Chapter 177 - Tryst

After hanging up, Ye Fan stood inside the safety staircase at the end of the corridor on the eighth floor and chuckled bitterly to himself.

It was not that his relationship with Zhao Tianya had to be kept in the dark, but Zhao Tianya was too dazzlingly charming, and he certainly didn’t want to become the talk of the whole corporation just for exchanging a few words with her.

After a while, Ye Fan heard the clicking sound of stiletto heels on the corridor floor tiles outside.

When he pushed the door of the safety stairway open, he indeed saw Zhao Tianya, dressed in a sexy bodycon mini dress, strutting over.

As he caught sight of Zhao Tianya, she also noticed him and immediately sent a 100,000-volt sultry glance his way, smiling at him with lingering flirtation.

Ye Fan almost turned tail and ran.

Damn, was it just an ordinary meeting?

Why did he feel like he was acting like a thief just from one of her sultry looks and that flirtatious smile?

Soon enough, a fragrant breeze wafted over, and Zhao Tianya entered the safety staircase.

Zhao Tianya looked around the stairwell environment, and then said to Ye Fan with an enchanting laugh, “Giggle, Ye Fan, you sure know how to pick a spot.”

At the end of her words, she deliberately cast an infinitely flirtatious look at Ye Fan.

A multitude of black lines appeared on the back of Ye Fan’s head, and he hurriedly said, “It’s just a normal meeting, not as complicated as you think.”

“Giggle, did I say otherwise?

Maybe it’s just your guilty conscience,” Zhao Tianya giggled, taking two steps closer to Ye Fan.

Ye Fan instinctively took a step back.

“Giggle, giggle…” Zhao Tianya laughed unrestrainedly, her laughter causing her to tremble, “Are you afraid of me?”

Ye Fan felt a bit embarrassed, stood up straight, and tried to appear nonchalant, “Why would I be?

You’re not a tiger.”

“Giggle, maybe I am?” Zhao Tianya teased with a smile, “Didn’t the old monk tell the young monk going down the mountain that all the women down there are tigers?”

Ye Fan shook his head with a light smile, knowing that arguing with Zhao Tianya would only make him seem more guilty, so he simply chose not to argue.

“By the way, what did you need to talk to me about?” he changed the subject.

Having finally put Ye Fan in an awkward position, Zhao Tianya was not about to let it go easily.

With a triumphant look on her pretty face, she pressed on, “I just came to see you.

You haven’t answered yet.

Trying to shift my attention won’t work on me.”

“What’s there to answer?” Ye Fan decided to feign ignorance.

Zhao Tianya laughed temptingly, scolding playfully, “You little rascal, little slicker.

Fine, I’ll stop teasing you.

How have you been lately?”

“Heh, I’ve been eating well, sleeping soundly, the only thing lacking is a woman to warm my bed,” Ye Fan said with an amused smile.

Zhao Tianya replied with a laugh, “Looking for a girlfriend, huh?

I can set you up, introduce you to a dozen or so beautiful Cinderellas.”

“Heh, no thanks,” Ye Fan rushed to wave it off.

Tantai Wanrong’s attempts to set him up were already giving him a headache.

Adding Zhao Tianya’s chaos to the mix would push him over the edge, especially since Zhao Tianya was exceptionally good at causing trouble.

“I’m just kidding.

For now, I need to take care of myself first,” Ye Fan explained facetiously.

Zhao Tianya insisted, “I’m serious though.

I know many girls around your age, all of them are pretty and well-mannered.

If you miss out, you might regret it later.”

Ye Fan shook his head firmly.

Then, the two chatted for a few more minutes.

Towards the end of their conversation, Zhao Tianya brought up Deng Xiaofu, “Come clean, have you and Xiao Fu developed anything secretly?”

“What could there be?” Ye Fan acted innocently, “Didn’t you say she went to Beijing?

Why bring her up?”

“Hmm, now that I think about it, Xiao Fu always acted strangely around you, different from usual,” Zhao Tianya said.

“Anyway, she’s no longer in Hua Hai, tell me about it.”

