He stood there for the whole night.
Finally, he left directly to his office when it was dawn. Du Jingtang was flabbergasted when he saw Chu Lui arrived wearing clothes as crumpled as pickled vegetables.
“Brother, what were you doing there? Why are you torturing yourself like this?” He pulled Chu Lui’s sleeve and smelled him. Gosh. The smell of cigarettes was awful.
Chu Lui pulled his sleeve back while he looked at Du Jingtang.
“Are you too free?”
“It’s alright.” Naturally, Du Jingtang wouldn’t say he was idle. In fact, he had too much free time on his hands, with Chu Lui doing all the things himself. To put things plainly, Du Jingtang couldn’t care less as a deputy. After all, he was there for show which would explain why he was so idle.
“Go back and get a fresh shirt for me.” He took out a key from his pocket.
Du Jingtang fumbled and caught it with both hands. He held it tightly against his chest.
“And the car key?” He reached out towards Chu Lui.
Not being a miser, Chu Lui tossed another key to him before going into his own office.
Du Jingtang shook the two keys in his hand. Well now, he was going out to let off some steam.
Chu Lui entered his office and felt the tightness in his forehead as soon as he sat down. He rubbed his eyebrows gently. Soreness was gathering in his eyes. He cheered himself up while he turned on his computer with one hand. With the other, he took a document from the side of the table and started flipping through it.
When his personal mobile phone rang, he put the document aside. He started to feel weaker the moment he saw the call was from Song Wan.
“Hello, Mom. Do you need me for something?”. With one hand on his temple, he closed his eyes as the weariness began again.
“Ah Lui. Son, I need your help.”
“Okay.” Chu Lui rubbed his eyebrows again. At the same time, he had memorized Song Wan’s words.
When Du Jingtang entered, he saw Chu Lui leaning on his side against the chair sound asleep. His body was exhausted. Even a layer of greenish-gray eye bag had accumulated beneath his eyes.
He carefully placed the clothes on the sofa, followed by the two keys from Chu Lui. Finally, he walked out of the office as lightly as he could manage. Chu Lui was still asleep when he closed the door.
“Had he became a thief at night? Why was he so tired?”
Du Jingtang stood outside and mumbled to himself before he returned to his office to waste time.
Chu Lui drove to the kindergarten and stopped his car outside. He strode directly into the director’s office.
“Mr. Chu, I don’t think this is a good idea.” The director was in a tight spot. They were talking about children. Even the adults who had spent a long time with the children had been influenced by their naivety and innocence.
How could he subject the children to the plotting and dirty transactions in the adults’ world?
“Five-hundred thousand.” Chu Lui’s thin lips parted as he spat the amount out. It was soft but shocking
The director hesitated. Five hundred thousand could add many things for the kindergarten and propel it into the next level. However, was he really going to let his conscience be bought by the five-hundred thousand and also hurt an innocent child?
Chu Lui tapped his finger gently against his kneecap. In fact, he was getting impatient. He didn’t want to waste his time here.
“One million.” He looked up with his lips pursed tightly in displeasure.
The director could feel the pressure emitting from Chu Lui. This wasn’t a negotiation; it was intimidation. The Chu family was already providing the kindergarten with many various sponsorships, and Chu Lui had quoted him one million dollars without a thought. He could tell that Chu Lui wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
Oh, well. The director sighed softly from the bottom of his heart. He could only say ‘sorry’ to that child. However, he would also find a way to make his compensation.
Chu Lui stood up. He tidied his clothes. “I will get my secretary to transfer the one million dollars into your account.”
He had intended to leave after he was done. However, he backtracked with one hand in his pocket.
“Does Mr. Chu need anything else?” The director also stood up quickly. Frankly, one would have to boost one’s guts and be more cautious when one was dealing with people like him.
“I want to take a look at that child’s drawing.”
Chu Lui wasn’t sure why he was making such a request. It might be a spur of the moment, but he wanted to know what the child had drawn to win the first place.
“Alright, Mr. Chu. Please give me a minute.”
The director opened his drawer in a hurry and took out several drawings done by the children, which were also the result of their evaluation. Right at the top was the drawing done by the child who was placed first.
“Mr. Chu, this is the one.”
The director put a drawing before Chu Lui who accepted it. Truthfully, he didn’t know what the child had drawn or the meaning behind the drawing. It was full of green-not the bright green, but one that makes one feel comfortable. Green itself was a color that eased the eyes as though it was a process of germination like a blooming flower. The child’s penmanship might still seem childish. However, it stood out and attracted one’s eyes at one glance.
His eyes moved lower and saw a name at the bottom corner.
“Rainy Gao.”
Rainy Gao. This name…
“Is Rainy Gao’s father Gao Yi?” He put the drawing down and asked the director. In fact, he already knew the answer, but he needed confirmation.
“Mr. Chu, please wait while I check on the data.” The director quickly took out a stack of information. He flipped through one by one. Very soon, he found the one he was looking
“Yes, Mr. Chu. You’re right. Gao Yi is the father of Rainy Gao. Her mother’s name is Xia Ruoxin. She is three years old this year. A very obedient girl who was well-loved by the teachers.”
Chu Lui was also surprised to know it was that child. How could there be such a coincidence?
He was beginning to have second thoughts about this. Should he proceed?
His mobile phone rang which sounded more like wild shrieks and howls. He took it out and placed it next to his ear.
“Yes, Mom. I’m here.”
He walked to the side and leaned against the wall.
“Mom, I think we better forget about this. She should win first place with her own ability.” Robbing another person’s success was not something the Chu family would do. He was a classic wealthy son from the second generation of his family, but his parents had never used their influence or wealth to force another person to do anything for him. They didn’t allow him to take any shortcuts. He had achieved everything he had today with his own two hands and through hard work. He even had to pass several hurdles of tests to take over the company. He had no help, and no one attempted to make things easy for him.
Nevertheless, he was using his money to do something he would never do. A member of the Chu family would have no need for such methods.
