It seemed as though he had seen through Yang Xiner's thoughts. Ling Tian calmly said, "Those two subordinates have already been burned to death by the big fire."
Yang Xiner was stunned for a moment, cursing in her heart that they deserved it. If they hadn't died, she would have definitely made them suffer a fate worse than death. If it hadn't been for their carelessness, her daughter wouldn't have become like this. But now that those people were dead, no matter how much she thought about it, it was useless.
Ling Yue looked at the newspaper in her hand and gave a cold laugh. Everything was the fault of Yang Xiner and her daughter's own doing.
"Young Miss, I just heard a piece of news that the Ling family had a sudden big fire yesterday and Ling Meng was disfigured," Granny Xu said excitedly as she walked into the room carrying a basket. When she heard this news, she found it hard to believe. The guards at the Ling residence were so strict, how could a fire break out? It wasn't until she saw the news in the newspaper at the newsstand that she completely believed it. Her heart felt extremely delighted.
"I saw it too," Ling Yue said with a smile, waving the newspaper in her hand.
"Don't you think this is retribution from the mortal world? They drove you out of the Ling family because of your disfigurement from the fire, and it hasn't even been that long before Ling Meng was also disfigured. They deserved it!" Granny Xu happily read through the news again, her face beaming like a fully bloomed chrysanthemum.
Ling Yue smiled as she stood up and took the basket that Granny Xu was holding.
"I was so happy that I forgot - I bought youtiao, soy milk, and xiaolongbao," Granny Xu said with a smile, pointing at the basket. She had originally wanted to make breakfast herself when she returned, but when she heard about what happened at the Ling family, she was overjoyed and bought some ready-made breakfast on her way back to celebrate with the young miss.
Ling Yue took out the breakfast from the basket and placed it on the table. "Granny Xu, I spoke with Fat Auntie earlier. We'll go take care of the property ownership transfer procedures after this."
"Alright," Granny Xu said happily with a nod of her head before going to the kitchen to grab bowls and chopsticks. Now that they were getting a house, she and the young miss wouldn't have to worry about not having a place to live.
Ling Yue picked up a xiaolongbao, took a bite, and the juices instantly burst in her mouth. Noticing that Granny Xu kept staring at the gauze wrapped around her face, Ling Yue looked up at her and smiled unconcernedly. She picked up a xiaolongbao and handed it to Granny Xu. "These xiaolongbao are pretty good."
"Young Miss, your face can be cured. I know a doctor whose skills are incredible. As long as he helps treat you, your face absolutely won't have a single scar left," Granny Xu said, a trace of complicated emotions flashing through her eyes. The young miss was of the young miss's bloodline. That person should be willing to help, right?
"It's fine, I'm good like this," Ling Yue said, completely unconcerned. After several days of cultivation exercises and the trial by fire and knife tempering from that day, her injuries had long healed without leaving behind a single scar. The gauze wrapped around her face was only to conceal things from prying eyes.
Granny Xu didn't say anything more and lowered her head to continue eating breakfast. She knew the young miss must be saying this to avoid making her feel bad. What girl didn't wish to have a beautiful face? What girl didn't care about looks? She would definitely invite that person to come treat the young miss.
Right after they finished eating breakfast, Fat Auntie arrived. "Let's go now. I brought the property ownership certificate."
"Granny Xu, let's go," Ling Yue said, picking up a bag that had been placed on the chair. Inside was Granny Xu's household registration booklet and ID card. She planned to register the property under Granny Xu's name after buying this courtyard house.
At first when Ling Yue had suggested this, no matter what Granny Xu absolutely refused to agree. Only after Ling Yue persuaded her tirelessly for a long time did she reluctantly consent.
There weren't too many people at the property management bureau handling real estate purchases, so the three of them didn't have to wait long before it was their turn. The procedures went very smoothly and were completed within half an hour.
Looking at the newly printed property ownership certificate, Granny Xu smiled from ear to ear. She and the young miss finally had their own house. Although the house wasn't big, it was very cozy and warm.
As the three of them walked out of the property rights bureau, Ling Yue was just about to head home with Granny Xu when her cell phone rang.
She took out her phone and saw it was a call from Liu Yan. "Granny Xu, I need to take this call," Ling Yue said, pointing to a corner not far away. She didn't want Granny Xu to know about her investing in Liu Yan's company yet.
Once she reached the corner, Ling Yue answered the call. "What's the matter?"
"Ling Yue, our company made a profit!" Liu Yan's voice rang out excitedly from the other end.
"That's great," Ling Yue said with a faint smile curling her lips. The company making a profit proved that her direction was right - the Internet would have a huge impact on people's lives in the future, likely not just limited to online shopping.
"There's another thing I want to discuss with you. I just met a friend who also runs an Internet company. He's run into some difficulties with funding and wants to sell his company. I feel his company has good prospects, so I wanted to ask your opinion."
"What's the main focus of his company?" Ling Yue had money now and wouldn't casually invest, but she wouldn't reject things outright either.
