Chapter 29 (2/2): The Reward for Victory Settlement

Jiang Min’an asked curiously, “What are you looking at?”

Wei Yuan: “Seeing if the old iron tree will bloom.”

The phrase “old iron tree” made Jiang Min’an laugh heartily.

Just then, Liu Bozhou arrived.

“What’s so funny? Did I miss something?” Liu Bozhou asked.

Jiang Min’an repeated what Wei Yuan said.

Liu Bozhou laughed: “That’s Wei Woodhead for you. I always knew he’s taciturn, but when he speaks, it’s brutally sharp.”

Wei Yuan had always been the quietest among them.

No one knew who gave him the nickname “Woodhead,” but it stuck.

Now, in their thirties, they rarely used it.

But for teasing, it still came up.

“Weren’t you guys going to play tennis? Still playing or not?” Cheng Jinyu glanced at them.

Jiang Min’an: “Don’t change the subject. The three of us are going to pry his mouth open today.”

Liu Bozhou sneered: “Good luck. You think Jinyu is on your side?”

“Who else would I be on?” Jiang Min’an rolled his eyes.

“Obviously, we’re on Team Cheng.”

“Today I’m with you. Last time you weren’t here, and Jiang Min’an tortured me,” Liu Bozhou shamelessly clung to Cheng Jinyu.

Among them, Cheng Jinyu was the best athlete and had studied tennis since he was young.

His coach had recommended him to go pro.

But the Cheng family wouldn’t let their only son go that grueling route.

Jiang Min’an cursed and looked at Wei Yuan: “Old Wei, don’t leave me hanging.”

“Do I have a choice?” Wei Yuan shot him a glance.

Jiang Min’an finally understood he was worthless wherever he went, even though he was the respected CEO Jiang.

“Let’s go play,” Liu Bozhou said excitedly.

With Cheng Jinyu as teammate, he was ready to crush the other two.

As they headed to the court, they passed by Xingyuan Technology’s activity area.

Seeing the lively scene, Liu Bozhou asked curiously, “What’s going on here? Why are there robots?”

Cheng Jinyu and Wei Yuan walked behind.

Cheng Jinyu tilted his head and said, “I remember your Hualin Group has an AI Intelligence Strategy layout, right?”

“Yeah, we recently acquired a company specializing in industrial robotics. The group’s been discussing it internally,” Wei Yuan nodded, then looked at Cheng Jinyu. “What, do you have a company recommendation?”

Cheng Jinyu slightly lifted his chin, gesturing beside him: “Is Xingyuan Technology interested?”

Wei Yuan glanced over: “Also invested by your Yunji Capital?”

“No,” Cheng Jinyu denied.

Wei Yuan’s expression didn’t change but a trace of displeasure appeared. “Then why are you making introductions?”

“Just seeing if there’s interest,” Cheng Jinyu asked directly.

He wasn’t as polite with Wei Yuan as he was with Zheng Qifeng.

Wei Yuan naturally wouldn’t refuse.

“Have their CEO contact me.”

“After the game, go yourself,” Cheng Jinyu said outright.

Wei Yuan looked at him, pulling a slight smile: “I really want to know now.”

Cheng Jinyu put his hands in his pockets, ball racket tucked under his arm, and leisurely glanced at him.

“Know what?”

“Who exactly is Xingyuan Technology?”

Wei Yuan stared thoughtfully.

Cheng Jinyu said nothing and headed toward the court.

–

The four of them played an exhilarating match.

Not surprisingly, Cheng Jinyu and Liu Bozhou won.

Coming off the court, Jiang Min’an twisted open the bottle of water on the table and gulped down half.

Then he said, “I’m telling you, next time I’m teaming with Jinyu.”

Liu Bozhou wiped his face with a towel and laughed, “Have you thought it might be your own problem?”

“Get lost. I’ve been practicing a lot lately,” Jiang Min’an refused to admit fault.

As they chatted, a cheerful voice rang out.

“Brother.”

Except for Cheng Jinyu, the other three turned toward the voice.

A slender figure in pink ran up quickly.

She reached Jiang Min’an and was about to link arms but pulled back with a disgusted look.

“Why are you all sweaty?”

“I just finished playing. Of course, I’m sweaty,” Jiang Min’an glanced at her.

He asked, “What are you doing here?”

It was Jiang Min’an’s younger sister, Jiang Xiayan.

The girl had just graduated from college, full of youthful energy.

Especially today, she wore a pink tennis dress, her fair, slender legs dazzling to the eye.

She smiled: “I’m just here to watch.”

Then she greeted the other three: “Jinyu ge, Bozhou ge, Woodhead ge.”

Wei Yuan gave her a glance: “Didn’t I tell you to call me CEO Wei?”

Jiang Xiayan confidently replied, “This isn’t the company. I don’t have to call you by your title here.”

“Xiaxia, I told you to pick anywhere you want, but you insisted on suffering under Wei Yuan. Now you know how ruthless he is,” Liu Bozhou laughed as they spoke.

Jiang Xiayan pouted: “Yeah, CEO Wei is strict at work.”

While they chatted, Cheng Jinyu sent a message on his phone.

At that moment, Meng Chu had just finished her work and was looking for Jiang Xinya.

But after searching for a long time, she couldn’t find her.

Her phone rang.

Cheng Jinyu: [How long will you be busy today?]

Meng Chu looked down and pressed her lips lightly.

Meng Chu: [I’m actually going to have dinner with my colleagues. They worked overtime on the weekend, so I want to treat them.]

Cheng Jinyu: [Got it.]

Meng Chu: [Sorry, you came all this way and I’m not eating with you.]

At that moment, a female colleague from Operations came over and whispered, “Meng, there’s trouble. Jiang Xinya has a conflict with a guest at the club.”

