Chapter 146 - 146: It’s Fine If You Lost, I’ll Support You!
After Lu Zhi walked far away…
A few directors who supported Elder Tao stood up and started blaming him.
“Elder Tao, didn’t you promise us that you’ll win this acquisition? What happened?”
“Yeah, we offended Lu Zhi because of you! How are we going to work in Phantom in the future?”
“You can’t just leave us in the lurch.”
Complaining voices kept ringing in his ears. Elder Tao’s vision turned black intermittently, and his chest felt tight.
He was silent for a long time before he suddenly said in a deep voice, “Shut up!”
Everyone was startled and no one dared to speak again.
Elder Tao got up and strode out of the conference room.
A few directors wanted to chase after him, but they were stopped by Eider Tao’s men and couldn’t reach him at all.
Elder Tao left Phantom angrily.
Tao Niannian followed behind her grandfather and got into the car. She said angrily, “Grandpa, I didn’t expect Lu Zhi to be so cunning. We can’t just let this go! We must teach him a lesson…”
“Teach him a lesson? We’ve already spent tens of billions of yuan, but we still haven’t taught him a lesson. The Tao family has lost so much face. Do you want us to lose more face?” Elder Tao scolded coldly.
Tao Niannian opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
Elder Tao closed his eyes and said, “You will personally go to the Lu residence tomorrow and apologize to Jiang Yining.”
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No, Grandpa, I won’t.”
They had just been defeated by the Lu family and her grandfather immediately sent her to apologize?
She couldn’t afford the humiliation!
Besides, she had already said that she would get back at Jiang Yining.
But now, she was the one who got taught a lesson.
If word got out, wouldn’t she become a laughingstock?
Tao Niannian felt aggrieved and tears welled up in her eyes. She bit her lower lip so hard that it was almost dripping blood.
Elder Tao didn’t give in. He just replied coldly, “Niannian, there’s a limit to how much 1 can dote on you. I can’t lose the entire Tao family for you. If you don’t go and apologize, 1’11 send someone to bring you there to apologize. Of course, it’s also fine if you refuse. You’ll just have to give up your lifestyle as a young miss of the Tao family.”
“If you don’t want me to be a young miss of the Tao family, then I won’t! I don’t care for it anyway!” Tao Niannian said angrily.
“Alright, you said so yourself.”
Elder Tao then ordered in a deep voice, “Stop the car.”
The driver quickly stepped on the brakes.
After the car came to a full stop, Elder Tao said, “Get out. Don’t come back to the Tao residence ever again. The Tao family will pretend that we never had a granddaughter like you.”
Tao Niannian looked at her grandfather with her eyes red and her heart shattered.
After a while, she opened the car door and got out.
Elder Tao mercilessly told the driver to drive off.
Tao Niannian stood where she was and stomped her feet angrily as she watched the car drive away.
Inside the car, Elder Tao closed his eyes with an expression of pity and heartache.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to avenge Niannian.
But after this incident, he realized that Lu Zhi was not someone to be trifled with.
He was actually able to play him like a fool so calmly and with composure.
If it was someone else… The outcome would have been unimaginable.
None of the juniors in the Tao family were strong enough to go up against Lu Zhi.
If they continued to go against the Lu family, they would only suffer more losses.
Therefore, they must reconcile with the Lu family.
And he must send Niannian to apologize to Jiang Yining and bury the hatchet.
So be it if they had to humble themselves.
It would be so much better than letting Niannian end up on the streets after he was six feet underground.
That evening, as dusk arrived, the sky became a symphony of colors, blending together as if an artist’s brush gently sweeps across the heavens.
Jiang Yining came home and got a quick feel of the mood at home. She then secretly found the housekeeper and asked, “Where’s Lu Zhi?”
“Sir has been in the study since he came back at noon.”
“Then what was the result of his fight with the Tao family?”
“I don’t know.” The housekeeper shook his head honestly.
None of the media outlets reported on the outcome of the Phantom acquisition.
Any news report that mentioned Phantom had been banned.
Jiang Yining put her bag on the sofa and walked to the study.
She pushed the door open gently.
She realized that the lights were not on inside. The room was dark. The only illumination was from light outside the windows.
