Chapter 216 What a Coincidence

Some rich second-generation kept a low-profile and stayed humble, while some were obnoxious and self-centered. This was all caused by factors such as teachings from home and character. However, it was not easy for an ordinary person to integrate into a rich second-generation’s life. Even if he forced himself into one’s life, he would stand out in all ways. Their lifestyles, their social circle, the way they act and behave, etc… these would all be vastly different.

Qin Sheng felt that he was just an ordinary person in the eyes of Cao Dao. Although he was Cao Da’s assistant, Cao Zhang might have felt that he was just someone working in their family. Like what he said that night, he could make Qin Sheng lose his job.

However, Cao Zhang apologized to him later on. Qin Sheng was very surprised during then. Later when he ran into danger at the car park, he also saw Cao Zhang running towards him to help him along with his friends. This caused Qin Sheng to develop some good feelings for him. However, he still did not feel that he would receive recognition from Cao Zhang in a short period of time. Hence, he did not expect Cao Zhang to directly call him ‘Brother Qin’ today.

Qin Sheng snapped back from his thoughts and smiled as he nodded and said, “If you’re free at night, let’s have a few drinks at Guangyin? I quite like the atmosphere there, your band is pretty good.”

“I have a classmate reunion tonight, it might drag until late at night. How about tomorrow night?” Cao Zhang said truthfully without rejecting Qin Sheng’s good intentions.

Qin Sheng answered casually, “Sure, then let’s keep in touch tomorrow night.”

Cao Da’s second wife was called Mi Na. She was a very smart woman. She was always very clear of her position in this family. Many things were taken care of by her and she had quite a good relationship with the first wife’s son and daughter. The Young Master and Miss may seem to have a very stiff relationship with their biological parents, but they treated Mi Na like a friend of similar age.

Mi Na was also a little surprised. She had never seen Cao Zhang so respectful in front of people of his age. Thinking that there might be a story between the two of them, it also meant that Qin Sheng was not a simple man. Hence, she smiled and said, “Qin Sheng, talk to Cao Zhang more when you’re free. His bunch of good-for-nothing friends only know how to drink and pick up girls.”

“Second Lady! You’re picking on me again,” Cao Zhang said embarrassedly.

Yet Qin Sheng laughed gently and said, “Second Aunt, I think that’s quite good. He’s a youth after all. They should live like this. I was also like this when I was in college.”

Mi Na pursed her lips and gave a faint smile as she said, “Fine, fine, fine. You are all youths. I’m the only one getting old.”

Cao Ying glared at Qin Sheng who was opposite of her. She felt that this man was sly with his words. She could not see where he stood out and did not understand why her father would trust him so much and why her brother would lower his head in front of him.

“Why isn’t Lao Cao coming to eat yet?” Mi Na frowned and asked.

Qin Sheng smiled and explained, “Mr. Cao had some urgent matter to settle and he asked us to eat first. He will come when he’s done with his work.”

“Then let’s eat first,” Mi Na nodded and said.

During the dinner, the atmosphere was not as stiff as when he first came to the Cao Family. Mi Na and the few youngsters laughed and talked. It was the first time Qin Sheng saw the rebellious Cao Ying smiled so innocently. Thinking about how this girl acted like a girl boss that night, Qin Sheng wanted to laugh. The youngest daughter, Yu’er, was tender and cute. She kept on talking and the rest could not help but found her very cute.

After dinner, Cao Da was still in his study. Mi Na and Cao Zhang then kept Qin Sheng accompany in the living room and chatted with him. Qin Sheng was a little interested and started to talk about music with Cao Zhang. However, he was definitely not as professional as him. Cao Zhang’s eyes were filled with passion as he talked about music. He apparently really liked music and was not fooling around.

Sometimes, no matter how applaudable the hobbies that these rich children could have, it would still be nonsense in the eyes of the elders. For them, the only right path was the path they planned out for the children.

After about an hour, the nanny walked into the living room and said, “Mr. Qin, Mr. Cao is requesting you in the study.”

Hearing this, Cao Da had apparently made a decision. Qin Sheng nodded towards Mi Na and Cao Zhang before he got up and went to the study.

In the study, Cao Da, who rarely smoked, had smoked quite a lot already. The room was filled with puffs of smoke. Cao Da was in the midst of opening the windows to let fresh air in. He only turned around when Qin Sheng came in.

