“President Su, hello, this is—”
“President Su, regarding that project from last time……”
“President Su……”
The crowd quickly recovered from their initial awe at seeing Miss Su in person and immediately surged forward toward the young lady.
Among them were many who had just been surrounding Gu Huaishan.
“The Su Family’s Young Lady, Su Ling, right……”
Gu Huaishan watched Su Ling as she laughed and mingled effortlessly among the people, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“Hmph, just wait until today’s over, let’s see if you can still smile then.”
“By the way, where’s that brat? Surely he hasn’t gone off on another wild spree?”
Gu Huaishan asked the secretary standing beside him.
“Uh, President Gu, as for the Young Master, someone saw him driving out with some friends this morning.”
The male secretary wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied.
“Hmph, friends my foot. Just a bunch of idle second-generation heirs! Who knows where he’s gotten himself into this time!”
Gu Huaishan was clearly displeased.
“I was hoping to call him here today to broaden his horizons, but it’s the same old story! At this rate, when will we ever see this worthless kid take over the Gu Family’s business!”
“Yes, President Gu, your reprimand is well-deserved.”
The male secretary wiped his sweat again, thinking silently:
President Gu, Young Master Gu Tian is even more troublesome than you realize. If the family business falls into his hands, who knows what the Gu Family will become.
“Well, um, it’s almost time. Young Lady, we should head inside.”
Secretary Lin glanced at her phone and quietly reminded Su Ling, who was still chatting with people.
“Ah, true.”
“Alright then, everyone, let’s go inside first. As for business matters, feel free to come discuss with Su Family Group after the auction.”
With a graceful tilt of her elegant swan-like neck, Su Ling took the lead, stepping forward with Secretary Lin into the Public Resources Trading Center.
“So, you’re not going to follow your Miss along?”
After witnessing Su Ling’s stunning arrival and graceful departure, Tang Jin’er turned to the secretary dressed in a suit and asked.
“No need, Miss. She has people with her. Besides…”
The secretary adjusted her glasses and glanced at Tang Jin’er, whose tone was a little awkward.
“My current task is to follow your instructions, Miss Tang.”
“Hmph, at least you’ve got some professional integrity.”
Tang Jin’er seemed quite pleased by the answer, huffing a little coquettishly before relaxing the arms she had been folding the entire time.
“Let’s go. We should head inside as well.”
“Miss Su, please take this, it’s your bidding paddle.”
“Okay, got it.”
***
Inside the private room, after the waiter handed over the bidding paddles, he bowed and stepped out.
“Feel free to look around at whatever you want, food too. No need to hide or sneak around.”
Suddenly, Su Ling turned to the secretary, who was peeking around nervously.
“Eek! I, I understand, Young Lady!”
The secretary was clearly startled but then began to curiously observe everything around her.
“Is this your first time participating in a land parcel auction?”
Su Ling sat on the sofa, crossing her long legs clad in black stockings, casually asking.
“Yes, yes, Young Lady. I’m still relatively new at the company, so this is my first time attending such an event.”
Secretary Lin relaxed slightly and poured a cup of tea for Su Ling before filling her own cup.
“Hm, relax. Actually, today’s mission is quite simple.”
Su Ling’s slender fingers gracefully lifted the teacup and took a small sip.
“Our only target is the final land parcel; the others don’t matter.”
“Don’t worry. In terms of funds, no one here can compare to the Su Family. You just need to sit back and take notes.”
“Yes, Young Lady.”
Hearing she was responsible for taking notes, the secretary quickly put down her cup and opened her notebook.
“Sigh, you—forget it.”
Su Ling watched her hesitation but shook her head and simply grabbed a handful of dried fruit.
“Let’s just wait for the auction to start.”
***
Meanwhile, in the Gu Family’s private room.
“President Gu, are we really going to compete with Su Ling for that land parcel? She’s backed by the Su Family, and they clearly don’t lack funds.”
The male secretary asked Gu Huaishan with a worried expression.
“Hmph, what’s there to fear?”
Gu Huaishan narrowed his eyes disdainfully.
“If the old master of the Su Family really came to C City today, I might have some respect and not compete with him. But Su Ling? Hah.”
“When did you start thinking Su Ling alone could fully represent the Su Family?”
“President Gu, what do you mean?”
The male secretary was confused. After all, Su Ling was the Su Family’s Young Lady, the heir apparent. If she couldn’t represent the family, then who could? But Gu Huaishan’s tone suggested otherwise.
“Hmph, people only know that Su Ling is the Su Family’s Young Lady, so they assume she calls all the shots now. But that’s far from the truth! We’ve all been played by that little brat Su Ling!”
“The Su Family doesn’t have only one heir—younger Lady.”
“President Gu, you mean?!”
The male secretary’s pupils dilated, his heart racing with excitement, wondering if he was about to hear some secret about the Su Family’s heir.
“Exactly. I’ve heard that besides Su Ling, the Su Family has another young lady. Without a doubt, she is the true heir!”
“And Su Ling? Hah, she’s just a discarded pawn hiding behind the Su Family’s name.”
“What?!”
The male secretary was shocked at first, then puzzled.
“President Gu, how do you know Su Ling isn’t the true heir? Usually, the family’s heir is decided through competition, right? And even if Su Ling isn’t the real heir, she’s still a Su Family Young Lady.”
“How could she be a discarded pawn? Besides, the strength she’s shown in these two months here in C City is no lie.”
“Fool!”
Gu Huaishan cursed, clearly mocking the secretary’s naive questions.
“You know the family heir is chosen through competition, so think about it—if she were really the Su Family’s heir, why would she abandon the family business in Jing City and come to C City to spar with us? What special allure could C City possibly have?”
“Hmph, she’s just a little girl. She can’t have come to C City for some wild escapades.”
At this, Gu Huaishan couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
Ha! How could the true heir of a top-tier family like the Su Family come all the way to C City just to chase after some women? Especially since she’s a woman herself!
“Hahaha, yes, President Gu, your analysis is spot on.”
The male secretary forced a smile, but inwardly felt something was off.
After all that analysis, President Gu didn’t have any concrete evidence proving Su Ling wasn’t the true heir. What if she really did come to C City to chase after someone…?
He chuckled at his own thought.
Well, President Gu’s reasoning made sense. Usually, no family heiress would willingly go out to develop a market on her own, especially when there’s another heir eyeing the position closely.
“In short, Su Ling definitely isn’t the real Su Family heir. She’s just a loser who lost her power in the family struggle.”
“As for the strength she’s shown lately, that’s probably just the family not wanting her to look too miserable outside, so they’ve slipped a bit of support through their fingers to this nominal Young Lady.”
“By my estimate, the resources she brought from the Su Family are almost used up, which means…”
“The land parcel in today’s auction will undoubtedly be ours, the Gu Family’s!”
The aging Gu Family president swore it, determined to win at all costs.