Chapter 22: World 1 [22]

Xue Fan had to grit his teeth and secure the land at a high price, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for Jing Ke and Shang Siyu.

With Xue Fan’s company facing a cash crunch, the things he could do would be greatly reduced. At the very least, he couldn’t produce another nine-figure sum to disrupt their plans again.

The land-use rights Jing Ke and Shang Siyu acquired from the private owner, though ineligible for government subsidies, cost just over a hundred million, which was still within their budget.

The total area of the plot was even slightly larger than the one in the High-tech Park, and its location sat between the urban and suburban areas. The original factory also had a complete set of assembly line production equipment. With quick action, cleaning and renovation could be finished in ten days.

“The three-day public notice period has ended. Xue Fan shows no sign of giving up the winning bid; he’s already started organizing workers to clear out the parts processing plant,” Shang Siyu said, looking at the documents in her hands.

Jing Ke sat beside Shang Siyu, holding a tablet and swiftly scanning the text on it. “Wanshen Real Estate has almost sold out its inventory of pre-sale housing. They even lowered the down payment ratio yesterday. It looks like internal funding is tight.”

“The pre-sale units on the market are still just laying foundations; a lot of subsequent capital investment will be needed. And they’ve only paid thirty percent for the High-tech Park land. Xue Fan’s financial pressure will only grow from here,” Jing Ke analyzed.

“He’s too arrogant, operating his liquid capital at its absolute limit. If just one thing goes wrong, Wanshen Real Estate’s entire capital chain will collapse,” Jing Ke added.

Shang Siyu rubbed her chin. “Sounds like a good opportunity for us to make a move. Xue Fan has disgusted us so many times; we should at least return the favor a little.”

Jing Ke nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Little Yu, where do you plan to start?”

“Xue Fan’s construction site was shut down once before for fire safety issues, which suggests their site management is pretty poor. I plan to start there,” Shang Siyu said. “We don’t need to do much, just gather a bit of evidence and submit it to the relevant department.”

Dealing with Xue Fan actually didn’t require much scheming or thought; he was riddled with vulnerabilities. Whether it was forcing him into a tax audit or a major site inspection, either would likely cause his capital chain to falter.

“Jing Ke, I remember you mentioned before that Xue Fan has many connections?” Shang Siyu asked. “If he mobilized all of them, roughly how much capital could he raise?”

“It wouldn’t exceed a hundred million, all combined,” Jing Ke quickly provided an answer. “Although Xue Fan has many friends in the business world, their ties to him aren’t deep.”

“As for his connections in official circles, they all cherish their reputations. If Xue Fan gets into trouble, they’ll only try to distance themselves.” Jing Ke paused, then added a caveat. “This is my speculation based on existing data and personal opinion. You can use it as a reference, but it might not be entirely accurate.”

Personal opinion? Shang Siyu was slightly taken aback. She turned her head to look at Jing Ke, who was still rapidly reviewing data beside her.

“Alright, let’s go with what I just said. We’ll check out Wanshen Real Estate’s construction site. If the site gets shut down for rectification, it should cause Xue Fan considerable trouble,” Shang Siyu said softly, reaching out to lift a stray strand of hair by Jing Ke’s ear, rubbing it gently between her fingertips.

Jing Ke noticed Shang Siyu’s gesture and tilted her head, meeting her smiling eyes. “What is it?”

“Nothing, I just suddenly wanted to ask you a question,” Shang Siyu said, mimicking Jing Ke’s previous manner. “Can I kiss you?”

A smile curved Jing Ke’s lips, amusement spreading in her amber eyes. “Of course you can.”

After saying so, Jing Ke very proactively closed her eyes, slightly lifting her chin, ready to be kissed.

Her girlfriend wanting to kiss her was, in Jing Ke’s view, an action conducive to their relationship. So she was very happy and entirely pleased about it.

Seeing Jing Ke’s completely unguarded expression, Shang Siyu licked her lower lip. Then she slowly cupped Jing Ke’s face, took a deep breath, and kissed her.

Unlike when Jing Ke initiated a kiss, Shang Siyu’s kiss was more structured and rhythmic.

It began with the touch of lip upon lip, then prying open the other’s teeth, letting the tip of her tongue invade the other’s territory.

The upper palate of the mouth is an extremely sensitive spot. A mere light sweep of the tongue tip over it can send a tingling, numbing sensation through a person.

