Ch. 1291..1300
Chapter 1291: 1290 Apology Wine
Tan Rou and her friends had been delayed longer than expected, and by the time they arrived at the hotel, the others had already started their pre-dinner activities.
Li Li was playing poker with Lan Ning and Liang Lu, Zhuang Liu and Tao Zhi were pulled aside by Feng Jiao for a discussion, Tian Tian was learning from Jiang Min how to fold napkins into roses, and Lu Qing and Xu Yan were sitting together, typing messages to each other on their phones.
“Sorry, we’re late again,” Shang Jin changed her previous tone, “But you can’t blame us for being late, mainly because we had to go back and fetch something.”
Li Li asked cooperatively, “Ah Jin, what treasures did you go to fetch?”
Shang Jin took out a box of wine, smiling as she said, “When we were coming down the hill, I felt that what I said to Young Master Feng earlier was inappropriate, so I thought I’d apologize to Young Master Feng. After a lot of thought, I decided to bring a bottle of fine wine as an apology.”
Feng Jiao glanced at the wine Shang Jin had brought, and his eyes widened. He had assumed that someone ordinary like Shang Jin wouldn’t produce anything worthwhile, yet to his surprise, the wine she had brought was a globally limited edition, and moreover, it was a fifteen-year-old vintage.
“This is a fine bottle of wine!” Feng Jiao couldn’t help but exclaim, “When it was bottled, it had already been in the cellar for thirty years, and now another fifteen years have passed, making it a forty-five-year-old vintage now.”
Shang Jin and Tan Rou simultaneously had regrets, feeling that they had only chosen this bottle because it was smaller, which made it easier to drink. Had they known how long it had been aged, they certainly would not have brought it out.
But since the wine was already here, it was definitely impossible to take it back, so they had no choice but to open it and drink.
Shang Jin said with a smile, “Yes, nothing else would be suitable for Young Master Feng to drink, only vintage wine like this is befitting for him.” But internally, she thought, ‘I’ll have you completely disoriented soon.’
Feng Jiao snickered and said, “Hmm, recognizing your mistake and correcting it is good, young people shouldn’t be so hotheaded. Besides, this is the Capital, home to many important figures. Small fry like you should stay behind the big shots, not clash with them.”
If the wine in her hand hadn’t been so expensive, Shang Jin really wanted to smash it on Feng Jiao’s head, thinking, ‘What a lousy dinner, everyone should stop eating and just wreck it altogether!’
“Yes, yes!” Shang Jin nodded continuously, “Young Master Feng, your lesson is very reasonable, I will definitely follow behind the important figures.” When she had made her fortune, she would demolish the Feng Family’s ancestral house, then build a public restroom on the site, and make Feng Jiao guard the restroom.
“Feng Jiao, can you speak decently? Ah Jin is my friend, what do you mean by saying those things to her?” Jiang Min couldn’t hold back her anger, “I may need the Feng Family’s help, but don’t go too far. If you push me too hard, we can stop discussing our dealings altogether.”
Shang Jin was startled by Jiang Min’s sudden outburst and almost dropped the wine bottle, “Ah Min…”
Jiang Min walked up to Shang Jin, grabbed her arm fiercely, and said, “Forget eating, I don’t care for his dinner. Let’s go eat somewhere else.”
Shang Jin couldn’t leave, she still had the powder in her pocket, and if she left now, what would happen to her plan?
“Ah Min, I truly want to apologize to Young Master Feng, I was wrong today, I shouldn’t have argued with him after being late,” Shang Jin said sincerely, “And Young Master Feng is really a good person. Even though I argued with him, he didn’t stop me from coming to dinner, so I think I should apologize properly.”
Jiang Min showed a peculiar expression, “Ah Jin, has someone brainwashed you?”
Shang Jin said, “Ah Min, it’s almost time to eat, please stop causing a fuss. Besides, I’m too tired to change locations now.”
With Shang Jin saying that, Jiang Min had no choice but to stay. She told Shang Jin, “Don’t let yourself be mistreated.”
Shang Jin smiled and nodded, “I’m not mistreating myself, I came here willingly today.” How else could she drug Feng Jiao?
“Enough talking, let’s sit down and get ready to eat,” Feng Jiao’s eyes locked onto the bottle of wine, “and try this forty-five-year-old fine wine.”
Chapter 1292: 1291 Dian Gui Cai
“Okay, I will open the wine now,” Shang Jin said very respectfully to Feng Jiao, “The dishes haven’t arrived yet, so let’s open the wine and let it breathe a bit. When it’s time to eat, I will personally pour it for you. Does that sound good to you?”
Feng Jiao nodded satisfied, “Alright, let’s drink the wine when we eat.”
They were sitting at a round table, and Shang Jin’s seat was arranged quite far from Feng Jiao because Feng Jiao was the one hosting the dinner tonight, so he had arranged the seating. He placed Tan Rou, Zhuang Liu, and Tao Zhi close to himself, while the others were arranged more randomly.
This provided Shang Jin with the opportunity to add the laxative, and while Feng Jiao was talking to someone else, she quietly opened the bottle, then reached into her pocket for the powder. She dropped the powder into the bottle, gently shook it a few times to make sure the powder fully dissolved in the liquid, and then put the bottle aside.
