Chapter 746: Gifted and Genius
Bluestar Villa Complex.
Kang Xia had been there more than twice, so the security guards did not stop her. The two housekeepers in the villa also treated and served her as the mistress of the house, serving her a hot meal. But Kang Xia did not even touch the chopsticks. After Tang Xiu returned home and saw Kang Xia, who was lost in thought in the dining room, he smiled and took a seat on the opposite side.
“What are you thinking about?”
Kang Xia snapped back to her senses, a beautiful smile then appearing on her beautiful face as she said, “It’s nothing. It’s just… I’m feeling very tired recently. I want to go abroad for a vacation after handling the issues with the project tender.”
“You can arrange the time yourself.” Tang Xiu nodded and smilingly said, “But call me in advance before you go. I will send some people to protect you.”
“No. My bodyguards are enough.” Kang Xia shook her head.
“You feel they are enough, but I don’t so.” Tang Xiu sighed. “It’s relatively safe in China, and those bodyguards of yours can fully protect you, be it in secret or in public. But it will be different when you’re abroad. There are many forces eyeing the several products of the Magnificent Tang Corporation with greedy eyes, so I’m sure that many forces will stare at you once you step out of the country. They will do everything they can to ambush and kidnap you.”
Kang Xia’s brows slightly knitted. She gave it a thought and said, “Then forget it. I had better not take a holiday.”
“If it’s okay with you, I can recommend you a good place,” said Tang Xiu with a smile.
“Where?” Asked Kang Xia
“Our future base and HQ, Nine Dragons Island. Yinyin is there now,” answered Tang Xiu.
Kang Xia’s eyes shone and said with a looking forward expression, “I know that you bought Nine Dragons Island and that it’s still undergoing reconstruction, but I haven’t once visited the place until now! Alright then, I’ll take a trip there to play.”
Tang Xiu smiled and nodded. After telling Kang Xia to eat, they then continued chatting while eating and finished it after a while. As they headed to the living room, he then learned from her that all the senior executives of the Magnificent Tang Corporation who came with her to Shanghai were all arranged to stay in the Paradise Manor. What surprised him was that Kang Xia also set up the venue as the place for the tender meeting.
“Why did you set up the meeting there?” Asked Tang Xiu, baffled.
“We are now short on money, so we should use every penny very carefully,” replied Kang Xia softly. “If anything, the Paradise Manor is not a business belonging to the outside, to begin with. We can be said to not use our resources on some other establishments. The last time Ouyang Lulu called asking more wine she was not courteous at all, but then again, it was still great that we can reduce some costs.”
Cough! Cough…
Tang Xiu felt a bit awkward after hearing that. He could detect a trace of resentment from the Kang Xia’s tone. He instantly recalled another matter, however. She just said that she was tired and wanted to go overseas for a vacation. Was it because of the matter between him and Ouyang Lulu?
As he thought up to there, a headache struck him. The relations.h.i.+p between man and woman was too complex. He had released the arrows from its bow, and there was no turning back for him anymore. He too felt inside that it was rather unfair to her.
Kang Xia’s expression turned dark. She could tell that what Ouyang Lulu said to her was true judging from Tang Xiu’s expression. She had prepared for it a long time ago, and yet, intense sorrow and depression still filled her heart.
Inwardly, Tang Xiu could only sigh. He realized that it was not the moment for him to keep silent. Hence, he stood up and pulled her hand.
“Where are you taking me?”
As Tang Xiu took out the car key and drove the car to the gate, finally, Kang Xia asked.
“You have always been busy managing the company. I’m sure you rarely go out shopping. Just put aside everything about work for this whole afternoon. I’ll accompany you strolling around and shopping.”
Kang Xia knew Tang Xiu’s intention. It was his way of apologizing to her. Speaking about it, she and Tang Xiu indeed had been together for quite a long time, but the number of times he could accompany her strolling around and shopping was very few.
Strolling around, shopping, having a meal, and watching movies.
Throughout the afternoon and evening, Tang Xiu and Kang Xia were inseparable, leaving behind their footprints in many bustling areas of Shanghai. Only in the early hours of the morning did they return to Bluestar Villa Complex and then carried out the “activity” between man and woman, letting their blazing flames burn out until they finally left exhausted and satisfied.
The both of them were unaware that, just when they were perfectly satisfied, a white-haired young man could not even sleep inside a luxurious business room of a hotel on Wenge Avenue in Shanghai, puffing smoke with a bitter expression.
His name was Chen Zixue, the General Manager of Senyuan Group from Zhejiang Province, a wealthy man with tens of billions in a.s.sets, the idol of many young men, and a perfect bachelor in women’s eyes.
“Can semi-finished products make do?”
With one hand clamping his cigarette and the other boiling the water, he frowned and looked distressed.
For the Senyuan Group to enter in the top ten construction companies in China, it was inseparable with his Midas Hand. But he looked helpless and out of his wits at this moment.
He was still young and only 29 years old at present. 8 years ago, he was just a young and frivolous youth, who was regarded as the absolute leader of all the scions of the rich and middle-cla.s.s in Zhejiang Province; a complete mess of a reputation people might say. He previously thought that he could have a free, leisure and unfettered life, squandering money in his youth and enjoying his happy life. But then, the sky above his head… collapsed.
