Who wants to be a male model after being reborn? I want to be a male god.

Chapter 420 Fangs Revealed
The car stopped in front of the Jinling branch building of Flash City.

Xu Wen stood in front of the building, looking up at the structure before him, and for a moment felt somewhat dazed.

After this period of development, the Jinling branch has begun to take shape.

"Class monitor?" Lan Qiusheng called softly, still holding the list of merchants in his hand.

Xu Wen snapped out of his daze: "Let's go up first."

Neither of them spoke in the elevator.

Lan Qiusheng secretly glanced at Xu Wen's profile and noticed obvious dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.

She wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

Inside the office, Lan Qiusheng poured Xu Wen a cup of hot tea.

The tea was warm, dispelling the chill from Xu Wen's body.

"Did the person who contacted you say any specific details?" He held his teacup, the steam blurring his expression.

Lan Qiusheng shook his head: "No, they just warned us to stay away from Gu Hong. I wanted to ask a few more questions, but they hung up the phone quickly."

She hesitated for a moment: "Class monitor, do you think this might be a prank?"

Lan Qiusheng didn't know much about Hongjing Industrial.

All I knew was that it was a large and influential enterprise in Linjiang.

So at first she thought it was just a prank.

Xu Wen shook his head: "No, since they were able to find you so accurately, it means they know our network of connections very well."

The rain outside the window started to fall again, pattering against the glass with a soft, rustling sound.

Xu Wen walked to the window and looked at the blurred city outline in the rain.

The rainy season in Nanjing is always so long, which makes people feel a little melancholy for no reason.

"Let's deal with the immediate issue first," Xu Wen said, turning around.

Lan Qiusheng nodded and quickly jotted it down in his notebook: "Okay, by the way, what do you want to eat tonight? There are a few good restaurants around Jinling."

"Just grab something to eat, no need to go to too much trouble. How's work going lately?" Xu Wen's gaze returned to the list.

This sudden concern surprised Lan Qiusheng for a moment: "It went very smoothly, everyone cooperated well."

"That's good." Xu Wen's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Lan Qiusheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since arriving in Nanjing, she has been worried that she is not doing a good enough job.

Receiving Xu Wen's affirmation, even if it was just a simple question, brought her a sense of relief.

"Then I'll go arrange tomorrow's work first." She stood up and gently closed the office door.

The room fell silent again, with only the sound of rain and Xu Wen turning the pages of documents remaining.

He carefully examined the information of each withdrawing merchant, trying to find the connections between them.

But my thoughts drifted uncontrollably toward the mysterious man's warning.

Gu Hong won't live more than three months.

He knew that Gu Hong had countless enemies, but the fact that the other party could give such a firm deadline meant that the situation was more serious than he had imagined.

Xu Wen put down the documents and rubbed his temples.

Exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, but he couldn't stop.

Time waits for no one, and he must seize every minute and second.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from Yang Yiyao: "There's another report in Linjiang smearing Shancheng. I've already contacted a lawyer."

Xu Wen replied briefly: "Okay, let's keep in touch."

He put down his phone and walked to the window.

Nanjing in the rain is like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Xu Wen suddenly remembered that a long time ago, Gu Xingruo had said that she wanted to come to Jinling to see the rain.

At that time, they were planning to travel to every city together when they had free time.

Now, he is left alone standing in this rainy night in a foreign land.

Xu Wen took a deep breath and forced himself back into work mode.

He turned on his computer and began organizing the materials needed for tomorrow's meeting.

The blue light from the screen reflected on his tired face, making him appear exceptionally pale.

After some time, there was a gentle knock on the office door.

"Come in," Xu Wen said without looking up.

Lan Qiusheng walked in carrying a tray: "Squad leader, have something to eat first."

Xu Wen then realized that it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

He closed his laptop: "Thanks, let's eat together."

The two ate their dinner quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words about work.

The sound of rain became the perfect background noise, easing the awkward silence.

"Squad leader, how have you been lately?" Lan Qiusheng finally couldn't help but ask.

Xu Wen paused for a moment as he picked up some food: "It's alright, just a little tiring."

“You should take a rest. I heard you haven’t had a proper rest since Ruoruo left,” Lan Qiusheng said softly.

Xu Wen did not answer, but continued eating.

Lan Qiusheng realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly changed the subject: "The first batch of merchant representatives will come to the company at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and the second batch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the afternoon."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Xu Wen nodded.

After the meal, Xu Wen called Jiang Xiaqing.

