NOVPUB
Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Scarred, But Never Ugly
Lan Yu certainly knew of the Li Group.
A multinational conglomerate with business spanning electronics, finance, machinery, chemistry, and more, calling it one of the most prestigious enterprises in China wouldn’t be an overstatement, with a market value surpassing several hundred billion.
She had of course come across Chen An online as well, indeed the special assistant to Li Muchen, CEO and main shareholder of the Li Group.
It was said that since President Li suffered from a disability, it was this special assistant who represented the boss at various events.
Seeing this friend request and the accompanying message, Lan Yu’s first reaction was that she surely had encountered a scammer.
Those so-called "pig-butcher scams" always start with finding reasons to add someone as a friend, then chat daily to build a relationship and finally swindle money after fattening the mark up.
But the problem was, what kind of scammer would be so dedicated as to send friend requests at two o’clock in the morning?
And their handsome guys’ coffee shop project only came up today, how could a scammer possibly know about it?
It was simply too preposterous.
So, Lan Yu took a deep breath, accepted the friend request, and tentatively sent a message: [Hello?]
The other party actually replied immediately.
[Miss Lan, I’m disturbing you so late because I hear from President Li that you are pressed for time on your end.]
The other party was incredibly efficient, right after sending that message, they immediately sent a file. The file was named
[Miss Lan, President Li mentioned you lack experience, so I have prepared this event proposal for you.]
[Your subsequent arrangements can be based on the content of this proposal, which will save a lot of time.]
[The project budget should be within one million, but according to President Li’s wishes, our Li Group will sponsor your project with $10 million.]
[President Li said you plan to donate all proceeds from this event to children left behind in the mountains, and the remaining sponsorship money can also be donated, which I can discuss with you later.]
[Take a look at the proposal first, and if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.]
Looking at the tone in which the other side spoke and the file they sent, there was no way this could be a scammer. It seemed to really be Assistant Chen himself!
This time Lan Yu was completely awake.
She took a deep breath, opened the file sent by Chen An, and was even more astonished by its content.
The entire proposal covered everything meticulously, from the background and significance of the event, to exact preparations, onsite layout, procurement of props and equipment, a rough budget for various expenses, personnel allocation and work scheduling.
It even included the arrangements for advertisement spaces for the sponsors in the proposal.
This was just...
This was just too outrageous!!
It was as if, when attempting to deal with an exam for a subject you’re not good at, suddenly an expert in the field comes flying towards you, flapping their wings, and throws the standard answer right in your face.
Saying, I’ve written the answer for you, copy it quickly. It’ll save a lot of time, and I’m here to help if you don’t understand.
She understood the rationale, but why, oh why?
How did their little broken project for a high school celebration catch the attention of the Li Group?
And how did the CEO’s special assistant, with an annual salary of five million+, stay up late to write a project proposal and send it to her?
[Uh... Mr. Chen, may I ask why you approached me?]
[How did President Li come to know about our project?]
The other party replied promptly again.
[President Li heard about it from Miss Shengsheng.]
[President Li doesn’t wish for Miss Shengsheng to waste unnecessary energy on this matter, so he arranged for me to write the proposal first in order to save your team time.]
[If there’s nothing else, I will rest for now. My phone number is 740216821**, you can call me anytime if there are questions.]
Miss Shengsheng... Lu Sheng??
Lu Sheng knew the behind-the-scenes boss of the Li Group? And it seems that boss actually cared quite a lot about Lu Sheng!
Lan Yu’s eyes lit up instantaneously, as though she had stumbled upon some juicy gossip.
—
A night of peaceful sleep.
Lu Sheng always slept better nestled in a man’s embrace than when she slept alone.
Waking up to a silenced phone, Lan Yu found that in the wee hours of 2-3 AM, she had actually sent her dozens of messages.
At first, she was talking about the project, saying that the CEO’s special assistant of the Li Group added her as a friend at two o’clock in the morning and even wrote her a super-detailed and incredible proposal.
But later, she was asking how she knew the Li Group’s behind-the-scenes boss, why the boss would sponsor $10 million just because of a word from her, and what her relationship was with that boss.
She even kept asking if she had met President Li in person, what he actually looked like, and if he was as ugly and disabled as the rumors on the internet suggested.
Sure enough, gossip is a basic human instinct.
Getting sleepy in five minutes while doing serious work, but gossiping all night long without sleep, searching for information just to get the gossip straight.
Lu Sheng knew what Li Muchen was rumored to be like online.
Li Muchen was naturally reserved, not liking public appearances or being in front of cameras, and he had never accepted any interviews.
When his legs were disabled ten years prior, it was usually Chen An who attended most external events on his behalf.
Netizens, knowing about the car accident that had left Li Muchen disabled ten years ago, speculated that he didn’t just become disabled from the accident, but it had also disfigured him.
That is what Lan Yu referred to as both "ugly and disabled".
Seeing Lan Yu’s eager tone to know the gossip, Lu Sheng casually snapped a photo of Li Muchen’s side profile while he slept and sent it to Lan Yu.
But this night owl, who hadn’t slept until three o’clock yesterday, managed to reply instantly at just past seven o’clock.
[Holy shit!! Who is this guy??]
[He’s damn good looking!!]
[Some foreign male model? Hurry give me his Instagram!!] 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Li Muchen hadn’t woken up yet.
Lying on his side on the pillow, his fragmented hair slightly tousled. With his chiselled features deep and handsome, at first glance, his profile indeed closely resembled a foreigner.
High-bridged nose, slightly pursed thin lips. His long eyelashes trembled slightly with his breath, lacking some of the usual pressure and solemnity of a superior, but adding a touch more depth and softness.
After a few seconds, Lan Yu finally caught on.
[Wait a minute, you wouldn’t just randomly send me a web image this early in the morning.]
[Could it be a photo you’ve just taken??]
[Holy crap! Don’t tell me you’re actually sleeping with this handsome guy right now!!!]
Lan Yu used three exclamation points to express her shock.
[So, Qiangqiang, are you in a relationship??]
[Who the hell is this guy?!]
Lu Sheng typed a few lines back.
[Didn’t you ask what Li Muchen looks like?]
[He has indeed been disabled, but never ugly.]
[He snuck into my room over the wall, don’t let my Fifth Brother know about this, or he’ll seal off my window tonight.]
[Remember to keep it a secret for me.]
