Chapter Thirty-Five: The Contract Was Delivered to the Wrong Person

Shen Qingli had just finished conversing with the system when Lu Ziyi spoke up again.

“Uncle San, what are you saying? Even if I stopped your previous collaboration, I’m still handling my own affairs in an orderly way, aren’t I?” Lu Ziyi seemed desperate to prove himself. “Look, this is the contract I’m about to sign. If this goes through, it’ll be worth a billion!”

He handed his document to Xie Jinchuan, showing off as he did so. “Uncle San, I remember when you first joined the company, you didn’t have any projects this big, did you?”

Shen Qingli let out a sneering laugh. “Nephew, are you really comparing yourself now to the Lu Corporation back then?”

“The Lu Corporation was on the brink of collapse. If it hadn’t been for Jin, there wouldn’t even be a Lu Corporation now.”

“You’re saying all this, but aren’t you indirectly admitting Uncle San never landed a contract this big like I’m about to?” Lu Ziyi’s face was full of smug pride.

“Who says so?” Shen Qingli arched a brow. “Ever since Jin saved the company, the value of his contracts has always exceeded a billion. And now you come flaunting an unsigned contract before us—don’t you feel like a clown?”

After speaking, Shen Qingli muttered under her breath, “Waving a toy sword at Lord Guan—overestimating yourself.”

“You—!” Lu Ziyi clenched his fists so tight his knuckles turned white, and spat out a curse.

But Xie Jinchuan shot him a cold look. “Lu Ziyi, this is not your home. Mind your manners.”

That glance made Lu Ziyi’s heart tremble. In the end, he could only swallow his rage.

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At that moment, Xie Jinchuan picked up the “billion-dollar” contract that Lu Ziyi was so proud of. He flipped through a few pages, frowning deeply, and then looked thoughtfully at Lu Ziyi.

“This contract is with the Shen family?” Xie Jinchuan asked after glancing through it.

“Yes. It’s a grand plan we’ve set up. We’re about to enter the real estate business, and we’ve got our eye on a plot in the Eastern District. We plan to turn it into a new commercial center.” Lu Ziyi’s face lit up with excitement, as if he could already see his glorious future.

“We’ve already designed the blueprints, and everything is laid out. Once it’s in motion, its value will be immeasurable!”

Though he’d just been infuriated by the pair, he now brimmed with self-satisfied arrogance as he boasted to them.

“Was it Shen Jingrong who suggested this? Or did you approach the Shen family yourself?” Xie Jinchuan inquired blandly.

“Of course I did it myself! What do women know about business anyway?” Lu Ziyi said without a thought for the women present, causing Shen Qingli and Secretary Zhao to frown.

“You mean you discovered this project and gathered several small companies to collaborate?” Xie Jinchuan pressed.

Lu Ziyi thought Xie Jinchuan was testing him. “Uncle San, I already said I organized this myself. Even if there’s bad blood between us, personal grudges should be set aside in business, shouldn’t they?”

“You can’t just doubt my ability because I’ve been reckless before!”

Hearing Lu Ziyi repeat himself, Xie Jinchuan gave him a meaningful look. “If that’s really the case, I suppose you’re in for something major.”

“I know how important this contract is, and I’m willing to shoulder the responsibility,” Lu Ziyi replied with a smile.

This time, he was determined to outshine Xie Jinchuan and finally pull him down from that so-called position.

These days, with no one supervising him, Lu Ziyi had played the role of the master in the Lu Corporation, strutting about fearlessly—how could he willingly let go now?

“So you’re saying if the development of this land fails, or the project is interrupted for any reason, you alone are willing to bear all compensation costs?” Xie Jinchuan sat down, tapping his fingers lightly on the wooden table, each tap landing like a drumbeat on Lu Ziyi’s heart.

Shen Qingli raised an eyebrow; clearly, there was a problem with this document.

The moment she heard it involved the Shen family, she had suspected this was no simple matter.

“Uncle San, what do you mean? Are you saying I lack the courage? If I’m willing to run it, of course I’m willing to take responsibility!” Lu Ziyi clenched his fists, as if making a vow before Xie Jinchuan, eager to prove himself.

“I trust you, but the contract says both you personally and the Lu family will be liable… Isn’t that a bit rash?” Xie Jinchuan asked.

Lu Ziyi listened twice before realizing something was wrong. “What? Me personally and the Lu family?”

“It’s clearly written in the contract. In the clauses at the back, it states if the collaboration fails, you and the Lu Corporation are jointly responsible for all the costs and losses incurred by the small companies.” Xie Jinchuan pointed to the fine print on the relevant page.

“Lu Ziyi, I have no objection to you proving yourself, but you can’t risk the entire Lu Corporation for nothing, can you?”

“That’s impossible! That’s not what we agreed on!” Lu Ziyi frowned and stepped forward, snatching the contract to examine it closely.

And there, in the very place Xie Jinchuan had indicated, were clauses he’d never noticed before.

“What is this…” Lu Ziyi muttered in disbelief. “This can’t be, this isn’t the contract we agreed on! We said we’d share the risks together!”

He turned to Secretary Zhao.

Secretary Zhao sighed. “When I got this document, I saw the loopholes in the wording. I wanted to tell you, but you were so excited you wouldn’t listen, so I had no choice but to go to President Xie.”

Otherwise, why would she have disturbed him while he was recuperating?

Shen Qingli taunted, “Lu Ziyi, it’s one thing to lack ability, but you can’t afford to lack sense as well. Do you believe everything you’re told?”

“This project would be extremely difficult to pull off, but it would be all too easy to make it fail. All it would take is a few months of delays, an accident or two, and you’d have to shoulder all the costs yourself.”

“When that time comes, don’t come begging Jin for a loan.”

Lu Ziyi was too consumed by shock to pay attention to Shen Qingli’s mockery. His mind was spinning with the contract he’d trusted and boasted about just moments ago.

They’d seemed so cheerful in their negotiations—how could they set such a trap for him behind his back?

He’d fallen right into it, blinded by trust.

Lu Ziyi’s face twisted with rage, his hands trembling as he held the contract. Not only had he lost face—he’d almost gambled away the Lu family’s lifeblood.

A billion might be something the Lu family could muster, but the sudden loss of such a sum would still be a heavy blow to the company.

And as for him personally, there was no way he could scrape together that kind of money.

All he could think now was how lucky he was not to have signed the contract.

“Shen Jingrong… you lied to me!”