Full Cup of Water - Chap 18
Xin Qianyu was indeed a newcomer compared to Xin Simu, and he did not have as much control over the group as Xin Simu. But Xin Qianyu also had his own advantages. In addition to being his grandfather’s favourite grandson, he also had two trump cards: Zhu Pu, the group’s little PHS, and Xin Mu, the group’s old PHS. These two people were not very good at business, but they were very social and could hear many inquiries. What was even rarer was although these two people usually swore at Xin Qianyu, they were highly loyal to Xin Qianyu from the bottom of their hearts.
Xin Qianyu asked the two of them to help him find out which person in the AA Association had always had the best relationship with Xin Simu.
As soon as he posted a question in the group chat, Xin Mu immediately responded. “Zhu Pu doesn’t need to ask. I have already inquired about this for you.”
Xin Mu’s words were spoken smoothly, and the smoothness was a bit excessive. Xin Qianyu had a gut feeling. “It can’t be that you already knew the AA Association would close their doors to me?”
“Yes. I knew it a long time ago.” Xin Mu said.
Xin Qianyu did not know whether to say, “You have proven yourself as the old PHS of our group” or “You have proven yourself as my hard-hearted mother.”
Xin Mu knew early on that the AA Association would embarrass Xin Qianyu because of the pirated textbooks. But Xin Mu did not stop Xin Qianyu from going to the United States.
With Xin Mu’s power, in fact, she could resolve the crisis for Xin Qianyu in advance just like when the warehouse was inspected the last time. But this time, Xin Mu did not plan to do so.
It was not until Xin Qianyu asked that Xin Mu slowly answered. She decided that in Xin Qianyu’s clearing of the game this time, she would only be a conscientious guiding NPC, not a plug-in to help him resist all risks and injuries.
Xin Mu only said, “That girl, Xin Simu, and AA’s New York Head of Office… that is, the office director, Rebecca, has an excellent relationship.”
“Excellent relationship?” Xin Qianyu’s mind raced. Xin Simu and Rebecca were far apart. They usually could not contact each other and rarely met. How could they have a great relationship? The relationship was so solid that she could help Xin Simu plot again Xin Qianyu.
A guess appeared immediately in Xin Qianyu’s mind, and he asked, “Did Xin Simu bribe Rebecca?”
Xin Mu was very satisfied with Xin Qianyu’s flexible mind, nodded silently, and said, “It’s very likely, but this girl Xin Simu is very cunning and has left no evidence of significant traces. Even I can’t catch her.”
Xin Qianyu was silent for a long time and asked Xin Mu, “Mom, if it were you, what would you do?”
“If it were me? That must be solved by spending money. The problems that money can solve are not problems,” Xin Mu said. “Since Rebecca can accept Xin Simu’s, she can also accept mine.”
Xin Qianyu smiled, “I also guessed you would say that. But if Rebecca can be the director, she won’t be too stupid. Isn’t she afraid of being the subject of ridicule if she accepts my money? After all, she has been in contact with Xin Simu for many years but doesn’t know me.”
“Yes, you are right to say that. This is indeed a problem.” Xin Mu replied. “But as long as the money is enough, this problem is not a problem.”
Xin Qianyu smiled bitterly. “Oh, that’s for you. You are so rich.”
Xin Mu said, “My money is your money.”
This was really the warmest dialogue between mother and child.
But Xin Qianyu shook his head. “But I don’t plan to do this.”
“Why?” Xin Mu said. “Are you afraid you can’t afford it?”
“In my opinion, sending money to Rebecca is simply a stupid act. I don’t know if Xin Simu has lost her conscience.” Xin Qianyu said seriously. “Bribery leads to imprisonment.”
“You are so young.” Xin Mu said with a faint smile. “If you have been in the business world long enough, you will know that it is not a crime if you are not caught.”
“Okay, then you can just consider your son to be high-spirited!” Xin Qianyu smiled. “What is it to humbly send money to a small director? If I really want to send so much money, I should send it to the chairman of the association to be happy.”
“Hehe, you’re bragging.” Xin Mu mocked.
Having said that, Xin Mu did not impose her own ideas on Xin Qianyu. She seemed to want to see how Xin Qianyu could solve this matter within a week without spending a lot of money.
