Tit For Tat (Beloved Enemy) - Chap 1

“Jia Jia, how come you have just arrived? The driver sent me a text message saying that the new president is arriving soon. Immediately set the air conditioner and replace the old kettle in his office with a new one , if the old one is unusable,” said Zhang Xia, the Chief Executive Officer.

In spite of a six-months-old pregnant belly and extra weight, the secretary rushed over to the new front desk, clutching her folder.

“Zhang Ji, I will do it right away.” Jia Jia put down the package, quickly rushed past the electronically locked door. After she finished punching the card, she ran back to find a new electric kettle. She scrubbed and cleaned the electric kettle as much as she could and then placed it in the president’s office.

Just then, the company’s front doors slid open to the sides, revealing two men. Zhang Xia and Jia Jia both saw them at the same time.

She first noticed Lao Zhao, the company’s driver. Lao Zhao walked in the front while talking to the man who followed him in.

Behind him, walked a tall man dressed in straight-fitted suit pants and a crisp, white shirt. He was dark-haired and handsome with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his face and a sweet smile. It hung on his lips in a way that could really fascinate people. Zhang Xia and Jia Jia were almost mesmerized by him.

Lao Zhao desperately gave them a wink. “Little Zhang, this is Mr. Gu.”

Zhang Xia shook herself free and blushed a deep red. “Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu, I did not expect you to come so early.”

Gu Qing Pei grinned mildly. “I’m used to getting up early and didn’t want to bother you.”

“Why, thank you. Come, I’ll take you to your new office.”

Gu Qing Pei looked at her. “No, you rest. I will let Zhao take me to my cabin. You’re five or six months pregnant now and seeing a pregnant woman first thing in the morning makes me very happy. My first day at the new company is welcomed with such festivity, this is surely a good sign.”

Zhang Xia felt her heart fly. She has never come into contact with such a sexy and refined man. Even though the man’s facial features were not exclusively handsome, when put together, they created a charm that makes people unable to look away from him.

And his figure was so good that no one could pick faults with him. Mile long legs, a lean waist and slightly muscled chest that attracted everyone like crazy. She stood next to him, as she scented the air with his manly hormones.

When she realized their Chairman had brought in a handsome and sexy new President, she knew the other ladies in the company where destined to go mad.

Most importantly, Gu Qing Pei was such a gentleman.

After Zhang Xia and Jia Jia watched him enter the office, the two women glanced at each other and swiftly got back to their seat, already cooking up gossip about their new President to share with everyone in the company.

Gu Qing Pei entered his new office and took his seat behind the President’s table. He looked around at the luxurious office and felt good.

Lao Zhao reverently asked, “Mr Gu, the chairman will take about half an hour to arrive, is there anything else you need now?”

“Nothing for the time being, the environment here is very good, everyone has bothered to greet me.” Gu Qing Pei thought for a moment, “You can buy me a breakfast. A light one.”

“Is the breakfast in the company’s cafeteria sufficient? There is porridge, eggs and the likes.”

Gu Qing squinted and smiled. “Come on, I’m not a picky eater. Anything works.”

After Zhao left, Gu Qing Pei rose from his seat and inspected his new office, wanting to become familiar with his environment as quickly as possible.

After graduating from university, he had been working for a state-owned energy enterprise. He had spent ten years climbing to the position of a Senior Executive. But once he had finally reached the high position he wanted, his biggest job every day was playing golf and bragging with customers. He already felt his life had lost any challenge in it.

When he used to work so hard, he looked forward to a very luxurious life. But when he finally got it, he felt that a life without frustration and hardship didn’t sit well with his personality.

Just two or three years ago, he had met Yuan Li Jiang. Yuan Li Jiang was a famous real estate mogul in the capital. He was in his early fifties and his career track was amazing. The two met for the first time in a Hong Kong golf star game. His former boss had introduced them both and even though the two men did not know each other well, they got along perfectly.

Even when they were both speculating each other, Yuan Li Jiang still expressed his intention to steal Gu Qing Pei for him company one day.

After considering for two or three years, the time to join Yuan Li Jiang had finally come. This small company was previously acquired by Li Jiang and employed not more than 100 people. Its business status was also not satisfactory.

However, this company has a very big value point, or it will at least, after a restructuring of assets.

Once the company has consolidated its listing and de-listing positions, Yuan Li Jiang wanted to get a backdoor to re-listing.

The only problem now was the internal management of the company which was not really organized and quite confusing and the debt accumulation was also a huge problem.

Yuan Li Jiang had spent millions as annual salary and a bunch of attractive stocks to recruit him so he could help him clean up the debt accumulation and sort out the chaos present in the company.

Gu Qing Pei has already formed a plan to meet the listing conditions after one to two years….then maybe they can re-list in the stock market

After studying the company’s data and the future development direction of Yuan Investment Group, he joined Director Yuan in this fight. This was not only to seek personal development but also to make his life more exciting and challenging.

When he thought of the responsibility of sorting out a messed up company like this, his blood got boiling and he was filled with a lot of energy. It was truly invigorating!

