Zhang Zhiyuan thought for a bit and then said to me, "Zhao Jian, there's actually something you don't know."
Hearing that, I felt really weird and just looked at Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued, "Actually, I'm about to go bankrupt."
I knew Xingchang Technology hadn't been doing great the last couple of years, but it wasn't anywhere near bankruptcy.
So I didn't know if he was telling the truth or not.
But considering he had the guts to give me a car, I was willing to hear the details.
Zhang Zhiyuan went on, "You know yourself, the real economy hasn't been doing so hot these past few years, so our company has actually been losing money the whole time."
I nodded and said, "But the company shouldn't be at the point of bankruptcy, right? After all, the land redevelopment a few years ago boosted the economy, and business was pretty good."
Zhang Zhiyuan said, "Zhao Jian, you're still young and don't really understand the ins and outs of doing business. The truth is, Xingchang Technology looks good on the surface, but it's rotten to the core."
Then Zhang Zhiyuan said, "Zhao Jian, you remember last year, we took out a loan from the bank, right?"
I was really confused, thinking, "Could it be that Zhang Zhiyuan can't even pay back the loan?"
If that was the case, then the bank would come and seize the company's assets, and bankruptcy would be unavoidable.
But I was really curious about where that loan money had actually gone.
Looking at Zhang Zhiyuan's recent business operations, there hadn't been any big moves, so why had that loan been used up so quickly?
That was the question I just couldn't wrap my head around.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued, "The reason I took out that loan back then was actually to try and change things up, because the building materials business market was starting to decline. For the future of the company, I chose to try something new."
That's when it hit me that being an entrepreneur and a boss wasn't easy at all. I saw Boss Zhang going out all the time, with a new woman every other week, but he had his own worries too.
Life's fortunes can really change in the blink of an eye. Just a few years ago, Boss Zhang was riding high, but I never thought he'd be facing a bankruptcy crisis now.
But I still couldn't figure out what this had to do with me getting with Gu Xiaofei.
Zhang Zhiyuan went on, "When I took out that loan, I actually invested in the financial industry. But I didn't expect the financial industry to be so much more complicated than I thought. That loan money was completely lost."
I understood. The loan Zhang Zhiyuan took out from the bank was a huge amount of money, and he had mortgaged Xingchang Technology's factory buildings and land to get it.
But this still had nothing to do with me getting with Gu Xiaofei.
Zhang Zhiyuan then said, "Actually, the reason I got into the financial business in the first place was entirely Gu Xiaofei's idea."
Hearing that, I suddenly froze.
I could totally picture the scene. Back then, Boss Zhang was head over heels for Gu Xiaofei, completely obsessed, so he listened to everything she said.
I bet Gu Xiaofei painted a really rosy picture of the financial prospects back then, which is why Zhang Zhiyuan went all in.
I really wondered if Zhang Zhiyuan's wife knew about all of this.
Thinking of Zhang Zhiyuan's wife reminded me of that still-attractive woman. She had always been pretty nice to me.
You can only really tell who your true friends are in times of trouble, and I felt like now wasn't the time for me to leave the boss.
So I said to Boss Zhang, "Boss Zhang, from what I know, Gu Xiaofei has a really strong background."
Zhang Zhiyuan nodded and said, "You're right. Actually, Gu Xiaofei's real identity is a shareholder in Steyr."
Steyr was a well-known building materials company in Nanzhou City and our Xingchang's number one competitor. We'd been going head-to-head with them in the business world for years.
In terms of financial strength, Steyr was way ahead of Xingchang, but the reason Xingchang had managed to stay afloat was because of our advanced technology.
Xingchang could always produce the best products at the lowest cost, and that was the key.
I could imagine that when Gu Xiaofei got together with Boss Zhang, she must have been very young, maybe just graduated from college.
For her to put in so much effort and get involved with a married man like Boss Zhang, she must have been planning something big.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued, "Actually, the loan I took out from the bank wasn't as simple as I thought."
I immediately understood that something must have gone wrong in the middle.
Zhang Zhiyuan said, "The account manager who handled that loan was actually introduced to me by Gu Xiaofei. I never would have thought that I'd get caught up in a predatory lending scheme. It's my own fault too, for not carefully reading the details of the contract when I signed it."
Hearing Zhang Zhiyuan say that, I immediately knew he had been scammed, and Xingchang Technology was facing an imminent bankruptcy crisis.
I had experienced Gu Xiaofei's ruthlessness firsthand. That woman could tear my family apart without giving me any room to fight back.
I had never met many people as formidable as her in my entire life.
