Chapter 209: What About Us?
Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
An Zixuan’s first battle Zuo Yuanhang had started with a loss, so his bad mood could be understood. However, what he did not know was that when the a.s.sistant and the rest saw An Zixuan manage to leave Zuo Yuanhang’s office with all of his limbs intact and with the same gloom around his body like he had not been affected by the meeting with the boss, the entire Si Hai Organization almost readied to pray to this Mr. An as a G.o.d. This was the first time they had seen someone retreat unscathed after a meeting with Zuo Yuanhang.
An Zixuan’s mood continued until he left the Si Hai Organization’s office. After he crawled into the taxi, he pouted and made a call. When the call was connected, his mood turned for the better, but when he heard the voice that came to it, his mood fell to h.e.l.l again.
“h.e.l.lo‽” The mellifluous female voice was as sharp as steel in An Zixuan’s ears. Not hearing the voice that he was hoping for, An Zixuan did not want to waste time. He hung up without saying anything.
Sister Shuang looked at the phone in her hands and wondered, What did this blasted child want‽
Yao Zhixing was discussing the features of the car with the seller. When he saw Ye Shuang holding the phone with an annoyed expression, he thought something had happened, so he asked, “Who called?”
“The caller ID was An Zixuan, but he hung up without saying anything.” Ye Shuang was clueless as well. She pushed the phone back into her pocket with a shrug. “Probably a wrong dial‽”
Yao Zhixing chuckled. “He’s probably looking for Xiao Ye.”
Oh, right! That’s possible. Ye Shuang shrugged again and turned her attention back to the new car. “Well, what do you think, Brother Yao‽ Which car is better?”
“If you’re driving it alone, then a normal car should be more than enough, but if Xiao Ye is taken into consideration, then I’d say go for something more streamlined but not so rigid.” Yao Zhixing scratched his chin before snapping his fingers, leading Ye Shuang away. Since Yao Zhixing was a famed character among the driving folk of San Lin City, the salesman did not think he was there for fun, so after they left, he was only feeling disappointed that they did not have a model that he would have been interested in.
“j.a.panese cars are too flashy, and national cars are too standardized. Considering the ease of modification in the future, I think European cars are better.” Yao Zhixing led Ye Shuang to his car and started the engine and left the place. “AC-BMW or Barbus-Benz. I’ll help you ask around for inner stock. These types of vehicles that are straight out of the factory are not bad, and they can be modified in the future.”
Ye Shuang was silent for half a minute before sighing. “Brother Yao, you might have misunderstood me. I’m buying an everyday car.”
Not a race car to play with you guys.
Yao Zhixing showed a regret-filled expression. “Then, you’re not planning to play with us anymore?”
Ye Shuang felt like crying. “I can’t afford to. The lowest price for a BMW is 200,000, and an AC-BMW is almost 2,000,000.”
AC and Brabus were modified models produced for racing. They collaborated with racing groups; therefore, the price of these cars was definitely on a different level from a standard car. Ye Shuang suddenly felt like she should have found a non-professional to come help her; the standard of the professional was often so high that people could not understand it.
Yao Zhixing tutted with annoyance. “Fine, then just pick anything that is around 1,000,000. We can talk about modifications when you have more money in the future. The car body, motor, brakes… all these are necessary.”
In that instant, Ye Shuang felt like not talking to the man. The world of the rich was indeed something that she could not understand.
After a whole afternoon of deliberating, she finally ended up with a BMW. The sole reason was that Yao Zhixing insisted that BMWs drove better than a Benz at high speed. Ye Shuang had no energy to argue with the man anymore. Car-testing, loan credit, car plates… With Yao Zhixing there, the series of processes went smoothly—no one dared to give her trouble. Who in San Lin City did not know that Yao family’s young master had the hobby of collecting new cars? Therefore, they had to give him face. On top of that, Yao Zhixing was already familiar with the process because he had done it many times already.
…
After everything was done, Ye Shuang drove the car on the road. They had been busy for the whole morning, so at the very least, she owed Yao Zhixing a meal. They parked their cars after selecting the restaurant. However, before they reached the restaurant, Yao Zhixing’s phone rang.
“Fang Mo is going to treat us.” Yao Zhixing ended the call after a brief conversation, then he turned to smile at Ye Shuang. “The new contract has been signed. Next month the Noah Organization’s cold chain will add San Lin City to its list. Fang Mo seems like he’s planning to expand the business.”
