CHAPTER 528: CHAPTER 301: THE HERO CUTS OFF HIS OWN ARM

At half-past eleven in the morning, Chen Cheng and his entourage had already been waiting in Banna Travel Investment’s reception room for almost an hour.

No one replenished the tea in the cups, nor did anyone come to ask after Mr. Chen; the four people seemed as if they had been forgotten in this not-so-large room. The agreed time for the signing, which had seemed so certain, now appeared indefinitely postponed.

Let alone meeting Director Guo of Travel Investment.

If it had been any other time, Chen Cheng definitely would have become impatient.

But just as he had told the three in the hotel, after contacting Cao Yue, he understood very well these bureaucrats’ temperaments and intentions.

Time ticked away by the second, and the anxiety on Chen Donghai’s face grew increasingly severe.

Both Xia Yubing and Tong Jialu were restless, intermittently glancing at Chen Cheng with eyes full of anxiety.

"Brother Cheng, what’s the meaning of Director Guo’s behavior? We’ve already been waiting for nearly an hour," Tong Jialu asked in a low voice.

Chen Cheng’s expression remained calm as he took a light sip of the now cold tea, not saying a word.

He knew that this was a common bureaucratic tactic, using neglect to test the patience and limits of the other party.

Deng Xiong’s death and the crash of the Prosperity 6 had to have affected Banna Travel Investment.

Director Guo’s detachment was revealing his inner hesitation and unease.

"Don’t worry, we don’t have anything else to do anyway. Just sit and drink tea," Chen Cheng said nonchalantly, "You can think about what you want to eat tonight."

Tong Jialu pouted, pulling out her phone, "We haven’t even figured out lunch yet."

Chen Cheng smiled, "You still have a lot to learn from your sister. Look how composed Yu Bing is."

Saying this, he pinched Xia Yubing’s cheek.

Xia Yubing gently slapped Chen Cheng’s hand away, glaring at him with feigned annoyance, but her eyes betrayed no real reproach, instead harboring an almost imperceptible sweetness.

"It’s such a time, and you still have a mind to joke," she said softly.

Chen Cheng’s smile faded as he became serious, "The more things are like this, the more we need to keep our cool. Panic won’t solve any problems; it will only make the other side look down on us more."

"If we just walk out now, we confirm Deng Xiong’s death all the more, and it will make future work harder to carry out."

Chen Cheng continued, "Even though I’m planning to wash my hands clean of this, I’m still in the circle for the time being, and my reputation matters."

He paused, "Think about Mr. Jin, after such a big incident, he could still eat four or five buns for breakfast, acting as if it’s no big deal, right?"

The three nodded slightly, especially Chen Donghai, who took a deep breath as if trying to digest Chen Cheng’s words and internalize Baogen’s approach to handling situations.

His tense body relaxed a bit, and the fists he had clenched slowly unfurled.

He knew Chen Cheng was right; panic would only ruin things, while calmness and composure were keys to solving problems.

Just then, the door to the reception room finally opened.

A young female staff member walked in, her face wearing a standardized smile, "Mr. Chen, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Director Guo is currently in a meeting and might need a bit more time."

Chen Cheng gave Chen Donghai a look, and Chen Donghai calmly replied, "No problem, we are not in a hurry."

"It’s almost noon, if Mr. Chen doesn’t mind, please feel free to visit our cafeteria to see if there’s anything to your liking."

Chen Donghai glanced at Chen Cheng, who smiled and said, "You’re too kind. We’ll just wait here a bit longer. We’ll take care of ourselves when it’s time."

"Alright."

Once the staff member had left, Tong Jialu couldn’t help but complain, "Brother Cheng, is Director Guo intentionally leaving us hanging? Did he specifically send someone to test us?"

Chen Cheng rested with his eyes closed, "The fact that they’re not meeting us just shows that they are still considering. If they really didn’t want to cooperate, they would have directly refused by now. Why waste time?"

Xia Yubing agreed, "My husband is right, Director Guo must be weighing the pros and cons now. With Deng Xiong’s matter blowing up so big, he has to be cautious."

Although Tong Jialu was still somewhat worried, she understood that all they could do now was wait patiently.

"Play with your phone," Chen Cheng suggested, "Just pretend you’re at your Beijing office, slacking off; isn’t that nice?"

Tong Jialu shrugged and obediently took out her phone.

This time, however, she wasn’t browsing Taobao but opened the morning’s forum to closely follow the developments of the situation.

...

...

A quarter past twelve, the person Chen Cheng wanted to meet still hadn’t appeared.

"Husband, why don’t we go have something to eat?" Xia Yubing suggested, "It’s also their lunch break now, waiting here isn’t going to achieve anything."

Only then did Chen Cheng open his eyes, "Alright, let’s look around nearby."

During this half hour, he had been contemplating only one issue.

That was, if Jin Baogen knew that following Deng Xiong’s incident, the bond issuance would not go smoothly, why he hadn’t yet made the call that would have Cheng return to Beijing.

Chen Cheng stood up, pondering to himself.

Jin Baogen was always a man of deep plans, each of his moves must have deeper considerations behind them.

Was it possible that he wanted to use Chen Cheng’s visit to pressure Banna Travel Investment?

Or perhaps he intended to leverage Chen Cheng as a buffer in this turmoil?

But what benefit would that provide Chen Cheng?

Chen Cheng and his party exited the Banna Travel Investment building, the warm sunshine contrasting sharply with the chill of the reception room.

They found a roadside restaurant at random, ordered a few dishes. The atmosphere during the meal was somewhat subdued; nobody took the initiative to speak.

Chen Cheng continued to mull over Jin Baogen’s intentions, while Xia Yubing and Chen Donghai carefully watched his mood, and Tong Jialu kept scrolling the forum on her phone for the latest news on the incident.