Chapter 52: Where Did You Go?

Mu Lin picked up on the cue immediately and strode over to Chen Xi.

"Chen Xi, I feel like there's something you're not telling me. Can you just spit it out?"

Chen Xi trembled like a leaf, hissing in a low voice, "Brother Lin, what in the world is going on between you and Sister Xiaoxue?!"

"Don't ask what you're not supposed to ask." Mu Lin thought, 'Has it been so long since Chen Xi got a beating that he's itching for one? Why would he ask such a taboo question?'

"Fine, I won't ask. Anyway, I'm telling you, Sister Xiaoxue called me in the middle of the night last night, asking where you were! How was I supposed to know? I just told her I had no idea and that we weren't close."

"Then, half an hour later, Sister Xiaoxue called again."

In the middle of the night, Li Xue had made a total of five calls, driving Chen Xi to a nervous breakdown.

Mu Lin thought, 'I didn't come home last night, and Li Xue was actually this worried about me?'

'Didn't I tell her I wasn't coming back last night and not to wait up?'

'Why bother?'

"So, Brother Lin, can I ask you what you were doing last night?"

Mu Lin said, "I was out discussing business last night! Also, Brother Xi, I have to tell you, you really need to get your act together and start working hard. Your reputation as a good-for-nothing has already spread throughout all of Nanjiang Province."

Chen Xi heard this and thought Mu Lin was just talking crap. "You're full of it! I'm just a nobody. Who would go out of their way to remember me?"

"Fine, have it your way. I was just making a comment," Mu Lin didn't press the issue with Chen Xi. "It's just that a famous real estate tycoon in Nanjiang Province heard your name, learned you were the head of the Special Projects Team, and then... he didn't dare make you the project manager."

"Because of that, we lost out on a deal worth at least tens of millions…" Mu Lin speculated, his words a mix of truth and fiction.

Chen Xi got the creeps. 'Mu Lin couldn't possibly have a project like that, could he?'

'If he did, why didn't he bring it up sooner?'

The short-tempered secretary pushed the door open and called out, "Special Projects Team, listen up! There's a meeting in a bit. Send one representative to attend."

Chen Xi said, "Brother Lin, you should go! If you see Sister Xiaoxue, you can explain what happened last night."

Mu Lin smiled. "Last night was such a trivial thing. It's not worth worrying about!"

While they were talking, the short-tempered secretary turned and left, tossing a sentence over her shoulder:

"You'd better hurry. It's about to start."

Mu Lin had no choice but to hurry toward the conference room. Halfway there, he ran into Li Xue, who was also rushing to the meeting alone.

Li Xue was as beautiful as ever, but she looked utterly exhausted. Considering she'd spent all night on the phone, that was hardly surprising.

The moment Li Xue saw Mu Lin, her eyes blazed with fury, and she stormed over to him.

"What was up with you last night? Why didn't you come home??"

Mu Lin said, "I seem to recall we have an agreement. We stay out of each other's business, don't we?"

Of course, Li Xue knew about their agreement. "I know about the agreement, but it has its conditions. You didn't come home last night, and I had to call all over the place to find out what was going on. It caused me to lose a whole night's sleep! That most certainly breaks our promise! You have to take responsibility for this!"

Her aggressive advance put Mu Lin under considerable pressure. "Fine, fine, fine! I'll take responsibility!"

"How are you going to take responsibility? What were you doing last night?" Even though Mu Lin had conceded, Li Xue still wouldn't let him off the hook.

Mu Lin said, "I was out discussing business last night! I secured a huge project for the Li Group."

"You?"

Li Xue even wondered if Mu Lin had been duped by some common scam.

Mu Lin said, "Of course it was me!"

Li Xue pursed her lips. "Business, was it? Fine. What business? Show me the contract!"

Mu Lin said, "The contract isn't signed yet. The client said they would come in person today to sign it."

They were so busy arguing that they didn't notice Lu Yi walking over. Seeing them quarrel put him in an excellent mood.

"Haha, has the infighting already begun? Hahaha," Lu Yi mocked them gleefully.

"Mu Lin, why don't you just come work for me?" Lu Yi said. "Starting today, the Li Group will belong to the Lu Family! Everyone from the Li Family is getting kicked off the board!"

