How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 393

Zhang Juan, realizing her disadvantage, quickly apologized to Huang Yu and promised to marry him by the end of the year. She pleaded with him to overlook her past actions and hoped they could live happily together in the future.

Her words were met with disdainful smiles from the onlookers.

Huang Yu, now fully aware of Zhang Juan’s true nature, firmly rejected her proposal.

He gave her an ultimatum: either she return the money, and they would never see each other again, or they would go to court, and the law would decide the outcome.

Li Hongyan, the CEO, was furious. Although Zhang Juan’s actions were a personal matter, they reflected poorly on the company and its employees. She felt compelled to intervene.

Li Hongyan presented Zhang Juan with two options:

First, return the money to Huang Yu, resolve the issue promptly, and guarantee that she would refrain from any future actions that could negatively impact the company or its employees.

Second, submit her resignation and leave the company.

Zhang Juan had invested years in her education to secure a good job.

Having finally reached the position of department manager, she was unwilling to resign.

Therefore, Zhang Juan agreed to return the money to Huang Yu. However, she couldn’t afford to pay it all back at once, so she proposed paying a portion of her salary each month until the debt was settled.

Huang Yu, considering their eight-year relationship, reluctantly accepted this plan.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Huang Yu turned to Yang Chen and said, “Brother, thank you so much. Have you eaten? Let me treat you to a meal.”

Yang Chen smiled and shook his head. “It was just a coincidence that I was here. It was a small thing, no need to thank me.”

Huang Yu insisted, “No, no. You not only saved me, but you also helped me a lot. I have to show my appreciation.”

Yang Chen replied, “I appreciate the thought, but there’s no need for a meal. I have to go. Goodbye.”

Li Hongyan quickly stepped forward to stop Yang Chen. “Benefactor, please come to my office for a moment. I haven’t given you the reward I promised earlier.”

Yang Chen laughed and said, “It was just a coincidence. It was a small effort, no need for thanks. I have something to do, I’ll be going now.”

With that, Yang Chen got into his car and drove away. Li Hongyan wanted to stop him, but she couldn’t.

…

The news of Tang Xuexu’s relationship quickly reached her grandfather, Tang Qing.

Tang Qing was over seventy years old and in poor health.

He had two sons: Tang Jianjun, the elder, and Tang Jianguo, the younger.

Tang Jianjun had two children: Tang Xuejian, the elder daughter, and Tang Xuelong, the younger son.

Tang Jianguo had only one daughter, Tang Xuexu.

Over a decade ago, Tang Qing decided to retire.

According to tradition, the family business should have been passed down to the eldest son.

Furthermore, the eldest son had both a son and a daughter, while the younger son had only a daughter.

Therefore, Tang Jianjun inherited the Tang family’s ancestral business and incorporated it into the Yizhen Tang Group, which specialized in trading antiques, artworks, jewelry, and diamonds.

However, Tang Qing didn’t neglect his younger son. He provided Tang Jianguo with 1 billion [Chinese Yuan, approximately $140 million USD] in funding to start his own business.

Tang Jianguo proved to be quite capable. Using the 1 billion in start-up capital and leveraging the Tang family’s established connections, he developed the newly formed Tang Group.

In recent years, Tang Jianguo and his wife had been in poor health, and their daughter, Tang Xuexu, had demonstrated exceptional management skills. Consequently, the couple entrusted the company’s management and operations to their daughter.

They now spent most of their time recuperating at home.

Although the Tang Group’s strength didn’t match that of the Yizhen Tang Group, it was now recognized as a large company with billions in assets.

As previously mentioned, the Tang Group’s billions in assets were somewhat virtual. Cash assets, real estate, and financial investments didn’t constitute a significant portion. The majority consisted of antiques and artworks.

These items were valuable only if someone recognized their worth.

If they couldn’t be sold, they were merely decorations.

It was possible for a painting originally worth 100,000 yuan to be valued at 10 million yuan after some manipulation.

