55: Chapter 55: She Was the One Who Pursued Me

Su Ye did not wait long before Cao Ye walked in, carrying a laptop bag and led by the hostess, saying with a smile:

"Little Su, I hope you haven't been waiting too long."

Su Ye shook his head and smiled:

"Why would I be in a rush? The tea and pastries here are quite good; I'm almost full already."

Cao Ye glanced at the exquisitely styled pastries on the dining table, then unceremoniously picked one up and took a bite:

"They're not bad, actually. They taste better than the ones your sister-in-law bought at that coffee shop last time. Good grief, they were dozens of dollars apiece, and not even half the size of my palm."

Listening to Cao Ye's complaints, Su Ye smiled:

"If you like them, I'll have them pack a box for you later."

Saying this, he smiled at the hostess nearby:

"That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The hostess smiled and replied:

"Certainly, Mr. Su. Our pastries are provided to customers without limits. We often have customers ask to pack some to take home after their meals."

Su Ye nodded:

"By the way, please prepare two more orders according to the standard I just ordered."

After saying this, he looked at Cao Ye:

"Brother, I have two friends coming over later."

Cao Ye winked at Su Ye:

"Girlfriends?"

Su Ye touched his high, straight nose bridge:

"Not exactly."

"Hahaha, that means she's a girlfriend you haven't caught yet. Brother, let me tell you, when it comes to chasing girls, I'm the expert. Back in the day, your sister-in-law was a department beauty in college, and she was still won over by me. Chasing girls is a matter of..."

Su Ye was silent for a moment, then said:

"Brother, she was the one who chased me. I haven't agreed yet."

Silence was the Cambridge of the night; Cao Ye was speechless and choked up for a moment. He then looked at Su Ye's appearance, glanced around at the surrounding environment, sighed heavily, and kept telling himself in his heart:

"It's normal, it's normal."

Su Ye spoke up at this moment; after all, there was no need to be roundabout given his relationship with Cao Ye:

"Brother, how is your relationship with Chen Ze?"

Cao Ye looked at Su Ye a bit strangely and asked:

"Chen Ze? The Little Boss?"

Su Ye nodded.

Cao Ye thought for a moment and said:

"The relationship is actually okay. Mainly, the Little Boss wants to pull us over—the heads of the group's automotive divisions, or coordinating units like the procurement and marketing departments. After all, you know he and the Big Boss are having some unpleasantness, and since the Big Boss is currently in power, we haven't agreed yet; we're all just watching and waiting."

Su Ye asked curiously:

"As far as I know, Chen Chaoyang is sixty, right? And his health isn't very good. Why doesn't he let go and hand things over to Chen Ze?"

Cao Ye shook his head:

"To be honest, we aren't too clear on that either. Just like you said, the Big Boss's health isn't great and he's getting on in years; now is the time to retire gracefully and enjoy time with his grandchildren. But on the contrary, while the Big Boss has nominally handed things over to the Little Boss, he's actually holding onto power tighter than anyone. Just yesterday, he forcibly removed three of the Little Boss's direct-report general managers, and the Little Boss ran to the Big Boss's office and argued for ages."

Speaking of this, Cao Ye seemed to remember something, frowned, and continued:

"I heard a rumor—not verified, mind you—that when the Big Boss went into the ICU last year, an illegitimate child appeared. At the time, the Little Boss and the others thought the Big Boss was on his way out, so they let that illegitimate child meet with him. Later, the Big Boss didn't pass away and wanted to transfer 8% of the shares he held to that illegitimate child. The Little Boss and the others, of course, didn't agree, which is why the Big Boss has been doing these things lately."

Su Ye raised an eyebrow, then thought about it and realized this was actually the best explanation. After all, given Chen Chaoyang's current situation, retiring was the best choice to live a few more years. Furthermore, Chen Ze had been in the company for over a decade, and his grasp of the business and various aspects was not weak; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand up against Chen Chaoyang for this long.

"Brother, I want you to arrange for me to meet Chen Ze. Tell me, is that difficult for you?"

Cao Ye didn't expect that this was the reason Su Ye was looking for him today, and laughed:

"Why would that be difficult? I just told you my relationship with the Little Boss is pretty good; the main reason is that over the last two years, the Little Boss has eaten with us several times. You know, the fighting at the top is their business. Regardless, the fact that the Little Boss will take over the group won't change. If nothing else, at the very least, the Lady Boss and the Little Boss's sister will definitely stand on the Little Boss's side."

"We just can't openly declare our allegiance to the Little Boss's side because the Big Boss is still in power, and the Big Boss tacitly accepts this. Tell you what, I'll ask the Little Boss when he has time and set up a meeting for you. See where you think is appropriate for the location, and let me know what exactly you need to speak to the Little Boss about."

Su Ye didn't expect Cao Ye to be so decisive, and then looked at the surrounding environment:

"Let's go with here, Zhilan Restaurant. The class is high, and the privacy is quite good."

Then, Su Ye stated the reason he had thought of earlier:

"Mainly, Brother, you know that I've taken over a company, and I've been having some difficulties with funds recently. Our group has a pretty good relationship with Pudong Development Bank, doesn't it? I just wanted to see if the Little Boss could help smooth things over there."

Cao Ye nodded, then took out his phone and made the call, not avoiding Su Ye in the slightest.

"Boss, it's me, Cao Ye. I'm sorry to bother you so late."

"It's like this: there's a personal matter I'd like to ask of you. I have a younger brother here who would like to invite you to dinner."

"It's not a big deal. My brother has taken over a company and is still young and getting the hang of things. I don't understand much about company management, so he'd like to ask for your advice. After all, everyone has seen your capabilities since you took over the company in the last two years."

"Good, good, good. Then the night after tomorrow, my brother and I will wait for you at Zhilan Restaurant."

"Mm, mm, thank you, Boss."

Cao Ye gave Su Ye an "OK" gesture while hanging up the phone, then said:

"Done, Ye-zi. The Little Boss has something on at home tomorrow, so it's scheduled for 7:00 PM the day after tomorrow. Just book the private room and send me the details."

Su Ye raised his teacup to toast Cao Ye:

"Then thank you, Big Brother."

Cao Ye waved his hand and raised his teacup to clink it with Su Ye's:

"What are we, strangers? You're my brother; if I don't help you, who will? But don't try to fob me off with tea. We'll have to drink later. I drank quite a bit with that group from the OEM factory yesterday, so let's drink a little less later just to loosen up."

"No problem. We'll drink however much you say later; as long as we have a good time, that's all that matters."

At this moment, a taxi slowly stopped at the entrance of the small alley. Jiang Bai and Liu Xueer got out of the car, looked left and right, but didn't see any trace of a restaurant.

"Hey, Xiaobai, Su Ye isn't pulling your leg, is he? Where is there any restaurant here?"

Jiang Bai was also full of confusion. She opened her phone, checked it, and then said:

"It's correct. Su Ye wouldn't lie to me either. That Zhilan Restaurant is right here."

Liu Xueer grabbed Jiang Bai's arm and shouted:

"What? Zhilan Restaurant?"