Chapter 163: President Lu Is a Hopeless Male Chauvinist

Though there was nothing between them, she didn’t mind letting others misunderstand. After all, she hadn’t said a thing, had she?

In her opinion, an ambiguous answer was, in fact, the best answer.

’As for Ryan, I can just explain it to him later... He seems pretty good-natured, so he probably won’t get angry.’

"..." As expected, Huang Bai was now too intimidated to speak.

’I can’t even imagine... Just what kind of connections does she have to be this confident?’

’I can’t imagine, I really can’t... Just how powerful is this Gu Shengsheng’s background?’

’I’ll just have to swallow this loss. I can’t beat Gu Shengsheng in the appraisal world, and I never thought my business would take a hit too...’

He was completely overwhelmed now!

In the future... he wouldn’t dare cause trouble for Gu Shengsheng ever again.

The matter was considered concluded after Huang Bai’s repeated apologies.

After all, they were all prominent figures, and at a time like this, everyone needed to maintain a shred of dignity on the surface.

Gu Shengsheng, however, wasn’t concerned. Given the situation today, the audience, the netizens, and the other investors were not fools.

She had already made it obvious to everyone that Huang Bai was a scoundrel who played dirty. It was just that no one had ever dared to expose him, and as a result, Golden Phoenix Pavilion’s business had always thrived.

Now that such a major incident had occurred, at the very least, no respectable person would shop at Golden Phoenix Pavilion.

A steep drop in their stock price was also inevitable.

Gu Shengsheng had consulted Ryan beforehand, and he had told her there was no need to do anything further. They just had to wait for Golden Phoenix Pavilion to shoot itself in the foot.

When it came to business, he was the expert, so Gu Shengsheng just did as he said.

Little did she know, Lu Shijing’s intention was to handle everything that came next himself.

’A small-fry like Golden Phoenix Pavilion... Taking it down will be too easy. It seems it’s time to teach the He Family a lesson.’

While Lu Shijing began to make his move, Gu Shengsheng wasn’t idle either.

Online, netizens were even more wrapped up in the drama.

They had first seen Gu Shengsheng get flamed by the entire internet, with trending topics suddenly filled with news of the influencer’s downfall.

But unexpectedly, before whoever paid for those trending topics could even take them down, Golden Phoenix Pavilion went and shot itself in the foot.

#GoldenPhoenixPavilionFramesBusinessmen#

#GoldenPhoenixPavilionFramesItsBenefactorGuShengsheng#

#GoldenPhoenixPavilionApologizes#

After Lin Kai pushed these tags to the top of the trending lists, he rushed to find his boss.

"Boss, it’s all done," he said. "Do you have any idea how busy I was today? Lu Chaoyang keeps making me work and work, and you’re making me work too. What am I, a spinning top? I’m constantly spinning!"

’This is killing me. The Lu Group is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Lu Chaoyang is acting like a madman.’

’He’s pulling strings everywhere and chewing everyone out. The man’s a walking powder keg.’

Lin Kai was just incredibly busy at the moment.

"An extra five thousand this month," Lu Shijing said, and Lin Kai immediately shut his mouth.

His expression immediately switched to a sycophantic smile. "Boss, it’s truly an honor to work for you."

"I’ll also keep a close eye on Miss Gu and make sure no one bullies her. And that He Family, they’ve really got some nerve. How dare they touch someone you’re protecting?!"

Lu Shijing sneered. "They must think my reach doesn’t extend that far."

"The Young Madam is in Anxi, and I can’t get away for the next few days. The richest man, Shang Jinhao, has gone over there. I also saw that the appraiser from Xiangjiang and that overseas Chinese expert went too."

"Look into what’s happening. Make sure she doesn’t get dragged into it. Anxi has been a hotbed of trouble lately."

Lin Kai nodded. "I’ll look into it right away. Boss, you’re really well-informed. I hadn’t heard a thing about this."

Lu Shijing didn’t say anything and went back to his documents.

Later, seeing that it had gotten quite late, he sent a message to Gu Shengsheng: Remember to eat. Good night. And also, good morning for tomorrow.

His grandmother had been sending him articles on how to woo your wife. Most of them featured situations similar to his: a couple with no emotional foundation, but where the husband was in love with his wife.

Most involved going through a divorce, followed by an arduous journey of groveling to win her back.

But Lu Shijing knew he was different. He could make Gu Shengsheng fall for him before she ever learned his true identity.

And they certainly wouldn’t get divorced.

Because he didn’t have an unforgettable first love, nor did he have any of those other messy character flaws.

He simply liked her. At nearly thirty years old, it wasn’t easy to find someone you truly liked.

Lu Shijing remembered his grandmother’s constant reminders: chat with her every day, wish her good morning and good night, and remind her to eat.

Lu Shijing had done just that, and he considered himself extremely efficient.

Shengsheng didn’t like to reply to messages, so he condensed everything he needed to say for the day into a single text.

’This way, it’s practically perfect.’

Lu Shijing prided himself on having learned the essence of the craft, believing the student had surpassed the master.

He imagined his grandmother would be proud of him for it.

—

On her end, Gu Shengsheng frowned when she received the message.

Zhang Sanwang leaned over and said, "What’s with this junk text? Is it from a salesperson? They’re wishing you good morning and good night every day, but they send them at the same time? That’s so weird."

Gu Shengsheng: "..."

"It’s a message from Mr. Ryan. At first, I thought his account had been hacked too," Gu Shengsheng said thoughtfully. "But then I figured it might be his work account, which he sometimes uses and his assistant sometimes uses."

"Rich people probably just send daily greetings like this, right?"

Since Gu Shengsheng put it that way, Zhang Sanwang thought it made sense too.

As they spoke, the two of them arrived back at their hotel.

After thanking her, Zhang Sanwang and Li Bai went to their rooms to rest.

Gu Shengsheng yawned. "Director Wang Yu, if there’s nothing important tomorrow, please don’t call me. I want to sleep in all day."

As a lazy person and a homebody, Gu Shengsheng’s favorite way to relax was to sleep.

Who knew that Wang Yu would reply helplessly, "Actually, there is something I need to see you about."

Seeing that he was about to say more, Gu Shengsheng quickly covered her ears. "Uh, can I hear about it tomorrow instead?"

"Don’t worry, Miss Gu. There’s money involved. A chance to make a huge profit," Wang Yu said with great confidence.

Gu Shengsheng’s interest was piqued. "In that case, I’ll come find you at your museum tomorrow after 12:00 PM."

"Alright."

Zhang Zhengyi said, "I’ll just go in the morning. I probably have to receive some guests tomorrow morning anyway."

Seeing that even Mr. Zhang was interested in this person, Gu Shengsheng grew a little more curious.

But only a little.

’First, a good night’s sleep.’

「The next day」

Gu Shengsheng arrived as scheduled. She was standing at the museum entrance and hadn’t even gone inside when she heard an unfamiliar voice ask:

"Where is Miss Gu Shengsheng?"

"She’ll be here in a moment." Gu Shengsheng heard Wang Yu’s deferential voice.

Then she walked over and came face-to-face with a man with a full beard who appeared to be around fifty years old.

His looks were hard to describe—just the unremarkable face of a middle-aged man. The only thing special about him was that he was the nation’s richest man, Shang Jinhao. He had apparently gotten his start back in the seventies and eighties by reselling corn.

He had been building his enterprise ever since, and it just kept getting bigger.

His appearance here was baffling. Logically speaking, Gu Shengsheng should have had no reason to cross paths with a man like him.

Gu Shengsheng walked over and said, "Mr. Shang, I’ve heard a great deal about you. I’m Gu Shengsheng."