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Facing off in fierce competition, who is the more cunning by far?
The ruthless heart and the merciless hand of Gu Jiangnian contrasted sharply with Jiang Muwan's cruel and unfeeling nature.
With twin peaks standing side by side, the competition was to see who was the more sinister.
If Jiang Muwan had settled in C City this time without meeting Gu Jiangnian, that would have been all right, but alas, they met.
Every time she saw Gu Jiangnian, such a person, she would hate his meddling from before with all her heart.
Once an opportunity is lost, if you want to fight back, you have to put in ten or a hundred times the effort, or perhaps even more.
If that's the case, then you might as well make sure the other person suffers just as much.
Inside the hall of Lanting Restaurant, at first, it was fine, but gradually, groups of three or five business people came out of the private rooms, and the noise of voices grew, Jiang Muwan gave Gu Jiangnian a cold glance, bent down to pick up her bag, and turned to leave.
Faintly, as she turned to leave, she could hear someone behind her greeting him with an official air.
Just as Jiang Muwan was leaving the gates of Lanting Restaurant, she saw Fu Jing coming from the opposite direction.
She hurried forward, greeting her warmly, "So soon?"
"I ran into Gu Jiangnian halfway, and he left early," she said indifferently.
Fu Jing hummed in acknowledgment, her slender high heels clacked on the cobblestone path, and she said casually, "Whichever girl from C City can climb up to Gu Jiangnian, she'll be worry-free for life."
"If one can marry into Gu Jiangnian's family, even if it's a marriage alliance, it could still open up half a territory for the other party."
Suddenly, the person walking ahead paused mid-stride and glanced sideways at Fu Jing.
The latter, puzzled, seemed unaware of why she had stopped and looked at her so, asking hesitantly, "What's the matter?"
A thought flickered through Jiang Muwan's mind and then she withdrew her gaze, speaking mildly, "Nothing."
Whoever has Gu Jiangnian has C City, this statement is fundamentally true.
At night, a cool breeze blew through the alleyway, carrying a faint scent of flowers with it, Jiang Muwan walked on carelessly, one hand holding her bag, the other tucked into her coat pocket. Beside her, Fu Jing was checking messages on her phone, her slender fingers operating on the screen, seemingly replying to a text.
And Jiang Muwan, at this moment, was already lost in her thoughts.
The real power of Huazhong was in Jiang Lin's hands, while Jiang Wei, as the Chief Financial Officer, was even more in control of the entire financial power of Huazhong.
Internally, any move was impossible to hide from her.
Externally, Jiang Lin likely had his guard up already.
To say that Jiang Muwan was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea was no exaggeration.
The April breeze blew gently, neither warm nor cool, but enough to awaken the mind.
In this not-too-long alley, Jiang Muwan and Fu Jing walked ahead, while Gu Jiangnian and Xiao Yanli followed behind, keeping a distance that was neither too far nor too close.
Until they reached the roadside, Jiang Muwan's pace slowed slightly, pausing for a few seconds.
She turned to look back.
Under the dim streetlight of the alley, she gazed deeply at Gu Jiangnian, and just that look made the three behind her stop in their tracks.
Without speaking a word, just one look made the air seem to freeze.
After a moment, only after Jiang Muwan got into the car did Xiao Yanli speak softly, "I heard that Jiang Lin spent a lot of money hiring a private investigator to go to the Capital to investigate her, but came back empty-handed. I mean, keeping such a person by your side, I'm afraid you can't even sleep well."
Jiang Muwan's life in the Capital these years was a blank.
Untraceable.
Although Xiao Yanli was curious as to why Fu Jing would follow Jiang Muwan, what does curiosity matter?
Isn't it still untraceable?
"Heaven's wrath is to be feared, but self-inflicted misfortune cannot be survived," Gu Jiangnian scoffed coldly, as if to respond to the situation.
