Given Mu Chaoyang’s financial resources, his Chaoyang Pharmaceutical Company alone is certainly not enough to be mentioned in the same breath as the Yang family’s family business.
But the Mu family’s power in Xidu City is also not to be underestimated. Their influence in the political arena is not much less than the Cui family’s. Especially Mu Chaoyang’s father, who is already the steward of the Xidu City government, at the section chief level. The authority he holds is almost comparable to Lin Moli’s father.
On top of that, the Chaoyang Pharmaceutical Company that Mu Chaoyang has been working on is having a good run and has boundless prospects. So, even if Mu Chaoyang is slightly inferior to Yang Feng, it’s not by much.
Both the fathers are key political figures, and the younger generation is just as outstanding. They seem like a match made in heaven, the most suitable couple. That’s why many people in the Cui family, including Lin Moli’s mother, Cui Ruzhu, were so eager to push the two together.
But now, the situation has left everyone confused and shocked.
The Mu Chaoyang they saw as comparable to Yang Feng was calmly, even with a slightly fawning attitude, following Lin Moli’s boyfriend—his rival in love—into the Cui family?
Actually, you can’t really blame Mu Chaoyang for this. It’s not that he has no integrity. Jiang Fei is clearly his romantic rival, yet he shamelessly tries to be ‘friends’ with him.
He really has no choice.
He didn’t know Jiang Fei’s true identity before, but there’s no way he wouldn’t know about ‘Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company,’ which has been causing huge waves in the medical industry recently!
This booming pharmaceutical company, with its unstoppable momentum, started from Jincheng and spread rapidly across the entire province. Even now, in Xidu City, Qinchuan Province, traces of Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company have appeared. And for any of his Chaoyang Pharmaceutical Company’s products that overlap in efficacy with Jiangshi’s, their sales have all been affected without exception.
Given this situation, how could he not be concerned and try to understand it?
But no matter how he thought about it, he never expected that Jiang Fei would be that legendary, masterful traditional Chinese medicine doctor, the president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association!
Faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful and unstoppable competitor, being an enemy is obviously the least rational choice. The best approach is to turn an enemy into a friend, to become a partner.
If he could latch onto the coattails of Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company at this point, his Chaoyang Pharmaceutical Company would truly have boundless prospects. Just picking up the scraps that fell behind would be more than he could ever consume.
So, after weighing the options a bit, Mu Chaoyang, who has been smart since childhood and always puts benefits first, knew exactly what he had to do.
Anyway, he and Lin Moli weren’t actually in a real boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. He just had intentions in that direction, and many people in the Cui family also leaned that way, but no one had ever made it explicit.
What he was doing now wasn’t too shameless…
Well, at least that’s what Mu Chaoyang told himself.
Of course, the most important thing is that he knows Lin Moli’s personality. If she was willing to bring Jiang Fei home, it means she’s completely devoted to him. Add Jiang Fei’s status to that, and he has no chance whatsoever.
Even if he pretended to be cool and left in a huff, or even tried to get revenge on Jiang Fei, it would be completely useless.
Since it’s destined to be unattainable, he might as well stop thinking about it and focus on other useful things.
He absolutely must latch onto the coattails of Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company!
If it means losing some face, then so be it. This is, after all, a world where profit is king.
“Jiang Fei, where did you guys go just now? Are you… okay?”
Lin Moli had originally been ready to ‘teach a lesson’ to those relatives in the hall on Jiang Fei’s behalf, to vent for him and make them stop underestimating him. But when she saw her mother return with Jiang Fei, she immediately put those thoughts aside.
It wasn’t like she really wanted to stoop to their level.
She was just afraid that Jiang Fei would be treated too harshly by her mother after coming home with her, that he might feel wronged.
Cui Ruzhu no longer had the sharp edge she had before; she looked a bit deflated. But her habitually stern, poker face wasn’t exactly happy. Watching her daughter, who was like a swallow returning to its nest, fussing over Jiang Fei, carefully checking him over as if afraid he’d been bullied, she shook her head with mixed feelings and secretly sighed. A grown daughter is no longer under her mother’s control. That saying is really true.
“What else could I do? Did you think I’d have him lose an arm or a leg?” Cui Ruzhu said with a cold snort.
Lin Moli glanced at her mother but didn’t say anything. Her relationship with Cui Ruzhu had grown cold long ago due to the family’s emotional distance. Even when they occasionally talked on the phone, it always ended unhappily.
Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit cold, Mu Chaoyang, who had already decided to be shameless, voluntarily stepped forward and said with a smile, “Moli, you’re finally back in Xidu City. It’s been over three years since we last saw each other, right?”
He paused there, his eyes sizing up Jiang Fei and Lin Moli for a moment, then said with a bit of a sigh, “Ah, you probably don’t know this, but I’ve actually always liked you. When I heard you were back this time, I specifically came over to see you, to see if I might have a chance or something. What a pity… I didn’t expect you to bring your boyfriend back directly this time, and such an outstanding one like Jiang Fei… Ah, I’m ashamed to even compare myself to him. I have absolutely no chance now, so I can only give up.”
