Chapter 41 I Was Pure-Originally-Chaste

efore, recent articles from the Chao Hua Society were in focus recently. Some openly showed admiration while others, though saying “good” and "very good," thought highly of themselves despite initiall...Chapter 41: My Innocence

This place was crowded with white-collar workers and some groups of students.

Around the perimeter, on a leisure table in one of the rooms, Su Can spotted Li Lan staring blankly at her cup of coffee.

He quickly walked over and sat opposite her, placing his hat to the side. "What's going on now How did such a big mistake happen Didn't General Manager Tang know beforehand about this huge debt"

"It's like this: The former CEO of Donglin Group had a daughter studying abroad. When he passed away recently, she returned temporarily to take over the business. However, because she studied overseas from a young age, she is unfamiliar with domestic economics, social relationships, and politics. After the former CEO left, the large company collapsed like monkeys scattering after a tree fell; even Donglin's Hong Kong branch was affected. The real estate projects of Donglin had unfinished payments, debts, and could not be revitalized, causing their entire industry chain to fall into paralysis. Her daughter then sought out excellent talents to manage the billion-dollar assets of Donglin Group but was hit hard by the previous CEOs embezzling large sums of assets through fraudulent means. Later, she found General Manager Tang through a business association, who was appointed as the new general manager to handle all operations of the group in Shanghai. However, this wasn't just an appointment; it came with capital investment for new company operations. With four million yuan as his capital, General Manager Tang signed a cooperation contract that once results are achieved, profits would be split 60-40. He took charge of Donglin Group's top leadership position. To put it simply, this contract is advantageous to us since Donglin Group is a major industry. But now we seem to have fallen into it completely."

"Donglin has several well-known hotel and property projects in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and surrounding areas. Hotels are fine, but real estate is much more complicated. After the former boss left, these unfinished development projects became dead-end projects. When General Manager Tang set out his strategy, it was for Donglin to extricate itself from debt disputes while striving for survival through development.

Even when repaying debts, one must develop and restructure existing assets to operate them well before resolving the heavy debt issues fundamentally. Yet who would have thought there were such hidden bombs here; the complexity of the debt far exceeded our estimates."

"That's fine if it is so. What we are worried about isn't these debts, for everyone knows that now creditors hold the upper hand, not debtors. Debts can be delayed as much as possible. But if they disregard Donglin's face and truly sue to freeze assets, then things become serious. At present, the other side has already reached this point and applying to court to freeze assets is just one step away; it's a simple procedure. However, once done, Donglin Group will be finished, and General Manager Tang will also be implicated, dragging his invested capital into an endless abyss."

After Li Lan spoke, she furrowed her brow and continued, "Since your classmate is in the legal field, he must surely understand that without a contract, we have no means to defend ourselves. Now we need to find this contract first; Hong Kong has also been contacted to look for it as well. We will turn Donglin upside down if necessary to locate it. Without a contract, we won't even have the chance to counterattack."

Li Lan picked up her cup and took a sip while checking her watch before saying, "Alright, someone from them already arrived today; I can't stay too long. I told you all this to comfort Tang Wu so she doesn’t need to worry about these things; I believe General Manager Tang will find a way."

"Chao Yue Company has sent people"

Li Lan looked around and said, "Su Can, I understand your feelings, but this isn't something you can intervene in. Your kindness is already commendable enough. You have classes today, right Go back to attend them. General Manager Tang’s mind is very troubled now; we shouldn’t go aggravate him."

As Li Lan got up and left, Su Can could imagine the tense situation inside the company. Instead of heading towards the subway or bus stop, he followed closely behind her.

The place Li Lan was going to was a hotel opposite Starbucks; she likely chose this area for receiving guests so that they couldn’t fully understand Donglin's current situation.

Su Can only pretended to be a detective and followed in. When Li Lan saw Su Can smiling and following her, she seemed helpless as the elevator door opened to reveal Tang’s father and a woman around twenty-three or twenty-four with decent physical development but looking somewhat sorrowful and haggard, accompanied by two middle-aged men in their forties wearing greyish-brown suits.

Li Lan said, "General Manager Tang, Chairman Li."

Tang’s father immediately noticed Su Can entering the lobby and looked at Li Lan with a nod of understanding. He then smiled at Su Can and asked, "Su Can, you're here Have you eaten" His demeanor gave no indication that Donglin Group was currently facing insurmountable difficulties.

"I came here at noon and haven't had lunch yet," Su Cen said, looking at the frustrated group of people. He roughly understood the situation. When he was speaking, a woman called Miss Li looked up and glanced at Su Cen, trying to figure out who this person is in relation to Manager Tang.

"Alright." Without hesitation, Su Cen agreed.

They said they were going for lunch, but in reality, it was just a meeting with someone from Chao Yue's side. Consequently, Su Cen was dragged along without any objections.