The former CEO of the Senyuan Group, his father, died of a brain hemorrhage, and the huge pressure and burden suddenly fell on him all of a sudden. Though it didn’t make him collapse, his hair turned white overnight due to the worries. Holding 75% of shareholding succession right had made him the new CEO, and numerous people were waiting for him to become a laughingstock.
In these eight years, he changed his previous silk pants lifestyle, frantically learned various kinds of knowledge and constantly filled his shortcomings. It was like he was under a spell and bewitched. The first year he took over the Senyuan Group as its CEO, the price of his company’s stock index plummeted sharply by nearly 20% at once, severely shrinking its a.s.sets. In the second year after he took over, the expenditure and income of the company hit balance, achieving a breakeven point. In his third year, he carried an extremely risky merger, developed and sold a new real estate, and earned back the losses of his first year with still some surplus left.
Fourth-year!
Fifth-year!
****
The ever-increasing income of the Senyuan Group did not stop and it could be said to be soaring, carrying out acquisition of lands and developing residential areas everywhere, selling commercial buildings…
In the eighth year, the total a.s.sets of the Senyuan Group had increased tenfold, while Chen Zixue had also become a famous real estate tyc.o.o.n with a resounding name.
Ring, ring, ring…
The ringtone of his mobile dragged his mind back, causing Chen Zixue’s expression to change. He quickly accepted the call and said in a deep voice, “Have you found it?”
“I have…”
After a while, Chen Zixue hung up and then dialed another cell number.
****
Bluestar Villa Complex.
Tang Xiu had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by the buzzing noise of his mobile’s ringtone. He glanced at Kang Xia who was still sound asleep, leaving him with no choice but to grab his phone. He saw that it was a call from an unfamiliar number, thus he hesitated for a while before accepting it, and then said, “Tang Xiu speaking, who is this?”
“I’m really sorry for disturbing you this late at night, Mr. Tang. I’m Chen Zixue of the Senyuan Group.”
“Just tell me what you wanna say.”
Tang Xiu’s tone was a bit rude. After all, he just had a “workout” and was a bit tired, while he also just fell asleep before getting awakened by the noise, making his mood quite bad.
“I’m really sorry for disturbing you this late at night, Mr. Tang. I know it’s improper and I have no rights to do so, but I have no other choice left. Could you spare some time to meet me?”
“Now? Are you kidding me?”
Tang Xiu looked at the time and saw that it was half past two in the morning.
Chen Zixue forced a smile and replied, “I’m afraid I’ll be kicked out of the tender if I were to wait until tomorrow.”
Tomorrow?
Tang Xiu then remembered that tomorrow was the tender for the project. He also recalled that Kang Xia had listed the top ten domestic construction companies. The Senyuan Group was one of them and the real helmsman of the company, its CEO, was Chen Zixue.
However, it was late at night. Did he want to go through the back door to obtain the project that was about to be tendered?
Tang Xiu pondered for several seconds before answering, “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the hotel on Wenge Avenue.”
“I don’t know where that is. Go to Shanghai University within an hour if you want to see me. I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance.”
40 minutes later, at the entrance of the Shanghai University campus.
Tang Xiu was neatly dressed as he waited inside his car while quietly flipping through the information he just found online. It was all about Chen Zixue’s resumés and portfolios. The content was short but with a lot of highlights. After reading it, he even had the illusion that this Chen Zixue could be compared to him. He was someone who had his personality and nature greatly transformed overnight, the likes of someone who had crossed planes and returned back.
“The HQ just sent another information, Boss.”
Mo Awu, who stood outside the window, handed his tablet to Tang Xiu.
After receiving and seriously reading it, Tang Xiu’s expression turned extremely serious. He did not expect that the Everlasting Feast Hall really had information regarding Chen Zixue. The information was very detailed, and it was clear that the record had some matters that were unknown to the public.
“Pure Yang Const.i.tution, as well as gifted and genius!”
The final note on the doc.u.ment echoed inside Tang Xiu’s mind, while the one who wrote that note was Gu Xiaoxue.
Tang Xiu hesitated for a while before he dialed Gu Xiaoxue’s number. Then, he asked, “Why is there information about Chen Zixue? And why didn’t you recruit him into the Everlasting Feast Hall?”
“It was Master who met him by chance when he was a child, Grand Master,” answered Gu Xiaoxue. “She ordered us to keep an eye of Chen Zixue’s situation. But then, Master stayed inside the exquisite paG.o.da all the year round, while I was responsible for sending people to investigate him. I finally found that he had a problematic personality, hence ordered the men who gathered his information to not recruit him into the Everlasting Feast Hall.”
A problem with his personality?
Tang Xiu looked at the doc.u.ment again and there was a comment written by Gu Xiaoxue there: Enigmatic and impossible to predict mind; hard to tame wild nature and unruliness beneath the surface; ruthless and vicious when handling problems; and likes to resorts to unconventional gambits.
Tang Xiu hung up and gave back the tablet to Mo Awu. Then, he muttered to himself, “He’s quite a good talent. A pity that he was actually born here.”
“Do you wish to subdue him, by chance, Boss?” Mo Awu, who looked at his expression, asked.
Tang Xiu fell silent for a while as he suddenly smiled and said, “I want him to be under more observation and scrutiny. Few people can pique my interest nowadays. If there is a pleasant surprise… maybe I will!”