"I..." Zhong Xiaoqin's breath hitched instantly.

Right, how long am I going to stay at his place?

At the thought of her relationship with Chen Cheng, Zhong Xiaoqin felt like her head was full of mush.

How did she end up in bed with him in such a daze?

The two didn't rush her. After a long while, Zhong Xiaoqin finally spoke up:

"Actually, I don't know either. But Chen Cheng told me to stay with peace of mind and move out whenever I want, saying I'm just helping him look after the house."

If Chen Cheng were here, he would probably be very surprised to see Zhong Xiaoqin lying without even blinking.

"Mhm~ that's fine too." Gu Jia nodded. "Your mind must be in a mess right now. Once you've sorted things out, you can think about these minor details."

"No rush."

A smile appeared at the corner of Zhong Xiaoqin's mouth as she nodded. "Mhm."

Gu Jia met her gaze and smiled, then blinked and looked at the somewhat distracted Wang Manni.

"Manni, do you know Chen Cheng too?"

"Ah?" Wang Manni, being called upon, finally snapped out of it.

"Oh~ Mr. Chen has bought things at our store; he's a client of mine."

"Oh, I see," Gu Jia didn't think much of it after hearing that. It was normal for someone living in Junyue Mansion to know a salesperson from the M Store downstairs.

"Chen Cheng lives upstairs from us, knows Xiao Qin, and is also your client..."

"That really is quite a coincidence."

Clearly, Gu Jia was much more composed than Wang Manni and Zhong Xiaoqin. Even with things on her mind, she acted normally, steadily guiding the pace of the breakfast.

"Mhm~ I guess so," Wang Manni replied with an awkward smile.

The three women ate this breakfast distractedly, each with her own thoughts.

Before long, they hurriedly left the hotel.

Both Zhong Xiaoqin and Wang Manni had to go to work, and Gu Jia had to go back to take her son to his equestrian class.

Chen Cheng and Andy had breakfast and went to their respective companies.

As he reached the office door, Zou Yu stood up.

"How is Sister Andy?"

Chen Cheng smiled. "She's fine. Before I even arrived, she had already recovered."

"Her ability to control her emotions is much stronger than before."

"She already has the air of a great master, remaining calm even if Mount Tai were to collapse before her."

"Oh~" Zou Yu's eyes lit up, and she raised her chin. "I rarely hear you praise your own girlfriend."

"Haven't I praised you?" Chen Cheng arched an eyebrow.

"Hmph~" Zou Yu let out a soft snort, her tone somewhat hesitant. "Only in bed do you say a few sweet words to coax me."

"You..." Chen Cheng said with a smile.

Watching Chen Cheng push the door into the office, Zou Yu stopped smiling, tidied the documents on her desk, and followed him in.

Walking up to Chen Cheng, she asked, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Hmm..." Chen Cheng thought for a moment, his gaze drifting to the tea table in the distance. "Let's have tea."

Zou Yu followed his gaze and nodded. "Alright."

With that, she handed the documents to Chen Cheng. "A third-party inspection company sent over the quality inspection report for the Zhenyan Building early this morning."

Chen Cheng glanced at the thick stack of documents, stood up, and said, "Take them to the tea table; let's look at them there."

"Look at you..." Zou Yu curled her lip, picked up the documents, and followed.

Sitting on a tea stool, Chen Cheng took the documents. "Is there a conclusion?"

"Mhm," Zou Yu nodded, answering him while brewing tea. "The main structure is safe, there are no quality issues, it doesn't affect safe usage, and no rectification is needed."

"There are also no issues with the building's curtain wall, water, electricity, heating, or ventilation."

Chen Cheng looked over the report. "Alright then, let the Asset Management Department start the transaction process."

"What about the price?" Zou Yu looked up at Chen Cheng. "Fan Jingang called me last night; he wanted to see when you'd be free. Ye Jinyan wants to meet and talk with you again."

Chen Cheng's lips curled slightly. "It seems Ye Jinyan is in a bit of a hurry."

Zou Yu: "I heard that Jingyan has a billion-dollar US debt maturing. If the deal goes through, this money is likely meant for that."

"Lately, Jingyan has been working intensely to clear its domestic debts."

"An internal order has been issued within Jingyan to stop land acquisition in non-first-tier cities, and land acquisition in first-tier cities is to be reduced to one-third of previous years."

"Ye Jinyan stated very clearly in an internal meeting that Jingyan is entering a period of strategic contraction."

"Over the next five years, they will gradually shift toward selling completed properties."

"This model of selling completed properties has caused dissatisfaction among many executives and shareholders."

"The longer capital cycle directly affects their wallets."

Chen Cheng looked up at Zou Yu's glowing fair face and teased, "Oh, you're quite well-informed these days."

"Hmph~" Zou Yu gave a playful snort. "Who doesn't know a few people?"

Chen Cheng clicked his tongue; Ye Jinyan seemed even more anxious than he had thought.

"Was it decisiveness? Or was there something else he didn't know?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Chen Cheng still couldn't figure it out.

Then he shook his head again. Jingyan's business was none of his concern.

"Oh, wait, damn it, I seem to be Ye Jinyan's son-in-law in name."

"It really wouldn't do to be completely indifferent."

"Not to mention that Ye Jinyan has already had Xiao Ye officially recognized as part of the family, and given Xiao Ye's 'cold outside, warm inside' attitude toward him..."

"...there was no way Chen Cheng could stay entirely out of this."

"Hmm?"

A flash of insight suddenly crossed Chen Cheng's mind, and he clicked his tongue. "Could this old guy be fishing? Is he trying to shed his golden shell?"

The more he thought about it, the wider his smile grew.

"What fishing?" Zou Yu was a bit confused.

Chen Cheng smiled and shook his head. "Nothing."

This matter could be understood but not spoken aloud, not even to Zou Yu.

"Ye Jinyan's move was to provoke dissatisfaction among the shareholders and executives, leading them to conspire and unite to remove him as Chairman."

Chen Cheng's lips curled. "I'm Old Ye's son-in-law; I should cooperate well with him now."

"Reply to Ye Jinyan: the whole package, above and below ground, for 400 million dollars. If he agrees, we'll trade immediately, cash for goods."

"However, Jingyan must complete the vacation of the premises by December."

"We'll need to renovate. After the New Year next year, I want Zhencheng to be able to move in."

"Hmm..." Zou Yu was stunned. "400 million dollars, that's 2.8 billion. That's nearly ten percent less than the unit price of 3.5 you casually discussed last time. Will Ye Jinyan agree?"

Chen Cheng smiled confidently. "He'll agree."

Hmm? A sudden realization hit Zou Yu. "Are you trying to fleece your father-in-law?"

"What fleecing?" Chen Cheng rolled his eyes at her. "Don't talk nonsense."

"Jingyan doesn't belong to Ye Jinyan alone. If it can be sold, it means there's no issue with the price."

"Well, alright," Zou Yu curled her lip. "I'll contact Fan Jingang right away."