As a patient, Luo Wenlin still needed to return to the hospital, so there was no other activity planned apart from dinner. Yao Jiamu was booted out of the place by Luo Wenlang, ordering him to take a rest. Shen Nianzhi also reluctantly left after a phone call, which left the three of them.
Luo Wenlin had brought the Transformer toy with him into the ward, and the nurse was setting up the IV bag and connecting it back to his arm. Seeing his bright, glittering eyes, Luo Wenlang’s eyes softened.
“Tha-”
“It’s fine,” Gu Xiqiao said, stopping him from completing his sentence. She tilted her head to the side, her face seemingly glowing in the dark, “I heard from Uncle Mu, that you are very good.”
She had only known about the current situation after having a call with Mu Zong yesterday night. She had initially thought that although Luo Wenlang was clever, his practical skills wouldn’t be any more outstanding than his intelligence. Unexpectedly, Luo Wenlang was naturally sensitive towards numbers. Just by giving him a portfolio of future arbitrage that they had, he was easily able to discern the pattern in them by himself.
Mu Zong had seen the potential in Luo Wenlang, and had immediately contacted Gu Xiqiao. He had decided to groom Luo Wenlang, since Gu Xiqiao wasn’t in the company all the time. Mu Zong had clearly seen through Gu Xiqiao being a more laid back and lazy person, and so when she wasn’t at the company, Luo Wenlang could assume her responsibilities.
A strong company couldn’t rely on just one person after all.
“It’s nothing really,” Luo Wenlang said in a low voice, he had never thought that he would have such an affinity for finance. Mu Zong was the first to discover his talent, and was currently grooming him. He even changed the terms in his contract, to the amount of ten million.
In fact, he knew that the amount of money didn’t matter to him. He knew that he wouldn’t be leaving the Nine Heavens company.
Also, he had seen from the investment plans the company had, they were looking at 10% risk-free returns. In this world, she was the only person to be able to create such a terrifyingly amazing percentage return, right?
Gu Xiqiao wasn’t aware of the thoughts that were running in Luo Wenlang’s head as she chatted with Mu Jiatong for a while, before getting ready to head back.
Luo Wenlang had received a call shortly before that, and when he saw she was turning to leave, he hurriedly called out to her to stop her. “Hey, wait a minute. Uncle Mu is calling us to go to Nine Heavens!”
“Are you sure?” Gu Xiqiao asked as she blinked. Why would he ask her to go over?
“If you don’t believe me, you can give a call and ask him yourself?” Luo Wenlang laughed as he waved his phone.
Gu Xiqiao touched her nose. “Alright, let’s go.”
She couldn’t figure out why Mu Zong would be looking for her, it would have to be something big, but what was it? Her eyebrows knitted together in concern, and then she glanced at Luo Wenlang, a few possibilities running through her head.
“The teacher is here, you can meet him in the conference room.” Was the first thing out of Mu Zong’s mouth when he saw them, he was acting normally as he asked Luo Wenlang to head for his training.
He had found a famous financial analyst in N City for Luo Wenlang, and his salary was calculated by the hour. Luo Wenlang was aware of this, and he took his studies seriously. After saying his goodbyes to Gu Xiqiao, he left for the conference room without delay.
Since they had given him this opportunity, he would definitely seize it properly!
There would come the day that he would stand on top of the world, and head to the Imperial Capital to see the man who had abandoned his wife!
Gu Xiqiao watched him leave before turning back to Mu Zong, and the smile that was on his face dropped. He took the document that was on his table and handed it to her, a solemn look on his face. “One good news, and one bad news.”
“The good news,” Gu Xiqiao said, flipping through the document in hand. She could guess at the bad news, it would probably be about those big shots from the Imperial Capital.
But she had no idea on what the good news would be about.
Touching on this topic, Mu Zong’s expression relaxed slightly. “It’s Wang Bo, you remember he has been studying the software that you gave him? In his free time, he posted the firewall that he couldn’t crack onto the hackers forum, and unexpectedly he managed to attract a big name from that website.”
Gu Xiqiao turned the last few pieces of paper over, and raised her head to look at him slightly surprised. “A big name?”
“That’s right.” Mu Zong sighed. “Hearing what Wang Bo has to say about him, he’s quite a tyrant. A lot of foreign countries are trying to dig him out, but no one knows his identity. He’s mysterious, and also has very good foresight!”
Their new company in an emerging industry had been relying on the software that Gu Xiqiao had given them to turn a profit, but that was not a long term development plan that they had. What Nine Heavens lacked the most right now was the right talents, and in this era, how easy was it to find a talent with appropriate technical knowledge?
