Chapter 72: Private Room 2020 Again

'So this is the Clear Heart Tea?'

It had a delightful, lingering aftertaste. Li Xue was pleasantly surprised and downed the rest of the tea in her cup.

"This is amazing! Ling'Er, your grandfather is incredible!"

"If Sister Xiaoxue likes it, I'll take the liberty of giving you a ten-tael package!" Zhao Ling'Er said with a laugh, covering her mouth.

"Thank you!" The slight twinge of jealousy Li Xue had felt moments ago vanished completely.

Zhao Yang pushed the door open and smiled when he saw Mu Lin and Li Xue sitting there. "Ah, Xiaoxue, my girl, you're here too?"

Li Xue stood to greet him. "Divine Doctor Zhao, is Boss Qiao available now?"

Zhao Yang chuckled. "He is! But remember to tread heavily when you enter the courtyard, or things might get awkward."

Li Xue was confused. 'What does that mean?'

Having learned this lesson the hard way, Mu Lin just smiled. "Divine Doctor Zhao has a point. We just need to be careful."

Li Xue still didn't understand. She followed Mu Lin to the courtyard entrance, where he deliberately made his footsteps heavy.

Sure enough, a flurry of hurried movement came from inside the courtyard.

By the time the two of them walked in, Qiao Canhua and Madam Qiao were standing together as if nothing had happened, though the hem of Madam Qiao's dress was still slightly disheveled.

Then it dawned on Li Xue…

'Boss Qiao is still full of vigor for his age. What a passionate couple!'

Mu Lin spoke up, "Boss Qiao, it's about time. Shouldn't we get going?"

Boss Qiao said, "President Li, you're here too! How did you end up coming with Mu Xiaoyou!"

Not wanting to reveal her strange engagement to Mu Lin, Li Xue replied formally,

"Chairman Qiao, you're a major client of our group, so of course I had to come and see you. Besides, you've come from afar to be our guest, and the meeting with Chairman Wu might not go in your favor. On an occasion like this, it's only natural for me to come and lend you my support."

Li Xue's words made Mu Lin cringe. 'What nonsense is this?' he thought. 'You, help? It'd be a miracle if you didn't just make things worse.'

Still, her words did sound good on the surface. Anyone could say them. Even if all she did was pour tea, that was still a contribution, wasn't it?

Qiao Canhua laughed heartily. "No need to be so formal. I'd be happy if you just called me Uncle Qiao."

Li Xue felt a bit awkward. 'The Li Family and Shengding Group haven't had many dealings in the past, have they?'

'He's acting so familiar, as if we're old friends.'

'I guess this is just the over-familiarity unique to powerful men.'

'He can act familiar with me, but I can't do the same with him. How frustrating.'

Mu Lin cut in, "Chairman Qiao, it's getting late. We can't keep Chairman Wu waiting."

Qiao Canhua sneered. "If this wasn't on my turf, I'd stand him up today. Then I'd reschedule for tomorrow and stand him up again. I'd do it ten times."

Mu Lin broke out in a cold sweat. 'Do all these tycoons play this dirty?'

But in this situation, only Wu Long had the power to play games like that. Even a man as powerful as Qiao Canhua had to endure it.

"Niece Xue, how has Mu Lin been performing at the company?"

Li Xue found the question odd. "President Qiao, why do you ask?"

"Oh, Mu Lin and I really hit it off. He's like a nephew to me, so I can't help but ask."

Li Xue was surprised. She never expected Mu Lin and Qiao Canhua to have such a good relationship.

The two parties got into their respective cars and headed for the Huangshanghuang Grand Hotel.

Guo Lei was pacing back and forth at the entrance of the Huangshanghuang Hotel, waiting.

Suddenly, he saw Wu Long swaggering toward him, hands clasped behind his back. He was followed by Wu Ming, who was covered in medicinal plasters, and a flashy, extravagantly dressed woman Guo Lei didn't recognize.

A few bodyguards followed at a distance. Upon seeing Guo Lei, they immediately circled around and fell in behind him.

"Chairman Wu!" Guo Lei bowed to Wu Long.

Wu Long waved a dismissive hand. "Well? Is the food ordered?"

"It's ordered, and they've already started preparing it. You'll be able to eat as soon as you go in," Guo Lei answered.

"Oh, is that so," Wu Long said with a slow nod, then continued walking on his own.

In truth, Guo Lei hadn't yet told Wu Long who else was coming today.

Today was simply one of Wu Long's regular days for dining out. He'd just have his secretary pick a random place, and he'd go eat there.

Wu Long wasn't picky. As long as it was a restaurant and the quality was decent, he'd go anywhere.

