As Xiulan promised her mother that she would focus on being a better version of herself, she started poking her nose in every business-related thing she encountered. Although she used to dislike it, she was getting better and she found it more interesting when she practiced according to Jianyu's suggestion.
Zhang Guangxi and Zhang Shaiming were having a discussion about No.8 yard when Xiulan showed up. Both men had bothersome expressions and she wondered why.
Her younger brother expounded, "We met with the seller just now. It's a terrible rip-off, two times the normal price." He paused.
"But?" She carefully asked. If it was an unreasonable price, they could choose not to buy it. They wouldn't wear such a troubled expression on their faces.
The yard was in a newly built city called Silver Paradise. It was a huge project operated by the government and the tycoons of Jewel country. And it was where most of the prestigious and affluent families were anticipated to move in. If they got a place in Silver Paradise for their restaurant, it would undeniably bring them enormous profits and increase their brand reputation. Sure enough, they got a yard easily without even using a penny with the help of Xiulan's connection to the Tang family. But now, they had lost it and it was too late for them to get a new one because all of the spaces had already been sold out.
Her father continued, "We have been searching for it for a long time. This is the only offer we could get. So now it's like we buy this or we won't get a place there."
Shaiming sighed, "And we don't even know the seller's origin. What if she is a fraud? We have never heard of her boss's name as well."
"What's the name?" She asked in curiosity.
Shaiming boringly answered, "She said her boss was Liam. Sounds like a foreigner. As for her name, it is written on the card you gave me. Ah, don't forget to say thanks to Tang Weimin."
"Huh?" She was perplexed.
"For this, of course!" He tapped on the name card. She gave him after she had returned from Tang's mansion, so he naturally believed Weimin did her a favor.
She was on a stage of cutting everything down that had anything to do with Jianyu. Thus she didn't bother to clear up.
Being all ears to their discussion, Xiulan learned that Grandpa Tang was going to hand over the CEO position of Tang's Electronics which was their main business in the next month's meeting.
It reminded her of Hualing's case. She was eager to find the real culprit before the final meeting. If they could find it, it might bring advantages to Weimin.
Zhang Xiulan constantly called Tang Weimin to put more pressure on his shoulder about the case.
Although she put pressure on his shoulder, it only made Weimin stressed out more about not being able to find any useful evidence. Even though he believed his big brother's words with no doubt, he still had to find proof so that he could proceed with anything.
As for Hualing, she had been making a lot of travels across the cities. It was so exhausting that she had to quit her previous job. To avoid arousing suspicion, she left Xiulan's apartment and moved to a place where Jianyu offered. It was not as spacious as the one she lived in before. But it was more convenient for her to live there since it was located near the international airport.
Whenever Xiulan called her friend's phone, she would always cancel her call and leave messages such as...
"Sorry. In a meeting!"
"I'm sorry. I'm with an important guest."
"Busy! Call ya later."
Xiulan was poorly informed of Hualing quitting her former job and her taking up a new one now. But she had no idea what her work was and her friend was unavailable 24/7 whenever she gave a call to her.
Her parents were on their respective trips and wouldn't be at home until next month. Her younger brother was occupied with something all the time.
She didn't want to disturb her big brother as he also seemed to be facing some problems.
And Li Jianyu…
Well, as she had no one to share her life with anymore, she had more time to concentrate on her career while replacing the time that she used to spend on Jianyu with work.
The period of a month passed in a blink of an eye. The day of the final meeting was getting closer yet there was no update from Weimin.
She thought that Weimin didn't beg his big brother enough because it hurt his pride. So she decided to sacrifice and investigate head-on with Jianyu. It had been a month. She believed her feelings had cool down.
But the problem was she no longer had his phone number.
Weimin would rather die than disclose facts about Jianyu. Therefore, Xiulan made her move on her 'endearing' friend, Quan.
He utterly refused to convey her before he agreed because she bugged him for a long time which disturbed his practice for an upcoming contest. "I will send it to you in a text later. Bye!" He ended the call abruptly.
Xiulan frowned at his rude behavior. However, at least, her effort wasn't a waste. She waited for his message patiently.
All of a sudden, a call came in. It was an unknown contact. Xiulan casually picked up the call as she guessed it was another spam from an annoying operator. She boringly answered, "Hello."
"I heard you ask for my number."
Xiulan jolted at an unexpected voice. His voice petrified her to the point that it took a while to find her voice.
"Yes. I … I…" She tried to come up with an excuse. But lying wasn't her strong suit.
"Why do you want to call me?" Jianyu didn't give her a hard time and directly came to the point.
"That's… I want to talk about the evidence regarding Hualing's case. I was informed that you are the one who came up with the name, Bai Shen. So,... my point is that I want to negotiate for the proof. Of course... you can name what you want in return. Unless it is beyond my capabilities, I will make it happen." She completed with a nervous stammer. She hadn't been in touch with him for quite a long time. Honestly, she regarded that she would be fine and she had completely lost interest in him. Well, feelings weren't something one could control.
"Are you alright? Why is your voice trembling?" He was concerned as he always did.
"Huh! No! I mean, I am fine. Maybe it is network issues. So what are your thoughts?"
Jianyu didn't press any further and asked inquisitively, "You are not the victim. Why are you so eager to know the culprit? You even offered me an exchange. What benefits would you get from it?"
She furrowed her brow at his lifeless question, "It won't to me. But it will to my friends."
Her words rendered him speechless.
An idea came across and Jianyu curled one of the tips of his mouth upwards and tilted his head mischievously. "You know what? Tomorrow they will hold a final meeting to decide who the next CEO will be. There will certainly be all the nominees who are in line for that position including Weimin, Delun, and Bai Shen as he is Delun's assistant."
She focused on his disclosure and forgot to make a sound.
"Hello. Are you still there?" He supposed the connection was unstable.
"Yes, I am all ears." She responded quickly like a clever student.
Jianyu lightly smiled at her energetic tone. "I can't give you the evidence but there is a solution. You can find the perpetrator without the need for any proof. Last but not least, you don't have to give me any physical property in return."
She was intrigued by the last sentence, "What's the solution?"
"The solution is you visit the meeting."
A brief silence cast before she muttered, "Don't tell me…"
He interrupted, "Yes, you are right!"
"Wait. I haven't revealed my preconception yet."
"I am sure what you are thinking is what I want to mean."
Xiulan pursued her lips, "I don't possess any share. What if they don't let me in?"
"Don't forget you are the favorite girl of almighty Chairman Tang."
"What if the perpetrator doesn't come around and admit it?"
He instantly replied, "I will assist you with it."
"How?"
"I have my way."
"What if the culprit is not in the meeting room?"
"Chances are low."
"Weimin believes Tang Delun's innocence. Bai Shen might have another string-puller behind the curtain who won't be in the room. If that is true, I doubt he will concede."
"Umm.. is there any conflict between Bai Hualing and Bai Shen?"
She was puzzled, "I guess they don't even know each other."
"That's weird. They are from the same orphanage though."
"Really?" She became quiet while pondering, 'I need to check it with Hualing.'
"Xiulan, don't feel pressure. You don't necessarily need to do it. The truth will eventually come out. Give it some time."
She contemplated and sighed, 'However it would be too late if the culprit became CEO of the Tang group.'