Chapter 104: It Was You Who Did Not Cherish It

“How does one turn retreat into advance?” She wanted to get to the bottom of it, but her phone rang. Seeing that it was the number from her mother’s home in Dounan, she dared not delay and answered at once.

Her mother’s voice came tight with panic. “Xiaoxiao, something’s happened.”

She was startled. “What is it? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Yesterday the people from Maoyuan came and said they weren’t buying the land anymore. I had already discussed it with several flower growers, planning to talk to Shundu’s representatives if Maoyuan backed out. Who would have thought they’d just send someone to say the negotiations are over too? What are we supposed to do now?”

The news struck her like a sudden gift from heaven. She understood what Xi Mintang had meant, and said no more to her mother, only told her not to panic, that the matter would be settled.

“So he still got there one step ahead of me.” Xi Mintang accepted defeat with complete conviction, almost wanting to applaud Lin Shuo’s boldness, with a trace of admiration one hero might feel for another.

She felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest and nearly laughed aloud. So this was what it meant to turn retreat into advance. Once Maoyuan withdrew, the foam-built scheme would have to be taken over by Shundu. But Shundu simply did not have that kind of strength and could only flee in disgrace. In an instant, the balance of power among three had become a situation in which Maoyuan stood alone in supremacy. After that, so long as Maoyuan was willing to take over, the price could be pressed down again and again. The profits involved were self-evident.

“Happy?”

“What?” She came back to herself and realized she had been indiscreet.

He gave a wry smile and shook his head. “Disappointment is a lesson everyone has to learn. Besides, I’ve always had smooth sailing. It was about time I took a fall.” He looked up at the sky and slowly rose to his feet. “It’s late. Get some rest.”

“Xi Mintang.” She called to him softly. “When you leave, let me see you off.”

With his back to her, he closed his eyes and drew in a long breath of the thin mountain air. “Ni Xiaoxiao, it was you who failed to cherish it. Someone like me, once missed, never comes again.”

He left so forlornly.

She nodded in silence. Perhaps one day she would regret letting Xi Mintang go today, but that day would not be now.

The night wind rose abruptly. Dragonflies flew so low they seemed almost to skim the ground. The weather was stifling, hard to breathe in, as if rain were about to fall.

“We’ve just received word. Shundu has withdrawn.” Cheng Feng was glowing with excitement.

Lightning flashed across Lin Shuo’s deep-set features and vanished in an instant, revealing nothing of his expression. This, too, had been expected. Though it had taken effort, there was nothing especially worth celebrating.

Cheng Feng still could not understand how Shundu had gone all in this time. Their display was not in the least bit feeble, yet Lin Shuo had never once retreated, and he could not help asking, “How did you figure out Shundu’s weakness?”

“The last time Shundu was able to uncover the government’s opening bid, I knew they weren’t simple. It wouldn’t be easy to dig up anything on them. Fortunately, the two brothers were busy tearing each other apart from within, so there was always a crack to slip through. The day before yesterday I got wind that Shundu’s factory in Shenzhen had been caught illegally dumping wastewater. Once that gets out, it’ll definitely hit their stock price. Under those circumstances, and they still wanted to play games with me? That would be wildly overestimating themselves.” Lin Shuo arched an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth lifting in open contempt.

“So you just let things run their course and forced them to back down?”

“No.” Lin Shuo shook a finger. Cheng Feng was left in a fog. Lin Shuo’s smile turned cold. “It was Li Qinghai who wanted to clean house. I merely did him a favor.”

A thunderclap burst overhead. Cheng Feng felt every hair on his body stand on end. They always said brothers should stand together to take down a tiger; yet when profits were on the line, it turned out that even blood brothers could join with the tiger to devour one another.

Cheng Feng did not dare ask any more. Lin Shuo was already thinking of more important matters. The meeting came to an end.

The landlady’s mahjong partners had been trapped in their own homes by the downpour. The tiles lay scattered across the table. The landlady yawned as a gale blew the window open. Frowning, she went to close it, and there she saw Lin Shuo’s headlights cleaving through the curtain of rain like a pair of sharp blades, driving straight up to the front door.