091 Gone Mad

Zhong Pingjiang had spent more than a decade in the workplace, and although he lost his composure for only a moment, he quickly reined in his emotions. At the very least, nothing unusual showed on the surface.

He stepped forward and shook hands with Chen Musong, who had come up to him, and an excited light naturally appeared in Zhong Pingjiang's eyes. "Mr. Chen, I've long admired you."

This was no mere politeness. In his life, he had only ever admired two people: one was the self-made rich man Huang Tingjian, and the other was the salaried titan before him.

Chen Musong looked over Zhong Pingjiang and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "You're too modest, Mr. Zhong. The one I truly admire is you. You have so many talented people under you, and yet you've actually managed to create an epoch-making product like the Stabilizer. Might you introduce me to the inventor later?"

"Well, that..." Zhong Pingjiang wanted to scratch his head. He did not even know what project this collaboration was about, let alone this so-called Stabilizer. He could only agree in a vague and perfunctory way, then steer the conversation elsewhere.

Inwardly, however, he had made up his mind: when he got back, he would have to give Zhong Yun, that brat, a proper beating. To joke about something this big was simply outrageous.

Seeing their boss chatting and laughing with that legendary figure, the employees watching from behind were filled with admiration. As expected, their boss really was a boss; his nerves were indeed ironclad.

After the initial shock passed, all the employees felt not only excitement but also pride. Look at this: even a company like Giant Machinery Group had come looking for them to collaborate. That alone proved the strength of their own company.

From this day on, these employees felt an immense sense of belonging and honor toward Zhong's Machinery, a company that had only been open for less than four months. That was an unexpected bonus.

After the whole group poured into the building, the reporters trailing behind quietly followed as well.

Dong Wan was just about to go after them when she saw Zhong Yun beckon to her. She hesitated for a moment, then walked over anyway. There was nothing for her to do today. With such a major figure arriving, her colleagues would certainly rush to pour tea and run errands. She had no desire to get involved.

"What are you doing here?" Dong Wan asked, a little puzzled. What exactly was Zhong Yun's relationship with the boss?

The reason she had not thought of him as the boss's son was that her supervisor had always spoken of her own son as if he were astonishingly outstanding, as though there were none above him in heaven or beneath him on earth. And for some reason, she had never mentioned what her son looked like, leading others to assume that her son must be equally handsome and exceptional.

Besides, in the eyes of Dong Wan and the other employees, the boss was so wealthy that his son would naturally be studying in one of those elite schools.

Zhong Yun had nothing in common with the word "outstanding," and he was still a student at a public school. None of the conditions matched, so of course Dong Wan would never have guessed their relationship.

"I'm here to watch the excitement," Zhong Yun said, looking at her. "You don't seem very interested."

"I'm just a lowly employee. A high-level meeting like this isn't something I'm qualified to be interested in."

Zhong Yun shook his head. "With a lofty attitude like yours, you really don't suit the workplace."

Dong Wan had no answer to that. It was true: with her personality, it would be hard for her to survive in a workplace that placed so much importance on relationships. In fact, ever since she was young, her social life had been poor; she had few male friends, and not many female ones either. It was all because of her personality.

Seeing the faint loneliness in her expression, Zhong Yun deliberately teased her. "How about this? I can introduce you to a job with excellent pay, great benefits, and no need to deal with other people. What do you think?"

Dong Wan smiled, as lovely as flowers in full bloom. "Where would there be such a wonderful job?"

"There is one." Zhong Yun grinned wickedly. "My wife."

A faint blush rose on Dong Wan's face. She lightly struck him. "Fine, so you've got the nerve to tease me."

Zhong Yun dodged slightly, deliberately letting her hit him, and cried out, "Ouch! Murder!"

Dong Wan did not know whether to laugh or to scold him. She snorted. "I'm not talking to you anymore. Sister Yun is looking for me in a moment, so I'm going up first."

"Goodbye." Zhong Yun called after her. "I'll come find you to play in a few days."

Dong Wan turned back and shot him a reply. "You're not allowed to come looking for me." Having said that, she could not help but laugh. For some reason, being with Zhong Yun always made her feel especially relaxed.

Perhaps it was because he had no improper intentions toward me, Dong Wan thought. He never looked at me with those lecherous eyes.

When the group went upstairs together, they had already alerted everyone inside the building. Although it was working hours, a few secretaries were just then going upstairs to deliver documents, and they ran into Chen Musong and the others. At a glance, they recognized Chen Musong at the front. He appeared in the news so often that hardly anyone failed to know him.

What an important figure. Why would he come here? The secretaries had stumbled upon a massive scoop and were thrilled beyond words. After returning to the company, they discussed it at length as gossip, and soon the entire building knew that the deputy chief executive of Giant Machinery Group had arrived.

The news then spread to other companies, and in less than half an hour, everyone in the building knew that Chen Musong had gone to the new company on the thirty-sixth floor.

What on earth was the background of this company? Why would they need the second-in-command of Giant Machinery Group to come in person? Everyone in the building had the same question in mind.

Chen Musong's sudden visit truly caught Zhong Pingjiang completely off guard. Not only had he made no preparations at all, he did not even know the contents of the contract. If his wife had not slipped him a document folder before he entered the conference room, he would truly have been helpless on the spot.

He pretended to open the file casually, and after only a few glances, he began to feel dizzy.

A new company was to be set up jointly with Giant Machinery Group. Zhong's side would contribute only technology, while Giant Machinery Group would provide all the capital, including factory construction and equipment purchases. The total investment over three years would amount to seventy billion Darvo coins. Of that, Zhong's side would hold sixty percent of the shares, and the remaining forty percent would belong to Giant Machinery Group.

What technology did Zhong's side have that could be worth one hundred billion? No matter how hard Zhong Pingjiang racked his brains, he could not figure it out.

What was even more outrageous was that management rights for the company would belong to Zhong's side. This was practically Giant Machinery Group paying and laboring to build a subsidiary for Zhong's. Aside from forty percent of the profits, Giant Machinery would gain nothing at all.

Has Rong gone mad? That was Zhong Pingjiang's first thought after reading it. Unless the senior management of Giant Machinery Group had all gone collectively insane, they could never have signed such a contract.

At that point, Zhong Pingjiang found himself in a dreadful dilemma. The contract was too heavy in his hands, and he simply could not bring himself to present it. Negotiations might involve asking high and settling low, but there had to be some reasonable limit, surely. If an item worth a few dollars were quoted at several thousand, the other side would turn around and walk away without hesitation.

Zhong Pingjiang's silence seemed to cause Chen Musong to misunderstand something. He chuckled and made a gesture to his secretary, who handed Zhong Pingjiang another file.

When Zhong Pingjiang opened it and began to read, Chen Musong said, "This is the contract our company drafted last night. It contains all the terms we agreed on yesterday, with only a few minor changes."

Zhong Pingjiang had only looked at two items before his heart gave a jolt. This contract was nearly identical to the one he had just seen, only with a few additional details.

The farther he read, the faster his heartbeat grew, and by the end, he felt as though the whole world had turned upside down.

So it wasn't Rong who was insane. It was me.

At last I managed not to fall off the rankings. Thank you all for your support, though the thirteenth place is still a little dangerous, so please keep voting.

Finally, a recommendation for a friend's book, Rebirth of a Splendid Life, book number 1226184. A mysterious ring: wear it, and you can understand the languages of all beasts; wear it, and you can imitate the habits of every animal...