Chapter 636: 【Chapter 38: Yurong and Xiaodi’s Plot】Continuing with 3 updates, 10,000 words asking for a Monthly Pass
Chapter 38: Yurong and Xiaodi’s Conspiracy
(Thanks to book friend [Aye, Not Dead] for becoming the Squad Leader of this book, here is a bonus update as gratitude!)
Zhang Yurong didn’t ask further, nor did Li Yan. He felt that this situation was good, marking a new stage in their relationship. Initially, they didn’t care about each other—if he went out at night and didn’t return, she wouldn’t ask. Later, when they grew closer, she would worry and pay attention if he didn’t come back. Now, even though she didn’t ask anymore, it was a different state from the initial indifference.
As for what Yurong and Xiaodi were up to, Li Yan wasn’t particularly curious, knowing that the two of them wouldn’t fight—if they were going to, they’d have done so long ago. Of course, it was also impossible for the two to suddenly become a game; whatever else it might be, it didn’t matter.
As for Zhang Yurong asking if he was curious about her dinner party, it wasn’t a big deal. She rarely attended such gatherings unless they were unavoidable. During work hours, if she had such a function, she’d bring Ke Yunyun and Xiao Yan along. Ke Yunyun would help block the drinks, and Xiao Yan would drive, naturally, there were no issues. But now it was the weekend, and if needed, she could call them. However, departing from home meant she didn’t want them to know, which is why she’d let him pick her up. This also indicated that tonight’s dinner party was unavoidable.
Li Yan had experience picking her up before. After hearing her inquiry, he smiled and said, "Let me make a guess! Generally, you wouldn’t have dinner with a client, especially not when you’re supposed to be resting. So, it’s certain this isn’t a usual client. You’ve been busy with that issue recently, even if it’s not an ordinary person, you’d decline if possible. Therefore, I suspect tonight’s dinner party is connected to the Paradise and Changhe rivalry."
Zhang Yurong raised her eyebrows and nodded with a suppressed smile, "Not bad, somewhat right, keep guessing!"
"Continuing..." Li Yan thought back, yesterday she was with Yu Xiaodi. It was already a bit strange, definitely not an ordinary matter to discuss. Later, when Hai Fu discovered the situation with Lin Fenni, she immediately reported it to her, but she didn’t rush back to the company or personally arrange things, instead, she continued to let Hai Fu handle it, showing meeting Yu Xiaodi was also very important!
So today’s dinner should likely be related to her visit with Xiaodi yesterday!
Thinking of this made it simpler, Li Yan said, "It should be related to Xiaodi, right? She knows about our company’s situation and even asked if calling you to comfort and support might seem like she’s gloating. I advised her not to, but if she sincerely wanted to comfort and encourage you, she should sincerely call you. I suspect yesterday she approached you wanting to offer some help!"
Zhang Yurong looked at him, neither confirming nor denying.
"She’s just a student, how could she help? Logically it’s impossible. So, I guess she wants Chen Mingying to step in, to meet you and the boss of Changhe Group to mediate, preventing a mutually damaging escalation. Last night she made contact with you, and tonight is that reconciliation dinner!"
Sometimes, when two strong rivals clash, they both hope for a third party to mediate, giving them a graceful exit. In business conflicts, no matter how intense, they usually happen behind the scenes, without public acknowledgment. This time they brought it to the surface due to an unexpected incident at Zhou Shiru’s press conference. The impact was different once it became public, and business leaders prioritize interests over emotions. Yet, neither side is willing to concede first, fearing loss of face and momentum—put simply, "How will they operate in the future?"
After hearing his words, seeing the bit of confidence on his face, Zhang Yurong showed a playful smile and gently clapped, "Your analysis makes sense, but unfortunately, the truth isn’t like that!"
"Oh? Then what is it?" Li Yan felt a bit embarrassed.
Zhang Yurong didn’t leave him hanging, revealing the truth directly, "Xiaodi approached me yesterday to help. After careful consideration, I decided to accept her help. However, with Changhe Group, we haven’t reached a life-and-death point. Even though we’ve adopted a comprehensive offensive stance, to truly achieve results would require months, possibly half a year of protracted conflict, without immediate head-on collision and outcome."
Li Yan sighed, "Don’t tell me, it’s just Xiaodi using someone else’s power?"
"You could say that... she intends to help us by leveraging some influence!" Zhang Yurong sighed a bit; she hadn’t expected Yu Xiaodi to approach it this way. Because at Paradise Group, their Zhang Family was the major shareholder, Li Yan didn’t hold shares; she didn’t need to help Paradise Group just because of him.
"Is her weight even enough?"
"She’s not mediating between us and Changhe Group. She’s just trying to sway the court case a bit on the land issue..." Zhang Yurong said softly.
Li Yan waved his hand, "I don’t understand the specifics, just tell me what Xiaodi proposed."
Seeing his serious demeanor, Zhang Yurong also became serious, "I considered it too, initially thinking her idea was a bit childish."
