Chapter Forty-Four: A Shot from Behind the Scenes

  Lu Xiaoying was startled by the horn behind her and turned around hastily, looking awkwardly at the luxurious sedan that was slowly approaching.

  The car door opened, and a shiny black leather shoe slowly extended out of the door, gently touching the ground. Then, a head with slicked-back hair emerged elegantly, followed by his entire body presenting itself before Lu Xiaoying's eyes. This person had regular features and clear eyebrows, with a slender figure paired with a crisp black high-end suit. He smiled slightly like a gentleman, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth that tempted the lovesick girl, and the sweet dimples on his face were intoxicating.

  He walked up to Qian Xiaohong, sizing her up from head to toe with his "dragon eyes", while being drawn in by the girl's stunning looks.

  Lu Xiao Ying awkwardly turned her head, and smiled slightly at the newcomer. She believed this person was Lan Yu Tong, but she didn't show it. Instead, she looked like a lost traveler hoping to find a guide, with a mixture of eagerness and fear. With such an expression, she seemed even more endearing and charming, with a hint of shyness.

  "Excuse me," Lan Yutong said softly, lowering her head, "such a beautiful young lady, is there anything I can do for you? To be able to help a lovely young lady with food is the greatest honor for a man."

  Facing the handsome Lan Yutong, hearing his charming magnetic voice, Lu Xiaoying was somewhat at a loss, her face slightly red, hesitating and unsure of what to do. After a while, she stuttered and said: "Sorry, I came alone to take a walk in the suburbs, and when I got near here, I was attracted by the beautiful environment and couldn't help but come here. Sorry, I'll leave now. If I've disturbed you, please forgive me." She made as if to leave!

  Lan Yutong hastily stopped her and said, "Don't be polite, this is my home. Since you've come here, it means we have a connection. If you don't mind, would you like to come in for a cup of tea? Of course, I'm just being kind, Miss, please don't misunderstand."

  Lu Xiaoying couldn't just leave like that, and upon hearing the invitation, she was more than happy to accept. So she pretended to respond somewhat unnaturally, not wanting to decline further, fearing that if she delayed any longer, Lan Yutong might change her mind, which would make her trip here in vain.

  As soon as she entered the villa, Lu Xiaoying was stunned by its luxury, her mouth almost always agape, not even caring about losing her composure. Lan Yutong saw her expression and smiled, leading her into the living room.

  The servant came over with a bottle of fine foreign liquor, then poured a cup each for Lu Xiaoying and Lan Yutong before bowing his head politely and leaving.

  Lu Xiaoying glanced around the living room filled with antiques and expensive furniture, picked up her wine glass and took a light sip.

  "Haven't you asked your elder brother's surname? My little sister is called Lu Xiaoying." She put down her wine cup and looked at Lan Yutong.

  Without waiting for Lan Yutong to introduce herself, she continued: "The residence is luxurious and grand, it can be seen that Big Brother should be a businessman, the business must be very large, like you are so young and have such achievements, with a career, really admirable. In comparison, that person named Lan Yutong is different, I heard that he relies on his father's legacy to swagger around, squandering the inheritance left by his father, do you think such a person is not the most foolish? How can they face their father who left so much inheritance for them?"

  Lan Yutong heard her say that, the handsome face suddenly turned pale and red, with a hint of anger but more embarrassment, he awkwardly picked up his wine glass and took a sip of foreign liquor, saying: "Have you ever heard of the name Lan Yutong?"

  "How come I haven't seen our chairman even once in the months I've been working at Lan's Group? Other employees are even gossiping that our chairman is like an incompetent emperor, giving all his power to his ministers. When one day they usurp the throne, he'll just lament and resent heaven for being unfair. But by then, it will be too late, won't it?" Qian Xiaohong didn't look at him, but instead kept her head down and continued speaking, discussing Lan Yutang as if she were talking about someone else. Her words were a torrent of criticism, almost scolding in tone, condemning Lan Yutang's actions. Her speech was full of righteous indignation, her teeth clenched in anger. Meanwhile, Lan Yutang's face turned iron-gray, and he remained silent.

  "Being able to give capable people opportunities is something a wise leader would be happy to do, and I think it's not necessarily a bad thing for Lan Yutong to hand over the company to someone else to manage. After all, it's about using the right person for the job, just like our general manager Qiu Xiaojin - of course, I've only heard this - who came to the company a few years ago and made a lot of money for us. If the chairman says he wants to give people opportunities, but then always takes charge himself, what's the point of having a general manager and other employees?" Lan Yutong remained silent for a long time, seeing Lu Xiaoying drinking, hurriedly interjected a few words, hoping to salvage some of his image in the beauty's heart, or prove that he was not incompetent.

  "That's true," Lu Xiao Ying still didn't raise her head, her hands grasping the wine glass and rotating it in her hand, then softly saying, "But can we really do nothing about it? You know, we've all heard that the Lan Corporation has been doing terribly lately, to the point where they're on the verge of bankruptcy or being acquired by another company. And this is something that even Lan Yu Tong, who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, doesn't even realize. Is he incompetent or clever?"

  "Unbelievable?!" Lan Yutong said, "Isn't the company operating quite well? Of course, that's Lan Yutong's company and has nothing to do with me. However, in the business world, one must understand the market trends and directions of various companies, so it's inevitable to hear some gossip."

  He also desperately concealed himself, becoming more and more afraid to admit that he was Lan Yutong. This situation even surprised him, as for so many years, he had always gotten what he wanted, whenever he wanted it. When facing others, he was always arrogant and no one dared to laugh loudly in front of him, let alone his employees. Those girls who could get gold necklaces and earrings by throwing tantrums were also timid and obedient in front of him.

