Water and Fire~Chapter 134: Who Am I Then?

 

Chapter 134: Who Am I Then?

Qin Qianyu told Chu Qianmiao the whole story over the phone.

"Today, Gu Kai from General Manager Li Si's department—by the way, you two worked together on the sweet food project—called me and said that Kan Qingzhou went to see Mr. Wu Jin that afternoon. He was helping Mr. Wu install a program on his computer when he overheard their conversation. Kan Qingzhou told Mr. Wu that his Project Department 2 was planning a project where a listed company would acquire an educational institution. Qianmiao, do you agree? The listed company is Henong Shares, and the educational institution being acquired is Xingfei Education!"

Chu Qianmiao frowned upon hearing this.

Her first reaction was that this was too much of a coincidence. But she quickly dismissed that thought.

This seemed beyond coincidence, bordering on the contrived.

She asked Qin Qianyu to continue, "Brother Qin, what happened next?"

Qin Qianyu: "Then Wu Jin said our department had an identical project, also involving a listed company acquiring an educational institution. But due to Litong's unwritten rule, only one of the same project could be kept alive. So, between Kan Qingzhou's and ours, only one could be approved; the other would be rejected! Kan Qingzhou said his project was earning higher financial advisory fees and could generate more revenue for the company, so ours should be rejected. Mr. Wu said it was time to leave work and that we could discuss it tomorrow if there was anything else."

He spoke so much in one breath that Qin Qianyu was almost out of breath. After taking two deep breaths, he continued to Chu Qianmiao, "Then Gu Kai had just finished tinkering with Wu Jin's computer and had just left his place when he called me to let me know. He said he'd wanted to call you, but it was a little late and he didn't think it was a good idea, so he told me!" At this point, Qin Qianyu's thoughts suddenly shifted, "Hey, Qianmiao, I really admire you. You and Gu Kai just worked on a project together, and he treated you like one of his own. He's always alerting us to any signs of trouble!"

Chu Qianmiao was also filled with gratitude towards Gu Kai. After hanging up on Qin Qianyu, she sent Gu Kai a message to thank him, agreeing that when they were all free, she and Qin Qianyu would treat him to a meal to express their gratitude.

After thanking Gu Kai, Chu Qianmiao thought for a moment.

Tomorrow, Kan Qingzhou would definitely do everything in his power to thwart her, trying to convince Wu Jin and the company's management to keep his Henong Shares project and kill her Hanhai Home Textiles project.

Thinking of Henong Shares, Chu Qianmiao opened her computer, searched for the company's information, and began to study it carefully.

Suddenly, her gaze paused, a nerve in her brain buzzing.

Yingji Capital was listed among Henong Shares' shareholder list.

The feeling that someone had orchestrated this became increasingly clear.

She flipped through the company's records a few years earlier and saw that Yingji Capital had sold some of its shares two years ago, when Henong's stock price was high, cashing in. Later, when Henong's stock price dipped, Yingji Capital bought back in on the secondary market, becoming a major shareholder in Henong Shares.

Chu Qianmiao calculated the time when Yingji Capital sold its Henong shares. She realized it coincided with the time she was working on the Liya Manufacturing IPO project.

This process of integration stirred a flood of memories that had been buried deep within her.

She remembered why Henong shares sounded so familiar to her. During the Liya Manufacturing project, Qian Siji's assistant Ke Mingjun had once pressed her to recommend a stock. She explained that she did not work in the secondary market, so she could not recommend one. Ke Mingjun then complained and ridiculed her, thinking she was hiding something.

It was Tan Shen who came to her rescue. He mentioned a stock name and told Ke Mingjun to keep an eye on it. That stock was Henong shares. (chapter 76)

Chu Qianmiao carefully checked the time when Yingji Capital reduced its holdings in Henong shares. It should have been shortly after Tan Shen told Ke Mingjun. At that time, Henong's stock price continued to rise. It was basically at the peak that Yingji Capital sold its shares.

Chu Qianmiao clenched her fist and rested it on her chin. She pondered. Combined with the stock trading advice Tan Shen had given Ke Mingjun in advance, she suspected that the initial rise in Henong shares' stock price was not that simple. Perhaps Yingji Capital had found a dealer to raise the stock price and then sold it at the high point to cash out. Later, they took advantage of the dip in the stock price to buy more shares. Through this back-and-forth, Eagle Capital not only remained a major shareholder in Henong Shares but also profited significantly from the price difference.

Tan Shen knew that Eagle Capital would quickly drive up Henong's stock price, which was why he so confidently recommended the stock to Ke Mingjun.

Chu Qianmiao tapped her chin with her fist, her heartbeat involuntarily quickening. The closer she got to the truth, the more nervous she became.

