Chapter 281: From Hell to Heaven
“Zheng Anqi?”
Zheng Anpin couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the name chosen by Chen Fan.
She was the one who dragged the Zheng family down to the living hell by messing with the wrong man. In the end, the Old Man Zheng was dead, and their family assets were taken away. Countless rich heirs of the Zheng family clan lost their privileges and wealth. Zheng Anqi herself was robbed of her youth and turned into a wizened crone.
Why would Chen Fan choose her after doing so much harm to her?
“You think I hate her?” Chen Fan laughed out loud
What did Zheng Anqi mean to Chen Fan? Nothing. All that Chen Fan had done was punish her for trying to get away with not paying the debt. Chen Fan had nearly forgotten about her if not because of his need of a manager.
“Based on the information I got, she is the best candidate for the job.” Chen Fan flipped through the paper and said.
“Ever since she was kicked out of the Zheng family for what she did, her mother, the royalty from England moved in with one of her lovers. Her father, Zheng Haochang was the one who made the decision to denounce her as his daughter after the harm she had caused to the family. The paper also showed that Zheng Haochang had sired three bastards with three different mistresses.”
Chen Fan continued.
“After Zheng Anqi was kicked out of her own family, no other family members were willing to look after her. In the end, she ended up living with one of her BFFs. However, her nightmare had just begun. The so-called BFF invited all of her friends to her house to see the hideous condition Zheng Anqi was in. Zheng Anqi couldn’t stomach the insulst, so she ran out of her BFF’s house and settled in the home of one of her former subordinates.”
The description of Zheng Anqi’s condition sounded horrible, but Chen Fan knew that reality was much worse than that.
Zheng Anqi used to be the princess of the Zheng family, a drop-dead gorgeous of royal heritage. She was spoiled by both her family as well as countless rich suitors. However, one misstep, she had caused the death of her grandpa, ended her family’s fortune and was turned into a hideous looking hag. She quickly fell out of love with her parents, hated by her family members, and being laughed at by her former friends, practically turning herself into a laughing stock of Hong Kong.
Only Chen Fan’s past life could have rivaled what she was going through right now in terms of despair and regret.
Helpless and hapless, Zheng Anqi was at the lowest point of her life.
Her vulnerability would make her easily controlled by Chen Fan. Chen Fan was convinced that if she was given a chance, she would be too afraid of screwing up again and give all she got. With her in control of the Zheng’s Financial Group, even the Zheng family members would think twice before trying funny business.
Only those who had lived in hell knew to appreciate heaven.
“She had already turned into a hag, are you really going to choose her?” Zheng Anpin rounded his eyes and asked in surprise.
“hehe, you have no idea what I am capable of.”
Chen Fan closed the folder and cracked a cold smile. His eyes were filled with confidence and pride.
Meanwhile, inside a barricade looking apartment building in the LC district of Hong Kong.
“Zheng Anqi, are you done with that draft yet? Boss Yu and the others need it by tonight.” A woman wearing black-rimmed glasses and a collared shirt stood by the door and uttered a question coldly.
“Ok, ok, ok…” An old woman with silver hair hurried to nodded her consent.
This old woman was the focal point of the public’s attention, Zheng Anqi. Her hair was as white and dry as old silver and her skin was covered with deep wrinkles. Although her body still retained the shape of a drop-dead gorgeous in her prime, no one would be turned on by her appearance.
Zheng Anqi was wearing a pair of thick glasses. She lamented her sorry state as she drafted the design drawings on the computer.
She had never thought that it was the skill she had learned during her college in England that had helped her survive during the hardest time in her life. If not because of her proficient drafting skill, her former subordinate would never have accepted her.
“Pay attention to your work! I am not running a charity here. Do you think it’s easy for me to pay for the bills and put food on the table? You just have to draft, it’s not rocket science.” The other young girl in black-rimmed glasses chided. “You need to understand that you are no longer the heir of the Zheng family any longer. If you don’t like the work here, the door is right over there. I am interested to see who would take you in.”
“Yes.”
The old woman answered as her hand became shaky.
She used to be a scintillating beauty and every outfit she designed could fetch a huge amount of money. However, there and then, she had to work non-stop just to feed herself.
The young girl looked at the obedient Zheng Anqi and felt a euphoria rush through her body.
She used to be one of this old woman’s insignificant assistants and had to put up with her bad temper and castigation. Even when she accompanied her to banquets, no one had ever noticed her beside the Zheng Anqi’s shining beauty.
“Why? I am not any less attractive than her, why did no one ever pay attention to me? Is it because she was born into the right family? Am I destined to be her slave?”
For a large part, what drove the young woman to take in Zheng Anqi was revenge.
“din..din…”
The doorbell rang.
