Chapter 23: Leaked Bid Price

 

The words sounded somewhat self-deprecating. Xia Chan pondered for a moment, then glanced at He Huaisheng.

He was picking at his food, and noticing her gaze, looked up at her.

Xia Chan asked him, "Were you always like this?"

He Huaisheng paused. "...I won't tell you."

"..." Xia Chan snorted softly.

He Huaisheng said slowly, "Not being able to hear...has its advantages."

"But the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Like back then, if President Cheng hadn't been with you, and I had said bad things about you, wouldn't you have been unable to hear me?"

"Bad things...I don't need to hear them."

"..." Xia Chan thought for a moment. "What if a delicate young girl confesses to you in the future, and you still can't hear her? That would be such a pity."

He Huaisheng remained silent.

Xia Chan smiled. "Do you know about cochlear implant technology? You don't lack the money—why don't you get one?"

He Huaisheng's expression was indifferent. "I know...we'll talk about it later."

Whether to do it or not was He Huaisheng's freedom, and Xia Chan couldn't interfere.

She just felt it was a shame if this person remained deaf.

The dishes were all authentic Cantonese, and Xia Chan ate to her heart's content. Since joining Xinghui and working alongside He Qihua, she rarely had the chance to sit down and enjoy a leisurely meal without being disturbed by phone calls and text messages. Now, stealing a moment of leisure amidst her busy schedule, she cherished it even more.

After a satisfying meal, Xia Chan considered where to go in the afternoon. The driver suggested picking oranges at an orchard in the suburbs.

Halfway there, He Huaisheng received a text message. His expression changed after reading it.

Xia Chan asked, "What's wrong?"

He Huaisheng replied via WeChat: I have something to do and need to go back to the company. I can't accompany you. The driver will take you there.

Xia Chan quickly asked, "Then how will you get there?"

He Huaisheng replied: Uncle Ding will pick me up.

Xia Chan thought for a moment. "I won't go, maybe next time. I'll go back to the hotel for a nap, in case He Qihua comes back early, so I won't be caught off guard."

As the car drove back to the hotel, before Xia Chan got out, He Huaisheng said, "Sorry."

"It's okay, your work is important."

She got out of the car and waved to He Huaisheng. "See you later."

He Huaisheng nodded, then after a moment, said, "I'm going back to Chongcheng next month..."

Xia Chan was stunned.

Before she could ask any more questions, the car window closed and the car drove away.

Xia Chan stood there, pondering He Huaisheng's last words for a long time, but couldn't figure out his intention.

Did he think she would eagerly await his return? That was a joke.

Fortunately, Xia Chan didn't go to the suburbs. At four o'clock in the afternoon, He Qihua returned to the hotel and instructed Xia Chan to organize some documents.

The documents were complicated, and Xia Chan didn't even have time to eat that evening. By six-thirty, she'd finally finished everything. He Qihua called and asked her to deliver it to his room at seven o'clock.

He Qihua was very punctual and disliked being early or late. Xia Chan arrived at He Qihua's room three minutes early, intending to knock precisely at seven o'clock. She noticed the door was ajar, and heard a phone call coming from inside.

Xia Chan held her breath and quietly moved aside.

After listening for a moment, she felt a chill run down her spine.

He Qihua was probably talking about the phone call He Huaisheng had received that afternoon.

The call was still going on, even though it was already seven o'clock.

Xia Chan glanced at her watch—the second hand was pointing to twelve. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Mr. He."

There was a moment's pause, then He Qihua said, "Come in."

Xia Chan pushed the door open. He Qihua had already hung up the phone.

Xia Chan presented the printed documents to He Qihua and stood aside.

He Qihua glanced at them quickly, waved his hand, and told Xia Chan to leave.

Xia Chan nodded, and just as she reached the door, He Qihua called her back. "Prepare the meeting materials for tomorrow."

Xia Chan calmly nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Back in her room, Xia Chan realized her palms were sweaty.

Her heart pounded, and she sat on the edge of the bed for a moment before her breathing gradually calmed down.

She took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to He Huaisheng: Are you preparing for the bidding meeting?

He quickly replied: Yes.

Jingxing Hotel, the most established hotel in South China, was preparing to completely renovate all its facilities. It was a medium-sized order, and Xinghui's branch in Guangzhou was preparing to bid.

Xia Chan's fingers trembled, and she kept making mistakes while typing. After deleting and rewriting many times, she finally typed out a complete sentence: It seems He Qihua told your bid price to your competitors, but I don't know who exactly.

He Huaisheng replied: How did you know?

Xia Chan answered: I was delivering documents to him, and I heard him talking on the phone at the door.

After a long wait, He Huaisheng finally replied: I know. Pretend you didn't hear it, and take care of yourself.

Xia Chan took a deep breath and asked He Huaisheng again: Why did He Qihua do this? Even if it's a subsidiary, if the bid is successful, Xinghui as a whole will benefit.

He Huaisheng replied: The order isn't that big; He Qihua wants to use it to do favors.

Xia Chan asked: To whom?

After a moment, she quickly said: Don't tell me.

There must be more to this than she imagined. Perhaps the less she knows, the better.

