DLRAS Chapter 11

Chapter 11: We can’t negotiate, but you don’t have to play tricks like this.

In Zheng Maoxun’s office, Chen Wengang gestured for him to sit on the sofa, then sat down opposite him. It was a posture for a heart-to-heart talk.

Zheng Maoxun, however, had no intention of having a heart-to-heart. He crossed his legs, putting distance between them. After all, Chen Wengang was only going to either speak up for Zheng Yucheng or criticize him. Given the shallow friendship they had built over the past few days, Zheng Maoxun had already made up his mind that Chen Wengang had no right to do either. “What do you want to say?”

But Chen Wengang asked, “Tell me the truth. Your cousin, Huo Niansheng—what was he really doing booking the hotel?”

Zheng Maoxun suddenly uncrossed his legs. He leaned forward mysteriously, a somewhat sinister expression on his face. “I’ll tell you. It was actually me, Zheng Maoxun, who planned it. I colluded with Huo Niansheng…”

“Sit properly,” Chen Wengang said, reaching out to pat his leg. “How many times have I told you not to shake your leg?”

“Just talk,” Zheng Maoxun said, eyeing his hand warily. “Don’t touch me, I’m warning you.”

“That cousin of yours—I’d believe you if you said he was planning a bank robbery. What good would it do him to collude with you on this?”

Zheng Maoxun detected a subtle hint of disdain in his attitude. “You’re looking down on me!”

Arguing with a child was always exhausting. Chen Wengang lowered his head and thought for a moment. “It was your mother who found out.”

Zheng Maoxun’s surprised but defiant expression proved the guess was more or less correct.

After all, if Zheng Maoxun hadn’t shown up to gloat, it might have been worth a conspiracy theory. His presence, however, suggested it wasn’t a big deal—only something worth gloating about. Mrs. Zheng was well-informed and had a long reach; it wasn’t surprising she had an opportunity to discover this loophole.

For her, this was an easy win. It wasn’t serious and didn’t affect the Zheng Corporation, but it would make Zheng Yucheng lose points in Zheng Bingyi’s eyes. But it wasn’t convenient for her to book the hotel in her own name. Huo Niansheng was her nephew, so helping with a small favor was a simple matter for him.

Having roughly figured out the connections, Chen Wengang stood up to leave.

Zheng Maoxun quickly called out to him, “Hey, you’re not worried at all? How come you’re not on Zheng Yucheng’s side anymore? If this important event is a disaster, my big brother will be humiliated.”

Chen Wengang turned back, staring at him thoughtfully for a moment.

Zheng Maoxun felt that the way he looked at his head was like he was examining a rusty kettle, wondering if it could be polished to a shine. He instinctively leaned back. “Look, that’s not the attitude of someone asking for a favor.”

Chen Wengang laughed instead. “My surname is Chen, yours is Zheng. Theoretically, you should be more concerned about the company than I am. I won’t ask you for help.”

Zheng Maoxun was speechless. The argument ended with him unable to think of a more logical rebuttal.

But before he could argue further, Chen Wengang spoke again. “If this drags on, the most you can do is go tattle to our adoptive father. It was Zheng Yucheng’s mistake at work to begin with, so you can report it if you want. But don’t cause any more trouble at the company. It will affect others’ normal work.”

Zheng Maoxun re-evaluated him. “I think I’m starting to understand… why Dad always says you’re sensible.”

“Why?”

“You’re just that kind of person, especially good at smoothing things over. Like just now, he and I argued a bit, and you were the good guy in the middle.”

“Is that so?” Chen Wengang smiled, his expression relaxed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. When I’m not working here anymore, I might consider becoming a social worker, helping people resolve family conflicts and neighborhood disputes every day.”

“Why wouldn’t you be working here anymore?” Zheng Maoxun caught a piece of information he had never even considered. “You’re leaving?”

“Maybe,” Chen Wengang said. “I’ll be graduating in another year. I have to think about my future.”

“Then just stay here,” Zheng Maoxun said urgently. “Everything’s fine, nobody’s going to fire you, right? If you go out and find some 996 job, the benefits and promotion speed will never be as good as in your own family’s company. Why are you thinking of leaving?”

