A Chan – CH 032

Chapter 32: Youth Like the Wind (2)

After several trips, it was already four or five in the afternoon. The Fuming Group’s headquarters was located in the suburbs of the city, occupying a large area of ​​land. Li Weiyi gazed at the building gleaming in the sunlight, sighing inwardly.

The parking lot downstairs was full, so Zhang Jingchan parked the Ferrari in the open space directly below the building. Li Weiyi hesitated: “Isn’t parking here inappropriate? I’ll get yelled at.”

“I don’t want to waste time looking for a parking space. Nobody dares to yell at me.”

Li Weiyi: “What if someone asks me what I’m here for? What should I say?”

“You don’t need to pay attention to anyone; you don’t need to answer anything.”

Li Weiyi understood. This man, as the former successor of the group, already held a position of extraordinary power, second only to the leader.

She immediately raised her chin, her eyelids drooping coldly, and asked softly, “Is this posture okay? Should my nostrils be a little more upturned? Mr. Zhang, I’m really afraid I’m not capable enough to capture the essence.”

Could Zhang Jingchan not hear her third teasing remark today? He turned around. The handsome young man before him had an arrogant demeanor, yet his eyes shone with a warm smile. It made one want to pin her to the ground and make her behave, but one couldn’t actually do it.

Zhang Jingchan patted the back of her head: “Be normal!”

“Oh…”

Sure enough, as Zhang Jingchan said, the two took the elevator straight to the top floor. Secretaries, department heads, and assistants all greeted them with smiles, and no one dared to ask what they were there for.

Zhang Jingchan led her directly to Zhang Moyun’s office. Zhang Moyun was away on a business trip, and he had taken his secretary with him. Xu Yi, however, had been left behind to oversee some work. Xu Yi, having received the news, had already arrived and smiled, “Ah Chan, what brings you to the company? Your father is away on a business trip.”

Xu Yi was dressed the same as last time: a black suit, white shirt, and blue striped tie, wearing thin gold-rimmed glasses. Tall and slender, with fair skin and a gentle demeanor, he exuded a very gentle and calming aura that made him instantly likable. She smiled and said, “Brother Xu Yi, I’m not here to see my dad. I have a school assignment that requires researching some information about Fuming for a case study, so I came to my dad’s office to use the computer.”

Xu Yi understood: “Okay, go in yourself. You know the password. There’s fruit and drinks in the fridge; just call me if you need anything. And this is?”

Li Weiyi: “My girlfriend… the newest one. She came with me; I’ll just grab a book for her to read later.”

Xu Yi had just been booking a birthday party for Cheng Ruiyan, yet his excellent assistant showed no sign of suspicion, giving the girl a slight smile. Zhang Jingchan also calmly nodded to him.

The two entered the office, and Zhang Jingchan locked the door from the inside and sat down at the computer. Li Weiyi, always a bit cheeky when working, first grabbed two bottles of juice and a box of cookies from the fridge before pulling up a chair to sit next to Zhang Jingchan.

Zhang Jingchan had already accessed the company’s internal system to check the accounts. Li Weiyi asked as she looked at him, “You didn’t tell me this morning, what else is Xu Yi’s identity?”

“You still haven’t remembered?”

“…What should I remember?”

Zhang Jingchan smiled; seeing the juice beside him, he was also thirsty, unscrewed a bottle, tilted his head back, and drank more than half, then grabbed a tissue, wiped his mouth, and threw it in the trash can.

Li Weiyi, biting into a small biscuit, watched his series of actions, neat and handsome. Then, seeing that familiar face, she snapped out of her daze. “Oh my god, I’ve been daydreaming.”

“What’s the founder of Muchen Group called?” Zhang Jingchan asked.

Li Weiyi: “Xu Conglan!” She then froze, realizing what she’d just said.

She worked for a subsidiary of the group. During new employee training, she had seen photos of the senior executives in the handbook, but being far removed from the group, she had only glanced at them and hadn’t paid them any attention. As a lowly finance officer, she naturally had no chance to meet the chairman in person. But Zhang Jingchan’s question made Xu Yi seem increasingly familiar.

