Governor Zheng Shan's expression shifted rapidly.
If Li Bingqing and Song Qiao possessed equal strength, he would have definitely chosen Song Qiao.
After all, the two had cooperated once before, establishing a very good foundation.
As for Li Bingqing, the eldest daughter of the Li family, she always carried a certain arrogance that made her unlikable.
Moreover, Song Qiao's current backing was clearly a notch stronger than Li Bingqing's.
"Bingqing, the water port project is crucial for the entire province's economic development."
"Your family and Song Qiao's family have comparable strength, so the project should rightfully belong to him."
Zheng Shan pondered for a long time, cast a regretful glance at Li Bingqing, and finally made his decision.
"What?"
"Governor Zheng, you promised me just now! You can't go back on your word!"
Li Bingqing's face turned ashen, her tone laced with a hint of accusation.
She was determined to secure the water port project. The thought of a bird in the hand flying away naturally made her indignant.
As soon as she spoke.
The smile that had been on Zheng Shan's face vanished, his eyes turning cold.
"Li Bingqing, when did I ever publicly announce that the project belonged to you?"
"Now that Song Qiao has Lunyatak's support, why would I give the project to you?"
"For the sake of the Li family, I won't hold this against you this time. I advise you to know when to back down."
Zheng Shan warned her again and then turned to leave his office.
"Bang!"
Furious, Li Bingqing slammed her hand on the desk.
Her eyes turned red, and her teeth ground together audibly.
She dared not lose her temper in front of the governor, but facing Song Qiao, she could no longer suppress her inner rage.
"Song Qiao, you just wait."
"No matter what, I will bring down the Ye Corporation in this lifetime."
"At that time, I will definitely make you kneel before me and beg for mercy."
If looks could kill, Li Bingqing would have already torn Song Qiao to shreds.
"Miss Li, what can you do besides spew threats?"
"I, Song Qiao, am right here waiting. Let's see what you're capable of."
Song Qiao sneered dismissively, not taking Li Bingqing seriously at all. He grabbed Lunyatak by his side and left directly.
He left Li Bingqing there, raging ineffectively.
...
The investment attraction conference proceeded as scheduled that afternoon.
Various projects, big and small, from the province were successively bid on and won by major corporations.
The water port project, as expected, fell into the hands of New Kai Capital.
"Phew."
"Thank you, Song Qiao. I really didn't expect things to go so smoothly."
Ye Zhiwei let out a long sigh of relief, her heart finally at ease.
"Zhiwei, you're being too formal by saying that."
"Don't forget, I'm nominally the CEO of New Kai. It would be strange if I didn't put in some effort."
Song Qiao chuckled softly, waving his hand to signal Ye Zhiwei not to take it to heart.
Ye Zhiwei nodded gently, as if she suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, later, Su Lan, the representative of the Li family, and Yuqing will be speaking on behalf of the provincial entrepreneurs."
"Yuqing has stabilized Tianhong's development this year. As a rising star, this is an honor bestowed by the province."
As Ye Zhiwei spoke, she secretly observed Song Qiao's expression.
However, she found Song Qiao's face to be remarkably calm, as if the name she mentioned had never had any connection to him.
"Alas..."
Ye Zhiwei opened her mouth, wanting to say more.
But she was interrupted by the host's voice from the stage.
"Next, we invite outstanding entrepreneurs from our province to the stage for their speeches."
Ye Zhiwei subtly straightened her posture, her gaze fixed on the podium.
Xia Yuqing was wearing a white suit today, and for the first time, she had applied exquisite, light makeup, which further enhanced her aura.
As soon as she appeared, she caused a stir among the entire audience.
In comparison, Su Lan, who was already quite attractive, instantly paled.
She was like dust that only served to highlight Xia Yuqing's beauty, drawing no attention whatsoever.
"Hmph, what's there to be so proud of? She's just a pretty face."
Su Lan snorted coldly, glaring at Ye Zhiwei with ill intentions, as if she couldn't be bothered to hide her dissatisfaction.
The last time at the villa party, Song Qiao had made her lose face.
Now, sharing the stage with Xia Yuqing, she redirected all her anger towards her.
