Chapter 480: Chapter 490: Pillow Wind?
Early the next morning, Shi Yi woke up early. Today was the day of the auction for the land in the new district, and as the CEO of Lei Man’s headquarters, she naturally had to attend in person.
Before leaving the suite, she received a call from the front desk, saying that a gentleman was looking for her. Shi Yi thought it was Shen Xu, but felt puzzled; if Shen Xu wanted to see her, why didn’t he call her directly but went through the front desk?
Only when she arrived in the lobby on the first floor of the hotel did she realize that the person looking for her was someone else, a stranger. Shi Yi was certain that she didn’t know this man.
"Miss Shi, hello! Sorry for the abrupt interruption. May I introduce myself first? I am Xiao Ou, assistant to Mr. Ouyang Hao. I am here specifically to find you on behalf of Mr. Ouyang."
"Ouyang Hao?" Shi Yi frowned slightly.
"Yes," the man nodded respectfully and continued, "I wonder if Miss Shi could spare a moment to talk?"
Shi Yi hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded and followed the man to a nearby coffee shop.
Seeing Shi Yi glance at her watch, the man politely began, "I imagine Miss Shi is a very busy person with precious time, so I’ll keep it brief. Here’s the situation: at the last auction, Miss Shi successfully bid on a diamond ring and had it gifted to Mr. Ouyang. Mr. Ouyang Hao feels this gift is too precious to let you suffer a loss for nothing, so please accept this check."
As he spoke, the man handed a check to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi glanced at the number on the check, frowned slightly, then looked up at the man, "I only spent 13 million on the diamond ring. Mr. Ouyang must have made a mistake."
The man shook his head, "Mr. Ouyang said the remaining one million is to thank Miss Shi, because the ring has significant meaning to him. He is extremely grateful that Miss Shi was willing to part with it."
"It’s not a big deal."
Shi Yi curled her lips without feigning politeness and took the check, placing it in her wallet.
Seeing Shi Yi accept the check so readily, the man sighed in relief and exchanged a few polite words before leaving.
Shi Yi watched the man’s departing figure, her smile slowly fading. She looked down at the row of purple lavender outside the floor-to-ceiling window and sighed deeply.
It seemed there wasn’t much hope for the new district land.
However, the outcome was totally different from what she expected. Leng Group suddenly withdrew from the bid at the last critical moment, allowing Lei Man to easily obtain the land.
When Shi Yi found out, she was undoubtedly shocked. She couldn’t make sense of it. Wasn’t Leng Group aiming to suppress Lei Man? Why would they suddenly decide to let Lei Man win? Are they not afraid Lei Man would grow strong enough to eradicate Leng Group?
What Shi Yi didn’t know was that Leng Group indeed planned to snatch the land from Lei Man, but then changed their mind at the last minute. Even Assistant Chen didn’t expect Leng Yixiu to let Lei Man have the land.
This... really doesn’t fit the big boss’s usual style!
...
Since the land issue for the branch office was resolved, Shi Yi didn’t plan to stay long in T City. She decided to stay one more day in T City before heading back to the United States headquarters.
Still, she hadn’t anticipated that things were far from over.
Early the next morning, Shi Yi was awakened by the ringtone of her phone. Annoyed, she turned over to continue sleeping, but the persistent ringtone left her no choice but to crawl to the bedside, grab her phone from the nightstand, and glance at the screen.
The call was from Shen Xu, which instantly made Shi Yi angry. Was this guy that idle? It wasn’t even daylight, and he was already calling her.
She pressed the answer button forcefully, "I say, boss, what’s the matter with you calling me so early in the morning?"
"Shi Yi, quickly turn on your computer."
"Why turn on the computer? It’s not working hours yet."
"Just turn on your computer, go to a major website, and open the news page."
Hearing some urgency in Shen Xu’s usually laid-back tone, Shi Yi sensed something unusual. She got out of bed and turned on the computer as told.
What could be so urgent?
Shi Yi moved the mouse and casually opened a well-known domestic website, clicked on the news section, and a headline immediately caught her eyes.
"Leng Group President and Lei Man CEO Spend a Night Together in Downtown Luxury Home"
The striking title, along with a photograph, instantly wiped out Shi Yi’s sleepiness. She stared at the screen, unable to believe she would become the lead in a gossip news, and the other lead was that despicable man.
These paparazzi sure are good at lying. She visited that man’s house in broad daylight and left in the afternoon; how did it become "spending a night together"?!
Shi Yi looked at the photo again, the dark background indeed made it look like nighttime. However, such effects are easy to create with a bit of Photoshop.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Shi Yi’s mind, and her face changed several times. Wait, what was the title again?
Her gaze fell back on the headline, "Leng Group President"? Which Leng Group?
A possible answer suddenly hit her, making Shi Yi jump up in shock, "Leng Group" could it be referring to Leng Group’s CEO?
If that’s the case, then that despicable man is...
Thinking quickly, Shi Yi closed the webpage and opened a search engine, typing "Leng Group CEO" in the search box. Numerous entries related to "Leng Group CEO" immediately appeared.
She clicked one entry, and her guess was confirmed. The man who flirted with her and played her was indeed Leng Group’s Executive CEO.
Shi Yi angrily ran her fingers through her hair and chuckled coldly. What is this?
She knew that man’s identity was extraordinary, but never thought he was the CEO of Leng Group—Leng Yixiu.
All this time, she hadn’t known her competitor was right beside her, while the opponent seemed to have thoroughly investigated her background.
What frustrated Shi Yi even more was this news surfaced neither early nor late but precisely after Lei Man successfully snagged the new district land from Leng Group, it would undoubtedly trigger numerous speculations.
The industry knew Lei Man and Leng Group were competitors; it was also known that Leng Group was trying to oppress Lei Man. But yesterday witnessed a dramatic reversal, with Leng Group willingly giving up the land almost in their grasp to its rival—Lei Man, undoubtedly surprising and perplexing everyone.
Now, this gossip news gave the best explanation—it would appear Lei Man’s CEO sweet-talked Leng Group’s boss.