Chapter 443: The Ultimate Goal!

Chapter 443: The Ultimate Goal!

Tang Jingbin had absolutely no idea what had just happened!

How had Gu Ruibo agreed? At first he’d been trying to talk Wu Chen out of it. Then, after barely two more sentences, he’d asked what he could do, Wu Chen had told him, and he’d simply agreed?!

How could he dare commit so lightly, so hastily?

He might be a core member of the Gu family, but he was a third-generation junior. Didn’t he need to consult his family?

What Gu Ruibo was doing amounted almost to representing the Gu family directly in siding with the Tang family, thereby creating the appearance of an alliance.

Gu Ruibo had no actual authority to represent the Gu family. But his position meant his actions would push things in that direction.

And most important of all, what reason did Gu Ruibo have to help Wu Chen this much?

Forget Wu Chen. Even if Li Maoren himself had been sitting here today, Gu Ruibo shouldn’t have dared make a decision like this lightly.

“Hahahaha! Good, good! Little Gu, so decisive…” It took Tang Jingbin a good few seconds to react before he burst out laughing and raised his glass.

He might not understand why, but he certainly had to play his part to the hilt!

Gu Ruibo had agreed, so the matter was as good as settled!

Even if others in the Gu family wanted to back out later, they couldn’t!

Because once this became a done deal, from the Tang family’s point of view, it had dared go all in and risk offending the Xiang family only because it had the Gu family’s word.

In that situation, if the Gu family backed out, it would be offending the Tang family past any hope of repair! No great family would dare commit an unprovoked betrayal like that!

So setting the distant future aside, on the matter of the Qi brothers alone, the Gu family had no reason to turn back. It already competed fiercely with the Xiang family, and using the Tang family’s hand to land a blow on the Xiang family was no bad thing for it.

As for what came after… once the two families had worked through this together and built some initial trust, with the outside world already convinced they were allied, all of it could very well lead to a real alliance!

The three men raised their glasses.

And drained them in one go.

Once the glasses were set down, the atmosphere eased considerably. From then on, the conversation centered almost entirely on those thirty-odd pages of dirt.

They certainly couldn’t use all of it. The impact would be too great. Tang Jingbin needed only part of it to send Qi Min, Qi Jun, Qi Chenghong, and their whole family away in short order!

Dealing with the Qi family wasn’t hard. The real problem had always been the Xiang family’s reaction.

So there was plenty to discuss.

Which portions of the dirt would Tang Jingbin use? How would Gu Ruibo publicly back him? When should they strike? Which pieces could be used to threaten others and clear the way before they moved on the Qi brothers?

They covered all of it!

The atmosphere grew ever warmer, and the talk flowed smoothly. Tang Jingbin and Gu Ruibo did most of it. They seemed never before to have spoken so much to each other at one sitting.

But!

In truth, both men’s attention stayed fixed on Wu Chen, who was saying less and less.

Neither of them understood why the other was so willing to help Wu Chen! The deal was done, yet the why of it was completely beyond them!

Really, it all came down to an information gap.

Put simply:

Tang Jingbin could help Wu Chen because of the Liu family. He needed allies.

Gu Ruibo could help Wu Chen because of the Ding family. He, too, believed his family needed allies.

And both men trusted Wu Chen to an extraordinary degree! That trust came not only from how genuinely uncanny Wu Chen was, but from intertwined interests. That was what mattered most!

As Tang Jingbin saw it, Wu Chen represented the Li family. The Tang and Li families had secretly allied. In future, the Li family would go after the Wei family while the Tang family went after the Liu family, each lending the other strength! Working the scheme together!

They were firmly on the same side!

As Gu Ruibo saw it, he and Wu Chen shared a business venture worth tens of billions. Their common interests were enormous!

Only Wu Chen knew the whole picture. Tang Jingbin and Gu Ruibo each knew only their own side of things. So… it would have been a miracle if either of them had figured it out!

The business with the Qi brothers had started out as a small matter.

But Wu Chen had turned that small matter into an opening. Or rather, into a pledge of allegiance between the Tang and Gu families. Even a small matter could be tied into the greater balance of power!

Of course!

For the two families to truly ally, they would still need a genuine common interest!

Dinner ran until around ten.

Time to break up.