“I didn’t expect them to become so fearless in these two years. The company’s internal situation is much worse than I thought. There might be a lot of gray transactions involved,” Cao Da said bluntly.

Qin Sheng nodded silently and said, “I was also very surprised. Just Poly International alone had been emptied so much in these two years. Illegal financing internally and borrowing the company’s money for individual use from the external side… no one is treating the company seriously. If I handed all this information to the police, Qian Buping could be locked up 10 to 20 years.”

“Two years, in just a short two years, the company that I’ve built over 20 over years have become like this. This is so depressing.” Cao Da heaved a long sigh and said, “From Qian Buping’s side, we can already see how serious the issue is with other subsidiary companies. Qin Sheng, what do you think we should do?”

“Quickly cut off the mess and scrape off the root problem. Change the industry’s structure, sell away those that are unnecessary, build a new Yuanda,” Qin Sheng said with deep thoughts.

Cao Da continued to ask, “Then what should I do with this bunch of people?”

Qin Sheng knew the right answer and said, “This is up to you to decide.”

There were many things that Cao Da had to consider. After all, he was the only that could see the truth behind this fog. Qin Sheng would not make decisions on his own. After thinking about it thoroughly, Cao Da made a safe decision. “I’ll think about it again. Keep it a secret first and don’t let anyone else know.”

“Understood,” Qin Sheng nodded and said.

Cao Da asked curiously, “Where did you get these things from?”

“By some special means. But don’t worry, I know my boundaries,” Qin Sheng said with much confidence.

Cao Da did not ask any more questions. He waved his hand and let Qin Sheng head back first. He had to think through it properly as to whether he could make the decision to do this. After all, the turmoil that would come out of it would not only result in loss of profits but also offend many people.

Qin Sheng already knew that he was being stalked when he left Golden Coast and headed for Jiuxi Rose Garden. Now that he was leaving, the stalker still followed closely behind. Qin Sheng was too lazy to bother, he knew that the person was sent by Qian Buping.

Qin Sheng did not intend to go to the company today because Xue Qingyan was coming back to Hangzhou. They agreed to catch up over tea at Hu Pan Ju. Qin Sheng had nothing to do so he called Chang Baji along. After all, Xue Qingyan had not seen Chang Baji for more than half a year. Last time when they gathered at Hangzhou, Xue Qingyan was not here.

Lakeside Ju Tea House was very famous in Hangzhou. The building itself replicated those in ancient time and was close to the West Lake. Hence, it was named Hu Pan Ju (lakeside residence). Its reputation was built on the fact that it was a building that could see both the mountains and the lake.

There were not many people here, probably because it was in the early morning. By the time Qin Sheng and Chang Baji arrived, Xue Qingyan and her friend were already seated inside a private room. A beautiful woman was pouring them tea. There were several plates of snacks and fruits on the table.

Xue Qingyan was dressed in a plain suit today and she looked very elegant. Seeing Qin Sheng and Chang Baji coming in, she smiled and joked, “Lao Chang, I knew it! If Qin Sheng were to come back, you would definitely appear too.”

Qin Sheng had already told Xue Qingyan beforehand that Chang Baji was back. She also knew about the gathering in Hangzhou but was unable to attend because she had something on.

Chang Baji laughed, “No matter how beautiful the mountains and rivers are, they cannot be compared to the smile of a beautiful lady. Miss Xue is still so charming.”

“This is my first time hearing you compliment me,” Xue Qingyan pointed at him and said. A well-dressed young woman sat beside her. She was one of Xue Qingyan’s closest friends. She brought her here to introduce to Qin Sheng. She naturally wanted her to take care of Qin Sheng.

After Chang Baji and Qin Sheng walked up to them, Xue Qingyan then pulled the elegant young woman dressed in a long gray dress beside her and said, “Let me introduce to you. This is my best friend, Su Muxue.”

Following which, Xue Qingyan then introduced to Qin Sheng and Chang Baji to her. Her introduction of Qin Sheng was still as simple as always. “This is my younger brother. In the future when I’m not in Hangzhou, you have to help me take good care of him.”

Qin Sheng quickly greeted politely, “Hi, Sister Su.”

