"Mr. Su, thank you so much." Ma Xiumei pressed her palms together and bowed to Su Rui in gratitude.
"I just happened to know a few things." Su Rui smiled. "You're a Senior I greatly admire. I couldn't just stand by and watch a tragedy happen."
Ma Xiumei smiled.
She had no idea how Su Rui had learned those secrets, but she only needed to know one thing: Su Rui's candid warning had truly helped her.
Without Su Rui, she would have followed the plan and chosen to marry Gao Le a month later. Gao Le would have continued using slow-acting drugs to gradually ruin her health, eventually murdering her for her money.
Now, although the scandal had been exposed in front of Li Ruobing and Su Rui, it was still far better than that horrifying outcome.
"Oh, right. You should go to the hospital for a checkup as soon as possible," Su Rui reminded her. "Drug addiction can be treated and overcome in its early stages."
Ma Xiumei nodded.
"You've truly done me a tremendous favor." Ma Xiumei beamed, her attitude exceptionally warm. "If you ever need anything from me, just say the word."
Li Ruobing raised an eyebrow.
The moment Ma Xiumei said that, she seemed to understand why Su Rui had done this.
It was no exaggeration to say that Su Rui had saved Ma Xiumei's life.
And Ma Xiumei was someone who valued loyalty and knew how to repay kindness.
With this connection, if Su Rui needed Ma Xiumei's help in the future, could she possibly turn a blind eye?
In less than thirty minutes, Su Rui had gained himself the support of another wealthy person with a net worth of one billion.
His abilities were truly terrifying!
"I didn't help you so you could repay me." Su Rui waved his hand, smiling sincerely. "President Ma, we both do business in Tongzhou City. Can't we be friends?"
Ma Xiumei froze for a moment, then her smile became even brighter. She took the initiative to extend her hand. "Mr. Su is right. From now on, we're friends."
It was merely a simple change of wording, but the meaning was quite different.
With the former, if Su Rui ever truly needed Ma Xiumei, it would feel as though he were demanding repayment for his favor. With the latter, it placed them on equal footing. Even if Ma Xiumei helped him, it would simply be friends helping each other.
Though the result was the same, the latter clearly made people feel more comfortable.
Without even realizing it, he had made the other party feel respected.
That was an essential skill in socializing.
"Little Wang, package up the formalwear Miss Li and Mr. Su chose." Ma Xiumei gave the instruction, then turned to Li Ruobing. "Consider it a gift from me to you both."
"There's no need..." Li Ruobing had just wanted to refuse when Su Rui stopped her.
"Thank you, President Ma." Su Rui smiled. "When we have time, let's have tea together."
"Certainly! Certainly!" Ma Xiumei nodded repeatedly.
Twenty minutes later, the doors of the formalwear shop were pushed open once more.
Li Ruobing and Su Rui were ready to leave. Ma Xiumei stood on the steps outside with a broad smile, watching them until they disappeared into the distance.
Neither of them spoke along the way.
Only soft music played.
Li Ruobing suppressed the curiosity in her heart. She had seen Su Rui's capabilities before, so she was unsure whether he had come specifically to win over Ma Xiumei this time, or whether it had merely been a coincidence.
She had chosen the formalwear shop. If it were the former, that was practically impossible.
"Did you plan from the beginning to expose Gao Le and win over Ma Xiumei?" Li Ruobing gripped the steering wheel and finally asked.
Su Rui silently shook his head.
"I divide useful people and connections worth cultivating into three levels." Su Rui held out his palm, speaking calmly. "And Ma Xiumei belongs to the lowest of those three levels. Actually, I hadn't planned to establish any connection with her today."
According to Su Rui's classification, the three levels of connections had the following requirements...
The first level: connections that must be cultivated.
Such people needed irreplaceable qualities. They stood at the pinnacle within Tongzhou City, possessing influence, wealth, and high status, capable of playing a decisive role in a particular matter.
Like Wan Hao—descended from a prominent Kyoto family, with money when he needed money, people when he needed people, and a background that reached the heavens!
The second level: connections that should be cultivated with every effort.
This category was more broadly distributed. Their personal status might not be high, but they could be used to meet people of a higher level, or they might simply be extremely powerful in a particular field.
For example, certain underworld bosses, or wealthy businessmen with extensive social circles.
The third level: connections that could be made or ignored.
This was a rather special group. They could only be useful at specific times and in specific events; ordinarily, they were of no help to Su Rui at all.
Like Ma Xiumei.
As a businessman, she was indeed successful.
But because of flaws in her personality and conduct, her social circle was very small.
The only help she could offer Su Rui was money. Yet once a person's status reached a certain height, the usefulness of money was often extremely limited.
"In fact, if there had been no need for Ma Xiumei in the future, I never would have considered exposing Gao Le. I would have just let things take their course." Su Rui spoke calmly.
"Even if Ma Xiumei would be schemed to death by Gao Le?" Li Ruobing frowned.
"That's right!" Su Rui nodded, his gaze exceptionally cold. "As long as she had no connection with us, I had no obligation to save her. And if Gao Le could carry out his plan successfully, if Ma Xiumei ultimately died and he successfully inherited her estate, I wouldn't expose him, because that would be his ability."
"To me, there are only two kinds of people in this world: those who are useful to me, and those who are not."
"I don't care whether someone useless to me lives or dies."
Li Ruobing fell silent for a moment. Su Rui's words were blunt and naked, but they were realistic.
Whether it was deceitful or sinister, as long as one could achieve one's goal, it indeed counted as a kind of ability.
In other words, if Su Rui had not appeared today and Ma Xiumei had ultimately died, that could only mean she had been too foolish.
"Then..." Li Ruobing licked her lips, turned toward Su Rui, and asked, "Am I useful to you, or useless?"
"You're excluded from that, because everything I do is for myself... and for you." The corners of Su Rui's mouth rose again.
Li Ruobing gave a cold snort.
"Then why did you change your mind today and expose Gao Le?" Li Ruobing asked. "Didn't you say Ma Xiumei wasn't very useful to you?"
She wanted to hear Su Rui's answer.
"Because Gao Le made me very unhappy." Su Rui spread his hands. "So compared to that, all calculations can step aside."
"In this life, I only live for myself. Whoever makes me unhappy, I deal with."
"Isn't that reason perfect enough?"
Li Ruobing's delicate brows arched, and she was somewhat surprised. In her understanding, Su Rui had always been an extremely rational person.
"What if I make you unhappy?" Li Ruobing's red lips parted slightly. "What would you do?"
Su Rui smiled at that.
"You wouldn't."
"Because you're smart enough."
Before you continue