I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 304 Does Long Ruoli Dare to Accept This Money?

RK International Consulting.

During lunch break, Zhang Yangwen knocked on the door of the vice president's office and delivered a box of fruit to Su Cheng.

Looking at the box of star-shaped fruits that were a bit green but not particularly green, Su Cheng suddenly recalled the scene of reading a text in elementary school.

Could this be the legendary... starfruit?
Su Cheng was quite surprised when she read this text. The original text of "Drawing Starfruit" in the textbook was: "Everyone is familiar with starfruit, but it looks different depending on the angle from which you look at it. We should trust our eyes, blah blah blah..."

Su Cheng's face was filled with a big question mark.

He really wanted to raise his hand and ask, "Teacher, what is a starfruit?"

But he was afraid that his classmates and teachers would laugh at him, so he didn't ask any questions.

Back home, Su Cheng immediately asked Lao Deng what a starfruit was, saying he wanted to eat one and could buy it for him to try. However, Lao Deng gave him a severe scolding.

At that time, Lao Deng's fierce demeanor and words terrified Su Cheng, who thought he had made a heinous request.

Su Cheng felt wronged whenever she thought about how immature she had been back then.

Normally Su Cheng wouldn't remember this, but seeing Yang Tao today brought back memories of her childhood.

After more than a decade, will he finally be able to eat star fruit?

So what does this thing actually taste like?
Su Cheng used a toothpick to pick up a piece of star fruit and put it in her mouth.

Ok……

Su Cheng's first impression was that it was quite moist, a little crunchy but not really crunchy.

It doesn't taste sour, but it's not sweet either; it leaves a strange taste in your mouth.

If I had to describe it, it would taste like grass roots, and it's rather astringent.

Su Cheng only tasted two pieces before feeling a dry, astringent sensation on her tongue and in her mouth.

Su Cheng didn't really like the taste of star fruit.

Even with the added filter of childhood memories and the anticipation of not being able to eat it for many years, Su Cheng still felt a great sense of disappointment.

"Is this very expensive?" Su Cheng couldn't help but ask.

"It's not expensive, only eight yuan per kilogram. This box is only a few yuan. It's very fresh, that's why I bought it."

"Oh, okay."

"How is it, Cheng-ge? Is it delicious?"

"generally."

In Su Cheng's mind, star fruit is an extremely expensive fruit that only wealthy people who drive Mercedes-Benz or Audi can afford.

So you're charging a few dollars per kilogram?

Go to hell!

If Lao Deng had said, "We don't produce starfruit here," Su Cheng would have accepted it and wouldn't have been so disappointed and angry.

Grass.

Su Cheng didn't want to talk about starfruit anymore; the more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt.

Just then, Zhang Yangwen inquired about the auction of that bottle of whiskey: "Brother Cheng, has that bottle of whiskey already been sold?"

"Yes, it's sold."

Zhang Yangwen didn't directly ask Su Cheng how much money she made; it wouldn't have been appropriate for him to ask that.

However, he did pay attention to the fact that the bottle of wine was actually a very rare one, with a starting bid of $100 million. It was eventually sold for $270 million by an agent of a super-rich person via telephone.

270 million!
More than ten million!

Zhang Yangwen became even more certain of his previous guess: this must have been a gift from a client to Su Cheng.

The gift was given to Su Cheng, who could exchange it for cash at any time; it was indeed a form of hard currency in high society.

Zhang Yangwen stopped talking and went back outside to continue his paperwork.

Su Cheng then began to reconsider a question.

The question is whether he should tell Long about this, or whether he should transfer some of the money to Long.

Su Cheng's original intention was to give the wine to Bai Zihua, which is why she put it up for auction. It seems that the final buyer was the Ma family from Macau.
Mr. Bai will definitely come to Macau to see us. Since he's here, the Ma family, as the hosts, should at least treat Mr. Bai to a meal.

It's common knowledge in high society that Mr. Bai likes whisky. How could I not give him a bottle of excellent whisky that I just acquired?
Following this logic, the bottle of wine has most likely already ended up in Bai Zihua's hands, and Su Cheng's goal has been achieved.

As for whether the favor belonged to the Ma family or someone else, Su Cheng didn't care.

Money is secondary.

Su Cheng initially wanted to transfer the money because he couldn't keep so much money. Transferring some to Long Ruoli would reduce his own responsibility.

But then he thought again and decided not to change it.

Keep the flowers for yourself.

Anyway, since Long Ruoli was standing in front of him, if Old Deng wanted to punish someone, he would punish Long Ruoli, and it had nothing to do with him.

I bought this wine for 10,000 yuan, and in terms of ownership, it belongs 100% to Su Cheng.

