Chapter 33: First Marriage, Then Love, and a Side of Villain-Bashing 11
Ning Ruoyun saw the other party reaching out, so she also extended her hand, shaking hands politely with Si Yunli:
“Mr. Si, nice to meet you! So Mr. Si has been looking for me? I’ve been so busy these past two days. I only heard from my assistant that someone was looking for me, and I didn’t know it was Mr. Si!”
Si Yunli’s smile widened, “Ms. Ning must be here on business. Do you have any plans later? I know a good tea house nearby. If you have time, Ms. Ning, we could go there…”
Ning Ruoyun sighed with a smile, “Oh, what a coincidence, I’m here to catch up on a project, and my schedule is packed. I’m afraid I’ll be busy until late tonight.”
Hearing this, Si Yunli glanced at Gu Youchen and nodded to him, “Mr. Gu is here too. Are you and Ms. Ning here to discuss a project?”
Gu Youchen nodded to Si Yunli, “Yes, to discuss something very important.”
Si Yunli’s heart skipped a beat, his mind racing—
Something very important? Ningchuang is going to cooperate with the Gu family? Why haven’t I heard anything about this?
His smile remained plastered on his face as he asked Ning Ruoyun, “So, Ms. Ning will be in the imperial city for the next few days? Can we schedule another meeting tomorrow—”
A curious expression appeared on Ning Ruoyun’s face, “Mr. Si, are you going to discuss a big project with me? Oh dear, my company is small; I’m afraid I might delay Mr. Si from making money!”
Everyone present knew that the Si family was struggling. Their previous projects weren’t working, and they were desperately seeking investment.
There was no big money to be made; they were just trying to survive!
Although Si Yunli knew his situation, and was inwardly cursing, he could only continue to smile.
“Ms. Ning, you make me feel ashamed. Who doesn’t know Ms. Ning’s strength in the financial world?” Si Yunli gave a wry smile, “I have a project, and I really want to cooperate with Ms. Ning. When are you free? I’m available anytime.”
At that moment, Ning Qingqing came out of the restroom.
Because Si Yunli had been talking to Ning Ruoyun, Gu Youchen hadn’t been doing anything and沈之语 had approached him.
She looked up at Gu Youchen, her eyes containing a hint of defiance, but her gaze couldn’t help but stick to him, “Mr. Gu, what are you doing here?”
Her tone was a bit sharp, but her heart was desperately hoping for a response from Gu Youchen.
However, Gu Youchen seemed not to have heard her at all, not even glancing at her.
Shen Zhiyu’s self-esteem was hurt; the unwillingness in her heart gnawed at her. She couldn’t help but say again, “Mr. Gu, I’m talking to you, why aren’t you paying attention to me?”
Gu Youchen finally glanced at her indifferently, “Do I have any reason to pay attention to you?”
“You—” Shen Zhiyu’s eyes immediately reddened, her chest rising and falling, “I heard you beat Kenny at the club the other day, why?”
Footsteps came from the corridor; it was Ning Qingqing approaching.
Seeing her, Shen Zhiyu suddenly realized that Gu Youchen was waiting for Ning Qingqing here, and she became even angrier, “Why are you with Ning Qingqing? She’s my brother’s girlfriend!”
Gu Youchen frowned involuntarily, but he didn’t want to pay attention to Shen Zhiyu.
Shen Zhiyu was 18 years old, but in terms of maturity, she was far inferior to the fifteen-year-old Qin Yan Yue.
Gu Youchen didn’t even bother to explain to her.
Unexpectedly, seeing that he ignored her, Shen Zhiyu turned to Ning Qingqing, her eyes filled with anger, “Aren’t you my brother’s girlfriend? Why are you always with Mr. Gu? Do you even know what shame is—”
Before she could finish, Ning Qingqing directly ignored her and walked to Gu Youchen’s side.
Gu Youchen naturally took Ning Qingqing’s hand, and the two exchanged a smile, completely treating Shen Zhiyu as a clown.
Shen Zhiyu looked at the hands clasped together between Gu Youchen and Ning Qingqing, shocked.
Si Luoqing on the opposite side was also shocked.
What was going on? Ning Qingqing was with Gu Youchen behind Shen Zhiqian’s back?
Si Luoqing remembered that at the club that day, Ning Qingqing and Shen Zhiqian seemed to have argued, and they didn’t interact much, but they kept talking to Gu Youchen.
Could it be—
A storm raged in her heart!
On the other side, Ning Ruoyun, who was talking to Si Yunli, saw her daughter coming and beckoned to her, “Qingqing, come here.”
Ning Qingqing walked over.
Ning Ruoyun said to Si Yunli, “Mr. Si, I’m too busy, so I’ve handed over the project to my employees. This is Ning Qingqing, the project specialist at our company’s imperial city office. We’ve assigned your project to her.”
