Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

Xue Lai felt Lu Yang's barely perceptible nod, as if she had been given a shot of adrenaline.

Her taut shoulders relaxed slightly, and she quickly concealed the panic in her eyes. She gave Lu Yang a slight bow, then turned around and walked toward her uncle, Sir Michael Kadoorie, who was waiting by the side hall door with a deliberately maintained composure.

The high heels landed on the thick plush carpet with a dull thud.

Sir Michael still wore his signature friendly smile, but his eyes swept over his niece's slightly pale cheeks and drooping eyelashes like those of a hawk.

"It seems you're having a very engaging conversation..."

Sir Michael's tone was gentle, but as the two walked side by side toward the study, his voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible to anyone else, "Mr. Lu, are you satisfied with the source of information I so generously provided?"

Xue Lai's breath hitched slightly as she clearly sensed the probing in her uncle's words.

She had to choose her words carefully, buying herself time while avoiding revealing any inappropriate details.

“Mr. Lu… seems very interested in ‘that matter,’ Uncle. I think I can gain his trust.”

She responded cautiously, skillfully avoiding directly commenting on the source of the information, and only pointing out Lu Yang's attitude.

"I... I'm still in the initial contact stage, and there are some things I haven't had a chance to say yet."

Sir Michael said happily, "It's alright, just do your best. Just let this Mr. Lu know that our Jia Daoli family is on the friendly side towards him. Now that 97 is approaching, the family is worried that the business of the elders in Hong Kong will be affected, so they specifically instructed me to befriend some of the top tycoons on the mainland. You can't ruin my plans."

His real purpose was here.

He wanted Lu Yang to owe him a favor, just in case he needed it someday in the future.

Helping this stepdaughter of his wild niece was just a side thing; if it worked out, great, if not, it didn't matter. She was just an illegitimate daughter of a family, the product of a one-night stand, and besides, not even his own biological daughter.

Xue Lai lowered her head even further and said cautiously, "I will do my best."

Sir Michael nodded and then let her go. "Go, take good care of this Mr. Lu. No matter what method you use, remember, as long as you can stay by his side, I will consider transferring the property under my name back to your mother's name, so that she won't be homeless in Hong Kong and end up on the streets when she's old and faded."

Judging from his words, it seems that if Mi Lai cannot win over Lu Yang with her talent and be hired by Lu Yang's company, then she will have to use her body to exchange for the opportunity to stay by Lu Yang's side. In his opinion, she is willing to do anything about it.

It even contains implicit threats.

If they didn't do as he said, Xue Lai's mother might soon end up homeless.

In the port city, land is incredibly valuable.

A group of ordinary people who work honestly their whole lives may not even be able to afford a pigeon coop.

Xue Lai has just graduated from university.

I haven't worked for a few days.

Even her college tuition was funded by the man in front of her, who was also her mother's lover.

If I were really kicked out of my current home...

She might be able to support herself and find a stable job.

But her mother, a former dancer who has grown accustomed to a life of extravagance and lavish spending over the years, will likely find herself, as her uncle predicted, homeless on the streets when she grows old and loses her beauty.

She couldn't help but shudder.

She lowered her head even further, "I...I will try my best to do as you say..."

Sir Michael nodded in satisfaction.

Then he waved.

He gestured for her to stop following him and go serve the Mr. Lu he mentioned. "At the banquet tonight, you'd better stay close to Mr. Lu. I've already arranged to introduce Kazuo Kazuo to Mr. Lu during this banquet. You must seize this opportunity to close this deal, understand?"

"Yes."

Xuelai, being sensible, slowly backed away.

She watched as her uncle, Sir Michael, entered the study, followed silently by the butler who had been with them, and then closed the door.

Xue Lai took a deep breath, trying her best to suppress her fluctuating emotions, so as not to let Mr. Lu notice and affect his perception of her, making him think she was not professional enough.

He is, after all, a graduate of a prestigious international university.

Although I have almost no social practice experience.

However, she understood this principle: it was very important to leave a confident and reliable impression. If possible, she wanted to win over Mr. Lu with her own abilities.

Instead of following in her uncle's footsteps and using her looks to please men, as he said at the end.

This is too bad.