After more than twenty minutes, Jia Jia knocked Gu Qing Pei’s door. Gu Qing Pei had just then turned on the computer and was looking at the stocks when his secretary came with his food.

Jia Jia left the breakfast tray on his table and informed him that she will return ten minutes later. He quickly ran through the stock market while gobbled up his breakfast.

After his breakfast, he picked up his notebook and pen and went to the chairman’s office for a quick meeting.

When he entered the office, an energetic man in his fifties quickly rose from his seat and approached the door to welcome him. They shook hands and smiled at each other good-naturedly.

Gu Qing Pei had a wide smile on his smile, “Yuan Li Jiang, you’re here early.”

“Ha, that’s nothing. I heard you came earlier than eight.”

Gu Qing Pei smiled and said, “Well, it’s my first day, so wanted to get to know the people and the environment better.”

“Come and sit,” Yuan Li Jiang invited.

Chairman’s office was large and L-shaped. Gu Qing walked inside with Yuan Director and stopped at the sight of a young man already inside the office.

He was sitting on the desk of the chairman indiscreetly with his legs crossed, and he looked down at the desk while playing with the rosewood paperweight.

Gu Qing Pei did not get the chance to see the young man’s face but the first thing that attracted him was the pair of long jean clad legs. With the length of the legs, the person’s height was maybe close to 1.9m.

“This is…” Gu Qing Pei trailed and looked at Lijiang, doubt in his eyes.

Who could sit on the chairman’s table so impolitely? He already has a vague answer in his heart.

The man sitting on the table lifted his head and revealed a very nice face. His thick eyebrows stood out among all his features but not excessively so. He had such a strong male aura that he even faintly looked like a rogue, with a cold demeanor that can make someone want to faint.

The young man stood up, put his hands inside his pockets and remained silent while he shot Gu Qing Pei with an indifferent gaze the whole time.

“Mr. Gu, this is my son, Yuan Yang. Yuan Yang, this is Gu Zong. He is a newly recruited highly-paid talent. He used to manage people, bids, and purchases in the XX Group. You can learn from him in the future.”

Gu Qing Pei smiled and said, “It turned out to be Yuan grandson, fortunately.” Gu Qing Pei stepped forward and reached out with his hand. Although the smile on his face remained the same, his brain had already started to play drums.

The name Yuan Yang, he had already heard of it. It wasn’t just because he was the heir to the Yuan fortune, but also because of his many glorious deeds. This kid, like his grandfather, was a soldier through and through.

He would have been a grand soldier if he had been born in the era of war. But in peacetime, he was more like a dead-weight on his family’s nation-wide reputation.

When he was a child, he created so much mischief that he was very difficult to control. When his antics reached an atrocious level, their family packed him off to military school. They expected the school to teach him to control his temper but his unruly and wild nature only got worse. He was well-known in the Beijing city for his short-tempered nature and not many people would dare to willingly cross him. He was an uncrowned living warlord.

At first glance, Gu Qing Pei realized the young man was annoyed. He shot Gu a cold look and reluctantly returned his handshake.

Gu Qing Pei laughed, “It’s only my first day here and Director Yuan has already brought his son to keep an eye on me, eh? This is scaring me.”

Yuan Li Jiang smiled in a friendly manner, “Hey, it was not to inspect you, Mr. Gu Since it was your first day here, I only wanted to introduce my disappointing son to you. I want him to learn from you so he can be a better man. I hope Gu can teach him some good things and he can gain some experience out of all this.”

Yuan Yang rolled his eyes and turned away from Gu

Gu Qing Pei modestly said, ” Director Yuan, what are you talking about? Have you ever heard of a tiger giving birth to dogs? Your son is quite famous in the city that almost everyone knows him. What can I possibly teach him? If it came to be known that I was teaching him, it’s my status that would rise up. Even though I have worked in the industry for many years, this is too much of a burden for me. I cannot take advantage of your reputation by having it known publicly that I am guiding the Yuan heir. He has a bright and limitless future and I am not a worthy teacher for him. Director Yuan, you should choose one of the men at higher levels to be his teacher. In three years he can work wonders in the industry.”

Li jiang shot him an embarrassed smile.

In fact, Gu Qing Pei already guessed what Li Jiang wanted to do. Yuan Li Jiang’s second son was too young, so he had to do everything possible to get the eldest son back from the army and train him to take over the family business in time. But was it even possible to change the Yuan heir from an army brat into a businessman? Gu Qing Pei did not want to take on this sort of responsibility.

Yuan Li Jiang naturally couldn’t possibly know what Gu Qing Pei was thinking. His aim was to hand over his son to Gu Qing Pei. His intuition told him that Gu Qing Pei was a smiling fox and only he can make Yuan Yang calm his rampant ways.

However, according to his understanding of Gu Qing Pei, this little city boy( Gu Qing Pei) was a smiling fox and he will make a lot of effort to curtail Yuan Yang’s roguish behavior. He has seen Gu Qing Pei at the negotiating tables; the man can beat an the opponent’s till their armor is brokenwhile his own armor will remain untouched. Even Yuan Yang could not possibly beat him. As long as he could teach his son, Yuan Li Jiang will be content with this life.

