Chapter 121: What Will You Do, Proud One?

The matter of Lao Er’s promotion review being suspended—Within half a day, the whole of Jiangzhou knew about it.

For a time, the atmosphere was tense and uneasy.

Countless people began probing for the details behind the incident.

After all, for the promotion process of someone like Lao Er to be suddenly halted, something must have happened.

As for what exactly it was,
No accurate information had emerged yet.

That afternoon,

The first thing Hua Mingqiang did upon returning was walk straight to the courtyard across from the office building.

He entered the elevator like someone who knew the place well,

And pressed the second button from the top.

Moments later,

The elevator doors opened.

Just as he stepped out, Hua Mingqiang was met with an explosive voice.

“Investigate!!”
“Find out who did it!!”
“If you can’t figure out who’s behind this!!”
“All of you can get the hell out and go farm back home!!”

Feeling the sheer fury radiating from the voice, Hua Mingqiang instinctively stepped back into the elevator.

As the doors slowly closed in front of him,

He stood in silence for a long while, ultimately lacking the courage to face that storm of rage.

After some time,

He exited the building.

Turning back, he glanced up at the towering eighteen-story office block behind him.

For some reason,

The sun today felt especially blinding,

So dazzling that he couldn’t even fully open his eyes.

At that moment—

Someone called out to him.

Hearing the voice, Hua Mingqiang turned around.

“Old Li? What are you doing here?”

“Came looking for you.” Li Guang walked up briskly and lowered his voice,

“There’s talk all over the building that Old Cheng’s in trouble.”

“I figured you came back to check on him too.”

“What’s being said?”

Hua Mingqiang recalled the roar he’d just heard upstairs.

Furrowing his brow slightly, he scanned his surroundings before saying in a low voice:

“Someone set a trap, that’s all.”

“It’ll pass, and everything will go back to normal.”

“That so…”

Hua Mingqiang knew what Li Guang wanted to ask.

He shot him a look.

“Old Cheng’s weathered more storms than this over the years.”
“This? It’s nothing.”

That was true.

Someone who could be the second-in-command of a city—

Wasn’t going to be an easy target.

Li Guang nodded in agreement.

Then, as if something had just come to mind—

“I checked out the background of that fried chicken place.”

“It’s got little to do with the guy from Qinghu District.”

“It’s just some business dealings with his daughter, plus a bit of a personal connection.”

Hearing that,

Hua Mingqiang nodded.

Thinking about his fruitless fishing trip that morning and the troubles cropping up around their umbrella,

He stood by the roadside, eyes narrowed, watching the crowd flow by. His voice was calm as he said:

“A student’s main job is to study.”
“As for business, let us adults handle that.”

——————

When Jiang Ning saw the call from Du Meilan, she had just finished dinner and was strolling around the school with Qi Xiaoniu.

Feeling the vibration of her phone in her pocket,

She glanced around to make sure no one was watching her.

Then she pulled out her phone just enough to peek at the screen.

Seeing who it was,

Her expression turned serious. She turned to Qi Xiaoniu and said,

“Wenwen, I need to return a call.”

Qi Wen already knew Jiang Ning had brought her phone to school.

And seeing the look on Jiang Ning’s face, she understood something serious must’ve come up.

Considerate as always, she nodded and watched Jiang Ning pull out an IC phone card and walk over to a nearby phone booth.

“Sis Lan, it’s me—Jiang Ning…”

A moment later,

Jiang Ning hung up the call.

But she didn’t remove the phone card. She simply stood there, gazing at the twelve buttons on the phone.

After a few breaths,

She picked up the receiver again and dialed another number.

“Cousin, it’s Jiang Ning…”

Again, the call didn’t last long.

She hung up and dialed a third number.

“Cousin, it’s me—Jiang Ning…”

This call lasted a bit longer,

But still ended within two minutes.

Once done,

Jiang Ning stood still for a while.

She carefully reviewed her arrangements in her head, confirming everything was in order.

Then she pulled out the phone card, a faint smile on her face, and walked toward the nearby steps where a little cutie was hopping up and down.

——————

“Hey, did you hear? ‘Shi Ning Ji’ ran out of chicken.”

