Chapter 67 Forced Love from My Archrival 16

Chapter 67: Forced Love from a Rival 16

During this period, Lin Huaiqing was busy managing company affairs, working day and night, just like any regular office worker.

Even Lin Zhen initially doubted he could keep it up, but in fact, Lin Huaiqing had gradually gotten familiar with the company's processes, fitting in even better than Lin Zhen had expected.

If things kept going this way, passing the company to Lin Huaiqing later wouldn't be a problem at all.

Ever since Lin Huaiqing had clearly rejected Qin Fan last time, Qin Fan had vanished into thin air, completely gone from his life.

Qin Fan must be holding a grudge against him now—after all, he was a spoiled rich kid from a wealthy family, and nobody had ever told him "no" in his life.

Yet Lin Huaiqing had shot him down flat, without saving any face for him.

From now on, whenever Qin Fan thought of him, it would probably only be with endless hatred.

That was fine too—at least the plot was back on track.

When Lin Huaiqing finally saw Qin Fan again after days, it turned out to be at the bid-opening meeting. The second he walked in, he spotted Qin Fan, who was riding high on his recent success.

The Qin Group had grown fast in recent years, shooting up to become the top company in the capital.

Of course, there was no shortage of people sucking up to him every day.

Plus, today was the bid-opening for the Lover's Island project, so all the industry bigwigs were there—making him the center of attention.

"Young Master Qin Fan is really something at such a young age! Handling such a big project at this age—your future's unlimited!"

"Indeed! The Qin brothers just keep getting better and better. Chairman Qin must be thrilled to have an heir like you—he'd be grinning in his sleep!"

People around him were laying it on thick, but Qin Fan, being praised to the skies, just kept a faint, polite smile, looking a bit distant.

Lin Huaiqing shot a glance at Qin Fan and couldn't help but snicker coldly.

If people praised him like that, he'd be all smiles. Only Qin Fan had that kind of restraint, purposely keeping a straight face.

The bid-opening was about to start, and reps from different companies were filing into their seats.

Looking around, the conference room that seated 500 was almost packed, with just a few empty seats here and there.

Uncle Wang had shown up late with him and Xue Chengan, and the only spots left were in a back corner. So they had to make do with those seats.

Besides a few big players in the capital that actually had a shot at the project, the smaller companies were just there to fill the seats.

So the folks in the back were basically just there for show. They didn't care about the bids and instead started shooting the breeze.

"You know how that Qin guy acts like he's better than everyone? I didn't buy it at first, but today I saw it for myself. When President Liu went up to talk to him, he barely gave him the time of day.

Sure, President Liu's Shengshi Group isn't on the same level as the Qin Group, but he's still a veteran in the industry! Kids these days have no manners at all!"

The guy doing the complaining had a beer gut, a receding hairline, and a loud voice—loud enough for Lin Huaiqing, sitting nearby, to catch every word.

There was no way they were talking about anyone but Qin Fan.

"Exactly! But Boss Zhang, you don't need to stoop to his level. He's just the second son of the Qin family.

He's all high and mighty now, but won't the Qin Group go to his older brother in the end? At best, he'll be a director—no real say in anything. How's that compare to you, Brother Zhang, calling the shots in your own company? Now that's the way to live!"

These two small-time bosses had both worked with the Qin Group before, so they knew a thing or two about its inner workings.

"You've got a point. The eldest Qin is an even tougher nut to crack. Qin Fan's probably in for a rough ride too!"

The two were vague about it, but the more Lin Huaiqing listened, the more confused he got.

Wasn't Qin Fan's relationship with his brother Qin Feng always solid? Back in school, they'd even joined forces to mess with him.

Could there be bad blood between the brothers?

"Host, didn't you know? Qin Fan is the big bad villain of this world. After he goes dark later, he'll turn against the male lead and make a power grab!"

The system's words hit Lin Huaiqing like a bombshell.

"What?! Him? Going dark? Over what?"

"Plot's classified—no comment."

"But Host, don't worry. By the time the villain goes dark, you'll have finished your mission and left this world long ago. So you don't need to know this part of the plot."

"Hope so."

Still, finding out Qin Fan was the villain really threw him for a loop.

It was hard to picture what could make someone as chill as Qin Fan turn on his own brother.

From what he knew of Qin Fan so far, the guy was pretty protective of his brother, always giving in to that hotheaded older sibling.

He'd even told Lin Huaiqing to stay out of his brother's way. So it turned out Qin Fan himself would be the one to go against his brother later!

Soon, the meeting moved on to unsealing each company's bid, reading the prices out loud, and logging them.

The room went dead silent—the only sound was the bids being read out.

When the Qin Group's final bid was read out, Lin Huaiqing's heart almost jumped out of his chest.

Luckily, the Qin Group's final price was actually a bit higher than the Lin Group's, and only then did Lin Huaiqing let out a sigh of relief.

The Lover's Island project—they had it locked up.

But the weird part was that the Qin Group's final price matched the bid document Lu Yuting had given him to the penny.

So Lu Yuting hadn't lied to him after all.

Sure enough, fifteen days later, the news came down: the Lin Group won the bid to build and develop the Lover's Island tourism project.

Lover's Island was a newly developed little island in M Country. The island had gorgeous scenery, perfect for a tourism project.

The Lin Group landing the project caused quite a stir in the industry.

Some said the Qin Group had bigger fish to fry, so they deliberately passed on the Lover's Island prize.

Others claimed the Qin Group had cash flow problems and had to back out.

Either way, in the original plot, the Qin Group had made a killing off the Lover's Island project—boosting their rep and showing off their muscle.

Maybe his arrival had caused a butterfly effect, rerouting the Lover's Island project to the Lin Group.

This way, the plotline of the Lin Group going bankrupt might get delayed. But he wasn't in any rush about that either.

Beating the two Qin brothers was already a win in his book. It also unknowingly earned him some enemies.

Just thinking about the constipated look on Qin Feng's face had him flying high, lifting his spirits.

"Cousin! What are you smirking about? Mr. Wang wants us to go on a field trip to Lover's Island, and it's so far! How can you still be so cheerful?"

Xue Chengan propped his face in his hands, looking disdainfully at Lin Huaiqing, who was chuckling beside him.

"Let's go! Isn't it said to be picturesque? We can treat it as a vacation to relax."

"But it hasn't been developed yet. It's probably just a deserted island with no hotel—where would we even stay?"