“Could Xu Yi be a relative of our chairman? His son? His brother? Or perhaps an illegitimate child?” How old was the chairman again?

“Good eye,” Zhang Jingchan said. “Xu Conglan used to have a name, Xu Yi. After Fuming’s incident, he wasn’t held responsible, went abroad to study, returned, changed his name, and founded Muchen. In 2022, he should be 34 years old, unmarried, and without a son.”

Li Weiyi: “!!!!”

Today’s devoted assistant was now her company’s ultimate boss, eight years later!

“He’s amazing!” Li Weiyi exclaimed, then hesitated, recalling Zhang Jingchan’s visit to Muchen’s headquarters to discuss cooperation. “Did he later try to help you?”

Zhang Jingchan replied, “In business, only permanent interests matter. If he wanted the projects I had, I might not have chosen to cooperate with him.”

Li Weiyi blinked. “Oh my, look how arrogant he is.”

“However, he didn’t kick us when we were down, and he lent the company 1.5 million yuan, never pressing us for repayment. I was among the first to repay his money.”

So, Xu Yi’s character wasn’t bad, and his relationship with the Zhang family ended amicably. No wonder he’d become a big shot in the future.”

Zhang Jingchan printed out several data sheets, and Li Weiyi calculated them with pen and paper. When she finished, her brows were tightly furrowed, and Zhang Jingchan’s face darkened.

“How much?”

Li Weiyi: “A negative 400 million, and new projects are still under construction. To complete them, at least another 300 million will need to be invested. But the group only has a little over 10 million in working capital.”

Zhang Jingchan sneered, pushed the keyboard away, turned his head to look out the window, and said, “Fine, truly fine!”

Li Weiyi felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about the Zhang family’s current lavish lifestyle. She whispered, “Don’t be angry, Mr. Zhang. You’re a business genius. Think about what to do.”

Zhang Jingchan sat ramrod straight, his entire frame cold and hard. He said, “What kind of genius am I? I’ve just been working day and night, pouring my heart and soul into filling the hole…”

Perhaps realizing he’d revealed too much emotion, he stopped talking, picked up the reports again, and said, “It’s come to this point; even a god can’t save it. We can only advise him to cut his losses and save himself. Consider what’s already invested as wasted. Auction off what needs to be auctioned off, stop construction where necessary, and prevent the hole from getting bigger. That way, maybe we can still save Fuming from becoming an empty shell.”

Li Weiyi understood. If Zhang Moyun stopped now, Fuming Group would probably have nothing left; years of hard work would vanish in an instant, but at least there wouldn’t be major debt. But would Zhang Moyun, a self-made entrepreneur, listen? Would he choose to lose everything to save himself, or would he choose to continue the risky gamble?

Li Weiyi’s heart sank, and her gaze towards Zhang Jingchan was now tinged with pity.

The anger on Zhang Jingchan’s face faded, replaced by calm and composure. He said, “I’ve already booked our tickets. We’ll be flying to Shanghai tonight and go see him first thing tomorrow morning. We’ll have dinner at the airport.”

After saying this, he shut down his computer, grabbed the data spreadsheets, picked up his coat, and was about to leave when Li Weiyi said, “Uh… wait a minute. I’m a free-spirited, academically gifted college student; it’s fine if I don’t go home for a few days. But you’re still a high school girl; how can you stay out all night?”

Zhang Jingchan: “…”

“Not even one night?” Zhang Jingchan recalled how, when he was in high school, he could stay at his friend’s house for days without anyone interfering.

“No, I go home on time every day.”

The two sat facing each other, momentarily at a loss. After a while, Zhang Jingchan spoke up: “What if we go to Shanghai to participate in the National Biology Competition? I saw your biology competition award certificate in your room.”

“That’s something I could try… No, my mom will definitely go with me.”

Zhang Jingchan hesitated for a moment: “Have your sister go with you; I’ll book her the plane ticket.”

“That seems like a good idea!” Li Weiyi’s eyes lit up. “Or… how about we invite Zhong Yi too? Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Okay.”