Chapter 471: The More Perfect It Is, the Bigger the Secret!

Chapter 471: The More Perfect It Is, the Bigger the Secret!

Su Ruiwen’s expression flickered, then smoothed over at once.

He kept leafing through the document as though he hadn’t noticed the date.

To be the richest man in a region took something. Setting aside the likes of Li Ruobing and Li Ruotai, scions of great families who had come into Donghai with powerful backing, Su Ruiwen could be called Donghai’s most powerful businessman.

His network reached across the entire country.

He might look like nothing more than a sickly man in his fifties, painfully thin, without the swagger of someone like Lu Guangnian.

But when he’d first made his fortune, he had gone to the Myanmar border to hunt for jadeite. He had gambled with his life. His nerve was anything but ordinary, and his mind ran exceptionally deep.

He didn’t expose the “fake document” his daughter had handed him.

He had already worked out that Wu Chen probably hadn’t brought any document at all, that he’d come to see his daughter for some other reason. It only made him more certain that something was going on between Su Qingying and Wu Chen.

But the more certain he grew, the steadier he became.

Expose them on the spot?

Demand an answer?

And then what?

He could picture it already. His daughter would admit nothing. If she denied it to the end, what could he do? And Wu Chen had just lied to his face, so he certainly wasn’t going to tell the truth.

Then what?

Interrogate them? Argue? Fall out?

The facts weren’t clear. If this involved anyone else, Su Ruiwen wouldn’t think twice. But behind Wu Chen stood Li Ruobing, and with her temperament… if he fell out with them before he understood anything, he might very well wreck his daughter’s friendship with her.

They might even become enemies.

Were Su Ruiwen in good health, he might not have had so many qualms. As Donghai’s foremost local power, there was no one in Donghai who could easily touch him.

But his health really was terrible.

The last thing he wanted, before he died, was to bring down on his family the kind of disaster they could only weather while he was still alive.

“Mm… all right.” Su Ruiwen skimmed most of the document, then looked up and set it on the desk.

Seeing that her father apparently hadn’t caught anything, Su Qingying quietly let out a breath.

Wu Chen, however, was certain Su Ruiwen wasn’t blind. Already suspicious, there was no way he’d missed the problem with that document.

That was exactly the effect Wu Chen wanted.

“Qingying, get back to work.” Su Ruiwen smiled at his daughter and turned to leave. Then he looked up at Wu Chen and walked over to him instead.

“Mr. Wu, sorry to put you out. Coming all this way just to drop off a document.” He approached.

Wu Chen rose from the sofa, and they shook hands again.

“No trouble. It’s my job,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

That was far too fake.

Everyone in Donghai’s upper circles knew his post as Li Ruobing’s assistant was in name only. Running an important document over for her would be normal enough, but insisting it was part of his job? No one would buy it.

“With Mr. Wu in her corner, Miss Li’s like a tiger that’s sprouted wings. Hahaha. I hear Huancai is preparing to go public…”

“Yes. The preparations started a long time ago, but the process only formally got underway after the last launch event…”

There was really no reason for Su Ruiwen to keep talking with Wu Chen. They’d already exchanged their pleasantries.

He knew Wu Chen was capable, but Wu Chen had no direct stake in Huancai Fashion or the Su family. It was enough to stay on good terms with Li Ruobing.

He had come back over to talk, naturally, because of his suspicion.

He was paying very close attention to Wu Chen.

He even meant to draw him out in conversation.

“Mr. Wu, I hear that back at the golf course there was some misunderstanding between you and Qingying. And afterward, a little unpleasantness with my wife…” Su Ruiwen deliberately brought it up. He wasn’t accusing, only mentioning it.

“Perhaps Miss Su needed some guidance at the time…” Wu Chen said, smiling.

They went on making empty conversation for quite a while.

Su Ruiwen didn’t know Wu Chen. It was their first real contact, so there were only so many things to talk about.

And within that limited range, Wu Chen’s answers were watertight.

