glass crackled softly. He downed his whiskey in one gulp, his Adam's apple rolling as he spoke, "It's not that sudden. This place has been owned for a long time, but no one has ever been here. It was only in recent years that someone suddenly built this manor, but the owner has only visited once, and the rest of the time, it's been run by servants."
The sound of wind blowing through the woods came in through the half-open car window, carrying with it the smell of damp earth.
Ling Shen didn't take Lucas' words to heart. He knew very well that in this area, he could easily run into a mysterious tycoon with wealth comparable to that of a nation. A mere manor was nothing more than a small matter.
At this time, Ling Shen could never have imagined that one day he would have countless entanglements with the owner of this manor.
The car quickly drove into Lucas's manor, and the butler and the servants were already waiting at the door.
Lucas patted Ling Shen's shoulder enthusiastically and said, "Come on, take a shower and change clothes first. I asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite beef stew in red wine for you."
Ling Shen smiled and nodded, then followed the servant to the guest room.
The old friends who met again after a long time had endless topics to talk about at the dinner table. The crystal chandelier cast a fine halo of light between the cups. The two people didn't eat much, but they opened bottle after bottle of red wine on the table.
The melted water droplets in the ice bucket meandered along the silver bucket wall, leaving dark water marks on the walnut table, which was very similar to Ling Shen's chaotic thoughts at the moment.
Under the influence of alcohol, Lucas twirled the stem of his glass, and the amber liquid drew a slow swirl in the glass. He suddenly leaned in closer, his Adam's apple rolling twice before asking the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Ling, I really don't understand. What's going on between you and that Jiang Yi?"
The glass made a slight sound when it hit the table, startling a nightingale perched on a vine outside the window, which flew away in a flutter.
Ling Shen's eyes were hazy as he swung his wine glass to the French window. The city's neon lights shattered into fireflies in his pupils, making the teardrop mole at the corner of his eye flicker.
He stroked the raised grape-shaped pattern on the wall of the glass with his fingertips and murmured, "What's going on? I don't know either." Red wine dripped from the rim of the glass, spreading dark red flowers on the cashmere carpet.
Lucas frowned at the words and was about to speak when he saw Ling Shen tilt his head back and drink the whole bottle. His Adam's apple rolled violently, and a few drops of wine slid down his jawline into the open collar of his shirt.
"After he rescued me, I swore to always treat him well." Ling Shen suddenly chuckled, his laughter as cold as broken ice. "But later, when this kindness became a habit, when everything became taken for granted."
He slammed the glass down on the table, spilling red wine onto the tablecloth. "But I suddenly can't tell the difference between us. I don't know if I'm being nice to him or if I'm just reminiscing about the young man from Akagi."
"Ling, you've been trapped by this so-called favor for too long." Lucas stood up and clasped his trembling shoulders, his fingertips touching the sweat-soaked fabric. "It's been so many years, and the life-saving favor should have been repaid long ago. You should let it go."
He gestured toward the darkness, and a servant hidden behind a screen immediately stepped forward to support him. Ling Shen walked unsteadily, his wine-stained sleeves sweeping across the dining table, dropping half a piece of untouched foie gras to the floor.
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