This type of asset was too speculative and didn’t possess the stability of a medium-sized factory.

In any case, Tang Qing had strived to be as fair as possible to his two sons.

Consequently, both sons respected and were devoted to him.

Tang Qing was overjoyed to learn that his granddaughter had a boyfriend.

The old man’s birthday was approaching, and he wanted to meet his granddaughter and future grandson-in-law at his birthday banquet.

Tang Jianguo readily agreed and assured his father that Yang Chen and Tang Xuexu would attend the celebration.

…

Shield Security Group had been gathering information about the Tang family through offline investigations in recent days.

The latest findings revealed that Tang Jianguo, Guo Minghai, Yang Chen’s father Yang Qingshan, and Michael Kennedy of the United States had engaged in business dealings in the past.

Now, Shield Security Group’s US branch had initiated efforts to uncover information about Michael Kennedy as quickly as possible.

Yang Chen reviewed the information and cleared the message.

In the evening, Yang Chen went to the company to pick up Tang Xuexu.

Yang Chen immediately noticed that Tang Xuexu was concealing something, so he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you facing any difficulties?”

Tang Xuexu smiled and shook her head. “No! I was just thinking about where to eat tonight. You choose, it’s my treat.”

Yang Chen couldn’t help but smile and said, “Sister, you practically have ‘something’ written all over your face. What’s the matter? Tell me.”

Tang Xuexu replied with a smile, “You can’t hide anything from you. My dad called me this afternoon. He said that Grandpa knows I have a boyfriend and is eager to meet you. The day after tomorrow is Grandpa’s birthday, and he hopes I can bring you to his birthday banquet. Originally, we were just pretending, and I was worried you wouldn’t want to attend Grandpa’s birthday banquet as my boyfriend, so I felt embarrassed and didn’t know how to tell you.”

Since it had been confirmed that the Tang family had business connections with his father, Yang Chen knew he had to “go deep into the tiger’s den” to investigate.

“Small problem, I can go to your grandfather’s birthday party with you. So, what benefits will I receive?” Yang Chen asked with a smile.

Tang Xuexu was overjoyed and quickly replied, “I’ll give you a bonus of 100,000 yuan [~14,000 USD]. And then… allow… allow you to move in with me. Don’t get the wrong idea, I just want you to save time each day. Otherwise, you have to wake up very early in the morning and return very late at night, wasting time on the road. If you live with me, you won’t have to waste that time. Does that make sense?”

Yang Chen laughed and said, “What you said makes sense. However, I still need to clarify in advance: when I no longer want to be a driver, I can leave at any time.”

Tang Xuexu said, “Hehe… no problem! Don’t worry, I’m very open-minded and absolutely guarantee employees the freedom to come and go. Then it’s settled, haha. Tell me, what do you want to eat? It’s my treat tonight.”

Yang Chen asked, “Can you cook? Let’s go to your house and cook.”

Tang Xuexu replied, “Yes! Okay! Let’s buy groceries and go home to cook. I’ll show you my skills.”

Yang Chen nodded and changed direction towards Tang Xuexu’s home.

Despite Tang Xuexu’s capable short hair and her usual demeanor as a cold and domineering female president,

she couldn’t maintain that facade in front of Yang Chen.

Now, wearing an apron and cooking in front of the stove, she resembled an ordinary housewife more than a cold female president.

Tang Xuexu knew a lot of recipes, and she prepared six dishes and one soup in one go, enough for the two of them to eat.

As a female president, she naturally had a supply of red wine at home.

Tang Xuexu brought out a bottle of treasured Romanée-Conti and said, “I spent 1.2 million yuan [~170,000 USD] to bid for this bottle of wine at an auction before, and I’ve never been willing to drink it. Today, I’ll share it with you and see what’s so special about this auction-level wine.”

Yang Chen often drank ordinary Romanée-Conti, which sold for 128,000 yuan [~18,000 USD] a bottle in restaurants.

He had also tasted auction-level Romanée-Conti, but not often.

