SAG -Chapter 96 Zhang Siyan’s Doubts

After taking the two children to school, Zhang Ran saw He Yong walking over.

“So? How have things been with Xiaoqing these past couple of days?” Zhang Ran asked casually.

He Yong’s face lit up with excitement.

“Hehe… She didn’t say anything yesterday, but I could tell she was happy.”

It made sense.

Did He Qing resent her father?

Although He Yong had indeed failed in his duties as a father over the years, He Qing had also heard bits and pieces about what had happened. She knew at least part of the story.

Now that He Yong was finally out, deep down she also wanted to get to know him better and rebuild their relationship.

“That’s more like it.”

“Keep visiting her whenever you have time. Xiaoqing is a very sensible girl.”

“I will. Thank you, Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Ran waved his hand.

“No need to thank me.”

---

Kanshilan Headquarters

Zhang Siyan and Qian Li arrived together at Zhao Jingyu’s office.

The two of them had already discussed it the previous day and decided to expand their business.

At first, Qian Li hadn’t understood Zhang Siyan’s plan.

In her opinion, Zhang Siyan was being overly optimistic.

How could a company simply hand them additional regional distribution rights just because they asked?

But Zhang Siyan had insisted, “Let’s try first. What if it works?”

Thinking that there was no harm in trying, Qian Li had come along.

In truth, Zhang Siyan herself was extremely nervous.

But every time she remembered the confidence with which Zhang Ran had spoken that day, she felt somewhat reassured.

Just like Zhang Sicheng, most of her impression of her father came from his uncanny ability to predict the future.

Growing up, she’d heard countless stories about Zhang Ran from her mother.

That was enough for her to give it a try.

“Miss Zhang, Miss Qian, what brings you here?”

As soon as Zhao Jingyu saw Zhang Siyan, she immediately stood up to greet them.

Both Zhang Siyan and Qian Li were flattered.

“Assistant Zhao… hello.”

“Do you happen to have time for lunch today? We’d like to treat you to a meal.”

They understood that before asking for a favor, it was always good to build a little rapport first.

“Of course I have time.”

Zhao Jingyu smiled.

The female employee beside her, however, looked rather puzzled.

Just moments ago, Zhao Jingyu had been saying she would be so busy that she probably wouldn’t even have time for lunch and had even asked the employee to help order takeout.

So how had she suddenly become free?

The employee knew a little about Zhang Siyan and Qian Li.

What surprised her was Zhao Jingyu’s attitude toward them.

It wasn’t merely polite.

If anything, it seemed… almost respectful.

She quietly made a mental note to be especially courteous to the pair in the future.

At noon, Zhang Siyan chose an upscale restaurant.

After they had nearly finished eating, she hesitated before finally speaking.

“Assistant Zhao… I’d like to ask something.”

“Could we obtain distribution rights for another region?”

Zhao Jingyu had expected them to have some request, but this wasn’t what she’d anticipated.

“I know your current performance has been excellent.”

“But you should also understand that the company has given you tremendous support.”

“Part of that is due to the company’s strategy.”

“But another reason is that your current operation is still relatively small.”

“If your territory expands, the company won’t be able to continue supporting you to the same extent.”

“And…”

“Do you have enough capital for that?”

“It won’t be a small investment.”

Zhang Siyan quickly replied, “Please don’t worry about that.”

“We’ve prepared twenty million yuan.”

“That should be enough to secure another district’s distribution rights, right?”

“Twenty million?”

“Where did you get that much money?”

Zhao Jingyu blurted out before she could stop herself.

She knew quite a bit about Zhang Siyan’s financial situation.

Where could she possibly have obtained twenty million yuan overnight?

Almost immediately, Zhao Jingyu realized she’d spoken out of turn.

“If it’s something you’d rather not discuss, that’s perfectly fine.”

“I understand.”

“I’ll report it to President Huo.”

“Whether it’s approved will ultimately depend on her decision.”

Zhang Siyan thanked her before adding, “My father gave me the money.”

She didn’t try to hide where it had come from.

As for why Zhao Jingyu seemed to know they hadn’t had much money before, she simply assumed the company had done some background research.

The moment Zhao Jingyu heard that, she froze.

Then, speaking much more cautiously, she asked, “Mr. Zhang gave it to you?”

“Then… what exactly does your father intend?”

Zhang Siyan looked at her in confusion.

Why was she asking that?

And…

For some reason, Zhao Jingyu’s attitude seemed different whenever her father was mentioned.

“Do you know my father?”

Zhang Siyan asked curiously.

Realizing she’d almost exposed herself, Zhao Jingyu calmly picked up her teacup, took a sip to cover the awkward moment, and then replied, “No.”

“I don’t know him.”

“I just figured that since he was willing to give you so much money, he must have thought everything through carefully.”

“So I was only asking out of curiosity.”

Satisfied with the explanation, Zhang Siyan nodded.

“My father’s opinion is that since my business is still in its early stages, I should expand as quickly as possible.”

“Oh, right…”

“He also said the company would probably agree.”

For some reason, those last words slipped out almost instinctively.

The moment Zhao Jingyu heard them, she became even more serious.

At the same time, she couldn’t help smiling bitterly inside.

She truly couldn’t understand either Zhang Ran or Huo Zhiyuan.

The two of them seemed to share a strange, unspoken understanding, yet at the same time were completely impossible to figure out.

She didn’t know what Zhang Ran was planning.

But she did know one thing:

Huo Zhiyuan had been deliberately avoiding Zhang Ran.

Especially lately.

The amount of time, money, and effort Huo Zhiyuan was spending on skincare, beauty treatments, and anti-aging had increased to more than ten times what it used to be.

“I understand.”

“I’ll report everything this afternoon.”

“If there’s any news, I’ll let you know immediately.”

“Thank you, Assistant Zhao.”

Qian Li took the opportunity to present a small gift.

“This is just a little token of appreciation.”

Zhao Jingyu glanced at the gift bag in her hand and smiled.

“There’s really no need.”

“I can’t actually help much with this.”

“I’m only passing along your request.”

“And if I accepted your gift, it would actually make it harder for me to speak to President Huo.”

In the end, she politely declined.

At first, Zhang Siyan and Qian Li became a little nervous after Zhao Jingyu refused the gift.

But before long, they received a notification.

Another district’s distribution rights had officially been assigned to them.

Neither of them had expected the decision to come so quickly.

By now, they were no longer completely ignorant about Kanshilan’s internal operations.

The distribution rights for both Shanghai and Jiangsu had always belonged to President Huo’s elder brother, Huo Li.

The fact that one district had already been carved out and handed to them had been surprising enough.

Yet this time…

Another district had been approved almost immediately.

It didn’t even seem as though anyone had bothered consulting Huo Li first.

Everything had happened astonishingly fast.

Qian Li turned to Zhang Siyan with a serious expression.

“Um… Siyan…”

“You don’t happen to have some special relationship with President Huo, do you?”

“Or… does your family have some connection with her?”