Chapter 256: Giving Away His Own Whereabouts

Chapter 256: Giving Away His Own Whereabouts

Ding Ruilong had contacted Lei Cheng?

Presumably over Tao Manying.

Lei Cheng was the backer behind her, and within the entertainment industry that was hardly a secret.

For Ding Ruilong to suddenly approach him meant that word about Tao Manying endorsing Huancai Fashion had leaked ahead of time.

Not especially surprising.

Huancai Fashion’s new-product launch was only a few days away. Tao Manying was already in Donghai, working with Huancai Fashion to shoot a series of advertising and promotional materials, and she would stay until after the launch before leaving.

Work meant coming into contact with all sorts of people. A leak was hard to avoid.

And Ding Ruilong had been watching Li Ruobing closely all along.

“What did he say?” Wu Chen asked, calm and smiling.

“He gave his name first, then said…” Lei Cheng held nothing back and laid the whole thing out for him.

Ding Ruilong had called. After a few pleasantries he came to the point.

He said he hoped Lei Cheng could have Tao Manying break her contract, and promised to cover every loss Lei Cheng suffered as a result.

Lei Cheng then played the innocent and asked why Ding Ruilong wanted to sabotage Li Ruobing’s business when he had supposedly been pursuing her all this time.

Ding Ruilong said he did not want Li Ruobing to have a career, said that he intended to marry her one day, and dropped various hints.

Lei Cheng then said he was in an awkward position, raising business credibility and how he would not know what to say to Miss Li, and refused politely.

Ding Ruilong even told him, openly and by implication, what benefits he could offer.

Lei Cheng’s position did not change.

In the end nothing came of it.

Hearing the summary, Wu Chen understood at once.

Ding Ruilong had not said everything outright, and Lei Cheng had played dumb. The two men did not know each other. On a first phone call, neither side was going to speak too plainly.

From Ding Ruilong’s point of view, he most likely believed Lei Cheng was merely the second young master of the Hongfa Lei family, a loser in an internal family struggle.

He might have expected Lei Cheng to give him face at once, perhaps even to try to curry favor with him.

Lei Cheng had not.

And however arrogant Ding Ruilong was, he was not going to threaten Lei Cheng the moment Lei Cheng refused.

He was not that brainless.

The Lei family of Huaixi was wealthier than Su Ruiwen and the Su family, the richest family in Donghai, and wielded greater influence besides.

The family’s assets exceeded twenty billion yuan.

And Hongfa Weixing Precision Group, which the Lei family controlled, had total assets exceeding sixty billion yuan.

Hongfa was the dominant industrial heavyweight in Huaixi. It had spent decades in the business, and its roots ran terrifyingly deep. Its web of relationships, from top to bottom, was so tangled that outside forces found it nearly impossible to shake.

It was not that the Ding family could not move against the Lei family.

But over some stupid little endorsement dispute, the Ding family would never go looking for trouble with them. And Ding Ruilong, merely one member of the family’s third generation, certainly could not move against the Lei family on his own.

So he would not carelessly pick a fight with Lei Cheng.

Most important of all—

whatever Lei Cheng’s position inside his own family, he was still the Lei family’s second young master.

His father, Lei Zhenghui, favored the eldest son, but he would never stand by and let an outsider bully his own son over some trifle.

Ding Ruilong’s understanding of the Lei family’s current internal situation was limited.

He would not act rashly.

“At the end, Ding Ruilong told me… he’s coming to Donghai. He wants to meet me and talk this over face to face,” Lei Cheng said finally.

Wu Chen’s eyebrow rose again.

The smile on his face deepened.

Ding Ruilong had made a mistake.

He did not know about Lei Cheng’s relationship with Wu Chen.

Wu Chen and Lei Cheng had met through an online game. They had met secretly once that same day, and had had no contact since. No one in Donghai knew the two of them were even acquainted. None of the current rumors circulating in Donghai about Wu Chen touched on Lei Cheng at all.

From Ding Ruilong’s perspective, he would naturally assume Li Ruobing had contacted Lei Cheng and secured Tao Manying’s endorsement that way.

That made perfect sense.

Wu Chen knowing Lei Cheng was what made no sense.

