But Zhao Wanrong couldn't discern any answers from Ye Zi'an's eyes; it was as if they held a magical power that nearly drew her in.
Flustered, Zhao Wanrong turned her head away, her heart racing.
Ye Zi'an was her nephew, whom she had watched grow up—how could she have such strange thoughts?
After a moment of contemplation, it seemed she realized something and quickly spoke up, "Is this because of the Liu family? I warned you that the Liu family isn't good news, but you insisted on falling for that Liu Sisi."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhao Wanrong regretted them.
Their relationship had only just begun to improve today; did she really want to ruin it again with her words?
Liu Sisi held a significant position in Ye Zi'an's heart, and he wouldn't allow anyone to slander her.
However, Ye Zi'an didn't seem angry, which relieved Zhao Wanrong.
He silently berated the original Ye Zi'an in his mind: "Why pursue someone like Liu Sisi when you have such a stunning gem right in front of you?"
Although the images in his mind were based on the original owner's memories, Zhao Wanrong's genuine concern still impacted Ye Zi'an's heart.
Despite being a fictional character, her care for him was sincere.
Over the years, the original owner had been enchanted by Liu Sisi, gradually distancing himself from Zhao Wanrong.
Ye Zi'an gently said, "Sister Wanrong, this has nothing to do with the Liu family. I just want to prove myself."
"Don't you trust me? If you're unwilling, I'll sell to someone else."
Ye Zi'an took a step back to move forward.
Zhao Wanrong rolled her eyes at him, realizing that she had no way to rebut his statement.
Ye Zi'an hadn't actually done anything to harm the company, primarily because he had never really worked there.
The piece of land in the suburbs was a minor matter, valued at two to three billion, but with the new airport plans, it couldn't support high-rise buildings. Now that it was in the hands of the Ye Corporation, it was worth at most one billion.
However, the shares valued at 50 billion, even at a 30% discount, were still a significant sum.
Seeing Ye Zi'an's determination, Zhao Wanrong didn't want to see the Ye Corporation fall into someone else's hands.
With her brow furrowed, she seemed to be contemplating something.
Ye Zi'an didn't disturb her, allowing her to think in peace.
After all, those shares were worth 35 billion even at a discount, which was no small amount.
More importantly, if Zhao Wanrong didn't agree, others wouldn't give Ye Zi'an a chance to sell again.
Gradually, Zhao Wanrong's furrowed brow relaxed, as if she had come to a decision. She said, "I'll agree to you. 35 billion it is, but I'll need five days to gather the funds. After all, this is a large sum, and I need to arrange it."
"If you want to do something, go ahead. Sister Wanrong supports you. And don't worry about the 15 billion difference; you can keep it with me for now. Whenever you need it, I'll return it to you. This money will ensure you live comfortably for the rest of your life."
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Zhao Wanrong thought that even if Ye Zi'an lost everything, she could still support him while letting him see the true colors of the Liu family.
She didn't believe that Liu Sisi would be interested in a penniless Ye Zi'an.
As Ye Zi'an had hoped, due to Zhao Wanrong's trust in him, they only drafted a transfer contract without going through the formalities.
Hearing Zhao Wanrong's words, Ye Zi'an felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.
A feeling called familial affection emerged in Ye Zi'an's heart, something he had never truly possessed before.
Ye Zi'an silently vowed, "Don't worry, Sister Wanrong. After the apocalypse arrives, I'll take good care of you."
With the transfer contract for the shares finalized smoothly, Ye Zi'an left Zhao Wanrong's office. Before he could reach the door, his phone buzzed.
Zhao Wanrong had already transferred the first 1.5 billion to Ye Zi'an's account.
It seemed that the fortress construction could begin.
Ye Zi'an walked into his chairman's office.
Though he didn't frequently visit, there was always a secretary on duty, so the office was kept tidy.
He overheard two female employees chatting.
"Do you think the chairman wants to replace us? Why else would he be making such a big deal about hiring new staff?"
The other girl, her voice sounding somewhat timid, replied, "I think he just wants to achieve something big. He probably doesn't intend to replace us."
"Well, you never know. We should think of ways to keep our jobs. After all, the monthly salary is 50,000, and the work is easy. If you're too scared, I'll handle it myself. Just don't regret it later."
Before the timid girl could respond, Ye Zi'an pushed the door open and walked into the chairman's office. The two were sitting at the secretary's desk, chatting merrily—it was Li Menglan and Hu Xuefei.
Seeing Ye Zi'an enter, both girls became flustered.
They were both Ye Zi'an's junior classmates, high-achieving students from the Business Administration department at Xia City University, and had been assigned to assist him with various administrative tasks right after graduation.
