The two successfully signed the contract, shook hands, and their faces were filled with joyful smiles.
"Well then, Chairman Su, I still have matters to attend to, so I won't impose further. Farewell."
"Alright, Boss Xiao, safe travels."
Su Wanran personally escorted Xiao Teng to the gate before happily walking back, her eyes constantly scanning the contract in her hand. She was so delighted she felt like dancing.
Joy makes a person spirited.
A proud steed gallops swiftly!
As Su Wanran was walking back, she saw a woman she really didn't want to see.
Su Ru!
The smile on Su Wanran's face vanished. She didn't even bother to greet her, completely ignoring Su Ru.
But Su Ru called out to her.
"Wanran, what's making you so happy? Tell me, so your aunt can be happy too."
Su Wanran didn't hide anything. She pointed to the contract in her hand and said, "It's nothing, just that I've just signed a project with Boss Xiao at half price."
"Oh?" A cunning and treacherous glint flashed in Su Ru's eyes. She said with feigned kindness, "I may have only recently arrived in Wudu, but I've heard of Xiao Teng's reputation. He's a man who wakes up early for profit and is insatiably greedy. How could he be so kind as to sign a project with you for only half the price? Wanran, you mustn't be deceived."
Deceived?
Deceived about what?
Su Ru dangled the contract in her hand and said, "The Ji Hong project. So many companies are scrambling for the opportunity to cooperate on it. Auntie, you can't possibly not know about it, can you?"
Su Ru chuckled, "If it's a project that multiple parties are vying to cooperate on, why sell it to you at half price? Wanran, let me see the contract."
Just looking at the contract wouldn't do any harm.
So Su Wanran handed the contract to Su Ru, "Here."
Su Ru took it and looked, then smiled.
She asked, "Wanran, what project did you say you were signing?"
Su Wanran replied, "The Ji Hong project. What, Auntie, you're not that old, are your ears failing you?"
Su Ru scoffed, "It's not my ears that are failing, it's your eyes, Wanran. Look closely yourself, what project is this?!"
Su Wanran took it back and looked carefully. It was indeed the Ji Hong project.
Su Ru then took out her phone and typed two characters: 姬 and 姫.
Su Ru said, "You wanted to sign the Ji Hong project, but this contract is for the 姫 Hong project! The characters Ji and 姫 look almost identical. The difference is that the right half is missing one stroke. But it's this single stroke, Wanran, that you've been deceived!"
No way?
Su Wanran took out her phone and typed the two characters, comparing them with the contract. They were indeed different.
"Was it a typo when printing the contract?"
Su Ru said coldly, "Contracts are very strict. How could there be a typo? And I also heard that Xiao Teng indeed has two projects, Ji Hong and 姫 Hong. The difference is, everyone is desperate to sign the former, while the latter is a money-losing venture that no one wants."
Su Ru suddenly raised her voice and concluded, "From what I see, Xiao Teng deliberately passed off inferior goods as superior, selling you the 姫 Hong project as the Ji Hong project. And you, foolishly unaware, have fallen for his trick!"
This was the real-life equivalent of Li Kui and Li Gui.
Upon hearing this, Su Wanran's blood ran cold. Recalling the events, she found it made perfect sense.
No wonder that unscrupulous merchant Xiao Teng called so early in the morning to sign the contract. He had prepared a trap, waiting for Su Wanran to fall into it!
"No, I need to find him."
Su Wanran immediately dialed Xiao Teng's number. As soon as it connected, Su Wanran said frantically, "Boss Xiao, this contract is incorrect! I was supposed to sign the Ji Hong project with you, but this shows 姫 Hong! This is not the project I wanted at all."
She realized it?
Too late!
Xiao Teng said dismissively, "Chairman Su, it's correct. I intended to sign the 姫 Hong project with you. You misunderstood, and that's not my fault."
Su Wanran said angrily, "Xiao Teng, we do business with integrity. You can't cheat me like this! If it were the 姫 Hong project, do you think I would have signed it at such a high price?"
Angry? Useless!
Xiao Teng chuckled, "How am I cheating you? It's Chairman Su who has poor eyesight and didn't look carefully. Can you blame me? Besides, it's precisely because it's the 姫 Hong project that I sold it to you at half price. Otherwise, why do you think a pie would fall from the sky? Hahahaha."
He laughed brazenly, completely disregarding Su Wanran's feelings.
Finally, Xiao Teng hung up the phone, leaving Su Wanran in despair.
Mission accomplished!
Meanwhile.
Su Wanran stared at the hung-up phone, completely numb. She couldn't accept the fact that she had spent nearly a hundred million yuan on a worthless project worth less than a million.
A colossal loss!
Regret, unwillingness, anger, self-blame—all sorts of emotions surged up at once.
Combined with the grievances she had suffered in recent days, Su Wanran finally couldn't hold on, and burst into tears, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Su Ru, standing nearby, watched with schadenfreude.
All of this had been orchestrated by Su Ru.
It was Su Ru who colluded with Xiao Teng, instructing him to pass off inferior goods as superior and to use a garbage project as a quality one to swindle Su Wanran out of her money.
Of course.
The Su family wasn't lacking this hundred million.
The issue was that Su Wanran had only been the head of the family for less than three days and had already made such a basic mistake. Who would respect her in the future?
Su Wanran's reputation was already in tatters, and her supporters had been driven away. Now, coupled with such a rookie mistake, all these events happening in such a short period would break even the strongest person.
Su Ru's greatest skill was breaking a person from the inside, which was what set her apart from Su Fei'ang, Han Yun, and the others.
...
Wudu, the bustling city, a five-star hotel.
Jiang Mengxin and Lu Ming sat together, looking at the latest intelligence reports and understanding the latest developments within the Su family.
They had indeed bought plane tickets that morning and gone to the airport, but after the plane arrived, they didn't board. Instead, they quietly returned to Wudu and settled down.
Everyone thought they had been driven away, but in reality, they had simply gone into hiding.
"How ruthless," Jiang Mengxin said, looking at the latest intelligence. "Lu Ming, the situation is progressing just as you predicted. This venomous snake, Su Ru, first ruined Wanran's reputation, then drove us away. After completely isolating Wanran, she dealt a heavy blow! Look, Wanran signed a project with Xiao Teng this morning and lost a hundred million!"
Lu Ming glanced at it and shook his head slightly. "Given Su Wanran's intelligence, she shouldn't have been deceived so easily. It seems that the events of these past few days have indeed made Su Wanran flustered, unable to concentrate on thinking."
A normal Su Wanran would not have been tricked by Xiao Teng.
Unfortunately, the current Su Wanran was fighting on all fronts, deeply wounded. She was so eager to sign a major contract to prove herself that she overlooked the hidden danger.
Su Ru had precisely exploited Su Wanran's weakness to strike decisively.
Su Ru is truly ruthless.