Jing Ke had used this move on Shang Siyu before, but Jing Ke had only brushed it lightly twice, dutifully practicing a technique she had learned online, without causing Shang Siyu to lose too much composure.

But Shang Siyu, having personally experienced it, knew exactly how sensitive the upper palate was. So when she put this into action on Jing Ke, she could very distinctly feel Jing Ke’s body tense for a moment, her breathing quickening significantly more than usual.

Good, this is quite effective. I need to accumulate my own experience and keep improving; I can’t let Jing Ke maintain the upper hand just because she’s so direct.

Three minutes later, Shang Siyu, her face flushed red, ended the kiss she had initiated, trying hard to steady her breathing.

Jing Ke’s face was also very red. It took her almost three seconds to control her body from going weak.

But Jing Ke didn’t know the meaning of shyness. At least, in front of Shang Siyu, Jing Ke wouldn’t hide her own little thoughts out of embarrassment.

So, having had a very different experience, Jing Ke’s amber eyes shone even brighter than usual. She swallowed and then asked, filled with anticipation.

“Little Yu, when you kissed me just now, I had a very different feeling. Can you teach me how you did that?” An expression of thirst for knowledge appeared on Jing Ke’s face, her tone perfectly sincere.

Shang Siyu raised an eyebrow, unable to resist voicing her immediate thought. “How do I teach that? Does it mean I need to kiss you again?”

“That works,” Jing Ke nodded. “This time, I will feel it very carefully.”

Seeing Jing Ke already close her eyes, Shang Siyu was both exasperated and amused as she leaned down and kissed her again.

Just how strong Jing Ke’s learning ability was remained to be seen, but she clearly hadn’t yet learned how to engage in anything more intimate.

Since many literary works lacked detailed descriptions that went below the neck, the knowledge Jing Ke could acquire online was very limited. In the end, she could only turn to studying physiological knowledge to increase her knowledge base.

And while Jing Ke was in this process of studying and self-improvement, the first batch of equipment and instruments also arrived via a chartered plane and were being transported truckload by truckload into the cleaned factory.

“Shang Siyu secured the factory in the industrial park? Why am I only hearing about this now!” After receiving the news only once the first batch of equipment was in place, Xue Fan became agitated once more.

“How do you do your job? Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on New Life Technology? This is how you watch them!” Xue Fan vented all his displeasure onto the General Assistant.

Xue Fan’s voice grew heavier. “Go find out immediately what other steps we can get involved in. Even if we can’t stop New Life Technology from setting up their production line, we have to find a way to become one of the investors.”

The General Assistant appeared to listen with his head lowered, absorbing the reprimand from his boss, but inwardly, he was cursing the boss even more fiercely than Xue Fan was scolding him.

“President Xue, the land-use rights have been completely transferred to New Life Technology. The equipment was all brought in from abroad. There is no path for us to intervene,” the General Assistant said, head still bowed, expression submissive.

“If there’s no path, then think of one! I pay you a seven-figure annual salary to handle matters for me, not to have me, the boss, teach you how to do your job down to the last detail.” Xue Fan didn’t want to hear the General Assistant’s explanations.

“Yes, President Xue, I’ll look into it again and see if anyone is willing to transfer their shares,” the General Assistant said, appearing to seriously agree to Xue Fan’s words, though his mind was already working out how to stall the man.

Putting aside how Xue Fan missed the best initial investment opportunity for his own selfish desires, on top of that, instead of seeking to improve the situation later, he sought to obstruct the other company’s development.

As long as a single person in the company’s management had a brain that wasn’t waterlogged, wouldn’t they try every means possible to exclude such a person?

Under these circumstances, how was he supposed to acquire shares?

Did Xue Fan think he could just tie someone up and threaten them into transferring their shares? Did he even have a brain?

Oh, right, I forgot. Xue Fan never even graduated high school. Even after becoming rich, he never thought to fill that gap in his education.

The General Assistant ranted wildly in his heart, while outwardly he remained meek and compliant, agreeing to every demand Xue Fan made, no matter how unreasonable, with a uniform— “Yes, President Xue.”

Xue Fan had risen to wealth too quickly. Relying on information he had learned in advance could indeed help him accumulate a fair number of connections, but if those relationships weren’t properly maintained later, they could very easily fade.

Like now, for instance. Xue Fan had reprimanded the General Assistant just last week, and this week he was informed that someone from the Housing and Construction Bureau was coming for an unannounced inspection.

