My buildings have attributes

"Chen Ling, I feel like I've been coming to your house too often. Isn't that a bit much?" Li Lili said after they arrived home.

"What's wrong with it? It's not like there's no room for you." After hearing Li Lili's words, Chen Ling directly expressed his thoughts.

Chen Ling had just said that when he thought of the necklace from earlier that day, he asked, "You're not worried about the necklace from earlier, are you? If you like it, I'll buy it for you tomorrow."

After hearing Chen Ling's words, Li Lili was both amused and exasperated. Although she really liked the necklace and felt a little disappointed, she couldn't possibly be so petty as to throw a tantrum over it.

"It's not because of that, you're overthinking it. It's just that we're practically living together now. Don't you think it's a bit too early?" Li Lili slowly explained to Chen Ling.

"I don't care. Don't have any other ideas. I said it's fine, so don't overthink it. Just stay here and relax." Chen Ling said this in a very domineering tone, and Li Lili, who was standing next to him, didn't say anything more.

Chapter 188 A Tall Tree Catches the Wind

The next day, Li Lili got up early. Looking at Chen Ling sleeping soundly beside her, she left without saying a word. Li Lili was a very opinionated person, and her decisions were rarely changed. After leaving, she sent Chen Ling a message: "I'm going to the company now."

After sending the message, Li Lili hailed a taxi and went to the company.

When Chen Ling woke up, he found that Li Lili was already up. He assumed she was preparing breakfast for him, as usual. However, when he went to the kitchen, he didn't see her and panicked. He rushed to the bedroom, grabbed his phone, and prepared to call her. Just then, Chen Ling saw a message from Li Lili saying that she had gone to the company.

At this moment, Chen Ling was extremely annoyed. He knew that Li Lili was up so early because of what she had mentioned yesterday, so he threw his phone onto the bed. It took him a long time to calm down. Then he said to himself, "This woman, why has she become so disobedient?" Chen Ling muttered to himself in the room.

After a while, Chen Ling also prepared to go to the company. On the way to the company, Chen Ling's face was green.

Upon arriving at the company, Chen Ling walked silently to his office. The employees immediately sensed his bad mood and worked in complete silence. Even so, they couldn't escape Chen Ling's reprimand.

After Chen Ling pushed open the office door, he said, "The department heads will have a meeting in five minutes."

After hearing Chen Ling's words, the people in the company knew they were about to be criticized. So they started saying, "What's wrong with the boss today? Why is he so angry?"

Even Liu Yuyang didn't know what was going on, and when asked, he shook his head.

Just then, Chen Mengyao suddenly said, "Ningxue, didn't you go to the party with the boss yesterday? What happened?" As she spoke, Chen Mengyao stopped what she was doing and looked at Li Lili. Everyone in the company turned their attention to Li Lili after hearing Chen Mengyao's words. Chen Mengyao suddenly realized she might have said something wrong and quickly covered her mouth.

"Nothing happened at the party last night. It's about time for the meeting, let's go." Li Lili wasn't lying; nothing really happened at the party last night. However, Li Lili also thought that Chen Ling might be unhappy today because of what happened this morning. But Li Lili didn't need to say these things at the company.

Li Lili is a very intelligent person, no wonder she's a top student; with just one sentence, she shifted the focus back to the meeting. After hearing Li Lili's words, they all started packing their things, preparing to go to the meeting.

As expected, they were right. Chen Ling reprimanded all the supervisors at the meeting.

The meeting lasted for an hour before it ended. After all the department leaders left, Li Lili stayed behind.

"What's wrong? Is it because of what happened this morning?" Li Lili asked Chen Ling.

"You're overthinking it. Nothing like that. You don't have the ability to influence my emotions," Chen Ling said calmly before getting up and leaving. Just then, Liu Yuyang suddenly rushed in, saying, "Boss, something bad has happened!"

Chen Ling had never seen Liu Yuyang so flustered before, so he said, "Let's go back to the office and talk."

After they returned to the office, Liu Yuyang deliberately closed the door and then picked up his phone to show him the news.

The website displayed "Chen Ling, a leading figure in the construction adhesive industry," but upon closer inspection, Chen Ling discovered numerous reports about his construction projects, raising questions. These reports covered everything from toilets to imperial tombs, highways, and libraries.

Each building was described as having unusual features, and as Chen Ling read these articles, he felt a sense of foreboding.

At this moment, Liu Yuyang began to speak again: "It's because of the library. People discovered something unusual about the library; reading there was said to be more effective, and memory would improve. So, even more people went to study there. To me, these things seemed normal, and I didn't expect this to happen. I was careless." Liu Yuyang's tone was full of remorse as he spoke.

