yournovel Chapter 168 One Chance
Chapter 168 One Chance
Lu Ran was stunned after hearing this.
He had considered that he might have offended Cheng Ning in some way, but no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't think of anything that could be related to dislike!
Indeed, dating is not something just anyone can do.
My girlfriend's mood is so unpredictable, even a god couldn't guess it.
"God, no, System, Brother System, please give me the ability to read minds! I can't hold on much longer, how do I appease you?"
Lu Ran cried out in his heart.
【! ! ! 】
"What does this mean?"
The system displayed three exclamation marks and then went silent, leaving Lu Ran at a loss.
So he had to rely on himself.
He pulled his aggrieved girlfriend into his arms: "You're so beautiful, so gentle, so cute, so well-behaved, how could I possibly dislike you!"
"I didn't say anything to you about reading, I was just joking with you."
Cheng Ning looked up at him: "You really think I'm pretty? No, I don't think I've gotten old."
Lu Ran chuckled, "What kind of conclusion is that? When did I ever say you weren't pretty, let alone that you were old!"
"So, your sudden request for me to take care of myself means you think I'm not pretty enough!"
"I'm almost 26, so I can't compare to a girl in her early twenties like Liu Nini. My skin is definitely getting worse and worse. You noticed that, so it's normal for me to take care of it."
Cheng Ning pouted as she said these things.
Yesterday's scene instantly replayed clearly in Lu Ran's mind:
"Cheng Ning".
"Um."
"Why don't you buy some skincare products to take care of your skin? With your natural skin type, if you take good care of it, you'll definitely look younger and younger. Of course, I'm not saying your skin is bad. Even young girls like Liu Nini do skincare. That's what all girls do!"
Yesterday, he felt there was no problem, and he even made a special explanation, saying that he didn't mean Cheng Ning's skin was bad.
But now that he thinks about it, Lu Ran wants to slap himself.
If you want Cheng Ning to do the maintenance, then do the maintenance. Why did you have to use Liu Nini as an example? Now look what's happened. Your girlfriend has been holding a grudge all night, and you don't know how much resentment she has right now.
"I swear to God, that's not what I meant at all."
"Hmm." Cheng Ning hummed in agreement, seemingly believing it, but in reality, she didn't believe it at all.
If your boyfriend suddenly asks you to take care of your skin without any warning, anyone would think he's disliking you.
Cheng Ning felt wronged yesterday, but she didn't show it. Instead, she immediately went out and bought a set of skincare products. This morning, after exercising, she started taking care of her skin.
She wasn't angry, she was afraid.
Lu Ran didn't say anything; she hadn't realized that she would get old and her skin would deteriorate one day. She used to only focus on her figure and had forgotten that skin was also very important.
"Don't just 'hmm,' I'm telling you the truth. The reason I suddenly told you to take care of your skin isn't because I dislike you, but rather, how should I put it! In short, it's not what you think."
Cheng Ning looked at him and said, "I believe you."
Although Cheng Ning kept saying she believed him, Lu Ran still felt that the girl didn't really believe him.
Lu Ran was still unable to explain himself until after breakfast when Hu Wen came to pick Cheng Ning up for work.
After feeling down for a while, Lu Ran's phone rang.
It was Qi Ji, the vice president of Kemin Electronics, who called.
Qi Ji and Liu Nini have been embroiled in a lawsuit for the past few days, and now the result is in.
Since no actual damage was caused to the factory, the situation was similar to Lu Ran's guess. The focus was on Zhang Weijun and He Xiaojia, and it had nothing to do with the chairman of Xinghe Electric.
The other party had prepared ample contingency plans, clearly indicating that they had anticipated this situation.
"President Lu, I think it's best if we don't provoke Xinghe Electric. The gap between us is too big; we can't afford to mess with them."
Qi Ji's advice was not a sign of weakness, but rather a pragmatic approach.
Kemin Electronics and Xinghe Electric are not in the same league. If they were to go head-to-head, it would be an extremely unreasonable choice for Kemin Electronics given its current situation.
