Chapter 041: The Fall of the King in the Chill of Autumn 7

“Brother, you’re planning to acquire the Wang Corporation again?” Huangfu Shang asked, “Didn’t you just acquire one last time?”

“This is a different one,” Huangfu Lie replied, his tone full of authority.

He gripped his chopsticks tightly, silently vowing to himself: once he acquired the Ellis Hotel, he would make that woman pay. But what was her name again?

“Brother, I met the girl I like yesterday! She really works at the Ellis Hotel—we even had barbecue together!” Huangfu Shang suddenly remembered and shared excitedly with his cousin.

Huangfu Lie’s gaze sharpened. “Oh? She works at Ellis too? What’s her name? What position?”

The delighted Huangfu Shang: … Wait, what was her name again?

“I forgot to ask,” he said gloomily.

Huangfu Lie: …

Yes, this was just the sort of thing his cousin would do.

Never mind—he himself didn’t know that woman’s name either.

No, the plan to acquire the Wang Corporation had to be accelerated.

The two brothers finished their breakfast in an atmosphere at once awkward, strange, and a little depressed.

Huangfu Shang decided not to accompany his cousin to the company today.

He announced that he was going to Ellis Hotel to look for his beloved.

Huangfu Lie fell silent for a moment. Then, grabbing his naive and sweet cousin by the collar, he tossed him into the car. “If you haven’t even done your work properly, what business do you have falling in love?”

“But, brother, I don’t have a job.”

“…No, you do now.”

“???”

“You’ll be in charge of the Wang Corporation acquisition.”

As someone with a strong sense of responsibility, once given a mission and work, Huangfu Shang could only drag himself to the office.

Even though he was the person in charge, he had little experience. He sat at the head of the table, listening to a string of reports from his subordinates.

The more he listened, the more he felt something was off.

He turned to Secretary Situ. “Where’s the detailed acquisition plan? Let me see it.”

Secretary Situ thought to himself, Finally, he knows to ask for the plan. He respectfully handed over the acquisition documents.

Huangfu Shang opened it and saw, in bold, enlarged letters: “Acquisition Plan for Ellis Hotel.”

Wait—wasn’t this the hotel where his beloved worked? His cousin wanted to acquire it?

—

“What’s the owner’s surname?” he asked.

“Director, the owner of Ellis Hotel’s surname is Wang.”

“Oh,” Huangfu Shang nodded, finding nothing unusual about this. After all, whenever the weather turned cool, his cousin liked to acquire a company or two run by someone named Wang.

Which meant, in the world of CEOs, it was tough to be a Boss Wang.

Secretary Situ glanced at his expression and sighed with a hint of regret. “It’s a pity, really. President Wang’s cooking is quite good.”

“The owner cooks, too?”

“Yes. Ellis Hotel has been run by the Wang family for two generations. It’s said that before Mr. Wang took over, he had to work in the kitchen to win over the chefs before the hotel was handed to him.”

“This hotel owner is pretty pitiful,” Huangfu Shang remarked. Not only did he have to be the boss, but also a chef. He couldn’t imagine having to do both.

After work, seeing his cousin engaged in an international video conference, Huangfu Shang left on his own.

He headed straight to Ellis Hotel.

Just as he arrived, he happened to see his beloved, dressed in professional trousers and carrying a handbag, walking out.

“Getting off work?” Huangfu Shang’s eyes lit up as he approached.

Le Yixian, who was discussing with Wei Wan’er about what to buy for the ailing Ouyang Zining, saw him and her smile deepened. She nodded, “Yes, just got off work.”

“I just finished work too. Want to grab a meal together?” Huangfu Shang invited eagerly, glancing at Wei Wan’er beside her. “Do you have plans?”

“No, we don’t. Let’s go now,” Le Yixian replied. “I’m actually quite hungry.”

“I’ve reserved a private dining room. My brother’s secretary said the food is excellent,” Huangfu Shang said, delighted.

“Really? I’m looking forward to it!”

Behind them, Wei Wan’er stared in shock as her friend hailed a taxi and left with the unexpectedly handsome young man.

She: ????

What did she mean, no plans?

Weren’t they supposed to visit Zining after work? Wang Xiaoya, you traitor—putting romance before friendship!

And as for that little charmer—doesn’t he know that, as a suitor, he’s supposed to win over the girl’s friends, too?

At the private restaurant, after ordering, Huangfu Shang couldn’t take his eyes off Le Yixian as she admired the surroundings, not wanting to blink. “You…” Suddenly, he realized he didn’t even know his beloved’s name, so he hurriedly asked.

“Do you want to know?” Le Yixian smiled mischievously at him.

Huangfu Shang: …He felt like a big bad wolf had his eye on him.

He nodded obediently.

—

“Hmm, give me a kiss and I’ll tell you.” Le Yixian pointed to her cheek.

She teased her amnesiac lover with practiced ease.

“W-what?” As expected, Huangfu Shang’s handsome face flushed scarlet.

“If you don’t want to…” Le Yixian began, but before she could finish, Huangfu Shang quickly leaned in and planted a loud kiss on her cheek.

This time it was Le Yixian’s turn to be stunned.

When she didn’t react, Huangfu Shang thought for a moment, then leaned in again and smacked several more kisses on her face.

Le Yixian’s face was now covered with his kisses. She quickly blocked him, half laughing, half exasperated. “Enough.”

“All right? I could kiss you even more,” Huangfu Shang said, reluctantly sitting back.

Le Yixian: …Since when had her little darling become so proactive? Was it because this was a different world?

“So, what’s your name?” Huangfu Shang asked, wiping his mouth.

“Wang Xiaoya!”

“What a coincidence—your hotel’s owner has the same surname.”

“Yes—he’s my father,” Le Yixian nodded, then noticed the strange, complicated look on her lover’s face. “What is it?”

“The owner of Ellis Hotel is your father?” Huangfu Shang swallowed hard, finally managing to speak.

Le Yixian nodded. “That’s right.”

“So you’re going to inherit Ellis Hotel in the future?”

“Unless something unexpected happens, yes.”

…

Huangfu Shang fell silent.

He hadn’t been back in the country long, but recently, at work, a certain director had gone to meet his girlfriend’s parents. Word was, the father was notoriously difficult to please.

In the end, the director had barely won the father’s approval to marry his daughter—along with the warning: “If you ever mistreat her, you’ll answer to me.”

Now, Huangfu Shang was faced with a very serious problem: he was in charge of the Ellis Hotel acquisition. If the acquisition succeeded, would his future father-in-law ever forgive him? Would he even allow his daughter to marry her enemy, now that she’d lost her inheritance rights?

But if the acquisition failed, his beloved would keep her inheritance. When she took over Ellis Hotel, would she have to work her way up from the kitchen, just as her father had?

He couldn’t bear to let her do that. Did it mean he’d have to learn to cook, too?