Counterpart...
Qin Sheng was not going to stay on in Shangshan Ruoshuo forever. Even if he had intended to do that, Jiang Xianbang would not allow it. Jiang Xianbang’s had a much bigger plan for him, which was to nurture him to be a successor.
Qin Sheng liked to keep a low key in most of the thing he did. When he came to work in Shangshan Ruoshui, he was not expecting everyone there to treat him with exception because of his relationship with Jiang Xianbang. However, after working here for a period of time, he realized that it was almost impossible to keep a low profile because the others would try to find faults with him.
Qin Sheng finally came to realization that there was no need for him to be exceptionally polite with there people. He needed to teach them a lesson if need be.
Yu Fengzhi was a scheming woman with selfish ambition, and not everyone was able to control her. If he did not how her his strength first, she would create more trouble for him later on. As for Wang Haichao, Qin Sheng could not be too bothered about him. After all, it was easier to guard against the obvious attacks than ambushes.
After Qin Sheng left the room, Yu Fengzhi took sometime to recover from the unexpected development of event. What an insolent man Qin Sheng was, she thought she had really underestimated him. She had thought him to be some regular guy, but now she did not know what to make of him. She had begun to ponder how she should treat him and secretly wished that Wang Haichao would continue to target Qin Sheng.
"You bastard, Qin Sheng!" Yu Fengzhi cried, stamping her feet. The more Yu Fengzhi thought about how he had humiliated her, the more furious she became.
Most of the working class normally work from 9am to 5pm. Youngsters loved night life. They would either be eating sumptuous meals or drinking at the bar to destress or indulge in enjoyment. However, Qin Sheng was more like a old man of 50 or 60 years old, leading a dull life. He had intended to gradually ease into Shanghai’s pace of life and adapt to the life in this city. After all, the last two years had been a tough and trying experience and by now, he felt that he did not fit in here.
Three days in a row, Qin Sheng would work in the day and after he finished work in the evening, he would go to that ordinary bookshop to browse the books there. Occasionally, he would pick one to two books to bring home. The prices of books there was unexpectedly cheap, and in addition, he got two cups of water for free. He had become a frequent patron to the bookshop and grew familiar with the shopkeepers. One of whom was Xiaole, whom Qin Sheng would chat with and sometime go to the gym together. He would stay there until 9pm before heading home. Sometimes, Chang Baji and Hao Lei arrived home earlier than him; other times, they were late if Han Bing had to entertain or attend gatherings. Qin Sheng would just be reading books and news and accumulate whatever information he came across and store the knowledge systematically in his brain.
Although this kind of lifestyle may seem dull and monotonous, Qin Sheng found it very fulfilling. He had also passed the the matter regarding Xue Hao onto Chang Baji and Hao Lei to settle. Both Chang Baji and Hao Lei found it amusing and thought it was easy-peasy for them to settle these few high school students. In fact, they had resolved the issue the night before.
The three high school students were first kidnapped and taken to a secluded place in the outskirts of the city. They were left on the beach for an hour with their eyes and mouth covered, then they were beaten up and given the warning not to mess with Xue Hao. It was told to them that they could not afford to mess with Xue Hao, that this was just an attempt to teach them a lesson. If they were to offend Xue Hao again, they would get in trouble. They were also instructed to find out Xue Hao’s family background if in doubt.
These high school students were merely fooling around even if they usually got into fights, which was to say that they had never come across such experience as being kidnapped and beaten up. They were completely terrified and traumatized that one of them even peed
At noon the next day, Qin Sheng received a call from Xue Hao when he was eating at Shangshan Ruoshui’s canteen. Sounding excited, Xue Hao said, "When did you do that?"
"You don’t need to know when, just tell me, was it effective?" Qin Sheng replied while munching his food.
Xue Hao was obviously amused. He laughed and said, "Effective? It was beyond effective. When they saw me today, it was as if I were a ghost. When I glared at them, they walked up to me and apologized to me, saying they would never dare to do it to me again. So I took the opportunity to tell them that it’s good to keep a low profile, so people would be in awe afterwards. What do you think of what I say?"
"I’ll give you 99%. I’m afraid giving you a perfect score would make you proud and complacent."
This made Xue Hao beam with pride. After he recovered, Xue Hao said, "There’s something I want to consult you on. Are you free this evening?"
"Why? Are you treating me to dinner?" Qin Sheng said casually.
Xue Hao quickly explained, "It’s not me, but my aunt. She wanted to treat you to dinner at her house and she’s going to personally cook for you. You are one lucky guy! All thanks to me, because there are not many people in Shanghai who had tasted my aunt’s cooking. See, I have not short changed you. While you help me resolve my problem, I’ll help you pursue my aunt."
Qin Sheng’s face fell. He wondered how Ms Cheongsam would think about her nephew betraying her in this manner.
"Why are you treating me so nicely all of a sudden. Something’s fishy. I’m not going," Qin Sheng had not seen Ms Cheongsam for some days. He did miss her charm subconsciously.