That only convinced Su Ruiwen that something about this young man was very off. He had a depth and composure no one his age should have, and he seemed to have come prepared.

Wu Chen stepped around every “minefield” Su Ruiwen laid down.

Take the golf course, when he’d carried Su Qingying off. Wu Chen had brushed it aside in a single sentence. He had slapped her that day, and every bodyguard had seen it. After taking that kind of liberty with her, he wasn’t even going to offer a word of explanation?

Standing in front of Su Qingying’s own father, he showed no guilt at all. His expression didn’t change in the slightest.

In fact, had Wu Chen tried to explain even one thing, Su Ruiwen could have followed up and kept pressing.

He could have discussed it without a hint of anger.

But Wu Chen gave him no opening.

Su Ruiwen was talking from a position of suspicion, and the longer they talked, the more suspicious he became. Wu Chen was too “perfect,” as though there were nothing private between him and Su Qingying at all.

And the more perfect he was, the bigger whatever he and Su Qingying were lying together to hide must be.

They were so afraid of being found out that they had to act like this.

As the conversation went on, Wu Chen’s “perfect” performance deepened Su Ruiwen’s suspicion fast.

On the surface, it seemed to be having the opposite effect.

Su Ruiwen had even begun to suspect that his daughter and Wu Chen were having an affair.

That was, in fact, the biggest and most reasonable possibility.

If it were true, then once it came out and word got around, it would be a disaster. Wouldn’t Li Ruobing chop both his daughter and Wu Chen to pieces?

Su Ruiwen’s suspicion soon crossed its tipping point.

“Hahahaha… Mr. Wu and Miss Li really are a perfect match… Ah, right. Mr. Wu, now that the document’s delivered, do you have anything else on?” Su Ruiwen asked, abruptly changing tack.

“Nothing at the moment.” Wu Chen glanced at his watch as he said it.

“Then why not… come sit in my office a while? We can have a proper talk. This is our first meeting, and I’ve heard a fair few stories about you lately, Mr. Wu…” Su Ruiwen looked like a man who’d taken an instant liking to someone and simply wanted to talk longer.

He wanted Wu Chen alone!

He couldn’t resist any longer!

“Sure,” Wu Chen said.

“Good… Come, come, my office. Hahaha…” Su Ruiwen even swept an arm out in invitation and gave Wu Chen two light pats on the back.

As they stepped out, they ran into Mu Qianqian on her way back with a folder in her arms.

“Uncle Su. Mr. Wu.” She didn’t dare say anything out of place. She simply nodded to them both.

Su Ruiwen smiled and nodded back.

Wu Chen and Su Ruiwen walked off toward the far end of the corridor.

Mu Qianqian carried the folder into the executive vice president’s office. Only Su Qingying was there, sitting in her chair looking hugely relieved.

“Sister, what happened? Why did Uncle Su go off with the big bad guy?” Mu Qianqian hurried over and asked in a low voice.

“You have no idea how scared I was. I had my arms on hubby’s shoulders while we were talking. My dad almost saw…” Su Qingying patted her chest as she spoke.

“Heh.” Mu Qianqian only grinned and teased, “Careless, careless.” Then she couldn’t help asking, “But it’s fine now, right?”

“Yes. It’s… it’s fine now.” Su Qingying nodded.

…

The chairman’s office, at the other end of the top-floor corridor, was enormous. The entire east and south walls were floor-to-ceiling windows, and the room was full of light. There wasn’t much furniture, which made it feel especially open.

The desk, chairs, and sofas were all solid wood, giving the place the feel of a traditional Chinese study.

Su Ruiwen had already sat down behind the desk.

Wu Chen sat facing him across it.

Once seated, Su Ruiwen picked up the desk phone, pressed a speed-dial key, and said, “Two cups of tea.”

He hung up and looked at Wu Chen. The smile was gone, and his gaze was openly appraising.

“Mr. Wu, you didn’t come to deliver a document, did you? The one Qingying showed me was dated yesterday.” He looked Wu Chen in the eye.

He was laying his cards on the table and asking straight out!