Before long, the dishes everyone ordered were served. This restaurant was very upscale, all the dishes were prepared by international chefs, and the prices were incredibly steep. Feng Jiao told them to order whatever they liked, so they chose the most expensive dishes on the menu.
When Feng Jiao saw the dishes on the table, each costing over five figures, he felt a pang in his chest. He had been polite in telling them to order freely, not expecting them to be so ruthless in actually choosing the most expensive items. The bill for this meal was probably going to hit seven figures.
Feng Jiao hadn’t officially started working at the company yet, and the money he had was given to him by his family. Although he was usually quite extravagant, he had never spent a seven-figure sum on a single meal.
“The dishes are really great today!” Li Li shared the dish she ordered with everyone, “Especially this fish, I heard it’s air-flown from Antarctica, and it’s absolutely delicious, so I ordered a portion for each person. Everyone, try it and see if it’s as good as they say.”
The bowls for the fish were only palm-sized, but their price was far from small; a bowl cost over five thousand. With everyone getting a bowl, the cost added up to tens of thousands instantly.
Feng Jiao said with a pained expression, “Everyone… enjoy it, the fish must be delicious.”
Tan Rou wasn’t present when the orders were taken. She was unfamiliar with this restaurant and hadn’t seen the price list, so she didn’t know the small bowl of dish was worth over five thousand.
“The taste of this dish is really not bad, it’s just that the portions are a little too small.” Tan Rou remarked, “Plus, the portions served by this restaurant are all small. The dishes are gone before I’ve taken a few bites.”
Li Li smiled slightly, “Tan Rou made a good point. I hadn’t even savored the taste before it was all eaten up.”
Liang Lu then said, “Young Master Feng, since you’re treating us to dinner, you won’t let us leave hungry, right?”
Feng Jiao replied with a laugh, “Of course, you’re supposed to leave full. If you’re not full, you can order more. Order whatever you want, my treat.”
Li Li and Liang Lu exchanged glances, having gotten the response they were angling for from Feng Jiao.
“Waiter, bring over the menu,” Liang Lu gestured for the waiter to come over, “Give everyone a menu. We have quite a few dishes to order. Nobody be modest today, eat as much as you want. Don’t leave hungry.”
Liang Lu’s words had an underlying meaning; she was reminding everyone to eat more and spend as much as possible.
Lu Qing, supporting his girlfriend, feigned excited, “I’ve never had such good food in my life. Thanks to Young Master Feng for this experience; I will not disappoint his generosity.” Having said that, he ordered the most expensive dessert for after the meal, plus a hot soup.
Incidentally, the dessert and the soup also came in very small bowls, so he ordered one for each person.
Feng Jiao also had a menu, so when he saw Li Li and the others specifically choosing small portions of expensive dishes, he felt his eyelids twitch. But he couldn’t well refuse those choices, so he could only ask, “Can you all really finish if you order so much?”
Li Li thumped her chest in assurance, “Don’t worry, Young Master Feng, we definitely won’t waste it. If I can’t finish here, I can always take it to go.”
Li Li’s words reminded others that although they couldn’t eat so much now, they could take the leftovers home. Since it was Feng Jiao treating them, they didn’t have to be polite.
Chapter 1293: 1292 drinking alcohol
The dishes were halfway eaten when Shang Jin finally brought the wine she had brought. She went straight to Feng Jiao’s side and said with a smile, “Feng Jiao, you must be the one to drink this first glass.”
Feng Jiao, who frequented all kinds of drinking parties and loved tasting fine wines, felt his vanity satisfied when Shang Jin brought him the first glass to drink.
“Very good,” Feng Jiao raised his own glass, “here, pour me the wine.”
Under normal circumstances, had anyone spoken to Shang Jin like that, she would have slapped them, but today was a special case, and she had to endure it.
“Certainly,” Shang Jin said with a smile on her face, “I will pour you the wine right now.”
She poured Feng Jiao a full glass and then half a glass for herself. “Feng Jiao, how about we down it in one gulp?”
Feng Jiao, who enjoyed savoring fine wine, thought it a pity to down such good wine in one gulp, but since there was plenty left, he could take his time with the rest.
“Okay, let’s down it in one gulp,” Feng Jiao clinked glasses with her and then finished the wine in his glass in one go.
Shang Jin looked at the wine mixed with the medicine in her glass, swallowed hard, and also finished it in one gulp.
Afterward, Shang Jin poured a little for others, but she and Feng Jiao were mainly the ones drinking.
“Feng Jiao, as they say, you must drink three toasts of respect. We have had the first glass and two remain, do you want to drink them?” Shang Jin shook the wine bottle, its rich aroma wafting out. Anyone who enjoyed tasting wine couldn’t resist the temptation of such fine liquor.
“Sure,” Feng Jiao had rushed his first drink and now felt a bit dizzy, his reactions slowed significantly, “pour for me.”
Shang Jin poured him another large glass, but this time she only poured a little for herself, “I can’t hold my liquor well, so I can’t drink too much. Please forgive me, Feng Jiao.”
