The Scum Gong Refuses the Crematorium [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 7

The sudden appearance of Lu Mingyue on the podium, elegantly presenting his project, not only surprised Sheng Yan but sent a shockwave through Wu Cheng and Gu Yiheng.

They had assumed Lu Mingyue would try to use Sheng Yan to restart the project. Consequently, they had spent the time since Sheng Yan’s return on high alert, lobbying several executives to vote against it.

They never expected Lu Mingyue to be so treacherous. He had bypassed Sheng Yan entirely and gone directly to Chairwoman Jiang for investment!

Jiang Huaisu wasn’t originally a director at Shengshi; she became the chairwoman after inheriting her late husband’s estate. Originally, she was a socialite who only cared about shopping. After taking over, she never interfered with the company, leaving everything to her son—who had a degree in economics from a prestigious university—while she continued her life of luxury.

How could a woman who had never held a formal job and only lived off dividends understand investment or projects?

In an instant, a nameless fire rose within Wu Cheng and Gu Yiheng. They were convinced Lu Mingyue must have used some trickery to sway Chairwoman Jiang. They immediately labeled Lu Mingyue as “cunning” and “vicious,” and didn’t even bother listening to the details of his presentation. Their only goal was to see the project fail.

As soon as Lu Mingyue finished, Jiang Huaisu looked at the crowd and asked, “What does everyone think?”

Wu Cheng and Gu Yiheng immediately stood up to cast dissenting votes.

Wu Cheng: “Chairwoman Jiang, I was in charge of this project before. At first, I thought it was good, but this Mr. Lu’s credibility seems questionable. President Sheng passed on this project previously; restarting it now seems a bit frivolous, doesn’t it?”

Gu Yiheng followed up: “Furthermore, this project has a long R&D cycle and requires high funding. It’s difficult for the finance department to mobilize such a large sum on short notice. We also have to consider if this project will become a bottomless pit that just burns money.”

Several others then stood up to voice their opposition.

However, these objections were mostly nonsense to Jiang Huaisu. If she had decided to invest, she had certainly had professionals look it over; she was well aware of the pros and cons. Seeing no useful advice among the dissenters, she turned to her son: “Sheng Yan, what do you think?”

In Jiang Huaisu’s eyes, her son was handsome, well-educated, and great at making money. Other than the fact that he liked men and was a bit of a “love-brain,” he was perfect in every way.

Sheng Yan’s lips parted to speak, and System 667 immediately chimed in his head: “Please suppress the White Moonlight, whitewash the scumbag, and win back the True Love Substitute.”

What a coincidence.

Every one of the 206 “rebellious bones” in Sheng Yan’s body began to vibrate.

Without hesitation, he answered: “I think this project is excellent. We should invest.”

He had been listening very seriously. Beyond the memories of the original owner, Lu Mingyue had introduced several new features that were creative and innovative. If developed successfully, it wouldn’t just make money; it could lead a new wave of internet trends.

Why would he pass on such a good project? Just because the other party was the original owner’s “White Moonlight,” he should throw away money just to suppress him? He wasn’t that brainless.

667 issued a warning: “If the Host’s behavior deviates from the main plot, you will receive an electric shock penalty.”

Sheng Yan suddenly smiled: “Is that so?”

For some reason, 667 felt an ominous premonition. Sheng Yan ignored it.

Jiang Huaisu was overjoyed by Sheng Yan’s confirmation: “Right? Mama thinks it’s great too.”

Seeing the mother and son about to finalize the deal, Gu Yiheng felt like he had swallowed a fly. He thought of the devoted Song Liguang, who had suffered sunburn on his face while digging through trash in the heat to find a teddy bear.

Ignoring everyone’s stares, he spoke up again: “Regarding the funding…”

To put it bluntly, he wanted to block the money.

Jiang Huaisu replied: “I know the company’s capital is tight. Therefore, the funding for this project will come from my private account. Does anyone have any further objections?”

Since it wasn’t the company’s money and the company wouldn’t bear the losses, no one had any further objections. Even those who did had to swallow them.

Once the cooperation was settled, Jiang Huaisu didn’t waste time. She signed the contract with Lu Mingyue on the spot. The project was officially a go.