"It has nothing to do with you. Someone is targeting us. Even without the library incident, this situation would still have happened. They've been planning this for a long time," Chen Ling said, trying to comfort Liu Yuyang. Actually, Chen Ling's words weren't exactly comforting, because the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows; what he said was true.

"It's alright. On the bright side, this just expands our reputation. There's nothing wrong with our building. They investigated it before and didn't find anything unusual. They can just investigate again this time," Chen Ling said calmly.

At this moment, Chen Ling was also somewhat worried, because it was obvious that someone had done it on purpose, but he didn't know who did it, and naturally he didn't know what they would encounter next.

Meanwhile, the rest of the company saw the news and the numerous comments from netizens, causing them to become anxious. At this moment, Chen Mengyao spoke up, saying, "We've weathered many storms, what's this? It's obvious someone is wary of us. It's just that we're too awesome, what's there to worry about? This is nothing." Chen Mengyao's words were quite effective; they thought about it and realized she was right. Besides, with their boss there, they were confident nothing would happen to them.

At this moment, Liu Yuyang said to Chen Ling, "The relevant departments have not received any such information. This time, the enemy is lurking in the shadows, which is why I am worried." Liu Yuyang's words revealed his true feelings.

However, Chen Ling didn't say anything after hearing this. He was well aware of all this, but he couldn't rush things and make a mistake. After adjusting his mindset, Chen Ling said to Liu Yuyang, "Try to find out which company did it. If you can't, use the process of elimination to see which companies are suspicious."

Chapter 189 Company in Disaster

As soon as Chen Ling finished speaking, Liu Yuyang ran out to investigate.

After Liu Yuyang left, Chen Ling was still wondering which company had done this. The other party's intention was clearly to ruin their company, but among the many companies in the construction industry, he couldn't think of any that could have done it. He had never snatched a contract or done anything else like that.

Chen Ling thought that even if a large company attracts attention, it shouldn't be taking such a big risk. His company frequently collaborated with the government, and the government was well aware of these relationships. Therefore, any company doing this was undoubtedly asking for trouble. Thinking about it, Chen Ling laughed. He really couldn't imagine which company would dare to do something so early.

But just then, a riotous crowd appeared downstairs at the company. They were holding banners and shouting for a halt to construction. The banners undoubtedly bore the same message. Chen Ling looked at the crowd below and felt a headache coming on. He asked himself, what aspect of the buildings he was constructing violated societal regulations? Weren't they all for the sake of societal development?

Li Lili looked at the rioting crowd below and prepared to go down and resolve the situation, but at that moment, Liu Yuyang stopped her. "Let's wait and see what the boss says," Liu Yuyang said, glancing at Chen Ling's office. Li Lili then stopped in her tracks, otherwise she would have really gone out.

Not long after, Chen Ling came out and said, "I'm going downstairs to take care of something." Without pausing, he walked straight out. Liu Yuyang, seeing this, followed him out. Just then, Li Lili was also about to go downstairs when Liu Yuyang turned back and said to her, "His going downstairs is enough." Let Li Lili go back.

Seeing this, Chen Mengyao quickly stepped forward to stop Li Lili.

Then they saw Chen Ling and Liu Yuyang below, talking to the rioting crowd.

At this moment, Chen Ling and his group addressed the rioting crowd, explaining that all of their company's buildings were verifiable and that none of them had caused any disruption to social development. These two simple sentences clearly demonstrated their stance. A clear conscience fears no accusation.

However, the troublemakers didn't change their behavior after hearing their words. At this point, Chen Ling and Liu Yuyang knew that these people were deliberately causing trouble. Since persuasion didn't work, they had to resort to force. So Liu Yuyang called the police directly. He said on the phone, "There's a crowd causing trouble here. Please come and handle it."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yuyang pushed Chen Ling back home. They had made their stance clear; the rest was up to the police.

Just then, Chen Ling returned home and saw Li Lili's worried expression. However, out of politeness, he said nothing and went back to his office. Liu Yuyang, seeing Li Lili's worried face, gave her an OK sign, indicating that everything was alright and she shouldn't worry.

But Li Lili couldn't shake her anxiety. She had investigated for a long time but couldn't find any clear answer. This unexpected incident was bound to worry her.

Just then, Chen Xiaoqi also heard about this, so she called Chen Ling to ask.

"Brother, I heard that things are alright at your company, right?" Chen Xiaoqi asked worriedly from the other end of the line.

