Hunting Grounds II

At Yu Lei International, a similar situation unfolded but the other way around.

The smile on the CEO of Yu Lei's face couldn't possibly be more prominent right now…

In front of her pristine desk stood straight her Vice President and best friend, the beautiful young woman held a sheet in her hands and regarded her boss with a smile, not having seen her smile like this in a long while.

Lin Ruoxi's shining blue eyes witnessed today's report which basically said, that their sales of skincare products increased by 60% especially shipping to North America, Europe and South America.

That their properties were being chosen for special national events, unlike their competition that had been forced to close by governmental agencies for some reason...

That their shares were going up like crazy together with Hermes' whilst the others decreased exponentially amidst the Catastrophe...

'Vlad! You didn't lie!' The Ice Queen couldn't help but scream in her mind with joy! He had said and done! To think she doubted ever since he said it... But the results came the next day! not even a month after, the next day!

She hadn't spoken to him in the last few days. Somehow, she just couldn't muster the will to call him… Instead, she expected him to answer her request for a formal meeting, this would give them an excuse to meet… But he hadn't yet answered, what's more. He hadn't been spotted in the last few days…

'Should I call him to see if he's alright?' The beautiful CEO wondered with shaking eyes, the thought of that man she had met only once suffering a terrible fate weighing heavily on her mind.

But no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't take the phone! Why does she have to be so shy!?

The renowned Ice Queen had wanted to thank him, schedule a date even… If possible you know... so to say...

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Enter…"

From the door entered her secretary with a weird expression… It quickly attracted the gaze of the CEO and Vice President.

"What's wrong Gu Yue?" She asked with furrowed brows upon seeing her secretary's expression.

The secretary bowed slightly, ready to give the bad news "Boss, we just received news from our insiders in Maple… Chairman Tepes has scheduled a meeting with CEO Tang next Thursday … And he's even going to her branch himself…"

Silence reigned in this office at the news that obviously wasn't any good for them…

…

*BANG!*

…

Mo Qianni, who had been looking at Gu Yue, turned her head almost instantly in surprise and even a little fear!

The latter also looked at her boss with surprise, it wasn't common for CEO Lin to lose herself like that!

"R-Ruoxi…?" Mo Qianni stuttered, did she just slam the desk!? The noise had clearly entered her ears but... That was impossible. They called her Ice Queen for something dammit! The living practice of stoicism!

"You two can get back to your own work…" Ruoxi said 'calmly' and started using her laptop again as if nothing happened. And even if it happened... Then they had to make it so that it never happened...

…

The beautiful Vice President and the side-character Secretary gulped and left the office shortly after.

Upon their leave, Lin Ruoxi bit her lips harshly.

If there was anyone she couldn't accept a loss against, it was the Heiress of the Tang Clan, Tang Wan.

The two of them had no grievances, but the competition between the Titan Maple and the Dark Horse Yu Lei was widely known even outside China.

Her grandmother, the company founder, had wanted to turn Yu Lei into a Titan at the level of Maple Corporation. But it had been impossible.

Tang Zhechen was simply a monster in business... The growth Maple Corporation had during his direction was something that no one in China could hope to match at that time, and due to his excessive working schedule, this produced health issues that rendered him unable to continue… But the deed was done.

Maple Corporation International was China's number one corporation and more so, unshakable.

The Tang Clan's foundation led them to belong to the top families in Beijing even as their military and political influence were minimal.

Tang Wan took over but despite being a genius in business, she wasn't as skilled as her grandfather.

This allowed Yu Lei to become Zhonghai's number one corporation under her grandmother's direction, who took this chance to lay the pavement for her before passing away.

Then, when her grandmother assigned her as the CEO, she took over her mantle and Yu Lei simply exploded as her reputation sky ricochetted.

Many called her the Ice Queen and a 'killer' in business, even going so far as to say that she far outstripped Tang Zhechen in his early years!

She had studied a lot, even sacrificing her own childhood and entertainment, studying in America, performing in seminaries, involving herself in the company from the early years and learning from her grandmother's biggest rival, Tang Zhechen himself!

This, together with her innate talent and intellect that upon being born, were far superior to the rest, made it so that in business, she far outstripped Tang Wan!

Under her direction, Yu Lei International could reach Maple Corporation International or even surpass it!

And the Chinese business community was conscious of that… Including Tang Wan. Therefore, it wasn't a secret that CEO Lin Ruoxi and CEO Tang Wan were the Tiger and the Lion of China!

Tang Wan was the Queen of the Forest!

But Lin Ruoxi was a lethal predator lurking in a bush, ready to use her claws to overthrow the Queen!

…

The Ice Queen slumped back in her seat.

Know your enemy as you know yourself… She knew Tang Wan better than anyone else and she was sure Tang Wan also knew her on a personal level… Her problems, her grievances, nothing was hidden from Tang Wan as ridiculous as it sounded, the woman had China's resources at her disposal unlike her. The most she could do was place some agents in Maple, and it wasn't only Maple, she had agents in the most prominent corporations in China.

Tang Wan was single, and her requirements for a man should be almost the same as her own…

Maple Corporation didn't need an alliance with an upstart like Hermes, they already had the support of most businessmen in China and their reputation abroad spoke for itself…

Then why?

It was more than clear! That bitch wanted to put her claws on Vlad!

And this battle she wasn't willing to lose! That's why she would do the unexpected! She would meet him first even if she didn't have a meeting and make sure his cooperation with Maple wouldn't be fruitful!

'You can dream of having him, Tang Wan!'

But she couldn't ever possibly expect that Tang Wan did indeed know her and very well at that!

She was single and a very beautiful virgin that had a great head start with their first meeting.

Whereas Tang Wan was older and even had a daughter. But, even then she couldn't be underestimated, her beauty was almost at the level of her own and her mature charm was something that many men in China craved with madness, even if being a single mother wasn't something to be proud of in China.

She, Tang Wan, was an exception to this rule.

But Vlad was a foreign billionaire Romanian in his thirties that couldn't be compared with ordinary Chinese men.

'What could possibly be his tastes in women?' She wondered, not knowing that she had already fallen deep into a web unconsciously. A web where she would happily dance and entangle herself endlessly.