Divine Doctor and His CEO Wife-Chapter 156: Sail Raising Conference!

Chen Xiao shuddered.

Damn! She was absolutely scorching! Who could stand this?

"Lan’er, Lan’er, where are you... My head hurts so much. Help me back to my room so I can rest."

Chen Xiao, growing impatient, kicked Ling Zhenghao until he passed out, silencing him for good. He then scooped up Qin Lan and headed for one of the suites.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Qin Lan took out a tissue, wiping the sweat from her body as she gasped for breath.

With a cigarette smoldering between his fingers, Chen Xiao glanced sideways at Qin Lan, whose gaze was deep and profound. "If you have something to say, you can tell me now."

Qin Lan met his gaze, her tone becoming serious. "Chen Xiao, I need your help."

"Go on," Chen Xiao said, exhaling a puff of white smoke.

"The Ling Family, just like my Qin Family, is one of the top families in Zhonghai. After I returned, my family arranged a marriage alliance between me and Ling Zhenghao. They want a union of powerful families to consolidate their influence. But as you’ve seen, how could I ever be interested in a good-for-nothing like him?

"So, agreeing to the marriage was just a delaying tactic.

"Most importantly, the Ling Family was involved in my mother’s death. They think I know nothing and are trying to fool me, but they have no idea that I’m aware of everything."

A hint of coldness entered Qin Lan’s eyes. "This time, my visit to Yuncheng City to catch up with Qingli was just a pretext. My real goal is Qin Cang."

Qin Cang?

Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. "I know him."

"That’s right. I’ve been keeping an eye on things here. If I’m not mistaken, he came to secure the new port project in Yuncheng City and enhance his position within the family," Qin Lan said coldly. "I can’t let him succeed.

"Most importantly... I want them dead."

Chen Xiao looked somewhat astonished. Only then did Qin Lan begin to recount the story of how she had left Zhonghai all those years ago and ended up in Yuncheng City.

"Back then, my mother was a woman of incomparable talent. For a time, she held the reins of the Qin Family, and under her leadership, the family grew immensely powerful. This created a sense of crisis for the other families, including the Ling Family.

"At the same time, as my mother’s power reached its peak, people within the Qin Family also began to feel threatened.

"My grandfather had three sons. My father was the second son and died young, leaving my mother and me to fend for ourselves. Later, when the Qin Family fell into crisis, it was my mother who stepped forward to save the family from catastrophe. Yet in the end, she was viciously harmed by a conspiracy between other families and traitors within our own...

"A few years ago, before she passed away, she urged me to stay away from Zhonghai, away from that vortex of power...

"But after hiding for several years, the Qin Family still found me...

"So, I finally decided to return to the Qin Family to avenge my mother and challenge them! Unfortunately, I’m all alone. How can I possibly outplay them?

"Now, I have no choice but to ask for your help..."

Seeing the sadness in her eyes, Chen Xiao felt an inexplicable pang in his heart. He knew that if Qin Lan had any other choice, she would never have involved him.

"No matter what, I’ll protect you!" he declared, taking hold of Qin Lan’s cold, small hand.

"I believe in you, young man," Qin Lan replied with a sweet smile.

In fact, from the moment she made this decision, she was already committed to a do-or-die mentality. She wouldn’t have dragged Chen Xiao into this if she hadn’t been completely cornered.

"The bidding for the new port project will be held soon. Qin Cang should be there," she continued.

"As for Ling Zhenghao..." Chen Xiao prompted. "What are your thoughts?"

Recalling the pitiful sight of her mother lying in a hospital bed, not a single part of her body unscathed, Qin Lan’s heart filled with towering hatred. She narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "The Ling Family and the Qin Family have always been like fire and water. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need me, an outcast, as a tool for a marriage alliance to ease tensions. Now, we just need to create an opportunity to make them turn on each other."

Chen Xiao nodded. Indeed, this was a way to kill two birds with one stone.

***

「The next day.」

Luo Qingli woke up feeling groggy and saw Chen Xiao meditating beside her.

"Did I really sleep for that long?" With my tolerance for alcohol, it’s highly unlikely I’d sleep so deeply from just one drink.

Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes. "It took me a while to recover, too. There might have been something in the wine. That guy Ling Zhenghao is no good."

Luo Qingli’s heart trembled slightly. To think that Ling Zhenghao, who appeared so gentlemanly on the surface, was such a despicable person underneath. How utterly disgusting. If Qin Lan really marries a man like that, isn’t she just jumping into a pit of fire? It looks like I need to find a chance to give Qin Lan a proper warning.

"The Sail Raising Conference is tonight, and I slept the whole day away..." Luo Qingli fretted, patting her head. "I need to hurry up and get ready."

When the two of them came out, they found that Qin Lan had already arranged for breakfast. After the three of them finished eating, Ling Zhenghao finally emerged from his room, looking haggard and lifeless, as if he’d been completely drained.

Qin Lan couldn’t be bothered with him, simply leaving him a plate of breakfast before departing with Luo Qingli and Chen Xiao.

"Lan’er, where are you going?" Ling Zhenghao asked anxiously.

"It’s rare for me to visit Yuncheng City, so of course, I want to spend more time with Qingli. You can go wander around on your own."

For the rest of the afternoon, Luo Qingli was busy preparing for that night’s Sail Raising Conference. However, the bidding amount for this event was capped. This meant it was very likely the spots would be allocated through other forms of negotiation. This was precisely the ’convenience within the rules’ that Li Buyi had mentioned. Because, based on financial power alone, neither the Luo Group nor the Zhang Group could compare to the wealth of the other families.

Chen Xiao also understood that this was the most Li Buyi could do. The rest was up to them.

***

「Eight o’clock in the evening.」

At the Yuncheng City Business Hall, a team of soldiers armed to the teeth vigilantly patrolled the vicinity. One after another, cars passed through the security check and entered—all of them luxury sports cars and executive sedans, though there weren’t many in total.

This Sail Raising Conference was by personal invitation from Li Buyi. Only those invited were qualified to compete, so the number of attendees was small. To put it bluntly, it was an internal competition.

By the time Chen Xiao and his companions arrived, the various parties had mostly gathered.

Luo Qingli looked at these people, all from significant backgrounds, and felt a knot of uncertainty in her stomach. Can I really compete for this project against such powerfully backed individuals?

Sensing her anxiety, Chen Xiao said, "Don’t worry. No matter what, I’ll get a spot for you!"