So even though Guo Lei had made the arrangements at Huangshang Huang, which was Wu Long's own turf, Wu Long didn't really care.

"Which room is it?"

"Room 2020," Guo Lei answered.

"Well now, this is a VIP room. Isn't it a bit much for me to take it? You could make a lot of money renting this out to someone else!"

Guo Lei replied, "Actually, there are other distinguished guests arriving."

Wu Long froze. "I wasn't told about this!"

"Chairman Qiao Canhua will be coming as well," Guo Lei said slowly. "He has something he wants to discuss with you."

Wu Long didn't recall having this on his schedule. "What the hell?"

Guo Lei, doing his best to anticipate Wu Long's temper, said,

"Chairman Qiao repeatedly told me that he wished to speak with you. I figured that since we've already taught him a lesson, the fact that he wants to see you must mean he's ready to submit. He's probably coming to apologize, right? That's why I added him to the guest list."

"Chairman Wu, if you don't want to see him, I'll send him packing right now."

Wu Long recalled the picture of Qiao Canhua's black and blue face, and his eyes narrowed. "Haha, no, no, don't do that. I knew a man who built a business as big as Chairman Qiao's couldn't possibly be a fool who doesn't know how to adapt to the times. Since he realizes he was wrong and wants to apologize, we should let him."

With his hands clasped behind his back, Wu Long swaggered inside.

As for Mu Lin, Guo Lei decided to keep his presence a secret for now, since he would surely arrive with Chairman Qiao and his wife anyway.

A short while later, Qiao Canhua arrived with his wife. Mu Lin and Li Xue followed, with Mu Lin walking half a step behind Li Xue, maintaining the posture of a typical employee.

Qiao Canhua's face was a magnificent sight, covered in a large area of swelling that was even more severe than the day before.

Seeing this, Wu Long was incredibly satisfied.

'That's what you get for being so arrogant,' he thought. 'Ready to submit now, are we?'

He gave Guo Lei a thumbs-up. "Xiaoguo, nice work!"

"Thank you for your praise, Chairman Wu!" Guo Lei hurriedly bowed.

Wu Long did a double-take when he saw Li Xue.

'Fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs... she's just my type.'

"And she is…?"

Guo Lei said, "That is Ms. Li Xue, the president of the Li Group. She's the one who ultimately secured the South City No. 6 plot. As for what she's doing here with Chairman Qiao, I have no idea."

"Is that so?" Wu Long stroked his chin. Suddenly, the flashy woman beside him seemed far less appealing.

He stood his ground, waiting for Qiao Canhua to come to him.

In his mind, he was the one with the upper hand.

Qiao Canhua walked up to Wu Long and extended a hand. "Chairman Wu, how are you!"

Wu Long narrowed his eyes, extremely pleased. 'I had you beaten to a pulp, and you still have to come to me, bowing and scraping.'

He grasped Qiao Canhua's hand. "Haha, Chairman Qiao, a pleasure! I only wanted to have a little chat yesterday. Who knew my men would get so carried away and do this to you."

Since Qiao Canhua hadn't actually been beaten, he didn't care in the slightest. "It was just a misunderstanding between us. As long as we can clear the air, what's a few superficial wounds?"

The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Allow me to introduce my wife," Qiao Canhua said nonchalantly, placing a hand on the small of her back.

Madam Qiao smiled and inclined her head toward Wu Long in a small gesture of respect.

Wu Long was instantly captivated again. Her beauty was on par with Li Xue's, and it made his mouth go dry. He couldn't help but grope the waist of the woman beside him a couple more times.

"Madam Qiao, I've heard so much about you," Wu Long said with a smile, extending his hand to her.

Madam Qiao shook his hand. The moment he touched her warm, soft hand, Wu Long felt it was far more interesting than any other woman's he had ever held.

His gaze hardened, and a malicious thought sparked in his mind.

He gave Guo Lei a signal, and Guo Lei understood at once.

'The boss is about to start something again.'

'But of all people, you're going to mess with Qiao Canhua?'

'Mu Lin is right there. If this gets out of hand, it could blow up into a huge incident. Can you really handle the fallout?'

After a moment's thought, Guo Lei glanced at Mu Lin. Mu Lin had noticed Wu Long's intentions long ago and was already mentally running through a hundred different ways to kill him.

He shot Guo Lei a look that said, 'I get it. Don't worry.' The silent reassurance did much to calm Guo Lei's nerves.

Wu Long released her hand and pointed into the hotel with a smile. "Come, please, right this way. Room 2020."

The corner of Li Xue's mouth twitched. She quietly turned her head to glance at their bodyguards.

'Good, they're still there.'

'Right now, they were the only ones she could trust.'