How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 345

The Consequences of Showing Off

Yang Chen invited Li Xiuyan into the car to experience the fun of being a ride-hailing driver.

Because she was with him, Yang Chen only accepted two short rides before heading back.

They had been playing in Beijing for several days and had seen all the major attractions.

Yang Chen planned to rest well at home for a day and then return to Haicheng [a coastal city in China] the next day.

Li Xiuyan had been with Yang Chen day and night for these past few days, and she had gradually developed feelings for him.

It’s normal for men to have a weakness for beautiful women, and it’s also normal for beautiful women to be unable to resist the temptation of handsome men.

Yang Chen was lying on the bed, resting with his eyes closed, when Li Xiuyan gently walked in.

“Oppa [Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females, often used romantically], can I ask you for something?” Li Xiuyan asked.

Yang Chen opened his eyes and said, “Go ahead.”

Li Xiuyan: “Can you be my boyfriend?”

Yang Chen immediately shook his head and replied, “No! You should quickly dismiss this idea.”

Li Xiuyan: “Can’t you really consider it? I’m really sincere about being your girlfriend.”

Yang Chen: “No need to consider it. I don’t really like Koreans.”

Li Xiuyan: “Why? Do you have some misunderstandings or prejudices against us? Tell me, and I can explain it to you clearly.”

Yang Chen: “I don’t want to say. I just don’t like it.”

Li Xiuyan immediately stepped forward and grabbed Yang Chen’s wrist, saying, “Oppa, just tell me. What if you’ve misunderstood? I think we’re pretty good together. Don’t be prejudiced against us.”

Yang Chen quickly pulled his arm back and said, “I don’t have any prejudice against you. It’s you who have prejudice against us. I’m just giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

“Oh, those are just some radical youths. You don’t need to care about their opinions. Which country doesn’t have some radical youths? Don’t you think?” Li Xiuyan replied.

What she said seemed to make sense, but it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t change Yang Chen’s opinion of Koreans.

At this moment, Qiu Yuhong sent Yang Chen a video request.

Yang Chen answered and asked, “Chairman Qiu, what’s up?”

Qiu Yuhong: “Mr. Yang, I’m giving you a live broadcast of how we’re dealing with the professional killer sent by Xin Xiangyou [likely a Korean name].”

Yang Chen immediately became interested and said, “Really? I want to see.”

Li Xiuyan quickly moved closer when she heard the name Xin Xiangyou.

Qiu Yuhong pointed the camera at another phone, using the screen of that phone to show the situation on the scene.

At this moment, at Beijing International Airport.

A middle-aged man wearing sunglasses and a black trench coat walked to the side of the road with a suitcase.

This person was Li Yingzai, the professional killer sent by Xin Xiangyou, the young master of Lotte Group [a large South Korean conglomerate].

Yang Chen asked with a smile, “Girl, do you know him?”

Li Xiuyan shook her head and said, “I don’t know him. But I can ask someone to check who he is.”

Yang Chen: “No need to check. I know his identity. His name is Li Yingzai, a professional killer raised by Xin Xiangyou. Those Korean tourists we met at the Old Summer Palace [a historical site in Beijing] sent the pictures of us playing together back to Korea. Xin Xiangyou got jealous and sent him to kill me. You Koreans are really ruthless. You don’t even investigate the truth and just send a killer to deal with me.”

Li Xiuyan was shocked and said, “Oppa, could there be a mistake? I haven’t married Xin Xiangyou yet. Why would he do this?”

Yang Chen: “Don’t worry. Continue watching.”

In the video.

Li Yingzai seemed to be in Beijing, Dragon Country [a common nickname for China], for the first time, and he seemed very unfamiliar with taking a taxi.

This guy had a bad habit of wiping his sunglasses.

He had wiped them no less than three times while waiting for a taxi.

At this moment, a young man covered Li Yingzai’s eyes from behind and asked with a smile, “Brother, guess who I am?”

At the same time, another young man put a box he was carrying on top of Li Yingzai’s box, actually “swallowing” his box. The young man picked up the box and left, and his box disappeared with him.

The young man who covered Li Yingzai’s eyes let go and quickly bowed with a smile, saying, “Sorry, sorry, I mistook you for someone else.”

After speaking, he turned around and left.