Ye Fan heard a hint of jealousy in Zhao Tianya’s tone.

Was she holding a grudge?

It happened so long ago, he had nearly forgotten about it.

“There really was nothing.

You were always there, you saw that she barely spoke to me,” Ye Fan said, knowing he’d be a fool to reveal any subtle incidents that happened under the table.

“That’s exactly what’s strange,” Zhao Tianya huffed threateningly, “Spill it now, or I’ll leave, and we’ll stop chatting.”

“There really wasn’t anything,” Ye Fan said, spreading his hands.

“Are you really not telling me?

Fine, I’m leaving, I won’t bother with you anymore!”

Having said that, she turned her head proudly, pulled open the door, and left through the emergency staircase.

As she stepped out of the emergency staircase, she expected Ye Fan to immediately come after her, apologizing and begging her not to be angry.

However, after walking seven or eight steps, she still didn’t see Ye Fan catching up.

So, she deliberately slowed her pace.

Yet, even as she reached the elevator, Ye Fan was nowhere in sight.

“This unreliable jerk, this gorgeous lady kindly looks out for you, and you make me mad and don’t even chase after to apologize.

It’s maddening, I’m done with you!” she grumbled to herself, feeling slightly choked up.

Then, she pressed the elevator button and entered the elevator.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan was standing in the same spot, taking an overseas call from Robert Laurenson.

He knew Zhao Tianya was just jokingly pretending to be angry, and he also knew that her chat with him probably didn’t matter much.

After talking for so long, it seemed about time to wrap up, so when Robert Laurenson’s call came in, he answered it instead of chasing after her.

“Respected Black Dragon, after a professional assessment, shorting Tong Yi Group’s stocks can be divided into mid-term and short-term operations,” Robert Laurenson said in English, “Mid-term operations require about one billion US dollars.

Short-term operations require upwards of three billion US dollars.”

“I need both mid-term and short-term operations, that is, to launch the attack in a little over a week,” Ye Fan said.

Time was short, Li Zhaojun hadn’t made much of an effort yet, and the Tong Yi Group, being busy with self-rescue, had to give up the patent for the “Jie Fei Qing Hua” pill.

Without experiencing hardship, it wouldn’t benefit the Emali Group’s future growth.

If too much time passed, he worried that if Li Zhaojun couldn’t retrieve the “Jie Fei Qing Hua” patent, she might not withstand the pressure and agree to cooperate with the Tong Yi Group.

Robert Laurenson said, “Mid-to-short-term operations will require about fifteen billion US dollars.

Initially, three billion would be needed for the setup, and roughly twelve billion to officially start shorting.”

“Good.

I’ll set up a NASDAQ stock account later and transfer three billion dollars into it, then hand it over to you,” Ye Fan decisively stated, “For the pure profit from shorting the Tong Yi Group, I’ll pay you a twenty percent commission.”

“It’s a great honor to serve you, sir, how could I possibly accept a commission from you?” Robert Laurenson hastily replied.

Ye Fan firmly said, “An emperor doesn’t starve his troops.

Take what I give you, no refusals.

That’s settled then!”

After finishing, Ye Fan hung up the phone.

Ye Fan returned to his office when Fang Yueyun suddenly looked up and said, “Manager Ye, Manager Hu wants you to drop by her office.”

“Okay,” Ye Fan responded and then turned to leave the office, knocking before entering Hu Jing’s office.

“Manager Hu, do you have any instructions?” Ye Fan asked as soon as he entered.

Hu Jing paused her work, took a stack of documents and laid them on the desk, then said, “These are résumés from the online recruitment.

Take them back, review them, and mark any you find unsuitable, then sign.”

She couldn’t possibly have the final say on everything.

“Have you looked through them?” Ye Fan asked.

Hu Jing replied, “Of course.”

With a chuckle, Ye Fan walked up, took a black water-based pen from the penholder on the table, and promptly signed “Reviewed.

All approved” on the list, followed by his full name.

“There, done,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

Hu Jing smiled.