While Sheng Yan didn’t oppose the collaboration, he was curious how Lu Mingyue had swayed his mother. After Lu Mingyue left the conference room with the contract, Sheng Yan asked her, “Doesn’t ‘Sister Jiang’ hate Lu Mingyue the most? Why the change of heart?”

Jiang Huaisu prided herself on her youthful looks and refused to let Sheng Yan call her “Mom,” insisting on “Sister.”

“Oh,” she said with a slight awkwardness. “It’s about making money. If I can make someone I hate earn money for me, why wouldn’t I do it?”

Jiang Huaisu recalled what Lu Mingyue had said to her half a month ago when he contacted her to return the money.

“I know you hate me, Auntie,” he had said.

Jiang Huaisu had wanted to roll her eyes. Duh. What mother could stand her son liking a man—especially one who was cold to him? Were there no other people in the world?

But Lu Mingyue’s next words nearly made her eyes pop out: “So, why doesn’t Auntie invest in me instead?”

At the time, Jiang Huaisu was putting the five-million-dollar check back in her bag. Back then, she had paid him to stay as far away from Sheng Yan as possible. Lu Mingyue had been sensible enough to go abroad, but he couldn’t return five years later and start tangling with her son again. That was a breach of contract. Since he was returning the money, she was taking it; her money didn’t grow on trees!

But hearing him ask for investment made her blurt out: “Are you insane?”

He returns five million just to ask her to spend more? Plus, she hated him. Did she look like an idiot sucker?

“No,” Lu Mingyue had analyzed calmly. “Think about it, Auntie. You hate me so much—if you let me work for you and become your slave, you can scold me to my face whenever you want. If you tell me to go east, I won’t dare go west. Isn’t that much more satisfying than hating me from afar while being unable to do anything about it?”

Jiang Huaisu had thought about it. That did sound quite satisfying.

But she wasn’t stupid: “If I invest in you and bring you into Shengshi, won’t my Sheng Yan be around you every day?”

Lu Mingyue continued: “Auntie, you should think of it the other way. The reason Sheng Yan likes me is partly because he doesn’t know me well and sees me through a ‘filter.’ If I join Shengshi, you can oppress me endlessly and make me work overtime every day. I’ll practically live in the R&D department, looking disheveled and unkempt. Think about it! If Sheng Yan faces a ‘greasy, slovenly guy’ every day, will he still like me?”

Jiang Huaisu pictured the employees in R&D and Tech—mostly bearded, unkempt, and some even balding at a young age. If Lu Mingyue went bald and became a slob, knowing Sheng Yan’s obsession with perfection, he definitely wouldn’t spare him a second glance!

But that wasn’t enough to fully convince her. “I’m just a shareholder; I know nothing about business. Finding me is useless.”

Lu Mingyue got even more excited, leaning in closer: “That’s exactly why you should do it, Auntie! You need to show people that despite appearing like you don’t understand things, you have great foresight and wisdom. You aren’t someone to be trifled with.”

This hit Jiang Huaisu right in the heart. She had been a pampered socialite her whole life. No one had ever called her “wise” or “farsighted”—they just thought she was lucky. While being lucky was great, humans are never satisfied. If she could show off some brilliance and have people admire her, that would be wonderful.

She still held a shred of suspicion: “How do I know this project isn’t a trap?”

Lu Mingyue smiled: “Auntie, you have money, a company, and teams. You can take my project to a professional team for analysis. Write anything you’re worried about into the contract. Why fear a trap?”

She realized he was right. Over the next half month, she had it analyzed by professionals. The result was unanimous: it was a solid investment. Then came the path of convincing other shareholders. Even though it was her private money, the R&D and operations needed to run through Shengshi.

Jiang Huaisu was nervous; she didn’t want the other directors to look down on her. Fortunately, Lu Mingyue comforted her: “Sister Jiang, believe in yourself. Believe in me. This project will be fine!”

And so, Lu Mingyue guided her through the ranks, eventually leading to today’s board meeting.

“Besides,” Jiang Huaisu said, thinking of the last half-month which was unlike anything she’d experienced before. “Xiao Lu is very driven. He’s very passionate. We should give such hardworking young people more room to grow.”