Li Yingzai glared at him, then looked at the box on his right, only to find that it was gone.

Li Yingzai was shocked and quickly looked around, but he couldn’t find his black box.

But in fact, the person who stole his box was carrying a red box not far from his right hand, and his black box was inside the red box.

Li Yingzai turned around several times, then stood there in a daze, angrily whispering, “Axi [Korean exclamation, similar to ‘damn it’]! Damn Dragon Country people, so cunning!”

Because his box contained some fake documents and his identity couldn’t be exposed, he didn’t dare to call the police even if the box was stolen.

Li Xiuyan was stunned and pointed at the phone, saying, “Oppa, are these your people? They’re too cunning. They just tricked this idiot’s box away.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… This is called smart, not cunning. He came to kill me. I’m just using this method to give him a small punishment. This is my great forgiveness to him.”

Li Xiuyan: “Too hateful. Oppa, don’t worry, I will definitely avenge you and give you an explanation.”

Yang Chen didn’t take Lotte Group seriously at all. He didn’t need her to make any promises.

At this moment, Li Yingzai’s box appeared on the phone screen, and then the box was opened, clearly showing the contents.

There were clothes, a wallet, and multiple passports with different identities.

Yang Chen: “See? He has so many passports, and all the identities are different.”

Li Xiuyan: “So, he really is a killer.”

Yang Chen: “Of course. That can’t be fake.”

The screen then switched back to Li Yingzai, indicating that people from Aegis Security had been following him.

Li Yingzai only had a mobile phone, but his mobile phone couldn’t be used for payment like Dragon Country people’s phones, so it was really difficult for him to move around.

He had no choice but to quickly find a corner where no one was around and call Xin Xiangyou.

It’s unknown what he and Xin Xiangyou talked about, but he looked very happy.

Then, he went to the side of the road and stopped a taxi.

Aegis Security people got into a car and followed him.

Soon, the car arrived at the entrance of a Lotte Supermarket.

However, Li Yingzai didn’t get out of the car. After about two minutes, the driver got out angrily, grabbed his arm, and dragged him out, then shouted, “Come on! Everyone, come and see, this Korean doesn’t pay for the taxi! Everyone, judge, do Koreans not have to pay for taxis? Who told him that?”

More and more people gathered around. As a killer, he definitely couldn’t stay in front of so many people for too long.

Li Yingzai quickly explained in English, “I’m going inside to ask the manager of Lotte Supermarket to borrow money. I’ll be right back.”

The driver: “Do you think I’m a three-year-old? If I let you in, the mall is so big, will you come back? Unless you leave something with me as collateral and redeem it with the fare later.”

The onlookers also persuaded Li Yingzai to leave something with the driver; otherwise, what if he ran away?

Li Yingzai only had a mobile phone on him. He had no choice but to hand over his mobile phone to the driver and instructed, “Listen carefully, you are not allowed to turn on the phone, let alone leave! I’m going in to borrow money and will be back soon.”

The driver looked at the two-star phone [inferior brand] in his hand with disgust and said, “Don’t worry! I don’t even want this thing if you give it to me. Who the hell wants a time bomb! Go borrow money quickly. I’ll wait for you.”

“Haha…” Everyone laughed.

Li Yingzai quickly ran into the Lotte Supermarket, and then the driver got in the car and left.

Seeing this scene, Li Xiuyan opened her eyes wide in surprise and said, “Oppa, is this driver also one of your people? He tricked that idiot’s phone away.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… He should be one of our people.”

Qiu Yuhong explained, “That’s right, they are all our people, including most of the onlookers just now. Next, I will expose his identity and then tie him to Lotte Supermarket, so that Lotte Group cannot escape responsibility. Mr. Yang, use the traffic of Weibo [Chinese Twitter] and Douyin [Chinese TikTok] to hype it up and tell everyone not to shop at Lotte Supermarket. It won’t be long before they have to close their stores and withdraw from the Dragon Country market.”

Yang Chen nodded with satisfaction and said, “Chairman Qiu, this plan is perfect. Just follow your plan. I will say hello to Weibo and Douyin. You can just mobilize the water army [internet trolls] to attack Lotte Supermarket to death. Our goal this time is to make them withdraw from the Dragon Country market!”

Qiu Yuhong: “Okay. Then let’s watch here today. I will report to you in time if there are any new developments.”