“President Tang, you’re too kind. I might be embarrassed to leave in the future,” Yang Chen joked.

Tang Xuexu replied, “That’s good. It’s best if you never leave.”

After saying that, Tang Xuexu realized that her sentence might have a double meaning, so she quickly clarified, “I like employees who can work with me long-term. I don’t want to change employees often. If you quit, I’ll have to recruit new drivers and bodyguards, which would be so troublesome. Come, let’s toast to our first dinner together.”

Yang Chen smiled and raised his glass, clinking it with Tang Xuexu’s, and then they both took a sip.

“I don’t know if it’s a psychological effect, but it seems that the taste is indeed more mellow than ordinary Romanée-Conti,” Tang Xuexu said.

Yang Chen carefully tasted the wine and concluded that it wasn’t worth 1.2 million yuan.

The auction-level Romanée-Conti that Yang Chen had tasted before was much more mellow than this one.

However, it was understandable, as auctions lacked standardized pricing.

A 10 yuan item could be auctioned for 1 million, and a 100,000 yuan item could also be auctioned for 1 million.

Therefore, it was impossible to judge the price based on taste alone, especially since Yang Chen wasn’t a professional wine connoisseur.

“This wine is really good,” Yang Chen echoed.

Tang Xuexu said, “Come, try my cooking skills.”

Yang Chen took a bite of the onion-fried beef and praised, “Your cooking skills are excellent. While I can’t compare it to chefs in star-rated hotels, the chefs in general mid-to-high-end restaurants are only at this level. I didn’t realize you were such a virtuous woman, capable in both the boardroom and the kitchen.”

Tang Xuexu’s face flushed with shyness, and she said, “When you live alone for a long time, these skills become essential. Come, try the other dishes.”

Tang Xuexu looked at Yang Chen expectantly, her face radiating a happy smile.

…

Since Yang Chen had agreed to attend Tang Xuexu’s grandfather’s birthday banquet, he couldn’t arrive empty-handed.

The next day, after dropping Tang Xuexu off at the company, Yang Chen prepared to buy a gift.

Just as he was contemplating what to buy, Li Hongyan called.

Yang Chen answered the phone and asked, “Hello, President Li, what’s the matter?”

Li Hongyan said anxiously, “Mr. Yang, my daughter seems to be in a bad way. Can you come to the hospital to see her? Please, please.”

Yang Chen asked, “Okay. Are you at Longmei Hospital?”

Li Hongyan replied, “Yes! At Longmei Hospital. Are you coming over now? I’ll wait for you at the door.”

Yang Chen said, “Okay. I’ll head over now.”

After hanging up, Yang Chen immediately drove to Longmei Hospital.

More than half an hour later, Yang Chen arrived at Longmei Hospital.

Li Hongyan was waiting at the gate. Yang Chen honked the horn twice to signal her to get in the car.

“Mr. Yang, thank you. I will never forget your kindness,” Li Hongyan said gratefully.

“It’s just a small thing, don’t mention it,” Yang Chen replied, and then drove into the hospital.

After parking, they went to the ward together.

The doctors were discussing treatment plans, and it seemed surgery might be necessary.

However, for such a young child to undergo such a major surgery so soon after the first, her body might not be able to handle it.

That was the dilemma. They couldn’t avoid surgery, but they feared her body wouldn’t withstand it.

To boost her daughter’s resistance, Li Hongyan had even brought out the ginseng she had treasured for years. If surgery was necessary, she hoped the ginseng would help her daughter.

Ginseng could indeed replenish vitality, but in this situation, it was likely ineffective.

Yang Chen observed the child and then reassured Li Hongyan, “It’s not a major problem. Some parts of the heart and lungs must have been damaged. It wasn’t discovered during the first surgery, right?”

Li Hongyan confirmed, “Yes, yes! The doctor said the same thing. The first time, they connected the ribs, removed the bone fragments, and repaired the damaged parts of the heart and lungs. Unfortunately, some areas were missed, so Xiao Yun is now in a critical condition.”