If you don't give me this bottle of wine, how am I supposed to get this bargain?

From a personal perspective, Su Cheng would be labeled as "small-minded," taking advantage of her friends/colleagues/superiors but keeping it to herself.

Lacking vision is a serious crime in the eyes of the old folks.

However, Su Cheng still did not intend to tell Long Ruoli.

In other words, Su Cheng wanted to treat this as an experiment.

If Long asks him, he will tell Long the truth and transfer the money to him.

If the dragon doesn't ask him, he'll pretend he doesn't know.

If it's the latter, it means that Long Ruoli concealed this matter from Lao Deng, and she wanted to secretly do him a favor.

In that case, Su Cheng wouldn't refuse.

Then again.

Su Cheng doesn't need to be so worried about this money.

Even if he gave it to the dragon, would the dragon dare to accept it?

Long Ruoli knew that Su Cheng had sold the wine, and that the wine eventually ended up in President Bai's hands.

She had already taken a favor from Su Cheng, and to some extent, she had also taken a favor from Bai Zihua.

If Long asks Su Cheng for money again, or tells Lao Deng about this, then she's an idiot.

Su Cheng couldn't believe that Long Ruoli would do something so stupid.

Therefore, it's best to keep the money in your own hands.

Su Cheng can invest most of the funds into the operation of "I Tell You".

He kept a few million for himself to help offset the financial pressure that Old Deng put on him.

perfect!

Even if Lao Deng finds out that Su Cheng has a lot of money, he can still use Long as a scapegoat.

However, Su Cheng felt that this possibility was very small, and it was unlikely to happen, because Long Ruoli and President Bai would definitely keep it from him.

Wine, money, and favors.

The three of them were in the same boat in this matter.

……

Supervisor's office.

Jiang Shuyue was holding an iPad, browsing sample pictures sent by the furniture store.

Yesterday, she spent the entire afternoon contacting Cocobolo's distributors. Since they don't have it in China, she had to order it from overseas and have it shipped over by ship.

The table cost over seven thousand dollars, and the shipping cost alone was over two thousand dollars.

The table cost 70,000 yuan in total.

Jiang Shuyue felt that Su Cheng put more effort into decorating her office than she did into decorating her own, because it had to match the overall style and coordination, which meant the budget had to be much higher.

She didn't think Su Cheng spent too much money.

As the Vice President of RK Consulting's Australia branch, Su Cheng's office represents their prestige and image, and to a certain extent, reflects their overall strength, which can facilitate case transactions.

If arranging the office can be considered part of her job, then Jiang Shuyue's daily behavior reveals a significant level of affection she has for Su Cheng. These past few days, Jiang Shuyue has been dressing more meticulously and elaborately than usual, changing her outfit almost daily, and tying her hair up in a high ponytail, trying to project a neat and capable image to Su Cheng.

It is clear.

Because of Su Cheng's good looks and well-proportioned figure, she created a strong halo effect on Su Cheng.

This external attraction is generally linked to positive internal qualities.

Simply put, good-looking people are smarter, kinder, more capable, more trustworthy, have better personalities, stronger social skills, and a more positive attitude towards life.

Even though she hasn't had any real contact with Su Cheng, she's already labeled Su Cheng with all sorts of wonderful, imagined tags.

This is not Jiang Shuyue's fault.

The amygdala in the human brain has a natural, instinctive positive response to beauty.

Jiang Shuyue has worked in the consulting industry for quite some time, and she considers herself to be rather cautious.

It's already quite impressive that you were able to realize so early on that you had this cognitive bias towards Su Cheng.

Realizing this is the first step.

The second step is to consciously separate appearance from other aspects and to evaluate different dimensions such as professional skills, communication skills, teamwork, responsibility, and leadership.

Jiang Shuyue cannot let Su Cheng's strengths overshadow his weaknesses.

She had originally intended to show the pictures to Su Cheng so she could choose one, but after realizing that she just wanted to find an opportunity to get closer to Su Cheng, she gave up on that idea.

Jiang Shuyue silently repeated three times in her mind: "Dispel the enchantment, dispel the enchantment, dispel the enchantment!"

"Quickly dispel the illusion, you brain-dead idiot!"

But then again.

How is Su Cheng supposed to meet the KPI targets sent from headquarters?
You should know that the countdown had already begun the moment they received the letter.

How will Su Cheng lead them to develop their business next?
"The pressure of KPIs is on my colleagues, and they've been feeling anxious these past few days."

"He's been here for three or four days, but he hasn't held a meeting or discussed anything with us."

