Chapter 112: Academic Exchange in Classical Literature

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Liu Ruyun did not leave immediately; instead, she looked at Zhou Wan, appraising her from head to toe. She couldn’t understand why a cold and aloof diva would be interested in Shen Xian now. Shen Xian seemed to have nothing at all at present—at most, he knew a postman. But others’ strength always remained theirs alone.

“Miss Zhou, you need to understand that Shen Xian has been with me for three whole years,” Liu Ruyun said, feeling at last she could hold her head high before Zhou Wan.

Zhou Wan raised an eyelid. “So what?”

Liu Ruyun chuckled. “Nothing much, but can you guarantee that Shen Xian no longer has feelings for me?”

Zhou Wan could not guarantee that.

“I can’t guarantee it, but I do know that most likely, he won’t turn back,” Zhou Wan said.

Liu Ruyun shook her head. “I will never give up on Shen Xian. Let’s wait and see.”

After she left, Zhou Wan sank into a state of distress.

Outside the door, Liu Ruyun also felt uneasy, as if a heavy stone weighed down her heart. She had originally thought Shen Xian would still be standing there waiting for her, but now, Shen Xian was living with Zhou Wan.

Could a man’s feelings really be so fleeting? Could a man’s determination be so fragile?

Could he not wait for me?

Liu Ruyun was the type to shift blame, placing all responsibility on Shen Xian, completely forgetting how much she had hurt him when she left.

Zhou Wan’s pain came from having confirmed that she liked Shen Xian, yet not knowing how to face Shen Xian and Ning Cai. If this trip back from the capital made clear that Ning Cai and Shen Xian could not be together, Zhou Wan would not hesitate to express her feelings to him. But if everything went smoothly for them? Where should she go from there?

Especially now, with Liu Ruyun appearing.

Liu Ruyun had been with Shen Xian for three years, and Ning Cai had always been very good to him. Compared to those two, she seemed to have the least advantage. Yet because of Qingqing’s existence, she seemed to have the most advantage.

So frustrating.

“Freedom from love is truly a relief,” she thought. Once in love, there would only be troubles.

Near noon, Shen Xian and Ning Cai arrived at a quiet little restaurant. A woman about twenty-four or twenty-five years old was sitting there, playing with her phone.

She wore a pink coat, radiating youthful vitality all over, her skin very fair and translucent like jade. Her fingers were long and slender, adorned with pink rhinestone-studded nails, delicate as spring onions.

Her exquisite oval face broke into a smile upon seeing Ning Cai, revealing white, even teeth.

“Cai Cai.” The woman rose to greet her. “And this is?”

Ning Cai began to introduce, “This is Shen Xian, the one I told you about.”

“Shen Xian, this is Ye Yuning.”

Shen Xian quickly greeted her, “Hello.”

Suddenly, he recalled who Ye Yuning was.

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She was the woman who had fenced off a large area in Southern State to raise red-crowned cranes.

Ye Yuning carefully examined Shen Xian, then said to Ning Cai, “Good eye. You’re more handsome than Su Rulong.”

Ning Cai just nodded indifferently. “How’s your side going?”

“Orders are pitifully few. Daily expenses like feed, labor, utilities are a huge cost. I don’t dare to continue hatching anymore; the mature products keep piling up,” Ye Yuning said with a worried expression.

Even raising chickens would sell well, but red-crowned cranes were really hard to market.

Because there were wild red-crowned cranes, which were a national second-class protected species. Later, after artificial breeding technology matured, Ye Yuning raised some, but it ended up backfiring.

These birds were expensive, and it was hard to distinguish between wild and farmed ones.

This led ordinary people to hesitate, and the promotion efforts were stuck in an awkward place.

Ye Yuning now had only over ten million yuan left in the account; if she didn’t sell soon, the breeding base would have to shut down.

Ning Cai’s media company had a marketing department with strong, outstanding capabilities.

So Ye Yuning had invited Ning Cai today to see if marketing channels could be used to sell the nearly 300 million yuan worth of red-crowned cranes.

Ning Cai sat down and poured some tea. “Have you approached other marketing firms?”

Ye Yuning sighed. “I’ve tried twenty or thirty. Marketing fees spent exceeded ten million, but none had any effect. The whole marketing circle knows about this special product desperately needing promotion, but it just won’t move!”

Ning Cai didn’t have a particularly good solution either. Her company’s marketing department had tried hard, but market feedback was dismal.

Celebrity endorsements, door-to-door sales, cooperation with cooked food manufacturers—all tried and none worked.

Suddenly, Shen Xian asked, “Miss Ye, how much budget do you have for promotion?”

Ye Yuning replied, “Originally prepared ten million, but now I can only offer five million at most.”

An idea already formed in Shen Xian’s mind. After a moment’s thought, he said, “If you trust me to handle this, I won’t ask for a single cent of the promotion fee. However, I’ll take twenty percent of the transaction amount as profit.”

