After Rebirth, I Became the Richest Woman - Chapter 2

“Hiss—” Qin Moyan sucked in a sharp breath, covering her nose and unable to speak for a long while.

Ye Xinuo hurriedly patted Qin Moyan’s shoulder in a panic. “Don’t cry! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Qin Moyan closed her eyes and ignored Ye Xinuo.

Feeling guilty, Ye Xinuo swallowed and called over a flight attendant. She asked for a pack of tissues and pulled one out. “Should I wipe your tears?”

Qin Moyan glanced at her lightly, gracefully took the tissue, dabbed the corner of her eye, then placed it back into Ye Xinuo’s hand. As if nothing had happened just now, she closed her eyes.

Ye Xinuo curled her lips. What kind of person was this!

“The plane will be taking off shortly. The cabin crew will now conduct a safety check. Please fasten your seat belts…”

Against the background of the plane announcement, the two fastened their seat belts separately, then ignored each other.

Two hours later.

“Dear passengers, the plane will be landing in half an hour. Please put away your tray tables and open your window shades…”

Qin Moyan opened her eyes, adjusted her seatback, and leaned against Ye Xinuo’s shoulder. Her soft hair scattered over the other woman’s shoulder. “I know why you came here. Since the lie has already been told, I can cooperate with you and keep pretending. But as for who can win him over, we’ll each rely on our own abilities.”

A faint, elegant fragrance surrounded the tip of Ye Xinuo’s nose, unexpectedly making her feel an unprecedented sense of calm. Even so, she showed no mercy and pushed Qin Moyan’s head away. “What do you mean, each rely on our own abilities? Uncle Tang said that as long as I messed things up between you two and made you furious, that was why I came here. Besides, why would I want to win him over? He’s not my type. Also, how are we supposed to win him over by continuing to pretend to be a couple? Does he have heavier tastes and like threes— My God!”

If it had been in her previous life, Ye Xinuo definitely would not have understood what Qin Moyan meant. But having lived five extra years, she knew how important the man just now was.

Ding Qi, founder of Qiran Technology, inventor of the artificial intelligence chip DX1702, and a person all the major conglomerates were fighting over.

It was just that ordinary people usually could not guess the thoughts of a genius. Many investors who wanted to acquire Ding Qi’s company had all been rejected.

Unable to tell how much of Ye Xinuo’s nonsense was true and how much was false, Qin Moyan remained silent.

“Did you take a fancy to that handsome little guy just now? He does look rather talented and refined.” Ye Xinuo scratched her chin. “But how did Uncle Tang know?”

Qin Moyan frowned. This little girl’s mouth was full of nothing but romance and desire. Had she been overthinking things? Ye Xinuo had never done business before, so she probably should not have such deep schemes.

“Since I’m already here, I’ll play around in Jincheng with you for two days.” Ye Xinuo patted the person beside her on the shoulder. “Where do you think we should go—”

Qin Moyan interrupted her. “Miss Ye, are we very close?”

Ye Xinuo said, “Of course we are! How could we not be? You’re a director of our company. Doesn’t that make us fish in the same tank?”

Qin Moyan closed her eyes again and did not say another word until the plane landed.

“Have you two ladies made up?”

A voice suddenly sounded from above, startling Ye Xinuo so much that her heart thumped wildly.

Qin Moyan shook her head. “Sir, when my girlfriend boarded the plane and saw me chatting happily with you, she misunderstood a little. She still hasn’t spoken to me.”

The corner of Ye Xinuo’s brow twitched. This old fox changed faces pretty quickly.

Ye Xinuo knew that five years later, Ding Qi would come out at a product launch. Just now, pretending to be Qin Moyan’s girlfriend had not only been to interrupt the conversation between the two of them, but also to make Ding Qi classify them as the same kind of people. She had not expected Qin Moyan to go along with it so smoothly. What scheme was this old fox plotting now?