"Aside from meeting on the first day, I sat in the office for the next two or three days without knowing what I was busy with."

"Never mind, I'll go ask."

Jiang Shuyue got up and left the office, wanting to find Su Cheng to talk about this issue.

But less than a minute after she left, Jiang Shuyue turned back and picked up her iPad, which contained pictures of office interior design and furniture.

Not long after leaving the office, Jiang Shuyue ran into Gu Jingyan.

"Sister Shuyue."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"A client came in and said they had a case they wanted to consult with us about."

Ok?
Then go ahead and ask them.

What's the big deal?

"No, this person's identity is a bit special."

"What special method?"

"He seems to be from the Ma family."

The Ma family?

Jiang Shuyue narrowed her eyes slightly, her mind racing.

Could it be the Ma family she was thinking of?
Gu Jingyan's expression confirmed Jiang Shuyue's thoughts: it was the Ma family, the gambling kings of Macau!

Jiang Shuyue also became nervous: "Where is he?"

"He just arrived; he's waiting in the conference room."

"Go and invite him. I'll go find President Su now."

Jiang Shuyue's pace quickened and slowed.

This level of client definitely needs to be received by Su Cheng personally.

The Ma family, the gambling tycoon.

This case is definitely serious!
And here comes the business!

Jiang Shuyue jogged all the way to Su Cheng's office.

Su Cheng was drinking coffee at that moment, and Zhang Yangwen was also there.

It wasn't that he was drinking it; Su Cheng tried to hold each sip in his mouth for a while longer, hoping to use the sourness and bitterness of the coffee to suppress the astringency of the two bites of star fruit he had just tasted.

"Manager Jiang, is there something you need?"

Jiang Shuyue didn't have time to talk about decorating the office or KPI business at this moment, but immediately informed him about the client's situation.

Jiang Shuyue peeked at the meeting room as she passed by and it seemed to be Ma Ru, the youngest son of the Ma family.

ha?
Ma Ru?

Who is Ma Ru?

Jiang Shuyue: ? ? ?

Su Cheng doesn't know Ma Ru?

"Mr. Su, do you know the gambling king of Macau?"

"I know this."

“The youngest son of the gambling king, Ma Ru.”

"I don't know, I don't recognize him."

ha?
Does Su Cheng not usually surf the internet?

Jiang Shuyue didn't know how to explain it to Su Cheng.

Although Ma Ru's fame is not as great as that of the gambling king, she still has some recognition on the internet.

She looked at Zhang Yangwen beside her, hoping he would recognize this person.

Zhang Yangwen didn't react at first, but after a long while he let out a long "Oh~", which made Jiang Shuyue breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is it that Ma Ru, the one who graduated from MIT?"

“Yes, yes, that’s the young master.” Jiang Shuyue quickly confirmed.

Zhang Yangwen has only seen Ma Ru on his phone; it's mainly because marketing accounts like to post about him.

Jiang Shuyue's impression of Ma Ru was so-so; she didn't particularly like her, certainly not as much as she liked Su Cheng.

This guy is a rich kid who likes to portray himself as "out of touch with reality" on short video platforms and variety shows.

He doesn't know anything about Starbucks or early bird tickets because he's only ever traveled by private jet and high-end custom-made goods since he was a child.

This persona slightly affects his public image and his reputation among casual observers. It's unclear whether he intentionally chose this path or genuinely doesn't know about Starbucks Frappuccinos and early bird drinks.

However, it doesn't have a significant impact.

Because Ma Ru has a very decent appearance, and apart from her "out of touch with reality" persona, she doesn't seem to have any other negative news.

After hearing their introduction, Su Cheng seemed to remember it somewhat.

He had never dealt with the gambling king's family in his previous life, and based solely on the two people's descriptions of Ma Ru, Su Cheng didn't have a very good impression of her.

Su Cheng admitted that he was somewhat resentful of the rich, but he disliked more the feeling of being "condescending and never touching the ground".

Before the three could discuss the matter in detail, Gu Jingyan had already invited Ma Ru to Su Cheng's office.

After the person was brought in, Gu Jingyan and Zhang Yangwen left the office on their own.

Su Cheng and Jiang Shuyue took the initiative to go and greet them.

Ma Ru wore a well-tailored light gray cashmere blend suit, the fabric exuding understated luxury, with a simple platinum watch peeking out from the cuffs.
His face has a natural "wealthy" look, with a full, smooth, and broad forehead, a clear yet not sharp jawline, and a rounded, pampered feel. His skin has a healthy glow from careful maintenance.

Su Cheng couldn't see any trace of life's hardships in Ma Ru.

"Hello, Mr. Ma."

……

(End of this chapter)