Gu You was determined to get involved in this matter. Anything that could make the male lead’s life harder, she was more than happy to do. Only when the male and female leads were having a rough time could her own days be good.
After shopping with Ning Ning, she returned to the Lin family villa, changed into slippers at the door, tossed her shopping bags on the sofa, and ran up to the third-floor study to find Father Lin.
Gu You knocked on the study door, and only after hearing Father Lin tell her to come in did she push the door open.
“Dad, I want to ask—is our company planning to bid on that project being tendered in the north of the city?” Gu You asked, getting straight to the point.
Father Lin shook his head. “We weren’t planning to participate in that project. The company has always focused on residential projects, and the one in the north of the city is commercial land.”
“Here’s my thinking: if our company keeps doing only residential projects, our room for growth is really limited. Building a commercial shopping district could bring higher profits and greater value. Besides, I’ve received some inside information—a subway line will open near that commercial district in the north of the city in a few years. The base price is very low right now, so I think we should give it a try.” The subway information wasn’t something she had dug up herself—Xiao 8 had told her on the way back just now.
It really was a good project. If Jiang Hao got his hands on that land, Jiang Corporation would likely rise to a whole new level, and Mrs. Lin’s position would become very passive.
“Do you want to take on this project?” Father Lin didn’t ask where Gu You had gotten her information, or whether it was true. He trusted that if his daughter was optimistic about this project, she must have her reasons.
Gu You nodded firmly. “I do. I’m very confident we can win it.”
As for where that confidence came from? From Xiao 8, of course. All she had to do was have Xiao 8 tell her the other bidders’ offers, and then she could bid just a little higher.
“Alright. Tomorrow I’ll have your brother put together a team for you. The team leader will contact you then.” Father Lin agreed readily.
With the matter settled, Gu You returned to her room. Thinking of how Jiang Hao would be hopping mad once she snatched the project away from him, she felt delighted and slept soundly until morning.
The next morning, Gu You received a call from Lin Jing, the project team leader. She told the team members to prepare the bid documents first and send her the template once it was written; she would set the final price herself. As for routine daily work, they didn’t need to report every item to her.
Time flew by, and the last day of winter break was the day of the project bid. Gu You arrived at the bidding site with Lin Jing, submitted the bid documents, and sat waiting for the results.
Jiang Hao was also at the bidding site. He had entered before Gu You, and when he saw her walk in, he was somewhat surprised. Before today, there had been no word that Mrs. Lin would bid on this project, and Mrs. Lin had never done commercial land projects before.
But even with Gu You as an unexpected variable, Jiang Hao was still very confident he could win. He already knew most of his competitors’ bids—the only one he didn’t know was Mrs. Lin’s.
Lin Jing also noticed Jiang Hao’s gaze and asked curiously, “Miss Youyou, that man in the gray suit over there seems to have been looking at you several times. Do you know him?”
“I know him. Not well, though. He’s my ex-fiancé,” Gu You said in a low voice.
Lin Jing: “…” Her ex-fiancé wasn’t even that familiar with her. Were wealthy families always this casual?
After a while, a host walked onto the stage, smiled at the audience, picked up the microphone, and said, “Distinguished guests, thank you for attending the bidding for the XX project. We will now begin the bid opening.”
Bid opening refers to the process, after bidders submit their bid documents, in which the tenderer opens the submitted bid documents at the time and place specified in the tender documents, publicly announcing the bidders’ names, bid prices, and other key information. Reading out the bids means announcing the bidders’ professional information regarding their bids.
In the end, the winning company was Lin Corporation. The price on their bid was only one million more than the Jiang family’s—what a beautiful victory!
As the host finished reading the final result, Jiang Hao’s heart plummeted to rock bottom, as if struck by a heavy hammer. A bitter sweetness rose in his mouth, and he couldn’t suppress the surge of blood in his chest; his vision blurred. Only two words filled his mind: it’s over.
This contest of victory and defeat wasn’t just about himself—more importantly, it was about earning his parents’ approval for Li Qiuman. Now that he’d failed to win the project, what face did he have to see his parents? And where would his future with Li Qiuman go from here?
Watching Jiang Hao’s gloomy expression, Gu You smiled even more happily. Many people around her were congratulating her on winning the bid, and she responded to each of them politely.
When she returned to the Lin family villa, she found the entire living room newly decorated, with colorful balloons stuck on the walls, and a champagne tower and a three-tiered cake arranged on the tables.
Ning Ning and Lin Yan darted out from behind Gu You and pulled the party poppers in their hands.
Father Lin and Mother Lin also came over to welcome her. Mother Lin hugged her and said happily, “Youyou, congratulations on your first victory. You’re truly Mommy’s pride.”
“Youyou, congratulations. You have more business talent than your brother. The company should consider having you inherit it in the future.” Father Lin, usually so stern, smiled and patted her shoulder as well.
Hearing Father Lin say this, Lin Yan didn’t get angry at all. Instead, he agreed, “Great, then from now on I’ll be Youyou’s subordinate and work for Youyou.”
“Brother, don’t even think about slacking off.” Gu You wasn’t falling for it. Lin Yan wanted to dump his responsibilities on her? Dream on.
Ning Ning squeezed over at that moment and said to Gu You with a grin, “Youyou, you’re really amazing. You won a complete victory on your very first project.”
Looking at the family and friends around her, Gu You felt as if a warm current was flowing through her small heart. This feeling of happiness, with family and friends gathered around her at the center, was something she had never possessed before.
The Original Host, Lin Youyou, had originally been such a happy girl. But all of this—she could no longer see it.
While the Lin family happily threw a party to celebrate the project’s success, things were far less pleasant on Jiang Hao’s side.
Father Jiang kept calling Jiang Hao’s cell phone, but Jiang Hao didn’t dare answer. He sat on the carpet, listlessly drinking red wine.
He truly didn’t know how to face this outcome. How to face his parents’ disappointment in him, how to face Li Qiuman’s dejection.
The phone kept ringing, and Jiang Hao didn’t answer. The apartment doorbell kept ringing, and he didn’t go open the door either.
He just drank, one sip after another…