Tranxending Vision - Chapter 279

Chapter 279: 279

The original plan was to first return to Haizhu but Xia Lei changed his mind and went straight to Sichuan . He stayed in the city for two days, inspecting the construction site of the new factory and taking care of the paperwork . Zhou Xiao-Hong had done a good job; she was a local and handled local matters well . With Yin Hao helping, Xia Lei didn’t really have much to worry about as boss .  

Xia Lei returned to Haizhu two days later .

Lu Sheng had been discharged and was back at work . Lu Sheng personally opened the gates for Xia Lei when he drove to the company and the two of them chatted for a bit .  

Xia Lei called Qin Xiang to his office when he got in .  

Guan Ling-Shan made tea for them both . “Have some tea, Chairman Xia, Big Sister Xiang . ” 

Qin Xiang didn’t mind Guan Ling-Shan calling him ‘Big Sister’ - he looked quite happy about it and had a bashful smile on his face . When Guan Ling-Shan put the cup of tea before him, he reached out and brushed his hand against hers, and a small item in her suit-jacket was transferred to his hand .  

Guan Ling-Shan did not discover anything but Xia Lei had seen everything . Qin Xiang had actually stolen a sanitary pad .  

Qin Xiang seemed to have been bitten by the item he stole and he threw it at Xia Lei’s leg .  

Xia Lei acted like he’d been prodded by electricity and quickly snatched up the sanitary pad . He stood and patted Guan Ling-Shan on the shoulder . “Ling-Shan, it’s been hard on you . ” 

Guan Ling-Shan pushed her black-rimmed spectacles up the bridge of her nose and said a little shyly, “It is what I should do, Chairman Xia . I’m just afraid that I haven’t done it well enough . ” 

While she spoke, Xia Lei had already sneakily put the sanitary pad back into her jacket .  

“Go on, go on, back to work . I’ll talk with Qin Xiang,” said Xia Lei .  

“Yes, please do . I’ll go check on the reports from the financial department,” said Guan Ling-Shan .  

Xia Lei glared at Qin Xiang after Guan Ling-Shan left . “What did you steal her sanitary pad for, you punk?” 

Qin Xiang drew close to Xia Lei . “I don't know - my hands were just itchy . ” He then held up a mobile phone in his hand and said with a smile, “Like now . ” 

The mobile phone in his hand belonged to Xia Lei .  

Xia Lei smiled and opened his left hand to reveal a lipstick on the palm of his hand .  

The result of their thieving competition was a draw .  

“Fuck me, your skills are getting better and better . It’s like teaching the disciple and starving the Master . ” Qin Xiang smiled wryly . He put the mobile phone in Xia Lei’s hand and took the lipstick from it .  

“Let’s talk business . You’ll be going to Jingdu for a bit,” said Xia Lei .  

“What for?” 

“To build an orphanage . Angel Orphanage,” said Xia Lei .  

Qin Xiang looked at Xia Lei in surprise . “Are you going into charity work? Most people who do that are trying to get capital for politics . Are you going to go into politics?”

“Up yours . What politics? I’m not interested,” said Xia Lei, “Go fix up the orphanage and the military factory over there will be more or less done too when it’s finished . I need someone I can trust to sit at the helm of the military factory . ” 

“Say no more . I’ll go book the tickets now . ” Qin Xiang turned to leave .  

“Hold on, why the rush? Take these plans . What orphanage are you going to build without them?” Xia Lei took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Qin Xiang . “And you can take Auntie with you too . The treatment centres there are good . You can have her treated there and the company will pay for everything . ” 

Qin Xiang looked at Xia Lei and his eyes watered . “Boss, this lowly girlie has nothing to offer in return . How about I pay with my body?” 

Goosebumps prickled all over Xia Lei’s back and he glared at him . “Piss off . I’m not on the market for you . Keep an eye on my sister when you get to Jingdu . Don’t let bad boys near her . ” 

“Understood . ” Qin Xiang smiled, then sashayed off .  

A supermarket supervisor to a military factory supervisor was a huge step up for Qin Xiang . This was like shooting to the top and he was, of course, happy to do so . To Xia Lei, however, he needed a person he could trust completely like Qin Xiang to be at the military factory and help him deal with matters there . And Annina - Xia Lei trusted her, of course, but she was a mechanical genius and not a business-minded person . Another important reason was that Annina’s status was too unique and he could not risk having her show her face . As the person in charge of the military factory, there was definitely going to be a lot of appearances .  

Xia Lei entered work-mode after Qin Xiang left . He handled some company matters, held a meeting with the company management and listened to their reports; he was very busy .  

He received a call from Shentu Tian-Yin at the end of the workday .  

“You didn’t tell me when you got back . ” Shentu Tian-Yin’s voice carried a hint of reproach .  

Xia Lei spoke a little awkwardly, “Things at the company piled up and I had a lot of do . I was actually planning to go visit you and Uncle tomorrow . ” 

Haizhu was just too small and it was too easy for Shentu Tian-Yin to get information on a certain person .  

“So are you still busy now?” 