He Huaisheng replied: Okay.

Xia Chan was still uneasy. She and He Huaisheng were now truly in the same boat.

She said: Then you go ahead and do your work; I'm going to have dinner.

He Huaisheng quickly replied: Eat on time from now on.

Xia Chan stared at the last sentence for a long time, then deleted the chat history.

Xia Chan stayed in Yangcheng for two more days before returning to Chongcheng with He Qihua.

Her daily work remained largely unchanged, but Xia Chan kept a close eye on He Huaisheng's bidding process.

In late September, the bidding process concluded, and the results were announced: the winning bidder was not Xinghui, but a company also based in Guangzhou that had been established for less than three years.

This sparked renewed gossip about He Huaisheng, with people saying he was weak and incompetent, unable to compete with a small company that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, despite Xinghui's decades-long legacy.

Xia Chan, knowing the truth, couldn't help but feel sorry for He Huaisheng.

However, what she didn't understand was why He Huaisheng still failed in his bid even though he knew He Qihua was sabotaging him behind the scenes.

She sent He Huaisheng a message, but didn't receive a reply for two days.

Before the Monday morning meeting, Xia Chan was checking documents when He Qihua called her to his office.

Xia Chan was internally in turmoil, but her face remained calm.

There was a stack of documents next to He Qihua, and Xia Chan glanced at them—they seemed to be her resume.

He Qihua opened the document, seemingly glancing at it but not really looking. "You've done a good job these past six months."

Xia Chan said, "Mr. He, you flatter me. I've only just gotten the hang of it—there's still a lot to learn."

"No need to be modest." He Qihua closed the document. "Someone just left the public relations department, and they're looking to transfer someone from the secretarial office. Are you interested?"

Xia Chan thought for a moment. "I have little experience in public relations—I might not be able to handle it."

"Your learning ability is quite good."

Xia Chan wasn't sure if He Qihua genuinely wanted to switch her position or was subtly inquiring about her career plans. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Mr. He, I don't want to go to the public relations department for now."

He Qihua glanced at her. "Why?"

"It takes more than a year to truly learn anything in any job. I don't think I've fully mastered my current job yet, and I don't want to rush through it. I want to stay with you for a while longer. If the public relations department needs me again then, I'll accept the company's assignment."

He Qihua didn't speak for a moment, then waved his hand and told Xia Chan to leave.

Since then, Xia Chan had been waiting for instructions from above.

She'd mentally prepared herself for anything. Going to the public relations department wasn't so bad—it was better than staying by He Qihua's side, living in constant fear.

In the end, Xia Chan wasn't transferred to the public relations department, but the secretarial office was reorganized, and she was added to the first secretary team.

This meant she wouldn't have to do the mundane tasks of organizing documents anymore and could start following up on important projects.

Xia Chan gradually began to understand, and a bold guess formed in her mind, but she didn't know if it was true or not.

Unable to find anyone to verify it, this thought nauseated her.

That day after work, she couldn't resist sending He Huaisheng another WeChat message: Are you busy?

After waiting a while, she didn't receive a reply.

Two messages went unanswered, and Xia Chan felt a little uneasy. She simply ignored him, tossed her phone aside, and focused on driving.

Just as she was about to reach her home, her phone vibrated.

She quickly slammed on the brakes, grabbed her phone, and saw He Huaisheng's reply: At the hospital, didn't see the message.

Xia Chan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked him, "Are you sick?"

He Huaisheng replied: No... at the veterinary hospital.

Xia Chan chuckled. "What illness do you have? Are human medicines no longer effective?"

After a moment, there was no reply. Xia Chan thought to herself, "Did I go too far with this joke?" He Huaisheng didn't seem like someone who couldn't take a joke.

Just as she was hesitating whether to apologize, He Huaisheng asked: Where are you?

Xia Chan replied: Almost home.

He Huaisheng: Come pick me up.

Xia Chan was taken aback and asked him, "Are you in Chongcheng?"

He Huaisheng: Didn't I say I'd be back this month?

After a pause, Xia Chan replied, "Did you say that? I don't remember."

He Huaisheng didn't respond to that, and directly gave her the address, not giving her a chance to refuse.

Xia Chan hesitated for a moment, then turned the steering wheel and drove towards the veterinary hospital.

When she arrived, He Huaisheng was standing at the door, holding a cage in his hand.

Xia Chan got out of the car, walked over, and bent down to peek into the cage. It was a black Chinese domestic shorthair cat.

Xia Chan asked him, "You keep cats?"

"He Qin...sent them."

"Does this cat bite?" Xia Chan took the cage from him, opened the cage door, and stroked the cat's head down to its nose a few times. The cat immediately purred.

Xia Chan took the cat out of the cage. "What's its name?"

He Huaisheng paused, then answered reluctantly, "...Tangtang."

"That's not a good name." The cat said impatiently after being held for a while. Xia Chan put it back in the cage. "How about we change its name?"

"What?"

Xia Chan stood up, smiled at him. "Fugui."

He Huaisheng: "..."

Xia Chan ignored He Huaisheng's protests, picked up the cage, and walked towards the car. "Fugui, I'll take you home."