Feng Jiao was only too happy for her to pour all the wine into his glass. Hearing that Shang Jin couldn’t hold her liquor, he quickly said, “Then I’ll drink more, and you drink less.”
Shang Jin immediately filled his glass, “Good, fine wine like this should be drunk by great people like you.”
Only the two of them were engaged in a drinking contest, while the others drank little or none at all, since they had to drive home later that evening. Jiang Min also didn’t drink; she and Feng Jiao had come in their own car, and if Feng Jiao got drunk, she would have to drive him home.
Tan Rou didn’t drink either, as she couldn’t handle her liquor well and had to drive later. So, she poured her wine into Zhuang Liu’s glass and whispered in his ear, “Change the glass before you drink; this one has laxative.”
Zhuang Liu said, “I won’t drink anymore; Feng Jiao isn’t paying attention here anyway.”
Tan Rou instructed, “After finishing the wine, we will take the bottle with us to avoid eventual detection.”
They needn’t worry about the utensils, since once they finished dining, the hotel would definitely clean and sterilize them promptly. The medicine would be easily diluted and once it entered the sewer system, even testing wouldn’t reveal its presence.
On the other side, although Shang Jin claimed not to be able to hold her liquor well, she ended up drinking even more than Feng Jiao, and as she got drunker, she began to let loose.
“Drink, why aren’t you drinking?” Shang Jin, not knowing where she got it from, grabbed a new bottle of wine, opened it, and pushed it into Feng Jiao’s hands, “If you don’t drink, you’re disrespecting me!”
Feng Jiao slammed the table and stood up, “Drink, nobody leaves tonight until it’s all gone!”
Shang Jin laughed, “We definitely must finish it!”
Xu Yan had never before seen Shang Jin drink so much. He wanted to intervene, but Shang Jin was not receptive to his advice, so he could only sit silently on the side, drinking juice.
“Your wife is pretty impressive,” Lu Qing said teasingly, “I knew Shang Jin was hot-tempered, but I didn’t expect her to be such a heavy drinker. You probably can’t outdrink her.”
Xu Yan replied in an even tone, “I don’t drink alcohol.”
Lu Qing quietly asked, “But isn’t there a laxative in the wine? Can Shang Jin really drink so much?”
Xu Yan responded, “I can’t control her, and if she feels bad later, she’ll have to endure it on her own.”
Xu Yan wasn’t worried though, as Tan Rou had already prepared a vomiting inducer. After they finished the meal, Tan Rou was going to take Shang Jin to the restroom to induce vomiting. Although they had already taken the antidote, too much alcohol could still harm the body.
Chapter 1294: 1293 midnight bell ringing
After dinner, Feng Jiao was so drunk he couldn’t even find north, and two hotel attendants supported him and put him into the car.
The bill was settled by Feng Jiao, although he was intoxicated, but before getting drunk, everyone had already coaxed his black card out of him, and after dinner, they just swiped his card.
Actually, there was no hurry to settle the bill because the hotel staff recognized Feng Jiao, they could just put it on his tab, and he could pay when he woke up. However, the hotel staff thought that Feng Jiao’s spending was too high tonight, and if the payment was delayed, it might lead to unnecessary trouble, so it was better to pay sooner rather than later.
“I’m telling you… I never dine with ordinary people…” Feng Jiao, sitting in the car, was still not behaving, babbling on, “It’s a great honor for you to have a meal with me…”
Jiang Min, who was quite repelled by him, shoved him into the car a bit more, then turned to Tan Rou, “Tan Rou, I’ll seriously think about what you said, and I hope we remain friends in the future.”
Tan Rou said, “Jiang Min, my senior, we have always been friends, so I hope you can find happiness.”
Jiang Min gave a bitter smile, “I hope so.”
After Jiang Min left, Shang Jin also finished vomiting; she wiped her mouth and asked groggily, “Did I throw up on that egomaniac?”
Tan Rou patted her face, “Your task is already completed.”
Shang Jin smiled, then fell asleep in her boyfriend’s arms.
Everyone was thinking of Jiang Min, hoping she could find true happiness, but Jiang Min was too stubborn. She wanted to do something for her family to repay them for raising her, even if it meant sacrificing everything.
“Was I being too meddlesome?” On the drive back, Tan Rou asked gloomily, “Jiang Min is a nice person, she took good care of me when I was in her research group. Moreover, after Shang Jin and the others graduated, Jiang Min didn’t make them join her new project but sent them to my company instead. Firstly to find a good job for Shang Jin and her friends, and secondly to send a few capable people my way.”
Zhuang Liu reassured her, “You’ve done what you could, the rest is up to her. If one day she regrets her decision and comes back to you, you can help her then.”
Tan Rou asked, “Zhuang Liu, do you have any projects in hands?”
Zhuang Liu smiled and said, “The Zhuang family owns so many companies, there’s definitely potential to collaborate with the Jiang family. But didn’t Jiang Min reject you already? Since she rejected your kindness, let’s not bother anymore.”
Not just the Zhuang family, the Tao family also has many projects that could collaborate with the Jiang family, it’s up to Jiang Min whether she wants to seek Tan Rou’s help.
“You’re right, let’s not worry about these things here.” Tan Rou said, “I should think about my own matters. Summer vacation is almost here, and my mall is also about to open. You must come as my special guest.”
