“If Du Zhaoqi doesn’t have any other trump cards, he’s lost,” said Xia Xiaolan, finally confident enough to make such a statement.

“You don’t need to take me home. You should stay at the plaza until closing time today to prevent any unexpected situations.”

Du Zhaohui nodded obediently, “You’ve worked hard at the plaza all day. Let me take you home first, then I’ll head right back.”

Xia Xiaolan was too tired to speak. Except for her lunch break, she had been working as a sales representative at Wenquxing all day. Thanks to her quick wit, they managed to avoid zero sales on the first day of the electronic dictionary launch.

Having talked so much throughout the day, she didn’t want to say anything unnecessary now. Victory was within sight, but she had no energy left for discussion… Du Zhaohui would surely inform her of the final first-day sales figures by tomorrow morning at the latest, so there was no need to worry about that.

Xia Xiaolan returned home. Tang Hongen and Liu Fen hadn’t returned yet. The house was quiet and empty. She fell onto her bed, exhausted.

At 10 PM, the phone rang, and Du Zhaohui’s triumphant voice came through: “1.71 million! First-day sales reached 1.71 million! This model is incredibly popular. Should we continue with the shopping lottery tomorrow as planned?”

Xia Xiaolan, half-asleep, replied: “Do you even need to ask? Keep it going for three days straight!”

Compared to Chenglong Plaza’s advertising expenses in other areas, the cost of the shopping lottery was insignificant. The three-day total would only amount to a few hundred thousand, which Du Zhaohui could easily afford.

After saying this, Xia Xiaolan hung up.

Du Zhaohui wasn’t discouraged at all. While romantic feelings could stir a man’s heart, business success made a man confident and spirited. Du Zhaohui had always been extremely self-assured, and now he was even more fearless!

He let Xia Xiaolan rest and, checking the time, didn’t care whether his father Du Chengrong was sleeping or which wife he might be embracing – he called Hong Kong directly.

“…Hello?”

“Ahem, Father, I wanted to report that today was the opening of Chenglong Plaza’s electronics section. You know, today we—”

“Can you get to the point?”

Damn!

This old man! Judging by his impatient tone, he didn’t care about the store’s business. Had he already gone to bed?

Du Zhaohui was furious. While cursing the old man eight hundred times in his heart, his tone remained respectful and filial, as sweet as if mixed with eight hundred pounds of honey:

“Father, today’s first-day sales reached 1.71 million yuan.”

“…Alright, I know. Don’t report tomorrow. I’ll send someone to keep an eye on your plaza’s situation. On the 5th, bring all the statistical data and return to Hong Kong for the Spring Banquet on time!”

Du Chengrong hung up immediately.

Du Zhaohui angrily threw the phone: “Damn old man!”

He had worked hard for a year to achieve these results – would it kill him to offer one word of praise?

While he had grown used to Xia Xiaolan hanging up on him and even found it characteristic of her personality, when his father Du Chengrong did the same, Du Zhaohui was filled with resentment.

…

In Hong Kong.

Du Chengrong wasn’t as indifferent as Du Zhaohui imagined. Nor was he going to wait until tomorrow to send someone to monitor Chenglong Plaza’s situation, as he had implied to Du Zhaohui. That morning, when Chenglong Plaza launched the shopping lottery activity, someone had already reported it to Du Chengrong.

Du Chengrong knew then that Chenglong Plaza’s first-day sales would be impressive.

The Chenglong Plaza project was carefully orchestrated from start to finish – from the initial investment and securing local government support to the construction implementation, progress control, and pre-opening merchant recruitment and customer attraction… Du Chengrong couldn’t find fault with any aspect.

Achieving maximum publicity with minimum cost.

The mysterious countdown in newspapers.

The bombardment of political news.

The train seat cushion advertisements.

Including today’s revealed shopping lottery.

Anyone with such courage and vision, regardless of gender or age, would be worth at least a vice president position if they worked for Du Chengrong, with a generous annual salary and dividends!

After hanging up on Du Zhaohui, Du Chengrong couldn’t sleep.

He lit a cigar.

After a while, a pair of hands took the cigar away from behind:

“Secondhand smoke is harmful to pregnant women and fetal development! Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Only Xia Ziyu dared to speak to Du Chengrong this way.

Since confirming her pregnancy and having an open conversation with Du Chengrong, Xia Ziyu has become more casual around him.

When other women prevented Du Chengrong from smoking, it was always out of concern for his health, but Xia Ziyu was different – she spoke her mind directly, and Du Chengrong liked this about her.

Du Chengrong didn’t stop her from extinguishing the cigar, but suddenly smiled and said:

“That was Zhaohui calling. The Chenglong Plaza he built opened today, with very impressive results… What do you think?”

Xia Ziyu’s heart tightened.

“What could I think? Although he’s the one who brought me to you, I’m now his stepmother and pregnant. While I won’t be his enemy, you can’t expect me to be happy about his success!”

She truly wasn’t happy at all.

With Du Zhaohui getting 5% of the shares, she was at an even greater disadvantage.

If she hadn’t been certain about her pregnancy, she would have been panicking now, possibly already packing her valuables and preparing to secretly leave Hong Kong.

Du Chengrong wrapped his arm around her waist, warning her:

“I like when women show their jealousy occasionally – it’s cute when they’re a bit possessive. But I don’t like it when my women are too ambitious. Whatever I’m willing to give you, you should accept, and what I’m not willing to give, no one can take. This competition concerns 5% of the group’s shares – whether Zhaohui wins or Zhaoqi wins has nothing to do with you. If you’re worried about Zhaohui causing you trouble when he returns to Hong Kong, I can send you to the United States to have your baby. You can peacefully give birth there!”

Go to the United States to have the baby?

Xia Ziyu had never been to the United States.

Back in her rural days, if someone had offered to send her to the United States, she would have been overjoyed.

But now, when Du Chengrong suggested sending her to the United States for her pregnancy, Xia Ziyu was one hundred percent against it.

Pregnancy care wasn’t just a matter of days – it would take months.

Men were fickle creatures, always wanting more than they had. Her relationship with Du Chengrong wasn’t deep, and if she left Hong Kong for several months and other women appeared by Du Chengrong’s side, the situation would become very unfavorable for her!

Xia Ziyu now needed to hold onto Du Chengrong tightly. Without his favor, Du Zhaohui would become unrestrained in betraying her.

“You’re overthinking it. What could I possibly do? Whether someone wins or loses, the result will be known in three or four days. Surely their current performance is all under your control, and I never thought I could influence your decision. As for how the eldest young master will deal with me when he returns to Hong Kong—”

Xia Ziyu smiled, raising the corners of her mouth, “Don’t I have your protection? If a son dares to bully his father’s woman, then you’re not living up to your role as the head of the family!”