The thermostat was old, and the vent suddenly made a clattering sound. It rattled for a while before stopping on its own.

Chen Wengang hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him. “I haven’t thought it through yet. In any case, you need to work hard from now on.”

Zheng Maoxun watched him leave, scratched his head, and let out an irritated “tsk,” thinking this person really didn’t know what was good for him. He sat down at his desk. He didn’t have much work today. He looked at a message from a friend asking him out for drinks, then closed the chat app. After some thought, he downloaded the presentation slides from his email that he had yet to open, planning to see what assignments he had. Unfortunately, after two pages, his eyelids grew heavy, and he nearly fell asleep right there.

---

When he returned to the Zheng family home that day, Zheng Maoxun, for whatever reason, was not in a hurry to tattle. But Mrs. Zheng also played a waiting game. The problem she had created still needed to be solved.

Another day passed, and Xiao Lin from the administration department came hesitantly to the documentation department to find Chen Wengang. The young woman was very embarrassed. “Um, Wengang, are you free today? It’s about that Boss Yu. We’ve contacted him and scheduled a time to go to his company to talk in person, to see if we can negotiate for the venue. Our boss, Manager Mao, asked me to bring you along.”

“Who’s all going?” Chen Wengang asked. “Is Zheng Yucheng going too?”

“No, he’s not… well, it’s not that he isn’t. Manager Mao said there’s no need for all of us to swarm over there. So we’re splitting into two groups. Today, the three of us will go find Boss Yu, and Zheng Yucheng will go to the Crowne Plaza Hotel to see if they can come up with any other solutions.”

Hearing this, Chen Wengang almost let out a cold laugh. This Manager Mao really knew how to play his cards. Sending the young master Zheng to the hotel—what good solution could the hotel possibly offer? The humbling task of pleading with Yu Shanding was not for Zheng Yucheng. Instead, he was taking Xiao Lin, a green young woman. Who couldn’t see what he was planning? Men, after all, couldn’t resist a few sweet and soft words from a pretty young woman. Wasn’t that his thinking?

He originally didn’t want to get involved, but now he said, “Let me know when you’re leaving.”

Half an hour later, a smiling Manager Mao came over in person to gather them. The three of them took a company car. The driver stepped on the gas, and they crossed half the city to get to the catering company run by Yu Shanding.

When they arrived at his turf, they were stopped right at the entrance. The receptionist had no idea they were coming today. “Our boss’s surname is Yu, that’s correct, but I haven’t heard anything about him having an appointment with guests.”

Manager Mao kept wiping his forehead with a tissue, explaining repeatedly, “He probably forgot. We definitely scheduled a meeting with Boss Yu Shanding yesterday. Look, here’s the call history. You must recognize his mobile number, right?”

The receptionist hesitated. “Alright… come in and have a seat first.”

She led the three of them to the reception area, brought them three cups of water in disposable cups, and then went back to her post.

Unattended and in an awkward situation, they found that Yu Shanding’s phone was consistently out of service and unreachable.

Xiao Lin watched Manager Mao dial the number over and over, his head covered in sweat. “So… Manager, are we just going to wait here?”

Manager Mao snorted. “What else can we do besides wait? We’re already here. Is sitting in the office going to solve the problem?”

Chen Wengang, however, was calm. He sat back on the sofa with his hands properly folded over his stomach, closing his eyes to rest.

They sat there枯 all morning, but Yu Shanding never showed up. The awkwardness of being stood up peaked as the lunch break arrived, and their patience ran out accordingly. Employees swarmed the front desk to pick up takeout, the aroma wafting through the air. Manager Mao, a pool of anger building inside him, cursed that dog Yu, who was really putting on airs.

The Zheng Corporation was a massive group. What was this fly-by-night catering company? He should be thanking his lucky stars they weren’t using their power to crush him! It had been years since Manager Mao had to act so subservient, but he had no choice. Right now, he was doing it to curry favor with Zheng Yucheng. The three of them had come out quietly, and no one else in the company knew. When Manager Mao took a call from a subordinate, his voice was filled with suppressed rage.

Startled by him, Chen Wengang opened his eyes slightly, it was unclear if he had been awake or had taken a nap.

Xiao Lin whispered in his ear, “Sigh, what kind of person is this? I really admire how you can stay so calm.”

