Chapter 133 Elder Shang Is So Wicked

Chapter 133: Elder Shang Is Such a Jerk

Over the past three years, Ye Jingyuan had been back to normal for a while now, with no more episodes of mental instability.

That night, Ye Jingyuan brought up the long-buried past with Cheng Feng on her own, her voice as calm as if she were telling someone else's story—she'd long moved on from those painful memories.

Twenty-two years ago, she was heading to see Li Yao when she ran into Li Jianye on the way.

She mistook him for someone else and got into his car. It wasn't until Li Jianye started getting handsy that she realized something was wrong and tried desperately to get away, but he forced her to stay.

In the chaos, Li Jianye forced himself on her.

Terrified, she wanted to go home and tell her family, but Li Jianye threatened her to keep quiet.

As they argued in the car, a landslide suddenly hit, sending a wave of mud and rocks crashing down. Li Jianye ditched the car and ran, leaving her to fend for herself. Ye Jingyuan ran for her life, but slipped and rolled down the hill.

When she woke again, her hands and feet were tied, and she was lying on a bumpy ox cart.

After passing out again, she woke up in a remote mountain village, cut off from the world, surrounded by mountains with no real roads—just muddy, rough dirt paths stretching everywhere.

Cheng Feng's heart clenched as he listened, and he pulled his mom into a tight hug, feeling incredibly sorry for her.

Ye Jingyuan, acting like it was no big deal, gently patted his back and said calmly, "Mom's okay. It's all in the past now."

But Cheng Feng was furious. He swore he'd find time to go to the prison and beat the crap out of Li Jianye—it was all his fault for what he did to his mom, for making them end up like this.

Outside the hospital room, Li Yao leaned against the wall, silently catching every word of the conversation inside.

Ye Jingyuan's humiliating, painful, and desperate past cut through his heart like icy knives, tormenting him until he could hardly breathe.

Li Yao clutched his chest, leaning against the wall, struggling to breathe from the pain.

After Cheng Feng and Ye Jingyuan hugged for a long time, Ye Jingyuan expressed a desire to see Li Yao. Cheng Feng was thrilled—if his mom was willing to see Li Yao, it meant she had really moved on. He pushed the door open, stepped out, looked at Li Yao, and after a moment of silence, said quietly:

"Dad, Mom wants to see you. Go in."

Li Yao's eyes instantly turned red, and he trembled with emotion.

Three years. Ye Jingyuan was finally ready to see him.

He almost stumbled as he pushed the door open and hurried inside.

Cheng Feng watched Li Yao go in and heard them start talking, and let out a sigh of relief. This was all thanks to Shang Xu for patiently guiding his mom. He needed to properly thank Shang Xu, even though he'd already thanked him before. He pulled out his phone and called Shang Xu, but it rang for a long time with no answer.

Shang Xu must be busy. He'd thank him later.

He glanced back at the hospital room, where Li Yao and Ye Jingyuan were holding each other tightly, both with tears in their eyes.

Cheng Feng quietly wiped the tears from his own eyes. As long as his mom had moved on, he was happy. He watched for a moment, then pulled the door shut.

Lately, Cheng Feng had several big projects on his plate. If they all went through, the profits would be close to a hundred billion.

If he could pull it off, Cheng Feng believed that Elder Shang would definitely see him differently.

With that in mind, Cheng Feng went to the prison to see Li Jianye, who was now a broken wreck. He lost the urge to mess with him anymore and then threw himself back into work. Now full of energy, he spent his days in the office, from early morning to late at night, with nonstop phone calls and a mountain of work.

That day was the partnership meeting between the Ye family and the Shang Corporation.

Cheng Feng had expected Shang Xu to be the one running the meeting. He was really looking forward to seeing Shang Xu, since it had been a while. He sat in the meeting room, waiting anxiously and eagerly. But to his surprise, Elder Shang himself showed up.

