Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

When the bill came, they found the prices here really weren't expensive at all—the four of them had spent less than two hundred patacas. Because Wang Mei had something on her mind, they did not go anywhere else after the meal; Huang Yan had to go out with her second brother, so Yang Ce and Zhang Bin drove the two of them back to the Warwick Casino.

In the meantime Shu Ya had sent Yang Ce a short message, asking whether he had time that evening. Yang Duoran replied that he did. Shu Ya said she would see how things stood after the concert and try her best to slip away.

Back at the hotel, Zhang Bin lay on the bed looking rather glum. Yang Ce watched TV for a while and, finding that Zhang Bin was still silent, asked in some surprise, "What's wrong with you?"

Zhang Bin sighed and sat up, looking somewhat lost. It was a long moment before he spoke. "Boss, I've fallen in love with Wang Mei."

"What?" Yang Puqi was stunned, not quite understanding. "You've fallen in love with Wang Mei—what do you mean?"

"I mean I've realized I have feelings for her, and they're especially strong—like love at first sight." Zhang Bin held his head in both hands, looking utterly at a loss.

"You're not joking?" Yang Moxuan looked at Zhang Bin with some surprise. Zhang Bin did not seem like such an irrational person. "And what about Zhao Sisi?"

"I don't know. It's just two different kinds of love," Zhang Bin said with a shake of his head. "Zhao Sisi feels more like family to me—plain and indispensable, but there's no passion there. With Wang Mei, it's different."

Yang Ce raised a hand to stop Zhang Bin from going on, and asked instead, "So what do you plan to do?"

"What can I do? If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be agonizing over it. Just now, I actually hoped Wang Mei would quarrel with her boyfriend and break up with him—the sooner the better. Then I'd have my chance." Zhang Bin smiled bitterly.

"Does Wang Mei know how you feel about her?" Yang Ce asked in return. This was the key question.

"I'm not sure either." Zhang Bin shook his head again. "Boss, what am I supposed to do?"

"You're asking me?" Yang Ce looked at Zhang Bin, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Zhang Bin was baffled by Yang Hengye's laughter and asked in surprise, "Boss, what are you laughing at?"

"If you're asking me, the answer's simple: just take them both," Yang Hengye said.

"That's right!" Zhang Bin slapped his thigh. "Why didn't I think of that? Then it's settled."

"I talked with Wang Mei today in the casino corridor. She doesn't have much feeling for her boyfriend either—they're together mainly for a woman's vanity. After all, his family is very rich. But you're not bad yourself, so it wouldn't be a loss for her to be with you." Yang Ce analyzed. "Only, Wang Mei's character—you at least need to make sure she truly loves you, or you'll end up wearing a green hat someday."

Zhang Bin nodded but did not respond. One could believe he was thinking the same thing. If Wang Mei could betray her boyfriend and be with Zhang Bin, what guarantee was there that she wouldn't betray Zhang Bin in the future?

But Yang Shuoxuan did not say more. Zhang Bin would know all this himself; it was up to him how to decide. Whatever he chose, Yang Ce would support him. After all, this was a personal matter, and Yang Yongjin would not interfere too much.

Around eight that evening, Zhang Bin received a call from Wang Mei, asking him to come out and meet her. He could tell from her voice that she was crying.

Zhang Bin had been sleeping, but after taking the call, he started getting dressed without a word.

"Do you want me to come along?" Yang Ce was worried Zhang Bin might run into trouble.

"No need. I'd better handle this kind of thing myself." Zhang Bin shook his head. "I'll go alone."

"Then be careful. I'd guess Wang Mei's boyfriend has already found out about you two." Yang Ce advised, "If there's any trouble, call me right away."

"I know, boss. Don't worry." Zhang Bin patted his chest confidently.

Yang Ce had nothing much to do on his end, but trouble had arisen back home. When he received Yang Li's call, Yang Ce was watching television.

"Big Sister, is something wrong?" Yang Ce was surprised that Yang Li had suddenly called him. Although their relationship had eased somewhat and they were no longer as confrontational as before, Yang Li was still studying out of town and had little contact with Yan.

"Daming, my dad and I have run into a bit of trouble." Although Yang Li said this, she did not sound especially anxious; the matter was probably not too serious yet.

"What happened?" Yang Yanchuan asked.

"Second Uncle—that is, your father's company—took my dad's advice and started with some heavy engineering equipment projects, right? My dad and I went to an engineering company in Fenghuang City to discuss business, but we were blocked by people from another local engineering equipment factory." Yang Li said, "They threatened us, saying we're not allowed to sell our company's products in Fenghuang City, or we'll bear the consequences."

Normally, a call to Yang Cheyan would have been enough for this matter. But ever since the kidnapping, Yang Li had developed an inexplicable trust in Yang Moxuan, and the first person she thought of when trouble struck was her younger brother.

"Oh. Are you two all right?" Yang Yanchuan asked.

To be continued

828. Zhang Bin's Love Story (Part Two)

828. Zhang Bin's Love Story (Part Two) "We're fine. They only threatened us; they wouldn't dare actually do anything to us," Yang Li said.

"That's good enough. You two come back first. I'm in Macau right now—we'll discuss the rest after I return," Yang Minlan instructed Yang Li.

"Oh, all right. Then we'll head back first." Yang Li was quite obedient to Yang Juehuan and quickly agreed.

After hanging up, Yang Jiyan fell into deep thought. The problem Yang Li described looked like a small matter, but it was actually a major one. Engineering machinery like this was not sold to the general public the way cars were; it had a fixed customer base. In every city, the companies or institutions that purchased such equipment were fixed. That created an important problem: regional monopoly.

The barrier to entry for manufacturing engineering machinery was not high, and many components could be imported. As long as the assembly technology was up to standard, one could produce engineering equipment such as trenchers and bulldozers. Many small regional engineering enterprises could produce them. Though these enterprises lacked the strength of Mingyang Heavy Industry, they had deep local backgrounds and connections, so they could hardly be expected to stand idly by while Mingyang Heavy Industry stole their business.

A warning like this was on the milder side. If they ran into someone with underworld connections, it was even possible that Uncle and the others would be beaten and driven back. But it was not as if there was no solution; it just depended on the individual's tactics.

No matter what, Yang Ce would have to make the final decision after returning. After all, this involved some gray-area conflicts, and neither his father Yang Cheyan nor his uncle Yang Dashan was skilled in such matters.

If Bao Lin were sent to handle it, the matter might well escalate—he would show up with a bunch of men in a blaze of glory. So Yang Ce chose to have them make a temporary retreat.

After receiving Wang Mei's call, Zhang Bin hurried to the location she had mentioned. It was a coffee shop, somewhat out of the way, but the storefront was decent and the interior elegantly decorated.

Zhang Bin quickly walked into the café. There were not many people inside at the moment, and he spotted Wang Mei at once, wearing sunglasses. But when he saw a man sitting beside her, he couldn't help but freeze.

A lean, tall man in his thirties, wearing a black suit, sat there with a gloomy expression.