"Chatting - it's the really popular chat software online right now. His company developed it."
Ling Yue thought about a chat software she registered on recently. Its icon was a dolphin if she remembered correctly. "Are you talking about the dolphin software?"
"That's right, that's the software his company developed. They already have over 100 million users now, but his company's servers can't handle that many users. He wants to buy new servers but can't afford the cost, so he's thinking of selling the company."
"I want to meet him," Ling Yue felt Liu Yan made sense. That company did seem to have good prospects, and she had used that chat software before too. It was pretty good.
"Are you free tomorrow morning then?" Liu Yan was very excited internally right now. He thought highly of the dolphin software because the developer had a similar background to himself, giving him a feeling of empathy. That was why he called Ling Yue, wanting to know if she could help invest in the Dolphin company.
After hanging up the call, Liu Yan immediately phoned the person in charge at the Dolphin company, Jiang You. "Jiang You, this is Liu Yan. I just called my company's investor and she wants to meet you. Are you free tomorrow?"
Jiang You was just worrying about things with his company when he received Liu Yan's call. A trace of hope instantly ignited in his heart upon hearing Liu Yan's words. "Alright, what time tomorrow?" Lately he had looked for investments from so many companies but got rejected every time. He really had no options left. The bank was urging him to repay loans and he truly had no choice but to sell the company at a low price, but this company was his life's work and he couldn't bear to part with it.
"9 AM tomorrow, in box 9 of the Huixiang Building."
"Okay, I'll be there on time for sure." Jiang You was in good spirits as he hung up the phone. He believed his company's prospects were absolutely not inferior to Liu Yan's company. Since the other party valued Liu Yan's company, perhaps they would look favorably on his company too. Maybe this was a thread of hope.
At this moment, the telephone on his desk rang again.
Jiang You picked up the call. "This is Jiang You."
"Mr. Jiang, do you still remember me? This is Yukihiko Oda," came a strained Chinese accent.
Jiang You frowned. "May I ask what business Mr. Oda has calling me?" Due to national enmity between their countries, what he disliked most was people from Wo Country. He didn't want anything to do with them.
"It's like this - I heard your company is looking for investors. I'm very interested in your company. Do you have time to discuss?" Yukihiko Oda took a puff of his cigarette, eyes full of arrogance and conceit.
From his inquiries, he knew Jiang You was a very talented young man, and he felt the Internet would continue developing in the future to an unpredictable degree. Jiang You's company was promising, so if he invested now, it was equivalent to grasping one of Xia Country's economic lifelines.
“Mr. Oda, I'm very sorry! I've already found an investor,” said Jiang You, with a mocking look in his eyes. Even if his company went bankrupt, he would never collaborate with Yukihiko Oda, who knows what he's scheming.
Yukihiko Oda was not angry either, he just laughed, "It's okay, Mr. Jiang can come to me anytime if you need help."
Jiang You and Yukihiko Oda exchanged a few pleasantries before hanging up the phone. Now he could only hope that the investor Liu Yan introduced would bring him hope at their meeting tomorrow.
After putting down the phone, Yukihiko Oda chuckled coldly, "Go check who invested in Jiang You's company, and give them a warning." He was determined to acquire Jiang You’s company.
Ling Yue came to the Huixiang Building where she had arranged to meet Liu Yan and knocked on the door before entering the private room. She saw that Liu Yan was chatting with a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who had a refined scholarly air about him.
Seeing Ling Yue come in, Jiang You looked at her doubtfully. She must have entered the wrong room!
"Ling Yue, you're here. Let me introduce you, this is Jiang You, the person in charge of Dolphin Company. Jiang You, this is Ling Yue, my investor and partner," said Liu Yan.
Jiang You was taken aback, eyeing Ling Yue in surprise. He had only learned from Liu Yan earlier that her investor was a woman, which already shocked him. And now seeing her in person shocked him even more. Although he couldn't see her face, he could tell from her exposed eyes that she was very young.
He had imagined that the investor would definitely be a woman wearing a professional suit, exuding an aura of nobility and aloofness. But he didn't expect her to be wearing a T-shirt and jeans, looking just like an ordinary little girl. Looking at her like this, he found it hard to believe that she could really help his company.
"Nice to meet you, Mr Jiang!" Ling Yue walked right up to Jiang You and held out her hand in greeting.
Jiang You glanced at Liu Yan, then shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Ling!"
Ling Yue drew back her hand, smiling faintly. "Let’s sit down and talk.”
"Alright." Jiang You nodded and sat down.
"I heard from Liu Yan that your company is facing some financial difficulties. Can you tell me about your company's future direction and plans?" Ling Yue took a sip of the tea that Liu Yan had poured, her gaze falling on Jiang You's face.
Meeting Ling Yue's gaze, Jiang You faltered slightly. Her eyes were very beautiful, limpid and captivating, like the brightest stars in the night sky, shining with astute radiance. It was as if they could see through a person's heart with a single glance. Maybe he really underestimated her earlier. Someone with such eyes could hardly be an ordinary person.