She could vaguely see a tall figure standing in front of the windows.
Jiang Yining recognized Lu Zhi from the man’s silhouette and became slightly worried.
Could he have lost?
She felt a little guilty. She could have helped him win against the Tao family.
However, because of her cowardice, she did not help him.
Jiang Yining stood at the door for a while before she pushed open the door and walked in. “Lu Zhi… Don’t be sad.”
Lu Zhi’s silhouette moved in the darkness.
She couldn’t see his slightly amused expression in the dark and he didn’t say anything.
Jiang Yining took a deep breath and walked up next to him. “Losing to the Tao family is not a big deal. If your great-grandfather wants to kick you out of the family, I can support you. You are so capable. You can definitely start afresh.”
“How can you support me? You’re still a student.”
Perhaps because he hadn’t spoken the entire afternoon, his deep voice was slightly hoarse. Jiang Yining mistook that and thought he was upset.
She hesitated for a moment before she held his hand and said, “I’m very capable too. I know IT, I can play the piano, 1 can draw, and I’m proficient in four languages. I can make a lot of money. Although you won’t be able to spend as you please when you move out with me, I can guarantee that you won’t have to worry about food and clothing, and you’ll have enough funds to start a new business.”
Lu Zhi’s lips curled up again.
What a silly girl. How could he not dote on her?
He could not help but pull her into his arms.
“Why didn’t I realize that my wife is so capable? Should I just retire and become a househusband?”
She could hear the mockery in his words.
Jiang Yining thought that he didn’t believe her and emphasized, “I’m not lying to you.”
“Yes, I know you’re not lying to me.”
It was precisely because he knew that he was so touched.
People around him were mostly after his money and status. When he fell, they would all try to outrun each other away from him.
Only she was different…
For the first time, Lu Zhi had the thought of not letting Jiang Yining leave even after she had cured him and achieved her goal.
He would not let her leave him for even a moment.
He wanted her to stay by his side forever.
Jiang Yining didn’t know what he was thinking at all. She patted his shoulder gently and said, “Alright, a big man can pick himself up and dust himself off. Let’s go out for dinner.”
“Who said I lost?” Lu Zhi asked loudly.
“Hmm?”
If he hadn’t lost, why did he lock himself in the study without turning on the lights and look so lonely?
“I won,” Lu Zhi said unhurriedly. “Phantom still belongs to the Lu family. The Tao family has suffered a crushing defeat.”
Jiang Yining was stunned for a while before she suddenly came back to her senses and flung his hand away.
She found the light switch from memory and turned on the lights.
Warm yellow light instantly filled the entire room.
“Why are you acting pitiful if you won?” Jiang Yining questioned.
And made her waste her emotions on him.
“I’m not acting pitiful.” Lu Zhi’s voice was as elegant as a violin’s melody.
“You didn’t turn on the lights…”
“1 was thinking about something just now and didn’t notice that it was already dark.”
Jiang Yining wanted to bang her head against the wall.
After pausing for two whole seconds, she said awkwardly, “What were you thinking about? Why were you so lost in thought?”
“Someone gave me 2% of Phantom’s shares for free. I’m wondering who gave it to me.”
Two percent of the shares were worth a few hundred million yuan.
Who was so generous and didn’t even want to leave their name?
Lu Zhi was very curious.
Jiang Yining felt a little guilty. She cleared her throat and said, “Perhaps someone is trying to curry favor with you?”
“Even then, they should at least tell me who they are, right?”
“Hmm… 1 don’t know either. It’s pointless for you to tell me this.” Jiang Yining blinked and asked curiously, “Did these shares help you win?”
“Yes. They were the key to my victory.” Lu Zhi nodded.
Jiang Yining couldn’t help but be happy. “Looks like this is a very nice person.”
“You’re smiling so happily. It’s not you, right?” Lu Zhi asked casually.
“If I had a few hundred million yuan, would I still stay with you?”
Jiang Yining’s heart was beating wildly, but she tried her best to keep calm on the surface.
“True. I was just joking.” Lu Zhi said calmly.
“Alright, since you’ve won, I won’t worry anymore. I’m going to eat something first.”
Jiang Yining turned around and let out a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness she wasn’t discovered!