  "I think, if he goes to take a look and checks the account, he might know that what I said today is true." Lu Xiao Ying finished her drink in one gulp, then gently put down the cup in her hand, stood up and said, "Sorry for disturbing you for so long, I think it's time for me to leave, thank you for your hospitality, big brother."

  "It's a pleasure to have had the chance to talk with Miss Lu today," Lan Yutong also hastily stood up and said, "Miss is elegant and has a strong sense of justice, which makes me admire her. Unlike other women who only talk about money and not emotions, Miss Lu is extraordinary. I happen to have a gold necklace here that's worth 9,988 yuan, although it's not expensive, but it's also a rare find. The design is novel and unique, if Miss doesn't mind, I'd like to give it to you."

  Lu Xiaoying turned her head to look at the necklace, first stunned, but quickly regained her composure. She smiled and said: "No reward without merit, thank you for your kind intentions, brother. I'll take my leave."

  Smiling, she walked out of the living room, across the courtyard, shaking her head. Now she had truly seen how ignorant Lan Yutong was. The phrase "one throw, a thousand gold" perfectly described Lan Yutong. How could such a pampered son achieve great things?

  I hope you can listen to what I just said and go back to the company yourself! Lu Xiaoying thought silently, looked back at Lan Yutong with a puzzled expression and smiled.

  Fortunately, it didn't disappoint. On the second day, Lan Yutong really appeared in the Lan Group's building. Lu Xiaoying had been waiting in the lobby on the first floor early in the morning. When she saw Lan Yutong coming in, she pretended not to see her and walked straight over, bumping into Lan Yutong's arms. Then she looked up, feigning a surprised expression, and asked: "Is it you? What brings you to our company?"

  "Sorry, I didn't have a chance to tell you yesterday, but I'm the useless Lan Rutong you mentioned." Lan Rutong was still calm and composed, not showing any signs of anger, perhaps because Lu Xiaoying was a lovely and just beauty.

  "Ah," Qian Xiaohong exclaimed in surprise, taking a few steps back hastily, lowering her head like a child who had done something wrong and saying, "Sorry!"

  "I'll check if what you said yesterday is true. If the company's situation is good, I must find out who in the company is spreading rumors and causing trouble. This kind of person doesn't work hard, but specializes in stirring up trouble. Once found, I will fire him." Lan Yutong tidied his suit and said.

  Then he looked at Lu Xiao Ying, smiled and said: "If you have nothing to do now, follow me to my office and witness all this."

  Lu Xiaoying was overjoyed and hastily nodded in agreement.

  The two opened the elevator, and Lan Jingqiu, Dugu Jinzhong, Chen Zhenhua, and Qian Xiaohong were already standing inside. They all pretended not to know Lan Yutang and didn't greet him, except for Lan Jingqiu whose face was filled with mixed emotions, almost everyone else had a poker face.

  As the elevator door opened, Lan Yutong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as a cold air rushed out of the elevator towards him. He shivered involuntarily and stepped into the elevator as if he was walking into a haunted house.

  He hesitated for a moment before walking in, stretching out a white tender finger to press the "11" digit, indicating that he was heading straight to his office.

  Finally walked out of the refrigerator-like elevator, came to a door with a sign that read "Chairman's Office", and from her pocket pulled out a bunch of keys, selected one and inserted it into the lock, Lu Xiao Ying heard a few "clicks" as the door was opened.

  The room had been closed for a long time, so it was a bit dark and dusty. As soon as she entered the office, Lu Xiaoying took the initiative to use a feather duster to simply clean up the dust, and then sat on the sofa in the office to look at Lan Yutong. Lan Yutong called over his secretary and asked him to call the head of the finance department to his office. After the secretary nodded and walked out, he went to the window and pulled the curtains open to both sides, and suddenly the room was filled with light. He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows looking at the bustling streets, stretched his waist, and then sat back at his desk to tidy up the messy files.

  The Minister of Finance was a man in his forties, named Wu Changyuan, who was diligent and gentle, so his head was already bald, and at the age of forty or so, he looked worn out.

  He walked into the office in an orderly manner, stood in front of the chairman with his hands hanging vertically, waiting for the chairman to speak.

  "Go get me the accounts for the past few years?" Lan Yutong said.

  Wu Chang nodded and left, soon came back with a disk, opened the chairman's computer, and inserted the disk.

  Lan Yutong stared at the computer and carefully checked it. Lu Xiaoying was sitting on the sofa opposite, watching Lan Yutong's changing expression.

  Only to see Lan Yutong first frowned, then leaned her head closer to the computer as if seriously looking at the data displayed on it, then rounded her eyes and gritted her teeth, then suddenly slapped her left hand on the office desk, finally stood up and walked back and forth in front of the office desk.

  He, with thick and heavy breathing, his chest cavity clearly expanding and contracting, the originally pale and handsome face had turned a deep purple.

  "What's going on here?" Lan Yutong almost bellowed, pointing at the computer screen and asking the financial director, "There are many places where the accounts don't add up! How did you do the accounting?"

  Wu Changyuan first remained silent, then sighed and said: "We also have no way, the general manager asked us to do so."

  "What did he ask you to do?" Lan Yutong frowned and said, "Several transactions have irregular records, and hundreds of millions of funds are going to unknown places. Is this how you handle finances? What did he ask you to do?"

  After asking a few more questions, Lan Yutong seemed to have finally vented out some of the pent-up air in his chest. After a brief pause, he picked up the phone on the table and pressed two buttons before saying into the receiver: "Secretary!"

  The door creaked twice and opened, after which the secretary walked in and asked: "Chairman, what's up?"

  "Go and call the general manager." Lan Yutong said gritting her teeth.