On their way out, everyone stopped by the cha chaan teng on the other side of the corridor, where Zhuang Xiaodie, Tang Xinbao, and Guo Qiqi were waiting.

At that hour there were no other customers, just the three of them at a table. They’d ordered their own food and had essentially eaten a second dinner.

They collected the three, and everyone went downstairs together.

Straight down to the underground garage.

In the garage there was another round of small talk before the goodbyes… Tang Jingbin had drunk a bit too much and was in high spirits. He clasped Wu Chen’s hand and rambled on for quite a while before Tang Xinbao finally helped him into the car.

Wu Chen, Zhuang Xiaodie, and Gu Ruibo watched as Tang Jingbin, Tang Xinbao, Guo Qiqi, and several cars of Tang-family bodyguards pulled out first.

They watched the taillights recede.

“Mr. Wu, has the Tang family already…” Gu Ruibo finally had a chance to speak with Wu Chen alone. He turned and asked quietly.

“Let’s talk in the car.” Wu Chen raised a hand, then tossed the Bentley key to Zhuang Xiaodie.

She went back to the Bentley Continental first.

Wu Chen got into Gu Ruibo’s Rolls-Royce with him.

Just the two of them, in the back. Neither the driver nor the bodyguards got in.

“Mr. Wu, has the Tang family already… joined forces with the Li family?” Gu Ruibo asked again. He’d worked it out!

It was the most likely reason Tang Jingbin was putting in this much effort!

“Yes!” Wu Chen turned to him with a smile and nodded.

“Good! That’s great!” Gu Ruibo nodded too, his mind set firmly at ease!

That would make things far easier to explain to his family once it all broke! He could tell them about the Ding family, about the Li and Tang families, two great powers preparing to go after the Ding family. His family would surely want in on the pie, and then joining hands with the Tang family ahead of time wouldn’t be a problem!

“Three days from now, after the Qi business breaks, if your family asks you about it, that’s when you tell them. Until then, don’t let a word slip…”

“I understand, Mr. Wu!”

“And… you can tell your father that if the Gu family doesn’t want to miss this opportunity, he can call my uncle directly.”

“Good, good, good! Hahahaha! Thank you, Mr. Wu. Without a sound, you’ve gone and found our Gu family an ally! Hahahaha!”

It was a curious situation.

Wu Chen was plainly maneuvering everyone toward his own ultimate goal, and yet every one of them thanked him!

This time, Gu Ruibo’s gratitude ran even deeper than Tang Jingbin’s.

Because Wu Chen meant to bring the entire Gu family into the game!

However capable Gu Ruibo was, however well he understood Ding Ruilong’s assets, even with all the intelligence Wu Chen had given him, the most his own resources could swallow was a small piece of the Ding family’s peripheral holdings!

But if the whole Gu family entered the game, it could join the hunt for the Ding family’s core assets!

And when it came to the Ding family’s core assets, money was secondary!

What mattered were the positions of real power currently held by core members of the Ding family!

If Gu Ruibo could make this happen, he wouldn’t even have to wait for the hunt to succeed. His standing in the family would surpass his elder brother’s!

The two talked for another ten minutes or so. Once they’d covered nearly everything, Wu Chen got out.

Time to go!

He returned to the Bentley Continental.

“Did you get enough to eat?” he asked Zhuang Xiaodie with a smile, turning toward the passenger seat as he buckled his seat belt.

“Mm-hm.” She nodded. “Sister Qiqi ordered so much at the cha chaan teng. I’m stuffed.”

“Ha.” Wu Chen laughed and reached over to run a finger lightly along her cheek.

The Bentley Continental started up.

It pulled out of the underground garage beneath Shengjing Grand Restaurant.

Five minutes later.

The Bentley Continental was speeding down neon-drenched Tongjiang Avenue.

Driving one-handed, Wu Chen picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Beep… beep… beep…

A good ten-plus seconds passed before someone finally picked up.

“Hello? Little Wu… what is it?” Li Maoren’s voice came over the line. It was nearly ten-thirty at night, and he had likely already turned in.

“Uncle, I’ve brought the Gu family into the game. In three or four days, someone from the Gu family will call you,” Wu Chen said.

“Hm?!” Li Maoren let out a heavy grunt of surprise, suddenly wide awake!