Chapter 123: Investment, Buying Shares

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Investment, Buying Shares

The next day.

The weather was uncooperative. Dark clouds covered the sky, creating a gloomy and oppressive atmosphere that signaled an impending storm.

Tao Shu hadn’t slept well all night. She got up early to wash up, made breakfast for her husband and children, and headed to the company. She was the first to arrive. After entering the passcode, she went into the office and began organizing the investment contract.

By nine o’clock, her colleagues gradually trickled into work. After Xia Wanqing sold her house, she kept 1.5 million yuan as operational funds and payroll, contacting some former colleagues who were willing to return. Thus, Ze Feng Capital had essentially risen from its ashes, resuming operations.

Tao Shu had been a little distracted all morning. Finally, at a quarter past nine, she saw Xia Wanqing—looking exhausted but absolutely radiant. Today, she was dressed very formally in a tailored light-colored suit and a white shirt, exuding an aura of intellectual elegance.

"Morning, Sister Tao!" she greeted with a smile.

Tao Shu replied. Looking at Wanqing, who was clearly exhausted yet had a glint of excitement in her eyes, she suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. Wanqing had sacrificed so much just to get her life back on track! Even though Tao Shu didn’t agree with her methods, as a friend, she could understand.

"I’ve almost finished preparing the contract! There are just a few details that still need your final approval," Tao Shu said.

"Thank you!" Xia Wanqing looked gratefully at Sister Tao, who had stayed by her side through it all. She easily guessed that the other woman had worked late into the night.

Tao Shu shook her head. "No need to thank me! Come on, let’s go to your office!"

The two walked together toward the inner boss’s office. It was then that Tao Shu noticed Wanqing was walking a bit strangely. Although she was trying hard to act normal, a closer look revealed she was walking with her legs squeezed together...

HISS.

Tao Shu froze for a moment, wondering if last night had really been that intense. An inexplicable hint of envy rose in her heart as she mused on how wonderful it was to be young. Thinking about her own husband’s cowardly performance in bed last night, she could only sigh.

Ultimately, Tao Shu couldn’t help but ask softly, "How did you sleep last night?"

Xia Wanqing’s expression remained perfectly natural as she blurted out, "I basically didn’t sleep at all last night. Whenever I thought about signing the contract this afternoon, I got so excited! Plus, Mr. Su is such a good person..."

Hearing this, Tao Shu’s gaze became somewhat complicated. Eventually, she shook her head and said, "Wanqing, I know things aren’t easy right now, but you still need to be careful in your day-to-day life to avoid gossip..."

Xia Wanqing looked confused. "Sister Tao, I don’t quite get what you mean. What gossip?"

Tao Shu closed the office door and turned back to her. "It’s best not to expose your relationship with Mr. Su in the workplace..."

"What’s wrong with my relationship with him?" Xia Wanqing asked, utterly bewildered.

"Didn’t you two already... last night?"

GIGGLE. Seeing Tao Shu’s expression and connecting the dots with her warning, Xia Wanqing covered her mouth and began to laugh. "Sister Tao, I think you’ve misunderstood.

"Nothing happened between Mr. Su and me. When I contacted him last night, he found out I was cycling, so we ended up riding together..."

"But didn’t you go to the hotel together?"

"Mr. Su actually lives long-term at the hotel. It was just a coincidence that..."

After a thorough explanation, the expression on Tao Shu’s face became a bit unnatural. Every detail could be reasonably explained by Wanqing’s story. The awkward walk was due to muscle fatigue from cycling, not from... Her envy instantly vanished. Ugh, what was she thinking? Tao Shu shook her head, dispelling her wild thoughts. How embarrassing! It turned out she was just letting her imagination run wild.

Seeing Wanqing struggling to hold back her laughter, Tao Shu said helplessly, "Just laugh if you want to! Once you’re done laughing, we can get to work on the contract."

HAHAHA.

Xia Wanqing burst into unladylike laughter. "Oh my god, Sister Tao, I never expected someone as serious as you to have her mind in the gutter..."

Tao Shu replied awkwardly, "Uh! So blame me, then?"

Celestial Paradise Holiday Hotel.

Even though he slept so late last night, Su Yunzhou still woke up early, fully energized and in excellent condition.

He took out his phone and exchanged some sweet nothings with Liu Yiyi until she had to get back to work and reluctantly hung up. Over the past two days, Yiyi seemed to be accompanying her relatives to do something. Combined with her job, she appeared extremely busy. When he asked her about it, she was hesitant and kept quiet. She was so sensible that it made his heart ache for her!