Zhuang Liu said, “Not just as your special guest, even if you ask me to resign and watch the door of your mall, I would do it.”
Tan Rou laughed at his comment, “You come watch the door for me, and I’ll watch the door for you. Let’s experience what it’s like to work in our old age ahead of time.”
Zhuang Liu then said, “When we are fifty, we’ll hand over all our work to the younger generation, like how my parents and your parents are doing now, and then travel around the world together.”
Although Tan Rou enjoyed working, she didn’t want to work her entire life, so she was considering what Zhuang Liu suggested, but she thought fifty was too old, maybe retire at forty-eight instead.
Tomorrow Tan Rou had classes, and tonight she stayed overnight with Zhuang Liu at their house in the university town. Both were exhausted today, they did nothing and fell asleep as soon as they lay down.
However, in the middle of the night, a burst of urgent ringing woke them up. Tan Rou rolled out of bed quickly, and muted her phone, but Zhuang Liu had already woken up, so muting was useless. Usually, she would set her phone on silent before going to sleep, but they went to bed too early today, and she forgot to do it.
Zhuang Liu asked, “Who’s calling?”
“I didn’t get the chance to look yet.” Tan Rou unlocked her phone, looked at the call log, and was a bit surprised, “Huh, why would Jiang Min be calling me?”
Chapter 1295: 1294 Help
The call had hung up, and when Tan Rou called back, no one answered, leading her to mistakenly think that Jiang Min had dialed the wrong number.
“It must have been Senior Jiang Min who dialed the wrong number,” Tan Rou checked the time; it was already midnight, and she guessed Jiang Min wouldn’t call again. “Let’s go to sleep first, and I’ll call her back in the morning.”
However, just as they lay down, the phone started vibrating again; they hadn’t fallen asleep yet, so the vibration of the phone was very clear.
Tan Rou answered the phone, “Hello, Senior Jiang Min…”
She hadn’t even finished her greeting when she heard Jiang Min whisper, “Save me…”
Tan Rou, who was slightly sleepy, suddenly felt wide awake. She sat up sharply and asked, “Senior Jiang Min, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m at your doorstep… in the university town…” Jiang Min said weakly, “Feng Jiao wants to kill me…”
Tan Rou quickly threw off the covers and ran downstairs barefoot without even putting on shoes, “Living room lights, on!”
The living room lights blazed on instantly.
Zhuang Liu, wearing a coat, followed her to the door.
Tan Rou opened the yard gate and indeed saw a woman covered in blood at the door, her once delicate makeup completely ruined, with several wounds on her face and arms, and her shoes missing.
“Senior!” Tan Rou recognized that it was Jiang Min, but she didn’t understand how Jiang Min had ended up like this in just a few hours.
Following behind, Zhuang Liu, struck by the smell of blood, took off his coat and draped it over Jiang Min, saying, “Let’s bring her inside first.”
Tan Rou lifted Jiang Min up; all the lights in the house were turned on, and Aunt Zhou along with other servants, dressed in pajamas, came out to see what had happened, all asking what had occurred.
Tan Rou instructed, “Aunt Zhou, take a few people and clean up the doorway; there’s blood everywhere. Clean it thoroughly and spray some disinfectant.”
The servants, frightened by the sight of Jiang Min covered in blood, were scared, but Aunt Zhou was calm. She said, “You all know we can’t talk about this to anyone, right? If I hear of any gossip in our neighborhood, you won’t need to work here anymore.”
This quieted the servants, as the job at the Tao family paid well and usually involved taking care of just one young mistress, so they were reluctant to lose such an easy job.
Tan Rou didn’t want to dig into how Jiang Min had gotten in or ask about her injuries right now; she immediately asked Zhuang Liu to fetch medicine from her pharmacy and began treating Jiang Min’s wounds.
Jiang Min had cuts on her face and arms, and a stab wound on her back; her clothes were torn, indicating the sharpness of the knife.
Jiang Min was still trembling, Tan Rou gently held her, saying, “It’s okay, I’m here, you’ll be safe.”
Jiang Min looked up at Tan Rou, her tears suddenly overflowing, “I… I’m sorry…”
Tan Rou told her not to talk, “We’ll talk later, let’s treat your wounds first.”
Jiang Min’s wounds were pretty severe, but the bleeding had stopped, which indicated that she had been injured for a while. She was truly lucky to have survived losing so much blood without fainting from blood loss, which meant her physical condition was quite good.
Tan Rou directed Zhuang Liu to bring medicine from her pharmacy and had the house cook start preparing food, as Jiang Min needed to replenish her nutrients and ideally should go to a hospital for a blood transfusion.
“Senior, I’ll take you to the hospital to get checked,” Tan Rou said, “You need a blood transfusion.”
Jiang Min shook her head, “I won’t go, Feng Jiao will find me, he knows where my house is, he knows the location of my old house, so I won’t go there.”
“I’m talking about going to the hospital for a blood transfusion,” Tan Rou patiently explained to Jiang Min, “That would make you feel a bit better.”
“I won’t go!” Jiang Min resisted again, muttering, “I won’t go anywhere.”