She promised to investigate the true background of the investors behind those merchants who suddenly turned against them as soon as possible.

"Squad leader, hot water."

Lan Qiusheng's voice came from behind, and Xu Wen turned around and took the steaming cup of water.

Xu Wen noticed the faint bluish tinge under Lan Qiusheng's eyes, indicating that she hadn't had a proper rest in a long time.

"Thank you, you should go back and rest too." Xu Wen took a sip of hot water, the warmth spreading from her throat to her stomach, temporarily dispelling her fatigue.

Lan Qiusheng shook her head and sat down in the chair opposite the desk. Her black business suit wrinkled slightly with her movement. "I'm not tired yet. Did Sister Jiang have any news?"

Xu Wen placed his phone on the desk: "She agreed to investigate, but it will take time. The investors behind these businesses are very cautious, using layers of nested shell companies, as if they are intentionally hiding their identities."

"Is it related to President Gu?" Lan Qiusheng asked tentatively, his voice unconsciously lowering a few decibels.

Xu Wen did not answer immediately. He turned and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze returning to the city outside.

The night view of Nanjing is completely different from that of Linjiang. It lacks the sharpness of Linjiang and has more of a sense of historical weight.

Xu Wen put down his water glass: "It's not just about Gu Hong."

His voice was low and hoarse: "Someone wants to use me to strike at him, while also encircling and suppressing Flash City commercially. This is a grand scheme."

Li Qingyun just happened to provide him with evidence of Gu Hong's crimes.

Now someone is reminding him to stay away from Gu Hong. The answer is now obvious: Li Qingyun has definitely participated in the crackdown on Hongjing Industry this time.

But his name was not on the list that Gu Hong had previously presented.

At first, Li Qingyun's attitude seemed like that of a kind elder, reminding him to be careful of Gu Hong.

But now it seems they just wanted to use him to get rid of the other party.

A brief silence fell over the office.

Looking at Xu Wen's tense profile and slightly bluish chin, Lan Qiusheng suddenly realized how heavy the burden on the man's shoulders was.

Not only do they have to deal with the commercial encirclement and suppression by competitors such as Meituan and Ele.me, but they also have to protect the girl who is far away in a foreign country.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked softly.

Xu Wen turned and walked to his desk, opening his laptop: "Let's deal with the immediate business crisis first."

His fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up a series of data and charts: "Meituan's offensive in Nanjing is too fierce; we must hold our ground."

His voice remained calm: "Tomorrow we will meet with the merchants who have left the platform to find out the specific pressures they have been under. At the same time, we will organize the deliverymen to file a collective police report to fight back against those malicious accusations."

His fingertips slid across the touchpad, bringing up a report marked with a red warning: "This is the order loss situation for the past week, mainly concentrated in the university town and business district."

Lan Qiusheng nodded and quickly jotted down key points on his tablet, his long black hair slipping down his shoulders: "I've already contacted the local media and am preparing to do a positive report showcasing Flash City's contribution to local employment."

She looked up and her gaze briefly met Xu Wen's: "Especially those part-time college student deliverymen, their stories are the most touching."

"Good idea." Xu Wen gave her an approving look.

He then continued, "Also, contact the technology department and have them develop a merchant rating system so that users can see the order status and delivery quality of merchants in real time, increasing transparency."

Lan Qiusheng's eyes lit up, and his fingers flew across the tablet: "This can effectively curb rumors! Especially those who say our deliverymen are stealing meals."

She paused, her brow furrowing slightly: "However, the technical implementation may take time."

"Tell the people at headquarters to prioritize this to the highest level. I need to see the test version within three days." Xu Wen's voice was unquestionable, carrying a kind of toughness that Lan Qiusheng had never heard before.

This is completely different from the gentle man he used to be.

She got up to leave, but then stopped: "Class monitor, how is Ruoruo?"

She regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth; the question was too personal, but she just couldn't control herself.

He had been worried ever since he learned of Gu Xingruo's departure.

Xu Wen's fingers paused for a moment on the keyboard, then continued typing.

He still said the same four words: "She is safe."

Lan Qiusheng nodded slightly, asked no further questions, and turned to leave the office.

The door closed very softly, but it was still clearly audible in the quiet office.

After the door closed, Xu Wen finally stopped what he was doing and let out a deep breath.

My phone suddenly vibrated; the caller ID showed Yang Yiyao.

Xu Wen frowned and answered, "What's up so late?"