Hearing this, Meng Chu quickly turned off her phone.

“Where? Let’s go see.”

Before going, Meng Chu thought she could just apologize if necessary.

After all, their company was collaborating with the club for this event.

It would be terrible if they got into trouble with the club’s members.

But when she saw Jiang Xinya and the person opposite her, she suddenly smiled.

Jiang Xinya saw her and quickly pleaded, “Meng, I really didn’t break this lady’s watch. I just went to the bathroom.”

Apparently, Jiang Xinya had gone to the bathroom where a beautiful lady had just washed her watch.

After washing, the lady took her watch from the sink.

As Jiang Xinya left, they bumped into each other.

The lady’s watch fell and the glass face shattered.

Jiang Xinya froze in shock.

She wasn’t clueless—at least she recognized the Rolex logo on the watch.

“Meng, I really didn’t mean to bump into her. She bumped into me first,” Jiang Xinya insisted.

The other girl snapped, “How can you be like this? You bumped my friend and broke her watch, and now you’re blaming her? Why would my friend bump into you for no reason?”

“Exactly. Isn’t this club member-only? Why are there so many outsiders? Now it’s affecting us, and you still won’t apologize.”

Two friends nearby echoed her complaints.

But the owner of the broken watch said nothing.

Meng Chu lowered her head slightly and pinched the employee badge hanging in front of Jiang Xinya.

Since Xingyuan Technology employees weren’t club members, they had special badges for this event.

Every employee wore the badge around their neck.

“Xingyuan Technology,” Meng Chu murmured.

Everyone looked at her, puzzled why she singled out those four words.

After speaking, she turned toward the woman in the middle and asked coldly, “Xiao Yixin, is this a game to you?”

Xiao Yixin looked surprised: “What do you mean?”

“Don’t understand?” Meng Chu stared coldly.

Xiao Yixin seemed a bit intimidated and backed down. “Forget it, it’s just a watch.”

But her friend beside her said, “Don’t be afraid, Yixin. Breaking something means paying for it. Even if we’re rich, we won’t tolerate this kind of extortion.”

Meng Chu gave Xiao Yixin a cold look, then took out her phone.

She dialed a number right in front of Xiao Yixin.

“Hello, are you busy now?” Meng Chu asked.

The person on the other end said they weren’t busy.

Meng Chu nodded. “Perfect. I need to tell you something. Our company is doing a very important event at the tennis club today, but my assistant accidentally bumped into Xiao Yixin. She claims my assistant damaged her watch. Don’t you think it’s quite the coincidence?”

Xiao Yixin’s face on the other end turned pale instantly.

She clearly knew who Meng Chu was calling.

At this moment, Meng Haichuan spoke anxiously from the other end: “Chu Chu, don’t get angry. Let Dad handle this.”

“No, you say a few words to her,” Meng Chu said calmly, then put the call on speaker.

Meng Haichuan’s voice was upset: “Yixin, what are you trying to do? Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble? Are you even listening to me?”

Xiao Yixin’s face fell as she was scolded so openly.

“I’m warning you, if you keep provoking Chu Chu, I won’t be polite anymore,” Meng Haichuan’s tone was serious.

Everyone exchanged glances, completely unsure what kind of relationship these two had.

Xiao Yixin’s two friends couldn’t help but look between Meng Chu and Xiao Yixin.

Meng Chu then turned off the speakerphone and said softly, “Alright, I’m hanging up first.”

Meng Haichuan hurriedly asked, “Chu Chu, did she affect your work?”

Meng Chu had mentioned an important task earlier, which made Meng Haichuan tense.

For his daughter, Meng Haichuan felt both pride and guilt.

Meng Chu had become the ideal child everyone admired.

She had never caused him worry, even through family troubles.

When she got into J University, he was truly happy.

Now, as Meng Chu started her business, Meng Haichuan always kept an eye on Xingyuan Technology’s status.

To him, such a coincidence was unlikely. It was probably Xiao Yixin’s deliberate act.

Thinking she could pull a small trick, but anyone could see through it.

He certainly wouldn’t tolerate such disruption at Meng Chu’s workplace.

“No, nothing,” Meng Chu said, then hung up.

She looked at Xiao Yixin again and asked coldly, “Will you be paying for the watch?”

“Are you childish or what, tattling to your dad?” Xiao Yixin grit her teeth.

Still, she tried to suppress the venomous words brewing inside.

Meng Chu raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly.

“When you play these petty tricks, you should know the one who ends up embarrassed is always yourself.”

“It was your assistant who bumped into me. Don’t slander me,” Xiao Yixin insisted stubbornly.

Meng Chu smiled faintly and shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter. You know what you think. As for childish or not, that’s where we differ. I focus on solutions.”

Xiao Yixin still looked displeased.

Deep down, she knew her own thoughts.

She just found out the company doing the event at the tennis club was Meng Chu’s.

Her long-held inferiority toward Meng Chu suddenly exploded.

She deliberately messed with her company’s people, forcing her to handle it personally.

Maybe she could even make her apologize.

Such dark thoughts hidden in her heart, but now, Xiao Yixin was unwilling to admit them.

Meng Chu looked at Xiao Yixin coldly.

“So next time we meet, stay away from me.”

“Because I won’t go easy on fools.”

After saying this, Meng Chu grabbed Jiang Xinya’s arm and prepared to leave.

But as she turned, she saw a group standing not far away.

Cheng Jinyu was among them, his gaze fixed steadily on her.

Meng Chu froze.

She started replaying every word she had just said and slowly wondered.

Had she been a bit too harsh?

But Cheng Jinyu slightly tilted his head at that moment, a gentle smile spreading on his face.

That smile was radiant and handsome.

It was as if he was the reward she had just won.