Chapter 514
Chapter 514: Resentment is born
Perhaps because Fu Cheng had always been distant and cold to her, showing his dislike for her on his face as he did not even show that surface courtesy that Xu Tingsheng did, Tan Qingling had come to dislike and resent him at some point in time. Along with that, she came to dislike Fang Yunyao too.
Besides that, there should also be some envy and jealousy on her part.
Libei's Xu family had thrown a banquet to accept her as their goddaughter! In the current Libei, who still dared speak of those rumours? Everyone just said that Fang Yunyao was fortunate as all that suffering had been worth it.
Tan Qingling was jealous because she actually also knew that Xu Tingsheng did not really care much for her too. Even that surface courtesy was only perfunctory as she would not be able to get a share of any fruits of his success at all.
"We were all friends back when we graduated, right? And now that you're successful, you no longer care to entertain me at all?!" Blaming others where her hopes fell short, Tan Qingling's resentment...was great indeed.
Her earlier outburst had been extremely vicious and venomous both to Chen Jingqi and Fang Yunyao.
"Are you done? If you are, I'm leaving," Chen Jingqi strode away.
While Chen Jingqi might be purer in the area of relationships, she was actually not lacking in societal experience as she had been tempered by society. She was neither weak nor a saint…
The reason she had stopped earlier was that Tan Qingling had just mentioned Fang Yunyao, whereas Fang Yunyao just happened to be at the stairwell of the second storey. Having chanced upon this altercation while leaving after work, she had stopped in her tracks.
……
If it had been the previous Fang Yunyao, perhaps she would have kept this matter to herself.
Still, things were different now. Now...she was already a little spoiled by Fu Cheng. Also, because of her unique identity, virtually no one had made things difficult for her in her employment at Xingchen thus far. She had not suffered any grievances whatsoever.
Her ability to bear injustices and hide things...had dropped a lot.
Before this, in meeting with her former student Tan Qingling once or twice, Fang Yunyao had been polite and enthusiastic, treating her with sincerity. She had even lectured Fu Cheng for putting on a long face after going home.
Never would Fang Yunyao have thought that this refined, graceful-looking girl might actually truly have such a side, such a mentality. Those words had been too dirty, too venomous, all piercing maliciously into one's heart.
She clenched her teeth and stood steadfast till Tan Qingling had left before leaving herself. Even at dinner, Fang Yunyao was still trying to suppress it. She looked down, saying nothing, not picking the dishes as she just ate rice…
Still, she just felt more aggrieved the more she thought about it. Chewing repeatedly on that mouthful of rice, her tears dripped into the bowl.
"What happened? Who was it?"
The good-tempered Fu Cheng was amiable and open to discussion on just about anything, just not this.
In those past three years, he had already let Fang Yunyao and Niannian suffer too much, bear too many injustices. His greatest wish left in this lifetime was to take good care of his wife and child, not letting them suffer any more in the least.
Fu Cheng leapt up at once, asking straight out who had done what.
Then, he cautiously ventured, "It wasn't me who did something wrong, right?"
Fang Yunyao shook her head, "No, it's nothing...sob…"
That night, Fang Yunyao ultimately succumbed and lay weeping in Fu Cheng's embrace as she told him all that had transpired. Then, she repeatedly instructed him not to tell anyone else about this, and most definitely not to confront Huang Yaming or Tan Qingling about it.
The next day, while Fu Cheng did not actually say anything, he found an excuse and got into a big fight with Huang Yaming as the two nearly came to blows.
Unaware that she had been exposed, Tan Qingling hypocritically came over to mediate, to which Fu Cheng discourteously yelled, "Scram!"
Xu Tingsheng very seldom saw Fu Cheng get as mad as this, even in both his lifetimes.
Not having seen Fu Cheng like this before, Huang Yaming got a shock as he asked rather dazedly, "No, Fu Cheng...we're bros! If there's anything you're not happy about, just say it?"
Fu Cheng strode outside while scolding, "Dumbass."
As Fu Cheng saw it, Huang Yaming was really a dumbass. That engagement banquet was a joke.
……
Xu Tingsheng stayed out of the entire argument. He knew full well that for Fu Cheng to have been so infuriated, it was definitely not a minor, much less baseless thing.
In the meantime, Tan Qingling's resentment towards Fu Cheng and Xu Tingsheng deepened.
While discussing the details of their engagement banquet with Huang Yaming that night, Tan Qingling feigned nonchalance and enquired, "How much did you guys earn from that <<Crazy Stone>>, exactly?"
"Some tens of millions, probably. We had to split it with the cinema and Tianyi," Huang Yaming casually replied.
Tan Qingling's eyes shone, "How much did you get then?"
"Me? I didn't get anything!"
"...What? Why's that?" Tan Qingling's heart sunk greatly as her estimation of Huang Yaming's financial assets dropped greatly, though this certainly did not diminish her resolve to snag him.
