Chapter 28: This Must Be a Seductress

The office.

A mature woman with an elegant figure sat behind her desk, her head slightly bowed as she worked through the documents in front of her.

“Sit for a bit. Let me finish up here.”

“Alright, Mingyu-jie, take your time.”

After speaking, Jiang Ning sat on the sofa and let her gaze wander around the office.

The decor was simple, without any excessive, flashy embellishments.

Unlike certain bosses who liked to add a touch of “culture” by setting up a bookshelf filled with books no one had ever actually read, there was none of that here.

Behind Li Mingyu’s seat was a set of furniture adorned with a few decorative pieces, adding a refined touch to the office.

“How was the opening today?”

“Pretty busy.”

“Busy is good.”

“Mm…”

After exchanging a few words, the office fell back into its previous silence.

Only the soft sound of a pen gliding over paper could be heard.

At that moment, Jiang Ning noticed a pile of documents scattered on the table in front of the sofa.

One particular sheet, lying open, had four large characters written on it—”Xinglan Plaza.”

Jiang Ning’s eyes flickered at this discovery.

If her guess was correct, this Xinglan Plaza was destined to become one of the most infamous abandoned construction projects in the future.

The reason for its downfall was simple.

During construction, workers unearthed a tomb—a massive Han Dynasty tomb.

As everyone knows, any discovery of an ancient tomb at a construction site must be reported to the cultural heritage authorities for investigation.

Until the artifacts are properly handled and protected, all work on the site must cease.

For smaller tombs, excavation and preservation measures would eventually allow work to resume.

However, the tomb beneath Xinglan Plaza was on a completely different level—both in size and historical value, it was practically limitless in its archaeological significance.

Because of this, the Xinglan Plaza project was halted for three full years.

By the time the archaeological team finally withdrew, the parent company of Xinglan Plaza had already gone bankrupt due to financial collapse and was forced into restructuring.

As for those who had invested early, purchasing or leasing storefronts in the plaza, they suffered heavy losses.

Many took to petitioning the authorities or reaching out to the media for help.

But it was useless.

The developers were bankrupt—there wasn’t a single penny left to compensate anyone.

Jiang Ning still remembered that one of her former classmates’ families had invested in this project.

And not just that—they had borrowed money to do it.

When the project crashed, their family was ruined as well.

In the end, they had no choice but to sell their house to repay debts, and the whole family left Jiangzhou, never to be heard from again.

And now.

Jiang Ning had just spotted this ticking time bomb—Xinglan Plaza—in Li Mingyu’s office.

Almost instinctively, she reached out to pick up the file, wanting to see exactly how involved Li Mingyu was in this project.

But just as her fingers were about to touch the documents, another hand closed the file.

“Oh? Interested?”

At the sound of the voice, Jiang Ning looked up, her gaze landing on the woman in front of her—a refined beauty in a form-fitting dress.

Though she looked a bit fatigued, there was an undeniable allure about her.

“Is this the Xinglan Plaza in the East District?”

“Yes.” Li Mingyu placed the file on her desk, took a sip of coffee, and smiled.

“Sorry, there’s confidential information inside. I can’t let you see it.”

Jiang Ning didn’t mind.

But the thought of Li Mingyu being caught up in this impending disaster made her feel uneasy.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up.

“Mingyu-jie, can I ask something?”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s your company’s involvement with Xinglan Plaza?”

Li Mingyu didn’t try to hide it.

“We’re bidding for the interior finishing contract of Xinglan Plaza.”

“Did you win?” Jiang Ning asked.

“Still working on it.” Li Mingyu sighed.

“There’s another renovation company in town that’s stronger than us. Their bid is also lower than ours.”

Jiang Ning understood instantly.

They couldn’t beat the competition.

Since they had no chance of winning the bid, there was no point in wasting words.

Jiang Ning simply smiled and let the topic drop.

But Li Mingyu suddenly seemed intrigued.

“What do you think about the Xinglan Plaza project?”

“Mingyu-jie, do you want the truth?” Jiang Ning chuckled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

“I don’t think it has a bright future.”

“Oh? Explain.”

Seeing Li Mingyu’s growing curiosity, Jiang Ning straightened up.

She wasn’t clueless—she had observed the store’s renovations and the pricing Li Mingwei had reported.

Anyone with a sharp eye could see the issue.

So Jiang Ning figured she might as well say something.

Consider it a small favor in return.

“The development of Jiangzhou’s urban area has hit a bottleneck. The government’s next step will, without a doubt, involve expanding in one of four directions: east, south, west, or north.”

Li Mingyu nodded, acknowledging Jiang Ning’s reasoning.

“First, let’s eliminate the South District.”

“Thanks to government policies, the South District began developing early. Since the 1960s, many factories have moved in.”

“But due to weak environmental regulations back then, industrial pollution became a serious issue. On top of that, the area has many shantytowns. If the government wanted to develop southward, the manpower and financial costs would be astronomical.”

“Right now, the city budget simply can’t support such a project.”

“So, for at least the next 15 years, the South District won’t be part of any major development plans.”

Hearing such an analysis from a high school girl, Li Mingyu couldn’t hide her shock.

She had just recently heard nearly the exact same thing from her father—the district mayor.

Which meant…

This high school girl’s insights into urban development were already on par with a city-level official?!

How is that possible?!

In disbelief, Li Mingyu asked,

“What about the East District?”

“The East District is better than the South in terms of environment and has a smaller population, making development easier.” Jiang Ning paused slightly.

“But that’s only relative to the South District. The East District itself has three major issues.”

“First, population.”

“There aren’t enough people in the East District. Development would require relocating residents from other districts, which isn’t easy.”

“Second, transportation.”

“There are only three bus routes in the entire East District, and they don’t even cross each other.”

“Commuters have to walk long distances to transfer, making it a huge obstacle for development.”

“Third—what lies underground.”

“Underground?” Li Mingyu was momentarily confused.

But then, Jiang Ning softly uttered two words—

“Ancient tombs.”

Instantly, Li Mingyu understood.

Jiangzhou was an ancient city, and the biggest obstacle to urban development was its underground tombs.

Suddenly, Li Mingyu felt a flicker of doubt about Xinglan Plaza’s future.

And as she glanced at the girl on the sofa, a deep curiosity stirred within her.

Before tonight, she had seen Jiang Ning as just a pretty and clever girl.

But now…

She couldn’t see through her at all.

A mysterious aura surrounded her—like a veil of mist, hiding her true self.

This feeling was utterly intriguing.

An irresistible thought popped into Li Mingyu’s mind.

“Maybe… this is what they call a seductress.”