But I still didn't know exactly what kind of trap Gu Xiaofei had set for Boss Zhang.
Boss Zhang continued, "When I signed the contract, because the people were all introduced by Xiaofei, I was very trusting. How could I have known that Gu Xiaofei and that bank employee had set a contract trap for me?"
Boss Zhang said, "Actually, the loan I took out wasn't from the bank at all. It was from Steyr Company."
Hearing this, my face suddenly turned deathly pale.
Although the building materials business hadn't been great in the past two years, the company could still support itself.
It was just that Boss Zhang had been too ambitious and had fallen into someone else's trap.
If what Zhang Zhiyuan said was true, then his fate was now in Gu Xiaofei's hands.
I suddenly understood why he hadn't dared to say a word when we caught him cheating that day. The reason was simple: he couldn't afford to offend Gu Xiaofei.
I suddenly remembered those photos around Gu Xiaofei. It was very likely that those photos were all given to Gu Xiaofei by Zhang Zhiyuan.
Because Gu Xiaofei had made those demands, and Zhang Zhiyuan hadn't dared to refuse.
I finally understood that the real boss of Xingchang was already Gu Xiaofei.
No wonder Gu Xiaofei was ignoring Zhang Zhiyuan now and even dared to go wild at the nightclub. It turned out she didn't take Zhang Zhiyuan seriously at all.
Then, Zhang Zhiyuan patted me on the shoulder and said, "Actually, Xiaofei liked you the first time she saw you, so the reason I asked you to get close to Gu Xiaofei was also to please her. After all, if we can win over this money god, maybe our Xingchang can get through this crisis."
As soon as I heard that, I got angry, stood up, and said to Zhang Zhiyuan, "Have you got it straight that I have a wife, and I love her very much? You know that, don't you?"
Seeing how agitated I was, Zhang Zhiyuan patted my shoulder and said to me, "Little Zhao, don't get so worked up. Let's sit down and talk."
Zhang Zhiyuan said, "Little Zhao, I know you're a very good person and you treat Lu Wan very well."
I found it strange. Zhang Zhiyuan calling my wife by her first name sounded very natural. Could it be that they had known each other for a long time?
Thinking about that photo again made me uneasy. I just felt like something was off.
Zhang Zhiyuan said, "To tell you the truth, Lu Wan is actually my cousin's daughter."
Hearing that, my mouth dropped open, and I could hardly believe my ears.
Neither my wife nor Zhang Zhiyuan had ever mentioned this to me before.
If they were really relatives, then saying so would have been a great thing, and my work at Xingchang Technology would have been much easier.
At least I wouldn't have to live so cautiously anymore.
But what I couldn't understand even more was that if Zhang Zhiyuan and my wife had this relationship, then why did he still want me to seduce other women? Didn't he know that was unfair to my wife?
He must know my wife's and my current situation very well. Didn't he think that the reason my wife and I had ended up like this was entirely his fault?
So I said to Zhang Zhiyuan, "But if I do that, I'll be letting Lu Wan down."
Zhang Zhiyuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but for a long time, he didn't utter a single word.
Then, Zhang Zhiyuan said something that really surprised me. He said, "For the sake of Xingchang Technology, I can't care about anything else."
Hearing that, I felt a surge of anger. This Zhang Zhiyuan was truly a heartless person. His wife must have been blind to fall for him.
Since he was such a heartless person, I didn't think I needed to keep working for Zhang Zhiyuan either.
I threw the BMW car keys on the table and said, "Boss Zhang, I'm sorry, but people with different principles can't work together."
Just as I turned to leave, Zhang Zhiyuan called out to me again.
"Little Zhao, wait a minute."
I turned back and said, "Boss Zhang, is there anything else?"
Zhang Zhiyuan thought for a moment and said, "Little Zhao, if you're willing to help me deal with Gu Xiaofei, I'm willing to tell you something."
Judging by Zhang Zhiyuan's tone, this matter seemed very important.
I was a bit curious and couldn't figure out what could make me willingly deal with Gu Xiaofei.
So I said, "Then tell me, what exactly is it? Let me see if it's worth the price."
At this moment, I felt like I stood a lot straighter. After being a man for so many years, this was the first time I felt so firm.
Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly asked me, "Little Zhao, haven't you noticed anything unusual about your wife recently?"
Hearing that, I just wanted to curse. The unusualness in our married life was all your doing!
But even though that's what I thought in my heart, I couldn't say it out loud. I just asked Zhang Zhiyuan, "What's unusual?"
Zhang Zhiyuan said, "Don't you really know that your wife has been cheating on you?"