In a coffee shop, Xin Qianyu met an old acquaintance who worked in the banking system.
When Xin Qianyu went to the United States to study, he did not just spend timenullpursuing Su Zhong but also got to know a lot of friends. Although the school XinnullQianyu went to was not worthy of Kevin, it was a “prestigious school” in the secularnullsense and not disgraceful at all. Many of his classmates’ lives had also taken root innullthe United States, and they went to good places.
Xin Qianyu found an old classmate, Ah Xiao, to come out for coffee and asked him some things related to customer privacy. It turned out that the director of AA named Rebecca was a customer of the bank where Ah Xiao worked. Xin Qianyu knew that it was difficult to start from Xin Simu’s side, so he decided to investigate from Rebecca’s side.
Ah Xiao could not reveal too much information to Xin Qianyu and could only tell him, “Rebecca bought a house in Manhattan with a loan from our bank three months ago. Judging from her economic situation, buying this property should be a bit difficult. From my point of view, I feel that she didn’t pay the down payment herself, but someone else paid it for her. This may be related to the commercial bribery you mentioned.”
Xin Qianyu nodded and thanked Ah Xiao.
Xin Qianyu wanted to say something else, and at the same time hand over some gifts to Ah Xiao, but at this time he heard someone calling, “Xiaoyu?”
Hearing the soft word “Xiaoyu”, Xin Qianyu’s body trembled slightly, as if warm water was infiltrating his heart.
It was impossible to have heard wrongly. This voice was Su Zhong’s.
Xin Qianyu had been restraining himself for a while not to contact Su Zhong, so he had not heard Su Zhong’s voice for a long time. Unexpectedly, the familiar call came through the air, and Xin Qianyu’s heart immediately jumped as if it had come to life.
He understood that he was still in love with Su Zhong, no matter what was between them.
There were two people standing next to Su Zhong. One was an American man with white skin and brown hair, and the other was a Chinese woman with wine-red hair. Xin Qianyu recognized this woman. She was Lilith. And that American man was Su Zhong’s assistant Thomas.
Xin Qianyu really did not expect to meet Su Zhong and Lilith here.
The factor of love suddenly resurrected in Xin Qianyu’s mind. Xin Qianyu’s first reaction was: Do I look handsome? Damn, I haven’t slept well these days, and my face must look terrible! I knew I should have applied a mask before going out!
Lilith reacted quickly, immediately touched Su Zhong’s shoulder, and said with a smile, “Oh, so this is your Chinese boyfriend? Unexpectedly, he chased us to the United States, and you didn’t tell us! Hiding until it was so hard for us!”
Xin Qianyu had no intention of focusing on Su Zhong’s affairs, forcing himself to focus on his work. However, when Lilith was brewing green tea, it was difficult for Xin Qianyu’s fist not to clench.
Su Zhong said in a daze, “I didn’t even know he was here…” As he said this, Su Zhong looked at Xin Qianyu steadily, his eyes staring blankly, like a child looking at a toy in a window. Whenever Su Zhong looked at him like this, Xin Qianyu felt his body was warm, like soaking in a hot spring. Su Zhong’s eyes could give Xin Qianyu the illusion of being loved, which was so addictive.
Xin Qianyu looked away slightly to avoid getting himself so deeply involved.
His movements were keenly captured by Lilith. Su Zhong’s boyfriend came to the United States and did not tell Su Zhong. When they met, his eyes were evasive. It seemed that there was a problem.
Xin Qianyu also noticed the interest in Lilith’s eyes. Even if he really had a problem with Su Zhong, he did not want outsiders to have a good laugh at them. He pursed his lips and smiled, then walked over to separate Lilith. He took Su Zhong’s arm, smiled and said, “Surprised, right?”
Su Zhong was still stunned. “Surprised.”
Lilith was left alone, still maintaining an awkward but polite smile on her face.
Xin Qianyu introduced him. “This is my boyfriend Su Zhong. This is my former classmate Ah Xiao.”
Su Zhong also introduced Thomas and Lilith.
Several people took advantage of the situation to exchange business cards.
After receiving Su Zhong’s business card, Ah Xiao was surprised. “You, are you a partner of M-global?”
Su Zhong nodded slightly. “Yes.”