The moment his eyes met Elder Shang's, Cheng Feng's heart inexplicably tightened, and a bit of fear crept in. Well, he hadn't practiced enough. Even after three years, he couldn't stand up to Elder Shang's authority. Facing him, he was still terrified. It seemed he still had a lot of growing up to do.

When he was a kid, Elder Shang had been kind and easy to talk to. But now, Elder Shang's presence was as imposing as an emperor's, and his gaze toward Cheng Feng was cold and sharp, with no warmth at all, as if he could see right through him, with an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Cheng Feng pushed down his nervousness, swallowed hard, and handed over the prepared documents with both hands.

Elder Shang looked down and carefully flipped through them without saying a word. He didn't seem too impressed.

Cheng Feng took a deep breath, walked over to the projection screen, and pointed at the PPT, clearly explaining the project's concept, plan, and execution strategy.

His speech was steady, his logic meticulous, and every word exuded confidence.

Elder Shang hadn't had high expectations for him, thinking he was just average, especially since the documents were mediocre. But as Cheng Feng spoke more and more clearly, Elder Shang's initially indifferent expression gradually shifted. He furrowed his brows, his demeanor becoming serious and focused, his eyes fixed on Cheng Feng.

By the time Cheng Feng finished speaking, his throat dry, and sat back down, Elder Shang's gaze had shed its initial disdain, even showing a hint of appreciation.

Cheng Feng met his eyes and, sensing no strong hostility or oppressive pressure, relaxed a little inside. He knew he was halfway there.

The meeting lasted about two hours, and the partnership was finally successfully finalized.

Cheng Feng was ecstatic. When he returned to his office, his steps were light, and he couldn't help humming a tune. If he weren't President Cheng, he might have danced a little in celebration.

His assistant came over with a smile, full of admiration and awe, giving him a thumbs-up: "President Cheng, you're amazing! You even cracked the toughest nut at the Shang Corporation!"

Cheng Feng smiled, pulled out his phone, and ordered several hundred cups of coffee and desserts in one go. He turned to the assistant and said:

"Tell everyone to take a break. Today, it's on me, as a reward for everyone's hard work during this time."

The assistant beamed: "Got it, President Cheng!"

About an hour later, in the company, all the employees who received the coffee and desserts began whispering among themselves:

"What's up with President Cheng today? Why is he treating everyone to so much? This must cost at least tens of thousands, right?"

"Tens of thousands? Probably two or three hundred thousand?"

"The whole building—how many employees are there? How could it be just two or three hundred thousand?"

"Then how much?"

"I don't know, but it's definitely expensive."

"Wow, this drink is so good! Do you think we'll get off work early today?"

"President Cheng is so happy; we might get off early. I saw him walking out of the office really fast earlier."

"It's just one project. Why is President Cheng so happy? He wasn't this happy about other projects before!"

"I think it might be..."

"What?"

"He's probably in love."

"I act like this when I'm in love too."

"President Cheng is so capable and handsome. What kind of heiress do you think he's dating?"

"Who knows?"

After returning to the office, Cheng Feng sent a message to Shang Xu, telling him he'd finished the project with the Shang Corporation. But he got no reply, and Cheng Feng figured Shang Xu wasn't allowed to talk to him.

Cheng Feng sighed. No big deal; he'd head over to the Shang estate later. He'd had such a good chat with Elder Shang today, he'd definitely let him see Shang Xu.

He hummed a little tune and kept working.

That evening, when he got home, Ye Ming saw him bouncing in all cheerful and immediately rushed over, his eyes wide with admiration: "Cousin, I heard you landed a multi-billion project with the Shang Corporation? That's insane!"

Cheng Feng nodded lightly, a bit proud but not showing it: "Mm."

"Cousin, you're too strong! In just three years, you've become deputy manager, while I'm still stuck as a low-level employee!" Ye Ming said, his face full of worship mixed with a hint of grievance. "Hook me up, will you? I want to be a team leader. That team lead messes with me every day—I gotta move up!"

Cheng Feng knew full well his quick rise was all because of his dad's guidance and support behind the scenes. On his own, he never could've had it so easy.

