Jue Mi Salon.
“Hurry up! Song Shan!”
Song Shan quickly picked up the pace, plopped down next to Du Youling, and held her breath as she asked, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Did you and Mu Linjiang set a wedding date?”
Du Youling stared at her and slowly shook her head. “No.”
Song Shan instantly deflated, raising her hand as if to hit her. “Careful, I’ll smack you! Spit it out—what’s going on?”
Du Youling then told her about what happened at North City Port.
After listening, Song Shan took a sip of her coffee and clicked her tongue twice. “I know that piece of land at North City Port. In the first half of the year, all the major families in Haicheng were fighting like crazy over it. In the end, Mu Corporation won it with a premium of nearly eight hundred million over the second-highest bidder.”
“But here’s the thing—if the charges of pollution and illegal encroachment on the red line are confirmed, Mu Corporation won’t just face a sky-high fine. The several billion they’ve already sunk into it will all go down the drain, and the group’s stock price will take a devastating hit and hit the limit-down.”
“Exactly.” Du Youling nodded, stroking her chin. “So tell me—if I help Mu Linjiang solve the North City Port problem at this critical moment, wouldn’t that count as offering fuel in snowy weather? Would he be so moved that he agrees to my marriage proposal on the spot?”
“Pfft—”
Song Shan nearly sprayed out all the coffee she’d just drunk. She quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped the coffee dripping from her chin.
Du Youling looked at her with disdain. “Is it really that dramatic?”
After wiping her chin, Song Shan looked at her with complete seriousness. “Du Youling, Mu Linjiang is a man!”
“…I know he’s a man.”
“Exactly! He’s a man, not some delicate female lead who waits for someone to rescue her when she’s in trouble! How can you use the ‘hero saves the beauty’ trope on him?!”
“Why not? He really is quite beautiful, after all.”
Song Shan rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Call you a straight-as-a-board woman, and you really are one! If Mu Linjiang needed a woman to handle something like this, would he even be a man?”
“Besides, North City Port involves several billion and has even alerted the provincial investigation team—it’s a top-tier business war. What can you even help him with? And more importantly, does he even need your help?”
Du Youling countered, “Maybe he does need my help! Look at my timeline for these three months—the family banquet is next week, and Du Ningyang’s wedding is in three months. If I can’t win over Mu Linjiang before that, I’ll never be able to hold my head up in front of Du Ningyang for the rest of my life.”
“So how exactly do you plan to help?”
“That’s why I’m consulting you, my brilliant strategist.” Du Youling leaned in, playfully kneading Song Shan’s shoulders. “You’re so well-connected in Haicheng. Can you help me look into what the situation was at North City Port ten years ago? If I can dig up something useful, wouldn’t that be my foot in the door?”
Song Shan shuddered at the massage and quickly swatted her hand away. “Hey, cut that out.”
Du Youling blinked at her. “Song Shan~ Shan Shan Shan Shan Shan~~ You said last time—”
Du Youling raised her finger, pointing at Song Shan’s shoulder, then pointed at herself.
Song Shan’s shoulder—Du Youling could lean on it!
Song Shan rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, fine. Once I find something, I’ll send it to your email. I guess I’m just destined to go through fire and water for you.”
Du Youling immediately clapped, shot her a wink, then pounded her chest with one fist and snapped her fingers. “Best sister! Forever!”
Song Shan then turned serious. “But on a real note, Du Youling, have you ever thought about one thing?”
“What?”
“Who owned that land at North City Port back then?”
“How would I know? Back then I was still a young beauty.”
Song Shan shot her a glare.
The major families in Haicheng were deeply intertwined. Whoever had secured the port land ten years ago was definitely no small player.
And now, right after Mu Corporation had already started construction, someone dug up a ten-year-old grudge to file a report—this didn’t look like simple business competition at all.
“You’re saying the person who reported Mu Corporation might be connected to the original landowner from ten years ago?”
Song Shan shrugged. “I’m just guessing. But then again, the number of people in all of Haicheng who could get a special approval from the provincial department to bypass the city bureau can be counted on one hand. If you can really follow that thread and find something, you might actually be able to help Mu Linjiang.”
“Ugh.” Du Youling sighed wistfully, gazing into the distance. “I hope that after I help him, Mu Linjiang will agree to my marriage proposal on the spot!”
Song Shan solemnly raised her coffee cup in a toast.
“Good luck.”
The next day, Du Youling appeared at the entrance of Mu Corporation again.
Except today, she had switched back to a comfortable casual outfit, because Du Youling had realized that no matter how nicely she dressed up, she couldn’t seem to catch Mu Linjiang’s attention—so why not dress comfortably?
On her way to the front desk, she received countless curious glances.
She stopped at the front desk. “Hi, beautiful! Could you press the elevator for me?”
The receptionist looked up at the sound of her voice, and her field of vision was instantly filled with fiery red roses.
The front desk attendant was startled. By her estimate, there were at least ninety-nine roses, cradled in Du Youling’s arms. The bouquet was so large it nearly hid half her face, leaving only a pair of eyes curved like crescent moons and a row of stray hairs at her forehead, tousled by the flower thorns.
“Miss Du… this is…”
“Flowers to confess my love. Can’t you tell?”
Du Youling gave the huge bouquet a little toss upward, and a few droplets of water from the petals splattered onto the front desk counter.
“Ninety-nine red roses, air-freighted in fresh this morning.”
The front desk attendant swallowed hard and fumbled for the access card to swipe her into the private elevator.
“Thanks! I’ll buy you milk tea later!”
Du Youling shot her a two-fingered military-style salute, then, hugging the heavy bouquet, stepped cheerfully into the executive elevator.
When the elevator arrived, the secretaries at the executive office desk all looked up in unison at the sound. The moment they caught sight of that big, flashy mass of red, the air froze solid.
Secretary Chen, who happened to be walking out with a cup of coffee, had a visible crack appear in his deadpan smile.
“…Miss Du, good morning.”
“Morning, Secretary Chen!” Du Youling popped her head out from behind the bouquet. “Is Mu Linjiang in his office? I brought him a little gift.”
Secretary Chen’s gaze lingered on the bouquet of ninety-nine roses for a moment. “Mr. Mu is in, but—” He’s very busy.
“Great!”
Du Youling didn’t give him a chance to finish. She walked right past him toward the CEO’s office.
Knock, knock, knock!
After getting a response, Du Youling pushed the door open, the bouquet entering through the gap before she did.
Mu Linjiang looked up at the sound and saw a fiery red unidentified object moving toward him.
Then the unidentified object tilted to the side, revealing Du Youling’s beaming face.
“Morning, Mu Linjiang!”
She walked over to the desk with the flowers in her arms. Because the bouquet was so large, she knocked over a stack of documents at the corner of the desk.
She hastily straightened the files, then thrust the bouquet of ninety-nine red roses forward, right in front of Mu Linjiang’s face.
“For you.”
The office was silent for a full thirty seconds.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do you mean? Of course you send flowers when you’re courting someone!” Du Youling pushed the bouquet a little closer. “You’ve never received flowers before, right? No worries, there’s a first time for everything. From now on, I’ll take care of all your flowers.”
Mu Linjiang lowered his gaze to the passionately blooming roses.
Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Du Youling assumed the old man was out of touch with the times and didn’t understand the meaning of ninety-nine roses.
She took it upon herself to educate him: “Red roses symbolize passionate love, and ninety-nine of them means everlasting and enduring. See how sincere I am? I didn’t even bother with hints—I’m giving you the direct message.”