Mu Lin said, "That won't be necessary. As far as I know, the Li Family's position within the Li Group is about to be strengthened more than ever before. From today onward, if Li Xue is willing to have the Lu Family, then the Lu Family might still keep one seat on the board."

"But if Li Xue is unwilling... then the Lu Family's glory days end today."

Hearing Mu Lin's words, Lu Yi threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Did I hear you correctly? Are you still half-asleep? Can't you tell the difference between dreams and reality?"

"I'm a magnanimous person. Let's just laugh off our minor past unpleasantness and embrace a brighter future!"

Lu Yi was completely full of himself, sounding just like a top executive giving a speech.

He was so moved by his own words that he actually started clapping for himself.

Li Xue was already annoyed with Mu Lin, but now she was even more furious with Lu Yi.

"Don't think landing one big project can shake the Li Family's position! At the end of the day, the Li Group belongs to the Li Family!"

Li Xue's fury was uncontrollable. She practically roared the words, her voice echoing throughout the entire Li Group building.

'This isn't good,' Mu Lin thought. He quickly lowered his voice and said to Li Xue:

"You need to calm down, or you'll be playing right into his hands!"

"Come with me. I promise his plan will never succeed!"

Li Xue knew she had gone too far. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger.

She shot Mu Lin a look. "Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth!"

"You're right," Mu Lin agreed placidly, as if Li Xue wasn't talking about him at all.

Li Xue didn't get the reaction she expected and was so angry she nearly rolled her eyes in frustration.

When they reached the conference room, Mu Lin went to the seating area and sat down among a group of middle managers, blending in perfectly.

The middle managers were all fed up. 'Meetings every other day. Are we ever supposed to get any work done?'

'Besides, today's meeting is completely pointless. It's a total waste of time.'

'Everyone knows the Li Group will belong to the Lu Family soon enough.'

'No amount of meetings is going to change that fact.'

Li Xue walked up to the dais and took her seat at the center of the table.

Her haggard expression immediately sent the middle managers' minds racing.

'That girl is finally cracking. If she doesn't hand over power soon, she won't be able to hold on.'

'If her luck runs out, she might even lose her life.'

Lu Yi strode to the front of the lectern, looking confident and imposing.

The moment he appeared, some of the middle managers erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

The atmosphere was electric.

It was as if he was already the new president.

"Alright, alright, please be seated!" Lu Yi raised a hand and gently motioned for the crowd to settle down.

At his command, the entire hall fell silent.

"Alright, everyone's here. President Li, shall we begin?" Lu Yi said coolly.

Li Xue pursed her lips and began to preside over the meeting.

Lu Yi crossed his arms, looking completely at ease.

According to their agreement, Chairman Qiao's subordinate would deliver the project contract to the conference room in half an hour.

Then, Lu Yi would present the contract to the middle managers.

'Any middle manager with half a brain will jump ship to our side.'

'As for the remaining die-hard loyalists, they can just disappear into the mists of time.'

With Mu Lin at the meeting, Chen Xi had nothing better to do, so he wandered around downstairs with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Everyone knew he was part of the "loser squad" and didn't pay him much mind. After all, if a man has no shame, what can you say to him?

A friendly-looking man with a healthy complexion approached Chen Xi, accompanied by an aide.

Chen Xi blinked and asked subconsciously, "Sir, are you here looking for someone to build a building?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to slap himself. 'What a stupid question. Why else would someone come to a construction company? To tear buildings down?'

The man, however, didn't seem offended. He smiled. "That's right. Could you please tell me where the conference room is?"

Chen Xi said, "The conference room is on the ninth floor of that building over there. You can just take the elevator up."

"Great, thank you, young man!" The man handed Chen Xi a business card, then turned and slowly walked away.

Chen Xi watched the man's back recede into the distance before looking at the business card.

Shengding Engineering Co., Ltd.

Chairman Qiao Canhua.

Holy crap… The cigarette fell from Chen Xi's mouth, landing on the ground with a shower of brilliant sparks.

'You've got to be kidding me. What's a big shot like him doing in a small-time place like this?'

'This is the top dog in Nanjiang Province's entire construction industry…'

He remembered what Mu Lin had said earlier, about his reputation as a good-for-nothing being known all over Nanjiang Province.

'Could he have been talking about Chairman Qiao?'

At that thought, Chen Xi broke into a run, sprinting straight for the conference room.