“It’s amazing to be a partner at such a young age!” Ah Xiao looked at Xin Qianyu with a bit of admiration in his eyes, as if he was saying, you’re amazing, being able to have such a great boyfriend!
In the past, Xin Qianyu might have felt very proud, but now, Xin Qianyu was a bit more sensitive and fragile.
Others praised Su Zhong for being amazing because they really thought he was amazing.
Others praised Xin Qianyu for being amazing but were actually praising his grandfather for being amazing, his mother for being amazing, and his boyfriend for being amazing, while he himself had only a bad temper.
Lilith looked very enthusiastic and praised Xin Qianyu vigorously. “No wonder Lao Su misses you. I would also be affected if I see such a beautiful boy!”
If he hadn’t heard about Lilith’s behaviour, Xin Qianyu would really have been fooled, thinking that Lilith was really friendly.
Lilith proposed to go for a drink together again, but Xin Qianyu refused, only saying, “I have something to do here. Let’s do it next time.”
After speaking, Xin Qianyu and Ah Xiao left the cafe together.
On the way back beside Xin Qianyu, Ah Xiao said, “Your boyfriend is a partner in M-global. Why are you still circling around asking me for help?”
Xin Qianyu asked, “Does M-global have anything to do with the AA Association?”
Ah Xiao said, “You are talking about M-global. It has something to do with 99% of the rich people in the United States.”
Even if there is no direct relationship, it can be indirectly related. This is called “the power of capital.”
A kind of blind stubbornness rose in Xin Qianyu. He was extremely unwilling to rely on Su Zhong or M-global.
This was probably the cause of his fragile self-esteem.
Xin Qianyu patted Ah Xiao on the shoulder jokingly. “What’s the matter? Think I can’t do it? Do I look like a kept man?”
Ah Xiao laughed, waved his hand and said no, but what he thought was: The rich second generation who work in their own company should stop establishing a “self-reliant” image.
Xin Qianyu gathered a lot of information about Rebecca from Ah Xiao and other channels and even got her credit card bill. And Rebecca’s bill made Xin Qianyu very surprised. Rebecca’s income was not low, but her expenses were very low. She was probably a very stingy person.
What did not match her low expenses was the house in Manhattan where she lived.
Houses in Manhattan were not cheap. Xin Qianyu and Zhu Zhu stood outside Rebecca’s apartment and looked around. Although it was not on the Upper East Side, every inch of land was worth an inch of gold.
When Rebecca saw Xin Qianyu and Zhu Zhu appear outside the door of her apartment, she was also taken aback. “Why are you here?” It was quite a strong New York accent.
Zhu Zhu stepped forward to introduce themselves in standard English, but this was obviously meaningless because Rebecca recognized the two of them and showed a disdainful expression. “Thieves like you, please don’t show up outside my house. I’m going to call the police.”
“Thief?” Xin Qianyu raised his eyebrows in displeasure. “What did I steal?”
Rebecca sneered. “Your company uses pirated textbooks. Isn’t that stealing? It’s just disgusting.”
“You said that we used pirated textbooks. Is there any evidence?” Xin Qianyu said. “This matter does not exist.” You may have heard false rumours and groundless accusations.”
The relevant departments had not caught them on the pirated textbook matter, and neither Qiushi Education nor the AA Association had conclusive evidence to prove this matter. However, Rebecca did not need conclusive evidence at all. She only needed a reason to trouble Xin Qianyu. When Xin Qianyu withdrew, Xin Simu would make a grand appearance. Rebecca could report to her boss that the pirated textbook matter had been explained clearly. It was purely a misunderstanding. Our cooperation with Yuzhuo Group can still continue.
In this way, it would not cost Rebecca anything at all, so she could get the benefits of Xin Simu. Why not?
Rebecca then gave Xin Qianyu a look. “Go quickly. Don’t harass me. Otherwise, I will call the police.”
Xin Qianyu smiled. “Then should the police also be called if you use your authority to obtain improper benefits?”
Rebecca’s expression changed. “What did you say? You are framing me!”
Rebecca’s voice rose higher, but it reflected her guilt even more. Could it be that Xin Simu had exposed my bribery? No, it’s impossible… Obviously, she did it so secretly.
