“You… negotiated a discount?” Pei Qian asked.

Assistant Xin smiled: “I was planning to negotiate, Mr. Pei. But before I could even open my mouth, Manager Zhang proactively offered the reduction.”

Pei Qian felt a bit dizzy.

Indeed, even with Assistant Xin’s excellent negotiation skills, how could she possibly bring the rent down from 4 yuan to 1.5 yuan per square meter?

This wasn’t as simple as it seemed!

Manager Zhang was just an administrator in the Shenhua Luxury View building—how could he have such authority to waive deposits and reduce rent?

If 4 yuan was the standard price, a reduction to 3.5 yuan would already be quite good, and a reduction to 3 yuan would be an exceptional discount. But reducing it directly to 1.5 yuan?

Who were they trying to fool?

With this arrangement, they instantly saved several hundred thousand yuan per month. If Manager Zhang truly had such authority, he would have been promoted long ago—why would he still be just a building administrator?

There must be something going on behind the scenes!

Anyone else would have happily accepted such an offer without question.

But Pei Qian couldn’t.

Saving money wasn’t a problem in itself—he could find other ways to spend money rapidly in this cycle. The key issue was that this represented a huge hidden danger!

This time it was a rent reduction, but what about next time?

Who knew what other unexpected development might occur!

Therefore, Pei Qian had to find the mastermind behind all this. Knowing both himself and his opponent was the only way to win every battle. He needed to factor in these uncertainties when calculating losses, otherwise, one misstep could lead to eternal regret.

After pondering for a moment, Pei Qian said: “Take me to see Manager Zhang.”

Assistant Xin nodded: “Yes, I was thinking the same thing. We should pay him a visit.”

Assistant Xin also thought there was something fishy that needed investigation. Indeed, great minds think alike!

Pei Qian couldn’t help feeling gratified.

There was a knock at the door, and a young administrative assistant handed Assistant Xin a bag of fruit.

Pei Qian: “?”

Assistant Xin explained: “Since Manager Zhang has waived so much of our rent at once, I also thought you should visit him in person to express your gratitude. So I specifically arranged for someone to buy some fruit.”

Pei Qian: “???”

Is that what I meant by going to see Manager Zhang?

Who said anything about thanking him?

But looking at Assistant Xin waiting with the fruit in hand, Pei Qian was momentarily speechless and could only stand up: “Let’s go.”

The two went directly to Manager Zhang’s office.

The door was open, and Manager Zhang was busy with something inside.

Just as Pei Qian was about to knock to get Manager Zhang’s attention, Zhang had already noticed Pei Qian at the doorway and abruptly stood up: “Mr. Pei! What brings you here? Please, have a seat!”

Pei Qian was bewildered.

Something was wrong!

Manager Zhang hadn’t acted this way during their previous meeting.

Before, although Manager Zhang had been polite, his attitude was more service-oriented and courteous, the same attitude he showed to most company bosses in the building.

But this time, Manager Zhang’s attitude seemed more respectful, almost like someone seeing a superior.

Pei Qian sat down, filled with suspicion.

“Manager Zhang has reduced a significant amount of Tenda’s rent, so Mr. Pei came specially to express his gratitude,” Xin Hailu said with a smile as she placed the fruit on the table.

Pei Qian forced his lips into a smile: “That’s… right.”

Manager Zhang hurriedly responded politely: “Oh, Mr. Pei, you’re being too formal! Having Tenda in our Shenhua Luxury View is our honor. This is what we should do—how could we accept your gifts? I should be the one visiting you.”

Pei Qian: “…”

Something wasn’t right—something was very wrong!

He became increasingly certain that things were happening behind the scenes that he wasn’t aware of, and they could be very troublesome.

Pei Qian decided to get straight to the point.

“Manager Zhang, let’s be straightforward. Reducing the rent to 1.5 yuan probably isn’t a decision you can make on your own, is it?”

“I’m particularly grateful for this matter and hope to know which important person behind the scenes has extended a helping hand to Tenda. In the future, when there’s an opportunity, this favor must be repaid.”

Pei Qian spoke with particular sincerity.

