"What's the matter?" Fu Huai'an asked as he sat down.
"What's the matter? It's all thanks to you…" Lu Jinnan pulled out the chair opposite Fu Huai'an and sat down too.
He frustratedly pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and placed it in the corner of his mouth. He quickly lit it and sucked in a deep breath. Amidst the white smoke, his cigarette could be seen burning.
Lu Jinnan's slim jawline arched up. Gazing at Fu Huai'an, he placed his lighter on the office desk and said, "In order to do your woman justice, you questioned the daughter of the Development Bureau. Now things are great… Director Gao was invited for coffee by the authorities, even that piece of land we wanted is stuck there now. All my efforts have gone down the drain!"
Fu Huai'an reached out for the pack of cigarettes and took one out for himself, then sniffed it under his nose before twirling it around between his fingers. He said, "The current Development Bureau Chief will either be investigated or transferred away. Guess who will be the next Development Bureau Chief of Haicheng."
Lu Jinnan let out a puff of white smoke then pulled the ashtray closer to him. His actions froze midway as he was tapping the cigarette ash into the ashtray. He raised his gaze, a twinkle in his eyes. "Don't tell me it's… Old Xu?"
Fu Huai'an gently closed his eyes and nodded.
Lu Jinnan burst out laughing. He had both hands on the armrests while he laid back leisurely in the chair, a proud look on his face. "Really? Old Xu?"
Fu Huai'an smiled lightly.
"If it's really Old Xu, things will be much easier!" Lu Jinnan took another puff of his cigarette, now feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Then, as if something struck him suddenly, he asked Fu Huai'an, "Tang Zheng hasn't looked like his usual self since yesterday. Do you know what's up with that fellow?"
Fu Huai'an set down the cigarette in his hand and said, "Probably ran into You Nainai!"
Lu Jinnan was stunned for a moment.
Fu Huai'an's phone vibrated. He took it out, glanced at it, and answered the call, then his face gradually dimmed.
Lu Jinnan saw that something was wrong from Fu Huai'an's expression, so his gaze remained fixated on him.
Before Fu Huai'an hung up his call, Lu Jinnan's phone started vibrating too. He rose from his seat and moved towards the sofa before answering the call. "Hello?"
Lu Jinnan's expression turned ghastly too.
"Got it!"
Fu Huai'an hung up the call, and Lu Jinnan followed suit almost right after. His brows were deeply furrowed. "The people up there have sent an inspection team of more than 100 people to conduct environmental protection checks. The Platinum Living Project… would the old man take this opportunity… to suspend the Platinum Living Project? If that happens, construction might have to be delayed…"
Fu Huai'an didn't say a word.
"Every time they conduct environmental protection checks, construction needs to stop!" Lu Jinnan looked extremely frustrated.
"Might not happen that way. If we pass the environmental checks, naturally, the project won't be suspended." Fu Huai'an set down his phone and looked as Lu Jinnan as he instructed, "From today onwards, make sure the bulldozers going in and out of the construction site are splashed clean with water! Remind the people on-site… not to overload! The construction progress can be slowed down for the time being. Send some people down to specifically deal with the environmental checks. You try to sound out the Environmental Protection Bureau Chief over the phone as to what the current situation is."
"That's not a problem!" Lu Jinnan's brows were furrowed. "But to suddenly have a 100 plus strong team come down and inspect the pollution, the quarry will, without a doubt, be made to halt. Especially the quarry. Even if we have the documents to mine rocks, rocks will have to be blasted, so the quarry will definitely be made to halt! Once the quarry stops operating… the commercial mixing plant will also stop operating! What will we use for construction?"
Fu Huai'an had the cigarette in the corner of his lips and had started to reach for his lighter, but then remembered he had thrown out his lighter in a bid to quit smoking.
He irritably removed the cigarette from the corner of his lips. "Work on pollution reduction begins around this month every year. I've told Tang Zheng to get the quarry to store some rocks previously. They should come in handy now…"
Lu Jinnan was surprised because he hadn't expected Fu Huai'an to have prepared for this in advance. "You even foresaw this?"
"There have been signs since last year of increased attention towards pollution reduction. I prepared for it just to be safe…"
Lu Jinnan nodded. "I'll contact Tang Zheng to get the quarry to supply our commercial mixing plant, then…"
Lu Jinnan opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. He adjusted his sitting posture, then asked Fu Huai'an, "Will the old man be planning something devious again?"
"Have we not experienced enough of his devious plans?"
Lu Jinnan nodded, then reminded Fu Huai'an to visit Old Madam Fu at the hospital before he left.
After all, so long as Old Madam Fu was in her rightful position, Fu Tianci wouldn't have a proper name and place.
If they really waited until Old Madam Fu passed on and Fu Tianci's mother replaced her, it would truly be an uphill battle for Fu Huai'an to gain control of the Kaide Corporation.
Fu Huai'an played around with the cigarette in his fingers with his gaze lowered, a distant look in his eyes.
…
Lin Nuan's and Fu Huai'an's conversation over the phone didn't exactly go pleasantly.
But Lin Nuan still went to the hospital.
Wen Moshen's mother was peeling an apple for him when she saw Lin Nuan at the doorway. She got distracted for a moment and accidentally cut her finger; red blood trickled down her finger instantaneously.
"Why so careless?" Wen Moshen looked at his mother and set down the glass of water he was holding, then hurriedly drew a few tissues to press against his mother's wound. "Go, let the nurse dress your wound for you!"
Wen Moshen's mother motioned towards the doorway to Wen Moshen.
Lin Nuan was wearing a simple mid-length trench coat, black slim-fit pants, and kitten heels. With her long hair falling around her shoulders, she exuded an intellectual charisma.
She was carrying a shoulder bag, a bouquet of lilies in one hand, and an exquisitely-packed basket of fruits she bought from the entrance of the hospital in the other.
"I'll go to the nurse to get my wound dressed, I'll leave you two to chat…"
Wen Moshen's mother pressed down on her wound and exchanged a look with Lin Nuan as she left the room. There was a smile at the corner of her lips, thinking Lin Nuan must have heeded her words. She nodded in Lin Nuan's direction.
Lin Nuan returned the nod.
There was a little stubble on Wen Moshen's slim chin, which didn't give him a decadent appearance overall but merely added a hint of masculine toughness to his elegant features.
Wen Moshen hadn't slept well ever since he got married to Gu Hanyan.
The blood vessels in his eyes were becoming more apparent, and the corners of his eyes also revealed his tiredness.
In spite of that, upon spotting Lin Nuan standing at the doorway, his lips arched up in a slight smile.
"Thank you for coming…" Wen Moshen began.
The flowers in Lin Nuan's arms were lilies, decorated with forget-me-nots.
Lilies represented pure friendship, while forget-me-nots represented a strong and everlasting friendship.
The flowers Lin Nuan brought made her attitude towards Wen Moshen clear.
Wen Moshen's mother didn't get the situation. Wen Moshen, however… saw through Lin Nuan's intentions through those flowers.
He reached out to receive the flowers and fruit basket from Lin Nuan's hands. "Thanks! The flowers are lovely!"
After she was invited into the ward, Lin Nuan sat on the sofa, her shoulder bag by her hands. From her posture… it was obvious she wasn't planning on staying for long.
Wen Moshen poured a glass of water for Lin Nuan, very attentively making sure the water was slightly warm and at the perfect temperature for immediate consumption.
Lin Nuan gave a light smile as she took the glass of water from him. "Brother Moshen, it'll definitely be a success. Don't worry too much."