Tan Rou couldn’t let Jiang Min continue this way; she gave Jiang Min an injection, knocking her out, quickly carried her to the dressing room to change clothes, and then drove her to the hospital for a blood transfusion.
Zhuang Liu had already arranged everything at the hospital, which was a private hospital owned by the Zhuang family, very safe, with no disturbances allowed.
Chapter 1296: Unlucky events of 1295
When they drove out, they found that the gate of the residential area was half-open, and the security guard was lying back, dozing off. No wonder Jiang Min was able to get inside; the guard had fallen asleep.
When Tan Rou returned, she would need to bring up this issue; otherwise, the next time a bad guy sneaked in, there would be big trouble.
At midnight, there were fewer cars on the road, and Tan Rou drove Jiang Min to the hospital as quickly as possible. Inside the hospital, the doctor had already arranged a single room and had prepared plenty of blood bags, just waiting for Jiang Min to come over for a blood type test.
After the blood transfusion, Jiang Min’s complexion looked much better. Tan Rou didn’t wake her but let her continue sleeping.
“I’ve realized that praying to Buddha is totally useless,” Zhuang Liu said, standing by. “The unlucky ones are still going to be unlucky.”
Tan Rou said, “I’ve told you that praying to Buddha is just for peace of mind. If praying to Buddha worked, the whole world would be full of temples.”
“You’ve had quite a lot of things on your plate recently,” Zhuang Liu recounted, “Liang Lu, Li Li, and Lan Ning, and now Jiang Min. Why do your friends always turn to you whenever they have issues?”
Tan Rou said helplessly, “Maybe I just have bad luck, and it rubs off on my friends. Look, several friends related to me have been unlucky. I don’t know who will be next.”
Zhuang Liu didn’t mean it that way. He just didn’t want Tan Rou to be too exhausted. After all, Tan Rou had her own work and study life. How could she have so much time to handle other people’s private affairs?
“I mean, your friends turn to you whenever they have issues. Don’t you have your own stuff to take care of?” Zhuang Liu said.
Tan Rou said, “The thing with Liang Lu was something I took on willingly. When I helped her out at school, I decided to go all the way. Since I brought her to the Capital, I can’t just ignore her. Besides, her film was a big hit, and she gave me a considerable bonus. I’m not one to turn down money. Helping her is helping myself.”
“You also know the situation with Li Li and Lan Ning. They don’t have family or other friends in the Capital, so they definitely come to me first when something happens,” Tan Rou continued. “But I’m not very clear about Senior Jiang Min’s situation. She doesn’t live near our neighborhood, and I don’t know how she got to our place. I’ll ask her when she wakes up.”
Zhuang Liu sighed and said, “I don’t want you to be too tired. You don’t need to deal with everything yourself; you could just arrange for someone else to handle it. If you don’t have the right person for the job, you can tell me, and I will help you arrange someone.”
Tan Rou knew what Zhuang Liu meant, but she preferred to handle some matters personally. If she arranged for someone else to take care of them, she wouldn’t be at ease, especially when it came to her family and friends. Tan Rou had to supervise them herself.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m physically strong, and these little things won’t wear me down,” Tan Rou said, pinching Zhuang Liu’s palm. “You go back and rest first. I’ll just stay here.”
Zhuang Liu disagreed. He urged Tan Rou to rest first and offered to find a nurse to stay with Jiang Min, “Tan Rou, you have class early tomorrow. You should go back and sleep. I’ll arrange for a reliable nurse here. When Jiang Min wakes up, I’ll have the nurse notify you immediately.”
Tan Rou thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll just sleep here tonight in case Senior Jiang Min needs me during the night.”
Since Tan Rou wanted to stay, Zhuang Liu had to stay with her too. The hospital staff, knowing they would be staying overnight, immediately brought them a folding bed and new blankets, and they made do for the night in the hospital.
The folding bed was narrow; they had to hug each other to fit on it, and Zhuang Liu held Tan Rou in his arms.
“It seems nice to stay here,” Zhuang Liu said with a smile.
Tan Rou affectionately patted his face, saying bluntly, “Stop disturbing my sleep.”
Zhuang Liu kissed her forehead and then hugged her tightly. “Goodnight, my darling.”
Tan Rou chuckled and said, “You’re so cheesy.” She then kissed Zhuang Liu on the face and said, “Goodnight, my Zhuang Liu.”
The hospital room was spacious; Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu took up a small half, while Jiang Min occupied a larger half. She had just completed a blood transfusion, and the doctors had re-dressed her wounds. She was now soundly asleep.
Chapter 1297: Injury cause
The day had not yet dawned when Jiang Min woke up. Her wound was very painful, but she did not make any sound, lying quietly in bed, staring at the snowy-white ceiling.
As the room gradually brightened, she turned her head to glance at the two people on the folding bed, feeling extremely uncomfortable inside.
Perhaps sensing Jiang Min’s gaze, Tan Rou was the first to wake up. As soon as she did, Zhuang Liu could not sleep either.
“It doesn’t seem to be time yet, should we sleep a little longer?” Zhuang Liu rubbed Tan Rou’s head gently and asked.
Tan Rou said, “Let’s not sleep. I keep feeling like someone is staring at me.”
