Chapter 189: Simply Don’t Believe Him
Not together.
Liancheng’s teasing eyes calmed, and she gazed at Liang Chaosu expressionlessly.
He turned back and instructed the meeting to move to the next item.
This was the first time Liancheng had seen him truly working.
Midway through the meeting, for the dangers that seemed like wind and rain to Liancheng, with a few words, or just a stroke of his pen, executives stepped forward to explain the decisions he had already made.
Victory and defeat shifted easily, appearing as if man was the knife and the meat, and I was the fish. But it turned out, I was the knife and the meat, and others were the fish.
The directors became more and more cheerful, some unbuttoning their jackets, some loosening their shirt cuffs. Liang Chaosu’s attire was neat, and the lighting in the large conference room was as bright as day. In the brightest and coldest light, he stood.
There was no spirited ambition or impassioned fervor of commanding the world. His veins, bones, and sinews were stretched taut like indifferent onlookers, devoid of any desire for power struggles, which was somewhat subversive to Liancheng’s impression.
She let out a cold laugh.
Liang Chaosu said that his four years of relentless struggle day and night were all for her, but she didn’t believe it one bit. After spending four years together day and night, she knew exactly what kind of person Liang Chaosu was.
On the surface, he was calm, but in reality, he was indignant, furious, nervous, and ferocious. Such a person who only attacked and plundered, devoid of humanity, craved power more than women, an unending monster of conquest.
Now, it was just pretense.
The opportunity gambled with his life was too worth feigning and acting out remorse, a self-righteous stratagem. Liancheng saw through it but didn’t expose it, as it was beneficial to her for now.
“The Qingxi Valley project was decided by Director Liang when he was still in the North. For several years, General Manager Gao executed it, and all affairs progressed smoothly. But three months ago, it was suddenly handed over to Gu Corporation. Do those country bumpkins at Gu Corporation understand cultural tourism projects with ancient architecture?”
“This project is led by the local cultural tourism department. The initial phase involves repairing and protecting ancient architectural complexes, with a planned investment of 400 million. When General Manager Gao was in charge, it was more than enough, but Gu Corporation exceeded the budget in just one month after taking over.”
“The project also includes the later phase of ‘revitalizing the old city.’ The cultural tourism bureau’s key guidance is ‘linking points to form a surface’ to create a vibrant ‘city that never sleeps,’ setting aside key protection projects and encircling them with a new city. All of this, when calculated, is Gu Corporation emptying out Liang Family?”
Liancheng’s brow furrowed tightly.
She had a deep impression of the place, Qingxi Valley.
Two weeks after the start of the second year of university, in early autumn, the department organized a field training trip for ancient architecture. They chose that area located in a mountain hollow, which was an ancient post station. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and expanded in the Song Dynasty, possessing rich historical charm. Unfortunately, protection was inadequate; mountain resort hotels were built nearby, and commercial development was excessive, severely damaging the architectural complexes.
The old professor of the department was deeply distressed. Limited by his personal ability, he could only lead them to observe and record more before it disappeared.
Upon arrival, she saw dilapidated walls, blue bricks and gray tiles, carvings on the roof beams, and the ingenious craftsmanship of ancient artisans, all turned to dust by the years. Liancheng found it hard not to feel regret and anger towards the excessive commercial development.
This anger reached its peak when Liang Chaosu arrived uninvited.
The field trip was a school activity, and Liancheng reasonably refused to bring him along, as she only had a few days of freedom. While observing the ancient plank road in the valley, she coincidentally encountered Liang Chaosu leading a team to survey the environment, preparing to invest and develop this forest area.
She no longer remembered the joy of the local village chief.
By the end of the field trip, Liang Chaosu seemed unable to bear her resentment and hostility any longer, defending himself, “The school prohibits bringing family members, but it doesn’t violate regulations for family members to encounter each other by chance during work.”
Liancheng trembled all over, unable to believe it, “You’re investing, and you came chasing after me to see me?”
Liang Chaosu actually smiled, a tenderness of finally being understood, “I missed you.”
