“If you tell me to go, I’ll go? Wouldn't that make me lose face?”

Jiang Yu habitually retorted.

But she glanced at the blank paper in front of her, clueless about the direction of her thesis. Instantly softening, she added, "Unless you promise to help me come up with a thesis introduction and provide me with some data. I originally wanted to write about the travel company of you and my dad, but there are too few people at its headquarters. I feel like the American company you acquired is more suitable."

Su Yehao immediately agreed, "No problem, it's just a thesis. If Nangong Tian hadn't gone to Oxford University for an exchange, how could such a good opportunity to freeload a meal fall to you? As long as I don't suffer a loss, even sending you to America for a few days of on-site research at the company is no problem."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu no longer had to worry about her troubles.

She looked at Su Yehao with a suspicious gaze and asked, "Nangong just left yesterday and asked me to keep an eye on you. Honestly, why did a woman ask you to dinner as soon as she left?"

Oxford University was about to host an economic academic forum. The professor from Hong Kong University originally wanted to invite Su Yehao to join in the fun, but Su Yehao wasn't interested, so Nangong Tian benefited.

She happened to have a close high school friend studying at Oxford University in England.

Anyway, it was just a four-day conference. Including the travel time, she would only be away for a week.

Su Yehao even arranged a private jet for them, as it was a free rental offered by the bank, so there was no need to waste it. It was a favor to the professors, so they could graduate in the future.

With a clear conscience and nothing to hide, Su Yehao spread his hands and explained frankly, "Don't wrongly accuse me. He Shao Fan's cousin and my dad's friend, Uncle Qiu's son, seem to be doing business together in Silicon Valley, and they're in the same industry as me, wanting to cooperate. As you know, my business is so big, my user base is far ahead of the competition. Wouldn't I be at a disadvantage if I cooperate with them? That's why I decided to bring you along. We'll see how it goes. If it's just a dinner to get to know each other, fine. But if they have their eyes on my technical patents or market, then you pretend to have a stomach ache, and I'll take you away."

"...So, are we still having dinner or not?"

"..."

Stunned by Jiang Yu's strange focus, Su Yehao was speechless for a moment.

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Why don't we discuss a secret code first? If you say the code, I'll pretend to be uncomfortable. But how should I pretend to have a stomach ache?"

"Do I even need to tell you that? Just act like it's those few days of the month, clutching your stomach and lying on the table. Leave the rest to me."

Su Yehao lacked experience in interpersonal relationships.

He just felt that being asked for help was a very troublesome thing.

From this perspective, his usual deliberate reduction of contact with the circle was perhaps a wise decision. In business, the first thing to fear is borrowing money, the second is relatives, and the third is guarantees. Any of these would cause a headache.

Too much sentimentality isn't good either. So sometimes, being unsentimental is actually a kind of self-protection. It's hard for a pushover to make a fortune.

For example, his old man spent millions repairing ancestral graves and building ancestral halls back in his hometown, but turned away all the distant relatives who came to rely on him. When he went back to burn incense during Qingming Festival this year, he didn't even say hello. He burned the paper money and left.

It's more comfortable to be a cold-hearted bad person than a pushover. The former makes oneself comfortable, while the latter inevitably suffers losses and feels resentment.

He had learned that He Shao Fan would also be at the dinner, so Su Yehao was taking precautions in advance to avoid embarrassing his cousin and affecting their relationship...

The little girl wasn't home. She had just arrived at Oxford University and sent a text message to let him know she was safe.

He had specifically found two female bodyguards to follow her, so Su Yehao wasn't worried about her safety. At the moment, he put the new pet, a radiated tortoise, in the yard to let it wander around. This thing was much easier to raise than other pets; it was neither noisy nor dirty.

As for the pygmy hippos, he had finally sent them to the zoo before the summer vacation began and donated 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for food expenses.

Mainly because the little guys weren't as cute after they grew up. They ate a lot, pooped a lot, and attracted a lot of flies.

——————————————

That night.

Su Yehao drove his Ferrari to the Tao Tao Restaurant he had given to Yin Liuli.

The restaurant had more than forty tables. The management was still handled by people from the mainland restaurant, so Yin Liuli didn't have to worry too much, just keep an eye on the accounts.

For the dinner, Jiang Yu had specially changed into a small dress, light gold, with high heels, and her hair tied in a bun.

As she accompanied Su Yehao, taking the elevator up from the underground parking garage, she looked around and said, "This place was also developed by Zhao Yimeng's family, right? They're really rich, with projects everywhere."

"Yeah, if Donghuang hadn't developed so many new projects, they wouldn't be so unlucky now, a typical case of overreaching. If there weren't other shareholders holding them back, this hurdle would have been passed smoothly. It's a pity to do business with a bunch of idiots. It's better to sell all the shares and start over. Maybe they'll develop even better in the future."

Su Yehao had been here before and walked to the restaurant with ease.

In recent years, Donghuang Group had invested more than 20 billion Hong Kong dollars in the real estate industry, most of which was invested in Hong Kong City. Since Hong Kong City was so small, it was inevitable to create the illusion that Donghuang assets were everywhere.

As the real estate industry continued to decline, the voices of bargain hunting had begun to increase in the past two months. The evidence of bottoming out was directly reflected in the stock prices of real estate listed companies, with rebounds mostly above 15%, and land auctions had also begun to warm up.

Thinking like this, Su Yehao suddenly felt that he should speed up and buy the Donghuang Century Plaza building. If he could borrow money, he could even buy the Donghuang Garden Hotel in Central.

He only had land in his hands. He didn't even have a tall building under his name. With the occupancy rate not being a concern, the net profit margin of investing in hotels was quite high.

In the first half of this year, a total of more than 300,000 tourists had entered Hong Kong City through the channels of Honghao International Travel Company. In the future, they could also attract traffic through internet channels. It was indeed suitable to invest in hotels as a supporting facility, and the appreciation of real estate could also make money.

He decided to talk to Zhao Yimeng. As he brought Jiang Yu to Tao Tao Restaurant, greeted the manager, and sat down in the reserved Room 8.

Soon after, he saw He Shaolin, wearing a red dress and carefully dressed up, walking in with a Hermès handbag.

When He Shaolin saw Jiang Yu, her movements clearly paused.

This time, she finally confirmed that Su Yehao had no feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he bring a girl along? She couldn't help but joked, "Young Master Su is really affectionate. The women around you are more beautiful than the last."

Su Yehao smiled awkwardly, really wanting to shut her up to avoid mentioning Yin Liuli. He changed the subject and asked, "Where's He Shao Fan?"

"He... isn't feeling well. He contacted me just now and said he couldn't come."

As soon as He Shaolin finished speaking, Jiang Yu's heart stirred slightly.

Looking at the woman's carefully dressed appearance and thinking that He Shao Fan just happened to be unwell, she felt that something was strange.

Jiang Yu was just simple-minded, not stupid. She glanced at Su Yehao and was pondering whether she should inform Nangong Tian, give her a heads-up to be careful...