Pitter-patter.
Raindrops hit the car roof with a crisp sound.
The rain outside the car window had lessened a bit since Du Fei first left, but it was still pouring.
After watching the rain outside the window for a while, Du Fei turned his gaze back to Liu Shishi in the passenger seat.
Observing Liu Shishi at such close range, her eyelashes were long and curled. He wondered if she was dreaming or thinking about something troubling, as her brows furrowed slightly.
Mmm.
At that moment, Liu Shishi let out a soft sound, and then her eyes slowly opened.
"Ah, was I asleep just now? Oh dear, I'm so sorry."
As soon as Liu Shishi opened her eyes, she saw Du Fei beside her.
Immediately after, she also realized that she had just fallen asleep.
As for when she fell asleep, Liu Shishi couldn't recall.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Du Fei paused, then continued, "How was it? After sleeping for a bit, do you feel any better?"
Liu Shishi gently turned her neck, then rubbed her fair nape with her hand. "Phew, the company has been so busy these past few days. After sleeping for a while, I feel much better now."
When Du Fei heard Liu Shishi say the company was too busy, he felt a pang of sympathy.
Although Du Fei had been giving Liu Shishi massages to help her relax frequently and had even refined some nourishing medicines for her.
But people were like springs; when they were stretched too tight for too long, only proper rest could ease them.
"Busy as you are, you still need to pay attention to resting. Health is the foundation of everything."
Du Fei knew that Liu Shishi had high expectations for her new company. What Liu Shishi needed most at this moment was support, so Du Fei only hinted at it, not saying too much.
"Mm, I know. It'll be about done in another couple of days of being busy."
Liu Shishi naturally knew that Du Fei was concerned about her.
Afterward, Du Fei asked some more questions about the company.
When the rain outside had somewhat subsided, Du Fei opened his umbrella, put his arm around Liu Shishi, and they headed home together.
...
"I say, Du Fei, this seems to be the first time you've asked me out in all the time we've known each other, right? What's going on, has the sun risen from the west?"
Gong Chengbin entered the tea room and quickly located Du Fei.
As he pulled out a chair and sat down, the guy spoke.
"I say, Young Master Gong, I thought you must be quite troubled lately with Wanhe Group's stock continuously falling. You still have time to remember such trivial matters?"
Du Fei picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup of Pu-erh tea for Gong Chengbin.
Not long ago, Gong Chengbin's elder brother, Gong Chengjun, had bribed an assistant to Gong Weimin to poison him. However, the plot was unexpectedly discovered by Du Fei.
When Gong Chengjun was summoned by Gong Weimin and questioned, he didn't attempt to deny anything and confessed on the spot.
Following that, father and son completely fell out.
Later, at the shareholders' meeting, Gong Weimin intended to expel Gong Chengbin from the company using his position as the major shareholder.
Who knew that Gong Chengjun had been prepared and directly revealed his trump card.
It turned out that since Gong Weimin's health began to decline, Gong Chengjun had been quietly acquiring shares of Wanhe Group from retail investors in the stock market.
The reason Gong Chengjun had the courage to fall out completely with Gong Weimin this time was because he had secretly joined forces with a venture capital firm, which was willing to give him strong support.
So, after the board meeting, Gong Weimin discovered that his shareholding in the company was only slightly more than Gong Chengjun's.
This small difference was not enough for Gong Weimin to expel his eldest son from the company.
Coupled with the substantial financial support from the venture capital firm behind him, Gong Chengjun's influence in the company was actually no less than Gong Weimin's.
The two had a huge argument at the board meeting, and the stock price of Wanhe Group subsequently plummeted.
Even Du Fei, who didn't pay attention to the stock market, learned about this news during a conversation with Liu Shishi.
However, when asked by Du Fei, Gong Chengbin's expression showed complete indifference.
He even smiled and spread his hands, "You said it yourself, it's Wanhe Group's stock price that's continuously falling, what does that have to do with me?"
Du Fei was taken aback by his words.
Then Gong Chengbin told Du Fei that in the past, he didn't have the qualifications to compete with his elder brother, Gong Chengjun, for Wanhe Group, and he had been prepared to leave the Gong family with some money.
Later, with Du Fei's help, Gong Chengbin had returned to Wanhe Group. However, at this point, his mindset had completely changed.
Even though his father was Gong Weimin, the chairman of Wanhe Group, for Gong Chengbin, things that were given by others were never as secure as those earned through his own efforts.
Now that Tiankun Group was developing better and better, Gong Chengbin had already put all his thoughts and energy into it. As for Wanhe Group, he would let his father and his heartless elder brother fight over it; he didn't want to get involved in that messy situation.
"I didn't expect this, Ah Bin. Your perspective is so elevated now."
To be honest, even Du Fei hadn't expected Gong Chengbin to be so detached.
Originally, he thought that with Gong Chengjun and Gong Weimin falling out, Gong Chengbin would seize this rare opportunity to return to the core of Wanhe Group's power.
Who knew that Gong Chengbin had no intention of doing so, which was truly unexpected.
After all, no matter how well Tiankun Group developed, it was still just a company worth hundreds of millions, incomparable to Wanhe Group, a listed company ranked among the top ten in Rongcheng.
Out of a hundred people in Gong Chengbin's position, ninety-nine would not be able to be as detached as he was.
But Gong Chengbin happened to be that one. This time, Du Fei was truly astonished by Gong Chengbin's actions.
"Haha, actually, I'm not as detached as you think. It's just that I know I'm far inferior to my elder brother in terms of business acumen and ruthlessness. Even if I sided with my father, it wouldn't have much impact on the situation, so I decided to completely stay out of it and let them fight." m..oΓg
Gong Chengbin took a sip of the Pu-erh tea that Du Fei had poured and revealed the true reason.
He would never say these words to anyone else, but to Du Fei, who had saved him twice and helped him develop Tiankun Group to its current state, he spoke without reservation.
"By the way, you didn't just call me here today to chat about my father and my elder brother, did you? If there's anything you need help with, just say it."
Gong Chengbin put down his teacup and stated directly.
"Yes, I did need to trouble you with something today."
Following that, Du Fei explained that he needed Gong Chengbin's help to introduce some R&D talent in the field of beauty products. He also told Gong Chengbin about Liu Shishi starting a new company but lacking R&D personnel.
Although Du Fei had already come up with formulas with incredible efficacy, turning those formulas into products ready for market still required numerous R&D technicians.
That day, after Liu Shishi returned home, she told Du Fei about Xiang Zuo arranging for spies in the company.
So Du Fei thought of asking Gong Chengbin for help.