121: Chapter 121 Believe it or not, I'll have someone take care of you.
Inside the Yunding Cafe near the Jiangcheng CBD, the flow of traffic outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was endless, yet the interior was quiet enough to hear the hum of the coffee machine.
Lin Haoyu sat in a booth by the window, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of a bone china coffee cup. An untouched tiramisu sat in front of him, and his eyes were exceptionally cold.
Spread out on the table were several A4 sheets of paper, which were the files on Zhang Fan he had just obtained. From his date of birth to his university transcript, even the address of the first workstation he rented when starting his business at the incubator was written clearly.
"Singularity Technology, backed by Richest Man Song... so he's the boss." Lin Haoyu muttered to himself, his fingertip sliding over the words "Song family invested 50 million" in the document, his expression darkening.
He had heard of the name Singularity Technology before but hadn't paid attention to who the founder was. Only now did he realize that this man who dared to "snatch" his "stand-in" actually had the Song family backing him.
The thought of suppressing him had just surfaced before he pushed it back down.
The Song family's influence in Jiangcheng was not something his Haoyu Group could confront head-on. But he couldn't just let it go; he couldn't swallow this insult. After much deliberation, he decided to ask Zhang Fan to meet and talk, at least to let the other party know that Xia Qinyi was his person and to stop meddling.
At 2:30 PM, Zhang Fan pushed open the cafe door and spotted Lin Haoyu at a glance.
He was wearing a custom suit, his hair combed meticulously, looking completely out of place among the casually dressed customers.
Zhang Fan chuckled inwardly. A place where a cup of coffee cost over a hundred yuan was purely flashy and impractical to him. He remembered back when he and Gu Jingshen would go to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the university, order three dishes and a soup, drink two bottles of white liquor, and spend less than a hundred yuan to eat until they were greasy-mouthed and satisfied—that was much more comfortable than this.
"President Zhang, quite punctual." Lin Haoyu lifted his eyelids, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance. He pointed to the seat opposite him. "Sit. What would you like to drink? The Blue Mountain coffee here is not bad."
"No need, I don't drink coffee." Zhang Fan pulled out the chair and sat down, getting straight to the point. "President Lin, you didn't invite me here just to chat about coffee, right? Say what you have to say; I still have company business to deal with."
Since Lin Haoyu took the initiative to meet, Zhang Fan had intended to accept. He really wanted to settle the matter with Lin Haoyu as soon as possible. The trouble involving Xia Qinyi had already taken up a lot of the energy that should have been spent on the company and the new game. If it dragged on, who knew how much more chaos it would cause.
Not to mention the presence of women like Zhou Yurou, Song Zhiwei, and Liu Ruyan around him. He wasn't some kind of playboy; he didn't have the mind or the energy to juggle relationships. Besides, a person only has so much mental capacity; how could he divide it into several parts for different people?
If he were vague and ambiguous, he would only be failing their sincerity.
It was just his luck that the daily intelligence system was a completely aloof type. Apart from popping up intelligence alerts, it didn't give any extra feedback.
If the daily intelligence system could be like the systems in novels and short dramas, allowing for casual communication, he would really want to grab the system and have a good talk.
With one trouble after another, when could he finally settle down to focus on his career and catch his breath?
Lin Haoyu didn't expect him to be so direct and was stunned for a moment. Then, he picked up a black file bag from his feet and threw it onto the table in front of Zhang Fan with a "slap." "Take a look, President Zhang. This is your information from elementary school until now, as well as photos of several of your 'friends'—Gu Feifei, Zhou Yurou, Song Zhiwei, Liu Ruyan. They are all quite excellent."
Zhang Fan picked up the file bag, opened it, and his brow instantly furrowed.
Inside, there was not only his academic records and business experience but also several candid photos: Zhou Yurou working overtime at the company, Song Zhiwei driving to the airport, Liu Ruyan talking to a designer at a cafe, and even some information about his ex-girlfriend from Blue Whale Games, Gu Feifei.
"President Lin, what is the meaning of this?" Zhang Fan's voice turned cold.
He had long expected Lin Haoyu to investigate him, but he hadn't expected the other party to go so far as to not even spare the privacy of those around him.
Lin Haoyu leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, a mocking smile curling on his lips. "It doesn't mean anything. I just want President Zhang to understand that some things shouldn't be managed, and some people shouldn't be touched. Xia Qinyi is my person, and Lele is my daughter. You're an outsider; why are you interfering?"
He paused, his tone carrying a threat. "I know you have the Song family behind you, but in Jiangcheng, no one can stop what I, Lin Haoyu, want to do. If you're smart, stop associating with Xia Qinyi and stop getting involved in the custody matter, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Zhang Fan suddenly interrupted him. With his left hand, he quickly pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Gu Jingshen: [Call the police immediately. Address: Yunding Cafe. Lin Haoyu has illegally obtained citizens' personal information; I have the evidence in my hands.]
After sending it, he casually placed the phone face down on the corner of the table. The moment the screen darkened, the recording function had already silently started in the background.
He looked up at Lin Haoyu, his tone carrying a casual probing. "By the way, President Lin, people have been sneakily following me these past few days. On the day of the kindergarten parent-child event, someone was holding something and taking pictures outside the playground. That was your arrangement too, right?"
The mockery on Lin Haoyu's face froze for an instant, as if he hadn't expected him to point it out directly. Then, he resumed his arrogant demeanor, even with a hint of showing off. "So what if it is? In Jiangcheng, as long as I want to, every move you make can be placed in front of me. I'm not afraid to tell you, there is nothing I cannot accomplish."
"Is President Lin threatening me?" Zhang Fan chuckled. "Using illegal surveillance, candid photography, and this personal information of unknown origin—is President Lin wearing the words 'breaking the law' on his face?"
Lin Haoyu's expression changed slightly, but he still stubbornly retorted, "Stop spouting this useless nonsense to me! So, you really want to go against me?"
"What are you talking about, President Lin?" Zhang Fan leaned back against the chair, his tone innocent. "You and I have no past grievances or recent enmity. Why would I want to go against you?"
"That means you won't interfere in the matter between me and Xia Qinyi?" A flash of satisfaction crossed Lin Haoyu's eyes, and he leaned forward, seemingly very satisfied with Zhang Fan's words.
"I haven't been interfering either." Zhang Fan spread his hands, his tone calm. "Whether Xia Qinyi wants to associate with you or not, and whether Lele wants you as her father, are their business. I can't make the decision."
"Zhang Fan, are you playing with me?!" Lin Haoyu slammed the table and stood up abruptly. His palm hit the table, causing the coffee cup to shake, and a few drops of the brown liquid splashed onto the white tablecloth. He leaned forward over the table, his eyes fierce as if he wanted to eat someone, his voice pressed extremely low but full of viciousness: "Believe it or not, I can have you taken care of? In Jiangcheng, making a person disappear is not a difficult task!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the customers at the surrounding tables stopped what they were doing and looked over one after another, their eyes filled with surprise and apprehension.