Water and Fire~Chapter 87.2: Smoke Less

 

Chapter 87.2: Smoke Less

A few days later, Cui Xijie's leg injury was largely healed. He returned his crutches and was walking on his own two feet again. Although he still couldn't walk briskly, he could easily take a few steps.

After he regained the ability to stand and walk on his own two legs, he would take Liu Lifeng out to eat every day.

While in the tea room, Qin Qianyu thoughtfully reassured Chu Qianmiao, "Don't worry, Liu Lifeng is no longer the same person he used to be. When you first arrived, Cui Xijie's little instigation would have Liu Lifeng swayed him, turning him into a machine gun targeting you. But now Cui Xijie is trying to brainwash Liu into targeting you. Haha, that's going to take some effort."

Chu Qianmiao told Qin Qianyu, "Brother Qin, I've never worried about that. I firmly believe that a journey tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's true character. You can never truly understand a person's true character by hearing what others say, as you can by actually interacting with them. Liu Lifeng and I have been together for so long. If he still doesn't know what kind of person I am, if he still follows others' instigation, then his true attitude towards me is honestly not important to me. I don't need a comrade or friend who sits on the fence."

Qin Qianyu gave her a thumbs-up. "I have to give you a thumbs-up, Qianmiao. You've matured again. Watching you grow up day by day, I'm very pleased."

Before he could finish his act of seniority, Ren Yan slapped him on the back of the head.

"I told you not to talk nonsense in the office, so come to the tea room and do it!"

Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu, both holding cups of water, turned back to look at Ren Yan, both looking dejected.

"Mr. Ren, haha," Chu Qianmiao laughed dryly. "What a coincidence you're here to get some water too."

Ren Yan lowered his head to get some water. Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu exchanged glances and took the opportunity to quickly slip away.

"Yeah," Ren Yan replied, then asked, "How's the valuation model calculation going?"

Looking up again, he saw nothing. Ren Yan chuckled. History was so remarkably similar. Those two guys had slipped away while he was lowering his head to get some water.

He had just watched them file out of the office toward the tea room. They hadn't returned for a long time, so he couldn't help but follow them out to take a look. He wanted to see what they were talking about, whether anyone had encountered some intractable problem they'd rather ask anyone than him.

But as soon as he showed up, they slipped away right under his nose. Was he a monster?

After conducting due diligence on Xinghen Materials, everyone began calculating its valuation. Cui Xijie and Liu Lifeng were particularly skilled in valuation, and they quickly came up with a rough price range.

Based on this, Ren Yan, after further analysis and calculations, gave Qian Siji a maximum purchase price. He said to Qian Siji, "Mr. Qian, the purchase price cannot be higher than this. If it's higher, then this deal isn't a good fit."

Qian Siji said he understood and went back to Qu Xincai with a much lower price.

After some negotiation and haggling, Qian Siji expressed his willingness to increase the price slightly, and Qu Xincai agreed. Even with the slight increase, the price was still significantly lower than the upper limit. Qian Siji was secretly delighted by this.

Both parties were happy to reach a consensus. All that remained was for both parties to sign the contract before the equity transfer could proceed.

However, the day before the official contract was to be signed, Qu Xin suddenly changed his mind.

He suddenly demanded a higher price, one that was not only significantly higher than the originally agreed upon price but even higher than the upper limit Ren Yan had given Qian Siji.

Qu Xin made it clear that if he didn't raise the price to his level, the deal would be off.

No matter how Qian Siji tried to curry favor with him and talk about the future, imagining a bright future where they would all work together and prosper together after the IPO, Qu Xin remained unmoved and insisted on raising the price.

Qian Siji privately lost his temper. "He's convinced I'm going public and I have to deal with related-party transactions. He's blackmailing me. What an ungrateful person! I've forgotten how he begged me to invest in him when we were broke. He even said he'd repay me with all his heart when the opportunity arose. But wait and see. Now that the opportunity's here, has he repaid me? No, he's blackmailing me. It's a shame for me, Qian, to be so sincere and loyal my whole life, only to be met with such a hypocritical, ungrateful person."

At that time, Ren Yan was meeting with Chu Qianmiao in Qian Siji's office to discuss countermeasures.

Qian Siji's heartfelt lamentations were heartbreaking.

In the past, Chu Qianmiao felt she might have been swept away by his sympathy, inflamed with indignation, and united in her hatred for his enemies. But now, Chu Qianmiao wondered how Qian Siji could confidently claim he was "a lifelong man of sincerity and loyalty." How could he only see the "hypocrisy" in others and not in himself?

She watched Qian Siji banging his head on the table, passionately recounting the past, passionately defending himself, feeling like she was watching a spectacle. She wondered if, after witnessing so much of this hypocritical drama, she would eventually become as rational and cold-hearted as Ren Yan.

Following her heart, she turned to look at Ren Yan.

She was startled.

She had actually bumped into Ren Yan's gaze.

He had seemed to be staring at her.

Chu Qianmiao's heart skipped a beat.