Perhaps it was her years of training that developed a keen sense of observation. Whenever someone stared at Tan Rou, no matter their position, she could distinguish it very clearly, even if she was asleep, she could awaken from her dreams.
Zhuang Liu whispered, “It’s just the two of us here. How could anyone be staring at you?”
Tan Rou reminded him, “Jiang Min is here too.”
Then she got up and saw Jiang Min turning her head to look at them. This made Tan Rou feel momentarily embarrassed, and she quickly greeted, “Jiang Min, good morning!”
Jiang Min replied indifferently, “Hmm, good morning.”
Since Jiang Min had woken up, Tan Rou did not go back to sleep. She rubbed her sore limbs and said to Zhuang Liu, “Let’s get up and tidy up the bedding.”
The bed was too small, and maintaining one position all night was very tiring. Zhuang Liu also rubbed his aching limbs and said, “Next time we sleep here, we need to get a bigger bed.”
As Tan Rou folded the quilt, she said, “We could arrange for two beds.”
Zhuang Liu was reluctant to sleep apart from Tan Rou. He said, “I still hope to sleep with you.”
Tan Rou replied, “I meant to have them arrange for two beds and then push them together to make one larger bed.”
Zhuang Liu was taken aback and then praised Tan Rou, “Our Tan Rou is indeed smarter.”
Jiang Min watched their interaction, feeling very uncomfortable. She envied Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu and hoped she could have such love, but did she have the right to choose the person she loved?
After Tan Rou finished folding the quilt, Zhuang Liu folded up the bed and put it aside. After tidying the bedding, they both went to Jiang Min’s bedside.
“Jiang Min, does your wound hurt a lot?” Tan Rou was well aware of Jiang Min’s condition, so she directly asked how her wound was, “Do you need some pain relief medicine?”
Jiang Min shook her head slightly, “No need. It’s good for the wound to hurt; it constantly reminds me of how I got injured.”
Tan Rou took the opportunity to ask, “Jiang Min, how did you happen to be there last night?”
Jiang Min was silent for a moment, then answered, “Feng Jiao’s new residence is near the university town. I was passing by your residential area on my way to drop him off, but you probably hadn’t come back yet, so I didn’t go in to say hello. I thought there would be a chance to find you in the future—I didn’t expect it would be so soon.”
Zhuang Liu brought a chair for Tan Rou, and after sitting down, she took Jiang Min’s hand and said, “Can you tell me how you got injured?”
Jiang Min closed her eyes, and just when Tan Rou thought she would not speak, she began to slowly recount what had happened yesterday afternoon and evening.
Jiang Min said, “Yesterday afternoon, when I was sending him back, he was drunk, so I took care of him for a while until the nanny arrived, and I was able to leave. But the Feng Family insisted I am Feng Jiao’s fiancée and that it should be my duty to take care of him, to get accustomed to my future life ahead of time—since I had nothing else to do, I stayed there until Feng Jiao woke up.”
“At around eight in the evening, Feng Jiao woke up and started running to the toilet, three times within an hour.” Jiang Min frowned and continued, “He thought there was something wrong with the food, that it was the food that upset his stomach.”
“I casually mentioned that everyone had the same meal, so how come only he got diarrhea? Then he started arguing with me, bringing up the incident when we met you guys all the way to the complaint about you guys costing him too much money for dinner. If he didn’t have to rush to the toilet, the argument probably would have lasted another two hours.”
Chapter 1298: 1297 confronts him
“Why were you injured?” Tan Rou asked.
“He blamed me for all the expenses and wanted me to come up with the money,” Jiang Min revealed a pale smile, “I refused, and he lost his temper. He started to scold me, saying that my friends were all villains spending his money wantonly. When I retorted, he cut me with a knife and even threatened to kill me.”
Tan Rou apologized, “Senior Jiang, I’m sorry, the dishes we ordered yesterday were indeed intentional. If we had known it would cause you harm, we definitely wouldn’t have ordered such expensive food.”
Jiang Min shook her head again and said, “It’s not your fault. If it weren’t for that meal you ordered, I wouldn’t have realized Feng Jiao’s true nature. A person who is unwilling to even pay for a meal, how could he ever come up with so much money to help our Jiang family?”
Zhuang Liu, who had been watching silently, spoke up, “Have you finally understood this principle? Feng Jiao is a selfish person, only caring about his own pleasure, never about the life or death of others. You say that after marrying him, Feng Family would provide assistance to Jiang Family, but do you think Feng Jiao would actually help you?”
Jiang Min spoke with a lack of strength, “I used to bet on this possibility, but now I see clearly that he won’t help me, so I must break off the engagement with Feng Family.”
“Why not try cooperating with our Zhuang family?” Zhuang Liu offered a lifeline to Jiang Min, “I have several projects that would be suitable for collaboration with the Jiang family. I didn’t approach you before because we had never collaborated, but since you are out of options now, why not give my path a try?”
Jiang Min was so shocked that she couldn’t speak for a long time. She had heard about the Zhuang family’s projects from Tan Rou, but after all, that was Zhuang Liu’s business. She wasn’t very familiar with Zhuang Liu, so she wasn’t certain whether the project could fall into her hands, nor could she guarantee that she would be successful with Zhuang family’s projects, so she politely declined Tan Rou’s good intentions.
