Chapter 9: The Young Master of Changhui Group

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Bar manager Liu Rui hurried over to urge Chen Xi to apologize to Mr. Zhang. If she could not win Mr. Zhang’s forgiveness, she would no longer be welcome to sing at the bar.

Chen Xi said aggrievedly, “He was the boss at my previous job. I quit because I refused his advances, and that’s why I came here to sing for money and make a living. He deliberately came here to give me trouble! Shouldn’t the bar be protecting me? Why are you helping him bully me instead?”

Manager Liu Rui said, “You need to understand the situation. We’re in business to make money, so of course we have to serve our customers well. The customer is God, and we’re all here to serve God. Do you understand? I don’t care what personal grudge the two of you have. Since you sing here, you must obey the rules. Apologize to Mr. Zhang immediately. There’s no room for negotiation.”

Tears slid down Chen Xi’s cheeks. She clenched both fists, but after struggling inwardly for a moment, she finally relaxed them. Wiping away her tears, she walked over to Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei gave a contemptuous laugh and sneered, “Aren’t you so high and mighty? Then don’t apologize. If you’ve got the guts, leave. I really thought you were some kind of virtuous, chaste woman. Ha-ha…”

Although she had been the original host’s classmate, and he had once liked her, Yang Chen did not think their slight connection warranted his intervention. He decided simply to sit back and watch the spectacle.

Just then, a pair of hands rested on Yang Chen’s shoulders. When he turned around, he saw Liu Hui, the owner of the bar.

“Ha-ha… I thought you looked familiar. You came here to have fun—why didn’t you tell me? I could have come over earlier and had a few drinks with you. Why are you drinking beer? Wang Sihai still has quite a few bottles of good liquor stored here. I’ll have the waiter bring some over,” Liu Hui said with a laugh.

Yang Chen waved his hand. “No need. A couple of beers will do. Are you here to deal with the trouble?”

Liu Hui nodded helplessly. “I had no choice but to come.”

“Who’s that arrogant-looking fat guy?” Yang Chen asked.

Liu Hui glanced at Mr. Zhang and lowered his voice. “His name is Zhang Lei. He’s the manager of the Binjiang branch of Changhui Motors.”

The Changhui Group had two main lines of business: real estate and automobile sales.

Headquartered in Beijiang Province, the Changhui Group had once partnered with the Sihai Group to develop a project there, and both companies had made a considerable profit.

Encouraged by that successful collaboration, the Changhui Group invested heavily in Jiangcheng and partnered with the Sihai Group on another development project. But then the Sihai Group collapsed, leaving the project suspended and abandoned.

Because the project had consumed such enormous funds, five other Changhui projects in different cities were affected to varying degrees. Some were delayed, while others were simply halted and left unfinished.

At that moment, a young man accompanied by several attendants walked up to Zhang Lei.

“Zhang Lei, have you had too much to drink? If you have, go home and sleep it off. Don’t embarrass yourself here,” the young man said.

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Zhang Lei sprang to his feet at once and hurriedly bowed and scraped. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll go home and sleep right now. Manager Liu, put all this gentleman’s expenses tonight on my tab. I’m leaving first. Come on, come on…”

Zhang Lei immediately slunk away with his attendants.

The young man smiled at Chen Xi. “Miss Chen, are you all right?”

Her expression softened slightly. She shook her head. “I’m fine. Thank you so much for helping me.”

The young man smiled. “There’s no need to thank me. I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. Zhang Lei is a manager at one of our subsidiaries. We’re ashamed that he would do something like this. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the branch and punish him. I promise to give you justice. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Sun Liansheng. I’m the president of the Changhui Group, and my father is Sun Changying, the chairman.”

Chen Xi nodded. “Oh, President Sun. Thank you for driving him away, anyway. Please enjoy yourself, President Sun. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Sun Liansheng quickly said, “Miss Chen, you must be looking for a proper job now, right? I need an assistant. If you don’t mind, you can come and give it a try.”

Chen Xi stopped walking. After all, she was a bona fide university graduate with a degree in secretarial studies. Singing at a bar was hardly a long-term career, and she naturally wanted to find work related to her training.