Yang Chen nodded and hung up the video call.

It was too easy for Aegis Security Group to find out Li Yingzai’s details. Who he had killed, who he had contacted, call recordings, text messages, etc., were all found out clearly.

After these evidences were collected and sorted out, the Aegis Security public relations department began to work, posting posts and videos on mainstream platforms such as Weibo and Douyin to expose the relationship between Li Yingzai and Lotte Group.

For example.

“Shocking! The young master of Lotte Group actually hired a killer to assassinate many competitors. Do you still dare to shop at Lotte Supermarket? Be careful that the imported meat products there may not be animal meat.”

“Xin Xiangyou, the young master of Smecta [derogatory term for Koreans] Lotte Group, has a killer in Beijing, Dragon Country. He accidentally lost his box, and the contents were exposed. There are dozens of fake passports, currencies and bank cards from all over the world. It is said that he is now hiding in Lotte Supermarket. Be careful when you go shopping, don’t be killed by the killer.”

…

Under the overwhelming news bombardment, the passenger flow of Lotte Supermarket plummeted by 90% within a day.

Because it involved the issue of killers, relevant departments had to investigate Lotte Dragon Country Company, requiring them to explain whether the company was engaged in illegal and criminal activities, or even terrorist activities.

Originally, they wanted to deny it, but the Beijing police received an anonymous letter with evidence, and their lies were exposed.

Soon, the news spread to Korea.

Lotte Group exploded.

Xin Dongjian came to his son’s office angrily, kicked him, and scolded, “Bastard! Why did you send a killer directly for such a small matter? You didn’t even investigate the identity and background of that person. How dare you send a killer?”

Xin Xiangyou: “The whole country knows that I am going to marry Li Xiuyan, but now she is in Dragon Country with a Dragon Country person, and he is still a ride-hailing driver. If I don’t kill him, how will I survive in the future? Many people are already laughing at me for being cuckolded by a Dragon Country person, but you just don’t know it! Do you know how angry I am now? I wish I could go and kill him myself!”

Xin Dongjian: “Son, you are too impulsive, you know? I have already talked to Li Zaiyong, and he also sent Li Chengzun to bring Li Xiuyan back. Let the Li family solve this matter themselves. We don’t need to come forward. Now you have ruined all the business of Lotte Supermarket in Dragon Country!”

Xin Xiangyou asked unconvincedly, “Is your son’s dignity important, or is this little business important?”

Xin Dongjian was speechless by his son’s question.

From a father’s point of view, of course, his son’s dignity is important.

But from the perspective of a chairman, he cannot damage the interests of the entire group in order to protect his son’s face.

However, it is meaningless to say these things now. He still has to find a way to deal with the shareholders.

On the other side, Lotte Dragon Country Company did not dare to protect Li Yingzai, and Li Yingzai had no mobile phone, no money, and no identification. He couldn’t leave if he wanted to, and he couldn’t stay if he wanted to. Now the police were searching for him everywhere, and he didn’t dare to show up, let alone commit crimes. He could only end up picking up trash cans and sleeping under bridges. It was really miserable.

Moreover, his every move was under the surveillance of Aegis Security Group. When he had suffered enough, he would be reported, and the police comrades would arrest him and deal with him according to law.

…

Yang Chen was also quite annoyed these two days. Li Xiuyan followed him to Haicheng, but she and Maya didn’t get along. They both felt that the other was a love rival. They rolled their eyes at each other when they saw each other and attacked each other in English.

Maya hoped that Yang Chen would marry her and help her get rid of her old man fiance.

Li Xiuyan also had this idea, hoping that Yang Chen would help her get rid of Xin Xiangyou.

Maya could accept Yang Chen marrying several wives because that’s how the customs and culture are there.

But Li Xiuyan was unwilling for Yang Chen to marry several wives.

So Maya was angry. She was willing to share Yang Chen, but Li Xiuyan actually wanted to enjoy him alone. It was too unrighteous.

So, they became like this now, and they could quarrel if anyone looked at Yang Chen more.

Yang Chen was so annoyed by them that he went out to pick up passengers early in the morning.

Near noon, platform driver Li Hu called Yang Chen.