Li Menglan and Hu Xuefei clearly hadn't expected Ye Zi'an to come to the company today, and they hurriedly stood up, saying, "Good morning, Chairman."
Remembering their earlier conversation, their faces flushed with embarrassment, wondering if Ye Zi'an had overheard them.
Today, they were dressed casually, not in formal attire, but in leisurewear.
Since they typically only handled simple tasks assigned by Zhao Wanrong, they had grown lax in their attitudes.
Ye Zi'an scanned the two of them.
Li Menglan was from the south, wearing a seasonal tank top; in the warm climate of Xia City, even in December, it seemed appropriate. Her delicate features were unadorned with makeup, and although she was petite, she had all the right curves.
On the other hand, Hu Xuefei was tall, standing at about 1.7 meters, dressed in a long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans, her figure memorable with curves in all the right places.
It was hard to believe that the original owner had been paying them 50,000 a month just to be secretaries handling trivial tasks, maintaining a pure relationship among the three of them.
However, this arrangement benefited Ye Zi'an.
Hearing their earlier conversation, if the situation were different, Ye Zi'an truly wanted to take advantage of the moment.
The chairman's office had a glass wall, allowing employees passing by to see everything inside clearly.
This was a design choice from Ye Zi'an's father, supposedly to show that the chairman was working alongside the employees.
It was a classic case of manipulation.
"Just right, you two come over and help me design a set of blueprints."
In parallel world 2050, Da Xia had developed a fast-drying cement that could significantly speed up construction.
With Ye Zi'an's connections and high overtime pay, workers could work around the clock in the suburbs.
Ye Zi'an's fortress design was straightforward: plan for a wall measuring one kilometer by one kilometer in the suburbs, with a foundation dug ten meters deep.
Fortunately, as it was just a wall, hundreds of construction teams could work simultaneously.
The two girls were puzzled but proceeded to follow Ye Zi'an's instructions, creating a blueprint for the fortress.
The walls would be 20 meters high and 10 meters thick, constructed entirely of reinforced concrete.
There would be a steel gate on both the north and south sides, each five meters high, four meters wide, and three meters thick, controlled by a large generator at the gate, with a backup generator as well.
In addition, Ye Zi'an wanted to hire some workers to lay the groundwork for the water and electricity lines inside the fortress, and to build a row of residential houses along the inner side of the walls.
He planned to place large generators in the open area to ensure a stable power supply for the fortress after the apocalypse.
He reserved a space in the center for the Tower of Babel.
As the two girls understood Ye Zi'an's requirements, they found them strange but nevertheless complied.
A design blueprint resembling an ancient city appeared before Ye Zi'an.
In addition to the space he had requested, there were plans for several villas, warehouses, and office buildings, as well as a cafeteria capable of accommodating 2,000 people on a single floor.
Ye Zi'an nodded in satisfaction. Taking advantage of Hu Xuefei's moment of distraction, he boldly lifted her chin and claimed her first kiss, speaking firmly, "I heard everything you two said earlier. You can be bolder; I might just agree."
"And I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose this job, right?"
After saying this, Ye Zi'an laughed heartily and left the chairman's office, leaving the two girls blushing.
With just six days left until the apocalypse, Ye Zi'an had no time to waste during the day; he needed to plan for the fortress's construction.
This world was different from his previous one, with advanced civilian construction technology.
Ye Zi'an offered double the salary and promised same-day payment for all construction materials, quickly mobilizing thousands of workers from Xia City.
While this would halt many ongoing projects in Xia City and attract considerable attention, the urgency of the situation meant Ye Zi'an couldn't worry about that.
The construction teams were drawn in by Ye Zi'an's generous offers, some chasing the double daily wage, while others came to leverage the Ye Corporation's reputation.
After all, the Ye Corporation was one of the untouchable forces in Xia City, and given the tight timeframe of just four or five days, the impact on their current projects was negligible.
The massive mobilization of labor surprised many higher-ups, but Ye Zi'an managed to smooth things over with financial incentives and various excuses.
Since these constructions were in the suburbs, they would genuinely boost the local economy, so most people turned a blind eye; they could always demolish any violations afterward.
Building and demolishing would only contribute to the GDP, right?
Ye Zi'an believed that by tonight, all construction teams in Xia City would gather at his site, energetically working to build the fortress.
However, with only six days remaining, constructing tall buildings was clearly unfeasible; there would be enough time to build the outer walls and some temporary housing for the talents he had recruited.
Nevertheless, the quality and pace of construction had to be guaranteed. Ye Zi'an would need to assign people to supervise the work daily.