With nothing else to do, he called Li Yan. Ever since that ’auspicious’ night, she had reverted to her icy, aloof demeanor. Uh... Actually, it wasn’t bad at all. A two-faced she-wolf just meant double the thrill.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Yanyan said a client had arrived and hung up. Alright then! He needed to focus on his own career anyway.

Su Yunzhou browsed some interior design posts on Little Blue Book for a while, paid to watch a high-octane action movie, and then had Jian Shan deliver lunch to his room. After finishing his meal, he tried taking a nap but couldn’t fall asleep. He decided to forget about it and played on his phone for a bit. Seeing that it was about time, he drove to the IFS Commercial Center.

An hour later, in Ze Feng Investment’s conference room.

Tao Shu respectfully went over the contract with Su Yunzhou. Her fawning tone was a complete departure from yesterday. Xia Wanqing sat beside her, full of anticipation. She continuously interlaced her fingers until her knuckles turned pale, clearly extremely nervous. The scene was uncannily similar to a certain kind of movie everyone had seen, where two female subordinates were reporting their work in a conference room. ℯℯ𝑙.

Su Yunzhou gathered his thoughts and keenly caught a key figure. According to their financial statements’ valuation, his 10 million yuan investment would net him 39% of the shares.

Regarding this number, both women felt somewhat apprehensive. They had presented the offer with the utmost sincerity, but if the other party wanted to kick them while they were down, given the company’s current operational state, they would have no choice but to grit their teeth and agree—as long as his demands weren’t too outrageous.

Su Yunzhou could only understand the gist of the contract, so he mentally asked Tong for help.

[The contract is correct. You may proceed with the signing.]

Hearing this, Su Yunzhou felt reassured. He flashed Xia Wanqing a smile she would never forget for the rest of her life.

"No problem! Let’s sign."

[Affinity +10]

With an excited heart and trembling hands, Xia Wanqing signed her name. Under Tao Shu’s guidance, Su Yunzhou picked up the fountain pen. After the tedious signing formalities were complete, the heavy stone weighing on Xia Wanqing’s heart finally lifted, and her immense gratitude was plain to see.

"Mr. Su, please rest assured. We will absolutely not let you down," she promised.

Su Yunzhou nodded. He casually pulled a folded lottery ticket out from his phone case and said, "Go cash this yourselves. I’ll transfer another 2 million yuan into the company’s account shortly. If it’s still not enough, just let me know how much extra you need later."

"Ah, yes!" Tao Shu took the ticket with trembling hands, finding the situation entirely absurd. This... this was a 10 million yuan lottery ticket! And he had just casually kept it wedged in his phone case. She had served many entrepreneurs and met plenty of wealthy people, but it was incredibly rare to see someone as carefree as Mr. Su.

Xia Wanqing shared her sentiment. Everything had gone so smoothly that it birthed a sense of unreality. After all, what investor was ever as straightforward and decisive as Mr. Su? Yet reality was sometimes just that absurd and true.

Shortly after, a visibly thrilled Tao Shu stepped out of the conference room and announced the good news to her eagerly awaiting colleagues. The employees, who had been tense all morning, immediately erupted into excited cheers.

"This is fantastic!"

"With this money coming in, the company can finally come back to life."

"Exactly! With a mystery shareholder joining us, Ze Feng is definitely going to get better and better."

"I’m going to contact my clients right away. So many projects can finally move forward again."

The freckled receptionist was equally ecstatic as she spoke to the other female receptionist, who had just been back at work for two days. "See! I told you there wouldn’t be any problems!

"We stayed with the company through its hardest times, so we’re basically veterans now.

"Besides, I think President Xia is truly charismatic. We can learn a lot from following a leader like her."

The female colleague nodded, her excitement tinged with envy. The freckled girl had stood by the company in its moment of crisis and would definitely be looking at a promotion and a raise soon. Although she herself had returned, the nature of her loyalty was entirely different. Sure enough, sometimes making the right choice was more important than sheer effort.

Looking at the freckled girl—whose tenure was much shorter than hers—she spoke with a hint of flattery, "Right! Also, I heard that this mysterious shareholder has a very extraordinary background."

"I know a little about that," the freckled receptionist said, lowering her voice. "I heard he’s a second-generation rich kid, and..."

RING RING RING.

The sudden ringing of the front desk phone interrupted them. She immediately picked up the receiver and spoke respectfully.

"President Xia, how can I help you?

"Okay! I will get a headcount right away!

"I’ll send you the location once the reservation is booked!

"Understood."