With these thoughts in mind, Xue Lai walked back to the meeting room where Lu Yang, Mu Qizhong, and Xiao Jun were.

The three of them had finished their playful fighting.

Let's get down to business.

"Brother Lu, I beg you, can you tell me the truth? Do you really think this property in Taiping Mountain is worthwhile?"

Mu Qizhong simply couldn't believe that Lu Yang bought such an expensive mansion for his own residence.

Because it's simply impossible!

His wife and children aren't here, nor is his career. Unless Lu Yang plans to take his wife and children and run away from the mainland to Hong Kong, that would be more likely.

But this place was supposed to return before 97.

It hasn't been many years already, has it?
Giving up one's career on the mainland at this time, moving to Hong Kong and starting a business from scratch, wouldn't that be the same as joining the National Revolutionary Army in 49?

Only a fool would do that!
His brother Lu was definitely not stupid; in fact, he was an extremely intelligent person. Therefore, he was certain that Lu Yang bought the villa on Victoria Peak for investment purposes, and that there was definitely a huge business opportunity involved.

Business opportunities have shrunk.

This kid probably wouldn't even consider him a good match.

Xiao Jun also looked at Lu Yang, his brother-in-law, with bright, expectant eyes.

He has no money.

But it doesn't matter, he has a rich sister. He can just say a few nice words and borrow some more money from her. Lu Yang had already expected that these two guys had followed him, definitely with designs on him. But it didn't matter. There were countless villas on Victoria Peak from the mountainside to the summit. Anyway, the only one Lu Yang had his eye on was No. 10 Pollock's Path, which seemed to reach the sky from the summit. After buying that large estate, he probably wouldn't have much spare money left. As for the rest, if these two guys liked them, they could buy them if they wanted, and if they didn't, so be it.

Whether you can get rich along with them depends on fate and luck.

Think of this.

Lu Yang didn't hide anything and cheerfully said, "That's right, I'm planning to buy it as an investment, but it depends on whether the other party is willing to part with it. As for how much they value it, well, I can't really say, it's just a feeling."

Asking questions is based on intuition, which is correct. You can't exactly say that you can see the future with your eyes, can you?

I come from the future.

Hehe, no one would believe you if I told them. They'd think you're crazy and that I'm playing a trick on them.

But I only say it's based on feeling.

This, on the contrary, made Mu Qizhong and Xiao Jun's eyes light up.

"Okay!"

Mu Qizhong slapped his thigh and stood up excitedly, saying, "It's good to go by gut feeling. Brother Lu, your gut feeling is never wrong. I trust you. How about this, let's play a small game. I'll call the company later and see if we can raise 40 or 50 million in working capital. Forget about the one on the top of the mountain. This one halfway up the mountain is not bad either. It's close to the mountain and the sea. We can buy it for investment or to live in ourselves. If it appreciates in value in the future, great. If it doesn't appreciate, I'll use it for my retirement. Damn it, it's settled."

Xiao Jun said enviously, "I wonder if there are any cheaper ones around here on the mountainside, around ten million or twenty million?"

He's the type who can't stand up for himself when he's broke, so he relies entirely on his rich sister's money. Tens or twenty million is manageable, but anything more, he worries that she won't lend it to him and will instead give him a good scolding.

This time, Lu Yang didn't even bother to roll his eyes at him.

He beckoned directly to Xue Lai, the mixed-race foreign woman who had already entered their reception room and arrived at the door, and said, "Come here, you explain to this young master for me, can you even make a sound with a sum of money like 1000 million to 2000 million thrown around here on the mountainside?"

In Hong Kong, real estate is incredibly expensive. A little over 1000 million HKD would probably only be enough to buy a large apartment in downtown Hong Kong or Kowloon. To think you could buy a luxury mansion on the hillside of Victoria Peak, where the wealthy congregate, is just a pipe dream.

really……

Xue Lai, having received Lu Yang's orders, began to explain the situation to Xiao Jun in a tactful manner.

Mu Qizhong then leaned close to Lu Yang's ear and asked in a lewd tone typical of middle-aged men, "Brother, where does this foreign girl come from?"

Upon hearing his tone, Lu Yang guessed that the old man was up to no good and that his little head was about to influence his big head's thinking again. So he said calmly, "This is Sir Michael's niece, Miss Xue Lai. She is the new person I've chosen to be in charge of our investment company in Hong Kong. What do you think?"