Twenty percent, with the current stock and pricing, was worth about two hundred million yuan, so Shen Xian could earn about twenty million.

“Are you confident?” Ning Cai asked.

“To be honest, no. But you don’t have a better option now, so let me try. I have one more condition: I set the price.”

Ye Yuning didn’t believe Shen Xian had that ability. So many big shots in marketing were powerless; how would a pretty face like him succeed?

A trace of disdain flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t mock him; she casually said, “Alright then, Mr. Shen, you can try.”

“May I have your contact information?” Shen Xian asked.

“No problem.” Ye Yuning took out her phone, and they exchanged contacts.

Ning Cai glanced at Shen Xian and furrowed her brow. This guy seemed really short on money, taking any job?

“My big uncle really exhausts me; he calls me every day,” Ye Yuning complained to Ning Cai.

Ning Cai was stunned. “He wants to buy your base?”

Ye Yuning nodded. “Yes, he’s developing Southern State Garden Phase II and set his sights on my base to turn it into a wealthy villa area. He calls me every day to buy it.”

“A while ago, over a hundred cranes died. I even suspected he poisoned them.”

“He’s just waiting for me to go bankrupt so he can buy the land!”

Ning Cai fell silent.

Her big uncle and second uncle, as veteran real estate developers, had no scruples.

Years ago, during fights over mineral resources, their opponents often died mysteriously—likely their dirty tricks.

“Stay away from them,” Ning Cai said. “They have no bottom line and are ruthless.”

Ye Yuning nodded. “I know. If it weren’t for my dad, those two probably would have had some workers in my base seriously hurt.”

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“Come to my house for dinner tonight; we have many guests coming,” Ning Cai said.

Ye Yuning’s eyes lit up, igniting a fire of gossip. “I know you have many people coming—will Su Rulong be there?”

“When is he ever missing? Not only him but Qi Zhengqing too.” Ning Cai thought of Su Rulong’s headaches. That pervert—when would he stop tormenting people?

“I remember when Qi Zhengqing was drugged by him; you wouldn’t believe it: Qi Zhengqing was tied up on the bed with black stockings on. That scene… such a creep!” Ye Yuning excitedly said.

Stop. Stop.

The image formed in Ning Cai’s mind instantly. That scene left a deep impression on her too.

Ye Yuning then turned to Shen Xian. “If Su Rulong offers you drinks or food, don’t eat or drink.”

“That guy likes pretty boys like you the most!”

“If you get drugged and wake up, your butt will be sore for sure!”

Zhou Wan had warned Shen Xian about this too. Shen Xian said seriously, “Thank you for the warning, Miss Ye.”

Ye Yuning nodded, then sighed again. “Wan Wan still hasn’t come home for the holidays this year?”

Ning Cai nodded. “She hasn’t come back once since giving birth to Qingqing.”

Ye Yuning spoke sympathetically, “Wan Wan is really pitiful—pregnant out of wedlock, carrying so much pressure. If I find that scumbag, I’ll beat him up!”

Shen Xian gradually understood: Ning Cai, Zhou Wan, and Ye Yuning were very close, probably raised together in the same compound. Then the three sisters all went to Southern State to develop their careers.

Zhou Wan became an online streamer and started her career.

Ning Cai opened a media company.

Ye Yuning raised cranes.

What a strange set of sisters.

“Oh, by the way, my dad said the dinner exchange tonight will be enough to get your dad drunk,” Ye Yuning said.

Ning Cai was taken aback. “What exactly is going on?”

Ye Yuning said, “Because the main guest coming to your house tonight is Jiang Tianji!”

Ning Cai’s eyes narrowed, her expression grew serious.

Who was Jiang Tianji?

An expert in Chinese classical literature, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, former professor at Taiwan Provincial University, Harvard, and a tenured professor at Columbia University!

He had devoted his life to the research and development of Chinese classical literature.

Today he brought over a dozen graduate students and even doctoral candidates to Ning Zheng’s home, likely to give Ning Zheng a warning!

Back when Jiang Tianji was vice president at Huaqing University, he proposed establishing a Poetry Education and Classical Culture Research Institute, needing to hold regular international academic exchanges and collaborations. The goal was to promote classical poetry and build a well-known research and resource center domestically and internationally.

It was originally a good thing.

But Ning Zheng rejected it, saying it was meaningless and wouldn’t bring practical benefits.

Jiang Tianji then went abroad and, with the help of overseas Chinese, set up the institute.

This institute is now the most complete and advanced center for poetry culture preservation.

Today’s dinner is called a gathering, but it’s more of an international academic contest—a contest, not just an exchange!

Could Ning Zheng refuse?

No, he could not.

Reception was normally the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ responsibility, but since it involved culture, Ning Zheng had to host it.

At Ning Zheng’s level, not a single stain was allowed.

If he lost this contest today, his reputation would be damaged, and his opponents would mock and ridicule him behind his back.