The Changhui Group was a listed company. In all likelihood, Sun Liansheng would eventually become its chairman. Being his assistant would effectively mean becoming the future board secretary—something every secretarial studies graduate dreamed of.

From a career standpoint, Chen Xi had no reason to refuse.

That was precisely what Sun Liansheng and Zhang Lei thought as well. The two had joined forces to put on this elaborate deception. Once Chen Xi fell for it and accepted the job, Sun Liansheng would gradually seduce her, then find an excuse to fire her and drive her away.

Under the pretense of recruiting assistants, Sun Liansheng had already deceived more than a dozen female college graduates. Once he got them into bed, he discarded them and moved on to a new target.

Sun Liansheng had come to Jiangcheng because of the abandoned development project. Knowing exactly what kind of man he was, Zhang Lei had staged this entire scene to create an opportunity for him to meet Chen Xi.

Sun Liansheng was extremely pleased with Chen Xi, whose appearance bore a striking resemblance to the celebrity Liu Tianxian, and he could hardly wait to get her into bed.

Originally, Sun Liansheng had intended to overwhelm Chen Xi directly with his status and money. But Zhang Lei had told him that Chen Xi was not interested in money and would not accept unspoken rules. That was why he had gone to such lengths to stage this heroic rescue with Zhang Lei.

According to Sun Liansheng’s calculations, Chen Xi should now be deeply moved. Combined with his identity as the heir of the Changhui Group, it was certain that she would accept his invitation. The next day, he would take her to the company and punish Zhang Lei in front of her. After that, he would have her firmly under his control. What woman could resist the allure of an overbearing corporate president?

Just then, Liu Hui walked over.

“President Sun, welcome to Dreamlong. Your presence truly honors this humble establishment. I’m Liu Hui, the owner of this bar,” Liu Hui said with great courtesy.

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Sun Liansheng smiled, nodded, and shook Liu Hui’s hand in greeting.

Liu Hui pointed in Yang Chen’s direction. “President Sun, do you know that gentleman over there?”

Sun Liansheng and Chen Xi both looked toward where Liu Hui was pointing. Sun Liansheng shook his head, but Chen Xi froze.

It was him! After four years and twenty-five days, she had finally seen him again. Had he already forgotten who she was? Otherwise, why hadn’t he stepped forward to help when he saw her being bullied? Or was it because he didn’t dare?

Liu Hui smiled and said, “That is Mr. Yang Chen, the new majority shareholder and chairman of the Sihai Group.”

Chen Xi let out a startled cry and instinctively covered her mouth.

So it wasn’t that he was afraid. It was that his status was too lofty, and he had long since forgotten her. The look in his eyes back then had been so tender and intense that she had thought he liked her. It seemed she had merely been imagining things.

Chen Xi was the kind of woman who put her career before love. Having been born into poverty, she knew very well that everything had to be built upon a prosperous life. Without that foundation, love was nothing but empty talk.

After graduation, Chen Xi had always hoped to meet the original host again. As long as he dared to pursue her boldly, she would have considered accepting him.

She had imagined countless ways their reunion might happen. This was the only one she had never envisioned.

He must think I’m cheap now…

Chen Xi felt a pang of disappointment.

Seeing how astonished Chen Xi was by Yang Chen’s identity, Sun Liansheng naturally felt a little displeased.

How could he let Yang Chen steal Chen Xi’s attention after going to all this trouble with Zhang Lei to stage the scene?

Sun Liansheng walked up to Yang Chen and smiled. “So you’re Yang Chen. I was planning to visit the Sihai Group tomorrow. Since we’ve run into each other tonight, let’s have a proper discussion about how the Binjiang Garden City project is going to be resolved. We invested thirty billion in cash, hoping to use the project to break into the high-end residential market, but the Sihai Group ruined everything. Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost? Because of this project, several of our other developments have been delayed or abandoned as well.”

Yang Chen rolled his eyes at him and said indifferently, “Why the hell are you yelling at me? The responsibility doesn’t lie with me. Get your facts straight—I’m taking over this mess to save your company. Watch your damn attitude and show me some respect. Understood?”