Li Hu: “Hey, Brother Chen, I’m going to end my ride-hailing driver career. I won’t do it tomorrow. I’ll treat you and a few good brothers to a farewell dinner tonight. Eight o’clock tonight, Tang Court [likely a restaurant name], are you free?”

Yang Chen: “Ah? Why are you suddenly not doing it?”

Li Hu: “Alas… A huge change happened at home. I don’t want to do it anymore. Let’s talk when we meet tonight. I’ll call a few other brothers.”

…

At eight o’clock in the evening, Yang Chen arrived at Tang Court on time and met with Li Hu and others.

In addition to Yang Chen, the president of the guild, Li Hu invited several drivers who were more active in the driver group, such as Vice President Wang Junpeng, Gao Yuan, and Li Gao.

They usually liked to chat nonsense in the group when they had nothing to do, and they had a good relationship with Li Hu.

Li Gao: “Damn! Li Hu, did you make a fortune? Why are you treating us here?”

Wang Junpeng: “Brother, don’t laugh at me. If you can’t pay, I don’t have money to help you pay. The things here are so expensive; I can’t afford them.”

Li Hu laughed and said, “Brothers, you are a little bit letting me down by saying that. Since I dare to invite you here to eat, I can naturally afford it. I have been driving a ride-hailing car for several years, and I have saved some money. I am leaving tomorrow, so I have to treat my brothers to a good meal. Everyone is driving, so we won’t drink today, but we must eat our fill.”

Li Gao and others had never eaten such high-end dishes, so they ate them very curiously.

But for Yang Chen, these were too low-end, and he didn’t have much appetite.

He came here not to eat but to find out if Li Hu had encountered any difficulties.

Since he was the president of the union, he must care about the problems encountered by each driver.

“Li Hu, what happened to your family? Why do I have a feeling that you won the lottery?” Yang Chen asked with a smile.

Li Hu sighed and said, “I am ashamed; I really don’t know how to tell you.”

Li Gao: “No, we are all brothers, just say anything, and we will definitely help you if we can.”

Li Hu: “Alas… Actually, I lied to everyone.”

Everyone was puzzled, put down their cutlery, and looked at him seriously.

Li Hu continued, “Actually, my family is not ordinary. I just quarreled with my family and came out to work as a ride-hailing driver to pass the time. Actually, I am a rich second generation, and my family grows tea mountains.”

Damn it!

Everyone was speechless, but then they quickly congratulated and praised him.

Li Hu sighed again and said, “Actually, I don’t want to be a rich second generation. It’s more free to be a ride-hailing driver. But there’s no way; the listed company Qibao Tea Company has taken a fancy to my family’s tea mountain and insists on buying it with a lot of money. My parents are old, so they simply sold it. The money from the sale will be given to me to start a business and start another company.”

“Yuck…” Everyone looked disgusted.

Yang Chen understood that this guy might be here today to say goodbye to everyone, but more to show off.

He might not have made much money from contracting the tea mountain before, but Qibao Tea Company’s acquisition would definitely give him a large sum of cash, which is why Li Hu is so proud today.

Li Gao: “Damn! Brother, you are awesome. I didn’t expect your family to be landlords.”

Wang Junpeng: “Brother, why do I hear a bit of Versailles [showing off wealth while pretending to be humble] in your words? Are you showing off to us?”

“Haha…” Several people laughed.

Li Hu continued to show off, “You are misunderstanding me by saying that. I really want to treat you to this meal, just to mention the reason for my departure. Still, if I could choose, I would rather continue to be a ride-hailing driver than take 20 million in cash to start a business.”

Damn it, Yang Chen couldn’t stand it anymore, so he asked, “Really? Are you showing off in Versailles, or do you really think so?”

Li Hu: “Brother Chen, your question is superfluous. This must be my true thoughts! You are the president, how dare I show off in front of you? It’s a pity, I have no choice; they have to give us 20 million to acquire it, and we can’t refuse.”

Show off!

Keep showing off!

Yang Chen said with a smile, “If you really think so, I can help you realize your wish, let Qibao Tea Company cancel the acquisition plan, and let you continue to be a ride-hailing driver.”

Li Hu laughed and said, “Brother Chen, you are telling a joke, but it’s not funny at all. They are a listed company, a leading tea stock, why should you order them to cancel the acquisition plan?”