He shook his head with a smile:

"Little cousin, I can't help you with that. You have to rely on yourself. Honestly, if you put half the effort you put into dating into work, you could be a manager, not just some team lead."

Ye Ming pouted, secretly frustrated. How could it be that simple? His cousin was full of it. He focused all on work and barely hung out with his girlfriend, yet he still wasn't getting anywhere. Comparing yourself to others was just frustrating.

"Cousin, I work very hard."

Cheng Feng remembered that time he went to see his girlfriend during work, which made a deal fall through. He patted his shoulder and said nothing, but his eyes said, "You know what I'm talking about."

Ye Ximo, sitting nearby, looked at Cheng Feng with a flicker in her eyes. She now had a strange feeling about him and said softly:

"Congrats. You're one step closer to your goal."

Cheng Feng pursed his lips and opened his mouth. He'd heard she was seeing some guy from a regular family. He'd recently spotted her boyfriend with another girl and intended to warn her.

"Cousin, I heard you've met a guy recently."

Ye Ximo was caught off guard, her cheeks flushing instantly. She gave a soft "mm." She'd found a guy who looked a little like Shang Xu, mostly because she still couldn't get over him. She hadn't expected Cheng Feng to know she was dating, thinking she'd kept it under wraps.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

Cheng Feng hesitated for a moment. Seeing how sweet and fond she seemed of the boy, he sighed and told her honestly:

"Cousin, I... I saw him shopping with another girl a few days ago, acting very close... I don't know who that girl was. Maybe... maybe it wasn't anything, perhaps a family member?"

Ye Ximo's face turned pale in an instant. She was actually quite sharp and understood his implication. Had she been cheated on by that guy?

Ye Qingyu tapped Cheng Feng's arm and lowered her voice: "Cheng Feng, can you talk about this after dinner? You're putting your cousin in an awkward position right now. Let's discuss it later, not at a time like this."

"I'm just looking out for her," Cheng Feng replied quietly. "I've run into that guy several times. He's never short of girls around him—he's unreliable."

Ye Qingyu hadn't even known Ye Ximo was dating. Hearing this, she frowned slightly.

After dinner, Ye Qingyu, Cheng Feng, and Ye Ximo sat together, talking about the boy. When Ye Ximo heard Cheng Feng say that the guy had gone to a hotel with another girl, she clutched her skirt tightly. She looked at Cheng Feng. She had never really liked him, but now he seemed genuinely concerned about her, while she had hoped he and Shang Xu wouldn't end up together.

Comparing herself like this, she felt so malicious.

This time, Ye Ximo's gaze at Cheng Feng held less resentment and even some gratitude. "Thank you, cousin."

Cheng Feng smiled faintly. Finally, he had improved his relationship with his cousin. Over the past three years, he had the worst rapport with Ye Ximo, barely exchanging a few words.

He actually felt guilty toward her, thinking he had taken her future husband.

He chatted with Ye Ximo and Ye Qingyu for a while longer before leaving the Ye residence.

Cheng Feng planned to go see Shang Xu. He hadn't seen him in a long time and missed him dearly. He wondered if Elder Shang would allow him to meet Shang Xu. He drove straight to the Shang villa.

After parking, Cheng Feng walked to the Shang mansion's main gate, only to be stopped by two security guards.

One of the guards said, "Young Master Cheng Feng, please don't make things difficult for us. We're just following the rules. You'd better turn back."

Cheng Feng paused, glanced over, and saw a large sign. Anger surged in his heart. That sign at the entrance still hadn't been taken down?

Did Elder Shang dislike him that much?

It clearly read: "Ye Family's Cheng Feng, Entry Forbidden."

He rubbed his throbbing temples, both angry and helpless.

He had just successfully negotiated a deal with Elder Shang today, so why couldn't he even get through the Shang family's door? Hadn't the old man been nice to him this morning? Was it still not enough?

Damn it, Elder Shang was really something.