Chapter 108: Alone with Ouyang Bingbing

Qiyuan Grand Hotel, Tongda Machinery Repair, Haisheng Supermarket.

These were the three major businesses owned outright by He Jiansheng.

Qiyuan Grand Hotel was a five-star establishment, with a total value of more than two billion.

Tongda Machinery Repair had ten branches across all of Tianhai. Its repair capabilities were formidable, and it maintained extensive partnerships with many dealerships. Its total assets were probably on the scale of two billion as well.

To build a machinery repair business to that level was truly no small feat.

As for Haisheng Supermarket, it was a chain that enjoyed a modest reputation in Tianhai and the surrounding region. Its total assets exceeded four billion.

This was He Jiansheng’s fortune.

After losing his position as steward of the He family’s outer branch, He Jiansheng still possessed these three private enterprises, bringing his total net worth to as much as eight billion.

That alone showed that He Jiansheng did have some ability after all.

Cutting off his support from the government was tantamount to defeating him.

To other people, that might have seemed like an earth-shattering challenge. But for He Tian, it was strangely easy, almost routine.

So the matter before He Tian was very simple: go after He Jiansheng’s businesses.

Among Tongda Machinery Repair and Haisheng Supermarket, the publicly listed Qiyuan Grand Hotel was unquestionably He Tian’s target.

And he planned to hand this task to Ouyang Bingbing, as a way to temper her and let her gain experience.

In a quiet private room of a coffee shop, He Tian sat calmly drinking coffee.

Beside him lay a magazine, not the military publication he usually liked, but a trendy lifestyle magazine suited to office workers.

Still, as a way to pass the time in boredom, it was not bad at all.

By the time He Tian finished his second cup, Li Kai pushed open the door and walked in.

“Here you are. Sit down. What would you like to drink?” He Tian said with a smile, putting the magazine aside.

“I’ll have a Nanshan,” Li Kai said as he sat down, smiling. “Why did you think of asking me here? Something up?”

“Take a look at this.” He Tian handed him a document folder.

Li Kai was a little puzzled, but he opened it anyway. The moment he saw what was inside, he looked at He Tian in shock.

“What do you mean?” Li Kai asked quietly. “What are you trying to do?”

“It’s simple. Your father was just promoted, right? Consider this a welcoming gift for him,” He Tian said with a smile. “Of course, I have my own reasons for taking down these five people. They’ve been sending people to harass Xinmeng every day... so I have to deal with this problem.”

“My father’s only been in office for three days,” Li Kai said with a苦笑. “Besides, I’ve never been involved in anything like this before.”

“Everything has a first time. I can tell you’re bound to walk this road sooner or later. In your family, you need this kind of performance. As for these materials, rather than handing them over anonymously, it’s better to give them to you. I believe your father will make good use of them and quickly open up a foothold in Tianhai.”

Asking Li Kai to handle this had been something He Tian had long since decided.

And with Li Kai’s father’s recent promotion, this was the best way to make that idea a reality. It was the perfect choice.

It would both suppress He Jiansheng and establish a broader relationship with the Li family. For someone like He Tian, who could not openly reveal his identity as a member of Dragon Soul, building his own network of connections would be of immense help.

As for whether the Li family would offend the old He family over this, He Tian had already looked into that as well.

He did not know the details, but during the years when the Li family had fallen into decline, the old He family had apparently kicked them while they were down.

So He Tian was certain that under these circumstances, Li Kai’s father would absolutely not miss the chance to strike back at the old He family.

These five people did not occupy the highest positions, but each of them held real power.

If they were brought down, it would not be impossible to say that the old He family’s influence in Tianhai would be cut in half.

That would be of tremendous benefit to the Li family as they took root in Tianhai and spread their branches wider.

“So this is revenge against He Jiansheng,” Li Kai said after thinking it over, then smiled.

“That’s right. There’s no need for me to hide that from you,” He Tian said frankly.

“I can’t promise anything. I can only pass these materials to my father,” Li Kai said, putting the documents back into the folder and setting it beside him.

“That’s enough,” He Tian said with satisfaction. His goal had been achieved.

“I really didn’t expect you to go this far,” Li Kai said with a laugh. “He Jiansheng may not have played it very clean, but your methods are still shocking.”

“It’s because they’re dirty themselves. Who can they blame? People like your families all have outer branches, don’t they? That’s still to prevent this sort of thing. Because you all understand that if you don’t want enemies to seize your weak points, you’d better not have any weak points in the first place,” He Tian said with a smile.

“You know these things very well,” Li Kai said, looking at him.

