Chapter 444: A bundle of twine

Little Xiang Ning came knocking on his bedroom door early in the morning.

"Are you awake, Xu Tingsheng? I've made you breakfast. Also, are you really okay?"

There was a plate in her hand and a glass of milk. The egg was also fried much better than it had been the last time.

When Xu Tingsheng had been out yesterday, she had heard from her classmates about what had happened to Weibo and Weixin. In their words: Xu Tingsheng's lost terribly, and a couple million people are scolding him too.

Because of that, Little Xiang Ning had been very well-behaved yesterday as she had helped wash the dishes, gone to study herself and returned to her room to sleep. Then, early in the morning, she had woken up and made him breakfast. The twenty-three year old Miss Xiang never once did that before in his previous life.

Xu Tingsheng stroked her head and said, "It's nothing. It's just the fans of those celebrities. They think their idols have been bullied, and so it's only natural that they're easily agitated."

"Is it really okay? What about Weixin?"

"It's really okay. Weixin? We can just lose one at most. We can simply win again next time."

"Right. We could open a restaurant too!"

Xu Tingsheng smiled, "Alright, let's have breakfast first."

After breakfast and heaping praises on Xiang Ning, Xu Tingsheng pulled her to the computer and said, "I have to go out in the morning. Be good and stay at home. Don't you look at Weibo, and don't you look up news on me and Weibo. Just play games and take a nap if you're tired. I'll be back to cook lunch."

"Okay. This...what game is this?"

"Three Kingdoms Kill. Come, I'll teach you a little. You can play with the computer first, and when you've gotten good at it, you can play it with your classmates and friends on Weibo and Weixin next time. This game can be played by many people at once. Still, you can't get addicted to it! It's very time-consuming."

As compared to Happy Farm in which one could simply plant some crops and steal some crops before taking a break, Three Kingdoms Kill was really very time-consuming. Game after game would pass, and one would easily get addicted to it. So, they would be unable to just log onto Weixin for a short time.

A single game could, of course, not help Weixin to reverse the tides of the war. Still, it would definitely be able to deplete their opponent's online activity levels somewhat. Therefore, this was what they would do. Really, the sole question was how great Tencent's determination was...

In any case, from start to end, Xu Tingsheng had never thought he might be able to win.

......

Lu Zhixin was late for work.

She had slept very late the previous night. In that room where he had once stayed, she had sat on the floorboards and consumed two bottles of red wine. Still, she had found it very difficult to fall asleep even then...in some matters, one would lose their rationality as soon as stubborn notions came into being. This was true regardless of how rational the person usually was.

All her plans, every single step, were actually established upon a single foundation: Xu Tingsheng trusted her.

She was overcome by a profound sense of sorrow just thinking about it: How had things become like this between the two of them?

Since when had trust become a weapon?

A knock on the door resounded.

"Boss Lu, are you there?" This was the voice of Lu Zhixin's assistant.

"Yes."

The girl entered her office and said, "Boss Lu, Boss Xu is here. He's in his office, and he's looking for you."

"...Boss Lu."

"Yes, I got it. I'll be there right away. You go out first then."

It had already been a very long time since Xu Tingsheng had last come to work.

It had been even longer since he had last looked for her, communication via phone aside.

"He's come to ask for help? In the monetary sense?"

"Or is he looking to discuss measures with me?"

"I..."

Xu Tingsheng and Lu Zhixin sat across from each other in his office. This kind of situation was actually very rare, because it was too formal. Xu Tingsheng always habitually made everything not so formal, besides during Hucheng's meetings. Afraid that he would greatly wreck propriety,

Lu Zhixin would always give him constant reminders about this.

"Have some water," Xu Tingsheng poured a glass of water and set it in front of Lu Zhixin.

"When was the last time I paid attention to Hucheng's affairs?" He said, "Thank goodness you're here."

Lu Zhixin glanced at Xu Tingsheng.

"The reason you're looking for me..." She trailed off.

Xu Tingsheng retrieved a document and placed it on the table.

"This is a share transfer agreement. Take a look at it. If you find that everything's in order, sign it. I've already gone ahead and signed it first," He said.

Lu Zhixin was left somewhat dazed. Next, she spied the following:

Xu Tingsheng, unconditional, 7%, Lu Zhixin.

