"What happened?"Xia Ruoshui's elegant brows furrowed slightly as she asked.
The company executive was about to report, but upon noticing Chen Fan and Xia Mengmeng in the room, he hesitated.
"It's fine—go ahead," Xia Ruoshui said calmly.
"President Xia, this concerns a company secret. Perhaps we should speak outside?"
Seeing this, Chen Fan spoke up:"President Xia, since you have urgent matters to attend to, I'll go ahead and tour the building on my own."
After all, this was a corporate matter, and it was understandable that the executive didn't want to speak in front of outsiders.Besides, completing the system task—touring the financial building—was Chen Fan's top priority.
"Alright then. Mengmeng, please show President Chen around for now. I'll join you once I've handled this."
Xia Ruoshui assigned the task to her sister.
"Okay."
Mengmeng hated dealing with company matters, so she was more than happy to oblige.
Soon, Chen Fan followed Xia Mengmeng to begin his tour of the financial tower he now owned.
Only after Chen Fan had left did the executive finally speak up:"President Xia, our raw materials supplier—Nanmao Corporation—has suddenly announced the termination of all cooperation with us."
"What?!"
Xia Ruoshui's expression changed.
Nanmao was one of their key suppliers. Cutting ties out of the blue would severely impact the Xia Group's operations.
"Nanmao has worked with us for years without issue—why would they suddenly end the partnership?!" she asked in disbelief.
Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Could this be Baisheng Group's doing?"
Lately, tensions between the Xia Group and their longtime rival Baisheng Group had been rising sharply.Baisheng, an established force in Jiangzhou, held more resources and influence than the Xia Group.
But if Xia Group wanted to grow, a showdown with Baisheng was inevitable.
She had been preparing for this confrontation, and it was clear Baisheng wasn't sitting idly by either.
"It's highly likely Baisheng is behind this..." the executive nodded.
This news made Xia Ruoshui anxious. The longer this dragged on, the more it would damage the Xia Group.
"Immediately reach out to Tengfei Group, Guifeng Corporation, and Qianlin Group. See if they're willing to cooperate with us. We need new partners—fast."
"Yes, ma'am."
The executive nodded and left to act on her orders.
Meanwhile, as Chen Fan was touring the building, the system chimed in:
[Ding!][Mission complete: Accompany Xia Mengmeng to Xia Group and tour your financial building][Reward: One of seven limited-edition Grandmaster Chime watches by Patek Philippe (delivered to your villa study)][Reward: 53 experience points]
Mission complete.
Chen Fan had received a rare Patek Philippe watch and 53 experience points.
He was very satisfied.
Now he only needed 1,447 more experience points to level up the system.
After spending a bit more time on the tour, Chen Fan returned to Xia Ruoshui's office with Xia Mengmeng.
At that moment, Xia Ruoshui was deeply focused on the crisis at hand.
"Sis, what's going on?"Xia Mengmeng couldn't hold back her curiosity.
Xia Ruoshui didn't hide anything—this wasn't highly classified, and she trusted Chen Fan's character, so she spoke openly.
"Baisheng Group?"
Hearing that name, Chen Fan's gaze turned cold.
The chairman of Baisheng Group, Kong Baisheng, was very close to Old Master Chen. Baisheng and the Chen family were essentially allies.
He hadn't expected that Baisheng would also be at odds with Xia Ruoshui.
What a coincidence.
Then Chen Fan suddenly remembered something important: just hours ago, he had acquired shares in Tengfei Group, becoming its third-largest shareholder.
Just then, the system's voice returned:
[Ding!][New Mission: Help Xia Ruoshui resolve this crisis and strike back at Baisheng Group][Time limit: 48 hours][Reward: One Skill Selection Card (choose any skill and master it completely)][Reward: 58 experience points]
As Chen Fan was reviewing this new mission, the executive from earlier burst back into the office in a panic.
This time, he was so flustered he didn't even care that Chen Fan was present.
"President Xia! I followed your instructions and reached out to the other companies—but it's like they've all agreed ahead of time. Every single one rejected us outright!"
"I suspect Baisheng Group got to them first—either bought them off or pressured them—blocking all our fallback options!"
Hearing this, Xia Ruoshui's expression darkened further.
Damn that Baisheng Group.
For a moment, even she felt helpless.
"President Xia, what exactly did Nanmao supply for your company?""What areas of your operations relied on them?"
At that moment, Chen Fan suddenly spoke up, asking a string of detailed questions.
Though she didn't know why Chen Fan was asking, Xia Ruoshui explained everything thoroughly.
After hearing her explanation, Chen Fan gave a faint, confident smile.
"President Xia, I might be able to help you with this."
Baisheng Group's close relationship with the Chen family made them natural enemies of his. If he ever confronted the Chen family, Baisheng would undoubtedly take their side.
By stepping in now, Chen Fan could complete the system mission, receive the powerful reward, and help Xia Ruoshui while dealing a blow to Baisheng Group.A triple win.
"Huh? You can help?"
Xia Ruoshui's eyes lit up as she looked at him with excitement.
"Yes. I have some connections at Tengfei Group..." Chen Fan said calmly.
"What?"
The executive beside her looked at Chen Fan skeptically.
"President Chen, are you sure? I just contacted one of Tengfei's vice presidents—and he rejected us flatly."
"Even if you have connections, can they really override a vice president's decision?"
His doubt was written all over his face.