"It's alright, don't worry!" Chen Ling said and hung up the phone. Chen Xiaoqi was even more worried at this point, so she called Li Ran to ask if he knew about it. When Chen Xiaoqi's call connected, Li Ran said, "I know, I just heard about it. I'm on my way to their company now. Don't worry, I'll go see what's going on." Li Ran had rushed over immediately after hearing the news.

Li Ran quickly arrived at Chen Ling's company and went straight to Chen Ling's office. "What's going on?" Li Ran asked, seeing Chen Ling silently smoking in the office. "Why are you here?" Chen Ling was surprised to see Li Ran. "I just got the news, so I came. Tell me, what happened?" Chen Ling was deeply moved by Li Ran's words. True friendship is revealed in times of trouble, and time reveals true character. He looked at Li Ran, wanting to say something, but swallowed his words. Then he punched Li Ran in the chest and said, "Good brother."

"Then tell us what's going on! We'll figure out a solution." Li Ran smiled and continued. "I'm not entirely sure either. I've already sent people to investigate, but they haven't found anything yet. The bigger the tree, the more the wind blows. We've risen too quickly in the construction industry. Although we haven't stolen any projects, we've certainly made a lot of enemies. But I just don't understand. Everyone knows we've cooperated with the government many times. Why would someone dare to take such a big risk and attack our company? Aren't they afraid I'll find out and make them pay?" Chen Ling said angrily at this point.

After hearing Chen Ling's words, Li Ran quickly grasped the general situation. This kind of thing is not uncommon in society; perhaps the other party just wanted to stir up trouble and then hand it over to fishing boats.

"They're just exploiting people's hearts. They know that your construction company hasn't been around for very long, but the buildings you construct are all very famous and have attracted a lot of attention in society. Starting with your last project on the imperial tomb, it has further changed people's perception of you. That's why we came to you in the first place," Li Ran said with a serious expression.

“You’re absolutely right. That’s exactly what they want to do. All of our company’s buildings can withstand investigation and there are no violations. So they can only use fishing boats to suppress us.” Chen Ling agreed with Li Ran’s words and nodded in agreement.

"Then the most important thing to solve now is to refute the rumors. While investigating which company did it, we should also answer this question directly." Li Ran began to give Chen Ling some advice.

"Let's hold a press conference first and clarify things. It's true that I don't offend others, but they try to offend me. Once this matter is over, I will definitely not let them off the hook." From Chen Ling's tone, it was easy to tell that he was really angry.

Li Ran looked at Chen Ling in front of him and suddenly began to speak again: "The company's business must have been affected quite a bit." He knew that at this time, the company's business would often decrease significantly, or even disappear.

Chapter 190 Holding a Press Conference

Li Ran had anticipated that Chen Ling's company definitely didn't have any clients right now, so he thought about collaborating on another project with Chen Ling. Then he saw Chen Ling say, "The company's business? Yes, it's all gone. These people are so opportunistic. Our company has only had a few rumors, and they've all run away in fear." Chen Ling said with a wry smile.

Chen Ling knew this was human nature. That's why he was even more touched when Li Ran offered help in his time of need. When everyone else was kicking him while he was down, Li Ran came straight to his aid, and he knew that this brotherhood was well worth the effort.

Just then, Li Ran's phone rang. He had barely taken out his phone when Chen Ling said, "Is that Xiao Qi calling?" Li Ran nodded and answered the phone. "Li Ran, how is it? What's going on over there?" Chen Xiao Qi asked worriedly on the other end of the line. Seeing this, Li Ran quickly reassured her, "It's okay, it's okay, don't worry! I'm here too, everything's fine, don't worry."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaoqi wished she could rush back, but she was currently on a business trip out of town. So she said, "It's alright, I'll be back soon. Please look after these for me." Seeing Chen Xiaoqi's worried expression, Li Ran continued to comfort her. After a while, they finally hung up the phone, and Chen Ling said, "When did you two get together? I haven't heard anything about it." Chen Ling's words immediately made Li Ran realize that she had forgotten to tell him. Li Ran scratched her head and said guiltily, "Oh! I was so happy I forgot to tell you. We got together after that party. Don't worry, I definitely won't mistreat him." Hearing Li Ran's words, Chen Ling nodded; he naturally believed her.

Then Li Ran began to say, "Let's talk about the project first, then we can discuss personal matters later." Chen Ling thought for a moment and said, "I'm not in the mood to take on projects right now. Let's talk about that later! The company is managing to operate smoothly right now. We won't feel at ease until we've resolved the immediate issues." Chen Ling expressed his thoughts, and Li Ran nodded without saying anything more.

