Chapter 115: Public Enemy Number One

Ling Hanyu wore a cold expression, his gaze icy and stern: “No problem—your face looks terrible. Let me take a look.”

The documents were undoubtedly in order; it was just that Ling Hanyu hadn’t expected Qin Group to be partnering with them on this very piece of land.

Back then, Ling Hanyu had never been interested in it.

But since the two companies were collaborating and intertwined, it had nothing to do with their personal grudges.

As long as the partnership was profitable, there was still reason to keep it.

Ling Hanyu took the documents, his face as grim as ever—scarily so.

This woman was doing it on purpose.

Was she trying to humiliate him?

“As far as I know, there’s a welfare institution on this plot of land, but according to what’s shown here, they’re planning to evict them. If they’re evicted, many people will be left homeless—two large welfare institutions, at least three hundred people. If they’re forced out, there simply won’t be anyone to take them in for a while,” Song Qingtian said, looking at Ling Hanyu, still voicing her concerns.

Ling Hanyu’s hand paused for a moment, then he looked at Song Qingtian: “You want to protect those two welfare institutions?”

“Mr. Ling, these two welfare institutions aren’t exactly profitable, and their location is quite inconvenient for the project we’re developing. If we leave them in place, it’ll clearly result in irreversible losses for our development project,” said someone from the Development Department before Song Qingtian could even open her mouth.

The Development Department Project Manager had a sharp eye and had made outstanding contributions to the company, so when it came to development projects, if he said “two,” almost no one dared say “one.”

And with Ling Hanyu, nothing mattered more than principle.

Once he spoke, not even the emperor himself would have a chance to argue back.

Ling Hanyu glanced at the Development Department Project Manager, then remained indifferent and didn’t respond.

But the Development Department Project Manager wasn’t done yet—he went on: “Our collaboration with Qin Group may not be the first time, but it’s very likely to be the last. We’ve been working on this project for years, ever since my father’s time. It took countless rounds of planning and adjustments before we finally settled on it. If we don’t get the welfare institutions moved out, it’s like we’ve worked for nothing—we might make some money, but we absolutely can’t afford to damage our reputation.”

The Development Department Project Manager seemed to have a personal vendetta against Song Qingtian, which left her utterly baffled.

She hadn’t even opened her mouth yet, and he’d already said everything for her.

“It’s your turn now!”

Just as Song Qingtian was feeling discouraged and wondering how to respond, Ling Hanyu tossed the difficult question right at her.

Song Qingtian looked up at Ling Hanyu and asked, “Do you really think I’m useful?”

First, she had no authority; second, she could tell this person was of high rank and status.

If he weren’t, given Ling Hanyu’s temper, the other party wouldn’t dare be so brazen.

So…

“I’m just curious—nothing else,” Song Qingtian said, softening her tone.

Her admission instantly froze the atmosphere in the conference room. It was as if no one had yielded at all: even Song Qingtian, who was often labeled a “clumsy” or “ineffective” figure, was backing down.

But soon everyone realized: without their parents’ protection, they couldn’t act so arrogantly anymore!

Some people suddenly started looking down on her for no apparent reason.

Song Qingtian certainly felt the disdain directed at the original female supporting character.

But when she thought about it carefully, she couldn’t recall the original female supporting character ever having caused trouble at Ling Hanyu’s company.

The outline she’d summarized was far too brief.

Many details were hazy and unclear.

After being married for several years, it would be hard to believe the original female supporting character had never set foot in Ling Hanyu’s company.

Yet she couldn’t remember anything, couldn’t find even the slightest clue.

The only thing she could rely on was the prejudice and hostility the company staff held toward her.

Take this man, for example: young and undisciplined, his targeted attacks against her were downright serious.

In other words, she was effectively the number-one public enemy of the entire company.

There was no doubt she’d been here—whether she’d actually come or not, she must have crossed paths with someone somewhere.

Ling Hanyu didn’t give up right away; instead, he asked again: “If you really have no ulterior motives, why say so much?”

“I know—I was just speaking off the cuff.”

Now that Song Qingtian had decided to let it go, there was no point in interfering any further.

Even if she did try, it would be useless: after all, people who risked their lives to save others can still turn their backs—what else couldn’t happen?

When you’re unlucky, it’s best to do nothing at all; otherwise, things will only get worse.

Once you reach a certain level of bad luck, it will gradually start to improve.

For someone like Song Qingtian, who grew up in adversity from a young age, many things are hard to accept, and she hasn’t learned to embrace helplessness.

She died long ago, in that bleak autumn of parting.

End of Chapter 115: Public Enemy Number One