Chapter 267 Lowering Your Head Isn't Shameful
The two groups met at the elevator.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Sun," Lai Changxing said after hesitating for a second, finally deciding he had no choice but to greet her.
Since they both moved in the Hong Kong foreign trade circle, it was impossible for him not to know who Sun Xihui was. He also knew that before arriving in Hong Kong, she had been a senior executive at Yuanxin, having earned her first fortune through representing Yuanxin's EDA sales across Asia. Now, Xinghai HK had fully entered domestic import and export markets and was vaguely becoming the leader among mainland trade companies. Even if Lai Changxing hated running into her here, he had no choice but to show courtesy.
"Pleasure to meet you, President Lai," Sun Xihui said with a sweet smile, reaching out to shake his hand.
Just last night, Su Yuanshan had said he wanted to crush the Lai family, and now today this man came knocking himself... It made Sun Xihui feel the situation was almost comical. Still, no matter how ruthless you intended to be, surface-level politeness had to be maintained.
"Are you back in the SEZ to discuss business with Yuanxin?" Lai Changxing asked casually after greeting her. Waiting silently at the elevator entrance would be awkward, so he glanced discreetly at Yang Yingying, guessing at Zhou Xiaohui's identity too. But since neither side seemed inclined to introduce their companions, he simply kept the conversation flowing.
"Yes, and also visiting some old friends," Sun Xihui said lightly.
"Haha, there were rumors that Miss Sun used to be a senior executive at Yuanxin. Looks like they were true," Lai said with a friendly laugh.
"Not really," Sun Xihui said modestly, "I just handled logistics, nothing important."
At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Lai Changxing politely gestured for them to enter first. "Ladies first."
Sun Xihui didn't refuse and stepped in gracefully.
After exiting the elevator, Zhou Xiaohui went ahead to check in at the front desk, and Sun Xihui, playing the role of hostess, began to lead Lai Changxing and his companions toward the Vice President's office as if she were guiding honored guests.
Inside the office, Su Yuanshan and the others had just finished their discussion and were now genuinely enjoying some Kung Fu tea.
Su Yuanshan had already briefed the group casually about Huayuan Electronics and Lai Changxing, sparking everyone's curiosity. What kind of person could attract Su Yuanshan's attention? Did Huayuan Electronics have the technical strength and assets to rival Yuanxin?
Their idle chatter ended when the office door was gently knocked, and moments later, Duan Yongping's secretary led the visitors inside.
"Sun Jie, sister-in-law," Su Yuanshan said warmly, standing up first.
The others followed his lead, first greeting Sun Xihui and then shooting curious glances at the middle-aged man trailing behind her.
"Hehe, everyone's here," Sun Xihui said, coughing lightly and smiling sweetly. "President Lai, since you're our guest from afar, let me introduce you."
"This is Wang Chaoxin, President of Zhongxin Technologies."
Lai Changxing stiffened slightly but immediately plastered a broad smile on his face, striding forward to shake hands. "President Wang, pleasure to meet you."
Wang Chaoxin shook hands briefly and only nodded, his manner a touch aloof.
"This is Chen Daohua, President of Meijie Electronics."
"President Chen, a pleasure," Lai said, his forehead starting to bead with sweat.
If Zhongxin's pagers and phones were nationally famous, then Meijie's motherboards were world-renowned. As someone trading electronic products, Lai certainly knew that Meijie was the undisputed leader in the computer motherboard market, the first company to produce both motherboards and graphics cards.
"Pleasure," Chen Daohua responded with a polite but somewhat cooler smile compared to Wang Chaoxin's aloofness.
Lai glanced at the other three people, his gaze lingering especially on the young man who had remained seated after they entered — clearly Su Yuanshan, the young master of Yuanxin, son of an academician and dean.
The other two must be heads of Yuanxin's VCD and mobile phone divisions.
"Have a seat, President Lai," Su Yuanshan said, shaking Lai's hand briefly and gesturing toward the opposite sofa.
"No need, no need," Lai said quickly. He understood perfectly that Su Yuanshan was the man in charge here, and seeing the setup — high-level executives clearly in the middle of an important corporate meeting — only made him more nervous. "I came today mainly to apologize on behalf of my nephew for his improper behavior yesterday."
Su Yuanshan's gaze swept past Lai Changxing to the two men still standing at the doorway — Lai Wenfeng and another middle-aged man, who must be Lai Wenfeng's father, Lai Changxing's elder brother.
Since entering the room, neither of them had dared move. Lai Wenfeng in particular had lost all his swagger from yesterday, now looking like a nervous high schooler dragged to the principal's office.
Following Su Yuanshan's gaze, Lai Changxing's face darkened. "Wenfeng, come here!"
Lai Wenfeng looked up at his father, who merely opened his mouth but said nothing, his face dark with anger.
Around them, everyone else watched with faint smiles — as if enjoying a play.
Lai Wenfeng's breathing quickened. Every step felt as heavy as lifting a thousand pounds.
"No need," Su Yuanshan said, waving his hand to send the boy back. His eyes narrowed slightly as he locked onto Lai Changxing with a tight, unreadable expression.
The stare made Lai Changxing's scalp tingle.
Last night, after hearing that his nephew had been called an "illiterate" by the young master of Yuanxin — and threatened — he had exploded with rage. But as he calmed down and investigated just how powerful Yuanxin really was, he broke into a cold sweat.
Everyone knew Yuanxin, but very few truly understood its depth.
The more information he gathered, the more terrified he became. Especially when an official from the Science and Technology Committee explained just what being an academician meant.
And Su Xinghe wasn't just an academician. He was a dean, an honorary advisor to the national semiconductor association, a member of the national think tank — someone with direct access to the highest levels of government.
And his son, Su Yuanshan, was no slouch either — already famous across the tech world, a peer to figures like Bill Gates.
After grilling his nephew for every detail, Lai Changxing realized the car crash and the boy's attitude had just been the spark. The real issue was that some of his imported products had possibly infringed on Yuanxin's turf — even though, in Lai's opinion, the goods he moved these past months weren't significant enough to anger a company like Yuanxin.
Still, better safe than sorry.
Against a giant like Yuanxin, lowering his head wasn't shameful. Better to retreat quietly from industries Yuanxin cared about.
"President Lai, have you got everything sorted with Ludao Customs?" Su Yuanshan asked after a long pause, his voice calm.
"Uh..." Lai was startled, but his reaction was swift. "President Su, what are you saying?"
"I'm speaking Mandarin," Su Yuanshan said, his brow furrowing. "If you were importing restricted special materials, special equipment, special components... I'd respect you as a man."
"But if all you're after is moving consumer goods..." Su Yuanshan's voice slowed deliberately, "...then that's really not respectable."
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