Now that Zhuang Liu was proactively proposing a collaboration, Jiang Min didn’t know what to say in an instant.
Jiang Min was very clear about Zhuang Liu’s personality. He used to have a terrible temper, unpredictable in his emotions. After the recovery of his legs, he had become somewhat kinder, but it seemed impossible for him to be so amiable as to seek collaboration with others on his own initiative. She was not Tan Rou; why would Zhuang Liu help her?
To be precise, this was beyond being kind. It was charity!
“Mr. Zhuang, this… I…” Jiang Min was so moved that she couldn’t articulate a complete sentence.
Zhuang Liu generously said, “I have quite a few small projects that are suitable for collaboration with the Jiang family. Those projects are not crucial to me, which is why I’ve been dragging my feet on approval. If you’re interested, I can pick the two most suitable projects for you to choose from.”
Jiang Min said awkwardly, “No, no, no, it’s fine for you to choose.”
Zhuang Liu smiled, “Don’t mention it, you are Tan Rou’s friend, which makes you my friend. Since Tan Rou believes we should help you, I cannot just stand by and watch.”
Jiang Min turned to Tan Rou and said uncomfortably, “Tan Rou, thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” Tan Rou was somewhat distracted, “Senior Jiang, I remember you saying that Dongda Real Estate is one of the top real estate companies in the country. Right now, the situation is tense. The real estate industry has so much developmental interest to offer – if they gain more, you gain less. So, why shouldn’t the person gaining more be you?”
Jiang Min was stunned; she had always thought of leaning on Feng Family to support Jiang Family, never considering replacing Feng Family’s position. She felt that Dongda Real Estate was too powerful, and Jiang Family couldn’t shake them.
But now the situation was different. Behind her, she had the support of two powerful allies – as long as she could achieve something significant, neither Zhuang family nor Tao family would easily give up on her or make things difficult. She was free to pursue the next steps.
“Right, you’re absolutely correct!” Jiang Min’s tone turned very resolute, “Why can’t our Jiang Family replace Feng Family’s position? Feng Family has been thriving in the real estate industry for so many years, it’s time for them to make room and allow others to take that prestigious seat!”
Tan Rou smiled and said, “Senior Jiang, I support you. Once you recover, go ahead and put your plans into action!”
Chapter 1299: 1298 Capital News
Recently, the Capital has been buzzing with two major news events. One is that the media revealed the alliance through marriage between the Jiang family and the Feng Family had fallen apart. Miss Jiang Min, the young lady of the Jiang family, charged Feng Jiao, the eldest young master of the Feng Family, with intentional injury and took him to court. She hired many renowned lawyers within the industry to form a legal team, evidently aiming to send Feng Jiao to prison.
The other event is that TR company has been preparing a high-tech expo that will begin on July 2. The expo will last for half a month, and those who want to visit can register on the official website to participate, where small gifts will also be given at the venue.
Let’s talk about the first piece of news. Jiang Min suing Feng Jiao is quite the rare occurrence. Once this was reported, it drew a lot of attention, mainly because the marriage alliance between the Jiang family and the Feng Family was not publicly announced but rather circulated in private. Many self-media outlets reported that the announcement of the marriage was imminent. However, instead of joyful news about the alliance, people received the shocking news of the breakup and the court case.
There was heated discussion online, and many people were also talking about it on the streets. Nothing is more interesting than the gossip about wealthy businessmen.
“Weren’t they supposed to get married? How come the marriage announcement hasn’t been made yet, and instead it’s been announced that someone from the Feng Family has been taken to court?” Tan Rou, walking on the road, overheard a passerby saying.
A second passerby said, “Who knows? I heard that the eldest young master of the Feng Family is very ugly and has a bad lifestyle, changing girlfriends every day when he was abroad.”
A third passerby said, “No wonder the Jiang family didn’t want their daughter to marry into their family.”
The second passerby laughed and said, “You’ve got it all wrong. It’s the Feng Family who looked down on the Jiang family. The Feng Family has been in the real estate business for so many years and has a solid position. Forming an alliance with the Feng Family would have been an honor for the Jiang family. Even if Miss Jiang Min was unwilling, the Jiang family wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.”
The third passerby curiously asked, “If that’s the case, why did the Jiang family give up on this marriage alliance? It surely can’t really be because of intentional injury, right?”
The second passerby said mysteriously, “I bet it’s because the Feng Family no longer wanted this daughter-in-law, and the Jiang family said that out of spite. The intentional injury charge is just an excuse the Jiang family thought of to get something from the Feng Family.”
Tan Rou couldn’t listen any longer, and she spoke up, “You’re not the party involved, how would you know the real situation? Although the Feng Family’s power may be greater than the Jiang family’s, they’re not the strongest. Couldn’t it be possible that the Jiang family didn’t want to marry into the Feng Family and thus broke off the engagement?”
Seeing that she was a young girl, the second passerby mocked, “Young girls like you think too simply. How could the Jiang family stand up against the Feng Family? Unless the Jiang family has a very strong backing. But if they really had such a backing, the Jiang family wouldn’t be begging around for favors.”
