What Bad Intentions Could a Spoiled Little Brat Possibly have? - Chapter 11

Selling One’s Charms

A fifteen-minute drive turned into a nearly forty-minute crawl due to traffic.

Fu Zheng pulled the car up downstairs. Watching Cheng Huai lean over to unbuckle his seatbelt, he asked out of the blue, “Why did you change your clothes?”

Cheng Huai was dressed in a white cotton T-shirt and wide-leg jeans. His black wolf-cut curls fell softly against the back of his neck. His eyes were clear, and whenever he looked at someone, they seemed to curve involuntarily, giving him an aqueous, shimmering gaze that made it impossible to tell if he was intentionally or unintentionally being seductive.

“I got them dirty. I’ll wash them when I get home,” Cheng Huai murmured, lowering his eyes and guiltily rubbing his nose.

Fu Zheng didn’t say a word. He suddenly unbuckled his own seatbelt and leaned toward Cheng Huai.

The distance between them vanished in an instant. A familiar aura pressed in, and the scent of cologne inside the car grew more intense.

Cheng Huai froze, not daring to move. He felt entirely enveloped by Fu Zheng’s presence. Fu Zheng’s features were inches away; if Cheng Huai were to lift his head even slightly, his lips would brush against Fu Zheng’s chin.

Cheng Huai wanted to retreat, but his seat held him firm, leaving him nowhere to go. Yet, in his subconscious, he wanted to lean in and kiss him.

In the moments he spent hesitating, Fu Zheng had already reached into the glove compartment, pulling out a card that looked like a credit card and holding it out to him.

Confused, Cheng Huai looked at it. “?”

“Key card,” Fu Zheng said.

“Oh.” Cheng Huai took it obediently. Clutching the things he had brought along, he climbed out of the car with lingering reluctance.

As Fu Zheng turned the car around to leave, fingers suddenly hooked onto his window.

“Brother…” Cheng Huai stood by the driver’s side door, his voice soft as he called out. His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Fu Zheng through the half-open window.

Fu Zheng tapped the brakes and lowered the window further, looking up at him with a deadpan expression.

“What time will you be back at noon?” Cheng Huai’s gaze was full of longing.

Fu Zheng glanced at the time. “Twelve o’clock at the latest.”

“Okay.”

Yunhuan Technology Headquarters

Standing at the heart of Kyoto’s financial district, the building soared into the clouds like a forged scepter.

The deep blue glass curtain walls were arranged in neat rows, coldly reflecting the drifting clouds and passing birds by day, and emitting streaks of ethereal blue light by night. The massive mirror-like pool in front of the building never showed a single ripple, as if it could silently swallow all prying eyes and noisy distractions.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Executive Secretary Zhou Yuan, accompanied by assistant Xu Luyao, stepped forward to meet Fu Zheng and followed him into the CEO’s office.

Zhou Yuan opened the itinerary on his tablet and handed it to Fu Zheng, then gave Xu Luyao a meaningful look. Before long, a glass of iced Americano made from freshly ground Colombian beans was placed by Fu Zheng’s hand, the aroma of coffee drifting through the room.

Only then did Fu Zheng look up at the unfamiliar face.

Zhou Yuan showed eight teeth in a practiced smile. “The HR department’s new hire for your assistant position, Xu Luyao.”

“Hello, President Fu. I am Xu Luyao. I graduated with my Master’s degree this year, and it is an honor to serve you.” Xu Luyao wore her hair in a high ponytail and was dressed in a professional skirt suit. She gave a deep bow, her gaze steady and her posture dignified.

Fu Zheng nodded. “No need to be so formal.”

He then pointed to the coffee on the desk. “In the future, there’s no need to do this.”

Zhou Yuan waved Xu Luyao away, and she quickly took the coffee back out.

Only Fu Zheng and Zhou Yuan remained in the vast office.

Holding an identical itinerary, Zhou Yuan picked out several key items. “Boss, there’s a government-enterprise cooperation matching meeting this morning. They’ve extended an olive branch before and specifically pushed the time to today just to ensure your attendance.”