Chen Wengang also lowered his voice. “You can rest too. Boss Yu probably isn’t coming today anyway.”

Sure enough, they waited until nearly six in the evening when Yu Shanding finally called back. “So sorry, look at this pig brain of mine! Today was just so unlucky, I was out in the countryside inspecting suppliers all day… The signal in the village was bad, I didn’t even get any calls.” His voice was booming and utterly unapologetic. “How about this, you guys come over to the Medusa nightclub? I have time now.”

Manager Mao ground his teeth. “Boss Yu, if we can negotiate, let’s negotiate. If not, there’s no need to jerk people around like this.”

The other person said, “Oh? Well, my apologies then. Are you still coming?”

Before the word “no” could escape his lips, his hand felt a weight. Chen Wengang pressed down on it. “Don’t hang up yet. I’ll go.”

The man surnamed Mao looked utterly astonished. “Are you sure? By yourself?”

Chen Wengang said flatly, “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m just going to see what he’s really up to.”

---

The rush hour traffic was bad, and by the time Chen Wengang arrived at the Medusa nightclub, it was almost eight o’clock. The red and green glow of neon lights flickered overhead. At this hour, the nightlife was just beginning to liven up.

Yu Shanding had deliberately sent him an ambiguous location to mess with him. He made a series of left and right turns and even mistakenly ended up in the disco hall. The music inside was already blasting, and the laser lights from a spinning disco ball formed a net, trapping the swaying bodies of men and women on the dance floor.

Before they left, Manager Mao had pushed Xiao Lin, telling her to go with Chen Wengang, saying it would be easier to talk with an extra person. Chen Wengang looked down on him for that. The moment Manager Mao turned away, he had hailed a taxi and told Xiao Lin to go home for the day.

However, once he actually entered the nightclub alone, his stomach churned so much he almost wanted to vomit. Chen Wengang now thought he should have just slipped away earlier too. Someone like him, who had spent too much time studying, could barely tolerate this kind of noise, and the jostling crowd of strangers made him paranoid. Because of the experience of having acid thrown at him in his past life, he was left with a severe stress reaction. For a long time, it caused him to have a subconscious fear of strangers approaching him, and it took a year or two of psychological counseling to overcome the trauma.

When Huo Niansheng was still alive, he never let him stay alone in a crowded place. In a chaotic and clamorous place like this, where all sorts of people mingled, that sense of panic surged up again. Chen Wengang pressed a hand to his chest, his face growing paler. Fortunately, a flash of insight struck him as the crowd made him dizzy—this nightclub was owned by Yu Shanding. Where else would he be?

Finding an employee-only passage marked “Staff Only,” his ears finally found some peace. Chen Wengang moved the sign and walked straight in. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, he wasn’t mistaken for a customer. Following his memory, he found the general manager’s office and knocked on the door.

The first person to come out was a beautiful secretary, hastily buttoning her clothes.

Yu Shanding, having been interrupted, was only surprised for a moment. He looked at the business card. “Oh, little brother, your surname is Chen, right?”

He looked exactly as Chen Wengang remembered him: a bald head, a sharp-topped round face, a fierce expression—the appearance of a butcher, yet several strings of Buddhist beads were wrapped around his thick wrist. Behind him, a painting of the Thousand-Hand, Thousand-Eye Guanyin hung on the white wall.

This Yu Shanding, with the face of a butcher and the heart of a Buddha, looked helpless. He spread his hands and tossed the business card on the table. “Alright, since you’ve found me, I won’t jerk you around anymore. The banquet hall, I did book it, but I did it as a favor for someone else. It’s not for my own use. Your Zheng Corporation is a big group, I’m just a small fry. It’s not that I don’t want to give it up. But whether we can negotiate or not, it’s not up to me.”

After speaking, his gaze swept over. Chen Wengang stood there, neither anxious nor impatient, just coldly watching his performance. The two stared at each other for five seconds.

Yu Shanding put his feet down and brought the conversation full circle himself. “But, it wouldn’t be right to make you come all this way for nothing. How about this! As it happens, that friend of mine is upstairs having fun today. I’ll take you to meet him. You can coordinate the venue and time yourselves. How about that?”

---

Support me on Ko-fi