Tan Rou let out a cold laugh, “Perhaps the Jiang family does have a very strong backing.” After saying this, Tan Rou quickly walked away.
The two people behind her continued to mock her, “I told you the thoughts of young girls are simple. She got angry after just a few words.”
The second passerby agreed, “Exactly. But speaking of impressive women, I actually know one.”
“Who?”
“Miss Tan Rou of TR Technology Company…”
Tan Rou had walked far away, not hearing the rest as she was busy going to take an exam. Once the final exams were over, she could focus on managing her business affairs.
Inside the headquarters of TR company, Hang Wei was furiously losing his temper, pacing around the room and shouting, “How do you guys handle things? Do you know how many days are left until the expo? Five days, only five days left, and you still haven’t arranged the exhibit staff. Do you expect the boss to arrange it personally?”
Having just set up the expo, Tan Rou had someone create a mini-program for grabbing visitation tickets to avoid overburdening the venue with too many visitors during the summer break.
All was going well, but there was a minor issue with the design of the mini-program. The designer accidentally added an extra zero when setting the daily number of visitors, turning the original one thousand into ten thousand. Now that the tickets were distributed, who could be asked to return them?
“Mr. Hang, I’m sorry!” the designer said with his head bowed, “It’s my mistake. Please punish me. You can deduct as much from my salary as you want!”
Hang Wei sneered, “If this problem could be solved by deducting salaries, then everyone should just have their salary deducted whenever they make a mistake.”
Chapter 1300: 1299 people is too many
The marketing manager said, “Hang Wei, actually our mall can accommodate ten thousand visitors, so why don’t we propose to the boss to relax the visitor restrictions and allow more people to come?”
Hang Wei furiously said, “That’s easy for you to say, do you even understand what ‘free’ means? Do you have any idea how much it costs just to host these visits? There’s also the small gifts we need to prepare—nine thousand more each day. Are you going to pay for that?”
The marketing manager fell silent. The R&D department employees had no say in marketing operations, and they also lacked understanding of management issues, so they continued to keep quiet.
This trouble then fell on the marketing department’s shoulders, as the mall would be selling their company’s products in the future. Hence, this issue related to their future work, making it imperative for them to solve the current crisis.
With no choice, the marketing manager approached Hang Wei and suggested, “Hang Wei, how about we take back the original tickets and then redesign a mini app to release the tickets again, how does that sound?”
“Is that a teapot on your neck?” Hang Wei ridiculed mercilessly, “Do you know how much effort and heart we have invested inside this mall? The boss’s standard is flawless because this is our first mall, and it has to be the best! If we take back the tickets, those who got them will definitely feel that we can’t handle it, do you realize how much damage that would do to our company’s image?”
The marketing manager wished he could bury himself in a hole; why did he have to speak up and upset Hang Wei? Hang Wei was already furious, and if they couldn’t produce a reliable solution, these idiots might just find themselves fired by tomorrow morning.
“Why not make a call to the boss…” Shang Jin weakly said, standing among the crowd, “It’s already half-past eleven, the boss should have finished her exams by now.”
Lang Yue tugged at him and whispered, “Stop talking, or Hang Wei is going to cry.”
Watching them, Hang Wei said very irritably, “Who said I’m going to cry? Designer Lang, was that what you said? Come forward and make the call yourself!”
When one is down on their luck, even drinking cold water can choke them; Lang Yue just muttered softly, yet Hang Wei heard it. Now that Hang Wei had called his name, he had to step forward.
Shang Jin secretly gave him a thumbs up, whispering, “Go on, Lang the hero!”
Unexpectedly, Hang Wei also called out her name, “Designer Shang, please come forward too. The issue arose from your design department, so I need both of you to resolve it.”
Shang Jin and Lang Yue exchanged glances and stepped to the forefront amid the admiring looks of everyone else.
Hang Wei got the conference room phone, smiling gently, “Here, you make the call.”
Lang Yue took the phone but hesitated to dial.
Hang Wei, sitting cross-legged, urged, “Hurry up and dial!”
As Lang Yue was about to call Tan Rou, Hang Wei’s cellphone rang. He stopped Lang Yue, “Don’t bother, the boss is calling me.”
He answered immediately, “Hello, boss, you finished your exam?”
Tan Rou replied, “I turned in my paper early. Let’s not talk about that. Where is everyone in the company? You’re not there either; did you sneak out?”
Hang Wei, overwhelmed with the mall’s issues, was now accused by Tan Rou of sneaking out. He felt so wronged!
“No, everyone is sitting in the conference room,” Hang Wei said truthfully.
Tan Rou scolded, “It’s nearly noon now. I’ve said not to discuss work during meal times, especially not to hold meetings between eleven and one o’clock that encroach on everyone’s rest time. Did you forget?”
Naturally, Hang Wei hadn’t forgotten, but he had had to call everyone at this time for the meeting due to an emergency.
“Boss, it wasn’t my intention to call everyone for a meeting. There’s an urgent matter that needs resolving.” Hang Wei said seriously, “If this isn’t handled well, our exhibition might not run smoothly.”
Tan Rou, while on the phone, headed for the conference room, “I’ll be in the conference room shortly; let’s discuss this face-to-face.”