Chapter 143 - New Friend
The two men, one in the water and one on dry ground, locked gazes, speaking wordlessly with their eyes.
Zhang Sen’s thought processes were easy to figure out. He was young and rich and had never had this sort of treatment in all his carefree days. He was furious but not stupid. If this person dared to do something like this, then he must be very confident. It was also true that he had disrespected him first. Zhang Sen could not help but wonder about Xia Lei’s background and his character. The thought made him find Xia Lei more and more interesting.
Xia Lei’s thoughts were simple - to leave or not to leave. He’d lost all hope of cooperation after throwing the guy in the pool.
Two men and their thoughts.
At that moment, Zhang Sen suddenly reached a hand out to Xia Lei. “Pull me out.”
Xia Lei hesitated. He spotted a ladder about two metres away from Zhang Sen out of the corner of his eye and then understood that this was Zhang Sen’s way of letting them both out of an embarrassing situation.
Xia Lei reached out his hand and grabbed Zhang Sen’s, pulling him out of the pool. “Mr Zhang, I apologise for just now. I went a little overboard,” said Xia Lei tentatively.
He had to give him a chance to redeem himself too.
Zhang Sen smiled. “Do you martial arts people do business like this? I wouldn’t stand for it.”
Xia Lei just smiled but didn’t say anything.
Liang Si-Yao and Lu Sheng came up the stairs at that moment. They looked at the soaking-wet Zhang Sen and the Thai bodyguard who’d just climbed out of the swimming pool and froze.
A smile appeared on Zhang Sen’s face as soon as he saw Liang Si-Yao and spoke gracefully despite his haggard appearance. “Hello, Miss Liang. I’ve heard of you but haven’t had the pleasure of making your acquaintance till now. Would you be open to us getting to know each other better?”
“Hello, Mr Zhang. I am just an assistant to our Chairman Xia,” said Liang Si-Yao.
“I know you two are Senior and Junior Disciples in Wing Chun.” Zhang Sen smiled. “Oh, let’s go to the living room to chat. I fell into the water by accident earlier; I have to go change.”
Xia Lei didn’t uncover the lie since he put it that way. He waited till both the dripping Zhang Sen and his Thai bodyguard exited the rooftop before he said a few lines in Liang Si-Yao’s ear.
“What?” A surprised expression appeared on Liang Si-Yao’s face. “You…”
Xia Lei smiled wryly and shrugged. He still wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing.
Liang Si-Yao chuckled and put her arm around Xia Lei’s waist, and said coquettishly, “He said just one bad line about me and you threw him into the pool? You care that much?”
Xia Lei was about to say something when Lu Sheng gave an awkward cough. “Let’s go downstairs.”
“Mm, okay.” Liang Si-Yao became strangely happy and she was all smiles, even skipping as she walked like a teenage girl in love for the first time.
Seeing her so happy, Xia Lei felt like it was worth it even if this business talk fell through.
There were many things on this Earth which money could not buy.
In a room in the villa, Zhang Sen stood stark naked. A short-haired woman walked in, holding a set of clothing. She was tall, had elegant features and the short hair made her look like a heroine.
“Sheng-Nan, you saw him throw me into the pool earlier, didn’t you?” said Zhang Sen.
This woman’s surname was Guan and her name was Sheng Nan.
Ten years ago, Zhang Sen’s father brought her back to the Zhang household when she was still a street urchin. He fed her, clothed her, educated her, sent her overseas for further studies and hired the best professionals to train her. Her loyalty to the Zhang clan was not to be questioned. She was not only Zhang Sen’s round-the-clock bodyguard but his indispensable assistant.
“I saw it on the surveillance system.” Guan Sheng-Nan spoke indifferently, “But it would’ve been useless even if I went up. I’m no match for him.”
Zhang Sen wrinkled his brows. “You watched him throw me into the pool? My pride’s all gone.”
“He’s already been very polite to you,” said Guan Sheng-Nan.
Zhang Sen seemed to pick up on something in her words. “What do you know about this person?”
“He was the one who brought down Huang Yi-Hu.”
“What?” Zhang Sen looked very surprised.
“Surprised with just that? I’m saying he doesn’t even care about Gu Ke-Wen. He screwed her over and got the patent for the automatic surfboard for a widow named Liu Ying.”
“Huh?” Zhang Sen’s mouth dropped open.
“It failed in the end, but Gu Ke-Wen still hasn’t gone to make any trouble for him yet.”
“That’s impossible! I know what Gu Ke-Wen is like. She’s the sort who would take your whole arm off if you just poke her with one finger. Her, not even touching him after the humiliation he gave her? He’s skilled in martial arts but that’s nothing to a person of Gu Ke-Wen’s level.”
“Gu Ke-Wen must have some misgivings for not daring to touch him. I don’t know the real reason but I hear he has some backing in Jing-Du and virtually all of his company’s purchase orders are from China Industrial Group,” said Guan Sheng-Nan.
Zhang Sen mulled over it for a while. “What do you think - should I work with this guy or not?”
“Working with him has its advantages; not working with him has its advantages,” said Guan Sheng-Nan.
“What’s this nonsense?” said Zhang Sen.
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“Working with him is like making an investment with great potential. You may receive unexpected benefits in the future,” said Guan Sheng-Nan.