“The land in the South District was just approved. Our previous plan for a low-altitude flight field was rejected by the regulatory department. Mr. Wang is working on an optimized proposal, which will be submitted to you by the end of the day.”

“There’s a luncheon at noon. It’s Chairman Chen of Yunsheng, and he also invited your doctoral supervisor, Professor Gu…”

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, glancing up to gauge Fu Zheng’s reaction.

Everyone at Yunhuan knew that Chen Jiannan of Yunsheng detested Fu Zheng to his core. This invitation, especially using Professor Gu’s name to apply pressure, was undoubtedly a “Hongmen Banquet” a trap.

Ten years ago, Fu Zheng’s father, Fu Yunsheng, had built Yunsheng Real Estate into an industry titan. Nearly every famous residential development in Kyoto had come from his hand.

However, Fu Yunsheng’s ambition didn’t stop there. When the technology industry began to emerge, he decisively abandoned the status quo of Yunsheng’s singular dominance to open a new track. He established two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Yunqing Technology and Yunhuan Technology, focusing on hardware and software respectively, making a sudden thrust into the tech sector.

Despite having the resources of Yunsheng Real Estate behind them, the barriers to cross-industry entry could not be broken overnight.

Fu Yunsheng was a man of “wolfish ambition,” eager to expand his commercial empire, but because he had made enemies for years, the industry’s resentment peaked. He passed away suddenly one night.

At that time, Fu Zheng had been back with the Fu family for less than two years. He had just received his PhD admission notice when he received the news of his biological father’s mysterious and sudden death.

What was left to him was a mess he was entirely unskilled at managing an interior already riddled with holes. Yunsheng Real Estate appeared glamorous on the outside, but in reality, its accounts were empty, projects were stalled, and crises lurked everywhere.

It took Fu Zheng only one month to understand the company’s internal affairs. He did not directly take over the precarious Yunsheng Real Estate. Instead, he played a much more sophisticated move. He chose a piece Fu Yunsheng had planted years ago but which his opponents had ignored: Yunhuan Technology.

Within a year, he poured all of Yunhuan’s resources into creating an open platform ecosystem called “Tianshu X Lingxi.” Tianshu was not just a base architecture for drones; it was an open-source, free operating system for all low-altitude aircraft. Lingxi was the true core technology a real-time big data processing engine capable of planning the most optimal and safest flight paths.

Just when everyone thought Fu Zheng was doomed to fail, a smart city bidding war at the beginning of the year completely turned the tide.

Kyoto planned to build a demonstration zone for the low-altitude economy. Fu Zheng appeared with the “Tianshu X Lingxi” total solution, outperforming all the hardware manufacturers. To avoid being tied to a single hardware provider, the government ultimately chose the neutral Yunhuan Technology. With this victory, Yunhuan established itself as the industry’s rule-maker.

But this was far from Fu Zheng’s finish line.

Once Yunhuan Technology’s position was secure, he no longer hid his fangs. Instead, he used its market dominance to launch a textbook capital strangulation against the legacy his father had left behind.

While the outside world thought he was focusing on promoting the system, Yunhuan suddenly announced an upgrade to the Lingxi system, imposing stricter security certifications on all connected hardware.

Coincidentally, Yunqing Technology’s new logistics drone was flagged by the system for “compatibility issues,” leading to a massive cancellation of orders. Simultaneously, several of Yunsheng Real Estate’s smart residential projects stalled because they couldn’t integrate with the latest smart home systems.

Yunsheng Real Estate’s stock plummeted, and the market was suddenly flooded with short-sell reports. Subsequently, a mysterious offshore fund began continuously buying up shares at low prices on the secondary market.

All of this was orchestrated by Fu Zheng from behind the scenes.

He not only turned his father’s old subordinates to obtain key financial information but also used it to pressure banks into calling in Yunsheng’s overdue loans, triggering a total liquidity crisis.

When Yunsheng and Yunqing were on the brink of ruin, Fu Zheng, in his capacity as CEO of Yunhuan, proposed a full acquisition and the assumption of all debts.

At the shareholders’ meeting, facing a crowd of desperate directors, he calmly played a recording. It was a past conversation between Fu Yunsheng and Chen Jiannan, exposing Chen Jiannan’s history of fraud in previous projects.

