From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Chapter 169: Chapter 132: Hard to Tell a Cat from a Tiger?

State Guesthouse, Villa 7!

Su Chen, Shuraya, and the others were sitting in the game room, leisurely playing mahjong.

After returning from their tour of the Forbidden City yesterday afternoon, everyone was bored just sitting around in their rooms. So, Su Chen suggested playing some mahjong for a bit of cultural refinement.

At first, Shuraya was a little resistant to the idea of playing mahjong, but she couldn’t think of anything more fun to do. As for going out to see the sights... she had already tossed that idea out of her mind.

The Forbidden City alone had made her want to give up. A place like the Great Wall would probably kill her from exhaustion halfway through.

She had heard the famous saying, "He who has not been to the Great Wall is not a true hero," but what did being a hero have to do with a girl like her? There was no way she was climbing the Great Wall.

Besides, it was supposed to snow in the Imperial Capital for the next few days, making it even more inconvenient to go out.

With no other choice, she could only learn how to play mahjong under Su Chen’s guidance to pass the time.

But who would have thought that mahjong held a mysterious power? After just a few rounds, Shuraya had fallen deeply in love with the game.

Last night, Shuraya had dragged Su Chen and the others into playing until well after eleven o’clock before they finally called it a night.

Su Chen was curious why her attitude had changed so quickly. Her journey from initial resistance to her current passion had taken only a few short hours.

After he asked her about it, Shuraya said something that gave Su Chen pause.

"Mahjong feels like creating order from chaos!"

"The random draws and the ever-changing hands are just like our lives—different at every turn, yet full of surprises. It’s about finding certainty in a chaotic, disorderly world."

"Drawing a tile, playing a tile... no one knows what change the next second will bring. Will it be a perfect, pleasant surprise, or a complete and utter disaster?"

"Isn’t that the joy of mahjong?"

Su Chen was a little baffled at the time. Not for any other reason, but because Shuraya had managed to grasp such a profound philosophy after playing mahjong for only a few hours. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out what kind of person she really was.

After spending so much time with her, Su Chen realized he had never truly seen the real Shuraya.

’Is she just a simple-minded young girl who loves good food?’

’Or is she a deeply calculating heiress of a powerful family?’

In his mind, Su Chen placed a question mark over this twenty-year-old heiress.

’It makes sense, though. How could a young lady from such a prestigious family be as simple as she appears? She must just be putting on a very good act.’

Thinking about the intel Xiao Chen had given him before, Su Chen was a bit speechless. ’A silly rich girl who just wants to "lie flat"? She was clearly hiding her true abilities.’

’Next time I see Xiao Chen, I’ll definitely have to give him a hard time about it.’

「...」

"Sir, President Zong called. She said she has something to discuss with you."

Just as Su Chen and the others were enjoying their game, Chen Fei pushed open the door to the game room, walked in, and whispered to Su Chen.

’Zong Xinyao is looking for me?’ Although Su Chen didn’t know what she wanted, he was sure it was important.

He turned to Shuraya, Jiangyang, and the others and said, "Wait for me a minute. I need to take a call."

Shuraya nodded. It was a good chance to take a break. She had lost quite a bit over the past few hours that morning.

While the amount of money was a drop in the bucket for her, the feeling of losing was incredibly frustrating, especially since she kept on losing.

Finding a quiet room, Su Chen took the phone from Chen Fei. He glanced at the screen to confirm the call was still connected before speaking. "Xinyao, what’s up?"

"Boss, Zhang Yiming called me. It seems he knows you acquired Byte’s shares from Haina Capital and Yuanma Capital, and he wants to meet with you to talk."

"Hm?" Su Chen’s brow furrowed slightly. He knew that confidentiality agreements had been signed during the acquisition precisely to prevent information from leaking.

And besides Yuan Zhen and Lan Zhen, the heads of the two capital firms, only Zong Xinyao knew about this...

As for how Zhang Yiming found out, Su Chen was confident Zong Xinyao hadn’t been the one to leak it. He was sure of that.

"Alright, I understand. Have Zhang Yiming call me directly. You don’t need to worry about this matter." Su Chen’s words were blunt, essentially telling Zong Xinyao to focus on running her restaurant business.

"Okay, Boss!" Zong Xinyao’s tone was clearly much more relaxed. She wouldn’t have to be in such an awkward position anymore.

After all, when Zhang Yiming had initially invited Su Chen’s group to participate in the financing round, it was based on information he’d gotten through Zong Xinyao—that Yunmengze Capital was a newly established investment bank with no significant power.

But what Zhang Yiming never expected was that Yunmengze, the "catfish" he’d brought in to stir the pot, had transformed into a giant Kun, squeezing out the other three investment firms entirely.

Coupled with Su Chen’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers to acquire Byte’s shares from the other two investment firms, Zong Xinyao felt a little guilty toward her old classmate... though, of course, only a little.

Now that Su Chen had spoken, Zong Xinyao would no longer have to face Zhang Yiming, and that trace of guilt vanished completely.