"The investment was all Tingsheng's. I don't have any shares at Tianyi too. I was just helping out, and I even gained reputation, connections and a foundation from that. What more could I ask for?!"
Tan Qingling rolled her eyes, "Even so...really, Xu Tingsheng actually didn't give you one single cent. I really wonder if he thinks of you as a bro or as free labour…"
Huang Yaming looked at her, "What did you say?! Us bros, none of us will mind something like that. Also, Tingsheng's Xingchen Technologies was in urgent need of money at the time. I wouldn't have accepted it even if he had offered me a split."
"So you have shares in Xingchen Technologies then?" Tan Qingling's eyes lit up again.
"Nope," Huang Yaming said.
"Hucheng?"
"Nope."
"Zhicheng?"
"Nope."
Thank god they were not yet married, for if they were, Tan Qingling would probably have strangled Huang Yaming right there and then.
"Oh, you're just too honest," Tan Qingling said rather dramatically, "If Xu Tingsheng is busy sometimes and forgets to think on your behalf, you should still mention that yourself. Otherwise, your effort would really have been pointless. Fu Cheng still knew to get a sum of money and even a flat."
Actually, that sum of money that Fu Cheng had came from ringtone royalties. He had earned it himself, technically.
As for the flat, he had used part of that money to buy it. Xu Tingsheng had merely given him a discount.
Other than that, he had had no part in Xu Tingsheng's businesses and owned zero shares.
Huang Yaming could not be bothered to explain this to Tan Qingling.
He pointed to himself, laughing rather darkly as he asked, "Me, honest? Of the few of us, I'm the most scoundrelly, you know? When you broke up with me back then, do you know how much of their money I wasted away? They were the only ones who cared to look after me, you know?"
Huang Yaming mentioning that incident from back then was what Tan Qingling was most worried about. She could only suppress it, no longer speaking of it for now.
In the bar the next day, Tan Qingling utilised a different avenue of attack and learnt about the share allocation of Bright Brilliance from Tan Yao. Huang Yaming only had 30%. Xu Tingsheng was still the major shareholder at 45%...
"The bar at Shanghai is still not built yet. That mine at Binzhou hasn't truly been acquired yet...even when it is, there's no saying how much of its shares Huang Yaming will hold. Going by that calculation, not considering inherent potential, Huang Yaming's assets...are actually only worth a couple million?!"
Actually, a couple million was already quite a sum in this day and age. Bright Brilliance was raking in the cash everyday, which was already much better than that minor boss she had once latched to. Moreover, anyone could see Huang Yaming's potential.
Still, Tan Qingling's appetite had long since eclipsed what it had been in the past.
Having previously overvalued Huang Yaming, Tan Qingling felt thoroughly dissatisfied now that she knew the truth. Along with that, her resentment towards Xu Tingsheng intensified.
"That mine in Binzhou will be registered under our name, right?" Tan Qingling 'casually' enquired again that night.
"Right, they won't touch this stuff. It'll be completely under my name," Feeling a little woozy, the inebriated Huang Yaming answered.
Tan Qingling's mood finally took a turn for the better. That was an actual mine that she had seen! She had also heard quite a bit about wealthy mine owners who waved money about like dirt these past few years…
"That's good then," Tan Qingling muttered aloud.
The drunken Huang Yaming closed his eyes and murmured, "Actually, at the end of the day, all my stuff belongs to Tingsheng. I'm just looking after it for him, helping him to expand his territory."
The roller-coaster ride of emotions left Huang Yaming virtually tearing out her hair in a frenzy.
"You can't not have any career of your own at all!" Tan Qingling calmed her emotions before saying in a relatively serious tone, "It feels like you're doing even worse than Xu Tingsheng's employees. You have nothing at all."
"I feel that while we're getting engaged, how about you propose that Xu Tingsheng gives us...gives you the shares or the bar? Just treat it like an engagement present. You've done so much for him. It's only right that he gives you a foundation for establishing home and career?"
Huang Yaming seemed to be asleep as he did not utter a sound.
Tan Qingling nudged him.
A half-asleep Huang Yaming said, "Do you think that I have anything that was not given by Xu Tingsheng? Do you think that I ever invested a single cent into it myself? You don't understand him. He won't mistreat anybody. The boat surges high along with the tide, get it? Now be quiet or just get lost."
And Huang Yaming fell asleep for real.
Tan Qingling hesitated for a while before sending Xu Tingsheng a text, deliberately asking in a joking manner: My old classmate, Huang Yaming and I are getting engaged. So, what present do you intend to give us? A big boss like you surely wouldn't be stingy!
Xu Tingsheng casually sent a mere smiley face in reply.
Tan Qingling grit her teeth and slammed her phone on the table. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got as she did not get a wink of sleep that night.