Chapter 49: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – What Lovers?
Dong Ling didn’t know that Song Mingzhi went specifically to provoke someone. She had figured out the background of Zhu Shini’s backer and was considering a feasible plan.
The person behind Zhu Shini was Zhao Song, CEO of the Zhao family. The Zhao family’s main business was in entertainment, with some involvement in other areas, not a behemoth, but still considerably wealthy.
In the original novel, Wen Han directly attacked the Zhao family’s business, pushing Zhao Song to the brink of desperation under constant pressure.
But Dong Ling couldn’t do that, simply put, she was too poor.
Wen Han didn’t need crowdfunding to promote someone, he had much more money than her.
Dong Ling could ask her parents and brother for help, but this was her own business, she didn’t want to involve her family.
021 only unlocked the plot outline for her, not the details, but Dong Ling still managed to figure out the Zhao family’s situation through investigation and found a point of entry.
Zhao Song had four children, one daughter and three sons. It was worth mentioning that except for the daughter, who was born to his first wife, the other three sons were born to mistresses, each with a different mother.
This daughter, Zhao Yudong, was Dong Ling’s entry point.
The competition within the Zhao family was fierce, the illegitimate sons fighting intensely, while Zhao Yudong, the legitimate daughter, was the one abandoned by Zhao Song.
Years ago, Zhao Song wanted to use Zhao Yudong as a bargaining chip for a marriage alliance. Under Zhao Yudong’s strong objection and the pressure from his wife, Zhao Song dropped the matter, but he still didn’t give his daughter any real power. The three illegitimate sons were all in management positions, while Zhao Yudong could only be a minor supervisor.
Zhao Yudong wasn’t reconciled to this. According to Dong Ling’s investigation, she had formed an alliance with one of her brothers, offering him support.
But Dong Ling wondered if Zhao Yudong was truly content with this. Compared to helping one of her illegitimate half-brothers, she should want to take the top position herself.
Inviting Zhao Yudong to a meeting wasn’t difficult, she readily agreed upon hearing her name.
Dong Ling chose a secluded club and saw Zhao Yudong enter.
Zhao Yudong was thirty years old this year, but looked younger than her actual age. She was wearing a smart business suit, looking very capable.
“Hello, CEO Dong.”
Zhao Yudong greeted her cheerfully, choosing some familiar topics for small talk.
It was their first meeting, but she managed to quickly close the distance between them.
Listening to Zhao Yudong talk about things she was interested in, Dong Ling knew Zhao Yudong had also investigated her, it was a fair exchange.
Dong Ling came with a purpose, and after some probing and exchanging of information, she stopped beating around the bush.
“Mr. Zhao has great ambitions, wouldn’t it be better to take the top position yourself instead of helping someone else?”
Zhao Yudong said with feigned helplessness: “Since we get along so well, I won’t hide it from you, but some positions aren’t so easy to take.”
Dong Ling rested her chin on her hand and said jokingly: “What if the obstacle disappeared?”
Zhao Yudong was truly shocked this time, and said: “Although he helped that thing snatch your artist’s resources, it’s not necessary to…”
Zhao Yudong thought, appearances could be deceiving, she didn’t expect this young CEO Xiao Dong to have such ruthless thoughts, her father snatched her artist’s resources, and she wanted to destroy him, wasn’t that a bit much?
She would rather her father just die, although the illegitimate sons also had inheritance rights now, as long as there was no will in the way, the shares she and her mother held combined could give her the upper hand.
Dong Ling almost choked on her own saliva and waved her hand at Zhao Yudong.
“Law-abiding citizen here, I’m just saying, make him make a major mistake in his decision-making, forcing him to resign, his personal biases are in the way, it’s hard for you to overcome that.”
Dong Ling guessed that Zhao Yudong had probably cursed her father to death a thousand times in her mind, otherwise she wouldn’t have misunderstood so readily.
Did she have a murderous look on her face, or did she see through her “vicious female supporting character” nature at a glance?
Zhao Yudong’s eyes lit up: “I would be very grateful for that, CEO Dong, please elaborate.”
Dong Ling revealed part of her plan, the original novel’s outline was somewhat useful at this time, at least it mentioned the project Wen Han used to set Zhao Song up. Dong Ling had already made inquiries, if Zhao Song fell for it again this time, the losses would be immense.
They talked in the private room for an hour, and when they left, Zhao Yudong was already treating her like a close sister.
Zhao Yudong could already picture the day of her victory, the corners of her lips curving upwards, sighing inwardly that Dong Ling was truly ruthless, a true example of “A beauty’s wrath can topple empires.”
She thought gleefully, her father was so obsessed with women, it would be hilarious if he really fell because of this.
In the corridor, Dong Ling wasn’t planning to leave with Zhao Yudong, she said goodbye to her, but then saw He Diesheng coming out of another private room.
He Diesheng looked surprised to see them and greeted them with a smile: “What a coincidence, running into you both here, I didn’t know you knew each other.”
Zhao Yudong was slightly surprised: “Huh, Diesheng, you know each other too?”
“Of course, A Ling is a childhood friend, we’re very close.” He Diesheng said with feigned reproach, “If I had known you were next door, I would have come over for a toast. It’s just that my dinner party ended before yours, what a coincidence.”
“Since we all know each other, we’re all sisters, we can always get together again next time, my treat, let’s go play golf.”
Zhao Yudong beamed, and Dong Ling didn’t refuse, nodding in agreement.