Then she saw Ren Yan wink at her, hushing his outburst.

She knew he, too, was tired of Qian Siji's complaints. It's truly unbearable to righteously condemn others when one's own behavior is clearly not entirely up to par.

Chu Qianmiao turned to Qian Siji and said, "Mr. Qian, please calm down. Our most pressing concern isn't exploring the true nature of Qu Xin, but why he suddenly underwent such a transformation."

Qian Siji gradually calmed down.

He stepped past Chu Qianmiao and asked Ren Yan, "Mr. Ren, can you help me analyze what's going on?"

Ren Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Based on my experience working on projects, it doesn't seem like Qu Xin came up with this on a whim." After a pause, he added, "It's likely someone else is colluding with him."

As soon as Ren Yan finished speaking, goosebumps immediately spread across Chu Qianmiao's arms.

Indeed, there was a thief inside.

Qian Siji asked Ren Yan, "How did Mr. Ren know for sure that someone was colluding with Qu Xin?"

Ren Yan glanced at Chu Qianmiao and saw from her expression that she understood. So he said, "Qianmiao, explain the situation to Mr. Qian."

When he said this, his tone was more gentle and graceful than ever, especially the word "Qianmiao." His words sent a shudder through Chu Qianmiao.

The last time he called her that was when she confessed to him and he rejected her. He said, "Qianmiao, we're not suitable."

This was the first time since she'd been rejected that he'd addressed her without referring to her by name. He omitted her last name, calling her simply "Qianmiao" with an air of intimacy.

Chu Qianmiao responded by turning back to glance at Ren Yan. That glance nearly frightened her. She could almost see tenderness in his eyes.

She immediately turned away in shock. After calming her slightly frightened heartbeat, she said to Qian Siji, "Mr. Qian, look, the price they've offered is quite interesting. It's only slightly higher than our maximum acquisition price limit. What does this mean? It means they've somehow learned our price limit. If they'd set the price significantly higher than that limit, we definitely wouldn't have acquired Xinghen, as it would have been blatantly inappropriate. But their cunning strategy is to set the price just slightly higher than that limit. They're betting that we'll have to compromise for this tiny bit in order to go public."

Qian Siji looked at Ren Yan, who nodded, confirming Chu Qianmiao's statement. "That's right."

Qian Siji sat in his leather chair and pounded his fist on the table in anger. "Who tipped off Qu Xin?"

Ren Yan led Chu Qianmiao out of Qian Siji's office.

He didn't let Chu Qianmiao go back to the due diligence office. He said to her, "Come with me outside the office building for a cigarette."

Chu Qianmiao followed him. Ren Yan led her to the narrow path. He leaned against the office building, lit a cigarette, held it between his slender fingers, brought it to his lips, took a drag, and slowly exhaled. His face was hidden behind the smoke, but his eyes, piercing the thin haze, stared at Chu Qianmiao without blinking.

Chu Qianmiao lowered her head to gaze intently at the small wildflowers at her feet.

Ren Yan called her "Qianmiao."

Chu Qianmiao shuddered uncontrollably again.

She looked up and exclaimed, "Ah!" She was terrified. Why was he calling her by her full name again?

Ren Yan held the cigarette between his fingers and took a puff, squinting his eyes as he inhaled, and gave her a quirky smile.

He was simply wickedly charming.

Chu Qianmiao felt her heartbeat uncontrollably. She took a deep breath. She wondered, a little resentfully, why had he become so increasingly intimidating lately?

Ren Yan exhaled his cigarette, letting the thin haze linger as he asked, "Who do you think the thief is?"

Chu Qianmiao gathered herself, blinked, and pursed her lips. "I don't have any concrete evidence. Can I go by my intuition?"

Ren Yan looked down at her, raised one corner of his mouth, and smiled. "Yes."

Chu Qianmiao said, "The only people who know the maximum price are you, Qian Siji, Brother Qin, Liu Lifeng, Cui Xijie, and me."

"You, Qian Siji, Brother Qin, Liu Lifeng, and I—none of us will tell. Qian Siji won't tell for our own benefit, and we won't tell because we're loyal to you." When she said the words "loyal to you," Ren Yan raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"So that leaves Cui Xijie," she concluded.

Ren Yan lowered his eyes and flicked the ash into his portable ashtray. Then, looking up at Chu Qianmiao, he nodded. "Yes, that's him." After a pause, he said, "When you get home, find a chance to talk to Qin Qianyu about this. Remember, keep it to him and don't alert anyone else for now. You two can investigate privately later."

Chu Qianmiao nodded, "Hmm." Then, hesitantly, she added something else, something she seemed to have said before.

"Ren, Mr. Ren, smoke less. It's bad for your health." She said, turning and walking towards the main entrance of the office building, walking faster and faster.

Ren Yan watched her back, his lips curled up, and he stubbed out the remaining half of his cigarette in the ashtray.

The author has something to say to Ren Yan: OK, I used to be addicted to cigarettes, but from now on, I'm addicted to you. Today, he's a boy with cheesy love words.