However, Xia Yuqing couldn't be bothered to argue with her. As she reached for the microphone to speak, Su Lan beat her to it.
She practically rushed to the front of the podium, snatching all of Xia Yuqing's speech time.
Xia Yuqing, who hadn't spoken yet, stood there awkwardly, stunned.
She was like a wooden post.
She had never expected Su Lan to be so shameless.
Just then.
A strange noise suddenly came from overhead.
Su Lan, who was still speaking eloquently, didn't notice.
"Uh oh, something's about to happen."
Song Qiao, who had been an indifferent observer from the audience, suddenly opened his eyes.
In his past life, he had heard about a shoddy construction incident at an investment attraction conference.
The two entrepreneurs speaking on stage were crushed to death on the spot.
At the time, this incident became a public joke for a long time.
Now, due to the butterfly effect caused by his rebirth,
The people on stage had changed, but the accident had not.
"Boom!"
A piece of ceiling suddenly plummeted down.
Before anyone could react, a loud crash echoed again.
Xia Yuqing was the first to react.
She gritted her teeth, and instead of retreating, she rushed forward, shoving the stunned Su Lan off the podium.
Although this would result in a bad fall, it at least wouldn't be life-threatening.
However, this also meant she had almost lost her last chance to escape.
As the ceiling was about to fall.
"Be careful!"
In a flash, Song Qiao, who was already prepared, rushed forward with three rapid steps.
He pulled Xia Yuqing into his embrace and leaped off the podium with a sudden force.
Before he could sigh in relief, he felt a warmth in his hand.
Despite his timely rescue, Xia Yuqing's arm had still sustained a minor injury.
"You stupid woman, why did you go save that slut?"
Song Qiao roared, his entire body trembling with anger.
If Xia Yuqing hadn't gone to save Su Lan, he would have been confident of keeping her completely unharmed.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Xia Yuqing coughed hard.
Her eyes, filled with gratitude, looked at Song Qiao.
At that moment, she had already closed her eyes, ready to die, but unexpectedly, Song Qiao had appeared in time to save her.
Her former husband always appeared by her side in her most desperate moments.
This made her heart suddenly filled with a sense of regret.
At this moment, she finally admitted that she regretted her decision to divorce Song Qiao.
...
Xia Yuqing only suffered a minor scratch on her arm. After a simple bandaging, she was sent home by her secretary.
Before entering the house, she saw that the entrance was surrounded by a group of men in black.
"You were the one who pushed my daughter on stage?"
Before she could react, the middle-aged man leading the group slowly removed his sunglasses and scrutinized Xia Yuqing.
"Who are you?"
Xia Yuqing asked timidly.
"Sui Jiangchuan, Su Lan's godfather."
"I pushed her to save her."
Xia Yuqing hurriedly explained.
However, before she could finish, Sui Jiangchuan slapped her to the ground.
"Bullshit!"
My daughter is still in the hospital, and you caused it.
"If you had stayed there and been crushed to death during your speech, she wouldn't have been involved."
Unreasonable and belligerent, Sui Jiangchuan displayed his nature to the fullest, leaving Xia Yuqing at a loss for words.
Her father-in-law and mother-in-law ran out from downstairs and knelt on the ground begging for mercy, but they were kicked aside by him.
After ordering his subordinates to restrain the elderly couple, he coldly commanded:
"Someone, beat her hard!"
"And send this slut to the hospital too."
"Three days from now, I want her to appear in my bed in place of Su Lan."
Xia Yuqing's frail body couldn't withstand the beating from these men.
She soon collapsed in a pool of blood and lost consciousness.
Only then did Sui Jiangchuan nod with satisfaction and lead his men away.
In despair, her father-in-law quickly dialed the emergency number.
Her mother-in-law had also been knocked unconscious during the struggle.
As if by some strange impulse, after calling for an ambulance, her father-in-law dialed Song Qiao's number again.
...
"What? Yuqing was beaten by Su Lan's people?"
Upon hearing the news, Song Qiao's face immediately darkened.
"I'm on my way."
He agreed and immediately accelerated, driving towards the hospital.