Ding Ruilong neither knew that Lei Cheng and Wu Chen were acquainted, nor that Lei Cheng had already decided to stand on Wu Chen’s side.

And yet he meant to come to Donghai and meet Lei Cheng privately.

That was a serious mistake.

Wu Chen had originally had no direct way to know which day Ding Ruilong would come to Donghai, whether he would come in secret, when he intended to see Li Ruobing, or whether he might make moves behind the scenes.

There had been no way to be certain.

But now Huancai Fashion’s launch was approaching, and Ding Ruilong wanted to stop Tao Manying’s endorsement.

If he came to Donghai in secret, the first person he would meet would definitely be Lei Cheng.

Wu Chen would be able to keep track of Ding Ruilong’s movements.

“Brother, this Ding Ruilong coming to Donghai…” Having finished, Lei Cheng put the question to him. Naturally he understood that Ding Ruilong could not be making a trip to Donghai purely for his sake. It probably had to do with Li Ruobing.

“A lot has happened lately,” Wu Chen said with a smile. “How about this, Brother Lei. Let’s set a time and meet.”

“Sure. This afternoon. I’m free all afternoon. Just say when it suits you,” Lei Cheng answered readily.

The two of them settled on a time and place.

They ended the call.

Wu Chen went right back to the television as though nothing had happened.

Less than half an hour later.

“Mr. Wu, lunch is ready…” Zhuang Xiaodie carried the last two dishes to the table, then came out of the dining room and called to him.

“Hm?” Wu Chen turned to look, then answered with a smile. “All right.”

He switched off the television.

He went upstairs first, to wake Li Ruobing.

In the second-floor master bedroom, Li Ruobing was still fast asleep. Wu Chen walked over and pulled the blanket straight off her.

She woke at once, eyes flying open, staring at him. It took her a moment to come fully round. Then she turned to look out the window and asked, “What time is it?”

“One o’clock already. Aren’t you getting up?” Wu Chen asked with a smile.

“One already? When did you get up?” she asked.

“Twelve,” he said.

“You recovered pretty well.” Li Ruobing gave him a look, her tone odd.

“Naturally. Certainly better than you. Six or seven hours of sleep is plenty for me,” Wu Chen said, smiling again.

“That impressive?” Her voice turned teasing at once, laughter under it. “I wonder whether my dear Mr. Wu has ever heard the saying—only the ox gets worked to death; the field never gets worn out from—”

She sat up as she spoke. The saying never reached its end. Her tone changed abruptly.

She had meant to swing around and sit on the edge of the bed, but the instant she lifted a leg, a sharp hiss escaped her.

Her body curled in on itself, and she dropped back onto the bed.

“Now you know it hurts, don’t you?” Wu Chen laughed and teased her. “Who competes over something like this? Last night was your first time. Mm… and then your second, third, and fourth.”

“I wanted to!” Li Ruobing lifted her head and snapped at him.

Then her eyes softened.

She pressed her lips together, stretched both arms toward him, and said in a much gentler voice, “Pick me up.”

“Now you know how to ask me for help?” Wu Chen laughed.

“Pick me up,” she said again, softer still, her shoulders swaying lightly.

She was learning how to wheedle.

Wu Chen smiled, went over, and lifted her in his arms.

Li Ruobing kissed his cheek.

He carried her to the bathroom first so she could wash up a little.

More than ten minutes later he carried her downstairs in her pajamas, all the way into the dining room, and set her down in a chair.

They looked very clingy and affectionate together.

Zhuang Xiaodie had no idea what was going on. She simply assumed Li Ruobing and Wu Chen were always this clingy at home. She did not dare say anything, and did not dare ask. She served Li Ruobing a bowl of rice and set it in front of her, then served Wu Chen, then herself. Only after that did she sit down.

They began to eat.

Wu Chen had just picked up his chopsticks.

Ring-ring-ring…

His phone rang again.

He set the chopsticks down, took out the phone, and looked at the screen.

Lei Cheng again.

Wu Chen answered and raised it to his ear.

“Lei You called me! About the endorsement too,” Lei Cheng said directly.

“Heh.” Wu Chen laughed.

Ding Ruilong had made another mistake.