A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage) novel Chapter 31

Within the luxurious private room, the faint smell of sandalwood lingered in the air.

Ye Fan gently sipped his turbid tea, a faint smile dancing upon his mouth. It was a friendly smile; one that made the recipients feel as if they were being enveloped by the warm spring breeze.

Although Ye Fan had been born in a rich family, he did not have the arrogance and domineering attitude usually associated with the scions of such families. He gave the impression of being a genial and cultured gentleman; someone who was friendly and approachable.

Perhaps, it was this charisma of his that had made so many people pledge their loyalties to him.

"Mr. Chu, you are mistaken. I am throwing this feast today purely because I want to have a meal with you. I have no ulterior motives." Li Er chuckled as he refilled Ye Fan's tea cup.

"Is that so?" Ye Fan laughed and then said indifferently, "Half a year ago, Li

Corporation's merger with Hanhai Real Estate fell through. Your company's stock price took a nosedive. Within half a year, the stock price fell to half of its original value!"

Li Er was dumbfouned when he heard Ye Fan's announcement.

"Three months ago, Li Corporation tried to open up new markets in Jingzhou. But you got ambushed by your competitors, and suffered huge losses."

"This~" Li Er's face had started to turn pale.

Ye Fan looked at Li Er, paused for a moment, and then continued, "One month ago, the CFO of Li Corporation was suspected of professional embezzlement and he absconded with a large sum of money."

"Your misplaced trust in him was the straw that broke the camel's back. Also, the banks have decided to stop issuing loans to Li Corporation."

"If I am not wrong, the Li Corporation, which has been reigning in Yunzhou for a decade, is currently facing a capital chain rupture. It looks like it is about to topple over any moment. During this month, you have been depending on financial support from the Shens, but you are barely surviving."

Ye Fan's soft voice echoed slowly through the room.

Li Er was perplexed and his face had turned pale. Shock filled his eyes as he asked, "All... All this. How did you know?"

Li Er did not even let his family members find out about the troubles plaguing Li Corporation. And even the top executives at the company knew very little about the situation. So it came as a surprise to him to find out that the twenty-something young man in front of him had already understood the situation so clearly.

It was as if he had been stripped bare in front of Ye Fan, and all his secrets were on display.

Ye Fan said nothing. He lifted the tea pot and, with a smile, refilled Li Er's cup. After that, he continued talking. "Not only do I know all that, I also know that the Shens' money will not be able to sustain you for long. Within half a month, if you can't get any fresh capital injections, Li Corporation will have to declare bankruptcy and your decade-old business empire will vanish like smoke.”

Ye Fan's calm and indifferent voice hit Li Er like a thunder bolt and left him in a daze. Just then, the worry and depression that he had been keeping inside finally spilled out.

Li Er heaved a long sigh of relief and decided to come clean. "As expected of Mr. Chu. I can't keep anything from you. Yes, one of the reasons for tonight's banquet is to get to know you better. The other is to ask for your help to save the Li Corporation."

"If Mr. Chu agrees to help, I will be willing to follow you and do your bidding." "And I will respect you as if you are my teacher; as if you are my father."

Li Er looked piteously and pleadingly at Ye Fan. The former had also adopted a servile demeanor, as if Ye Fan was really his father.

The corner of Xu Lei's eye twitched uncontrollably as she watched the scene unfolding before her.

This old fox. He's really shameless. In order to get close to the Chu family, he's even willing to throw away his pride and become somebody's son.

All of a sudden, the room went quiet.

Only the cold wind from outdoors disturbed the silence, as it wafted in through the French window.

Ye Fan did not speak for a long while, and only maintained a smile on his face as he sipped his tea. Meanwhile, Li Er's expression went from bad to worse and the despair in his eyes grew even stronger. Just as he was about to completely give up hope, Ye Fan slowly put down his tea cup and said, "Miss Xu, credit one billion to Master Er's account tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr. Chu." Xu Lei agreed right away.

Li Er was overjoyed and laughed. "Haha, Mr. Chu, thank you so much for helping me in my time of need. One day, I will pay back the debt with interest included."

Ye Fan laughed softly and said, "There's no need. After all, everything is already mine."

"Master Er, work hard. I will contnue to let you manage Yunzhou. I hope, in future, you will not disappoint me again." Ye Fan patted Li Er's shoulder and there seemed to be some hidden meaning in his softly spoken words.

Li Er was stupefied. He felt as if he had merely been Ye Fan's pawn all along.

"Okay, that will be all for tonight. Miss Xu, please escort me downstairs.” And Ye Fan left right away with Xu Lei, after calling the meeting to an end.

"Mr. Chu, have a safe trip." At Shanshui Hall's entrance, Li Er looked at their retreating backs and, as he stared at Xu Lei's alluring figure, he could not help but feel aroused.