“Anyone who pays attention would know,” He Tian replied. “The old He family is indeed powerful, but He Jiansheng... he’s too weak, too childish. Even when Young Master Hai wanted to act as a peacemaker, He Jiansheng turned him down. I suppose in his mind, I was the one who asked Young Master Hai to mediate.”

“He has no sense of proportion at all,” Li Kai said, laughing.

“That’s why I need to teach him how this game is really played,” He Tian said, smoothly changing the subject. “Still, I suppose you can add the title of young master in front of your name now.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I don’t have such thoughts either. Between us there’s nothing we can’t say. Given the Li family’s current development, there will definitely be someone in charge of the outer branch, and that will be my cousin from my eldest uncle’s family,” Li Kai said gravely. “It wasn’t easy for our family to get this far. We can’t afford accidents over small matters.”

“We’re all friends. Then it looks like I’ll need you to introduce me to your cousin sometime,” He Tian said with a smile.

“You want to do business?” Li Kai looked at him suspiciously.

“There are plenty of ways to make money... how would we know unless we talked?” This was a rare opportunity to build a deeper connection with the Li family.

He Tian did not want to miss it.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to introduce her,” Li Kai said with a laugh. “Working on this with Yingying now really makes me uncomfortable.”

“I can tell. You’re not suited to this sort of thing,” He Tian said without hesitation.

“Could you not be so blunt?” Li Kai said with a wry smile.

“No one is perfect. By the way, how are things going with Yingying lately?” He Tian said, steering the conversation elsewhere again.

Li Kai was talented. That much He Tian was certain of. Li Kai’s composure and adaptability were both remarkable. But compared with He Tian, he was still a little too green.

Throughout their conversation, He Tian had always held the upper hand.

---

He Tian drove to the building where Ouyang Bingbing lived.

After stepping back from Wang Xinrou’s investment company, He Tian was indeed far freer than before. He could also arrange the things he wanted to do.

As for matters at Tianrou Investment, with Wang Xinmeng helping Wang Xinrou, He Tian truly had nothing to worry about.

He went upstairs.

Qiyuan Grand Hotel was a publicly listed five-star hotel with total assets exceeding two billion.

Entrusting the acquisition of such a company to Ouyang Bingbing seemed almost unbelievable.

But in He Tian’s view, Ouyang Bingbing could do it.

Of course, he also knew she still had many shortcomings in various areas, so he had asked Chou to find quite a few helpers for her.

Ouyang Bingbing would be the one leading them.

To be precise, He Tian wanted her to learn by doing. Experiencing something like this would broaden her perspective and benefit her in many ways.

“Who is it?” He Tian knocked, and Ouyang Bingbing’s voice came from inside.

“It’s me, Bingbing,” He Tian said with a smile.

Ouyang Bingbing came to the door, looked through the peephole, and quickly opened it when she saw him.

“Just you?” she asked, glancing behind him in surprise.

He Tian had never come here alone before.

“What, not welcome?” He Tian said with a smile.

“How could that be? Come in quickly,” Ouyang Bingbing said gently. “After all, you’re my big boss. How could I ever not welcome my boss? What would you like to drink...?”

“Do you have tea?” He Tian asked without being polite.

“If not, I can go downstairs and buy some tea leaves,” Ouyang Bingbing said. She didn’t drink tea, so she really hadn’t prepared any.

“No need. Just bring me any drink you have. Bottled water is fine,” He Tian said casually.

Ouyang Bingbing nodded and brought him a bottle of iced tea.

During all this, Ouyang Bingbing could feel her heartbeat pounding violently. She had never been alone with He Tian before... and the scene of him seeing her half-clothed in the dormitory seemed to rise involuntarily in her mind again. For a moment, she found herself growing unaccountably anxious and unsettled.

Her mind kept guessing why He Tian had come today.

If he confessed his feelings to her, what would she do?

All right then, Ouyang Bingbing was already in complete disarray. That much was beyond doubt.

A woman, standing before the man she loves—especially when that man is one she cannot pursue—would naturally fall into such a chaotic state of mind.

With Wang Xinrou present, and considering that in Ouyang Bingbing’s view she had met He Tian later than Wang Xinrou had, she felt she had to suppress her feelings and allow herself no overstepping at all. Otherwise, she would truly be letting Wang Xinrou down.

It had to be said that Ouyang Bingbing was a kind girl.

Between love and friendship, she could restrain herself. That was truly rare.

It could not be said that Ouyang Bingbing was right, but neither could it be said that she was wrong.

It could only be said that this was simply who she was. That was the real Ouyang Bingbing.

“Bingbing,” He Tian said softly after twisting open the iced tea and taking a sip.

Ouyang Bingbing shuddered all over and looked at him. Her heartbeat surged wildly once more.