Mu Chaoyang had a wry smile on his face, and everyone could tell it was deliberate, carrying a hint of teasing and self-mockery.
But it was precisely this feigned wry smile, this direct and undisguised expression of his ‘feelings,’ that could alleviate his real wryness and salvage his dignity to a great extent.
You have to admit, this Mu Chaoyang is a pretty smart guy.
Hearing this, even Jiang Fei couldn’t help but squint his eyes. He had initially thought this handsome guy was just a spoiled second-generation relying on his parents’ advantages to do business, but now it seemed he was actually a talented individual.
Jiang Fei wasn’t the only one who understood the real meaning behind Mu Chaoyang’s words. There were several smart people in the hall.
Take Cui Ruzhu, for example. Before, when she was extremely satisfied with Mu Chaoyang, she thought it was polite and clever of him to chat and laugh in front of Jiang Fei without getting angry or annoyed by Jiang Fei’s ‘attacks.’
But now, seeing Mu Chaoyang act like this, her inner attitude immediately turned to disdain. A man like that, who’s such a wimp, even a strong-willed woman like herself couldn’t appreciate him.
Conversely, the Jiang Fei she had wanted to kick out just a moment ago now, for some reason, suddenly seemed much, much more agreeable. It was like the saying, ‘a mother-in-law takes more liking to her son-in-law the more she looks at him.’ Of course, she hadn’t shown it yet.
This is how people are. No matter how high your status or how outstanding and smart you are, human nature is mostly the same. Everyone has the full range of emotions and desires.
“Brother Chaoyang, this person… is even more outstanding than you?” Cui Qingxuan still couldn’t believe it, her eyes wide as she asked Mu Chaoyang.
Mu Chaoyang was also a well-known young talent in Xidu City, not much worse than her ideal husband, Yang Feng. Even Yang Feng couldn’t make Mu Chaoyang admit he was inferior.
Mu Chaoyang forced a smile onto his face: “Qingxuan, that’s certainly true. I wouldn’t dare compare myself to Jiang Fei. My little pharmaceutical company is just small-time stuff. Compared to Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company, it’s practically not worth mentioning. Haha…”
Although Mu Chaoyang tried hard to make his smile look natural, it seemed glaringly out of place to all the middle-aged women in the hall.
At the same time, they all felt deeply ashamed. Their eyes flickered, and none of them dared to look directly at Lin Moli and Jiang Fei anymore.
Just a moment ago, each of them had been speaking disdainfully about Jiang Fei, looking down on him. They all urged Lin Moli to break up with him, saying his entry into the Cui family was an insult to them, that Jiang Fei was unworthy of even entering their door, and that Lin Moli getting together with Mu Chaoyang was the best choice.
And now?
The Mu Chaoyang they considered the best had unhesitatingly raised the white flag of surrender and was even willingly becoming a collaborator!
And the target of his surrender was the very Jiang Fei they all looked down upon.
There is no better slap in the face in this world than this. They felt like their faces had been swollen from the beating, burning hot with pain.
Only the mother and daughter, Cui Qingxuan and Zhu Zhen, although also somewhat embarrassed, weren’t as deeply ashamed.
Because they had more confidence than the others.
Although it had turned out that Jiang Fei was outstanding and Lin Moli had found another great match, Yang Feng wasn’t bad either. Maybe he was even better than Jiang Fei!
After all, this so-called Jiangshi Pharmaceutical Company only had great potential for now; its valuation was inflated. Who knows how it would actually develop? It might stumble and fall into an abyss. Things like that happen in the business world.
But the Yang family was different.
The Yang family’s business was a family enterprise built over three generations—a solidly wealthy family. Their enterprise was stable, with a real value of nearly one billion!
So Yang Feng was the source of confidence for Cui Qingxuan and her mother.
And just then, a man walked into the hall from outside. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and a suit. Although he wasn’t particularly handsome or tall, he had a lot of energy and spirit.
Seeing this man, Cui Qingxuan, who hadn’t known what to say, immediately lit up. Her aura recovered instantly. She quickly went over, linked her arm through his, raised her face, and said proudly, “Yang Feng, you’re here.”
“Mm. I heard your grandfather was sick, so I came to check on him,” Yang Feng nodded.
Hearing this, Cui Qingxuan became even happier. She didn’t forget to glance triumphantly at Lin Moli and Jiang Fei before saying sweetly, “Yang Feng, you’re so wonderful…”
Yang Feng patted Cui Qingxuan’s head—she was almost as tall as him—and swept his gaze across the hall. When he saw Mu Chaoyang, he smiled and said, “Chaoyang, you’re even more proactive than me. You came too. I heard Moli…”
But when his gaze shifted to Lin Moli, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and his words stopped. It was as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Or rather, it was when his gaze landed on Jiang Fei that he seemed truly shocked.
After being stunned for a moment, Yang Feng immediately shook off Cui Qingxuan’s clinging, walked over to Jiang Fei, and asked cautiously, “May I ask… are you Young Master Jiang Fei?”