Luo Wenlang was one of them, and this was enough to surprise Mu Zong. And now, unexpectedly, their small software had managed to hook up another big fish!
“Wang Bo has left for S City to find him, I believe we’ll have another comrade not long after!” Mu Zong couldn’t help but feel pleased with this, the excitement inside bursting out slightly.
A divine hacker that a lot of foreigners would give money for. One no one had ever succeeded getting their hands on, and they had succeeded where no one else had!
Gu Xiqiao touched her nose, taking her phone and swiping it to the Caijing web. “You’ve already said that the person hadn’t been interested in so many other foreign companies, and they have such a high vision, why would they look at our little empire?”
“Qiao Qiao, you underestimate yourself,” Mu Zong said, shaking his head. He had already familiarized himself with the force that was Gu Xiqiao, able to bring out such amazing software which made an arrogant genius hacker come down to look at it. With her here, why would they fear the person wouldn’t come to them?
If Wang Bo didn’t head to S City, the person would probably come here on his own.
Mu Zong’s praise made Gu Xiqiao feel a little embarrassed, and she quickly changed the topic towards the bad news.
As expected, the bad news was that the influential families in the Imperial Capital had begun to exert pressure on them. The people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau knew that Nine Heavens had some connection to the young master from the Yin family, and had released the news to Mu Zong discreetly, doing him a favor and warning him in advance to be alert.
Mu Zong was worried when he received the news, and wanted to discuss with Gu Xiqiao. “It’s lucky that we had the warning due to Young Master Yin, if not we would have been taken by surprise.”
“What about the software that Uncle Wang took to study with a few others last time?” Gu Xiqiao asked lazily, putting down her phone.
She leaned against the table, her posture elegant, an indifferent expression on her face, as though the matter was not important. Mu Zong felt his anxiety lessened when he took in her demeanor, but those people were still from the Imperial Capital, and no matter what there would still be some doubt and anxiety inside his heart.
“They’ve completed their research, but what are we going to be doing with this type of software?” Mu Zong had heard from Wang Bo that the few software were for monitoring and scanning, it was a set of security systems. He didn’t know how good the level of capability on the security system was, but seeing Wang Bo’s reaction after he had pulled a few days of sleepless nights, it would seem like something that was unimaginable again.
Gu Xiqiao raised her hand, turning the computer that was on the desk on, the keyboard clicking clacking as she typed away. Her hands contrasted against the black keyboard, making them shine like a pale moonlight glow with the string of words flowing out from her hands.
“Do you know that N City intends to build a base?” Her soft, melodious voice sounded after a while.
“I know a bit about it,” Mu Zong said, nodding his head. There weren’t many people who were aware that N City was building a base, but since the circle they ran in was quite big, there was sure to be someone who would leak the news to him for the potential of his position in Nine Heavens.
But since it was a national base, Mu Zong had never thought about getting into it, it was too far off. In other words, only N City’s top influential families would dare to try to take a piece of pie from that.
And their small little business?
They didn’t have the right to know about it nor to get involved at all!
Wait, for her to raise this up now, could it be that she had her attention on the national base? That was some bold courage, and Mu Zong was stunned when he looked up as the realization hit him, “Are you saying…”
“This security system was made with them in mind,” Gu Xiqiao said, typing in the last word.
She had the plan from the beginning. In her last life, she had done her best to have the Gu family occupy even a little bit of the piece of pie that was the national base, and that led to the Gu family having better prospects.
Seeing how it had been so important to connect to the country, she wouldn’t let go of the opportunity this time!
The most important thing about national bases was privacy and confidentiality, they would buy the expensive security systems from out of the country. But how could things from foreign countries reassure them? In comparison, there was a security system that was better than the ones in the foreign countries, they would be the ones to rush to cooperate with Nine Heavens instead.
The printer printed out the few pieces of paper, Gu Xiqiao taking them out and handing it to Mu Zong. “You have to know that the stage we’re going to take it not N City, nor is it China, it is the world, Uncle Mu. Be more courageous, look a little higher.”
Their stage was not N City or China, it was the entire world!
The words that Gu Xiqiao said made Mu Zong’s blood pump with excitement, and he took the papers from her hands to read. His eyes flew over the words, getting wider and wider at each sentence he read, eyes flying faster. It took him a long while after he had finished reading before he snapped out of his daze to look at Gu Xiqiao.
The plans and proposals in his hands were until the previous short term ones before, but a long term one. It also took into consideration the future economic development trend, the line of thought being extremely mature and comprehensive which spoke of years of experience. If she hadn’t done the entire thing in front of him, he would have assumed that a top scholar from the financial world had done this.