Yang Chen nodded, took out his gold needles to disinfect them, and began treating the child.

But this method alone wouldn’t be enough; it needed to be supplemented with medication.

Yang Chen took out paper and pen and wrote a prescription for Li Hongyan.

“Go to the best pharmacy and buy high-quality medicinal materials. Boil the medicine for her to drink according to the method I wrote above. If you don’t know how to boil it, ask the pharmacy professionals to help you. Suspend the hospital’s treatment. The child’s condition should improve soon,” Yang Chen instructed.

Li Hongyan nodded and said, “Thank you, Mr. Yang. When Xiao Yun recovers, I will definitely bring her to thank you in person for saving her life.”

Yang Chen said, “You’re welcome. Your ginseng looks good. Why don’t you give it to me? I need a gift for an old man, and this would be perfect.”

Li Hongyan replied, “No problem! Mr. Yang, please take it. I have more at home. If you need more, I’ll go home and get it immediately.”

Yang Chen said, “No need. One is enough.”

After a while, Yang Chen removed the gold needles.

While cleaning and disinfecting them, he said, “I’ll come again tonight. These next two days are critical, so you should stay with her constantly. Ask your family to take turns with you, and call me immediately if any problems arise.”

Li Hongyan said, “Okay! Thank you, Mr. Yang.”

Yang Chen took the ginseng and left.

If Li Hongyan prevented the doctors from treating the child, they would definitely object.

Therefore, Yang Chen went to the dean’s office and asked him to remind the doctor not to provide any treatment to Li Hongyan’s daughter for the time being.

Yang Chen’s request was immediately granted by the dean.

Then, Yang Chen went out to his car.

In the evening, Yang Chen returned to the company and picked up Tang Xuexu.

“Let’s go, I’ll cook for you,” Tang Xuexu said excitedly.

It seemed Yang Chen hadn’t become addicted to eating, but she had become addicted to cooking.

Yang Chen shook his head and said, “No, I have something to do later. I’ll take you home first.”

The smile on Tang Xuexu’s face immediately vanished, and she quickly asked, “What’s the matter? Do you need my help?”

Yang Chen shook his head and said, “No need. By the way, I prepared a gift for your grandfather. See if it’s good enough. If not, there’s still time to prepare something else.”

Tang Xuexu took the wooden box, and her eyes widened in shock as she opened it.

“My God, this ginseng is enormous! If it’s not a thousand years old, it must be hundreds of years old,” Tang Xuexu exclaimed.

Damn, was it really that old?

Yang Chen instantly regretted it a bit. Was it too wasteful to give such an old ginseng to Tang Qing?

But he had already offered it, and it would be embarrassing to take it back now.

Forget it, as long as he could find out whether the Tang family was connected to the death of his parents and aunt, sacrificing this ginseng would be worth it.

“As long as your grandfather likes it,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Tang Xuexu instantly felt a warmth in her heart and said, “Yang Chen, thank you for cooperating with me so much. I really hope you can stay by my side forever…”

Yang Chen chuckled and said, “A man’s ambition lies in all directions. I doubt I’ll be a driver forever.”

Tang Xuexu said, “You don’t have to be a driver. The relationship that could keep you by my side forever isn’t just that of a driver…”

“Let’s talk about that later. You never know what tomorrow will bring, so don’t think too much,” Yang Chen said evasively.

If the Tang family was indeed involved in the death of his parents, Yang Chen would definitely make the responsible parties pay with their blood.

Even if Tang Xuexu was hinting at something, Yang Chen had to pretend not to understand.

Soon, Yang Chen drove Tang Xuexu to the entrance of her community.

To avoid delaying Yang Chen, Tang Xuexu got out of the car and walked home.

Yang Chen waved goodbye to Tang Xuexu and immediately rushed to Longmei Hospital…

(Sorry everyone, something happened at home, I have to go back and see, I don’t know how many days it will take, I may not be able to update. Sorry.)