Chapter Twenty-Seven: Accepting Inferiority

He turned away and wiped his tears. The Liang family owed this child too much already—how could he ask her to do anything more for Xingye? But this would be his last time intervening, his final worry for Liang Wenru. From now on, he would retire to the countryside, playing chess and sipping tea with old friends, no longer patching up the trouble Liang Wenru caused.

Pei Susu silently followed behind the old man, catching sight of the droplets falling onto the concrete floor. Her heart pounded heavily against her chest.

“Grandpa, I’ll accept your house.”

At the entrance of the Mo Group, Old Master Liang heard her voice. He awkwardly wiped away his tears and looked back at her. “Good, now that’s more like it!”

His eyes, gentle and weathered by the years, brimmed with affection and concern for his granddaughter. He reminded her, “Just see me to the door. I’ll go in on my own to meet them.”

But Pei Susu didn’t listen. She walked through the doors and stood by his side. “I can’t accept such kindness without effort. Let me accompany you.”

She understood this was the only way Old Master Liang would accept her help.

“Once the house is in my name, whenever you miss me, you can move in anytime. I’ll be just as before—after work, if I have time, I’ll come find you for a walk or to dance on the square.”

Old Master Liang could no longer hold back his tears; they broke free from his restraint. “We are destined to miss the bond of grandfather and granddaughter, Susu. After I finish discussing the Mo Group project, I plan to move to a retirement home in the suburbs.”

“My old friends are all there. I haven’t seen them in five or six years. Old Mo was my brother in our youth—he rarely bends the rules for anyone. Yet when I asked him, he agreed to give me a chance to negotiate.”

Pei Susu and Old Master Liang entered the Mo Group general manager’s office. After reading their proposal, the manager looked troubled.

“Old Liang, your proposal falls quite short. The Longwan project involves over a hundred million in funding. Any small mistake could seriously impact the Mo Group’s resources.”

He handed over the proposals from other competing companies for Old Master Liang to review. “You’re an old friend of our president—I can’t be vague with you. Please, compare their proposals.”

Pei Susu and Old Master Liang skimmed through five or six proposals. It was clear their quality far surpassed Xingye’s.

Xingye’s people were growing more incompetent—their work wasn’t even a tenth as good as during her tenure. She could hardly imagine how Liang Wenru and Chu Qingzhu had been managing the company.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Old Master Liang’s once-straight back now hunched, his frame much thinner than when she’d left the family. The leather on his shoes was scuffed from frequent walking.

Pei Susu sighed softly as countless thoughts flashed through her mind. “Manager Mo, this morning you asked me if I had any recommendations for partners for your friend’s harbor project.”

The general manager of Mo Group had once worked under Zhou Haoyue and been looked after by her. Upon hearing that Pei Susu had strongly supported Zhou Haoyue in the vice general manager interviews, he didn’t mind her involvement with the Mo Group and Old Master Liang.

“Yes, that project was originally meant for my friend to cooperate with the Mo Group, but since Mo Group’s coastal business is saturated, we declined. This morning I wanted to ask if the Fu Group might be interested.”

Pei Susu recalled, “It’s a three-month short-term project, with a capital flow of about twenty million. If implemented, it could align with government policies encouraging coastal foreign trade, correct?”

The manager looked at her in surprise, impressed she remembered every detail from his casual introduction that morning. “Exactly. President Pei, your memory is remarkable.”

Old Master Liang understood Pei Susu’s intention and spoke up. “If you trust me, why not let me handle the harbor project?”

Given Xingye’s current state, landing a project worth tens of millions was already a great opportunity.

The manager hesitated, glancing between the two of them. “But Old Liang, our president wanted to give Xingye the Longwan contract. Longwan has enormous potential; if Xingye handles it, you’ll see at least several hundred million in annual profits.”

“How about I take your proposal back for further discussion with our president?”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Old Master Liang’s eyes filled with tears. His old friend cursed him for being foolish, but all the while was calculating ways to save the faltering Xingye.

He snatched back the file. “No need. Our skills aren’t up to par, and I can’t stomach the humiliation. Just give me the harbor project.”

...

At dusk, pale golden clouds swept across the sky, casting a gentle glow over the office building where people bustled about, gathering their scattered files and clocking out in an orderly fashion.

Fu Zhichen parked his car by the roadside near the Fu Group building. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he switched on his tablet to review the English reports submitted by his overseas managers.

Pei Susu casually pinned up her thick hair with a hairpin, wore a white silk tie-front blouse, and a black fitted professional skirt—her appearance catching the eyes of passersby rushing home.

A handsome Chinese man in a navy blue suit was so captivated by her that he drove his Mercedes closer and greeted her, “Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of taking you home?”

From the shade of a nearby tree, Fu Zhichen saw Pei Susu and quickly stepped on the accelerator, pulling up beside the Mercedes. He rolled down his window and called out, “Susu, why are you so late? Everyone from the office has left. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Pei Susu pointed to Fu Zhichen and said to the man, “Sorry, my boyfriend is here to pick me up.” She gracefully lifted her slender, fair legs and slid into the passenger seat, placing her bag beside her.

The Chinese man could only drive away, full of regret.

Fu Zhichen watched coldly as the car disappeared from view. If he hadn’t looked up just now, the man might have gotten out and exchanged contact information with his sister right in front of him!

Their car drove slowly out onto the street and stopped at an intersection.

Unable to resist, Pei Susu pinched Fu Zhichen’s handsome face, tense with jealousy. “I wouldn’t give him my number. If I did, my boyfriend would get jealous—and I’d never hear the end of it!”

Hearing her repeated use of “boyfriend,” Fu Zhichen’s bad mood quickly vanished. “You’re not allowed to give it out, or even talk to him!”

Taking advantage of the fifty-second red light, he grabbed her hand and left a faint bite mark on her fair skin. “You were smiling at him just now.”

Pei Susu glared at him, feigning annoyance. “That was just a polite refusal, wasn’t it?”