"Then you should prepare for the press conference, preferably today. These things are better done as soon as possible; it'll be easier to settle things quickly," Li Ran said again. He was right; it was indeed true. The longer it was delayed, the worse it would be. Chen Ling nodded and then made a phone call. "Xiao Chen, come over here for a moment," Chen Ling called Chen Mengyao over.

Chen Mengyao received the call and immediately went to find Chen Ling. There was a knock on the office door. Chen Mengyao walked in. "What is it, Mr. Chen?" she asked quickly, knowing he must have a task for her. She began to explain. At that moment, Chen Ling said, "Go and prepare for the press conference! It's at 7 PM. Get plenty of reporters." After Chen Ling finished speaking, Chen Mengyao nodded and said, "Okay." Then she went out to prepare for the press conference.

At this moment, Chen Ling thought that no matter what the other party's motives were, he would definitely not let them get away with it. Anyone who dared to mess with their company would pay the price. After giving all the instructions, Li Ran said, "If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. Call me if you need anything." Chen Ling nodded and then saw Li Ran out. After seeing Li Ran off, Chen Ling returned to his office. Just as he sat down, Li Lili entered. Chen Ling stared at Li Lili without saying a word.

Seeing this, Li Lili began to say, "We haven't found out who did it." Li Lili had been investigating for some time, but without any results. Then she heard Chen Ling say, "It's okay, I understand, you can leave now." After saying that, Chen Ling looked towards the door. At this moment, Li Lili exploded, angrily saying, "What kind of time is this to be throwing a tantrum? Is it really necessary? Can't you tell what's important?" Li Lili's words were all for Chen Ling's good, but Chen Ling still couldn't persuade her and insisted that she leave. At this point, Li Lili glared at Chen Ling and said, "You're just suffering for the sake of saving face."

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling looked at Li Lili with a serious expression but said nothing. Li Lili then said, "Fine, okay, then you handle it yourself! I don't care anymore." After saying this, Li Lili walked out. She was now feeling speechless. She really had no way to deal with Chen Ling.

Just then, Chen Ling watched Li Lili walk out and laughed. Then he turned on his computer and looked at something.

The morning passed quickly, and as it neared the end of the workday, Liu Yuyang approached. He said, "Boss, I've found out it's a foreign company, it should be..." Before he could finish, Chen Ling's voice rang out, "Okay, I know. You can go now!" Liu Yuyang then left. Chen Ling was left alone in his office, deep in thought. When he heard Liu Yuyang mention a foreign company, he knew exactly which one it was. He slapped his forehead, thinking, "I should have realized that sooner."

It was almost time to leave work, so Chen Ling asked Chen Mengyao about the press conference. Chen Mengyao replied, "Everything is ready. We can go now." After saying this, Chen Mengyao took the documents and prepared to go with Chen Ling. At this moment, Chen Ling nodded and then walked towards the press conference venue.

This press conference was held in a multi-functional hall, simply because Chen Mengyao had something she wanted the media to see.

When Chen Ling and his group entered the multi-functional hall, all the reporters had already arrived. They were also very curious about the rumors surrounding Chen Ling and his group and wanted to report the whole story, so how could they not actively participate?

At that moment, Chen Mengyao turned on the multimedia system, and project information appeared on the screen. This information detailed the role their projects would play in social development and their benefits to humanity after completion. Chen Ling looked at the information on the screen, frowned slightly, and then looked at Chen Mengyao, seemingly wanting to say something.

Chapter 191 Escaping the Crisis

Chen Ling looked at the large screen in front of him, then at Chen Mengyao, wanting to say something, but remained silent. Chen Ling only felt that Chen Mengyao had thought things through very thoroughly. Not long after, the multimedia presentation finished. Then Chen Ling walked to the front of the stage and began to speak.

"After reviewing these materials, I believe you all have a new understanding of our company. All our construction projects from the beginning to the present, and their impact, have been clearly outlined for you. You can all see them clearly. So, what I want to say is this: our company can withstand any department's inspection. If anyone wants to investigate, I will naturally accept it. However, as you all know, some of our buildings were constructed for the country. I don't believe you would be foolish enough to doubt the country or question its recognition of us. Finally, I'll reiterate: all of our company's buildings have greatly helped you." After Chen Ling finished speaking righteously, he walked out.

Chen Mengyao then went up to wrap things up, and the press conference came to an end. Undoubtedly, the press conference was a great success. Chen Ling's words were concise and powerful, getting to the point.

