Chapter 35

Long Aotian narrowed his eyes: "I've noticed, no matter where I go, you're always there, everywhere. Everything starts to taste different when I encounter you."

Lu Chengwen quickly said: "Dreamyun, stop fooling around! You can't joke about this!"

Chen Mengyun looked at Lu Chengwen with a smug expression: "Tell me, have you been bullying me?"

Lu Chengwen pulled Chen Mengyun to the side: "Sis, you can't joke about this! It could cost someone their life!"

"Wow, you're afraid of someone too?"

"You need to explain it to him clearly, or I'll really be in trouble!"

"Then you have to agree to have dinner and watch a movie with me."

"Are you crazy?" Lu Chengwen lowered his voice, furious: "We've already broken up! Now, bridges are bridges, roads are roads. It was you who wanted to break up, so let's just leave it at that!"

"Then can I use true love to win you back?"

Lu Chengwen nervously watched Long Aotian and Chen Moqun distributing cigarettes, already chatting.

Lu Chengwen was worried that Chen Mengyun would inadvertently get him into trouble, and also feared that the reckless Chen Moqun would anger Long Aotian and get himself into trouble.

Lu Chengwen said: "One movie, one meal, then we go our separate ways."

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"How could I hate you, Sis? You're so beautiful! I just want to live!"

"What are you talking about?"

"In short, be a bit nicer to that Long Aotian, get along well, and say good things about your brother in the future. He might be your brother's nemesis."

"What else do you know?"

"Just that. I can't say more, or I'll be dead."

Chen Mengyun nodded: "So, the dinner and movie are still on?"

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

"Alright." Chen Mengyun walked up to Long Aotian, suddenly mature and composed: "Mr. Long, thank you for helping us just now."

"It was nothing. Not to boast, but I'm not just talking about these punks. Even if it were experts from the outer regions, they would have to kneel and beg for mercy when they meet me."

Chen Mengyun nodded: "I can see you're an expert."

"Do you want me to help you teach Lu Chengwen a lesson? Or shall we go for coffee first, and I'll deal with him later?"

Chen Mengyun laughed: "I was just joking, I really hate boys fighting."

"Oh, then coffee..."

"Coffee is unnecessary. I don't like it much, and I have a dinner and movie date with Chengwen. See you later."

Chen Mengyun turned and walked away, pulling Lu Chengwen's hand down the stairs.

Lu Chengwen tried to break free, but Chen Mengyun gave him a cold look and whispered: "If you dare to break free, I'll let him beat you to death!"

Lu Chengwen thought:

"You're ruthless!"

"I've known you for so many years, and I never knew you had this side!"

"Wow, when you get ruthless, it's really scary!"

Lu Chengwen was afraid Chen Mengyun would really cause trouble, not knowing the gravity of the situation, and might inadvertently get him killed.

Not breaking free would be like challenging Long Aotian.

Well, let's see how long we can drag this out.

Lu Chengwen grabbed the fat Chen Moqun: "You're coming with me!"

"Why bring him?" Chen Mengyun asked, dissatisfied.

"We need to talk."

The group walked out, and Chen Mengyun laughed uncontrollably.

Lu Chengwen said, annoyed: "You're still laughing? You almost got me killed."

"Hey! Why are you so afraid of that Long Aotian?"

Lu Chengwen thought if he could explain it to them, he would have done so long ago.

"In short, he's my and Chen Moqun's nemesis. You'd better protect your brother. The fatso might die at his hands, don't say I didn't warn you."

Chen Moqun said: "Just that?"

Lu Chengwen looked at him, very serious: "Chen Moqun, do you trust me?"

"Of course, you're my brother, I trust you."

"Then remember, if you want to live, don't provoke him. You saw his fighting skills just now. He's in a completely different league from us, who learned a few moves at the martial arts school. And this guy is ruthless and ambitious, willing to do anything to achieve his goals. He won't show mercy just because you're the eldest grandson of the Chen family. This guy is capable of anything, including killing you."

Lu Chengwen deliberately made it sound very serious, hoping to scare Chen Moqun.

Chen Moqun nodded solemnly: "Indeed, that guy really surprised me today. Fortunately, you stopped me. If I had fought him, I'd probably be in the hospital now."

"So! We can only outsmart him, not confront him head-on."

Chen Moqun nodded: "Sunzi is after my sister's beauty, just like Hu Shuhui. We can't let him succeed."

Lu Chengwen thought this was really hard to deal with.

"Stay out of it. If you don't interfere, he might leave you alone. If you try to stop him from dating, he might really kill you!"

Chen Mengyun said: "So, you're saying I'm definitely his now?"

Lu Chengwen said: "I can't and won't get involved in your relationship. I just want to survive. This guy can kill for love."

Chen Mengyun huffed: "I won't let him, I'll stick to you, what are you going to do about it!"

Lu Chengwen looked at her: "You..."

Chen Moqun laughed: "Alright, it's just Long Aotian, I'll deal with him."