He only received a call from the project manager after the surprise inspection had already happened.

Wanshen Real Estate had a site in the city that had just started construction, and another nearing completion. Both were subjected to surprise inspections, and most importantly, neither passed inspection.

For Xue Fan, an inspection from the Housing and Construction Bureau was far more terrifying than one from the Fire Department. The latter could only focus on fire safety issues; failing an inspection with them meant, at worst, a two-week shutdown for rectification.

But the Housing and Construction Bureau was different. If the Bureau wanted to make trouble for Xue Fan, they simply needed to arbitrarily hold up his paperwork at any step, and his sites could be shut down for three months, half a year, or even longer.

“Prepare the car, get some cigarettes, alcohol, and tea. I’m making a trip to Director Wang’s place,” Xue Fan said, quickly producing the key to the safe he carried with him.

After shooing the General Assistant out, Xue Fan used the key and a code to open the wall-mounted safe hidden behind a painting. He took out five 500g gold bars from within.

Hefting them in his hand to feel their weight, Xue Fan somewhat reluctantly packed them into a black bag, finally placing them into his briefcase.

The people at the Housing and Construction Bureau weren’t easily appeased. He just hoped their appetites hadn’t grown too ridiculously large—so large that even five gold bars couldn’t satisfy them.

While Xue Fan was frantic and exhausted dealing with the site issues, Jing Ke, after a period of diligent study, began attempting to put theory into practice.

“Like this?” Jing Ke, a road novice, was extremely cautious and prudent, stopping after every small step to ask for her partner’s opinion.

“Mm, yes.” Shang Siyu’s face was much redder than usual.

Fortunately, the usually dim night-light was also turned off; otherwise, Shang Siyu would probably be hiding her face under the blanket.

“Can I proceed to the next step?” Jing Ke asked, her tone very serious.

“Y-you can.” Shang Siyu wanted to cover her face.

Why ask so many questions right now? I’m still feeling shy!

But Shang Siyu soon had no time to dwell on her embarrassment, because Jing Ke’s actions were swift and her execution was strong.

Leaving technique aside, the very fact that Jing Ke was bold enough to use her mouth anywhere was enough to make Shang Siyu completely fall apart.

After completing her first attempt, Jing Ke became even more eager to try again. Feeling she had grasped the knack, she intended to strike while the iron was hot and go for another round.

“W-wait a moment!” Realizing the danger, Shang Siyu called a halt, her voice slightly hoarse.

“What’s wrong?” Jing Ke immediately stopped her hands and mouth.

“Slow down, I need to slow down.” Shang Siyu slowly exhaled, barely managing to find what little remained of her rationality amidst the multiple stimuli.

“Also, when you were studying that kind of knowledge, didn’t you learn that these things should be reciprocal?” Shang Siyu said.

After being repeatedly hit by Jing Ke’s straightforwardness, Shang Siyu had also learned to be sufficiently candid when absolutely necessary, so she wouldn’t be left defenseless.

Hearing Shang Siyu’s words, Jing Ke considered them seriously for two seconds, then nodded. “You’re right. It should be reciprocal.”

“Then shouldn’t you lie down?” Shang Siyu, having recovered a little, pressed on.

Jing Ke nodded again, moved her hands away, and lay down rigidly straight on the right side of the bed.

“I’m lying down. You can start,” Jing Ke said, trying hard to relax her body.

Now that she was all cleaned up and waiting to be tasted, even if Shang Siyu’s body still felt somewhat weak, she wouldn’t show any timidity at this moment.

In terms of absorbing new knowledge quickly, Shang Siyu might not match Jing Ke, who had transformed from a system into a human.

But Shang Siyu’s specialty was related to neurology. She had an extremely clear understanding of human anatomy, and the same went for certain aspects of physiological knowledge.

Just like with kissing, after experiencing it firsthand once, Shang Siyu easily got the hang of it.

Given just a little time, Shang Siyu could take what she had just understood and learned, and execute it even better.

They started at nine o’clock and finished at midnight.

Those three hours brought both Jing Ke and Shang Siyu considerable gains. Though it was somewhat halting and clumsy at the very beginning, by the end, it was all uninhibited, exuberant joy.

In order to get to sleep and rest sooner, Jing Ke and Shang Siyu showered together in the end.

And when they fell asleep, they chose an even more intimate posture than before.

Skin against skin, breaths mingling, just like their relationship—tightly entangled together.