Chapter 66 Forced Love from My Archrival 15

Chapter 66: Forced Love from My Archrival 15

"The Qin and Lin families are business rivals; we've been sworn enemies since we were kids. No matter what you're thinking, I will never like men, and I certainly won't like you. Young Master Qin, please go back..."

When Lin Huaiqing said these words, his face was set like stone. Anyone looking at him would think he was cold-hearted.

But only Lin Huaiqing himself knew the real reason he was doing this.

Qin Fan had had a crush on the original owner since school. Although he was now the original owner, he couldn't stand being someone's replacement.

Every mission ends eventually, so why make things harder for himself?

Lin Huaiqing didn't know when Qin Fan had left. By the time he came back to his senses, the living room was empty.

Qin Fan hadn't said anything before leaving, but he looked a little down and like he was holding back.

He wondered if Qin Fan would just drop it.

It took a full week before his face completely healed.

Unless you looked super close, you couldn't see any trace of it.

Only once it healed up this well did he feel safe going back to work.

Back at the office, Lin Huaiqing was surprised to see Xue Chengan had already settled in nicely under Uncle Wang.

Right before the meeting, Uncle Wang even praised Xue Chengan in front of Lin Zhen.

He'd taken a whole week off—a miss is as good as a mile. He'd have to work even harder going forward.

"Hey! Cousin! You're here! I thought you weren't coming back." Xue Chengan, seeing no one else nearby, started with his snide comments again.

"I was sick and took a week off. I remember the open bidding for the Lover's Island project starts in three days, right?"

His main focus was naturally the Lover's Island development project. Both the Lin and Qin families were after it—only time would tell who'd win.

"Wow, cousin, you've got a good memory. In five days, Uncle Wang's taking me to the bid opening. If you wanna come, you're welcome to tag along."

"Is the bid document ready?"

"Something that important? Of course it's done. But Uncle Wang's the one holding onto it. If you're curious, cuz, why don't we go ask him to show us?"

If the Lin Group's final bid was the same as the Qin Group's, the Qin Group would have a better shot at winning.

If they could maximize profits and still land the Lover's Island project, maybe the Lin Group wouldn't hit a crisis so fast.

Sometimes, even he didn't know what to think. Lin Zhen treated him like a son, yet here he was, watching Lin Zhen's life's work fall apart just to finish his mission.

Even though all this was fake to him, to Lin Zhen, the Lin Group was the result of years of hard work.

"Let's go. I wanna take a look at the bid doc too."

"See? I knew you'd be interested."

After thinking it through with his not-so-smart brain, Lin Huaiqing figured the Lin Group's bid was on the conservative side. They had a shot, but not a great one.

It all came down to what price the Qin Group put out there.

That was trade-secret territory, so there was no way for him to know.

Just as he was stuck, a message from Lu Yuting popped up on his phone.

"Huaiqing, got a minute to meet up? I'll be waiting at the café."

Ever since they bumped into each other at that Western restaurant, Lu Yuting had been finding excuses to see him.

Whatever her deal was, Lin Huaiqing didn't want to get tangled up with her.

Lu Yuting and Qin Fan were basically the same. He'd turned down Qin Fan, and he'd turn down Lu Yuting too.

"Sorry, Yuting, I've been swamped at work lately, no time for coffee."

The second he sent the message, she replied.

"I'm at the café downstairs from your office. I've got info you're gonna wanna hear. You sure you don't wanna come?"

No matter what Lin Huaiqing asked after that, she went silent.

That definitely got his attention. Looks like he had to go see Lu Yuting after all.

He wanted to see what she was really playing at.

It was the middle of the workday, so the café was almost empty. Lu Yuting sat by the window.

The second she saw Lin Huaiqing walk in, she waved him over:

"Huaiqing, over here!"

"Yuting, I'm busy. Just get to the point." Lin Huaiqing's expression wasn't exactly pleasant.

Lu Yuting had shown up at his company without even a heads-up—she was clearly dead set on seeing him.

"Huaiqing, I know you're busy. If it wasn't important, I wouldn't be bothering you." Lu Yuting said, pulling a stack of papers out of her bag.

"Here! Take a look. See if you're interested."

Lin Huaiqing took the papers, skeptical.

A bold, black line of text on the cover immediately caught his eye.

"The bid doc for the Lover's Island project? How'd you get this? Isn't your dad's company in building materials?"

"Look closer. Which company is it for?"

A wild guess crossed Lin Huaiqing's mind. He couldn't wait to confirm it, and sure enough, it was exactly what he thought.

"How do you have the Qin Group's bid doc? Did you steal it?!"

"The Qin Group works with my dad's company. As for how I got it, don't ask."

No matter how he pushed, Lu Yuting wouldn't say more, just kept insisting she didn't steal it.

The price on the Qin Group's doc was even higher than what their company had bid. If this was real, bidding with their original doc would be a guaranteed win—they could even bump up their price a bit.

"I've dropped off what I came to drop off. I'm heading out now. We'll meet again sometime."

"You... why would you hand me something this important? If Qin Fan finds out..."

The second Qin Fan came up, Lu Yuting's face changed.

"Huaqing, didn't I tell you before? When we talk, let's just not bring up that name."

"I'm sorry..."

"Think of the bid document as interest on the million I owe you. I'll pay you back bit by bit. See you next time!"

Lin Huaiqing stood up to see her off. Watching Lu Yuting's figure fade into the distance, he couldn't help but sink into thought.

Back at the company, Lin Huaiqing skimmed through the bid document, then without a second thought, he tossed the file straight into the shredder.

If Lu Yuting had seen that, she'd have been shocked by what Lin Huaiqing did.

He wasn't the smartest guy, but if he couldn't see that something was fishy here, he'd have been living all these years for nothing.

Although the Qin Group's bid document wasn't exactly top-secret, it would certainly have been well-protected before the bidding.

For an outsider like Lu Yuting to get her hands on it so easily—wasn't that ridiculous?

Whether others believed it or not, he certainly didn't. He'd rather assume it wasn't true than take the chance. Either way, their final bid wasn't going to change.

If certain people had any crooked ideas, they'd better give up on them sooner rather than later.