Chapter Eighteen: Transfer of Shares

Ruan Mianmian gathered her spirits once more, adapting effortlessly to life at Starfish Bay. With her beauty, cheerful and easygoing nature, and that ambiguous relationship with Jiang Ce, she quickly became part of the crowd. Even Shen Qing, who rarely interacted with her before, was now included among her “brothers.”

Ruan Mianmian had made up her mind: to win over someone, she must first win over everyone around him. Then Jiang Ce would have no choice but to surrender to her.

After two days of recuperation at Starfish Bay, feeling refreshed and her complexion glowing, Ruan Mianmian was ready to get down to business. Ah Kuan had become her personal assistant—or more accurately, her first loyal follower.

During her recovery, Ruan Mianmian had already sent Ah Kuan to inquire about selling her shares in Hanhai Group. To her surprise, once Ah Kuan let the word out, many came to consult with him.

Today, Ah Kuan had arranged a meeting for Ruan Mianmian with Zhou Ming, the manager of Chenxing Group. Among all those interested in acquiring Hanhai Group shares, Chenxing Group offered the highest price. Thus, Ah Kuan scheduled a meeting between Ruan Mianmian and Zhou Ming to discuss the sale.

Early in the morning, Ruan Mianmian tidied herself and left with Ah Kuan. The meeting was set in a coffee shop, a recently opened upscale restaurant in Jiangcheng.

When they arrived, Zhou Ming and his assistant were already waiting.

“Hello, Manager Zhou. This is Miss Ruan,” Ah Kuan stepped forward, shaking Zhou Ming’s hand and introducing Ruan Mianmian.

“Hello, I’m Zhou Ming,” he replied. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they took their seats. Zhou Ming took a contract summary from his assistant and slid it toward Ruan Mianmian with a smile.

“This is a summary of the contract, Miss Ruan. Please have a look. I assure you the price we’re offering will be satisfactory.”

Ruan Mianmian had already heard from Ah Kuan that Chenxing Group was sincere—offering more than double the market price. Still, even prepared as she was, seeing the string of numbers in the contract, she couldn’t help but click her tongue in astonishment.

My goodness! How many zeros is that?

Ruan Mianmian’s eyes widened in surprise, but she managed to keep her composure and avoided any improper reaction. She raised her coffee cup, taking a small sip to steady her excitement, then looked up at Zhou Ming.

“I’m curious: why is your company willing to pay three times the market price for my shares?”

This was no small sum. If it had been just double the market price, as Ah Kuan had mentioned, she could understand—Hanhai Group’s influence was undeniable. But the price in Zhou Ming’s contract was three times the market value! What could prompt Chenxing Group to invest so heavily?

Zhou Ming merely smiled faintly and answered, “Miss Ruan, you may not know this, but Hanhai Group has few competitors because it monopolizes the market. Since our Chenxing Group wants a share, we naturally won’t be stingy with our resources.”

So that was it. Chenxing Group’s investment in Hanhai was just the first step; there would surely be more moves to follow. But Ruan Mianmian didn’t need to worry about that—her only concern was securing the money.

“If you have no further questions, Miss Ruan, please sign this transfer agreement,” Zhou Ming said, placing another document in front of her.

“Alright!” Ruan Mianmian replied with a smile, reaching for the contract. Suddenly, a hand appeared out of nowhere, snatching the contract before she could take it.

“A transfer contract? Ruan Mianmian, are you really planning to sell your shares in Hanhai?” Jian Yanzhi glared at her, disbelief written all over his face.

Ruan Mianmian’s expression darkened; she hadn’t expected to run into Jian Yanzhi here—what uncanny timing.

“Yanzhi!”

A sweet voice called out from behind Jian Yanzhi. Ruan Mianmian turned to see Song Chenxi hurrying toward them, clearly having fallen behind because Jian Yanzhi walked too quickly.

“Ruan Mianmian, answer me!”

Suddenly, Jian Yanzhi grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

“What are you doing? Let go!” Ruan Mianmian snapped, shaking off his hand in disgust. Ah Kuan promptly stood up and stepped in front of her, shielding her from Jian Yanzhi.

“Who are you? How dare you stand in my way?” Jian Yanzhi’s face darkened as he grabbed Ah Kuan’s collar.

People nearby began to stare. Not wanting to cause a scene, Ruan Mianmian stood and addressed Jian Yanzhi. “Are you out of your mind? Let him go!”

Song Chenxi took the opportunity to step forward, pulling Jian Yanzhi’s arm and retreating a step.

She spoke softly, “Yanzhi, mind your manners.”

With Song Chenxi’s reminder, Jian Yanzhi’s expression cleared somewhat. He’d gotten worked up seeing the transfer agreement and lost control for a moment.

He released Ah Kuan, tidied his clothes, and regained his usual cold demeanor.

For a moment, silence hung in the air. Song Chenxi stepped forward, her gaze sweeping between Ruan Mianmian and Ah Kuan. Finally, she smiled.

“Mianmian, is this your boyfriend? We’re all friends, after all. Are you not going to introduce him?”

Ruan Mianmian rolled her eyes, fixing Song Chenxi with a cold look.

“What kind of friends are we, exactly? There’s no need to pretend to be friendly now. I’m tired, even if you’re not.”

Jian Yanzhi’s eyes darkened with anger. He glared at Ruan Mianmian and pulled Song Chenxi behind him protectively.

He then turned to Ruan Mianmian and demanded coldly, “What are you doing?”

Ruan Mianmian replied, “Didn’t you see? I said I would sell my shares in Hanhai. Did you think I was joking?”

“You—!”

Jian Yanzhi’s face went pale with fury. He glanced at Zhou Ming, the Chenxing Group manager—he knew him well. Previously, Chenxing had quietly bought up shares from scattered shareholders, becoming a minor shareholder in Hanhai.

Now, catching them in the act of buying Ruan Mianmian’s shares, it was clear Chenxing Group had special designs on Hanhai.

No matter what Chenxing Group’s intentions were, for safety’s sake Jian Yanzhi couldn’t allow these scattered shares to be acquired en masse by Chenxing. If Chenxing became the largest shareholder in Hanhai, things would take a turn for the worse.

Jian Yanzhi’s fingers whitened as he gripped the transfer agreement. He took a deep breath and said to Ruan Mianmian in a hard, cold voice, “If you don’t want them anymore, I’ll have headquarters buy them. Don’t sell to anyone else.”