“Brother Fang wants you to introduce him to more restaurants?” Ye Shuang understood what Yao Zhixing meant by ‘expansion’ immediately.
The case with transportation and cold chain was the more the better. If there was only one s.h.i.+pment every two weeks, then Fang Mo opening this drop-off point was just a favor for a friend. Even though it would not lose money, he would not gain either.
All that trouble to help Yao Zhixing out. Fang Mo was a nice person, but as a businessman, his first concern was naturally the business value. To help others until he lost money was impossible. Yao Zhixing nodded and added, “Transportation of high-end ingredients doesn’t have that big a market, but middle-grade stuff has quite a sizeable market. This is not that big a favor to ask, but it might offend the original team.”
Naturally, Ye Shuang knew that he was talking about Zhou Yue’s family. Yao Zhixing would not have felt guilty about stealing other people’s customers, but the problem was that he was stealing it on other people’s behalf. When the news spread, people would see it differently and think that Yao Zhixing was a narrow-minded person. He was in the restaurant business, and they were in cold chain. The way outsiders would see it, they should just go separate ways—there was no need to steal anyone’s business. At the very least, they had been partners for so many years, so that should count for something. To push things until this stage, no one would believe he was not taking this opportunity to take revenge.
“I suppose since he has asked, just make the introduction. After all, it’s Brother Fang who’ll be doing the negotiations. You just have to make the connection.” Ye Shuang thought about it and realized how awkward it would be.
The reason Fang Mo was doing this was because of Yao Zhixing, so how could he not help?
Help‽ In terms of reputation and action, it would have crossed a line. Even if he had a valid reason, other people might not approve of it. Thankfully, Yao Zhixing was the kind with a big heart. He was conflicted for a few minutes before tossing the conflict out of his mind. This was Yao Zhixing’s att.i.tude to anything troublesome. Things would right themselves in the end.
The two hopped back into their car to get to the restaurant booked by Fang Mo. When they arrived, Yao Zhixing did not feel like much, but Fang Mo looked rather awkward. Ye Shuang did not notice it at first, but when she sat down, she realized that awkwardness was because of her.
“Xiao Shuang is out with Mr. Yao today?” Fang Mo was ultimately the host, so he quickly arranged his expression to flash a smile.
Ye Shuang glanced at Yao Zhixing. Didn’t you say he’s treating ‘us’ to a meal‽
Yao Zhixing looked back at her. What do you mean? Don’t communicate with your eyes please.
Ye Shuang’s lips twitched. She gave up on Yao Zhixing and took on the battle herself, “Brother Yao is out helping me purchase a new car today; I was with him when you called.”
Fang Mo smiled but did not say anything. However, when his gaze lowered, he scanned Fang Fei, who was sitting next to him silently. Fang Fei lowered her head to fold the napkin on her lap like this had nothing to do with her. However, Ye Shuang knew when she saw the expression on Fang Mo’s face. This awkwardness was because Fang Fei and herself had appeared at the same time.
Why? Could it be because Fang Fei still had a crush on Brother Shuang and the appearance of the actual partner would cause awkwardness‽ While she opened the menu, Ye Shuang tried to figure it out.
The waitress left after taking their order. Fang Mo chatted for a while before going into the main topic. “As I mentioned on the phone, I hear the city is planning to open a night market street around the eastern part of town. Other than food stalls, there will be markets, and I wish to get some internal information from Mr. Yao.”
“A night market street‽” Yao Zhixing was pouring himself a gla.s.s of warm water when he heard what Fang Mo had to say and was interested. “I thought you were going to go after the existing markets’ business, but that street will take at least another half a year to finish, and it is not a guaranteed success. Are you sure you want to wait that long?”
“It’s not that good to steal other people’s business. Even though this is common in business, I still prefer a peaceful co-existence.” Fang Mo smiled. Then the two men shared their information and started to discuss business.
Ye Shuang was rather bored. She knew a bit about this but was not interested in joining the conversation since it had nothing to do with her.
While waiting for the food to arrive, she listened to the men speak. Fang Fei, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. “I’m going to the powder room, will Miss Ye be coming?”
Why do women have the habit of going to toilet together? Ye Shuang coughed and nodded. “Sure.”
Yao Zhixing and Fang Mo’s conversation was interrupted because they had to move to let the two ladies to go through. Fang Fei nodded silently at Ye Shuang and then walked ahead.
Ye Shuang frowned, thinking the atmosphere was rather weird.