The group of people had a good conversation. After all, there were two beautiful women. On top of that, Qin Sheng was occasionally slick with his words and made the two ladies laugh non-stop. Chang Baji did not even need to make himself stand out. In this type of settings, he usually chooses to disappear and only say a few lines that are not that important every now and then. He would not steal the spotlight of the main character.

“Qin Sheng, do you have a girlfriend? If not, leave it to me!” Su Muxue had a good character. Although her husband was just a director of a municipal party committee, he was a winner because of how young he was! His father-in-law retired as a politician on the vice-provincial level, and his uncle was the new deputy governor of the next province. The Su Family was also full of scholars. Her grandfather used to be the vice-president of Zhejiang University. Her parents were also experienced professors at the university. Their students were all over the place. This was a background that should not be undermined in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

Before Qin Sheng said anything, Xue Qingyan laughed and said, “Mu Xue, you don’t have to worry about this. I can’t even compare myself to my little brother’s girlfriend!”

“Oh, a woman like this exists? I have to meet the woman herself one day!” Su Muxue blinked her eyes and said with beaming curiosity.

Qin Sheng was embarrassed, “Sisters, please stop teasing me.”

For the whole morning, the four of them sat there and chatted casually as they passed time…

At the same time, in the private room next to theirs, Qian Buping and his brother-in-law, who was known to do business legally and illegally, were discussing how to deal with Qin Sheng and Cao Da.

The two of them had already discussed for a very long time. Qian Buping was annoyed. “Brother-in-law, are you going to help me or not? Cao Da wants to push me to death, which is also a slap across your face!”

Qian Buping’s brother-in-law was Yuan Ke. He was only older than him by three years, yet his status was much higher. This was because behind this man was a big shot, a highly-successful leader in Zhejiang. He was like Third Master Wu. As his foster son, Yuan Ke had been leading a good life in Zhejiang.

Yuan Ke had thick brows and big eyes, which made him look like a man of strong temperament. Those who sit with him are all big shots from Zhejiang’s enterprises. Qian Buping’s name could never be put in the same sentence with their names. Yuan Ke always looked down on Qian Buping. If it was not for his wife, he would be too lazy to even listen to him.

“Are you sure that that manager of yours had already been controlled by that young man called Qin Sheng?” Yuan Ke asked as he took a puff on his cigar. He initially had something on today and rejected politely when Qian Buping called him. However, he did not expect him to call him several times. He was getting annoyed and then agreed to come and sit down with him. He liked the atmosphere at Hu Pan Ju a lot and he even liked to look at the West Lake when he was free. This was a place that he often frequented.

Qian Buping gritted his teeth and said, “Who else could it be other than him? Brother-in-law, this is not the young man’s problem but Cao Da!”

“I don’t want to battle it out with Cao Da yet. If there’s really no choice, I’ll help you to take care of Qin Sheng. We can talk about the rest later.” Yaun Ke had his fears. He and Cao Da were not at the stage where they would fight it out and make their relationship too stiff. In this present-day society where it was all about maintaining relationships in order to earn money, who would be willing to offend so many people?

Qian Buping quickly replied, “Brother-in-law, but what if Cao Da does not give up?”

“Don’t worry, Cao Da would not do that. Even if he were to do something to you, he would find me too. You just have to wait.” Yuan Ke said with much determination, “Okay, let’s stop here for today. I still have something on at noon. I’ll take my leave first.”

Qian Buping could not do anything else. He heaved a long sigh and the duo got up to leave…

Over at the other side, Xue Qingyan and the rest were almost done. Su Muxue said that she wanted to treat everyone to lunch and had already made reservations. Hence, they got up and prepared to leave as well.

Xue Qingyan said casually, “You guys wait for me downstairs, I have to go to the bathroom.”

There was a bathroom in the private room. Su Muxue then said that she needed to go as well. It was inappropriate for Qin Sheng and Chang Baji to stay in the private room, so they left first.

Just as Qin Sheng and Chang Baji pushed open the door and stepped outside, Qian Buping and Yuan Ke were also leaving the private room opposite to theirs. There were two bodyguards behind Yuan Ke.

Both parties saw each other almost at the same time. Qin Sheng and Qian Buping met each other in the eyes and their faces were blank. What a coincidence…