"Elder Zhou, who is this? I've never seen him before." Qin Man's brows furrowed slightly, looking at Lin Mo with surprise.
Lin Mo's complexion was pale, clearly not someone who grew up in the wild, and he had a very special aura about him. However, Qin Man couldn't pinpoint what it was. It wasn't the domineering arrogance that she had seen in the sons of nobility, nor did it resemble the lofty aura of a Big Shot who looked down upon everything. Instead, it was a tranquil demeanor, seemingly akin to that of a Nine Heavens Monarch.
Elder Zhou glanced at Lin Mo, hesitantly said, "Miss Qin, this is a relative from a distant branch of my family, here to visit during the winter break."
"Oh." Qin Man nodded lightly, her mind preoccupied with the urgency of dealing with Mr. Bao's situation, and thus she didn't pay too much attention to Lin Mo.
Standing to the side with her flamboyant makeup, Song Yun frowned and said, "Why bring him along? He won't be of any help."
After pondering a moment, Qin Man said, "Fine, since he wants to go, let's bring him along. As long as we get Mr. Bao's matter resolved, we'll have a chance to win the bid."
Soon thereafter, Lin Mo left Elder Zhou's house with the two women. Before leaving, Lin Mo handed over a Jade Pendant to Hu Niu, engraved with runes he had etched himself. If worn long-term, it could ward off illness, enhance physical health, and the embedded Array could protect both Hu Niu and Elder Zhou.
Ta County wasn't large, merely a fourth-tier city at best, with neither the economy nor the infrastructure to compare to a second-tier city. Overall, one could say it was rather backward.
"Handsome, what's your name?"
On the road, bored, Song Yun asked Lin Mo.
"Lin Mo."
Lin Mo closed his eyes to rest, his demeanor indifferent as if an old monk in meditation, he replied softly.
"By the look of you, you're not from around here: delicate skin and quite handsome," Song Yun said, eyeing Lin Mo and then speaking.
"I come from Shu Province."
Lin Mo replied indifferently, and after that, he fell silent.
His current goal was to take care of Mr. Bao, eliminate the threat for Hu Niu and Elder Zhou, and then proceed to Yingchuan.
Song Yun chattered on her own next to him, and seeing that Lin Mo paid her no mind, she pouted and took out her phone to browse Weibo instead.
Soon, the car arrived at the front of a villa in Ta County. The villa was built with a modern style, featuring geometrically shaped lawns and a swimming pool at the entrance, quite extravagant indeed. Upon entering the villa, Qin Man walked briskly towards the inside.
"Young mistress," an elderly man with white hair dressed in a black robe called out at the door.
"Mm, Uncle Zhong, is my second uncle at home?" Qin Man asked.
"The Second Master is waiting for you in the living room," the old man replied.
Qin Man strode into the living room, where the heating was on, making it not as cold as the outside. She took off her overcoat, revealing a tight black sweater underneath, outlining her slender and tall figure.
A middle-aged man, around forty years old, sporting a waistcoat and holding a wooden pipe, was sitting on the sofa.
"Oh, it's Xiao Man coming back," the middle-aged man said with a smile in his eyes as he put down the newspaper he was holding.
Qin Man got straight to the point, "Uncle, the villagers have agreed, as long as we can deal with Wang Bao, our Qin family can secure the bid."
The middle-aged man, named Qin Ye, was the helmsman of the second generation of the Qin family. Qin Man was the cherished Heavenly Beauty of the Qin family. Qin Ye had no children of his own, and he treated Qin Man as if she were his daughter, taking great care of her. This time, the land development in the village was also intended as groundwork laid by Qin Ye for Qin Man, hoping that the family would not oppose her taking charge.
"But Wang Bao is difficult to handle. What's your plan?" Qin Ye asked, frowning.
Qin Man pondered, "The only way now is to get him out and talk, see if we can make him yield."
"However, I've heard that Wang Bao has a master, a very powerful Martial Arts Master. If you plan to negotiate with him, it would be best to request Master Wu's presence," Qin Ye said gravely.
"Uncle Wu?" Qin Man bit her thin lips and hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Alright then, I'll call Uncle Wu right away."
Having said that, Qin Ye's gaze suddenly fell on Lin Mo, who had been standing behind them, silent, and he asked with suspicion, "Xiao Man, who is this?"
"He's a relative of Elder Zhou, said he wanted to come and watch, so I agreed," Qin Man said after glancing at Lin Mo.
Qin Ye nodded and did not pay further attention to Lin Mo.
The Qin Family was a fourth-tier household in Han City with assets of tens of billions, primarily engaged in real estate. This bid was extremely important for the Qin Family, not just for making money, but more so for breaking into other markets and carrying out a signature project that would earn government support.
For Qin Man, this was also something she had to accomplish for the Qin family. Her father had little standing within the family, yet she was intelligent from a young age and was dearly favored by her uncle. However, being a woman, many in the family were dissatisfied with the idea of her in power. If she could successfully acquire the bid this time, there would no longer be any obstacles in her path.
After Qin Ye left, Qin Man lay on the sofa and heaved a heavy sigh, but the furrow in her brow did not ease; it deepened with anxiety. Should she really ask Uncle Wu for help?
Favors were a thing that lessened with each use, and with each use, you owed more. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she did not want to ask Uncle Wu.
"Xiao Man, are you scared that Wu Han will come along too?" Song Yun teased with a hand over her mouth, laughing.
"You're making fun of me when I'm so worried," Qin Man said with a crying face, devoid of the aloof image she held in front of others, instead resembling a young girl troubled by a problem.
"I saw that Wu Han last time in Han City, he's quite handsome too. And there's good rapport between your families; he seems really interested in you," Song Yun said, still smiling.
"But I don't feel anything for him!" Qin Man bit her moist lips, sighing internally. Others envied her life in a wealthy family, but women in these families were often the most pitiful, their love and marriage frequently used as bargaining chips.
Qin Man was working so hard and vying to be the helmsman of the Qin family to change her own destiny. If she failed this time, it would also greatly impact her future fate.
"The feeling can be cultivated slowly," Song Yun said with a twist of her mouth.
Suddenly, Qin Man caught sight of Lin Mo sitting on the side drinking tea, an idea striking her, and she said, "Lin Mo, could you do me a favor?"
"What favor?" Lin Mo asked indifferently.
"Pretend to be my boyfriend, could you?" Qin Man asked with her bright black pupils shining, gazing intently at him.