“Who is it?” The girl asked annoyingly. She opened the door and saw an ordinary-looking young man. Behind the young man stood the manager of her company.
“Boss Yu, what brings you here?” The girl welcomed them into the room.
“Ninqin, this is the CEO of our company, Boss Chen.” Boss Yu was a chubby man and the stress and the heat had already made him drenched in sweat.
“Boss Chen?” Ninqin shivered.
She realized that this ordinary-looking young man was the one who had defeated the Zheng family and recently took over the Zheng’s Financial Group.
Under Ninqin’s stunned look, Chen Fan pushed her to a side and walked into the room.
Zheng Anqi heard the commotion at the door, she struggled to rise to her feet and finally saw Chen Fan. Her eyes were filled with strong and complicated emotions as she stared at the culprit of her downfall.
Zheng Anqi used to hate Chen Fan to the core. However, after she was kicked out of her family, and being laughed at by her friends, she somehow no longer hated Chen Fan. Without Chen Fan, she would have never known the true color of the family and friends around her.
“Are you here to make fun of me?”
Zheng Anqi lowered her head and asked defiantly.
“No, I am here to offer you a chance. I need someone to manage the Zheng’s Financial Group, will you do it?” Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and asked lightly.
“What?” Zheng Anqi looked up at the young man in utter disbelief.
“I can not only restore your power but also return youth back to you.” Chen Fan continued. His words were as tempting as the whispers of a devil.
“What do you want?”
Zheng Anqi shivered. She thinned her lips to a line and asked.
“Loyalty, absolute loyalty.” Chen Fan narrowed his eyes as cold light glinted within. “If you betray me, I will make sure you will perish both physically and your soul.”
“I agree.”
Zheng Anqi answered without a second hesitation.
She had nothing to lose, and this was her last ticket out of this living hell.
“Good.”
Chen Fan nodded and then folded his hands. An azure-colored light spilled out from between his hands and shot at Zheng Anqi, covering the old woman’s body.
Under Ninqin and Boss Yu’s stunned watch, Zheng Anqi’s white hair slowly regained color and the wrinkles on her face also disappeared as her skin became firm and smooth again. In a blink, the old hag was transformed back to her former glorious state, if not even more attractive. Magical energy seemed to flow around her sublime presence.
Thus it was, Divine powers could take one’s life and dictated one’s fate.
Three days later, the Zheng’s Financial Group’s stakeholder meeting finally began.
The directors, managers, CEOs of all the four publicly traded companies gathered together in the meeting room of the Zheng’s Palace in downtown Hong Kong.
The large meeting room was packed and everyone talked to each other about today’s agenda.
Loong Jun sat cross-legged in the room. The Xin Hai Investment Bank had been hedging against the Zheng’s Financial Group’s stock and had acquired a sizable share of the company. Therefore he attended the meeting as a major shareholder.
Loong Jun scanned the room and recognized a few bosses of other investment banks. Those bosses registered Loong Jun’s gaze on them, so they smiled back at him knowingly. These men were loaded with ammunition for Chen Fan.
No one had thought of expelling Chen Fan out of the management, but many of them were vying to fill in key positions in the Zheng’s Financial Group.
“If Chen Beixuan is smart, he should know that it is impossible for him to run the Zheng’s Group all by himself, he will need our help. By then, we can each take up key positions in the company and collect money. That will be wonderful!”
Loong Jun rubbed his chin and let out a smug smile.
He didn’t think that Chen Fan had any tricks up his sleeves to keep the Zheng’s Financial Group under his boots. Running a large corporation was not an easy task even for the founder of the company, much less an outsider. No matter who Chen Fan appointed to those key positions, the board members are going to vote the candidate down. Therefore, in order to calm the resistance of the board members and stakeholders, Chen Fan would have to compromise.
Loong Jun calculated the possibility of Chen Fan inviting Zheng Haochang back to run the company. With Zheng Haochang’s deep roots in the company, he should be able to placate the stakeholders. Plus, he was a seasoned manager and used to run the Zheng’s Group for many years. However, Loong Jun was convinced that Chen Fan wouldn’t hire him back fearing his former victim would plot against him.
“Chen Beixuan, you have finally exhausted your tricks.”
Even as Loong Jun let out a smug smile, a wave of surprised murmurs rose in the room. He noticed that everyone looked to the entrance with surprised looks, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
“What is it?”
Loong Jun wondered.
He turned around and saw a tall woman in a custom-fitted suit. Her hair was platinum blond and features on her face breathtaking. She wore a pair of high heels that made her stand out among the crowd around her. With each step she took, a cold light glinted brighter in her eyes. She nodded to hither and thither, offer her charming greetings like that of a queen.
She was Zheng Anqi who had been missing for a few months.