After hearing her explanation, Li Yan realized it was somewhat a PR tactic, just leveraging influence.
After pondering for a while, Li Yan cautiously said, "But I’ve met Secretary Ji Yi before, he’s quite agreeable. If Xiaodi reaches out to him, he’ll definitely help. However, I think... it’s best not to overemphasize things during the dinner, just subtly mentioning Xiaodi’s identity should suffice."
Upon hearing his words, Zhang Yurong couldn’t help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at? Did I say something unreasonable?" Li Yan rolled his eyes at her, "Safety first! Just as you discussed the timing issue, no matter how fierce the business battle, there’s usually some room to maneuver."
Yurong chuckled and shook her head: "I’m not laughing at your caution, I’m laughing at your worry."
"Isn’t that a contradictory statement?"
"Uh, what I mean is, being cautious is good. But your worry just now was a bit unnecessary. He’ll handle it more smoothly and more expertly than us!"
Li Yan also let out a laugh, "True, I’m worrying unnecessarily, he’s definitely skilled in this. Okay then, I’ll pick you up tonight."
Just after agreeing, he remembered his title of "King of Flaking." He even texted Xu Ping and Sun Hui in the morning, saying he’d treat them to drinks tonight, but now he’s going to bail again... it’s really not cool.
"Uh... it won’t be too late, will it?"
Yurong raised an eyebrow, "Why? Do you have plans tonight?"
"Well... hehe, indeed." Li Yan didn’t hide it. "Thanks to someone’s care, I’m not the general manager of the Heavenly Film? Even though I don’t flaunt it, I can’t resist the enthusiasm of friends. They all want to celebrate my promotion, but I’ve been busy with market research, then with negotiating and preparing new films, and taking care of Yue Yao, no time for drinks and get-togethers. I owe a lot of favors that need repaying."
"Didn’t you just come back from drinking now?"
"Last night was last night, tonight is tonight..." Li Yan felt a bit guilty.
"Hmph! Are you hanging out with some big-shot lawyer friend, developing new ’friends’ at nightclubs?" Yurong snorted lightly, her delicate eyebrows slightly raised.
"..." Li Yan couldn’t help but silently mourn his innocent friend. "After hearing your words, I’ve resolutely drawn a line with him, though we’re still friends, I’ll never go to nightclubs with Zheng Yixuan again!"
He said it so firmly! But the last sentence was full of bugs; Old Zheng never went to nightclubs in the first place, so not going with him is not even an issue. Plus, not going with him doesn’t mean not going alone, not going with others, or not going to other places.
Yurong shook her head, "I can’t be bothered with you! If you don’t come, I’ll drive myself back, and as for whether I’ll drink a lot, I can’t predict."
"I’ll definitely go! I may not be able to get on stage, but I would certainly help you drink all that wine!" Li Yan promised with great enthusiasm. At worst, he could bring her back and then head out again, it wouldn’t take much time if he hurried a bit.
Hearing his words, Yurong’s heart warmed. Even though he was thinking about those drinking buddies, he still had her in his heart. And... as a formal husband, it was unfair for him not to attend formal occasions as her partner.
"Don’t worry, we’re just having dinner, it won’t be too late. You... go shave and rest!" Yurong noticed his stubble, probably from drinking and staying up late last night. He woke up late today, and only came back after lunch with friends. Since he’ll be drinking again tonight, he needs a rest now.
Last night wasn’t about drinking but being with Hai Fu, hearing his wife’s concern, Li Yan touched his stubbly chin, and though he was smiling, he felt a pang of guilt inside.
...
Li Yan returned to his room, tidied himself up, changed clothes, and shaved. Just as he was about to go down to spend some time with Yue Yao, his phone rang, and he saw it was a call from Qiao Pan.
After the formal signing, they no longer contacted each other through Chu Yi, but called directly if there was anything. Over the past two weeks, Qiao Pan established a production crew, quickly signed actors, got everyone in place, confirmed the filming plan, and was intensely preparing for "Springtime Leaked." He wished he could stretch a day into a week and certainly wasn’t taking any breaks.
"Old Qiao, what’s going on?" Li Yan didn’t mess around, he asked directly.
"President Li, the crew has met and decided that the day after tomorrow, the film starts shooting, you must come to the launch ceremony!" Qiao Pan said quickly.
Li Yan was taken aback: "So soon? Isn’t there a lot that isn’t ready yet? Not all the actors have joined yet."
"Time waits for no one! The timing of our project wasn’t great, with the upcoming holiday and New Year seasons right around the corner. It’s a peak time for box office, not our turn, so we must hurry to catch the Valentine’s Day slot. We’re a modern urban film, props and sets aren’t complicated, the script has long been finalized. We can start shooting with the actors who are already here!"
Li Yan calculated the time and couldn’t help but say: "Valentine’s Day is too rushed, how about we aim for Qingming Festival?" (To be continued, for more, please log in to www.qidian.com, support the author and read true copies!)