Si Yunli felt frustrated. He knew Ning Ruoyun mainly focused on overall planning and maintaining major client relationships and generally didn’t participate in projects herself.
But he felt that his project needed a project manager to take over! Now Ning Ruoyun had assigned him a project specialist!
But he could only endure it.
He told himself that although Ning Qingqing was a project specialist, she could eat with the CEO, which might mean something.
The girl looked young and inexperienced; it would be easier to manipulate her.
Therefore, Si Yunli instantly put on a warm smile and extended his hand to Ning Qingqing, “Ms. Ning, we rely on your hard work for our Si family’s project!”
As he spoke, he realized that Ning Qingqing and Ning Ruoyun had the same surname. He thought Ning Qingqing was probably a relative of Ning Ruoyun’s, probably just a connection.
This kind of person was easiest to manipulate and easiest to use to get closer to Ms. Ning.
So his smile became even more sincere.
Ning Qingqing shook hands with him, “Mr. Si, please give me more guidance in the future.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” Si Yunli smiled, “We rely on Ms. Ning’s help!”
On the other side, since Ning Ruoyun introduced Ning Qingqing, Si Luoqing had been petrified.
She stared at Ning Qingqing in shock, completely unexpected that she had jumped ship to Ningchuang!
She didn’t know much about the financial circle, and she only heard from her father in the past two days that Ningchuang was their top choice for investment.
Because of their strong strength and good reputation, cooperating with them would give the Si family the best chance of survival.
Other companies might also invest, but many of them operated in shady ways, and cooperating with them would be like playing with fire.
But her father said this morning that Ningchuang probably wouldn’t be interested in the returns of their project and wouldn’t invest; they weren’t even interested in swallowing the Si family, leaving the Si family in a difficult situation.
So Si Luoqing had tried her luck by asking Shen Zhiyu out today.
Although Shen Zhiyu had just finished the college entrance examination and wasn’t involved in Shen’s business, she thought that if Shen Zhiyu could say a few good words in front of Shen Zhiqian, and help the Si family get some investment, maybe…
But after dinner, it was clear that Shen Zhiyu didn’t understand anything and was also simple-minded, with a similar level of quality as that Xue Wenlan.
Si Luoqing was downcast until she met Ning Ruoyun.
If meeting Ning Ruoyun a moment ago was like ascending to heaven, then the next second, when Ning Ruoyun introduced Ning Qingqing, Si Luoqing felt like she had fallen into hell!
But at that moment, her father was smiling at Ning Qingqing, and Si Luoqing felt a loud slap across her face!
She wanted to leave, but she heard her father ingratiatingly say to Ning Qingqing, “Ms. Ning, I’ll have my secretary send you the documents later, and we can discuss the details tomorrow?”
Ning Qingqing nodded, “Okay, Mr. Si, I have something to do tomorrow morning and won’t be in the office. How about 3 pm?”
Si Yunli nodded quickly, “Good.”
Then he beckoned to Si Luoqing and introduced her to Ning Qingqing, “Ms. Ning, I don’t know if you follow the entertainment industry, but this is my daughter, Si Luoqing. She’s a singer with quite a few fans.”
Hearing this, Ning Qingqing’s gaze calmly fell on Si Luoqing’s face. Seeing Si Luoqing’s stiff expression, Ning Qingqing smiled slightly:
“So this is Mr. Si’s daughter? No wonder you’re so beautiful. You’re a singer; that’s amazing. I was always tone-deaf when I sang!”
Si Luoqing’s facial expression could no longer be described as bad.
Si Yunli frowned slightly at her, then quickly smiled at Ning Qingqing, “Ms. Ning must have focused on your studies, which is why you became Ms. Ning’s capable assistant!”
Having said that, he turned to Si Luoqing, “Xiaoqing, give me a few of your albums to give to Ms. Ning. You’re about the same age, so you’ll probably like the same things.”
Si Luoqing’s hands, hanging by her sides, clenched tightly. She looked at Ning Qingqing, wanting to see a triumphant expression in her eyes, but she failed.
Ning Qingqing maintained a calm smile throughout, not showing any sign of gloating.
But the more this was the case, the more Si Luoqing felt suffocated by being ignored.
Her father was flattering Ning Qingqing, and even dragging her along. Shen Zhiyu and Gu Youchen were there, and Ms. Ning was watching their father-daughter performance. She felt like she was being publicly executed!
She smiled stiffly, “Okay, I’ll send you some signed CDs another time.”
Ning Qingqing smiled faintly, “Thank you, Ms. Si.”
Si Yunli then said, “Then I won’t disturb you any further. Ms. Ning, you’re busy. Ms. Ning, my secretary will send you the materials this afternoon. Let’s meet tomorrow for a detailed discussion!”
Ning Qingqing nodded, “Okay, Mr. Si, please go slowly.”
Everyone left.