How could the Gu family have let such a talented and amazing person go?
Mu Zong thought back to the recent rumors that were circulating in the circle. Had they really severed all ties to the person standing in front of him?
Needless to say, how blind were the people from the Gu family?
He looked toward Gu Xiqiao, who was looking at her phone. Her figure was slim, and her slightly rounded face was bright and looked very young. Yes, no matter how matured she acted, she was still a child.
Come to think of it, if Nine Heavens had a connection with the national base, would those big influential families from the Imperial Capital really stop?
Mu Zong didn’t really know what he was doing. He wasn’t as knowledgeable as Gu Xiqiao pertaining to the national base, and naturally had his doubts about it inside.
He picked up his coat, calling his assistant to call the car as he took his phone.
***
The Imperial Capital, a place where all the powerhouses were concentrated in. Countless of tall buildings stood, reaching all the way up to the clouds. The roads were spacious and clean, just by standing at the bottom of those buildings, you would be able to feel the insignificance of your existence when you looked up.
Inside a tall building in the middle of the city, a woman with exquisite makeup and upturned eyes was holding a cup tightly with slender hands and perfectly manicured fingers. “A small, non-influential company thinks that they can step over me to take the national base, and doesn’t even care to think who I, Cheng Feng am?!”
The corners of her lips raised up slightly, her eyes full of contempt and poison.
“I’m sure it isn’t, your daughter is really close to the Murong family after all, how could anyone in the Imperial Capital not give you face?” The assistant sitting next to her said flatteringly.
The waters in the Imperial Capital were deep, and relationships were a more complicated tangle of webs. It didn’t matter whether you were the head honcho in some other places, when you reached here you had to obey the rules. You had to look out for yourself and not overstep the boundaries, or you would be caught unaware one day if you weren’t careful.
Now even small businesses in second-tier cities dared to butt heads with the Chen family, they really didn’t know how the word ‘dead’ was pronounced.
Although the reach of the Chen family was not as far, everything in the world cannot be separated from monopoly. The influential families in the Imperial Capital had been around for many years, and who doesn’t know of the three reclusive families—Jiang, Murong, and Tang? Although the Tang family was only half-reclusive now, and couldn’t be compared to normal people.
These reclusive families had the abilities to go on and about their days normally, without leaving any footprints and being completely unpredictable. Even if people wanted to find them, they didn’t know where to begin. For the Chen family to be able to make friends with the Murong family was the envy in many eyes. Getting rid of a small business was naturally not a problem.
“Go and investigate who is in charge of the national base, make sure it’s thorough.” Chen Feng’s face was bored but firm as she spoke to her assistant.
***
A call came through to the N City national base, and Jiang Shuxuan was listening to what Yin Shaoyuan was saying, his face getting darker by the seconds. “Chen family? Which Chen family?”
“Puwah!” Yin Shaoyuan couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter, after such a long time, this young master Jiang still didn’t know who the Chen family was, that was practically saying they weren’t even worth a speck in his eyes.
“The girl who often follows behind Murong Miaoxue, also a second-year student this year.”
Jiang Shuxuan furrowed his brows in thought, but he couldn’t remember anything about them. If he didn’t remember something even with his extraordinary memory, then it probably wasn’t significant.
With that thought in mind, Yin Shaoyuan laughed even harder, “I literally feel said on behalf of the Chen family!”
Although he was smiling, Yin Shaoyuan knew that when it came to dealing with this matter, it was a bit on the gray area. Even if he didn’t ask Jiang Shuxuan, he knew how the other thought. The Yin family name was great in N City, but it was practically useless in the Imperial Capital. This had to be taken care of by Jiang Shuxuan’s name, because Yin Shaoyuan’s name didn’t hold any weight in this matter.
No matter how things were done, in the end they were all doing it for the sake of Beauty Qiao, right?
***
And so, Chen Feng who was waiting in the office in the Imperial Capital for news of this matter, she wanted to force Luo Wenlang to have no other way to go!
When the phone rang, she waved her assistant off, picking up the phone herself. She was all smiles while her eyes were full of contempt and mockery. How dare a small business try to go against a great wall like them? Her smile was only on her face for about three seconds before her face froze in stunned surprise.
The voice on the other side of the phone was clearly male. Not waiting for her to speak, his stern tone came through, mowing her down with his scolding words. “Chen Feng, I think you’re tired of living your life, is it? You dare to stick your fingers into matters of N City, do you not know that the Jiang family is in charge over there? Are you not aware of what the Jiang family represents, that they can crush us with just a pinky finger? It’s great if you fall, since your reach is so great, but don’t bring us down with you!”