If this were true, both Tan Shen and Eagle Capital were suspected of violating regulations.

Thinking this through, Chu Qianmiao concluded that Henong Shares' acquisition of Xingfei Education must have been Tan Shen's idea. He was currently the Vice President of Eagle Capital and had the decision-making power. He had also collaborated with Kan Qingzhou on a project—she had kindly warned Tan Shen back then that Kan Qingzhou wasn't a rule-abiding person, but he hadn't listened. (chapter 100)

Tan Shen was initially assigned overseas by Yingji Capital precisely because the backdoor listing project he and Kan Qingzhou were collaborating on had overseas operations.

So, it made perfect sense that he and Kan Qingzhou, two former partners, were now teaming up to deal with Ren Yan. This was not surprising at all.

Chu Qianmiao stood in front of the window and thought for a while before picking up her phone. She took Ren Yan and Zhou Hanhai together for a small conference call.

She rushed to Litong early the next morning. After work hours, she knocked on the door of the office of the head of Litong's Beijing investment banking department.

In the office, not only Wu Jin was there, but Kan Qingzhou was also there.

Kan Qingzhou turned his head to glance at Chu Qianmiao, then turned back to talk to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin raised his hand to interrupt him, greeting Chu Qianmiao. "Qianmiao, you're just in time. I need to discuss something with you two."

He asked Chu Qianmiao and Kan Qingzhou to sit on the sofa. He then rose from his desk and sat down next to them.

"Well, you both told me that your respective departments have a project to acquire a listed company. Both of them happen to be acquiring educational institutions, and both of these institutions are among the top three in their respective industries."

After Wu Jin summarized the basic situation in a few words, he paused and continued, "I discussed this with the management at headquarters last night. Their advice is, as usual, to only have one project of the same type. Therefore, only one of your projects will remain viable. We'll evaluate your due diligence and decide which one to keep."

Chu Qianmiao agreed to their decision. Kan Qingzhou, however, immediately erupted in anger: "Mr. Wu, I tell you, you don't even need to bother evaluating this project. You should just kill Chu Qianmiao and her team's project right now!"

He glanced at Chu Qianmiao, then turned back to Wu Jin and said, "Mr. Wu, you don't know? Ren Yan is now the Vice President of Hanhai Home Textiles! You said he signed off on the Hanhai Home Textiles project, and now he's the Vice President there again. How lacking independence and showing so much connection! Mr. Wu, you know how seriously the China Securities Regulatory Commission takes issues like these!"

Chu Qianmiao interrupted him coldly: "Litong's continued supervision of Hanhai Home Textiles has expired. It's perfectly fine for Mr. Ren to move to Hanhai Home Textiles."

Kan Qingzhou gave her a sarcastic laugh. "Alright, I won't argue with you about that for now. Let's move on to another reason. Okay! Chu Qianmiao, Ren Yan is in a relationship with you, right? Now that he's jumped from Litong to Hanhai Home Textiles, he's immediately given you the project. And since you're already in a relationship, tell me, can you still claim a relationship of affiliation on this project?!"

Chu Qianmiao glanced at him coldly. "Don't even mention that Mr. Ren and I aren't in a relationship right now. Even if we were, the relationship of affiliation only applies to legal marriage. We don't have a legal relationship, so what's the problem?"

She ignored Kan Qingzhou and turned to Wu Jin. "Mr. Wu, the thing is, Mr. Ren doesn't actually hold a position at Hanhai Home Textiles. He doesn't receive a salary or social security contributions there. He's essentially a personal advisor to Zhou Hanhai. So, no matter what our relationship is, it doesn't constitute a relationship of affiliation on this project."

After a pause, she picked up her phone, dialed a number, and put the call on hold.

Hanhai Home Textiles' switchboard answered, and Chu Qianmiao asked her to transfer to the Human Resources Department.

In front of Wu Jin and Kan Qingzhou, Chu Qianmiao asked the head of Hanhai Home Textiles' Human Resources Department, "What is Ren Yan's position at your company?"

The other party politely replied, "Hello, Mr. Ren is a friend of our chairman. He doesn't hold any position at our company."

Chu Qianmiao thanked her and hung up.

"Mr. Wu, look, neither of the two points Mr. Kan mentioned constitutes reason to immediately reject our project," she said to Wu Jin.

Wu Jin nodded and told her and Kan Qingzhou, "You should each conduct your own due diligence. The Quality Control Department, the Project Review Team, and I will evaluate which projects will be approved and retained."

Kan Qingzhou glanced at Chu Qianmiao again and stood up to leave.

Chu Qianmiao was about to leave, but Wu Jin stopped her.

They were the only two left in the room. Wu Jin's expression shifted from official to serious.