Of course, Chen Mengyao also deserves credit for the success of the press conference. In fact, these reporters were all arranged by Chen Mengyao beforehand. She found some senior and influential reporters from various media outlets and bribed them. Among them was a particularly prestigious reporter who considered money worthless and refused Chen Mengyao's financial offers. Only after Chen Mengyao discussed the company's situation with him in detail did he agree to help.

After the press conference, major media outlets naturally began reporting on it. The coverage was overwhelming, focusing on Chen Ling's concise and powerful words at the conference. Liu Yuyang then hired a large number of online trolls to flood the comments section. Of course, the reporters also played a significant role; having been paid, they naturally helped them avoid trouble. Therefore, the reports were largely biased towards Chen Ling and his team. In this way, their company weathered the crisis.

Then they would have to deal with the company that had framed them. Chen Ling then asked Liu Yuyang to gather information about that company. Liu Yuyang then asked, "Should we tell Li Lili about this?" Liu Yuyang was somewhat connected to her, so he asked. However, after thinking for a moment, Chen Ling replied, "No need." At that moment, Liu Yuyang said "Understood" and left.

Chen Ling naturally understood what Liu Yuyang meant. This company had a past connection with Li Lili, but Li Lili was no longer there, so there was no need for him to know. It was already very late; Chen Ling checked the time—almost nine o'clock. He quickly picked up his phone and hurried home. He was exhausted after a long day.

When Chen Ling got home, he quickly thought of Li Lili and what she had said yesterday, which seemed to make sense. Living together all the time wasn't good for Li Lili's reputation. Chen Ling knew in his heart that he was wrong, but he was too proud to admit it, and now things were really messed up. Li Lili was angry with him too. Thinking about all this, he quickly fell asleep again.

The next day, Chen Ling woke up early and got up to go to the company. He quickly left and arrived at the office, warmly greeting each employee. With the company having weathered the crisis, they naturally felt their boss was in a better mood, just as they felt the sunshine brighten their day and everything seemed brighter. Their high spirits eased the atmosphere in the office considerably.

Chen Ling arrived very early today; some people weren't there yet, like Li Lili. Just then, Li Lili came in, and as soon as she entered the company, she felt the company's atmosphere. "Everyone seems so happy," Li Lili said as she entered. "Yes, the company successfully weathered the crisis, how could we not be happy?" Chen Mengyao said as she walked over. Li Lili smiled and nodded; she naturally knew the good news, which had been reported yesterday. At this moment, her gaze glanced towards Chen Ling's office, then quickly shifted elsewhere…

At this moment, Liu Yuyang went to find Chen Ling to discuss company matters. "How's your investigation going?" Chen Ling asked directly as Liu Yuyang entered. "All done. Here's all the information. Take a look." Chen Ling took the documents and began to review them. Just then, Liu Yuyang spoke again: "Boss, we should be taking on projects." Liu Yuyang had reviewed the company's recent financial situation and checked the accounts; there wasn't much money left.

So Chen Ling said, "I understand. Li Ran mentioned a project to me last time. I'll call him later and ask him about it." After Chen Ling finished speaking, Liu Yuyang left. After he left, Chen Ling continued looking at the documents. Then he took out his phone and called Li Ran. "Hey, let's have lunch together!" Chen Ling said immediately after the call connected. "Sure." Li Ran naturally agreed without hesitation. Li Ran knew that Chen Ling's company had weathered the crisis. After receiving the news yesterday, he immediately told Chen Xiaoqi, and Chen Xiaoqi's heart was finally at ease after hearing that everything was alright.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ling looked towards the door. He wanted to call Li Lili over, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. He figured he should just hold back a little longer.

Noon arrived quickly, and Chen Ling began packing his things to leave. Just as he opened his office door, he saw Li Lili. After their eyes met, Li Lili turned and left first. Chen Ling knew he had made a mistake this time, so he gave a bitter smile to himself and then walked out.

Not long after, Chen Ling arrived at Li Ran's company building. After calling Li Ran, Li Ran came over shortly after. While the two were having lunch, Chen Ling asked directly, "What was the project you mentioned before?" Li Ran had already guessed that Chen Ling had come to see him because of the project. Chen Ling had previously said that he would work on the project after his company's affairs were settled. Now the time had come.

“This project is for a hospital. Yihe Hospital is planning to open a branch, and our company also has a partnership with the hospital. Naturally, I would like to collaborate with you on construction.” Li Ran said directly after hearing Chen Ling’s words.

Chapter 192 Reconciliation

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling immediately agreed. He had complete confidence in Li Ran's project. After sending him the details, Chen Ling left.