Ch.32 – Male Lead

At first, outside Tang Li’s school, the man pretended to be a student’s parent and mingled with the other parents, secretly watching Shen Yu. After Shen Yu discovered him, the man disappeared for nearly a week before reappearing.

Unfortunately, his tracking skills are so poor that Shen Yu caught him every time without exception.

A few days ago, Shen Yu also planned to let Kang Lin investigate the man, but he did not expect him to deliver himself straight to Shen Yu.

Uncle Zhang also remembered him.

He maintained a dignified expression while unfastening the seat belt, said to Shen Yu in the back seat: “Sir, you wait in the car, I’ll go look.”

Shen Yu nodded, “Go ahead.”

The man seemed to have seen Shen Yu in the back seat and stopped the car before hurrying in the direction of Shen Yu.

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However, before he could get close to Shen Yu’s window, he saw Uncle Zhang, coming out from the car with a black face. The man was so frightened that his legs turned soft that he almost fell to the ground.

Uncle Zhang looked at the man who was as frightened as a quail. He raised his big hand mercilessly and dragged him over to the park nearby to talk.

The man who appeared gentle and elegant, wearing a pair of glasses and half a head shorter than Uncle Zhang, was immediately crushed by Uncle Zhang’s intimidating demeanor. He buried his head like a child caught causing trouble and started answering Uncle Zhang’s questions.

Because Uncle Zhang and the man were so far away, even when Shen Yu opened the window, he could not hear what they were saying. He could only wait patiently.

Before long, Uncle Zhang came back and went over to the open window.

“Sir, do you remember Yi Hua?” Uncle Zhang said, “Two years ago, you cooperated in the Qingli Yuan project, and later because of the internal strife in the Yi family, the project was delayed for a long time, You thought you would lose money if the delay dragged on any longer, so you withdraw your capital.”

Shen Yu: “…”

Remember? How could he possibly remember?

That was two years ago, it’s only been a year since he passed through!

After a long silence, Shen Yu asked, “So he’s looking for me now, just for the Qingli Yuan project?”

“Yes.” Uncle Zhang nodded his head and said, “I heard that in the past two years, the Yi family has found many investors, but the overall amount of investment is no more than two million [1] . Apparently, the Yi family wants to try again with your help.”

Shen Yu held his chin in deep thought.

It’s not about the investment.

And——

The name “Yi” is really familiar. It seems that he had heard it somewhere before. However, Shen Yu had no clear impression of the name at all.

He really can’t remember at all…

So he told Uncle Zhang, “Call that man over.”

“Sir.” Uncle Zhang hesitated for a moment and gently reminded him, “Two years ago, the Yi family devoted almost all its financial and human resources to the Qingli Yuan project. Now the project has run aground, and the Yi family is facing the danger of bankruptcy. The two million in investment they pulled in is just money that relatives and friends could not refuse to send, and the Qingli Yuan project is not as good as before. That’s all there is to it.”

“I know.” Shen Yu laughed and said, “After all, I’ve worked with Mr. Yi once before, now I can’t refuse him without even seeing him. It’s very impolite.”

Uncle Zhang stopped talking. Seeing Shen Yu’s firm attitude, he said nothing more. He turned and walked away.

After waiting for about half a minute, Yi Hua fearfully followed Uncle Zhang to the outside of the car window. His face looked so nervous that he dared not even look directly into Shen Yu’s eyes.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly timid man will be the leader of the Qingli Yuan project.

But looking at Yi Hua’s reaction, Shen Yu felt more and more that he knew this man.

“Mr. Shen…” Yi Hua cried out timidly and rubbed his hands in a confused way as his eyes shifted nervously. He dared not face Shen Yu’s direct gaze.

“Mr. Yi, see you again.” Shen Yu politely said, “It’s not convenient for me to get out of the car right now. I can only sit and talk to you like this.”

Hearing this, Yi Hua was incredibly flattered. It was unexpected that Shen Yu would treat him so friendly. He waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter. I’m so rude to disturb Mr. Shen. I can only hope you’re not angry…”

Shen Yu smiled and shook his head gently. He paused for two seconds before he asked, “I heard Mr. Yi came to talk about the Qingli Yuan project?”

“Yes…” Yi Hua scratched his head, and embarrassment appeared on his clear face. He hardened his scalp and said, “Truth be told, the Qingli Yuan project has been stranded for so long. Nobody wants to spend any more money or effort on it, but I don’t want to give up. Qingli Yuan project is my lifelong effort. I believe that if I pick it up again, I can save it and the company.”

With that, Yi Hua took out a stack of documents and carefully handed them to Shen Yu through the window.

“Mr. Shen, this is the project information that I have recompiled. If you are interested, can you take a look at it now?”

In the face of Yi Hua’s expectant eyes, Shen Yu did not refuse to accept the heavy stack of documents, but he did not open them. Instead, he put them on his legs.

“We’re still busy.” Shen Yu said, “We need to catch the plane in two hours.”

In Yi Hua’s eyes, the hope vanished instantly, like a fire extinguished by a basin of cold water. The smile on his face stiffened for ten seconds before he realized it.

“Oh, it’s all right. You can go ahead first. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you Mr. Shen.”