“Then I really have committed a great offense.” Ding Qi glanced at his watch and took a business card from his bag. “I’m in a hurry today. If this lady is still angry, we can meet another day and talk things through.”

Ye Xinuo snatched the small card with Ding Qi’s phone number first and said coldly, “Then it’s settled. Who knows whether my wife was talking badly about me behind my back!”

Qin Moyan glanced sideways at Ye Xinuo but said nothing more. She got up, took her luggage, and got off the plane.

As soon as Ye Xinuo entered the hotel room, she kicked off her high heels, collapsed onto the bed, and dialed Yu Qing’s number.

The call was picked up quickly. “Eldest Miss, how did things go?”

Ye Xinuo hesitated. “It’s hard to say. I clearly muddied the waters, and I also got Ding Qi’s contact information, but I keep feeling like something is off.”

“How is it off?”

Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then asked, “Sister Yu Qing, if a couple you didn’t know had a fight because of you, would you be so enthusiastic that you’d take the initiative to help them reconcile?”

Yu Qing was silent for a few seconds. “If it were me, probably not.”

“That’s exactly it.” Ye Xinuo sounded as if she was speaking to Yu Qing, yet also as if she was talking to herself. “Everything went too smoothly. That’s what makes it unreasonable.”

Yu Qing did not interrupt her either. She quietly waited for Ye Xinuo to figure it out.

Since she could not make sense of it for the moment, Ye Xinuo simply set it aside temporarily and changed the topic. “Sister Yu Qing, there isn’t anything troublesome on your end, right?”

“You’ve only been gone for half a day. What could possibly happen?” Yu Qing teased. “Our eldest miss has grown up. You’re so concerned about the company now. It really makes one feel gratified!”

Ye Xinuo chuckled. “Then is there a reward?”

“I’ll buy you the balloons you loved most when you were little.”

After joking, Yu Qing returned to the serious matter.

“Miss, our company’s stock price trend has been a little strange recently. Previously, because of the influence of the U.S. stock market, it fell a lot. Added to the old chairman’s passing, logically speaking, it shouldn’t be so easy for it to rebound. But starting a week ago, it suddenly began to rise steadily in small increments. I suspect…”

“Someone is buying up large amounts of our scattered shares,” Ye Xinuo said with certainty.

“That’s what I guessed too. I just don’t know what this person, or perhaps some team, is aiming for.”

Ye Xinuo knew clearly that this person was Tang Jie, but if she told Yu Qing directly, she would not be able to explain where the information came from. She could only temporarily play dumb. “Sister Yu Qing, I heard Director Li has been rather short of money lately. When I get back, make an appointment with him so we can talk about the shares in his hands. As for those with ulterior motives, they’ll naturally appear when the time comes.”

“All right, understood.” After a second thought, Yu Qing asked in confusion, “Miss, why do you seem a little different somehow? You suddenly became more steady.”

“I’ll tell you a secret.” Ye Xinuo paused for two seconds. “In my dreams, I achieved enlightenment and became an immortal.”

“Keep joking around with me!” Yu Qing scolded fondly. “I won’t talk to you anymore. I still have a pile of reports to read. I’m hanging up first.”

“Got it.”

Before hanging up, Ye Xinuo added, “Sister Yu Qing, when you have time, you should also date someone. Don’t bury yourself in work every day. Otherwise, people might think I’m mistreating my employees!”

Yu Qing snapped, “Go sleep!”

Hearing the beeping sound from the phone, Ye Xinuo lowered her head and smiled faintly. In her previous life, Sister Yu Qing had devoted herself entirely to work and missed out on a good romance. In this life, Ye Xinuo would definitely make sure she got what she wished for.

The next morning.

When the first ray of sunlight seeped through the window, Ye Xinuo opened her eyes. In a daze, all the events of the past were still vivid before her eyes.

After staring blankly for a moment, she looked around. It was still yesterday’s hotel room. She picked up her phone to confirm the time. It was indeed five years ago.

As if she had finally found a sense of reality, Ye Xinuo felt slightly more relaxed than before. After washing up, she ordered breakfast.