Lu Chengwen was about to lose it: "Are you even listening to me? I just said all that for nothing?"

"Chengwen, when did you become so cowardly?"

"I'm not being cowardly, I'm being strategic and selective in this game!"

"What do you mean?"

Lu Chengwen looked at the fatso in a bathrobe: "Get in the car, I don't want to talk to you anymore."

...

In the back of the car, Long Aotian looked at the newspaper, his face dark.

Hua Xueni sat opposite him: "Young Master, Lu Chengwen has repeatedly disrupted your plans. Why not just kill him?"

Long Aotian raised his head: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"I dare not. I just feel frustrated seeing Young Master suffer every time."

Long Aotian huffed: "The situation is different from what I expected. I always feel something is... strange."

"Is it because of the manure pit incident?"

Long Aotian looked at Hua Xueni: "Don't mention that manure pit to me again! Ever!"

"Yes!"

Long Aotian took a deep breath: "Lu Chengwen can't be killed yet. The situation has changed. My original plan was to deal with the Leng, Xu, and Chen families one by one, then use their combined strength to take down the strongest Lu family. But now, all three families are facing obstacles."

"The obstacle is Lu Chengwen!"

Long Aotian nodded: "However, although I can't kill him for now, I can still make him suffer."

"Send a message to Shi Yin, it's time for her to act."

Hua Xueni said: "I can do this task!"

Long Aotian laughed: "No, some tasks must be done by Shi Yin."

Hua Xueni's face darkened: "She only knows how to seduce men."

"Ha ha ha!" Long Aotian laughed: "You just don't understand. I originally planned to use Jiang Shihan as my spy, but that woman is so disloyal, she's actually loyal to Lu Chengwen. Shi Yin is my person, and Lu Chengwen is a lecher... once I figure out his secrets, I won't have any trouble bringing down the Lu family."

"Does Young Master plan to start with the Lu family?"

Long Aotian shook his head, his eyes dark: "The best target is still the Leng family."

...

Lu Chengwen woke up feeling refreshed.

He had it all figured out.

Why am I always Long Aotian's rival? It's because I'm still in this position!

Apart from the main characters, Long Aotian's ultimate goal is to consolidate the four major families of Xuecheng. As long as my family remains one of the four, it will always be the protagonist's target for consolidation, and this won't change.

Unless the Lu family shrinks to a point where the protagonist loses interest, becoming a second-rate family, or even a third-rate company.

This way, the Lu family will become a minor background element in the story.

And this will change my social relationships, reducing my interactions with the main characters.

Yes!

Take a few losses, shut down some of the Lu family's secondary businesses, sell off some, and keep only the core profitable projects.

This way, we can ensure the family's living standards don't drop too much, while also ensuring the safety of myself and my family!

I'm really smart.

The slum renovation project is the first step. If this goes well, hehe, all the problems might be solved.

Dajing Group.

Lu Chengwen sat in the main seat, looking at the two rows of subordinates, smiling.

"Everyone, I've reviewed the financial report, and you've done a great job. The internal affairs department will reward those who have contributed. All employees who have contributed to profitable projects, as well as the subsidiaries and departments involved, will be rewarded. The entire group will get a salary increase, with a minimum of 20%."

This statement caused a stir among everyone.

Lu Chengwen was known for being extremely frugal, and the salaries of the management and employees were always the lowest in the industry.

As long as you wouldn't leave, he would keep your salary as low as possible.

Lu Chengwen wanted to make money outside and save money inside. He could spend lavishly on himself, but he wouldn't let you earn from him.

Grandma!

The salary issue had long been a source of complaint within Dajing Group.

But Lu Chengwen was skilled, using all means to bind the upper management.

If you wanted to leave, the salary here was actually quite good, and Dajing Group was thriving, offering more value and personal satisfaction than other companies.

If you stayed, the salary wasn't stimulating enough, and the boss would squeeze every bit of profit.

In the end, every company was the same. Generous companies had their downsides... in short, you didn't want to leave, but staying meant the salary wasn't top-notch.

But today, Lu Chengwen surprised everyone by voluntarily proposing a salary increase.

Vice President Li Meiqin was shocked.

"Mr. Lu, shouldn't we discuss this internally first? A 20% increase is a significant amount. Once implemented, our future operating costs will be very high..."

"No need to discuss it."

Lu Chengwen was clear about what he was doing.

While others focused on increasing revenue and cutting costs, he had to do the opposite.

Lose money outside, spend money inside, and do both at the same time. Once Dajing Group's operations deteriorate, the peripheral subsidiaries will collapse and sell off assets...

He had to act quickly. Long Aotian wouldn't give him much time, and he needed to disappear from his radar as soon as possible.

"It's decided!" Lu Chengwen said firmly: "Implement my decision."

Li Meiqin frowned, completely baffled by the boss's sudden change.

Her first thought was: Could my plan have been discovered? Is this guy really that capable? Damn, I underestimated Lu Chengwen's strength!

Li Meiqin clearly felt that today's boss made her genuinely fear.