The call was cut immediately after, the dial tone ringing in her ears. Chen Feng was frozen in her seat, not able to react to anything. The blood had drained from her face the instant the words sank in, fingernails sank into her palm as her fist clenched tightly, not noticing the blood that dripped out, nor the pain that accompanied it.
She’d offended the Jiang family, that was the only thought that was swirling in her head, lingering on it. Her plans of brushing away Luo Wenlang and pressuring him was already pushed completely out of her mind.
It was just a small emerging industry, why did it suddenly become about the Jiang family?
She got up in a desperate hurry, making calls as she went down the stairs. She could only hope that the Jiang family didn’t see her as significant, otherwise she didn’t know how to even die!
After this matter, no matter how many guts you gave Chen Feng, she still wouldn’t dare to touch N City. No matter how much of an eyesore Luo Wenlang was, he wasn’t as important as the Chen family’s future. Luo Wenlang was just a jester, he wouldn’t be able to escape her palm. If ever he’s out of N City, she would definitely get back at him!
The assistant followed behind her closely, vaguely able to guess what had happened. Her mouth was downturned, but her eyes were full of scorn.
After such a long time, they were still bullies but afraid of retaliation. He didn’t know where the Jiang family came from, who were they and why was the Chen family so afraid of them? The assistant was deep in thought, he had been in the Imperial Capital for so long, but he had never heard of this family before. After thinking longer on it, he understood, it was probably another class of level that he could never touch.
After a flurry of activities, Chen Feng finally got word that the Jiang family wasn’t going to pursue this matter, but she wasn’t allowed to intervene in matters of N City.
Chen Feng was relieved to receive the news, reaching out to wipe the cold sweat from her brows, she slumped down onto the sofa for a long while before slowly getting up. She could feel the invisible pressure just by receiving a call from the Jiang family. Even if they hadn’t said anything, she wouldn’t dare to interfere in N City anymore. The Jiang family had always been overbearing when it came to protecting what was theirs, if they really pursued the matter, she wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.
“Luo Wenlang, consider yourself lucky!” Chen Feng cursed under her breath, the loathing in her eyes not diminished in the slightest.
***
In the office of the N City base, Yin Shaoyuan had just hung up the phone, and he was looking at Jiang Shuxuan. “Brother Jiang, why didn’t you send someone to clean up the Chen family properly?”
Yin Shaoyuan had never thought himself to be a good person, and he had done a lot of unethical things during his time in college. After he met Jiang Shuxuan, his arrogance didn’t stop growing, those who needed to be rid of should be cleared up. Even if it wasn’t in his intentions, those who needed to die should be killed!
And now, seeing someone who wanted to knock Gu Xiqiao off, how could he stand aside and watch? She was such a cute, beautiful and intelligent little sister who was his to hold dear, and somebody dared to show their ugly mug in his territory. With his temper, he absolutely wouldn’t take this lying down, and would definitely kill the person, but…
Jiang Shuxuan was holding him back?
Why? Why? Why!
Yin Shaoyuan didn’t understand, Jiang Shuxuan was even more overbearing than him. Didn’t this situation call for a good beating on the Chen family?
Jiang Shuxuan placed down the book that he was reading, looking him straight in the eyes. “Let her use this as training.”
Wait for her to use it as training? How was she going to train? Yin Shaoyuan was slightly stunned. ‘Young Master Jiang, you just need to use one phone call to the Chen family ancestors, and every single power in Chen Feng’s hands would be gone. At this point, you’re still willing to have mercy and leave them with a chance? Leaving it as training for Gu Xiqiao, she still needs training? Even if you don’t practise on Chen Feng’s family, they still wouldn’t have peaceful days anymore right!’
Or maybe Chen Feng would go into hiding with her tails between her legs?
So what exactly did you mean, Master Jiang?
The words were stuck in his throat, as though saying it or not wouldn’t make a difference, it was so frustrating!
Yin Shaoyuan tempered down his annoyance as he picked up the book on the table, not understanding the dense wall of text when he flipped it open and threw it to one side. He then suddenly realized what he had done, and hurriedly picked it up and dusted it off.
It was fine, no one would dare to make a move against her in N City after all. Even if Chen Feng dared to use any underhanded methods, he would ensure that they would die an ugly death…As for the Imperial Capital, don’t look be deceived by Master Jiang’s appearance, if you touch a hair on her head, he would probably uproot the entire Imperial Capital!
His phone rang suddenly, and Yin Shaoyuan picked it up in a lazy motion to look at the screen, and a sudden look of shock crossed his face.
