Urban drama: Starting with marrying the beautiful and wealthy Jiang Lai

Yang Tao said coldly, "I could have forgiven you for all the betrayals you committed against me before, but you didn't listen to me and refused to help me, so don't blame me for being impolite."

Now that I have video footage of your date, you don't mind if I let your parents see it, do you?

Yang Tao would never go so far as to spread Lan Weiwei's video all over the world.

All she needs to do is threaten Lan Weiwei's parents.

Lan Weiwei's expression changed drastically. She had always been a well-behaved girl in front of her parents.

She didn't want her aging father and still-attractive mother to be distressed by this matter.

She glared at Yang Tao angrily and said, "Yang Tao, how could you become like this? You've disappointed me so much!"

Yang Tao sneered, "My husband is right. The business world is like a battlefield. If we want to survive in the business world, we good people have to be worse than the bad people and more cunning than the villains. Only in that way can we win every battle."

I used to be so good to you, and this is how you treated me! If I keep being a pushover like before, won't you just take advantage of me?

Lan Weiwei was utterly shocked. She hadn't expected that Yang Tao, who used to be as innocent and naive as a little white rabbit, would become like this. It seemed that Yang Tao had really changed a lot in the past few months following Cao Meng.

Lan Weiwei is starting to lose her grip and is even beginning to regret competing with such a ruthless and decisive strong woman for a man.

In fact, the essence of star fruit has not changed.

She is still a kind girl, but Cao Meng has been training her in various ways these days, hoping that she can take on the entire Haidilao project in the future. So he teaches her by example, to have the heart of a bodhisattva but the means of thunder, to maintain a kind heart, but to be ruthless, accurate and steady in doing things, and never to give the other party any chance to take advantage of her.

Yang Tao also brought this style to her romantic relationships to some extent.

If those women were kind to Cao Meng and weren't there to steal his man, Yang Tao could be tolerant. But if they were like Lan Weiwei, who were scheming to steal her man and exclude her, Yang Tao would absolutely not be polite to her.

Now, Lan Weiwei sighed and said, "If you force me like this, I won't do it well, and Cao Meng will be dissatisfied in the end. Why force me like this?"

Yang Tao chuckled and said, "What I just told you was just a hypothetical situation. You may seem like a big-breasted, brainless woman, but you are actually quite cunning and scheming. Use your brain to think about it. Do you have any way out now?"

Even if you continue to be Cao Meng's woman, even if you're just a casual sex partner who can be summoned and dismissed at will, it's still much better than being deceived by a stingy liar like Li Wei, right?

You used to brag to your parents that your boyfriend was a senior executive at a listed company, but you never showed up in front of them even once.

Now that Li Wei has been brought to justice, where are you going to conjure up another listed company executive from?

Are your parents just going to wait hopelessly, watching you grow into an old woman who can no longer have children?

Yang Tao's words were like a resounding bell, deafening and shocking Lan Weiwei, who broke out in a cold sweat.

Lan Weiwei asked in a trembling voice, "Then what do you suggest I do? You're clearly just taking advantage of me, summoning me and dismissing me at will. As a staff member, what's the point of treating me with such a lack of dignity?"

Will this really solve my current problem?

Yang Tao has been following Cao Meng for the past few months and has also become very good at making empty promises.

She said with a smile, "Lan Weiwei, what Cao Meng said—that if you perform well, he'll buy you a villa—wasn't entirely a lie. This promise might actually come true."

If you behave well, I can promise you on his behalf that he will give you money, enough to satisfy your parents, possibly ranging from 1 million to 10 million.

When you take that money and appear beside your parents, even if they don't see the man, they will still sense his presence and feel much more at ease about your future.

Are you willing to accept this?

Some might say that since Cao Meng paid him, it's not considered freeloading and therefore not meaningful.

It's important to know that Cao Meng's money didn't come from his own pocket, but from Li Wei, Lan Weiwei's boyfriend whom she hadn't broken up with yet.

It's equivalent to Cao Meng using Li Wei's money to play around with Li Wei's girlfriend, Lan Weiwei; that's also getting something for nothing!

Lan Weiwei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Yang Tao's words.

As long as I don't end up with nothing, I can accept it.

Moreover, as long as she has that kind of relationship with Cao Meng, she is bound to develop feelings for him over time.

She still believed in her kung fu skills and was confident that she could make Cao Meng fall head over heels for her.

Don't be fooled by Yang Tao's current smugness; he seems to be manipulating himself as if he were a clown.

