Final Civilization

Chapter 18: Testing the Waters

"Chairwoman Yan hopes Duoduo could be more ladylike and quiet, but this child just loves to play. She dares to catch and play with anything, frogs, hamsters, some things even I'm afraid of." Auntie Weng followed over and said quite helplessly.

Hearing this, Han Ming squatted down, looked at the big frog, and said with a smile, "Why do you call it Xiao Ba?"

"It said so itself."

"It can talk?"

"Really!" After saying that, she shouted at the big frog, "Xiao Ba, quickly tell Uncle Han Ming what your name is."

"Ribbit..." The frog let out a hopeless croak.

"See, Xiao Ba!" Duoduo said with a completely serious face.

Han Ming: ...

"Duoduo!"

Right at this moment, a man's loud voice suddenly rang out. Hearing it, Duoduo quickly turned around and flusteredly hid Xiao Ba behind her back.Han Ming looked over and saw that a group of people in the lobby had now ushered in a man around forty-five years old. The man was burly, wearing a custom-made dark-patterned suit, yet it couldn't conceal that flamboyant air about him. A large jade ring on his finger gleamed with an oily sheen, and the cigar he held sent up swirling smoke, making the air feel stuffy.

His gaze swept over Duoduo and landed on Han Ming, immediately shouting sternly, "Weng Hui, who is this person? How dare you just bring someone up to the 46th floor! Don't you know what place this is?!"

Before Auntie Weng could speak, little Duoduo, standing in front of Han Ming, spoke first:

"Uncle Han Ming is not a stranger, he is Duoduo's friend!"

"Friend?" Wang Linquan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Han Ming.

"Yes, Chairman Wang, he is someone Chairwoman Yan arranged to meet..." Auntie Weng hurriedly explained.

"Nonsense!"

Wang Linquan yelled, "I came up to discuss matters with Chairwoman Yan. I didn't hear about anyone else being involved. Duoduo just got out of danger, how can you let an unfamiliar person get close to her!"

Han Ming stood in place, his gaze calm as he sized up this person. Before coming, the legal team meeting had already sorted out the power structure of the Tianzhou Group.

Wang Linquan, the number two figure in the Tianzhou Group, one of the major shareholders.

Judging by the way his assistants shadowed him closely, he was likely a rather flamboyant character.

"Chairman Wang."

At this moment, Secretary Jin walked over from behind, her expression calm as she said, "Attorney Han is Chairwoman Yan's guest."

When Wang Linquan saw Secretary Jin, his imposing aura subsided slightly. His cold gaze swept over Han Ming once more before settling on Duoduo, and he smiled.

"Duoduo, Uncle Wang is going to talk with your mom about something. I'll buy you a gift another day."

"Thank you, Uncle Wang..." Duoduo responded politely, but the look she gave Wang Linquan was clearly somewhat distant.

Han Ming watched as the little girl clutched the big frog behind her back, its four legs still kicking and flopping, and couldn't help but want to laugh.

After Wang Linquan left with his people, Han Ming squatted down and whispered something in Duoduo's ear. Then, the little girl quickly took advantage of Han Ming covering for her and slipped away quietly to release Xiao Ba.

At this point, Secretary Jin walked over and said apologetically to Han Ming,

"Sorry, Mr. Han. It was my oversight not communicating this beforehand."

"He knows me." Han Ming said calmly, looking in the direction Wang Linquan had left.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, he knows me. He knows who I am."

Secretary Jin raised an eyebrow slightly: "I don't understand what you mean?"

Han Ming smiled slightly, looking at Secretary Jin, thinking she was truly a master at playing dumb.

"Getting up to the 46th floor has strict security. Chairman Wang knows that better than anyone. Duoduo and Auntie Weng both clearly stated their position, yet he still kept getting angry. What does that indicate?"

Secretary Jin tilted her head slightly, looking at Han Ming with a puzzled gaze.

"He was acting, but not for my benefit." Han Ming said with a calm smile, unhesitatingly exposing it.

Upon hearing this, Secretary Jin smiled slightly: "I've heard that Mr. Han's style in the industry is sharp-tongued. Chairman Wang's temper is a bit big, but this is all just a misunderstanding. I hope Mr. Han won't take it to heart."