Liancheng was struck by immense guilt. The days of sorrow of the old professor, the beautiful buildings nestled in the green mountains, far from worldly affairs, were not destroyed by time, but by her, by their dirty relationship.
“I approved it.”
Calm and firm.
Liang Chaosu’s voice startled Liancheng. His posture was even more dominant as he sat upright, his aura spreading out, exuding a powerful, coercive deterrence that silenced the hesitant directors.
The directors sat down, and an executive from the back row stood up.
Liancheng vaguely remembered that he had frequently visited the Liang family a few years ago and was likely a confidant promoted by Father Liang.
“Director Liang, with you here, funds are not a problem,” he flattered slightly. “The main issue now is environmental protection. Before the year ended, local residents complained about the construction team damaging the environment. The environmental protection bureau then spoke with us. Judging from the tone, there are concerns.”
Anger flared in Liancheng’s eyes. Nearly three years later, the rage and hatred she couldn’t stop at the time still burned within her, amplified by time.
Liang Chaosu’s face also darkened, his gaze cold, directly at another executive.
The executive shot up like a rocket, his face pale with a hint of green, “Director Liang, during Gu Corporation’s construction, the cultural tourism bureau officials and I went back and forth weekly to monitor. Everything was within national standards; there’s absolutely no possibility of environmental damage.”
The previous executive retorted, “Manager Liu, when we received the notice from the environmental protection bureau, we contacted you several times, and you didn’t say that.”
Liang Chaosu glanced at Liancheng. In the excessively bright light, her pursed lips, clenched jaw, and silent animosity were all laid bare.
In fact, at the beginning of the project, he had explained and later presented a plan, guaranteeing that he would do his best to repair the buildings.
Later, she never brought it up again, but in her heart, she had never believed him.
She firmly believed that commercial development inevitably harmed ancient architecture. She assumed he was driven by greed, and that repairing the buildings was merely a future promotional selling point, so his supposed best efforts at repair would surely be filled with modernity.
He wouldn’t abandon the shrewdness of a businessman, investing heavily and putting in effort with the same meticulousness as cultural relic protection. His repairs would be the demise of the ancient architecture, leaving only a modern shell resembling the ancient exterior, a destruction of the beautiful soul.
She was actually open-minded and reasonable, not stubborn or illogical. She simply didn’t believe him, didn’t believe he, as a person, could do anything good.
A barren pain bloomed in Liang Chaosu’s heart, a sorrow, a gloom. “Whether there are construction issues, I will inspect it myself.”
His voice was calm and steady, yet it landed with the weight of a dropped stone.
The large conference room immediately fell silent.
The director who first raised the objection instinctively glanced at the executive promoted by Father Liang. The executive kept his eyes down, his gaze fixed on his nose, and his nose on his heart, completely ignoring his hint.
The director suppressed his guilt, withdrew his gaze, and in the next moment, met Liang Chaosu’s eyes, deep and cold, unfathomably profound. His pupils reflected the conference room lights, a stark white that seemed to pierce through to the bone marrow.
After the meeting, Liancheng followed behind Liang Chaosu into the Chairman’s Office.
Liang Chaosu walked directly to the desk, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and loosened his tie. “Secretary Liang, please pour me a glass of water.”
Before he finished speaking, he added, “Can you?”
Putting on airs and acting respectful.
Liancheng’s disgust was evident on her face as she took the water and handed it to him. “Is it cold enough? If not, I’ll go get more.”
Liang Chaosu was stunned for a moment, a smile in his eyes. Her little notebook of grudges was tens of thousands of entries long; sometimes he had to recall them. “Last time with the ice, I wasn’t tormenting you, I wanted you to—”
“Is your ‘wanting’ something so significant?” She cut off his rambling, casually placing the glass on the desk. “Your ‘wanting’ to me is nothing but destruction, completely useless.”
Liang Chaosu’s breath hitched. His voice was slightly hoarse, melancholic. As he uttered a single word, his Adam’s apple felt hard and rigid.
“Qingxi Valley inspection, will you go?”
