Chapter Thirty-Three: Who's Playing Whom

When Chen Tianhai received the call from Jiang Xiwen, saying he would come to test the system in person, his excitement was barely contained, as if Jiang Xiwen were his own brother. Jiang Xiwen didn’t mention Fan Qiang at all during the call, which made Chen even happier. It was highly likely Jiang Xiwen had already shaken off Fan Qiang and was planning to do this business with him alone. That kid was truly smart—when the time came, he could raise the price above the forty thousand Fan Qiang had quoted, and Jiang Xiwen wouldn’t suspect a thing. Either way, he’d be earning more than if he split it evenly with Fan Qiang.

Three o’clock in the afternoon, outside the department store.

Chen Tianhai had prepared everything for the meeting, but when he saw Fan Qiang and Jiang Xiwen stepping out of the taxi together, chatting and laughing, his smile froze instantly. It was only when they approached that he managed to compose himself, greeting each of them with a beaming handshake.

Jiang Xiwen already had his own plans. He had no intention of falling out with Fan Qiang before the computer room management system was introduced to Tian Weidong. Fan Qiang’s intentions had become increasingly obvious during their earlier discussion about the cash register system business.

Clearly, Fan Qiang wanted to take advantage of Jiang Xiwen’s technical skills while Jiang needed him, grabbing as many deals as possible. After the computer room system was finalized, he wasn’t confident Jiang Xiwen would continue working with him.

Of course, there was another reason for his delays: he hoped to replace Qi Huanchang as Jiang Xiwen’s business representative. In his eyes, Jiang Xiwen was just a naive kid taken in by Qi Huanchang. Since he was getting tricked anyway, it might as well be by him. After all, at just fifteen, making tens of thousands would be a worthy testament to his genius.

Chen Tianhai felt he’d been played. Suppressing his displeasure, he said ingratiatingly, “Xiwen, when I got your call today, I could hardly believe it. I didn’t expect you to finish so quickly.”

Fan Qiang chimed in, “Of course, Old Chen. I told you, Xiwen’s skills are second to none—he’s better than the senior programmers at those big companies.”

Jiang Xiwen responded to their flattery with a polite smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. With Fan Qiang, he needed to get him to actively and willingly contact Tian Weidong during the cash register system testing period.

With Chen Tianhai, he needed to make himself indispensable; if Chen didn’t buy the system, he could still rely on Fan Qiang. Even if there wasn't the shared interest of the computer room system with Fan Qiang, Jiang Xiwen wouldn’t cast him aside. This was his leverage in negotiations with Chen Tianhai.

Once Fan Qiang was out of the picture, Chen Tianhai would be free to bargain ruthlessly. At fifteen, Jiang Xiwen had no connections. Without the department store’s business, he would struggle to get other similar deals. The real world wasn’t like a novel—no one believed a kid could make great software, especially specialized programs that required thorough communication with business departments to perfect. There was no such thing as having a finished product ready to demonstrate from the start.

Two hours later, the trial version was installed. After testing, it integrated perfectly with the building’s network hardware. Department managers who tried it found it extremely convenient.

After the successful test, Chen Tianhai hosted dinner for Jiang Xiwen and Fan Qiang. As agreed, they could use the system on a trial basis first, and sign the contract after the trial.

After dinner, Jiang Xiwen declined their offer to see him off and immediately called Fan Qiang once he got home. Next, he needed to nudge Fan Qiang to call Tian Weidong in a timely manner. Of course, this wasn’t terribly urgent; Chen Tianhai would likely try to delay the test period, wanting to find a way to get rid of Fan Qiang, who was taking a share, before making payment.

As long as the interests were great enough, both of those men would pursue them at any cost.

“Hello, this is Fan Qiang. Who’s calling?”

“Principal Fan, it’s Xiwen...”

“Ah…” Fan Qiang was clearly both surprised and delighted. He’d wanted to meet with Jiang Xiwen alone for some time but hadn’t been able to reach him. Now, unexpectedly, Jiang was calling him: “Just call me Brother Fan. ‘Principal’ sounds too formal. Don’t you call Qi Huanchang ‘Fatty’ anyway?”

“Alright, Brother Fan.” Jiang Xiwen didn’t stand on ceremony and started to complain, “Brother Fan, I’ve been thinking. It doesn’t seem right for all the money from the system we made for Tianxing School to stay with Fatty Qi. He’s been pestering me about this and that lately. When I told him about the cash register system for the department store, he even blamed me for not telling him sooner so he could negotiate it himself…”

Here, Jiang Xiwen deliberately paused and sighed.

As expected, Fan Qiang took the bait: “Is that so? He’s my classmate, so I can’t say much, but he’s definitely greedy—he even charges hundreds to help people fix computers. If you’re worried, maybe you should tell your parents. If Chairman Tian agrees, it might be worth a million. I’m sure you know how much Qingruan quoted—nearly two million. If we take it on privately, it’ll be much cheaper, but for you and me, that’s still a huge sum.”

Us? You and me? This scoundrel really doesn’t see himself as an outsider. Putting on a show—he just wants me to leave the money with him for safekeeping. Jiang Xiwen thought to himself, but hurriedly protested aloud, “No, no, if my parents found out, they’d be furious to see so much money coming in all at once. They’ve always wanted me to focus on my studies and get into college. If they saw me doing business instead, they’d be really angry.”

Still a child, thinking he’d suddenly gotten clever these past few days. On the other end, Fan Qiang smiled to himself. Isn’t going to college just for a decent living? Earning over a million at this age, and all legally—what parents wouldn’t be overjoyed? They’d be grinning from ear to ear.

“I see, well let me think about it…” Fan Qiang feigned consideration.

“Brother Fan, never mind, I’ll find another way. Fatty Qi might not actually keep my money for himself. Alright, I have to go, my dad’s home.” Jiang Xiwen faked urgency and hung up quickly.

Fan Qiang, hearing the call end, was overjoyed. He’d been mulling over his devious plan these past few days, scheming to drive a wedge between Jiang Xiwen and Qi Huanchang and expose Qi’s greed. Unexpectedly, Fatty Qi had shown his true colors first. Now, he just needed to fan the flames a little, and the relationship between Jiang Xiwen and Qi Huanchang would fall apart.

While Fan Qiang was so pleased he could barely contain himself, Jiang Xiwen called Qi Huanchang, instructing him to keep pressuring Fan Qiang for updates and to act as if he desperately needed the money. Qi Huanchang didn’t know the full story, nor did he care. Other than games, novels, and computer viruses, he had little interest in using his brain for anything else. All he needed to know was that this would both “repay” Fan Qiang’s scheming and help Jiang Xiwen sell the computer room management system faster—that was enough for him.