Upon arriving at the top-floor office of the group, Qin Tianyi instructed his secretary to prepare a small conference room and to summon Xiao Anjing to his office.
However, the secretary replied, "Mr. Qin, Mr. Xiao hasn't arrived yet today."
"Did he request leave, and did he say why he hasn't arrived by this time?" Qin Tianyi asked coldly.
The secretary responded, "I asked Mr. Xiao's secretary, and she doesn't know either. Mr. Xiao didn't say whether he would come to the company today."
"I understand. Please notify me immediately when Mr. Shu from Shu Corporation and Mr. Huo from Huo Corporation arrive, and escort them to the small conference room."
"Understood."
Qin Tianyi leaned back in his chair and sent a message to Xiao Anjing. After a considerable while, Xiao Anjing still hadn't replied.
It seemed Xiao Anjing had also seen the major headlines that morning and was upset about Shu Yan's impending marriage to the Han family's young master?
He would need to find an opportunity to have a serious talk with Xiao Anjing about Shu Yan.
Just then, the secretary entered the office again to inform him that Shu Zhongze had arrived.
"Has Mr. Huo arrived?" Qin Tianyi asked.
The secretary shook her head. "No."
"Then please have Mr. Shu wait in the small conference room and prepare a pot of good tea."
The secretary acknowledged and left again.
This was rather unexpected for Qin Tianyi. Although Shu Zhongze had quickly resolved the public opinion issues, he must have been in a state of disarray with family matters last night. He hadn't expected him to be so punctual.
Conversely, Huo Liangcheng was conspicuously late.
Qin Tianyi waited for half an hour, but Huo Liangcheng still hadn't appeared. He called his phone, but it was answered by an assistant who said he had an urgent business trip and couldn't make it to Aoxiang Group today.
A business trip, so suddenly? Qin Tianyi put down his phone in disappointment, stood up, and buttoned his suit jacket. He had no choice but to go and meet Shu Zhongze first.
As soon as he entered the small conference room, Qin Tianyi saw that Shu Zhongze seemed completely unaffected by last night's events, dressed in a suit and looking composed.
One could still see the shadow of his youthful, dashing demeanor in Shu Zhongze, though age had brought a touch of white to his temples despite his good upkeep.
"I didn't expect the tea here to be so good," Shu Zhongze said with a smile as soon as he saw Qin Tianyi, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.
Qin Tianyi, of course, heard the unspoken meaning in his words and replied with a smile, "I'm afraid I have to make Mr. Shu's trip in vain today. Mr. Huo had a last-minute business trip and couldn't make it, so the second phase of the amusement park project cannot be discussed."
Shu Zhongze said with amusement, "Huo Liangcheng will not be involved in this project. You have no other choice but to cooperate with me."
"Mr. Shu speaks with great confidence. I am still considering who I wish to cooperate with. I haven't finished reviewing your group's cooperation plan yet. After I've finished and had it analyzed by actuaries, I will discuss it with Mr. Shu in detail," Qin Tianyi said, preparing to see him out.
Shu Zhongze unhurriedly took a contract from his briefcase and placed it before him. "You had better take another careful look at the supplementary agreement when I transferred this land to you."
"What supplementary agreement?" Qin Tianyi felt utterly bewildered. He had reviewed all the land transfer contracts at the time, and the group's legal department had also examined them. There were no issues.
Shu Zhongze smiled and said, "It seems you're still unaware. There was a supplementary agreement when I transferred that land. Didn't Xiao Anjing tell you about it?"
Qin Tianyi picked up the supplementary agreement placed before him. It was only two pages long, with his signature on the last page. He had no recollection of when he signed it, but the date below the signature was before Shu Zhongze officially transferred the land to him.
Shu Zhongze pointed to a clause and said, "It's clearly stated here that if you married Shu Yan and became my son-in-law, this land would be transferred to you at the price stated in the formal contract. If you broke off the engagement, the price you paid would only be for the ten-year usage rights of this land. Therefore, if you don't cooperate with me to develop the second phase of the amusement park, I can simply wait ten years, and this land, along with the amusement park you've built on it, will all belong to me."
Qin Tianyi clenched the contract tighter in his hand, never expecting Xiao Anjing to do something like this.
Recalling it now, it must have been signed by Xiao Anjing when he was hospitalized after being injured while saving Xiao Xingxing.
In the end, the amusement park project developed by their Aoxiang would become Shu Zhongze's in ten years.
"Do you think Huo Liangcheng would be foolish enough to invest heavily in the second phase of the amusement park?" Shu Zhongze said calmly. "However, for you, having ten years of usage rights, you should be able to recoup the investment from the first phase, so it's certainly not a loss. But as for the second phase, that's another matter."
Qin Tianyi slammed the supplementary agreement onto the table and asked, "You didn't bring out this supplementary agreement when I broke off the engagement before. Why are you bringing it out now? You could have simply waited ten years to reclaim the land, and then everything would have been yours."
"Because I am optimistic about the second phase of the amusement park now and don't want to wait another ten years," Shu Zhongze said, being a businessman. "So, what do you say? As long as you cooperate with me on the second phase project, with our Shu Corporation holding half the equity in the second phase, this supplementary agreement will be void, and this land will, as per the formal contract, always belong to your Aoxiang Group."
Qin Tianyi hadn't expected Shu Zhongze to have this trick up his sleeve and was calculating his terms. He said, "I can give your Shu Corporation forty percent equity..."
"You have no room for negotiation. It's either fifty-fifty, or you don't proceed with the second phase and I'll reclaim the land in ten years."
"Deal." Qin Tianyi knew he had no other choice; only Shu Zhongze's plan offered a win-win situation.
Today, he truly understood the cunning of this old fox, Shu Zhongze. If the first phase of the amusement park hadn't been so popular upon opening, and Shu Zhongze hadn't been covetous of the enormous profits, he wouldn't have been unable to wait ten years.
If Shu Zhongze had truly waited ten years, he would have unhesitatingly reclaimed the land, and Aoxiang would have suffered a complete loss.
Shu Zhongze stood up and said, "Don't look like that. This deal is not a loss for you. I will leave the subsequent matters to my subordinates to follow up. You are still too young. Since you wanted to use my daughter to obtain this land and then broke off the engagement, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
With that, Shu Zhongze turned away with a cold smile and strode out of the small conference room.
Qin Tianyi signaled the secretary to see him out. He stood at the conference room door, watching Shu Zhongze's retreating figure as he entered the elevator, then returned to the small conference room.
A cleaner entered the conference room to clear the teacups from the table. Qin Tianyi stared at the teacup Shu Zhongze had used and said, "No need to clear it. You can leave."
The cleaner withdrew. Qin Tianyi took out a tissue, carefully wrapped the teacup Shu Zhongze had used with it, and said, "This must have Shu Zhongze's DNA on it. It can be used for a paternity test with Susu."
He took the teacup back to his office, then took out the hair samples of Susu he had collected long ago. After waiting in his office for a while, he took these two items to the DNA testing center.
After leaving the testing center, the first thing he wanted to do was find Xiao Anjing and give him a good beating.
His calls to Xiao Anjing's phone still went unanswered, and his messages remained unread. He then drove directly to Xiao Anjing's residence.