“He’s highly capable and has backing in Jing-Du. Even a large national defence industrial company like China Industrial Group is placing orders with his company. He is indeed a black horse. The returns on investment on someone like this will be difficult to quantify and I was never one to reject an investment like this. Tell me what the disadvantages of working with him will be. I’d like your opinion on this.” Zhang Sen looked steadily at Guan Sheng-Nan. He had not a stitch of clothing on him but he was unperturbed.
Guan Sheng-Nan was even less perturbed by his nakedness. “You see it too. He is like an untamed horse. He came to your place to ask you for a favour but still threw you into the pool; his character and way of doing things is difficult to grasp. Furthermore, he has an enemy in a person such as Gu Ke-Wen. If you work with him and help him and Gu Ke-Wen finds out - it will be like taking a stand against her.”
A strange smile appeared in the corners of Zhang Sen’s lips. “Gu Ke-Wen, huh? Nn… She definitely is a tough opponent. The Gu clan is large and influential too. Our Zhang clan cannot go against them but if we were to fight it out, our Zhang clan will still be a force to be reckoned with. She will have to weigh her decision heavily.”
“So, you’ve decided?” asked Guan Sheng-Nan.
Zhang Sen smiled. “The Zhang clan’s strength is in playing the stock market, especially risky investments. My dad always told me that ‘the greater the risk, the greater the gains’. I’m going to work with this Xia Lei guy. He’ll be my risky investment.”
“And if Gu Ke-Wen is displeased?”
“I’ll pretend I knew nothing of the spat between them. Besides, I’m just helping him find an online sales platform now. If she’s going to bother with this small thing, then she’s over-extending herself, isn’t she?”
“Okay. Put clothes on and I’ll go with you to meet him.” Guan Sheng-Nan stepped forward and held out his underwear to him.
In the living room, Xia Lei and Liang Si-Yao spoke quietly to each other.
“He’s not pulling our leg, is he?” Xia Lei whispered in Liang Si-Yao’s ear. “I treated him like that earlier… He probably won’t work with us.”
“Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe he’ll change his mind. If we just leave now we may miss a good opportunity,” she whispered back.
Xia Lei let out a small sigh. “We’ll wait then.”
Liang Si-Yao quirked her lips in a smile. “Regret it?”
Xia Lei paused, then said, “No.”
“Am I that important to you?” Liang Si-Yao’s voice grew even quieter.
Lu Sheng, who was standing like a pine tree next to them, couldn’t stand it anymore and looked away. He liked Liang Si-Yao and seeing her be so close to Xia Lei made him upset. However, he was a man who could let go and he did not hate Xia Lei because he knew that it was not his fault at all. Feelings could not be forced.
Xia Lei was about to speak when Zhang Sen and Guan Sheng-Nan walked out of the stairwell. Zhang Sen had an amiable smile on his face. “Sorry to keep you both waiting.”
Xia Lei and Liang Si-Yao stood from the sofa as a sign of respect to the homeowner.
“Sit, sit, don’t be so formal. This is my assistant, Miss Guan Sheng-Nan.” Zhang Sen introduced her to them.
“Hello, Miss Guan,” said Xia Lei politely.
“Hello, Miss Guan.” Liang Si-Yao greeted her too.
“Hello, Mr Xia, Miss Liang. Please, have a seat. I’ll make tea for you,” said Guan Sheng-Nan. She gave Lu Sheng and the Thai bodyguard a look, and they removed themselves from the living room.
Xia Lei was struck by the display. Just going by that one look, he could tell that this Guan Sheng-Nan was not simply an assistant to Zhang Sen.
Guan Sheng-Nan quickly made four cups of tea, including one for herself. She then seated herself next to Zhang Sen and stared calmly at Xia Lei. Liang Si-Yao was also an eye-catching existence but she didn’t take more than a glance at her.
The unpleasantness from earlier seemed to have been swept under the carpet and the atmosphere in the living room was amiable. The four of them sipped tea, chatted and no one mentioned the unhappiness from the earlier incident.
After half a pot of tea, Xia Lei cut to the chase. “Mr Zhang, I actually came to…”
“Mr Xia.” Zhang Sen cut him off and smiled as he said, “I know why you came. No problem. I’ll call the JD sales department later and have them send someone to your company to take a look at your products, then open a counter and do some promotion for you. It will sell well as long as your product is good.”
Xia Lei and Liang Si-Yao were disconcerted by his swift cooperation. They exchanged glances and both wondered what drug Zhang Sen was on.
“What? Don’t believe me?”
“No, no, of course we believe you, Mr Zhang, or we wouldn’t have come looking for you,” said Xia Lei awkwardly, “It’s just that something unpleasant happened earlier and I didn’t expect that you would help so readily. I was surprised.”
Zhang Sen chuckled. “I didn’t take that little thing to heart. We men communicate with our fists. Don’t mention this ever again.”
Xia Lei smiled as well. “I won’t.”
Liang Si-Yao spoke tentatively, “Mr Zhang, we will repay you for your help. Please tell us what percentage of commission you’d like. We will give it to you in accordance with the online sales.”
Zhang Sen’s brows wrinkled. “Am I helping you for money?”
“This…” Liang Si-Yao had nothing to say if he was not after money.
Zhang Sen suddenly smiled. “I’m helping you because I see you as friends. I’ll be frank - I like you two. I’d like us to be friends. Do I have the honour of calling you both my friends?”
Xia Lei and Liang Si-Yao exchanged looks.
Xia Lei extended his hand to Zhang Sen. “We’re already friends.”
“Hahaha…” Zhang Sen grabbed hold of Xia Lei's hand and did an exaggerated laugh.