With that, Fu Zheng completed the reverse takeover of Yunsheng Real Estate and Yunqing Technology.

Zhou Yuan, who had witnessed this capital war from start to finish, found it hard to imagine how someone who had never stepped foot into business management could one day trample everyone beneath his feet.

During that time, Fu Zheng had done it all the endurance, the calculation, the betrayal, and the exploitation. He had climbed to the top over the blood and bones of his closest kin; he was cold-blooded, heartless, and acted without a bottom line.

Zhou Yuan deeply admired Fu Zheng, but he also feared him. This man, who was roughly his own age, radiated a crushing, cold aura that made him seem utterly unreachable.

Hearing Professor Gu’s name, Fu Zheng understood Chen Jiannan’s objective. He said bluntly, “From today on, cancel all social dinners. I will explain things to Professor Gu personally.”

“Understood, Boss,” Zhou Yuan answered habitually, then suddenly did a double-take. “All dinners?”

Fu Zheng looked up. “Is there a problem?”

Zhou Yuan hesitated. “No problem, Boss, it’s just…”

Fu Zheng tapped the desk, frowning. “Speak plainly.”

Zhou Yuan said, “Today’s lunch can be canceled, and I can push off the others, but there’s one dinner a week from now that might be troublesome.”

Zhou Yuan handed over a project cooperation proposal.

“Weijing Technology has been a rising star in the international low-altitude economy sector over the last two years. We’ve been in talks with them regarding a partnership. This is their preliminary proposal. If we can reach an agreement, it will help us break into the international market.”

Fu Zheng flipped through a few pages and tossed the proposal onto the desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his patience thinning. “And?”

“The President of Weijing Technology, Mr. Lin Lunian, is hosting a banquet at the riverfront in a week. He specifically requested your presence. Ostensibly it’s to discuss the partnership, but in reality, he wants to introduce his youngest daughter, who just returned from abroad, to you. Mr. Lin’s exact words were that he looks forward to the cooperation and hopes for a ‘double blessing.'”

Fu Zheng suddenly laughed, a sound that made the hair on Zhou Yuan’s neck stand up.

“That’s easy,” Fu Zheng looked at Zhou Yuan. “You go in my place.”

As the executive secretary, Zhou Yuan did sometimes attend dinners on behalf of the boss, but this was different!

Zhou Yuan said in a panic, “Don’t do that, Boss! If I go, this deal is definitely dead. You know Mr. Lin the only reason he wants to work with us is because of you. Besides, the company is in a transition phase. You just need to show your face, sell your charms a little, and it’s a done deal.”

Zhou Yuan got more excited as he spoke, but by the time he stopped, Fu Zheng was staring at him in silence.

How did he just tell his boss to “sell his charms”?

Zhou Yuan wished he could slap himself. He shut his mouth instantly, covering it with his hand.

Observing carefully, Zhou Yuan noticed that Fu Zheng didn’t actually seem angry. Recalling the recent phone calls where Fu Zheng would suddenly hang up, he asked tentatively, “Boss… are you secretly in a relationship?”

Fu Zheng adjusted the watch on his wrist and asked calmly, “What makes you think that?”

Zhou Yuan began to analyze. “Look, whenever I’ve called you the past few days, I always get the feeling someone is with you. And the timing… it’s very suspicious.”

“I’ve followed you for so long, and it seems like you’ve never had time for a private life.”

From morning to night, twenty-four hours a day, Fu Zheng had been in a constant state of work for the past two years. Forget women Zhou Yuan hadn’t even seen a female living creature near him.

Zhou Yuan reached his conclusion: “So, I bet you’re in a relationship.”

After Zhou Yuan finished his self-styled analysis, the office fell into an awkward silence.

Fu Zheng said nothing. His brow was furrowed and his gaze was deep, as if lost in thought.

Zhou Yuan grew increasingly uneasy. He felt like he was sitting on needles. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Fu Zheng close his eyes and let out a sigh.

When Fu Zheng opened his eyes again, his gaze had cleared. He looked at Zhou Yuan and said, “Send me the time and location of the banquet.”

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