"You..."

Xu Tingsheng wanted to unconditionally transfer 7% of his shares to Lu Zhixin. This meant that Lu Zhixin would become Hucheng's biggest shareholder.

"Sign it! It's actually the same, really. The two of us combined still hold a majority of the shares. Hucheng is really under your management rather than mine. You've done much more than me for Hucheng to be how it is today. Going into the future, I'd like to leave Hucheng in your care..."

"But in that case, I along with Tianyi would also hold an absolute majority of the shares," Lu Zhixin argued, an unknown fire rising within her.

She felt that her words were already clear enough. Could Xu Tingsheng truly have failed to consider this problem?

Or was it that he clearly knew of it, thus having deliberately chosen 7% to prove his stance?

"How would Tianyi support you as much as I do?" Xu Tingsheng smiled cheerfully, "Right, in order to prevent Tianyi from capitalising on it, I've already replaced all those funds that I previously diverted away. Just so you know, that matter's already been taken care of."

"You did? Where did you get the funds from? Your Xingchen..."

"I sold 10% of my shares to a friend of mine. He's a mine owner in Shanxi. He's surnamed Jin, and he's a very interesting fella. Still, you can rest assured. His portion of the shares is presently still under my control. Based on our agreement, there will be a five year buffer period. We still hold an absolute majority of shares. Also, I trust that Hucheng's middle and higher echelon employees who hold shares will all support you too."

"..."

Lu Zhixin realised now where that inexplicable, so very vexing sensation came from. It was the feeling of having missed the mark and been thoroughly thwarted.

Like a bundle of twine, Lu Zhixin had been working towards this for a long time, having resolved herself countless times and steeled herself to act ruthlessly. Her greatest goal was to cause Xu Tingsheng pain, because from the standpoint of her environment and values, that was something which no one could conceivably bear to part with without a struggle...

And yet, in the end, she discovered that he really cared not about it at all.

All she had done having been for naught, she felt immensely hollow.

The problem was that he was not retaliating, or counterattacking.

While neither of the two had openly said it, with all that had been said, they actually both knew full well all that was going on. So, after eliminating the crisis, Xu Tingsheng would be fully justified in and was completely capable of retaliating against Lu Zhixin, this scheming, backstabbing woman...

Yet, he had not done so.

He had even decided to unconditionally transfer some of his shares to her, completing at least the first step of her plan.

All this would actually make sense if he loved her. Yet, Lu Zhixin could not fool herself. Xu Tingsheng did not love her. If there was anything, it was just a lingering sense of tenderness.

They were not the same kind of person. Therefore, Lu Zhixin was simply unable to comprehend Xu Tingsheng.

"You don't care about Hucheng at all," Lu Zhixin seemed like she had been wronged as she appeared slightly hysterical, "Actually, you may not even care so much about Xingchen Technologies, right? In that case, what exactly do you care about? Xu Tingsheng."

"Actually, I do care about it. Such as Hucheng. I'll feel safe with it in your hands. Be it from a past or future perspective, I believe that there is nothing wrong with this decision at all. If it is Tianyi, though, I'd definitely never allow them to take control of Hucheng."

Lu Zhixin was actually unable to fully comprehend this ease of mind that Xu Tingsheng spoke of.

"But, I still don't understand..." With her diametrically different worldview, Lu Zhixin asked, "Xu Tingsheng, I don't understand...This is something that countless people will compete and bleed for, you know? Be it family, friends, lovers, it can all turn into enmity in the blink of an eye, you know? ...Why is it, why is it that you can treat all of this so lightly..."

Xu Tingsheng hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "Just take it that I'm lacking in my drive for success, or that I'm simply too self-assured."

To the current Xu Tingsheng, whether or not he controlled Hucheng through shares was actually really no longer that important. Handing it over to Lu Zhixin...whether in terms of emotions or practicality, it was unquestionably the best choice.

......

Lu Zhixin left Xu Tingsheng's office, her entire life trajectory having suddenly taken a curious bend.

Tang Yufei walked out from an inner room in Xu Tingsheng's office. She stared at him.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Xu Tingsheng asked.

"Because I cannot understand you too," Tang Yufei said.