Du Zhaohui and Tang Yuanyue both watched her. Du Zhaohui had anticipated this, while Tang Yuanyue felt a sense of unease rising in his heart.
Xia Xiaolan wore a worried expression, seemingly concerned about the superficial friendship between these two wealthy young men:
“…Then I’ll just develop the Jinsha Pool project on my own, so I won’t offend either of you. I sincerely apologize and hope you both understand. Qihang Real Estate is just a seedling taking root. We can’t afford to offend major companies like Meihua and Chengrong. Let me take care of the bill today, and I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
With someone as unlikeable as Du Zhaohui present, Xia Xiaolan should have sold Jinsha Pool to him without hesitation.
Tang Yuanyue frowned, truly not expecting Xia Xiaolan’s strategy.
Even if Xia Xiaolan wavered because of the 14 million, Tang Yuanyue could have raised the price.
But seeing Xia Xiaolan’s beautiful face tinged with worry, Tang Yuanyue couldn’t bring himself to force her.
In that moment of distraction, Xia Xiaolan had already bowed in apology and quickly left the private room with her people.
Du Zhaohui stared thoughtfully at her departing figure.
Before Tang Yuanyue could settle scores, Du Zhaohui quickly took the initiative:
“Brother Tang, I think she never intended to sell the land. Even if I hadn’t come today, you wouldn’t have been able to buy Jinsha Pool from her.”
Tang Yuanyue looked at him with a cold smile: “Everything in this world has a price. If 12 million isn’t enough, my bottom line is 15 million. If Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to sell the land, she wouldn’t have agreed to meet.”
Xia Xiaolan was difficult to handle.
At the business reception, Tang Yuanyue had given her his contact information, but two months had passed, and Xia Xiaolan hadn’t called him once.
It didn’t seem like she was playing hard to get either. There were all kinds of women in the world, and Tang Yuanyue had met plenty of career-driven women before, but for someone as beautiful as Xia Xiaolan, most would succumb to the temptation of taking shortcuts.
Xia Xiaolan was different – she didn’t seem interested in shortcuts, which earned her more of Tang Yuanyue’s respect.
Business deals were meant to be negotiated. If Du Zhaohui hadn’t interfered, Tang Yuanyue was confident he could have bought the Jinsha Pool land.
Du Zhaohui muttered to himself, “This woman has a very strong purpose in everything she does. She definitely wouldn’t agree to meet without reason. Trying to get a meal with her is harder than dining with Shenzhen’s mayor. Why did she agree to meet… This meal must benefit her somehow. Ah Hua, go ask if there are any important figures at the guest house today!”
As the saying goes, sometimes your enemies understand you better than your friends.
If Xia Xiaolan were still present, she would have praised Du Zhaohui despite herself.
While Tang Yuanyue’s behavior of flirting around despite having a wife was deplorable, it was a common flaw among wealthy men. Overall, Tang Yuanyue received a proper education, and a harmonious family background greatly influenced one’s development.
Du Zhaohui, however, had no inherent tendency to cherish women, being thoroughly driven by profit. This allowed him to see through the fog and glimpse Xia Xiaolan’s true intentions!
Ah Hua left on his mission and returned after quite some time.
“Young Master, there weren’t any important figures at the guest house today, but I discovered something interesting – the person dining in the next private room was Manager Liu from Yuanhui.”
Tang Yuanyue was startled – when Xia Xiaolan came to meet them, her uncle was sitting next door.
“Is he worried his niece might be taken advantage of? What kind of person does he think I, Tang Yuanyue, am!”
Being romantic and being vulgar were two different things.
Being romantic meant having multiple love interests and maintaining relationships with various women, even taking pride in conquering more women.
But such relationships required mutual consent, with no coercion – the woman had to be willing.
Forcing a woman through harsh means would be vulgar!
Du Zhaohui had a different thought, “Was her uncle alone?”
Ah Hua shook his head, “Manager Liu seemed to have another guest. The guest house staff didn’t recognize him, but they heard Manager Liu address him as Director Pan.”
Du Zhaohui smiled coldly, “Go investigate again. Don’t overlook any servers carrying plates or delivering food – they must have overheard something. With a surname and title, there must be some explanation for what kind of director this person is!”
Unlike Hong Kong, mainland “directors” were complex positions, with different roles having different functions.
Du Zhaohui didn’t believe it was a coincidence that Liu Yong was dining with Director Pan next door.
Time ticked by, and the exquisite Cantonese dishes prepared by the chef at Du Zhaohui’s expense had completely cooled. Neither he nor Tang Yuanyue had touched their chopsticks.
Finally, Ah Hua returned.
This time, Ah Hua brought back definitive news:
“Young Master, Director Pan is in charge of bank loans!”
Du Zhaohui gritted his teeth, “That explains it! That con artist Xia Xiaolan – I investigated her background early on. She only runs a few clothing stores, and Yuanhui is just a newly established renovation company. Where would they get enough money to develop real estate?”
Tang Yuanyue suddenly understood:
“She has no development funds yet doesn’t want to sell the land – she can only rely on bank loans. But getting a 5 million loan versus a 10 million loan are different levels of difficulty. Xia Xiaolan needs to convince the bank of Jinsha Pool’s value.”
That’s why she agreed to meet and negotiate with him.
But she arranged for the bank’s loan director to dine in the adjacent private room, wanting him to witness firsthand that Tang Yuanyue was willing to pay 12 million for the land.
The effect must have exceeded Xia Xiaolan’s expectations, because when the petty Du Zhaohui intervened, the bank director discovered that Jinsha Pool wasn’t just worth 12 million yuan – someone was willing to pay 14 million. Push the price further, and 15 million would be reasonable too!
“Brother Tang, now you understand – Xia Xiaolan was just trying to use you-“
Tang Yuanyue wiped his hands, “Zhaohui, the wine you brought isn’t cheap. It would be a waste not to drink it – have someone open it. She’s not just using me – she’s played all of Shenzhen. This piece of land is bait targeted at Hong Kong people. The Jinsha story is probably fake, but the feng shui treasure spot has lured both you and me to want to buy. When her property development is complete, the buyers will probably all be Hong Kong people too. After all, who doesn’t want a feng shui treasure spot that brings great fortune!”
Du Zhaohui slammed the table, “How dare she play me! This time I must teach her a lesson!”
Du Zhaohui’s table slam was thunderous, but Tang Yuanyue gave him a lazy glance:
“Zhaohui, let’s be sincere – you’re not angry. Why put on an act in front of me?”
Du Zhaohui rubbed his reddened palm:
“I’m not angry because I knew she wouldn’t sell the land to me. I didn’t have much hope to begin with. But I don’t understand – why isn’t Brother Tang angry?”
Tang Yuanyue looked at Du Zhaohui strangely, “Why should I be angry? Being used by a beauty like Miss Xia is a kind of pleasure. Zhaohui, you’re still too young to understand such delights.”
Du Zhaohui felt nauseated hearing this.
They were both wealthy young masters – had he dated fewer girlfriends than Tang Yuanyue?
Tang Yuanyue’s tone made it sound like he was some inexperienced virgin who had never been with women!
They opened the bottle of wine Du Zhaohui had brought. Raising his glass, Du Zhaohui spoke with an unpredictable tone:
“Brother Tang, you haven’t fallen for Xia Xiaolan, have you? I didn’t know Brother Tang was such a romantic. Xia Xiaolan may come from humble origins, but she has high standards. I’m not saying she’s out of your league, but that woman is proud and determined – she would never share a man with others… Brother Tang, you’ve already lost your chance.”