"It's nothing! All right, it's over." Lin Ruoxue waved her hand in feigned impatience, "You better leave now."
Yet, the slight panic in her eyes was still caught by Su Chen, who became even more curious.
Just as Su Chen was about to ask further, the office door was suddenly flung open.
"President Lin, something terrible has happened..."
As Xia Qiuru pushed the door and entered, she froze upon seeing Su Chen there, wondering, How is he here?
"Director Xia, what happened?"
The moment Lin Ruoxue saw the panic on Xia Qiuru's face, she knew something serious had occurred.
"Oh, President Lin, the marketing department just called to say that our representatives who went to negotiate with Bald Hui were beaten up."
Upon hearing Lin Ruoxue's question, Xia Qiuru quickly recovered from her surprise and responded.
"What?" Lin Ruoxue gasped in shock, "How is the injured person? Has he been taken to the hospital?"
"He's already been taken there, it seems his leg was broken, and it might take about six months to heal."
"Damn! These people are outright thugs!" Lin Ruoxue slammed the desk and cursed angrily.
"President Lin, these people are indeed ruffians! The question is, what do we do now?"
Xia Qiuru sighed deeply — this matter was really troublesome.
"Let's do this, Director Xia, you go in my place to handle this. I can offer a higher price, but only up to 15% more than our planned budget. If they don't agree, call the police." Lin Ruoxue gave it some thought and continued, "Then, visit the hospital and see the injured employee. Tell him that the company will cover all his medical expenses and continue to pay his salary while he recovers."
The reason Lin Ruoxue did not immediately call the police was that she knew Bald Hui and his men were inherently bullies. Sending him to jail now would not be the end — he'd be back in a few months, looking for trouble again.
By that time, for a large corporation like Belle, Bald Hui might not pose much of a threat.
But the type of retaliation the injured employee could face was another matter.
Not even the police could do much about these kind of people, and for them, spending a few months in jail was nothing unusual.
"Aren't you going over?" Xia Qiuru asked, somewhat curiously.
"I have a meeting set with Mr. Zhang from the Northeast soon, so I can't go myself. I'm afraid I have to leave it to you."
"Okay, I understand. I'll go now."
Xia Qiuru, always efficient in handling tasks, turned around and prepared to leave.
"You're married?" Xia Qiuru asked in surprise, "And your wife seems quite wealthy."
"What, are you feeling down because I'm married?" Su Chen glanced at Xia Qiuru's delicate face. "If you don't mind, I can make you my mistress."
"In your dreams!" Xia Qiuru spat lightly, "I'm not blind like your wife, to fall for a scoundrel like you!"
Xia Qiuru immediately recalled how Su Chen had flirted with her before. This scoundrel was still mischievous even after getting married, which really spoke volumes about his character!
No matter how much Su Chen teased her after that, Xia Qiuru ignored him completely, her face as cold as ice...
Su Chen was frustrated. Everything was fine just moments ago, so why had she suddenly changed?
Truly, the heart of a woman is as elusive as a needle at the bottom of the ocean!
"Could she actually have fallen for me and now be jealous that I'm married?"
Su Chen couldn't help but think narcissistically...
...
In the office of Zhang Mingyu, head of security at Belle Corporation, Cao Kun ingratiatingly reported:
"Director, weren't you always keeping a tab on Xia Qiuru? Just now, she left with that guy Su Chen, and he was driving."
"Hmm? It seems like none of the company cars were used today," Zhang Mingyu asked with a slight frown.
"It's not a company car. It's a BMW 5 Series," Cao Kun suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Director, should we tell Vice President Ma about this? He's always been interested in Xia Qiuru."
"Let me think about this for a moment; you can go now."
After Cao Kun left, Zhang Mingyu stood in front of the window deep in thought. What was the deal with this new guy who seemed to have connections with the president and Xia Qiuru!
.....
"It's that arcade up ahead—Bald Hui is the boss here, and he usually hangs out here with his cronies,"
As they neared their destination, Xia Qiuru finally spoke up.
"I thought you would never speak to me again,"
Su Chen gave a small smile and stopped the car in front of the arcade.
"You better watch your mouth later on; those guys aren't reasonable, and I wouldn't want you to get hurt and blame me for not warning you,"
Xia Qiuru held back Su Chen, who was heading straight inside, and said.