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This evening, Jiang Lin finished entertaining and did not rush home. Instead, he parked his car on Chengbei Road and waited for quite a while.
The flashing emergency lights by the roadside were quite dazzling. Soon, a man got into the car, and after just a few minutes, he got out again.
The whole encounter was extremely brief.
Behind them, in a taxi, Jiang Muwan and Fu Jing watched the movements of the car in front.
Until it was over, the two just looked at each other, and that look said it all.
"You really guessed it," Fu Jing said, leaning her head against the car window, slowly rubbing her temples, her eyes shimmering as she looked at Jiang Muwan.
"As expected," the latter replied.
If it had been her, she would have done even more.
"Keep an eye on Yang Hu's side, and let me know as soon as there's any movement."
The next morning, Yang Hu, who had been demoted, was stopped by the Investment Promotion Office staff as soon as he entered his office. The two of them were quite aggressive, and since they had dealt with each other before, they recognized each other on sight.
Without much preamble, they brought up the projects in Chengdong and North City Street, something Yang Hu clearly hadn't expected. He had been demoted, yet the Investment Promotion Office still sought him out.
After some back-and-forth, he found out that these two had already approached Jiang Muwan, who had pushed them his way, claiming she was not clear about the matters.
This was something Yang Hu clearly had not anticipated.
"What did Vice President Jiang say?" Yang Hu asked coldly.
"Vice President Jiang said that although President Yang has left the headquarters, you are still under Huazhong's umbrella. The case should be resolved by whatever department it started with," the Investment Promotion Office staff said.
Jiang Muwan's words were undoubtedly throwing the responsibility squarely onto him.
If Yang Hu let it go, he wouldn't be Yang Hu.
That afternoon, he went straight to Mengxi Garden. At that time, Yang Shan was having afternoon tea with several ladies of Mengxi Garden, and she was clearly displeased to see Yang Hu arrive in a huff.
But the ladies of Mengxi Garden were all very sensible. Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, they got up and excused themselves.
Even though their coffee had just been served and they hadn't touched their desserts yet.
And they didn't forget to take a long, deep look at the person who had rushed over before they left.
Yang Shan had invited the ladies of Mengxi Garden over today simply to use the status of Mrs. Jiang to spread rumors about Jiang Muwan. But before she could even start, her efforts were interrupted by the uninvited Yang Hu.
She was understandably a bit upset.
"Is there something you can't discuss over the phone?" Yang Shan placed her coffee cup down on the glass table with neither light nor heavy touch, her tone far from pleasant.
Yang Hu glanced at the maid nearby, and understanding, she turned and left.
Once the maid had left, Yang Hu adjusted his trouser legs and sat down on the sofa, looking at Yang Shan with annoyance as he said, "That Jiang Muwan, as soon as she took office, she turned the tables on me. Do you think we could discuss this over the phone?"
As soon as she heard Jiang Muwan's name, Yang Shan's expression turned sour. Sitting up straight, she looked at Yang Hu and said, "Speak clearly."
Yang Hu succinctly recounted what had happened that morning.
Upon hearing this, Yang Shan's face clearly turned grim, and her hand holding the coffee cup trembled violently.
"She is indeed formidable," said Yang Shan, obviously also infuriated.
"I've been demoted clearly to make way for Jiang Muwan, and now that I've stepped down, she still won't let me be. Isn't this driving me to the wall?" Yang Hu thought and grew increasingly enraged.
How could a regional head compare to a vice president at headquarters?
In Jiang Muwan's position, just showing a bit of anger would make everyone below tremble, and now here he was, having to live at the mercy of someone else.
How could Yang Hu not be furious?
"No matter what, you're still the mistress of the Jiang Family. Jiang Muwan returns and immediately tries to intimidate our Yang Family. Isn't this like grabbing us and rubbing our faces in the dirt?"
Yang Hu's words were nothing less than adding fuel to the fire, pressing right against Yang Shan's greatest nerve.
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