Even though Yi Hua had the cheek to follow Shen Yu around several times, now that he was in front of Shen Yu and Uncle Zhang, he was unable to convince Shen Yu to invest.

It took him a lot of effort to force himself to move away from the car window.

Shen Yu kept staring at Yi Hua’s face, which turned pale in an instant. Suddenly, he an idea crossed his mind. He hurriedly moved back to the window.

“Mr. Yi.” Shen Yu raised his voice and called out with a smile, “Is Little Heng doing well? It seems that the end of this month is his birthday.”

Yi Hua heard Shen Yu’s words and quickly moved back to the car.

Although Yi Hua did not understand why Shen Yu suddenly mentioned his son, he respectfully answered, “Thank you Mr. Shen for your concern. Little Heng is doing very well. He is already in his first year of middle school.”

After a pause, Yi Hua said with some embarrassment, “Maybe Mr. Shen has forgotten, little Heng’s birthday is not in winter, but in the summer. My daughter’s birthday is at the end of this month.”

Shen Yu let out a sound and seemed to think of something: “Her name is Jiaying, right?”

Yi Hua: “Yes.”

“I remember.” Shen Yu nodded solemnly.

“…” Yi Hua wanted to ask Shen Yu what he remembered. Did he remember the birthdays of his two children? But this seems to have nothing to do with the Qing Liyuan Project…

Yi Hua couldn’t hide anything. All his doubts were written on his face. He moved his lips, but didn’t dare to ask, and his face turned away, disappointed.

As a result, Yi Hua heard Shen Yu’s voice: “Leave me a contact number, and when I come back in a week, we’ll have another meal together. You can bring your family along.”

Yi Hua: “???”

Yi Hua: “!!!”

At this moment, he could hardly believe his own ears.

In a daze, Yi Hua, who was motionless, was almost moved to tears.

For the first time in his life, he felt that a man’s voice was so melodious that it was like a Bodhisattva who saved the suffering. With just one word, he pulled him out of hell.

After Yi Hua exchanged contact information with Shen Yu in a state of astonishment, he heard Shen Yu ask, “Is your son named Yi Hong?”

“Yes.” Yi Hua was confused but dared not ask more questions. He whispered, “Is there any problem?”

“No problem.” Shen Yu said.

Shen Yu and others had to rush to the airport, so they soon said their goodbyes to Yi Hua.

On the way, Shen Yu closed his eyes and rested in his wheelchair.

The stack of papers on his leg was heavy and weighty, like a stone in Shen Yu’s heart.

Originally, he only speculated. Later, he checked several messages with Yi Hua, and then he was very sure of Yi Hua’s identity. He was the father of Yi Hong, the male lead in the original novel.

It is no wonder that Yi Hus’s cowardice gave him a sense of familiarity. When he was still in his original world, he never told his own friends about his own shyness and weaknesses. He and Yi Hua were cut from the same cloth!

It was amazing that someone like Yi Hua became the general manager of his own company.

Just like a certain dessert shop owner who manages the whole Shen family and company, it’s amazing…

Thankfully this was a world in a novel. If it was real life, whether it was the Yi family or the Shen family, both would have gone bankrupt hundreds of times.

After returning to the topic and confirming Yi Hua’s identity, Shen Yu was confused.

If he followed the original plot, he should not have hesitated to refuse Yi Hua’s request. However, in this way, Yi Hua would pay a heavy price for the complete closure of the Qingli Yuan Project. As the male lead of this novel, Yi Hua’s son, Yi Hong, would have developed a strong grudge against Shen Yu.

If he did not follow the original plot, and instead he injected money to save the Qingli Yuan project, maybe the project would have succeeded. Therefore, Shen Yu could directly avoid the possibility of being Yi Hong’s retaliation. Even if the project failed, and Yi Hua still went bankrupt, then when Yi Hong grew up to find someone to settle accounts, it would not be Shen Yu’s head.

The only thing that’s not so good is…

If Shen Yu did this, who knows which direction the plot line of this novel will skew to…

However, from another point of view, Shen Yu’s adoption of minor villains is already the biggest bug on the original plot line. No matter how influential he is in helping Yi Hua and his son, it can’t be worse than influencing the villain.

After a period of deliberation, Shen Yu decided to call Kang Lin.

—————

Jincheng is a neighboring city, but it hasn’t snowed for four or five years, and it’s much warmer than the city they live in.

After getting off the plane, Shen Yu told Tang Li to change his heavy down jacket into a light overcoat.

In terms of everyday life, Tang Li listened to Shen Yu’s words very well. He stood still with his arms raised and allowed Shen Yu to put his overcoat on him while he gazed at Shen Yu with his round phoenix eyes.

After Shen Yu arranged Tang Li’s clothes, he looked up and smiled at Tang Li’s black eyes. He rubbed the little villain’s hair and said, “Do you plan to watch me until your eyes fall out?”

Tang Li laughed, and his beautiful little face seemed to glow, “You’re so beautiful.”

[1] The text did not specify the type of currency used, just that, “the capital investment did not exceed 2 million”. I’m going to call it as U.S. dollars because 2 million Chinese Yuan is about 300 thousand U.S. dollars, which seems be an obscenely low amount for any project that a company like Shen Yu would have been dealing with.