In order to acquire Tianfu Cola, they set up a shell company in Gangcheng. Later, they successfully acquired Tianfu Cola. However, this shell company registered in Gangcheng still does not have a proper office address.

It's such a shame.

Lu Yang planned to take this opportunity to officially launch it.

While we're at it, let's see if we can develop some other businesses in the port city.

The mixed-race Western woman in front of me, who is one-eighth Chinese, is a very good candidate.

Without obtaining her consent, Lu Yang arranged Xue Lai's future job for her.

After listening, Mu Qizhong was stunned for a moment, and his old face was slightly embarrassed.

But successful men are quick; the lewd look on their faces disappears instantly.

He sat back down in his original spot with a serious expression, sinking into the sofa and buttoning up his suit jacket. He coughed twice and said, "Is that so? Not bad. So Miss Xue Lai is a member of a British knightly family. My apologies, Brother Lu. You really are something, why didn't you introduce her more formally?"

Since she was Sir Michael's niece, he could no longer treat her like a mere pretty face, using her looks to please men.

Lu Yang chuckled inwardly but didn't explain, saying that Miss Xue Lai's name was simply Xue Lai, and that it didn't include the family name of the noble family.

No need.

On the other side, Xue Lai was explaining to Xiao Jun how much the luxury houses near Taipingshan Road were worth.

Actually, I had been paying attention to Lu Yang and observing his every move. When I heard Lu Yang formally introduce himself, he was so polite in calling me Miss Shelley, and he appointed me as the person in charge of this side of a Hong Kong company that sounded pretty good, without even asking for my consent.

She was so excited that she almost burst into tears, but thankfully she held them back after several attempts.

Otherwise, you'll embarrass yourself.

Lu Yang was also observing her. Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but laugh. This so-called Hong Kong City Investment Company didn't even have a single formal employee, nor had it rented an office building. Everything had to start from scratch. Once this mixed-race girl with 1/8 Chinese blood took office, she probably wouldn't even have time to cry.

As night fell, colorful lights were gradually hung outside the windows, illuminating the lawn in front of the villa and creating a beautiful scene. The foreign butler was directing the staff to bring out the dining table, spread out clean white napkins, set out snacks, and bring out various red wines.

Xue went out for a while, then came back in.

He approached the large sofa where Lu Yang was sitting, bent down and whispered in Lu Yang's ear, "Boss, Sir Michael sent someone to tell you that Mr. Kazuo Wada has arrived and asked me to invite you to his study upstairs."

Lu Yang raised his glass of red wine, took a small sip, and said with satisfaction, "Not bad, let's go then."

I don't know if it's referring to the person or the wine.

Anyway, after he finished speaking, he put down his wine glass and stood up.

Xue Lai is very sensible. Just like before, she can say the word "boss" without hesitation.

The system had automatically substituted her into the role, as if she had already started working for Lu Yang and become his employee.

Even though Lu Yang hasn't paid her a salary yet, she's now going to negotiate a deal for Lu Yang for free, which could potentially save him tens of millions of yuan in important investments.

"They're truly the chosen ones for working life!"

Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh.

Just as he was climbing the stairs and approaching Sir Michael's study, the mixed-race girl secretly whispered a warning to him, telling him to keep quiet once inside and let her handle everything. If she didn't do a good job and he wasn't satisfied, then he, as her boss, could correct her later.

Why not take advantage of such a good opportunity?
Lu Yang agreed without hesitation, and even for the first time, he was unusually generous, prepared to cut his own losses. "How about this, I won't let you work for nothing. Considering how stingy you are with all this, if you can get the price below the market price during the negotiations, I'll give you a 100 commission for every 10 million you reduce the price by."

As soon as Xue Lai pushed open the door, she gasped and quickly covered her slightly open mouth with her hand, swallowing back her smugness. She couldn't afford to embarrass her boss at this moment.

Yes, she's already automatically putting herself into it again.

"Mr. Kazuo Wada, this is Mr. Lu, whom I'm introducing to you today. He comes from a top-tier wealthy family on the mainland, with immense power... You two can have a good chat..."

Sir Michael, acting as the middleman, spoke first. (End of Chapter)