Xin Qianyu looked up at the house and said, “This house is very nice. You usually don’t even want to buy mineral water. How can you afford this?”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Rebecca said coldly. “If you can’t do things well by yourself and slander me with false accusations, do you think I will submit in this way? I bought this house by myself. What evidence do you have to say that this was an improper benefit?”
“There is really no evidence.” Xin Qianyu said, with a bit of pity in his tone.
Xin Simu did hide it well, showing no trace.
Rebecca relaxed and said, “Of course, I’m not afraid of shadows.”
“But what about the furniture in your house worth 50,000 yuan?” Xin Qianyu looked up at Rebecca. “What about the nanny you hire every month?”
Rebecca’s heart thumped. “You, what are you talking about?”
Xin Qianyu smiled slightly. “My cousin and I are family. We are both smart people and it’s really hard to break through to us, but you are different. You’re so stupid, impossibly so. I know that since you can have such a good life but spend so little, there must be a problem somewhere.” Xin Qianyu checked Rebecca’s bill and found that her expenses were very low, but she lived a very respectable life, so there had to be a problem here.
Sure enough, Xin Qianyu quickly discovered the problem. “The high-end furniture in your home was bought with the public funds of the AA Association in the form of office furniture bills. There is also your nanny, who is a cleaner in the company. You used her job to blackmail her, forcing her to voluntarily do part-time work for you.”
Hearing Xin Qianyu say this, Rebecca’s face turned pale.
Xin Qianyu smiled contemptuously. He believed that with Rebecca’s character, her bad deeds must be more than these one or two. It was just that he did not have that much time to check. He could only catch these two sentences and seize the evidence to force Rebecca to submit. “This is the cleaner’s bill and the recorded testimony. This is the furniture bill and the recorded testimony of the furniture salesman. If you need, they can also testify in person. Now that the human and physical evidence is all there, do you think I should call the police? Or report it to the AA Association?”
The matter of furniture and cleaner worth 50,000 yuan did not sound like a lot, but the AA Association had zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour. If the evidence in Xin Qianyu’s possession was reported, Rebecca would definitely lose her job, and she may also face a costly fine or even jail.
Thinking of this, Rebecca’s knees softened. She looked at Xin Qianyu steadily and swallowed her saliva. “Come in. Let’s talk slowly.”
Switching from arrogance to humility, Rebecca welcomed Xin Qianyu and Zhu Zhu into the house, served them very diligently and promised to advance the contract tomorrow.
Xin Qianyu was very proud, and his heart settled back into his stomach. At this time, a call from Su Zhong came.
Seeing Su Zhong’s name flashing on the phone screen, Xin Qianyu was still stunned. For him, Su Zhong actively contacting him was really rare.
Su Zhong asked him, “Do you have time to attend a dinner party?”
Xin Qianyu sighed. Su Zhong’s words were really too direct and too simple as always.
“What dinner party?” Xin Qianyu asked.
Su Zhong said, “Business dinners held by the company are usually attended by family members.”
Xin Qianyu smiled. “I can be regarded as your ‘family’.” As he said this, Xin Qianyu thought of something. “Then, if I’m not in the United States, who would you bring?” As soon as these words landed, Xin Qianyu was unhappy and wanted to punch himself in the face. I’m afraid it’s Lilith. Asking a question like this is really finding a way to make myself unhappy.
Su Zhong said, “If you are not here, I will be alone.”
Xin Qianyu was startled. “What?”
Su Zhong thought Xin Qianyu had not heard him clearly, so he repeated. “When you’re not here, I will be alone.” His tone was very natural as if this was the most righteous thing.
Su Zhong was probably very slow regarding social aspects. Attending events without a partner may cause him to receive strange glances, but he was unaware of this. The insightful questions of others would not attract his attention. After all, the other party would not insist, “You must bring a companion to this event!”
Therefore, Su Zhong confidently attended alone, or occasionally brought an assistant, and did not feel that there was any problem.
Thinking that Su Zhong always went to the banquet alone without a partner, Xin Qianyu’s heart immediately softened. “Tsk, wouldn’t it be strange to attend the banquet alone? It’s okay to find someone else.”
“It’s weird to find someone else.” Su Zhong said, “Only you will do.”
Because of Su Zhong’s words, Xin Qianyu’s face became hot, and his whole body rushed straight to the address sent by Su Zhong like an accelerated rocket.