“For real?”

“Seriously, heard it’s a funding issue…”

“Funding? And they still dared to open two more stores?”

“Shows what you know—come here, let me tell you…”

…………

“Ha! Told you they wouldn’t last.”

“Right? They broke all the rules of Jiangzhou’s food industry, and thought they could do a chain? Not a chance!”

“Tsk tsk tsk, too young and too bold…”

…………

In just a day, words like these spread rapidly within certain circles.

Most people watched with a mindset of entertainment, eager to see how this fried chicken place started by university students would go belly-up.

Only a few who knew the full context showed any genuine regret or sighs of sympathy.

However—

Compared to the storm brewing outside,

Inside the ‘Shi Ning Ji’ stores, everything seemed unusually calm.

Sure, people were whispering, and some appeared to be considering backup plans.

But for the most part, staff continued coming to work as usual. Those who were off, rested as usual.

They gave off an unshakable vibe—
As long as the store still stood, they’d be there too.

It caught many off guard.

Even more surprising was the fact that,

Despite rumors of a chicken shortage, their chicken supply never actually stopped.

Business continued as normal,

Even every planned promotion went ahead without issue.

“How long do you think their stock can hold out?”

Standing by the office window, Liu Ju looked at the bustling store not far away.

He asked with a puzzled expression.

Hearing this, Chu Zhigang, who was lounging on the sofa and toying with the ring on his finger, chuckled and said:

“Does it make a difference?”

“True,” Liu Ju shook his head and laughed.
“One or two days, or a week or two—in essence, there’s no real difference.”

After speaking, Liu Ju smacked his lips.

“What a pity.”

“Pity what?” Chu Zhigang asked with a grin as he shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.
“Is Young Master Liu pitying the budding chain store business, or just feeling tender toward a beauty?”

Liu Ju didn’t respond to the teasing.
He didn’t even glance at the professional manager from Golden Arches.
He just kept standing at the window, staring at the fried chicken shop called Shi Ning Ji below.

And in a voice only he could hear, he muttered softly:

“Proud as you are… what will you do?”

What will she do?

Jiang Ning chose to do absolutely nothing.

Or rather, at this moment, her mind wasn’t on that issue at all.

Right now, she had just stepped out of Teacher Yangmei’s office.

Her face was full of irritation and frustration.

Such an obviously “do not approach” expression made a few people who were about to greet her instantly change their minds.

Just like that, Miss Jiang returned to her class with a belly full of anger.

As soon as she entered, she marched straight to the podium.

She slapped the desk a couple of times and said:

“Quiet down!”

“Everyone quiet down!”

Once all her classmates had their attention on her—

“I’ve got something to say!”

“Next Friday’s aerobics performance—any volunteers?”

Aerobics?
Performance?

The class instantly buzzed with chatter.

Voices filled the room, but no one signed up for a long time.

Seeing this, Old Man Jiang started to get anxious.

This was an assignment handed down by Teacher Yangmei.

If no one signed up, she, as the class entertainment committee rep, would have to step in herself.

Not even quitting would get her out of it.

Just the thought of having to wear that tight outfit and do aerobics—

Jiang Ning got goosebumps all over her body.

At that moment—

Qi Wen raised her hand and said,
“I’ll go.”

However—

Old Man Jiang completely ignored Little Miss Qi.

Her gaze swept across the entire class.

“Li Qian, are you going?”

“I don’t know how to dance…”

“Ye Shuangshuang?”

“I’m not feeling well lately…”

“Shanshan?”

“I’ve got tutoring, no time for rehearsals…”

“Sun Qian?”

“Nope!”

So direct in her refusal—Jiang Ning could only glare hard at the flat-chested girl.

As for Zhu Hui—

Seeing the blank look on her face, Jiang Ning could only sigh softly.

But then, she suddenly realized something.

When Teacher Yangmei assigned this task…

She didn’t specify gender, did she?

So—Miss Jiang suddenly raised her eyebrows.

A sly smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

Her eyes drifted meaningfully toward the group of rowdy, playful boys in the class.

—

(End of Chapter)