Han Ming smiled: "Secretary Jin is also impressive. You called me up, but deliberately arrived after Wang Linquan."

"This..." Secretary Jin gave a helpless smile: "Mr. Han, you're overthinking it. It really was just a misunderstanding, nothing more."

"Is that so?"

Han Ming walked past her, smiling as he said, "If I heard correctly, you just called me 'Attorney Han' for the first time."

For this conversation, Han Ming didn't use his ability to foresee the future. However, based on his professional habits, he quickly sensed the problem.

It was obvious Wang Linquan was playing dumb. Given how close he was with Duoduo, and Auntie Weng didn't stop it, even an idiot could guess his relationship with Yan Jing and Yan Duoduo must be extraordinary.

Han Ming never thought of rich people as idiots. On the contrary, the probability of idiots among the rich was precisely the lowest.

Society is a big sieve. Wealth and opportunities, through the changes of the times, only flow to smart people. The higher the level, the fewer the fools. This is the harsh reality under the combination of sociology and genetic theory.

As for Wang Linquan's little performance, Han Ming could only think of one reason: the moment he entered, he recognized Han Ming, but deliberately pretended not to know. He wanted to put on a show, acting as if he had absolutely nothing to do with the car accident case.

This, in turn, proved that Wang Linquan must have secretly investigated Duoduo's car accident, thus knowing about Han Ming.

However, Han Ming felt that if he could see through it, Yan Jing must be able to as well, even Secretary Jin could probably tell. So he had no qualms about directly exposing it.

After all, Secretary Jin's line 'Attorney Han' in front of Wang Linquan was clearly testing his reaction. Shouldn't it be puzzling for a lawyer to appear here in the big boss's office, chatting happily with the boss's daughter?

Upon hearing this, Secretary Jin's gaze sharpened. She looked at Han Ming with some surprise and didn't continue the topic.

"Mr. Han, it really was a misunderstanding. Please have a seat for a while. Chairwoman Yan will come to see you after she finishes talking with Chairman Wang."

"Alright~"

Han Ming didn't say anything more and continued playing with Duoduo.

In the penthouse office, Yan Jing watched through the window as Han Ming and Duoduo played together without any barriers, her gaze thoughtful.

A moment later, Wang Linquan pushed the door open. Looking at Yan Jing's back, he said loudly,

"I just received the notice this morning that the group's entire legal team has been replaced. Even if you don't go through the board, you could at least have told me."

He waved his hand, signaling all his assistants to leave. He casually sat down on the sofa himself, but his gaze never left Yan Jing's back. His eyes held a mix of meanings.

There was undisguised covetousness, and also a trace of barely perceptible apprehension.

"Is that so?"

Yan Jing turned around, walked to her desk, and sat down. Her gaze was as deep as an abyss:

"I notified Yingcheng the night before last. Aren't you quite close with Liu Shiying? What, he didn't tell you?"

Wang Linquan smiled, tapping his fingers on the sofa:

"Yan Jing, I know you're investigating me. But I'm telling you, that car accident has nothing to do with me. If you want to bite someone, you better watch your step. Tianzhou isn't your Tianzhou alone."

"Of course Tianzhou isn't my, Yan Jing's, Tianzhou alone."

Upon hearing this, Yan Jing smiled, lowering her eyes slightly as she said softly:

"But Duoduo is my Duoduo alone..."

She raised her eyes to look at Wang Linquan with a smile: "You tell me, as a mother, as a woman, encountering such a thing, being a little overly sensitive should be understandable, right?"

Wang Linquan sneered, his face showing anger as he said:

"So you specifically called me here because you suspect I had something to do with what happened to Duoduo?"

"Chairman Wang, you jest."

Yan Jing gave a faint smile, her beautiful smile showing not a trace of hostility: "You are a veteran of the group, a founder of Tianzhou. It is precisely out of this respect that I specially invited you here, Chairman Wang."

"And then?" Wang Linquan asked.