Hearing this, Xue Hao started to panic and cried, "Qin Sheng, stop playing hard to get. There are many who wished they could try my aunt’s cooking but never got a chance. What is fishy about it? My aunt heard that we are in rather good terms and you helped me out the other time. She felt bad about misunderstanding you so she invited you for dinner. Don’t you read too much into it!"
"Really?" Qin Sheng asked with a little interest.
Cursing, Xue Hao said, "Why should I lie to you? If you choose not to come, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance!"
"Come, what’s the address and what time?" Qin Sheng said calmly, as he stopped teasing Xue Hao.
"Six o’clock in the evening at Green City Huangpu Bay. Give me a call when you arrive and I will come out to fetch you."
Qin Sheng thought Green City Huangpu Bay sounded really familiar. After searching it up on the map, he realized that it was literally located opposite Huarun Nine Mile Bund, where Han Bing lived. It was no wonder that the name rang a bell. It was obviously a rich man’s area and this went to show that Ms Cheongsam was indeed a rich lady.
In the afternoon, Xu Lancheng came to Qin Sheng to inform him that Director Jiang was looking for him. Qin Sheng was not allowed to carry hand-phones at work, which was why Jiang Xianbang had to contact him through Xu Lancheng.
It was in Xu Lancheng’s office that Qin Sheng managed to speak to Jiang Xianbang on the phone. Jiang Xianbang had returned to Shanghai and would like to meet Qin Sheng today to discuss the matter they talked about the last time they met.
What matter?
It was regarding Chang Baji wanting to meet Jiang Xianbang before deciding whether to come to Shangshan Ruoshui to work as the security manager. Since Jiang Xianbang arrived at Shanghai today, he decided it was a good time to meet up with Chang Baji as he was really curious about him.
Eventually, he instructed Qin Sheng to bring Chang Baji to his villa to meet him.
After hanging up the call, Qin Sheng said told Xu Lancheng that Jiang Xianbang wanted him over, so he had to take leave straight away.
"Qin Sheng, you don’t need to be so polite when there’s just the two of us. Just call me Uncle Xu," Xu Lancheng said while he patted Qin Sheng on his shoulders and continued, "Go ahead. I’ll let Ms. An know that I’m sending you out to run some errands."
"Thank you, Uncle Xu," said Qin Sheng with a smile, then he proceeded to leave.
As he left Shangshan Ruoshui, Qin Sheng quickly made a call to Chang Baji to inform him that Jiang Xianbang had returned to Shanghai and would like to meet him now. Fortunately, Chang Baji was not engaged in any other business and was free at this time. Qin Sheng took a taxi to pick up Chang Baji and headed to Jiang Xianbang’s villa.
Initially, Jiang Xianbang had planned for his chauffeur to take over as Shangshan Ruoshui’s security manager. However, he eventually changed his mind because not only was he an experienced driver, he was also in charge of the security of his villa.
Not only had Qin Sheng become a regular visitor in this house, Jiang Xianbang had also told him to come by any time and to treat place as his own. Therefore the guards of the villa readily let him in.
When Qin Sheng entered the villa, Jiang Xianbang was not in the living room. Instead, he was in the second floor room where he kept his collections, where he was wiping and polishing his vessels. When the steward of the house came to inform him of Qin Sheng and Chang Baji’s arrival, Jiang Xianbang asked that they be brought to him the room where his kept his collections.
The moment Chang Baji stepped into Jiang Xianbang’s luxurious villa, he knew immediately that he must be a meticulous man. This had stirred up Chang Baji’s curiosity towards this man.
Qin Sheng entered the room to find Jiang Xianbang looking at the patterns on a vase through a magnifying glass. He straight away teased him by saying, "What is the crazy rich Mr Jiang doing with your antiques, having so much time in your hand?"
Upon hearing Qin Sheng’s voice, Jiang Xianbang put down the magnifying glass, turned around and glared at Qin Sheng, saying, "You are getting more audacious."
"This must be Old Chang," Jiang Xianbang averted his eyes from Qin Sheng and rested them on Chang Baji. Although he had seen a photograph of Chang Baji, this was the first time he came face to face with him. Jiang Xianbang had a way with judging people based on their looks, so he had the habit of sizing a person up when he first met him. He could tell from Chang Baji’s appearance that luck was not on his side.
On the other hand, Chang Baji merely greeted Jiang Xianbang with a smile and a nod, instead using any words of greetings.
"Qin Sheng, Qing’er’s car has been sent for servicing and it’s difficult for her to hire a taxi. Would you pick her up from her music academy? You can get her contact from the steward," Jiang Xianbang instructed. Apart from making time to be alone with Chang Baji so they could have a good talk, Jiang Xianbang had also meant for Qin Sheng to spend more time with Qing’er. It was his wish that whenever he was not around, Qin Sheng could take care of her on his behalf lest she be taken advantage by others.
Qin Sheng was aware of this intention and he quickly took his leave to give those two man some space. Qin Sheng had always known that Chang Baji possessed a strong character, however, he always tried to keep a low profile in Qin Sheng’s presence. Finally when he came here today, Qin Sheng could instantly feel the difference in Chang Baji. He had met a powerful rival, who was Jiang Xianbang.
Would there be sparks that come forth, given these two had found their counterparts…