Shen Zhiyu’s gaze remained on Gu Youchen until everyone left, then she angrily turned to Si Luoqing, “Sister Luoqing, what’s going on?!”
However, Si Luoqing’s face turned pale, and she didn’t speak.
Ning Qingqing and the others got into the car, Gu Youchen invited Ning Ruoyun to his apartment, but Ning Ruoyun shook her head, “I’ll go to Qingqing’s apartment. I’ll rest this afternoon. There’s an auction tonight, Qingqing, come with me, and Youchen can also come if he’s free.”
So Gu Youchen and the others sent her there before going to work.
In the evening, the three of them had dinner together and then went to the auction.
Ning Qingqing’s father was arriving tonight, but his flight wouldn’t land until 10 pm. Gu Youchen could pick him up after the auction ended.
Along the way, Ning Qingqing explained the situation of the Si family and gave her opinion:
“They might have concealed some data in the project operation document. If it were as it appeared, they wouldn’t be unable to find a cooperating company. The Si family probably took the early returns, and there’s little left later. Big companies don’t want to waste their energy, and smaller companies only want to swallow all the profits.”
Ning Ruoyun nodded, “Right, so I’ve given this project to you. Evaluate the final value to see if it’s worth investing in.”
Ning Qingqing knew this was the best opportunity to hone her skills. She nodded, “Okay, Mom, I’ll use Ningchuang’s standards to strictly evaluate it.”
Ning Ruoyun showed a relieved expression.
The three of them arrived at the auction site. Ning Ruoyun planned to buy a few things as gifts for the meeting between the two families.
Because it was a relatively niche auction, there were no private rooms, but instead, seats in the hall.
The three of them arrived a little late and sat in the back row.
Ning Ruoyun looked through the catalog, already having a target in mind.
The Gu family’s preferences weren’t difficult to find out. She had already asked Nie Yu to find out what Gu Heng and Li Lan liked earlier in the afternoon.
She also got more detailed information about Gu Youchen.
It was interesting that Gu Youchen had been to Qingtang Town ten years ago, and had been injured there, and a helicopter sent by the Gu family had taken him away.
Did he fall for her daughter then?
Ning Ruoyun thought, a slight smile playing on her lips.
The auction soon began.
Ning Qingqing sat between Ning Ruoyun and Gu Youchen. She flipped through the catalog, her gaze drawn to a white jade porcelain vase.
She wasn’t very interested in antiques, but the vase’s design appealed to her aesthetic sense.
Seeing Ning Qingqing’s gaze linger, Gu Youchen asked, “Qingqing, do you like it?”
Ning Qingqing nodded.
Ning Ruoyun said, “Mom will buy it for you.”
Gu Youchen said, “Mom, no need. I haven’t given Qingqing anything yet, I’ll buy it.”
Then, he added in Ning Qingqing’s ear, “Qingqing, does buying things for you with our post-marital property count as a gift?”
Ning Qingqing then handed him the catalog, “Then is there anything you like? I’ll buy it for you with our post-marital property.”
Gu Youchen smiled, pointing to a green jade paperweight, “This one.”
“Okay,” Ning Qingqing responded.
The first few items passed quickly. Next was the paperweight Gu Youchen liked.
Not many people liked this, and Ning Qingqing easily bought it for 180,000.
Next was the white jade vase Ning Qingqing liked, with a starting price of 300,000.
The auctioneer had just dropped the gavel when someone at the front right raised their bidding card.
Someone was competing with her, Ning Qingqing looked over. She found that the person raising their card was Shen Zhiqian!
Just as Shen Zhiqian had bid, Gu Youchen unceremoniously raised the price, “320,000!”
Almost everyone present was from the imperial city. Some didn’t recognize Gu Youchen, who had just returned to China, but they knew Shen Zhiqian.
Seeing Shen Zhiqian bid, everyone would give him some face.
It wasn’t a particularly special vase, although the carving was exquisite, but it was fine to let it go.
So only Gu Youchen and Shen Zhiqian were competing.
Because they were both bidding, Shen Zhiqian didn’t know who was behind him. Until the price reached 400,000, he couldn’t help but turn his head.
And his pupils shook.
He was at the auction with his father today; his father liked a calligraphy piece that was the final item of the night.
And he saw this white jade vase, inexplicably reminding him of Ning Qingqing saying she liked it before.
He wanted to buy it for her.
But unexpectedly, he saw Gu Youchen bidding!
Ning Qingqing was sitting next to him, expectantly looking at the jade vase on the table; Gu Youchen was clearly buying it for her!
For a moment, Shen Zhiqian was caught in a dilemma.
He didn’t want Gu Youchen to have it, but he didn’t want to disappoint Ning Qingqing’s expectations.
He also wanted to know who the somewhat familiar woman next to Ning Qingqing was; he seemed to have seen her somewhere.
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