"Xu Wen! I just received a message you need to know! Li Qingyun is holding an emergency meeting at the Education Department tomorrow to discuss the regulation of college student part-time job platforms, which is clearly aimed at Shancheng!" Yang Yiyao's voice was unusually urgent.

Xu Wen's back straightened instantly: "Is the information reliable?"

“It’s absolutely true! My dad’s friend in the Education Department revealed that the meeting minutes stated that platforms with financial ties to organized crime should be closely monitored. Isn’t that obviously a veiled attack? And there’s more!” Yang Yiyao’s voice was full of anger, and she spoke rapidly like a machine gun.

The sound of papers turning could be heard on the other end of the phone. Yang Yiyao continued, "They're also preparing to introduce new regulations requiring all part-time job platforms to report detailed information about student employees and proof of their work-study programs. Isn't this blatantly trying to strangle us?"

Xu Wen's brain was working at lightning speed.

"I understand, thank you. I'll head back to Linjiang after I've finished here."

The image of Li Qingyun as a kind elder has completely vanished.

Xu Wen didn't expect him to act so quickly.

This is forcing him to sever ties with Gu Hong.

Xu Wen is now very curious whether Gu Hong knew about this.

He and Li Qingyun were, at least superficially, on the same side.

"You're going to see Li Qingyun? He's clearly planning to make a move against you!" Yang Yiyao asked in surprise.

“Since she has made her move, I will naturally accept it.” A sharp glint flashed in Xu Wen’s eyes.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Wen immediately dialed Wan Zhi's number and briefly explained the work arrangements for tomorrow.

He then sent another message to Jiang Xiaqing, urging her to speed up the investigation, and especially emphasizing the need to find out the relationship between the withdrawing merchants and Jincheng Investment.

After finishing these tasks, Xu Wen walked to the window and looked at the night view of Jinling.

The city was still brightly lit, and vehicles were flowing in and out, as if everything was as usual.

But he knew that beneath this calm surface, undercurrents were surging.

Li Qingyun, Gu Hong, and those enemies lurking in the shadows—everyone is making moves in this game, while Shan Cheng and himself are merely pieces on the chessboard.

But Xu Wen was unwilling to be just a pawn.

Xu Wen spent the night in his office.

The next morning, as soon as he woke up, he saw Lan Qiusheng standing outside the door, holding a brown paper document bag in his hand, his face unusually serious.

"Sister Jiang was afraid of disturbing your sleep, so she asked me to give this to you." Her voice trembled slightly.

Xu Wen took the file bag and pulled out the documents inside.

Inside were photocopies of a series of bank transfer records. The recipients were merchants who had withdrawn from the FlashCity platform, and the payers were a company called "Jincheng Investment".

The transfers were concentrated in the week before the merchants withdrew from the platform.

"This is?"

"Sister Jiang asked her classmate who works at a bank to help her check. These merchants all received large transfers a week before leaving FlashCity, the amount of which was their total income for three months on the FlashCity platform," Lan Qiusheng explained.

Xu Wen quickly glanced through the documents, his expression puzzled: "Bribery?"

"Not only that, Sister Jiang investigated the background of Jincheng Investment. The actual controller of this company is also very powerful. She said that he seems to have some connection with the director of the Education Department of Linjiang. I remember that he has visited our school." Lan Qiusheng turned to the last page and pointed to a passage marked with a yellow highlighter.

Xu Wen looked up abruptly, a flash of shock in his eyes, before regaining his composure: "I see."

He carefully put the documents away and locked them in the bottom drawer of his desk.

He sat back down in his office chair and seriously considered the current situation.

Li Qingyun not only used his administrative power to exert pressure, but also secretly bribed merchants through his relatives, using a two-pronged approach to crack down on Shancheng.

This has gone beyond the scope of normal business competition and is clearly tinged with personal grudges.

But why now?

What exactly did Gu Hong do to make Li Qingyun go to such lengths?

“Squad leader, this already involves commercial bribery and abuse of power. We can…” Lan Qiusheng’s words were interrupted by Xu Wen raising his hand.

"No, now is not the time. This evidence is important, but it should be used at a critical moment."

Lan Qiusheng looked at him, puzzled: "Why? If it's exposed now, Li Qingyun will..."

"Will she be ruined? It's not that simple. She dared to do this, so she must have a backup plan. Besides, Ruoruo hasn't come back yet."

Xu Wen shook his head, his voice tinged with bitterness.

(End of this chapter)