The massive conference room fell silent in an instant, all because the perpetrator had uttered a single sentence.
And she had said it to Chen Mo.
Jiang Chiyu looked completely relaxed, without a hint of discomfort. She moved slowly and deliberately, taking her seat in the last remaining empty chair, utterly indifferent to Chen Mo’s current awkward predicament.
Since he would be working under her from now on, this sort of thing would happen frequently; he might as well start getting used to it now.
Feeling the weight of dozens of gazes, Chen Mo’s face instantly flushed a deep crimson. His lips moved for a long while, but not a single word managed to escape. Finally, in a fit of self-abandonment, he walked over to stand beside Jiang Chiyu, staring straight ahead and ignoring everyone’s stares.
He managed to pull himself together, if only barely.
“So, what does everyone want with me? If it’s nothing urgent, I’ll be leaving. My time is quite precious and shouldn’t be wasted in a place like this.”
Jiang Chiyu plopped down into the head seat, her skin appearing extraordinarily thick. Chen Mo had no idea what she was so busy with that she couldn’t even spare time for a few words. However, he didn’t expose her, choosing instead to act like a statue, standing silently by her side.
Since Jiang Chiyu had taken the initiative to speak, the “old foxes” on the board of directors naturally didn’t hold back. Although their faces had been burning with embarrassment just moments ago, they were, after all, foxes who had lived for decades. They were well-accustomed to such things and could put them out of their minds in the blink of an eye.
“Since Miss Jiang has put it that way, this old man won’t hide anything and will speak plainly.” An old man in a neatly pressed black suit slowly raised a hand. A dignified smile was forced onto his wrinkled face, and his hair and beard were entirely white.
Looking at the old man, who seemed like he might drop dead at any second yet was still out here playing corporate politics, Jiang Chiyu couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.
His children must be absolutely worthless. If even one of them had any spine, a seventy or eighty-year-old man wouldn’t have to sit in this seat just to trip her up.
She had guessed correctly. This director was very old, belonging to the same generation as Pei Jinnian’s grandfather. Even though Pei Jinnian had been running the show for years, this man was still clinging to life within the company, largely because his children were failures.
The eldest son was a gambler, the youngest son was an alcoholic, and the second daughter spent her nights partying at clubs with gigolos. Not a single one of them amounted to anything.
Before the old man could continue, Jiang Chiyu preempted him. “Fine, fine, go ahead and speak.”
As she spoke, she gestured with her hand, indicating that the old man should stand up to talk.
The old man looked left and right. Seeing that no one objected, he gritted his teeth and stood up, his clouded eyes staring intently at Jiang Chiyu.
“Hengchuang’s profits in the real estate sector have been low for the past two years. To solve this, while President Pei was still with us, he considered acquiring the land near the area the government intends to focus its support on. However, Pei Su has recently taken an interest in that same plot and is already contacting people to arrange the purchase. I wonder, what does Miss Jiang think Hengchuang should do at this time?”
“Should we abandon the procurement of this land… or compete with Pei Su?”
The smile on the old man’s face grew more exaggerated as he spoke, only vanishing completely once the last word left his lips. He narrowed his eyes at Jiang Chiyu, quietly awaiting her answer.
This was indeed a problem Hengchuang was currently facing. However, the board had already discussed it, and they had unanimously decided that abandoning the purchase was the best course of action.
Their reasoning was simple: Hengchuang no longer had Pei Jinnian. Their methods were certainly no match for the ruthlessness of Pei Su. To take back the land from Pei Su without Pei Jinnian would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
The old man had posed this question solely to make things difficult for Jiang Chiyu. If she chose to give up the land, they would claim she was disregarding President Pei’s wishes and accuse her of disrespect, directly inciting the board’s fury against her chairmanship.
If she actually dared to say she would fight Pei Su for the land… they would welcome it even more. While the former required a gradual process to strip her of power, the latter would allow them to bypass that—if she failed, they could directly use her incompetence as an excuse to hollow out her authority and force her to resign.
But Jiang Chiyu’s reaction was entirely outside the old man’s expectations.
After hearing him out, Jiang Chiyu knit her brows slightly, turned her head, and asked Chen Mo, “Pei Su? Who is that?”
The moment this question was asked, everyone in the conference room was stunned. Even Pei Jinnian, on the other end of the phone, was taken aback.
Has her acting reached this level?
Is she this thorough?
Is she actually going to pretend she doesn’t know who Pei Su is?
Chen Mo stared blankly at Jiang Chiyu, almost blurting out, “What are you pretending for?” Fortunately, he restrained himself.
“You don’t know Pei Su?” He stared at her, his eyes full of scrutiny.
“Do I need to know him?” Jiang Chiyu felt only confusion.
Why did the fact that she didn’t know Pei Su shock so many people? It was true for Chen Mo, and it was true for all these board members. Was Pei Su some kind of big shot?
The answer was yes. He was also Hengchuang’s eternal enemy.
While the board members present feared and respected Pei Jinnian, they felt nothing but hatred for Pei Su.
Originally, Hengchuang and Pei Su’s company, Hengfa, were one entity managed by the elder Mr. Pei. After his death, Pei Jinnian’s father and Pei Su—the two brothers—split, completely separating the companies and becoming mortal enemies ever since.
The grievances between the two companies had accumulated for decades; it wasn’t something that could be set aside overnight. Both boards wished their company could swallow the other.
The board of Hengchuang had seen Pei Jinnian’s lightning-fast methods since he took office and felt that the day of victory was fast approaching. But who could have guessed that after only a few years in power, Pei Jinnian would pass away, leaving a bunch of old men to hold the fort?
And now, they were expected to let a wet-behind-the-ears little girl run Hengchuang. How could they endure that? If this girl really took over, wouldn’t Hengfa swallow Hengchuang within a year or two? Who could stomach that?
“Pei Su is the Young Master’s uncle—a man who dreams of nothing but swallowing Hengchuang whole,” Chen Mo explained to Jiang Chiyu concisely. It was as blunt and simple as it could be.
Jiang Chiyu raised her eyelids, appearing somewhat surprised. “Well, if I don’t fight for it… wouldn’t I be giving him too much face?”
Chen Mo: “…”
Be that as it may, saying it like that is a bit too shameless.
Jiang Chiyu withdrew her gaze from Chen Mo and looked back at the board members. “It’s settled then. I will definitely snatch that land from Pei Su’s hands!”
And if she couldn’t snatch it, she would just run away.
She was just that spineless.