“Definitely, Sister Dong, if it’s inconvenient for you to meet next time, I can arrange it.”
He Diesheng’s words were very suggestive, the two of them exchanged glances, understanding each other’s unspoken intentions.
“Okay, then I’ll be going, goodbye.”
Zhao Yudong’s smile deepened, waving at Dong Ling and He Diesheng.
Dong Ling watched her leave, then looked at He Diesheng’s expression and sighed inwardly, He Diesheng hadn’t been back for long, how did she know everyone? And judging from Zhao Yudong’s attitude, their relationship was definitely not superficial. Dong Ling had reason to suspect that He Diesheng also played a role in Zhao Yudong’s plan to seize power.
This woman was a venomous spider, always able to find her prey by following the scent and taking advantage of the situation.
“You really like meddling in other people’s business, your reach is quite extensive.”
A sarcastic voice rang out in the corridor, this tone definitely didn’t belong to He Diesheng.
Dong Ling turned her head and saw Xuan Du’s distinctive hair, she was leaning against the doorframe of another private room, a mocking look on her face.
What a coincidence, there were only three private rooms on this floor, she and Zhao Yudong were in one, He Diesheng was meeting someone in another, and Xuan Du, it seemed, had followed He Diesheng here.
He Diesheng’s eyes turned cold, but she said with a smile: “A Du, are you still a child who hasn’t been weaned? Why do you like following me so much?”
Xuan Du’s expression was as if she had swallowed a fly: “Tsk, I’m watching to see what tricks you’re up to, stop calling me that, it’s disgusting!”
“How is that disgusting? Aren’t we sisters? If you keep talking like that, Mom will be sad, don’t make things difficult for her.”
Xuan Du heard the threat in her words and was furious. He Diesheng acted all innocent in front of her father, and her father actually lectured her mother for this bitch, saying that she was also part of the family, his daughter, and so on, then gave her mother the cold shoulder and grounded her.
Her mother advised her to appease He Diesheng for a while, but she felt disgusted just looking at He Diesheng’s face. She could usually pretend, but she couldn’t do it in front of He Diesheng. He Diesheng kept calling her “little sister,” she used to call her that while stepping on her stomach and forcing her to eat food she hated, wanting her to call He Diesheng “older sister,” absolutely impossible!
“You’re worthy of calling her Mom?”
“Don’t you also call my mom ‘Mom’? You even have her surname, isn’t it normal for me to call your mom ‘Mom’?”
Seeing Xuan Du’s angry face, He Diesheng laughed heartily.
Xuan Du’s face darkened: “Normal? If you like calling people ‘Mom’ so much, go to the underworld and call your mom, your mom is already dead, when will you join her?”
He Diesheng shrugged: “Sorry, I probably won’t die before you, please go down there first and fulfill your filial duty for me when the time comes.”
The two sisters’ back-and-forth wasn’t limited to verbal attacks, escalating to personal curses. Dong Ling wasn’t surprised, Xuan Du wished for He Diesheng to die when she was young, and when He Diesheng’s mother passed away, He Diesheng also wished for Xuan Du to die, they could come up with ten different ways to curse each other, leaving Dong Ling traumatized.
Their feud was different from the bickering between Chen Shang Shang and Tang Qianxi, it was filled with malice.
She didn’t want to get involved at all and turned to leave.
“Where are you running off to? Let’s go together, I’ll walk you out.”
Xuan Du’s attention was drawn to Dong Ling, she didn’t want to argue with He Diesheng anymore, afraid she would lose control and get physical.
The last time she resorted to violence, she was grounded, He Diesheng was a lunatic, how could she possibly win against her?
“A Ling might not be willing, she has someone picking her up, that Miss Song should be here soon.”
After speaking, He Diesheng looked at Dong Ling and smiled: “Right, A Ling?”
Dong Ling almost stumbled, why drag Song Mingzhi into this?!
Xuan Du sneered: “Do you live under their bed? You seem to know everything.”
“I’m worried you’ll cause a misunderstanding between the lovers, after all, you’ve always liked clinging to A Ling since you were young, if there’s a misunderstanding, it would trouble A Ling.”
He Diesheng’s expression was full of concern for others, but her words made both Dong Ling and Xuan Du’s hair stand on end.
Xuan Du looked disgusted: “Stop being so disgusting, who the hell likes her?”
Dong Ling also felt a wave of disgust, He Diesheng’s words were straight out of a horror movie.
But… when did she and Song Mingzhi become lovers?!
It was fine for Xuan Du to misunderstand, after all, she had never met Song Mingzhi, and she had also made those wild claims before, but what was He Diesheng talking about?
“You two continue arguing, don’t mind me, I’ll be going now, goodbye.”
Dong Ling left after saying this, her high heels clicking on the stairs.
“I said I’ll walk you out, let her misunderstand, if she breaks up with you because of such a small thing, then it seems your trust isn’t that strong, such a woman isn’t worth it, just find another one to play with.”
Xuan Du caught up and said, she was rebellious by nature, the more others tried to stop her, the more she wanted to do it.
Dong Ling was so angry she laughed, she was speechless, not knowing where to start.
They had already broken up, even become enemies, how could Xuan Du be so shameless, acting like nothing happened, as if she hadn’t hurt her, even pretending to be concerned about her, thank you very much.
And her relationship with Song Mingzhi… forget it, let them misunderstand, it couldn’t be explained.
It didn’t matter if Xuan Du misunderstood, and… it didn’t matter if He Diesheng misunderstood either, it wasn’t like everyone misunderstood.
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