Business is a battlefield; personal feelings have no place when interests are at stake. Unless, of course, your reputation is big enough—then you can just ignore that last part.

Zhang Yiming’s call came through quickly.

After a brief greeting, Zhang Yiming got straight to the point. "Mr. Su, I was wondering if you might be free to meet today."

Su Chen raised an eyebrow at his words. It sounded like he had something else he wanted to discuss. ’That’s only normal,’ Su Chen thought. ’After all, I hold forty-five percent of his company’s shares. How could Zhang Yiming possibly sleep at night?’

’One wrong move, and he could wake up to find the company isn’t even his anymore.’

"I’m free right now. If it’s convenient for you, just come find me directly."

Hearing that Su Chen was available, Zhang Yiming said with some excitement, "Where are you now, Mr. Su? I’ll head over right away!"

"The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, President Zhang," Su Chen said with a faint smile.

The other end of the line went silent. After four or five seconds, Zhang Yiming’s voice finally came through. "Mr. Su... when you say the State Guesthouse, do you mean... *the* one?"

"If you’re thinking of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse here in the Imperial Capital, then you’re not mistaken." Su Chen was dying to know what expression Zhang Yiming was making right now. ’Too bad I can’t see it!’

A few heavy breaths came through the phone. Su Chen knew what was happening to Zhang Yiming.

"Mr. Su, I’ll be there in half an hour. When I arrive, could I trouble you... trouble you to have someone meet me at the entrance?" Zhang Yiming’s earlier confidence was gone, his voice tinged with a hint of dejection.

It seemed the location Su Chen had mentioned had completely intimidated him, draining the conviction from his voice.

"Alright." With that, Su Chen hung up.

Glancing at Chen Fei, who was standing beside him, Su Chen said, "In half an hour, pick someone up at the main gate of the State Guesthouse. Bring him directly to the teahouse on the second floor. Oh, and take my phone."

Realizing Chen Fei had never met Zhang Yiming, he handed his phone over to him to avoid any complications.

"Yes, Sir!" Chen Fei took the phone and left the room.

Su Chen remained in the room, lost in thought for a long while, before getting up and returning to the game room.

"Shuraya, Old Jiang, let’s pause the game for now. It’s almost lunchtime. We’ll rest and play again this afternoon."

Jiangyang could tell at a glance that Su Chen had business to attend to, so he went along with it. "Sure. It’s a good time for me to check on the kitchen and see if the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and the boiled cabbage are ready."

As for Shuraya, the moment she heard "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" and "boiled cabbage," she lost all interest in anything else and nodded in agreement.

「...」

「Villa 7, Second-Floor Teahouse」

Su Chen was leisurely sipping his tea and gazing at the scenery outside the window.

Villa 7 was located in the center of the gardens, offering a panoramic view of the entire area.

Even though it was winter and covered in white snow, the garden scenery had its own unique charm.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK... The door was gently tapped.

The next moment, the door opened, and Chen Fei walked in with Zhang Yiming.

"Mr. Su," Zhang Yiming called out with a distinct reverence. His attitude was a world of difference from before.

Su Chen gestured to the empty seat across from him. "Have a seat."

Zhang Yiming sat down, full of apprehension. He had originally planned to talk to Su Chen about the shares, but now he didn’t even know how to begin.

After receiving the Series B funding from Su Chen, Byte had expanded fivefold in just two months. A few days ago, during the Series C funding round, he had even won the favor of Red Hill Capital, securing one hundred million US Dollars for ten percent of the shares.

It was then that he learned from the head of Red Hill Capital that Su Chen had acquired all the shares from the angel and Series A rounds.

As for how Red Hill Capital knew, it was because they had their own agenda. A report compiled by their internal professional analysts was extremely optimistic about Byte Company’s future, so the higher-ups wanted to take advantage of the currently cheap shares and buy up some more.

But after some investigation, they discovered that an unknown capital firm held forty-five percent of the shares. Realizing a purchase was hopeless, Red Hill Capital "accidentally" leaked this information to Zhang Yiming.

Originally, Zhang Yiming, having just secured one hundred million US Dollars in funding, had been thinking of buying back a portion of Su Chen’s shares, which led to the earlier phone call.

But when he found out Su Chen was at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, he knew it was a lost cause.

Zhang Yiming was reasonably wealthy and had met his fair share of important people, but not a single one of them could get into the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on their own merit.

That’s right, not one! Even if they got the chance to go, it would only be to play a supporting role, not like Chen Fei, who could openly and officially bring someone inside.

After he entered the State Guesthouse, he realized it was quite different from what he had imagined... The armed police officers he passed and the weapons they carried shocked him to his core.

His shock was indescribable, especially when Chen Fei parked the car in front of Villa 7.

Although the State Guesthouse doesn’t have a Villa 1, he understood the principle: the lower the number, the more distinguished the guest.

’Just what kind of major figure have I gotten involved with? I have no idea if this is good for Byte, or bad!’