She didn’t forget to tell Sheng Yan: “By the way, keep a close eye on this project. Don’t let them slack off.”

She was still waiting for Lu Mingyue to go bald and become a slob so Sheng Yan would lose interest; she couldn’t let them be lazy and ruin her plan!

“Understood,” Sheng Yan replied. Though he wasn’t sure why his mother’s attitude had changed so much, as long as Shengshi signed the project, he would be responsible for it.

Jiang Huaisu left for the beauty salon, feeling her skin had grown “rough” after half a month of hard work.

Sheng Yan returned to his office. He was about to grab his cat for a few pets when he realized the kitten was gone! After asking around, he found out that someone had left the door open while delivering documents, and the cat had slipped out.

Since it was work hours, he didn’t want to disturb everyone. He started looking for it himself. Since this floor required a special elevator, he wasn’t worried about the cat getting too far.

He found it in the breakroom.

On the breakroom floor, Lu Mingyue was holding the cat. He had caught a cup of water and was carefully letting the kitten drink. The cat wasn’t shy at all; it was happily licking the water with its tongue.

Seeing the cat drink, Lu Mingyue smiled and nudged it with his chin. “Little guy, did your dad not give you water? Why were you out here licking coffee off the floor?”

The kitten meowed happily, its whole body vibrating with joy as it lapped up the water. Lu Mingyue chuckled softly.

He had seen the cat in Sheng Yan’s arms before—small, with a bell, quite cute. He had just come out of the meeting with a dry throat to get some water when he saw the little thing squatting by the counter, licking spilled coffee. He didn’t know if cats could drink coffee, but assuming everything Sheng Yan owned was expensive, floor-coffee was definitely off the menu. He had picked it up, rinsed its tongue at the tap, and got it some fresh water. The cat was surprisingly well-behaved.

Hearing the chuckle, Sheng Yan tapped on the breakroom counter. Lu Mingyue looked up. Seeing it was Sheng Yan, he picked up the now-hydrated cat and handed it over. “Here, your son.”

Sheng Yan took the cat and stroked it. Hearing that, he raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t seen him for a moment, and I didn’t know my new pet had become my son.”

Lu Mingyue paused, then smiled. “I didn’t know either that this little guy was actually my ‘Boss’s Wife.'”

He looked at Sheng Yan: “I beg the Boss to overlook my verbal slip, considering I just saved the Boss’s Wife’s life.”

Sheng Yan looked at Lu Mingyue. He hadn’t expected this move. After a pause, he didn’t let himself be outdone: “Mhm. I forgive you.”

Lu Mingyue followed the lead: “Thank you, Boss.”

Lu Mingyue moved to walk past him. He felt that when Sheng Yan wasn’t being a “love-brain,” they actually got along quite well. But before he could take a step, Sheng Yan called out to him.

“I didn’t realize you were so capable—actually managing to convince my mother.”

Lu Mingyue stopped and looked at Sheng Yan, who was looking down at the cat. “I have to thank the Boss for the tip.”

He was referring to Sheng Yan telling him to return the money to his mother.

Sheng Yan looked up: “Then how do you plan to thank me? For the tip, and for the fact that in the meeting just now, your project received my ‘Yes’.”

Lu Mingyue looked at him: “What kind of thanks does the Boss want?”

Sheng Yan narrowed his eyes: “Anything is fine.” (Meaning money, stocks, gems…)

Lu Mingyue was surprised: “Anything?”

Just as Sheng Yan was about to agree, Lu Mingyue suddenly put an arm around his waist, leaned in, and brushed his cheeks against Sheng Yan’s in a very gentlemanly “double-cheek kiss” (la bise).

“Is this okay, Boss?”

Sheng Yan’s breath hitched. No one had ever been this close to him before.

Seeing Sheng Yan remain silent, Lu Mingyue stepped back with a smile. “Since the Boss is silent, I’ll take that as a yes.”

Then, he walked away with a jaunty stride.

Sheng Yan, still holding the cat, watched him go. He raised a hand to toy with his hair, which had grown a bit longer recently, and curled his lips.

“Interesting.”

It had been a long time since he’d met someone this interesting.