"Qian Miao," Wu Jin said to Chu Qian Miao, "The financial advisory fees Kan Qingzhou and his team received for their project are indeed significantly higher than yours. And that project is backed by the powerful Eagle Capital, so your project is clearly not in a strong position. As for Mr. Ning at headquarters, it's difficult for him to help Mr. Ren this time. Kan Qingzhou could easily accuse him of accepting favors from Mr. Ren, now the project sponsor, and saying that there's a profit motive between them. So, the situation isn't favorable for you right now, and your project will likely be rejected. Mr. Ren has helped me a lot in the past, both overtly and covertly, so I'm telling you this privately, to be completely honest and prepare you. I personally hope your project will survive."

Chu Qian Miao nodded and thanked Mr. Wu.

She returned to her office, leaned back in her chair, and pondered how to resolve the matter.

It wasn't feasible to ask Hanhai Home Textiles to also increase the financial advisory fees it paid to Litong Securities. If they raised their prices, she guaranteed that Eagle Capital would immediately follow suit. Therefore, attempting to resolve the issue from this point on was unlikely.

There was a knock at the office door. Chu Qianmiao said, "Come in," and turned to look.

Qin Qianyu pushed the door open and sat down in the chair across from her. His expression was a bit solemn and angry. He said to her, "Kan Qingzhou seems to be contacting the quality control department and the project review team members. He's probably trying to get them to approve his project at the project approval meeting and reject ours!"

He pounded his fist on the table and asked Chu Qianmiao, "What do you think we should do now? We can't just sit there and wait for death, can we?"

Chu Qianmiao thought for a moment and said, "Brother Qin, you and Sun Yi should continue to conduct due diligence at Zhaohuan Education. Our project will proceed as planned. As for Kan Qingzhou, that troublemaker, I'll deal with him."

In other words, she would find a way to defeat the real targets behind Kan Qingzhou's troublemaking—Eagle Capital and Tan Shen.

***

That afternoon, Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu split up. Qin Qianyu and his project team set off for Zhaohuan Education to conduct due diligence.

Chu Qianmiao rushed to Hanhai Home Textiles. She first went to greet Zhou Hanhai and chatted for a while. Zhou Hanhai was a little busy and apologized to her that she would have to coordinate with Ren Yan on all matters related to the acquisition. Anyway, he had now handed over all matters related to the capital market to Ren Yan. Chu Qianmiao then said goodbye to Zhou Hanhai and moved to Ren Yan's office. Speaking of Ren Yan's office, it was actually the due diligence office they used to do when Hanhai Home Textiles was going public. She still remembered that when Zhou Hanhai's secretary led them to the due diligence office, he said to them: "This room is actually reserved. Our President Zhou has always wanted to recruit a senior executive to be responsible for capital operations, but he has never found someone he likes, so it is vacant." (chaper 7) Chu Qianmiao stood at the door of the office and suddenly felt a lot of emotion. Everything seemed to be destined. Looking back now, it seems that this room was reserved for Ren Yan from the beginning. She knocked on the door, and after hearing the "Come in" message, she turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

Ren Yan was sitting at his desk. When he looked up and saw her, he stood up immediately.

He stood up so quickly that his chair bounced a good distance from his suddenly straightened legs.

He walked around the desk and headed straight for Chu Qianmiao, inviting her to sit on the sofa.

It had rained yesterday, and today the sun was exceptionally strong, sending the temperature soaring. Chu Qianmiao had rushed all the way here, and the sweltering wind made her feel warm all over. She sank into the leather sofa, enjoying the air conditioning in Ren Yan's office. She felt so comfortable that she almost fell asleep.

She strained to keep her eyelids open and surveyed the office. Many of the desks that had been placed there during the due diligence had long since been removed. Now, the space was spacious, with bookcases, desks, and leather chairs, all of which were impressive. This was exactly what an executive's office should be. Zhou Hanhai hadn't wronged Ren Yan in the least.

Somehow, Chu Qianmiao felt a sense of relief.

Ren Yan poured her a glass of water and placed it in front of her. After a moment's hesitation, he sat down next to her, rather than the sofa next to her.

Chu Qianmiao held the glass in her hand, sipping as she turned to look at him.

From this angle, her eyes looked especially large and bright, their gazes filled with scrutiny and questioning: "Why are you sitting so close to me?"

Ren Yan ignored the signal conveyed by her eyes and asked in a serious and businesslike manner, "How's the matter going?"

Chu Qianmiao put down the glass and first explained to Ren Yan the chain of confrontation: Henong Shares was backed by Yingji Capital, and Yingji Capital was backed by Tan Shen.