After finishing her meal alone and seeing that the time was about right, she called Qin Moyan.

The voice on the other end remained cold and clear. “Hello.”

“Director Qin, this is Ye Xinuo.”

“Mm.”

Ye Xinuo continued, “I don’t really know anyone in Jincheng, and I’m unfamiliar with the place. Director Qin, you’re at least a few years older than me. You wouldn’t just leave me alone, would you?”

The other end of the call gave the name of a hotel and a room number, then said not another word.

Ye Xinuo hung up and muttered at her phone, “Is it necessary to be so stingy with words?”

If the day before, her reaction to Qin Moyan had been more surprise than anything else, then today it was guilt. In her previous life, she had wrongly believed Tang Jie and thought Qin Moyan had said something to provoke her father, which caused his heart attack. Because of that, for five years, she had opposed Qin Moyan at every turn. If not for Ye Xinuo fighting against her, with Qin Moyan’s ability, she would definitely have become a legendary figure.

But even so, Ye Xinuo still had to make use of Qin Moyan. She understood deeply that the business world was like a battlefield. Especially now that she carried her father’s life’s work on her shoulders, she could not allow herself to fail again. What was more, Tang Jie was an ambitious and insane man. If she did not have enough capital to knock him down in one strike, he would inevitably rise again like weeds after a spring breeze. To the entire financial world, that would be a disaster.

Now that smartphones were just beginning to become widespread and all kinds of apps were springing up like bamboo shoots after rain, if they could push forward the commercialization of artificial intelligence ahead of others, they would be able to take a huge lead. And Ding Qi was a key figure.

Ye Xinuo looked out the window, her gaze dark. As long as someone was human, they had weaknesses. What did Ding Qi want? Power, money, or beauty? In her previous life, how had Qin Moyan persuaded Ding Qi to accept investment?

She lightly stroked her chin with her fingers. Should she gather a few handsome men and send them to him?

Qin Moyan and Ye Xinuo were staying at the same hotel, just on different floors. Ye Xinuo had a video call with Yu Qing for a while before slowly strolling to the door of Qin Moyan’s room.

After Ye Xinuo entered and sat down, she looked Qin Moyan up and down. A white three-quarter-sleeve blouse paired with black wide-leg trousers. It was this person’s usual style. “Director Qin, if you always dress this plain, you won’t be able to win men over. At the very least, your blouse should show some cleavage!”

Qin Moyan ignored Ye Xinuo’s teasing and asked, “Coffee or tea?”

“Warm water is fine,” Ye Xinuo replied.

Before long, Qin Moyan returned with two glasses of water and sat down on the single sofa to Ye Xinuo’s right. Her hands were folded over her knees, her posture elegant. Her ink-black eyes looked straight into the depths of Ye Xinuo’s eyes. “Miss Ye, you and I both know perfectly well what the purpose of your trip is. If you are willing to cooperate, why not be a little more honest?”

After a moment of confrontation, Ye Xinuo seemed to lose.

“In that case, I’ll speak frankly.” Ye Xinuo’s face turned cold. “Uncle Tang said Ding Qi is some kind of technology talent and told me I must recruit him before you do. Director Qin, I should be asking you instead. Why are you, as a director of Yesheng, not considering the company’s interests?”

Qin Moyan’s expression remained calm. “Chairwoman Ye should know that I am not only the director of one company. If you want me to serve Yesheng wholeheartedly, give me the position of chairwoman of the board. I can consider it.”

“You!” Ye Xinuo stood up from the sofa. “Then we’ll wait and see!”

“Miss Ye is young and hot-blooded. Be careful not to ruin your health with anger.” Qin Moyan lightly shook her head. “If you don’t want to cooperate with me, then forgive me for not seeing you out.”

Ye Xinuo glared fiercely at Qin Moyan and left in a huff.

Twenty minutes later, she returned right on time and knocked on Qin Moyan’s door again.