Sooner or later I will be able to successfully capture Cao Meng, and then I will be able to turn the tables and defeat Yang Tao.

Furthermore, Cao Meng had also captivated her; she had never met a man like him before, and she felt that Cao Meng was the first man she had ever truly been with.

Therefore, she did not easily give up her first real man.

Now that Yang Tao had given her a way out, Lan Weiwei nodded and said, "Okay, I promise you, I'll be there whenever Cao Meng needs me."

But I hope we can stop calling each other "friends with benefits"; it feels really undignified.

Even if we're just good friends, is that okay?

Yang Tao chuckled and said, "It's just a title. You can introduce your relationship with him however you like, but it can't be 'girlfriend' or 'wife.' Based on your past actions, you are completely unqualified, understand?"

Lan Weiwei nodded and said, "I know, I am not qualified."

But I'd like to ask you in return, has Cao Meng publicly acknowledged that you are his girlfriend?

She thought that her words had hit a nerve with Yang Tao and would make Yang Tao feel very bad.

Yang Tao sneered, "Cao Meng and I consider each other to be boyfriend and girlfriend in private, and there is absolutely no need for outside approval."

My mother and sister have both met Cao Meng and his parents, and they were both very satisfied.

We don't need to prove anything to the outside world.

Furthermore, I would rather be his business partner, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

By the way, have you, a gold digger, ever read "To the Oak Tree"?

Lan Weiwei said with some shame and indignation, "Of course I studied it. I graduated from university, okay?"

Yang Tao said loudly, "You are like the climbing trumpet creeper, trying to show off yourself by clinging to Cao Meng's tall branch."

You might be that infatuated bird, repeating the same monotonous song in the shade.

But I would rather be a kapok tree next to his oak tree, standing with Cao Meng as a tree, holding hands on the ground, living together in the clouds at night. With every gust of wind, we would greet each other, but no one could understand our language.

We shared the cold waves, the winds, the thunder, and the lightning; seemingly separated forever, yet bound together for life…

Lan Weiwei couldn't help but laugh: "Yang Tao, I really admire you. You graduated from middle school so long ago, yet you can still recite 'To the Oak Tree'."

I am inferior to you, I lack your ambition, I can only be a climbing trumpet vine, that's the outlook on life my mother taught me, what can I do...

At this point, a bitter smile crossed Lan Weiwei's lips.

From childhood, her mother instilled in her the worldview that one should depend on men, just as her mother depended on her father, the old regimental commander.

She couldn't possibly be as strong and independent as Yang Tao, willing to work hard and struggle alongside a man.

Therefore, Cao Meng wouldn't respect her and would treat her as a casual sex partner, someone he could summon and dismiss at will. She reaped what she sowed, and had no one to blame but herself.

Yang Tao didn't know how to persuade Lan Weiwei. This kind of gold-digging woman, brainwashed by her mother her whole life, might not be changed even by someone with Cao Meng's super strong willpower, so there was no need for her to change her.

She simply smiled and asked Lan Weiwei, "Why are there plum blossoms on your list?"

Lan Weiwei told Yang Tao about it.

Yang Tao burst into laughter and said, "Hahahaha, I never thought that Li Wei was such a good-for-nothing, utterly useless!"

I'm so glad that my mom was very strict with me back then. She had a good eye and could tell at a glance that Li Wei was no good, so she resolutely refused to let me go out on dates with her.

Fortunately, I listened to the rules back then, and finally avoided the fate of being tainted by such a worthless person.

"Being defiled by such trash, and for three years straight, Lan Weiwei, can you really tolerate it?"

Lan Weiwei smiled bitterly, "How was I supposed to know that his position as a senior executive at a listed company was obtained by deceiving people with fake academic credentials and a fake resume? His vanity at the time was what led to this predicament..."

Yang Tao suddenly remembered something and pulled Lan Weiwei out of bed.

Lan Weiwei stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

Because of her heavy burden, Yang Tao could not help her up.

The two of them had no choice but to walk while holding onto the wall.

Lan Weiwei and Yang Tao looked at each other with wry smiles and shook their heads.

Yang Tao said, "Now you know why I made you his sex partner. I can't do without you. You'll have to share the main firepower from now on!"

Lan Weiwei grinned, but the smile was bitter: "Why me? Can't we split it equally?"

Yang Tao said matter-of-factly, "Because I have a proper job."

