Chapter 105: See If You Have What It Takes
The next few days passed.
Jiangcheng was quiet.
The same went for the Lin Family.
As Lin Chuyue stepped into the old residence and saw Xiao Ye, she was suddenly reminded of the Lin Family's financial troubles.
She walked over to the sofa and sat down about a meter away from Xiao Ye.
Despite the incident with the will, she still couldn't bring herself to get close to Xiao Ye.
Gratitude was just gratitude; it wasn't love.
'She might not call Xiao Ye a scumbag anymore, but she would never do anything intimate with him, lest she give him the wrong idea!'
'If there's no future for us, I shouldn't give him any hope.'
Lin Chuyue picked up her teacup. "Oh, right. That money my grandfather gave you before? I need it back."
It was the Lin Family's money, and the Lin Group desperately needed it right now.
Xiao Ye froze for a second before a thought occurred to him. He raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips curling into a smirk. "You mean the money I threw at Lin Yinghao?"
"Yes."
Lin Chuyue's delicate brows knitted together. "What's that supposed to mean? I know you've helped the Lin Family a lot, and I'll always be grateful."
"But the Lin Group is in a tight spot right now. Once things stabilize, I'll be sure to compensate you."
The Lin Group was just getting back on its feet. Even if outsiders saw the Lin Family as the sole great family of Jiangcheng, that wasn't the whole story.
Only she knew how much the Lin Group had lost after the recent disaster.
It looked impressive on the surface, but internally, it was riddled with problems.
"Fine."
Xiao Ye knew she had misunderstood him, but he didn't bother to clarify. Instead, he pulled out all his bank cards. "They're all yours. Consider it an investment in the Lin Family."
"This was the Lin Family's money to begin with. Don't call it an investment."
After taking the bank cards, Lin Chuyue turned and went back to her room.
Xiao Ye shook his head with a small laugh. 'She might have misunderstood, but I was planning on giving this money to the Lin Family anyway.'
'I just hadn't found the right opportunity. I never thought Lin Yinghao and the others would end up doing me a favor.'
'Otherwise, if I had just offered it to her, Lin Chuyue would have probably suspected I'd scammed it out of someone.'
The next morning, flush with cash, a refreshed Lin Chuyue strode confidently out of the old residence.
A discreet business vehicle had been waiting for her.
Lin Chuyue got into the car and headed straight for Jiangcheng Mansion.
A bidding conference was to be held there, centered on the usage rights for a factory in the development zone.
Having absorbed the assets of the Bai, Han, and Ye Families, the Lin Group was no longer just in finance; she now had to manage these new industrial sectors as well.
She planned to win the bid for this factory and use it to produce traditional Chinese medicine.
Lin Chuyue pushed open the door.
Everyone else in the conference room turned to look.
"President Lin, I didn't expect you'd actually show up to this bidding conference."
"Now that you're here, President Lin, I guess the rest of us don't stand a chance," said a representative from another Jiangcheng family.
A scornful voice cut in. "Serving men with your looks won't last forever."
Lin Chuyue's head snapped in the direction of the voice. The woman who had spoken was a complete stranger; she was sure she'd never seen her before.
Her assistant whispered, "This bid isn't just for Jiangcheng companies. There are people from several neighboring cities here too."
"They've run out of available factory space, so when they heard about this auction, they all flocked here."
"But we shouldn't worry too much. The higher-ups will most likely favor a local from Jiangcheng."
'That's not a given,' Lin Chuyue thought. 'It all depends on who offers the most benefits.'
"What belongs to Jiangcheng will naturally stay in Jiangcheng!" Lin Chuyue declared coldly.
The middle-aged woman had a severe face. She had clawed her way up the ladder and loathed women who used their looks to get ahead—vixens, she called them.
'If it hadn't been for that damn pretty secretary back in the day,' she fumed internally, 'I would've been general manager long ago! I wouldn't have wasted five whole years!'
"Miss Lin, we'll see if you have what it takes. You think relying on men is a long-term strategy? I suggest you learn to rely on yourself!"
Lin Chuyue couldn't be bothered to respond. She'd heard these rumors so often they no longer had any sting.
'The bid is more important right now. There's no point in wasting time on insignificant people.'
Seeing her silence, the woman assumed she'd struck a nerve and grew even more brazen. "Hmph! So what if you're pretty?"
"If you can't do anything yourself, you're still just useless trash!"
Lin Chuyue couldn't believe the woman wasn't done yet. But just as she was about to retort, the door opened again.
To everyone's astonishment, Assistant Huo walked over to Lin Chuyue's side and gave a faint smile. "Miss Lin, I heard you were coming to the bidding conference."
"I came to see how things were going."
At his words, the expressions of everyone in the room changed.
Assistant Huo was Huo Wenhao's representative. With him here, who would dare to compete with Lin Chuyue?
The woman was so furious she ground her teeth, her face turning a ghastly shade of pale.
'Huo Wenhao's man is here. How could I possibly have a chance of winning now!'
The woman shot to her feet, slammed her water cup onto the floor, and spat, "Lin Chuyue, you bitch!"
With that, she grabbed her handbag and stormed out, abandoning the bidding conference entirely.
The others kept their eyes down and their mouths shut, feigning indifference, but their gazes toward Lin Chuyue had changed.
'Looks like the rumors are true,' they thought.
Hearing the outburst, Assistant Huo snorted coldly. "Why haven't we started?"
The person chairing the meeting immediately stood up. Without even glancing at the other bidders, he looked directly at Lin Chuyue with a fawning smile.
"Miss Lin, what is your proposal?"
Lin Chuyue pressed her lips together. She had wanted to win this bid on her own merits.
But now that Assistant Huo was here... Huo Wenhao had helped her so many times; it wouldn't be right to turn his subordinate away.
'What if I offend the Huo Family...'
Thinking of the still-unstable Lin Group, Lin Chuyue finally presented her proposal.
'Forget it,' she thought. 'I'll just add this to the debt I owe Huo Wenhao and find a way to repay him later.'
The Lin Group's offer was very compelling. The chairman only needed a single glance before making his decision. "In that case, the winner of this bid is the Lin Group!"
No one else dared to object. Even if they wanted to, they could only swallow their complaints and join the applause.
Lin Chuyue walked out of Jiangcheng Mansion holding the contract, feeling a little disoriented by it all.
Assistant Huo, however, was watching her with a respectful smile. "Miss Lin, since everything is settled, I'll be taking my leave."
'Excellent,' he thought. 'Mr. Xiao will definitely be pleased that I helped the Lin Group win the bid. This also allows me to give a good report to the Young Master.'
「Tingfeng Tea House.」
CREAK—
The door to the private room slowly creaked open. Xiao Ye looked toward Assistant Huo at the entrance. "Come in, have a seat."
"Mr. Xiao, the Lin Group won the bid today."
Xiao Ye set down his teacup and nodded slightly. "Well done."
Assistant Huo felt a wave of relief. He always felt nervous in front of Xiao Ye; the man's commanding presence was simply too intense.
"So," Xiao Ye said, "what did you need to see me about?"
Assistant Huo quickly produced an invitation with a golden cover. "Mr. Xiao, I came to find you today because of a very important matter."
"I've received word that there will be an auction in South City tomorrow."
"The collection is said to be exceptional, so the detailed catalog was only just released today."
"And among the items, there is a Dharma Artifact that is said to have come from the Lingxiao Daoist."