The two men used Yuan Yang as a ball as they kicked him to and fro between each other. Yuan never uttered a word as the conversation progressed but his face grew uglier with every word that was shared.

Standing closer to him, Gu Qing Pei found that Yuan Yang was quite tall. The T-shirt he wore rested perfectly on his wide shoulders and it strained to contain the muscles in his amazing biceps. The young man zealously guarded his private space like most animals do and for any stranger to invade his private space meant a threat to their life. Gu Qing Pei could see how any man would feel threatened to share lift space with this sort of man, because they would inevitably invade Yuan’s territory in that compact lift.

When a rival with an imposing demeanor approached another’s personal space or territory, the brain will usually send signals to remain alert and also will cause a certain amount or trembling and unrest. So when there a person with a strong physique and scent closed in on another person who is comparatively skinnier than him, it will make the skinnier person feel anxious and psychologically pressured.

1]…..basically you stand near Arnold Schwarzenegger… And you’re bound to sweat a little…

This kind of pressure was blooming in Yuan Yang’s face and this anger was channeled to his soldierly hands. He stood still next to the two men, staring at Gu Qing Pei while his breathing became heavier gradually.

Yuan Li Jiang also seemed to be aware of this. He suddenly looked back at his son and said, “Go and pour tea for Mr. Gu .”

Gu Qing Pei waved his hand. “Yuan Director, don’t bother Yuan Yang. If you’d like, I will show off my tea serving art.”

“No, I brought him today so he can respect you as a teacher. I hope you will keep him with you, educate, and wash away his brazen taste to an appearance shaped of Yuan Family”

Yuan Yang’s snorted and it was the first syllable he uttered after Gu Qing Pei entered the office.

Yuan Li tjiang grunted heavily. “You’re not convinced? You think you’re amazing? When you were in the army, you were happy. Have you ever thought of someone else in your family? If you go to the army, your mother wouldn’t be able to see you throughout the year. What did you promise your grandmother before she died . After I die, when you are not there, who will control such a large family business? Will you let your thirteen year old brother or ten year old sister take over? It may not even be necessary for you to learn for three or five years based on your capacity. You can be successful in less than that time period!”

Yuan Yang’s breathing was still a little heavy, but he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t cross words with his father so he focused all his anger on Gu Qing and his cold eyes fell on Gu Qing’s face.

Gu Qing sighed. Yuan Li Jiang gave him a challenge on the first day of his work and he couldn’t get into work with ease because he(Yuan Yang) was the first task the chairman gave him. For a newly appointed senior executive, he cannot be the first one to give up.

Li Jiang continued to shout, “What did you promise your grandmother before her death? If that’s your attitude, you can just turn around and leave. If you go, you won’t look like a man, and you won’t ever look like one!”

Yuan Yang said coldly, “I did not intend to go.” Yuan Lijiang’s face relaxed and he ordered, “Go pour tea.” Yuan Yang turned to go do as he said.

Gu Qing Pei said with a chuckle, “If you were to hand him over to me, you wouldn’t be able to scold him for what he does. After all, he is a child.”

“You don’t have to call him a child. He’s twenty-two. In particular, don’t regard him as my child, and you mustn’t be soft-hearted at all. You can rest assured that I will support you. He won’t dare to retaliate against you for anything. Although this kid is mixed up, his learning curve is quick and light.”

“My son, although he hasn’t been to college, he has been given an elite, upper-class education from childhood. He is very smart and understands a lot of things and that will help you. Qing Pei, ah, you are not the only capable person here, my son is capable too. It’s just that he’s a little undisciplined. I will give him to you. I hope you will give him a better education. You will use your own method to teach him however you see fit. I really can’t control him. I can only give it to outsiders to do it for me. You should help me and teach him. Would you please….?” he asked, hesitantly.

Gu Qing sighed and laughed, “Yuan Director when you say it like that, how can I refuse you? You can relax now that I’ve taken over him. However, I do have a bit of worry and I hope that Yuan Director’s answer can make me relaxed.”

Lijiang asked excitedly, “You say it…”

“As you said, first, when I teach him….you can’t be distressed or angry about my methods.”

“Absolutely not. The kid has suffered more in the army. I wish he would have more hardship.”

“Yes, second, afterwards he can’t spend his family’s money. He will have to depend on his salary.”

“No problem. I’m not used to giving him money.”

“The third.” Gu Qing Pei smiled. “Yuan Director, he wanted to be a soldier. He is still one with a tiger-wolf way of thinking. I’m a gentleman, if he rejects my teachings…I won’t force it on him. Having said all that, I will teach him.”

“No, he knows, you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Okay, Yuan Li Jiang….then you can leave your eldest son with me, I’m hoping to live up to your trust.”

Yuan Yang came in with the tea tray just then. When he looked up, he saw that the two were shaking hands. Although he did not hear the conversation, he also knew that his fate for the next few months would be determined…..by Gu Qing Pei.

The man, who always has a motherfucking hypocritical smile on his face, who also had a good fashion sense in his clothing and the manners of the upper class in his behavior.

Just watching him made Yuan Yang angry and annoyed. He could even smell thatannoying perfume that man wore after being so close to him.