I am currently the operations manager at Haidilao, and in the future I will be the operations director, and then the operations president. I am responsible not only for the head office, but also for many branches. I am busy all day long. If I also have to go on dates with my husband every day, I simply won't be able to keep up with the work!

You can totally quit your yoga instructor job, stay home, relax and rejuvenate so your husband can unwind..."

Yang Tao chuckled and said, "If you quit your yoga instructor job and stay home to help with housework and share our husbands' boundless energy, I might consider letting you live in our villa..."

Lan Weiwei's eyes lit up. Yang Tao had sent her many photos of that villa before, and everything inside the villa was breathtaking. She dreamed of living in that big villa.

Without hesitation, Lan Weiwei immediately said, "Then I'll quit this job and stay home to focus on my career!"

Yang Tao then said with a smile, "Come on, let me introduce you to another sister. This sister can also help us share the burden."

You probably don't know her yet, she's Li Wei's wife, Li Li!

When Lan Weiwei saw Li Wei's wife, Li Li, she immediately felt embarrassed.

Because Li Wei had an extramarital affair, Lan Weiwei was the mistress when she was with him. It's understandable that she was a little timid when she met someone else's wife.

Yang Tao introduced her to Li Li, saying, "You probably don't know who she is. She's one of Li Wei's many girlfriends, and she's the one who completely fooled him..."

But now she's just like you, a sex partner of my husband Cao Meng!

Last night, you two and my husband together knitted a bright green hat for Li Wei, which was truly gratifying!

Li Li and Lan Weiwei looked at each other with complicated expressions.

This change in identity caught them somewhat off guard.

Where was Cao Meng at this time?

He's shopping with his next woman, Li Na!

Li Na's annoying auntie is about to leave!

Chapter 124: A Rich and Powerful Woman's Easy Success: Top Consortium Invests Huge Sums, Set for Takeoff!

Prior to this, Li Na accompanied Cao Meng to a bank to apply for a business loan to fund the expansion of Haidilao and the future development of Douyin and Meituan.

Why take out a loan?

Because the interest rates for loans, especially business loans, are very low, once he gets the loan, he will be able to expand his current projects faster and seize market opportunities more quickly.

The results showed that banks provide very low loan amounts for young people starting businesses, at most a few hundred thousand yuan, and none of them offer loans of over one million yuan.

This small amount is simply a drop in the bucket for Cao Meng.

If Cao Meng wants a loan of several hundred million, he must pull strings and have very strong connections to secure a loan with a high amount and low interest.

Just as Cao Meng was wondering how to find connections within the banking system, his perfect and capable wife, Li Na, smiled and said to him.

"Boss, we don't necessarily need to find connections within the banking system. We can ask the bank's major clients for help."

With a major client of the bank providing a guarantee, the bank will also grant us a large loan..."

Cao Meng was taken aback and asked, "A major client of a bank? Do we have major clients of banks in our network?"

Li Na smiled knowingly and said, "Do you remember that Ke Dong from before? Ke Dong is a multinational high-tech company listed in the United States with a market value of hundreds of billions."

They have financial dealings with a certain bank in China, with a turnover of tens of billions of yuan; they are a major client of that bank!

Speaking of Ke Dong, it's a huge multinational conglomerate that appeared after Elite Lawyers, roughly equivalent to a combination of Jing Dong and Ali from the original timeline.

Robin was so angry for his little assistant, Dai Xi, that he acted rashly for the sake of his lover.

After harassing Dai Xi, Jiao En, Dai Xi's former mentor, became the chief lawyer of the Ke Dong Consortium, putting on a sanctimonious act.

Because his wife is the daughter of Kedong's major shareholder, and Zhong Xiaomeng, who looks exactly like Zhong Xiaoai, is Zhong Xiaoai's twin sister.

In that original timeline, Jiao En was able to become a university professor and later the chief legal officer of Ke Dong.

He relied not only on his wife's status as the daughter of a major shareholder of Kedong, but also on his own strong educational background and network of connections.

He was able to remove many of the clients held by his partners.

Jiao En used his connections to pressure the other partners of Quan Z, demanding that Luo Bin publicly apologize to him, or else Luo Bin would have to resign.

Otherwise, if the other partners of Quan Z lose clients, they will all blame it on Luo Bin.

Many partners even left QuanZ in anger, taking their clients with them.

Dai Xi met with the daughter of Ke Dong's major shareholder, who is also Jiao En's current wife, to expose Jiao En's various crimes and persuade her to cooperate with Quan Z.