Yang Chen: “You don’t have to worry about that. You like being a ride-hailing driver so much; I, as the president of the union, must find a way to keep you.”

Li Hu: “Haha… Since Brother Chen said so, then I want to see Brother Chen’s methods. Come on, let me see how you can make Qibao Tea Company cancel the acquisition plan.”

Yang Chen wasn’t very familiar with Li Hu, so he wasn’t in the mood to listen to him showing off here.

Yang Chen called Wang Qibao, the chairman of Qibao Tea Company.

“Chairman Wang, is the company planning to spend 20 million to acquire Huzi Tea Mountain?” Yang Chen asked.

“Yes! There is indeed this acquisition project, and it has been negotiated. It’s just the final signing,” Wang Qibao replied.

Yang Chen: “Immediately notify the other party to cancel the acquisition plan.”

Wang Qibao: “Ah? Oh… Oh! Okay, I will notify the other party to cancel the acquisition plan immediately!”

Hanging up the phone, Yang Chen got up and said, “Okay. Congratulations on being able to continue to be a ride-hailing driver.”

Li Hu shook his head in disbelief and said, “I don’t believe it.”

Yang Chen got up and said, “It’s okay, you will believe it later. You guys eat, I’ll go first.”

After speaking, Yang Chen turned around and walked away.

Li Gao and others wanted to keep Yang Chen, but Li Hu stopped them and forced them back.

“Hey, don’t be afraid of him. Our president was also elected by us. Whether he can continue to do it depends on our opinion. Why are you so afraid of him? When my startup company is established, if you don’t want to be ride-hailing drivers, you can all go to work in my company. I will definitely not treat you badly. Come on, continue eating,” Li Hu said with a smug look.

Two minutes later, Li Hu’s father called him.

Li’s father: “Hey, son, it’s not good. The chairman of Qibao Tea Company called just now and said to cancel the acquisition plan. I asked why, and he said it was the order of the major shareholder.”

Li Hu was shocked, dropped the chopsticks in his hand, and quickly asked, “Who is the major shareholder?”

Li’s father: “What’s his name? It seems to be Yang… Yang Chen!”

Li Hu: “Ah?”

Li Hu quickly got up and ran out, immediately calling Yang Chen.

“Hey, Brother Chen, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shown off in front of you, I really know I was wrong. Don’t cancel the acquisition plan!” Li Hu pleaded.

Yang Chen: “Hmm? Don’t you like being a ride-hailing driver? I’m just fulfilling your wish. No need to thank me, welcome to continue being a ride-hailing driver.”

After speaking, Yang Chen hung up the phone and blacklisted him.

Don’t show off, you’ll be struck by lightning. Li Hu has now realized how miserable the consequences of showing off are.

If he could do it again, he would honestly go home and inherit the family property and would not show off in front of these ride-hailing drivers.

“Hey? No! This can’t be blamed on me for showing off! Who the hell would have thought that a ride-hailing driver would be a major shareholder of Qibao Tea Company? He is a major shareholder of a listed company, why is he still a ride-hailing driver? It’s over, the chance to get rich overnight is gone,” Li Hu muttered to himself, then sat down on the stairwell in despair.

At this time, Tan Hongkai walked over and said with a smile, “Mr. Li, why are you sitting here? Our boss specifically told me to send a plate of pig brain flower [a Chinese delicacy] to Mr. Li, hoping that you can eat what you need to replenish.”

Li Hu was furious and said, “What does your boss mean? Why are you scolding people? Who is your boss, let him come out to see me!”

Tan Hongkai: “Our boss is called Yang Chen; he said this dish is especially suitable for you.”

Li Hu: “Ah? Yang… Yang Chen? He… Is he the boss of Tang Court?”

Tan Hongkai: “Yes! Do you want to take this dish in yourself, or should I ask the waiter to send it in for you?”

Li Hu was already stunned at this time. Look at what he had just done; he actually showed off in front of Yang Chen, the boss of Tang Court and the major shareholder of Qibao Tea Company. It was really too embarrassing.

“I… I’ll take it in myself. This dish is indeed suitable for me, eat what you need to replenish. Help me thank Brother Chen, and help me say sorry to him, and tell him that I know I was wrong. Please,” Li Hu said weakly, then took the pig brain flower back to the private room.