Ren Yan raised his eyebrows calmly, "I've looked up the information on Henong Shares and I've figured it out."

Chu Qianmiao nodded. "So, do you think Tan Shen is declaring war on you?"

Ren Yan glanced at her. "It's not just a declaration of war. He wants to make me desperate, no matter where I am or what I do."

No way out."

Chu Qianmiao smiled. "That's impossible. Who are you? How could you be cornered?"

Ren Yan looked at her, his gaze blazing. "Then who am I?"

Chu Qianmiao's heartbeat inexplicably quickened. She said fiercely, "You're a bad guy!"

He raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. It seemed as if he found the answer quite satisfying.

He asked Chu Qianmiao to recount in detail what had happened at Wu Jin's place that morning.

After listening to the entire story, Ren Yan said to Chu Qianmiao sincerely, "You're becoming increasingly able to take charge of the overall situation. When Qin Qianyu called you last night, you immediately figured out that Kan Qingzhou's planned attack on our project would be related, and you quickly contacted me and President Zhou to circumvent it. Qianmiao, you're doing great now. You're really showing leadership skills." "

He looked so relieved, like an old father. Chu Qianmiao almost wanted to call him "Dad."

Last night, after hanging up Qin Qianyu's call, she wondered what angle Kan Qingzhou would attack her project from today. Thinking it over, she decided it was probably the issue of relatedness. She immediately called a conference call with Ren Yan and Zhou Hanhai, and the three of them decided that Ren Yan's position at Hanhai Home Textiles would be that of a consultant without a job title. They had fought a well-prepared battle, successfully thwarting Kan Qingzhou's attack that morning.

Chu Qianmiao leaned back on the sofa, looked up at Ren Yan, and said to him in a pretentious tone, "I'm so outstanding, and it's all because of your good guidance, President Ren." "

Ren Yan raised one corner of his mouth and smiled at her.

That smile of his is a bit off-putting, Chu Qianmiao thought to herself.

She glanced at Ren Yan, sizing him up. She felt as if the old man had taken preservatives. He was thirty-four, but his face wasn't wrinkled or lined. And lately, with his rise to fame, he'd become even more handsome and charming.

She squinted at him. Didn't you agree to pursue me? What about action???

Under her squinting gaze, Ren Yan said, "You came to see me specifically. Besides telling me what happened this morning, do you have any other plans?"

Chu Qianmiao glared.

Is he a vixen?!

"Yeah." She nodded calmly, feigning composure. "Kan Qingzhou will definitely do whatever it takes to sabotage our project. So, how should we deal with him next?"

Ren Yan looked at her. "Come to me to discuss countermeasures?" "

Chu Qianmiao mimicked him, a smile curling one corner of her mouth. "If it were you, how would you deal with him?"

Ren Yan watched her deliberately imitating him. Her expression was bright and pretty, and it made his heart itch.

His voice was a little hoarse. "First, find his weakness, make him too busy to take care of himself, and destroy his possibility of launching the project." Just like he had done when he got rid of Xia Fengyong.

Chu Qianmiao straightened up and blinked at him.

Ren Yan observed her expression, raising an eyebrow. "You seem to have different plans?"

Chu Qianmiao raised a hand to her ear and brushed back her hair. "Mr. Ren, Teacher Ren, are you being too lenient now?" She blinked again, a shrewd and decisive look in her eyes. "It's not enough to just find Kan Qingzhou's weaknesses. I plan to crush him with one blow! I'm going to find his weaknesses and completely destroy him, kick him out of Litong! Keeping him around every day is too annoying."

Ren Yan stared at her without blinking. She licked like a cat licking its prickly paws, languidly, s*xy, and carefree, captivating yet undeniably lethal.

His eyes darkened.

"So, how do you plan to get rid of him?"

Chu Qianmiao leaned forward slightly. "You've been dealing with him for so many years, you know him best. I'd like to hear your thoughts."

"So," Ren Yan looked at her, raising an eyebrow in amusement, but suppressing a smile. "You don't actually have a plan for getting rid of him, just a goal? You're trying to get my thoughts, but then you mock my kindness?"

Chu Qianmiao: "..." That sounds like it.

"Ah, it's almost time to get off work. Goodbye, Mr. Ren."

Chu Qianmiao checked her watch and made a move to get up.

But as she stood up, someone grabbed her wrist. The person used gentle force, but they pulled her back onto the sofa, even closer to the person next to them, almost touching.

Chu Qianmiao turned to look at Ren Yan.

"Mr. Ren, there's no such thing as physical contact between men and women."

Ren Yan raised an eyebrow, then let go with a hint of resignation and indulgence.

He looked her in the eye and said, a little hoarsely, "Remember that outdoor activity I took you to the villa?"

***