Tang Wu sent him a text message midway: "I'm downstairs now. Let's eat together. We'll go to the cafeteria in the northern district and try something different."

Su Cen opened the sliding door of the hotel restaurant’s private room from the second floor and made a call back, saying, "I’m currently with your father here in Changning District. You can have lunch by yourself without waiting for me." There was silence on the other end of the line; Su Cen could imagine Tang Wu standing below her dorm building, holding the phone and looking somewhat dazed.

“What are you doing there” she asked, full of suspicion.

"I haven't seen Qiao Brother in a long time. I thought he was quite interesting last time, so I'm here to chat with him."

“When will you be back"

Su Cen replied, "In the afternoon, probably. I'll take this chance to have some heart-to-heart chats."

Tang Wu knew that Su Cen's true intentions were far more complex than what he said, but she could only reply, “Understood. Hope you come back early and be careful on your way.”

Before Tang Wu finished speaking, a group of girls nearby pricked up their ears; one girl smiled and remarked, "She’s quite thoughtful, isn’t she Miss Tang."

Tang Wu hung up the phone with a smile for everyone but clenched her hand holding the mobile phone tighter. As she walked over to the laughing crowd of girls, she realized that the seemingly ordinary college life was becoming increasingly distant from her. She could sense her father's helplessness in their conversation and Mu Xuan’s occasional expressions of worry, which made her realize that things were not right. The sensational reports in newspapers seemed groundless.

Tang Wu found herself suddenly understanding those students who upon entering college would study hard and seek part-time jobs.

One's environment at home sometimes determined the direction of their efforts. When there was instability at home, she couldn't possibly have a peaceful four-year university life in this school.

Tang Wu didn’t know whether her father, who had always been rock-solid in her eyes, would be overwhelmed this time around.

The man who always said, "Wu'er, focus on your studies. Whatever you want to do is fine. I have a different view from your mother and am quite open-minded. If there's a boy you like, my requirements aren’t high; as long as he can support the two of you, that’s enough. For other material things, your father will still be able to arrange them for you,” always seemed like an iron tower capable of bearing any storms. But if he truly couldn't withstand it anymore, Tang Wu knew her originally peaceful life might change dramatically.

A storm was slowly advancing, and she felt insignificant within the campus, unable to make a difference. Many others would feel the same way. College students who could complete their four years without worries from home would still find post-first year university life long and tedious. But Tang Wu thought that if she could experience this tedium, it would be a kind of happiness.

But she was anxious and couldn't feel it.

Perhaps things would become clear someday, or maybe when tomorrow came, she could still feel that school life was leisurely with no end in sight, or perhaps unexpectedly tense at times. Someone might still smile at her to bring her joy, or make her feel pain occasionally.

Su Cen took his seat as people from Chao Yue's side arrived and opened the private room. Leading them was a middle-aged man with balding hair, a few strands of which were volunteering to grow in the center. He was accompanied by two men in their thirties who both exuded an aura of menace.

And the black leather suitcase he carried looked quite heavy, causing everyone present to feel uneasy; this must be the main player.

After sitting down, the man casually glanced at the sumptuous dishes on the table with a disdainful expression and said to Tang's father, "Whether you eat or not isn't important. We're here today to discuss your debt."

Saying this, he motioned to the two men beside him who promptly moved the bowls, chopsticks, and plates in front of them aside. Then, the middle-aged man piled stack after stack of documents onto the table, saying, "These are the materials regarding Dong Lin's debt to us; principal plus interest totals 103,520,000 RMB." He then pressed his hand firmly on top of the documents for added visual impact. “There are signed loan contracts and proof materials from public security organs, courts, banks, and other institutions.”

The man paused deliberately after finishing his speech, making everyone feel as if they had suddenly lost their footing with an uncomfortable sensation. Clearly, he was in no rush to proceed, showing that he was unfazed by the situation.

"Let's have a drink first and not make things so tense," Li Lan said with a smile, raising his glass.

The man clearly wasn't easy to deal with. He pointed at Li Lan, saying, "Put down your drink for now; we're here about the money you owe us. I don’t need any pretense—I want to know when you'll repay me."

Tang's father suddenly stood up, making the other side alert. With his amiable smile, he said, "We can talk business and drink at the same time. You've come from afar; it must have taken several hours by car from Chao Yue to get here. Let me start first."

He downed three glasses in quick succession. Tang's father, after all, is currently in charge of Dong Lin, so the other side softened slightly and drank two glasses but still maintained an air of superiority.

Tang's father took advantage of this moment to stand up, reaching for the contract while saying, "Mr. Wang, I need a look at the contract before we talk about repayment."

The other side, referred to as Mr. Wang, was extremely shrewd and cautious; he snatched back the contract, making Tang's father miss his chance. He said, "You have your own contracts too; why do you need to look at ours"

"Oh, I just took over Dong Lin recently and haven’t had time to sort everything out yet. A few days ago, someone showed me some documents, but I was busy then and left them aside carelessly. I'll go back and check again," Tang's father said.