“Uh, well…” Manager Zhang hesitated.

Indeed, a reduction of this magnitude was not something a mere manager like him could decide—it required approval from higher-ups.

Mr. Pei wasn’t stupid. If Manager Zhang insisted there was nothing unusual about it, that clearly wouldn’t be appropriate.

Moreover, this wasn’t about seeking revenge—Mr. Pei just wanted to establish a connection and return the favor. There seemed to be no reason to conceal anything.

But the problem was, he truly wasn’t clear about where this order had come from…

Manager Zhang was caught in a dilemma and smiled apologetically: “Mr. Pei, I’m just following orders in this matter. Please don’t put me in a difficult position. I honestly don’t know the details myself. This came directly from Shenhua Real Estate’s top management. As for which executive made the decision… I really can’t say.”

Directly from Shenhua Real Estate’s top management??

There was a problem, and a big one!

How would Shenhua Real Estate’s top management know about Tenda Games? Did they play Tenda’s games?

What was he thinking? That was impossible!

Judging from Manager Zhang’s demeanor, he genuinely didn’t know who had issued the order. Pei Qian had no choice but to give up. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he left.

Manager Zhang expressed his gratitude repeatedly, emphasizing again and again that if Tenda encountered any issues at Shenhua Luxury View in the future, they should raise them immediately and not put him in a difficult position.

Back in his office, Pei Qian sat silently at his computer, seeking help from Baidu.

Shenhua Real Estate was one of Shenhua Group’s enterprises. In recent years, with the property industry’s vigorous development, Shenhua Group has also launched several real estate projects. Although not among the top tier nationally, with Shenhua Group’s financial resources, they had reached the first echelon.

Shenhua Luxury View was just one of Shenhua Real Estate’s many properties in Jingzhou City.

The president of Shenhua Real Estate was Lin Zhou, the second son of Shenhua Group’s President Lin Zhengnan. Lin Zhou had only recently taken full control of Shenhua Real Estate, promoting its transformation toward high-end development more aligned with young people’s lifestyles.

“Lin Zhou?”

Pei Qian felt this name was somewhat familiar. Looking at the photo, the features seemed somewhat recognizable.

“Our company has a rich second-generation female employee… also with the surname Lin, right?”

Pei Qian’s heart sank.

No way??

Pei Qian searched for “Lin Wan” but found no useful information.

But the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed!

Pei Qian’s previous impression of Lin Wan was from when she first came for an interview. Assistant Xin had mentioned she wore clothes worth tens of thousands of yuan and looked like a naive rich girl with little work experience or social exposure. Following his principle that one more or one less employee didn’t make much difference, Pei Qian had hired her.

Later, because of her previous work at Tianhuo Studio, Lin Wan was responsible for contacting hardcore FPS game players, objectively providing the first wave of promotion for “Sea Fortress.”

But this hadn’t raised Pei Qian’s vigilance, since anyone who had previously done this work could contact these players. Pei Qian hadn’t thought Lin Wan had any special identity, assuming she was just an ordinary, rich second-generation.

Afterward, Lin Wan had been responsible for some simple work in the company, diligently keeping a low profile without any particularly outstanding performance, so Pei Qian had continued to overlook her.

But now Pei Qian realized he might have made a serious mistake.

Not all rich second-generations were the same…

Some rich second-generations merely came from well-off families, while others could make a phone call and save Mr. Pei hundreds of thousands in monthly rent…

Pei Qian felt dazed.

There was a mole!

And she had been infiltrating for several months without being discovered!!

What should he do?

How to handle this?

After much consideration, Pei Qian remained clueless.

This was too difficult!

“Stay calm. I have no leads right now, mainly because I know nothing about her.”

“Knowing both yourself and your enemy ensures victory in every battle. Lin Wan didn’t come to work for me without reason—there must be some cause behind this.”

“If I can figure this out, maybe I can convince her to return and inherit her family’s vast fortune?”

“Even if not, at least I could gather some useful information…”

With this in mind, Pei Qian decided to call Zhou Muyan from Tianhuo Studio.

He must know something!