Moreover, the two companies don't actually have much competition in the market, so backing down is the best option to ensure their safe development.
"Vice President Qi may not know that the younger brother of the chairman of Xinghe Electric is the boss of Chengjiang Shenghui Electronics. It has nothing to do with whether you provoke him or not, because others have long regarded us as their absolute competitors."
"Ah! No wonder. That explains why Xinghe Electric suddenly targeted our factory. Mr. Lu, what should we do next?"
"Go back to the company and do what you were doing. I'll let you know later."
"Yes, Mr. Lu."
Lu Ran also learned Liu Shenghui's true identity from Tan Baolong.
When he first found out, he didn't know whether it was a coincidence or a deliberate scheme by the other party.
But whether it's a coincidence or not, if he wants to continue developing in Chengjiang, he will inevitably have to compete with the Liu family, and the Liu family must have seen the contradictions in this.
Lu Ran sat on the sofa and thought for ten minutes.
He then picked up his phone and dialed Tan Baolong's number: "Hey, Lao Tan."
"Mr. Lu, is there anything I can help you with?"
How much do you know about Galaxy Electric Appliances?
"This... Mr. Lu, I'm a little taken aback by your sudden question and don't know how to answer it."
Lu Ran thought for a moment: "For example, within Xinghe Electric, are there people who have conflicts with the Liu family and hold a certain position? It doesn't matter if they don't have much position, as long as they work in Xinghe Electric and own shares."
"If you ask me that, Mr. Lu, it seems there really is such a thing."
"Gu Haiming, the vice president of Xinghe Electric, was one of the people who helped Chairman Liu Xiangming build the company. Later, in order to consolidate their family's industrial chain, the Liu family gradually diluted the power and shares of this company veteran, making Gu Haiming a marginal figure who had a position but not much real power or shares."
"Although Xinghe Electric gave Gu Haiming a high salary for retirement, I could clearly hear his dissatisfaction and resentment in his words."
Lu Ran was somewhat surprised: "You know these secrets? And judging from your tone, you know this Gu Haiming?"
"Haha, Mr. Lu, although I didn't do very well in the past, I was still quite popular with some customers because of my eloquence."
"Qianhai Hotel is the only five-star hotel in Chengjiang. Someone of Gu Haiming's stature would definitely come to a high-end hotel to drown his sorrows after a setback in his career. So I had the opportunity to host President Gu once by chance."
"After getting to know each other a bit, we can have a drink together and I can ask you about some things."
"And I especially enjoy chatting with people in this circle and asking about their stories, just so that, well, hehe, I can one day have the opportunity to transcend social classes."
"Of course! Now that I've met you, Mr. Lu, I've already crossed a class line. I never dared to dream of becoming the top management of Qianhai Hotel before."
Lu Ran laughed and said, "You don't need to pledge your loyalty to me. Just do a good job, and I'll reward you handsomely."
"Here's what you'd like, could you spare some time to try and arrange for Gu Haiming to come to the hotel so I can meet him?"
Although Lu Ran owns 3% of Xinghe Electric's shares, he has certain rights to know and make decisions about Xinghe Electric. He also has the opportunity to use underhanded tactics to sabotage Xinghe Electric when necessary.
However, doing so carries the risk of breaking the law. As a shareholder, you have a duty of loyalty to the company, and intentionally harming the company's interests is illegal.
If they actually do that, it might not have much impact on Xinghe Electric Appliances; others could even sue them.
They might even use this as a pretext to hold a shareholders' meeting and forcibly remove him from the list, which would be a losing proposition.
The reason Liu Xiangming knew that Lu Ran had bought shares but hadn't taken any action against him was because Lu Ran hadn't used his shareholder rights yet, so even if Liu Xiangming wanted to remove him from the company, he wouldn't have a pretext.
Therefore, Lu Ran only has one chance to use this 3% stake, and he must use it wisely.