He couldn't let the other side know that they didn’t have any contracts. Thinking quickly, he added, "I've just taken over Dong Lin Group, so many things are still not in order. You also know that right now, Dong Lin is a mess with almost nothing left."

"If you're here about Dong Lin, then we need to find someone who can help us," the man said.

Su Cen thought privately that this was an asymmetric information war. The other side knew everything about Tang's father taking over Dong Lin, whereas Tang's father knew little about them and had no contracts, making him vulnerable and at their mercy.

However, since the other party was unaware of Tang's father not having a contract, it at least indicated that there were no insiders within Donglin Group who communicated with their company.

The top priority now was to get hold of the contract.

After further discussions between both sides, the other party remained firm and arrogant. Everyone from Donglin Group had grim faces but held back from reacting.

In the end, the other side said some unpleasant words before getting up. Just as they were about to leave, they threw a copy of their lawsuit filing against Shanghai High Court onto Tang's father's desk: "This is our lawsuit filing with the Shanghai High Court; you should take a look at it. Also, we hope that you can come up with a repayment plan for us within these few days; otherwise, we'll see each other in court."

The other party left arrogantly and no one had expected their aggressive attitude right from the start.

Shortly after, someone seemed to have gathered information about the Qiaoyue Company on behalf of the company. Li Lan received a phone call and then told Tang's father: "This company is actually owned by the local government; they are so domineering as if they don't care for anyone else’s feelings. From the reports in magazines and journals, it seems that they have pulled some strings and their attitude is very clear—they want us to pay back this sum within these few days."

Tang's father also got angry: "What kind of connections can they have I have many friends and comrades-in-arms in Shanghai. Have any of them ever pulled such stunts… I will see how Donglin Group owes them a billion dollars!"

When everyone came out from the hotel, Li Lan sighed to Su Chen and said: "I’ll take you back home; don't come here again for now. You saw it today, they won’t be of any help. Come back after some time."

Su Chen nodded and let Li Lan take him back to school. He watched from the school gate as her car sped away into the distance. Su Chen felt that he had failed miserably in his disguise as Conan; all he had seen was the arrogant attitude of their opponent, and nothing else could be done since they held the contract firmly in hand. Dealing with this Wang Manager wasn't easy, and he might really be one of the people who caused Tang Wu's father to collapse.

Su Chen secretly lamented that if only he had known about these matters earlier and relived his life again, he would have advised Tang’s father not to get involved in this matter. But now it was too late; in business circles, there were often situations where everything seemed calm at first glance but turned out to be dangerous with each step taken. This was the harsh reality of the business world, where countless tycoons fell by the wayside, leaving behind bloodshed and ruined lives. Many towering skyscrapers had risen up, but they too carried the burden of casualties. Countless people who went bankrupt overnight without even a chance to catch their breath would leave behind families in despair. To climb to such heights, one must have the strength; naturally, those with some experience or who built empires could also fall from grace at any moment.

Only outsiders would追捧所謂的“成功者”，這不過是冇達到那種高度的人意**而已，在取得一定成就者的眼睛裡麵，未來仍是跟著藍圖摸著石頭過河，如履薄冰。praise so-called "successful people," which was merely the envy of those who hadn't reached such heights. To those who had achieved some success, the future remained uncertain and perilous.

Therefore, wealth could only be pursued amidst risks; today's glory did not guarantee tomorrow’s brilliance.

Su Chen aimed to pursue stability while accumulating his wealth with the aid of his rebirth experiences. He didn’t seek fame across the nations but used his financial resources to achieve some idealistic goals step by step, reclaiming what he had lost along the way. Occasionally reflecting on his journey, he felt content that he hadn't strayed from his path.

Back in his dormitory, Li Han still lay quietly in a corner with four bottles of boiled water beside him. Xiao Xu and others were gathered around his computer watching action movies. Recently, Xiao Xu had been frequently interacting with a senior student in the third year, directly benefiting from swapping video game discs for pornographic content. This sort of trade was quite common among university students, almost becoming a universal currency.

Those who harbored an obsession with prestigious universities would be greatly disappointed to know that no matter how proud their friends were when introducing them as graduates from such institutions, the truth was that everyone had a remarkably lecherous look after removing their masks and watching pornographic films.

It was precisely these widely circulated sex education videos in university dormitories that sped up our physical and mental maturity. The exchange between men reached an almost spiritual level, proving that regardless of what facade one puts on, everyone is equally lonely at heart.

Hence, Su Chen endured the release of their lecherous desires below his bed while they used his computer to satisfy themselves, lying comfortably above and sending pure messages to Tang Wu.ut after 9 PM."It's okay," Su Cen replied back.“Alright then. Remember to pack your things; we’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow, so don’t drink too much and get home early. I’m going to sleep now,...