Yan Jing stood up, her graceful figure moving towards the greenery area to the side. She picked up a pair of scissors and began pruning a golden camellia:

"In the past year or so, actions targeting me within the group have come one after another. Some have fixed the board of directors, wanting to revise the bylaws to dilute my decision-making power. Some have colluded with external parties to short the stock of Tianke Real Estate. Others have bribed lawyers, delaying the due diligence for the South Africa project merger, causing the project to fail and the group to lose over a hundred million dollars..."

"Actually, these actions are of no real consequence to me, Yan Jing. You are the old guard of the group. Now that a woman is in charge, feeling a bit uncomfortable is understandable. It's just about some power, some profit. No matter how you fight, as long as Tianzhou remains Tianzhou, the sky won't fall."

Snip.

Yan Jing crisply cut off a thick branch with one snip. Her gentle, peaceful gaze suddenly turned cold as she said,

"But... Duoduo is my life. If someone wants my life, then the nature of things is different..."

Yan Jing turned her head, looking at Wang Linquan with a half-smile: "Don't you think so, Chairman Wang?"

Somehow, Wang Linquan, who had seen great storms, felt his expression tighten upon meeting Yan Jing's gaze at this moment. His fingertips lightly tapped the edge of the desk, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He was actually feeling a bit nervous.

He looked at Yan Jing's gaze, then suddenly stood up abruptly, saying sternly, "What the hell does that have to do with me? Go ahead and court death if you want..."

After saying that, he straightened his suit and turned to leave with an unhappy expression.

Wang Linquan certainly understood that Yan Jing's words represented that Tianzhou was about to face a bloody storm. Given Yan Jing's ruthlessness, anyone involved in that incident would be implicated.

...

In the conservatory, Han Ming used a magic trick to turn a crumpled tissue into a small flower, causing little Duoduo to exclaim repeatedly.

"Wow, how did you do that?!"

"Buy me ice cream and I'll tell you."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only about ten minutes later, Han Ming saw Wang Linquan walk out of the high-level office. Passing through the lobby, his gaze swept over Han Ming with a dark, shadowy look. He didn't say anything and left with several assistants.

Not long after, Yan Jing came to the conservatory.

She wore a body-hugging, plain-colored dress, with only light makeup on her face, yet it was hard to conceal that sharp aura.

"Mommy." Duoduo ran over happily.

"Duoduo, Mommy wants to chat with Uncle Han Ming for a bit. Can you go play with Auntie Weng for a while?" Yan Jing gracefully crouched beside her daughter, the body-hugging dress outlining a perfect curve.

Duoduo nodded. As she ran past Han Ming, she leaned close to his ear and said, "I'll treat you to ice cream later."

"Okay." Han Ming smiled.

Afterwards, Auntie Weng took Duoduo away, leaving only Han Ming and Yan Jing in the conservatory, while Secretary Jin waited outside.

"We meet again."

Yan Jing shook hands with Han Ming, a smile on her face: "You and Duoduo seem to get along very well."

Han Ming nodded: "She's a very lovely girl."

"She's at the most mischievous age now." Yan Jing's gaze drifted softly towards the plant wall in the conservatory, her tone gentle:

"Because of work, I rarely get to accompany her, so I often let Duoduo stay here. But there's no one to play with her. Seeing you two having so much fun, I almost didn't want to disturb you."

Han Ming joked, "Chairwoman Yan specifically asked me to be stationed at Tianzhou two days a week. It wouldn't just be to have me play with Duoduo, would it?"

"Would you be willing?"

Yan Jing looked at him with a half-smile. The words were spoken very flatly, yet they couldn't help but make one feel a shiver.

Hearing this, Han Ming responded calmly: "First and foremost, I am a lawyer. Accepting your group's retainer means I must first do my job properly."

Yan Jing smiled slightly, turned around, and slowly paced towards the high windows of the balcony. Her waist was elegant, each light step seeming to resonate with the breath of the conservatory.

It was sunset, golden light spilling down, lengthening her silhouette.

She turned around. Her eyes, in the blinding backlight, were like deep pools, yet the corners of her mouth were smiling:

"Since that's the case, Attorney Han, could you help me investigate who the mastermind behind the plot to murder Duoduo is?"