Chapter 247: That Slap Really Stings

Lin Ke was incredibly busy today.

The kind of busy where you barely had time to breathe.

It all started at nine in the morning.

Local distributors began arriving, pulling up in their cars and parking right outside the factory gates.

Although Secretary Wang was in charge of reception and arrangements, Lin Ke still had to personally oversee the overall coordination.

As time went on, more and more distributors showed up.

By noon, aside from the ones from Ningzhou, all the invited distributors from other cities in the province had already arrived.

“Old Lin, the folks from Ningzhou Huihuang said they’ll be late. They had a minor scrape on the road.”

“A scrape? Is it serious?”

“Not really. They just hit the toll barrier when they were getting off the highway.”

“Then it’s fine.”

As he spoke, Lin Ke glanced back at the temporary dining hall behind him.

Inside, it was packed with people.

Men and women were chatting and mingling.

Seeing that everything seemed in order, he couldn’t help but ask another question.

“Where’s the Boss?”

“Still on the road, apparently. No one knows which road exactly. It’s been half an hour already.”

Hearing Wang Jianguo’s complaint, Lin Ke was momentarily speechless.

The big boss was actually absent on such an important day?

This was really…

“Hey, Factory Manager Lin, not cool of you—why are you making such a pretty little secretary stand at the gate with you?”

“Huh? Just talking business, talking business. What, President Chen, you need something?”

“Well, Factory Manager Lin, I heard that—”

…

Watching the two old men walk back into the dining hall with their arms around each other’s shoulders, Secretary Wang pouted in annoyance.

Good thing they’d arranged a buffet for lunch and didn’t prepare much alcohol.

Otherwise, knowing how these seasoned corporate types operated, Wang Jianguo figured at least a third of them would be down for the count by the end of the meal.

At that moment.

Yu Lingling suddenly walked out of the dining hall and came over to Wang Jianguo.

“Yaya, where’s the Boss?”

“Still not here. Why?”

The two girls were about the same age and had no competition between them in terms of position.

Having worked together for a while, they naturally became close.

So their way of addressing each other was pretty casual.

“It’s like this—Boss Li from Chuzhou just asked me if he could increase his order by another ten percent.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Wait… oh, you want to ask the Boss for a special discount?”

“Hehehe.”

Caught red-handed, Yu Lingling let out a sheepish giggle.

Seeing this, Wang Jianguo glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention.

Then she leaned in closer to Yu Lingling.

“Are you dumb?”

“The Boss is super stingy. What she gives you is already the lowest price. You trying to haggle? You’re just asking to get scolded.”

At those words, Yu Lingling immediately pictured the Boss and the factory manager going head-to-head in a shouting match.

She couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“Then… should I go cancel it?”

Don’t be fooled by how clever and lively Jiang Ning seemed at school, with that bright and innocent energy.

To the employees who knew her true identity as the Boss, she was someone who could flip a table and curse you out without blinking.

Wang Jianguo, as her secretary, knew this all too well.

Still.

As long as it didn’t affect her paycheck, no matter how fierce the Boss got, she could always smile and brush it off.

Yeah.

Worst case, she’d just give the Boss a little chest bump.

Her pervy Boss totally fell for that kind of thing.

“Don’t cancel it.”

“Come here, I’ll teach you a trick.”

Meanwhile.

A sleek black BMW slowly pulled up to the factory gate.

Then.

The rear window rolled down.

A bright-eyed girl stuck her head out and called toward the guardhouse.

“Uncle Ma, it’s me. Open the gate, please~”

But the old man in the guardhouse just glanced at the pretty girl and replied slowly.

“Sorry, the factory manager said no outside vehicles are allowed in today.”

As soon as he said that, a chorus of sharp, mocking laughter erupted from inside the car.

The girl, fuming, turned and glared fiercely at the source of the laughter.

Then she rolled up the window, got out of the car, and prepared to walk in on foot.

But just as she stepped out, Miss Jiang heard a car door slam behind her.

She turned around.

Little Ye had gotten out too.

“Why are you getting out?”

“I’m coming in with you. Gotta check it out.”

“Are you that bored?”

“Totally bored. Got nothing to do this afternoon anyway, might as well come see what all the fuss is about.”

From her tone, Miss Jiang could hear the sarcasm loud and clear.

But what could she do?

She had just spilled the beans in the car, telling this woman that she was the mastermind behind Mingsheng Technology Company.

That the Xiaoning electric bicycles were her design.

She’d managed to impress her, leaving her completely stunned.

Only to get slapped in the face the moment they reached the gate.

And the worst part? Miss Jiang couldn’t even argue.

Because the order to block all outside vehicles from entering the factory had come from her own instructions to Lin Ke.

She had anticipated today would be hectic.

Too many cars could cause congestion in the limited factory space.

And now, the line of parked cars along the roadside proved just how wise Jiang Ning’s decision had been.

But the ever-so-wise Boss Jiang…

Had never imagined that her own directive would leave her stuck outside the gate too.

That slap really stings.

Still.

Miss Jiang had been thinking about how to save face.

But now, this woman had walked right into her trap.

Don’t blame me for what happens next.

With a light snort, she turned and headed toward the gate.

But just then…

A deep, throaty engine roar—distinct from ordinary vehicles—rumbled from the distance.

Miss Jiang turned to look.

A silver-gray sports car was speeding toward them.

Before she could even react, the car had already pulled up to the factory gate and stopped right beside their vehicle.

Then—

A young man stepped out. He wore sunglasses, had short white-dyed hair, and was dressed in a blue-and-white outfit.

The moment he got out, the first thing he did was take off his sunglasses, lean against the car door, and greet Miss Jiang with a grin.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

“Mind if we get to know each other?”

Miss Jiang completely ignored him.

Her eyes were fixed on the woman who had just stepped out from the passenger side.

The woman wasn’t very tall—around 165 centimeters. Her outfit was casual: a simple white printed shirt and ripped jeans.

Her long, straight black hair fell naturally to her shoulders. Though she wore a pair of oversized, dramatic sunglasses, the glimpse of her well-shaped nose and rosy lips made it clear—she was stunning.

But this beauty didn’t seem particularly interested in anything around her.

She gave a quick glance around.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Miss Jiang, then moved on. With a soft exhale, she said,

“Let’s go.”

The white-haired guy instantly followed behind her like a lackey.

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied eagerly, ready to trail after her.

But just then—

Uncle Ma at the gate suddenly stepped forward and shouted,

“Hey, you lot!”

“Move your car! Don’t block the entrance!”

……

After watching the driver leave, Ye Na stood beside Jiang Ning, frowning slightly as she watched the man and woman disappear through the gate.

“I think I’ve heard of that guy with the white rooster-head hair.”

“Oh? What about him?”

“Lu Xiaolong. Eldest young master of the Huihuang Group. He’s kind of infamous in Ningzhou City as a walking jinx.”

“Any business he gets involved in… eight or nine times out of ten, it crashes and burns. His most famous disaster was—hey, Jiang Ning, where are you going?”

“Hey! Jiang Ning! Why are you running off?”

“Wait for me!”

(End of chapter)