“I’m done . I’ve just finished work . ” 

“Mm, that’s great . I wanted to invite you to my birthday party . ” 

“Your… birthday?” Xia Lei was fairly surprised .  

“Nn, I’m… a year older,” said Shentu Tian-Yin with a laugh .  

Age was a woman’s secret and a woman like Shentu Tian-Yin was not going to reveal it either .  

Xia Lei spoke apologetically, “I’m so sorry . Where are you? I’ll be right there . ” 

“Distinguished Gathering,” said Shentu Tian-Yin .  

Xia Lei paused . “Why there?” 

“Come here and you’ll find out . ” Shentu Tian-Yin gave no explanation .  

“Okay, I’ll go over right now . ” Xia Lei hung up, his heart awash with confusion .  

Distinguished Gathering was the Gu clan’s place so why was Shentu Tian-Yin’s birthday party being held there?

Xia Lei arrived at Distinguished Gathering an hour later . The car park was full of luxury cars and several well-dressed men and women were heading inside in pairs . Amongst the people were celebrities and big-name stars in the entertainment circles, as well as sports stars . This really was a cloud-high VIP event .  

Xia Lei alighted from his car and picked up a bouquet of roses . He spotted Shentu Tian-Yin the the doorway greeting guests and walked over .  

He’d wanted to get her a more substantial gift but had limited time; he just bought a bouquet of roses from a roadside florist shop on his way here . The roses were bright and fresh but the packaging was a little sub-par . He didn’t think much of it though - a woman like Shentu Tian-Yin had no lack of gifts . Getting her a bouquet of flowers as a token of good wishes was enough .  

Shentu Tian-Yin spotted Xia Lei too and her gaze went naturally to the bouquet in his hands . She stared blankly for a bit, then looked fit to burst with joy .  

“Happy birthday . ” Xia Lei walked up to Shentu Tian-Yin, then handed the bouquet of roses to her .  

Shentu Tian-Yin took a deep sniff of the fragrant roses and suddenly gave Xia Lei a light hug . “This is the best present I’ve received . ” 

Xia Lei said a little sheepishly, “I’d originally planned on buying you a dress or something, but… there wasn’t time . ” 

“I like the roses . ” Shentu Tian-Yin leaned in to Xia Lei’s ear and said in a small voice, “Don’t tell me you don’t know what roses represent?” 

Xia Lei paused . Roses represented love - even primary schoolers knew that . A man giving a woman roses meant that he wanted to woo this woman .  

Xia Lei looked at Shentu Tian-Yin standing before him . She was as beautiful as ever, like a fairy unblemished by the common populace . The feeling he’d had when he first saw her washed over him all of a sudden . His mind was in a frazzled state in that instant and he could not figure out if he’d unwittingly bought roses which represented love, or subconsciously bought roses to confess his love .  

He didn’t know what to say in the face of Shentu Tian-Yin’s playful yet provocative words .  

“Let’s go in . ” Shentu Tian-Yin knew Xia Lei well . Him giving her roses was already a huge step and she did not expect that she’d get everything she wanted at once .  

Xia Lei let out an internal sigh of relief . He followed Shentu Tian-Yin into the club while saying, “Oh, right, why are you having your birthday party here?” 

Shentu Tian-Yin’s lips turned up in a half-smile . “Gu Ding-Shan has gone missing and Gu Ke-Wu has been arrested . You know about this, don’t you?” 

This was all Xia Lei’s doing, so how could he not know about it? “I know . But what does that have to do with you having your birthday party in this place?” 

Shentu Tian-Yin lowered her voice, “The information I got was that you destroyed the Gu clan but you reacted too slowly . ” 

“Eh?” Xia Lei was confused . “Why was I slow?” 

“The Gu clan’s assets are spread all over and worth tens of billions . Many of these assets are illegally-owned state assets and these have been severely undervalued . Many have been keeping a close watch on these assets and are prepared to grab them anytime . You destroyed the Gu clan but made no moves on your end - what is that if not a slow reaction?” asked Shentu Tian-Yin .  

Xia Lei then realised what she’d meant by ‘reacting too slowly’ .  

Indeed, the Gu clan had acquired most of their assets illegally and these were severely undervalued . Now that the Gu clan had collapsed, these assets were like cake with no owner . Of course they’d attract a whole lot of predators, all ready to attack . And he, the orchestrator of the Gu clan’s fall, had made no moves . He really did react too slowly .  

“Don’t you plan on doing something?” 

Xia Lei thought for a bit . “How?” 

“The Gu clan is finished . A lot of their assets will be returned to the state . Many assets, including their businesses, will be parcelled out for auction but these will be just the leftovers . The real big meat can only be grabbed from under the table . Let me give you a simple example - this property belonged to Gu Ke-Wu . It’s actual market value is 200 million but I purchased it at the price of 50 million . ” 

Xia Lei was thunderstruck . The Gu assets had already changed ownership in the scant few days of Gu Ding-Shan going missing and Gu Ke-Wu being held before sentencing!

Xia Lei suddenly felt like his head and finesse for business was not even worth mentioning when he was with Shentu Tian-Yin .