Chapter 1046: Clever People Are Often Caught by Their Own Cunning

"James, my old friend, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Indeed, Mr. Ono, I didn't expect you to be interested in a new investment company either."

When two old foxes chatted, their words were naturally watertight. Whether it was Masao Ono or James, neither mentioned why they were there amidst the pleasantries.

"Zhao is an investment genius. I admire him greatly." James did not stint on praise for Zhao Fusheng.

"No, no, no. He is not only a genius in investment but also a good entrepreneur." Masao Ono, as if having taken the wrong medicine, actually echoed James's words.

"Gentlemen, please stop. If you keep this up, I'll have to find a crack in the ground to hide in." Zhao Fusheng quickly interjected.

It wasn't that he felt unworthy of their praise, but rather he feared that if the two got too carried away, they might say something inappropriate, which would be troublesome.

After all, both of them were currently in a state of confusion, completely unaware of the reasons and motives behind the other's presence.

In fact, he was overthinking.

James and Masao Ono were old rivals; the number of times they had clashed was beyond Zhao Fusheng's imagination.

Sometimes, habitual thinking is a terrible habit.

People tend to unconsciously bring their fixed impressions and perceptions of someone into their lives. The result of this is that when judging matters related to that person, they develop misunderstandings.

Take James and Masao Ono now. Individually, each was a darling of the investment industry—truly clever people. Yet it was precisely such clever people who were fooled by Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi's not-so-brilliant tactics.

"I have other matters to attend to. I'll take my leave first." James finally spoke first.

Masao Ono smiled meaningfully but said nothing, watching as Dong Chenxi escorted James out the door.

Meanwhile, Zhao Fusheng looked at Ono: "Mr. Ono, please come upstairs."

Ono nodded and followed Zhao Fusheng upstairs.

What he didn't know was that James, having left Future Investment, wore a very serious expression.

"Miss Dong, I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation. Why are the people from SoftBank here?" James looked at Dong Chenxi seriously.

Dong Chenxi smiled slightly: "Mr. James, I think you might be mistaken. Future Investment has many projects under its umbrella. Mr. Ono is interested in some of our other projects, which is why he is here."

James frowned and gave Dong Chenxi a deep look, clearly not believing a word.

As a veteran who had spent years in the investment field, James felt that Masao Ono's presence here was surely a setup by Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi, aimed at making him aware that more than one company was eyeing their shares in Shengda Technology.

Admittedly, this strategy was quite successful; now James was truly wavering.

After all, SoftBank already held a portion of Shengda Technology's shares. If Zhao Fusheng's shares also fell into Masao Ono's hands, then Shengda Technology, that juicy piece of meat, would become SoftBank's prize.

Watching a project one had high hopes for become another's meal was not a pleasant feeling for anyone in investment.

Watching James and his party drive away, Dong Chenxi shrugged and broke into a smile.

She had told the truth, yet no one believed her.

...

...

"Do you think I'll believe what you just said?"

Sitting in Future Investment's meeting room, Masao Ono looked at Zhao Fusheng suspiciously: "You say James came to discuss other projects?"

"Yes. Mr. James and I hit it off immediately, sharing many views on the internet industry." Zhao Fusheng spoke half-truthfully.

Masao Ono narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at Zhao Fusheng, inwardly becoming more wary of this young man.

In his view, James's appearance was no coincidence.

Sequoia Capital had long sought to expand into the Asian market, but had been squeezed out of Japan by SoftBank. Now they had set their sights on the Chinese market.

The two had clashed before, especially in Shengda Technology's financing, where SoftBank had taken the lead and successfully invested.

Now, clearly, James was eyeing the projects in Zhao Fusheng's hands.

In fact, Masao Ono speculated that James must have learned something, which was why he had shown up at Future Investment.

Could it be that the guy was trying to cut in?

This thought flashed through his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Given James's understanding of him and his own knowledge of James, that man was indeed capable of such a move.

With that thought, Masao Ono's expression grew even darker.

Seeing Ono's expression, Zhao Fusheng chuckled inwardly.

To deal with such clever people, his own life experience and knowledge were certainly insufficient. Only by taking a different approach could he lure them into the trap.

As now, Ono and James had only met briefly, without exchanging a word, yet they would automatically fill in the reasons and motives for each other's presence.

Even if Zhao Fusheng and Dong Chenxi told the truth, they still wouldn't believe it.

It wasn't that they suffered from persecution mania; rather, these people were accustomed to using their own dark thoughts to speculate about others' intentions, naturally conjuring up many sinister ideas.

"Mr. Zhao, I came with sincerity, but it seems your sincerity is somewhat lacking." Masao Ono withdrew his smile, looking at Zhao Fusheng with a serious and earnest expression: "Don't you know what kind of company SoftBank is?"

At that moment, his aura suddenly intensified.

Zhao Fusheng, facing Masao Ono, could clearly feel that Ono was not joking.

Slowly straightening up, Zhao Fusheng met Ono's eyes and said calmly: "Mr. Ono, I think you've mistaken one thing. I am not your employee, nor do I need to answer to Mr. Son of SoftBank. Don't you think your attitude is somewhat inappropriate?"

Masao Ono frowned, about to speak, but Zhao Fusheng continued in a deep voice: "SoftBank has always been a company I respect greatly. As a senior in the investment world, I would like to ask Mr. Ono: when was it stipulated that if SoftBank cooperates with a company, that company is forbidden from contacting other investment firms? If that's the case, I must ask: who made this rule? On Chinese soil, does SoftBank intend to repeat what the invaders did back then?"

That was a heavy accusation!

Regarding that historical incident, China and Japan had been bickering endlessly. If Zhao Fusheng's words were taken seriously, SoftBank would immediately become a pariah in China.

Masao Ono felt dizzy. He had only wanted to intimidate the young man, so how had it come to this?