The Younger Gu and Her Dog
The phone call was from Liu Ying’s secretary and she said two things. Lin Bo-Wen had used her name to gather some shareholders and they had announced that someone would be buying over Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company. The second thing was that there had been a problem at the patent office. The office had rejected her application due to an incomplete materials report and she had to re-do her materials report and submit her application again.
One call, two problems. Those two problems were like two mountains crushing Liu Ying.
“Why… Why…” Liu Ying repeated these words over and over as she drove to Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company, her tears flowing unceasingly.
Her husband died and the result of the hard work he had exchanged his life for was about to be taken away. What was worse was that her position within the company was in jeopardy. She was on the verge of collapse with these things on her plate.
“Don’t worry, Big Sister Liu. Things may not be as bad as you think. Maybe the materials report really was incomplete. Just do it again and re-apply and it’ll be fine,” consoled Xia Lei.
Liu Ying cried, “Don’t console me… Sob… It must’ve been someone using connections to hinder me and not let my patent application go through… Sob… That person may already have what he wants… Now he’s sent Lin Bo-Wen to gather shareholders and force me out of my position… Why is my life so difficult? Lei, tell me, what is the point of me living?”
Xia Lei’s heart was also heavy and his eyes moist, “Don’t cry. Don’t give up no matter what difficulties you face. You’re not alone, I’ll stand by you. You cannot despair and don’t do anything foolish. Even if you don’t care about yourself, you have to think of your child, right?”
“Lei, wuuuh….” Liu Ying sobbed so hard she could not form words.
The Audi Q7 sped on the road at an obvious speed but Liu Ying and Xia Lei did not care.
When Liu Ying quieted down, Xia Lei wracked his brains and finally took out his mobile phone. He composed a message and sent it…
Liu Ying drove the Audi Q7 to a factory area in the suburbs. The factory was not large and the office building and factory building looked new; they looked less than a year old.
This factory was Liu Ying’s husband’s blood and tears, Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company.
Several factory workers looked at Liu Ying and Xia Lei strangely as they got out of the car. After they entered the office building, Xia Lei also noticed quite a few workers having whispered discussions. He did not use his lip-reading ability on them since he could guess that it had to do with Lin Bo-Wen getting shareholders together to oust Liu Ying.
They got to the meeting room and Liu Ying opened the door with a push.
Some shareholders sat in the room with Lin Bo-Wen at the head of the table. There was also a surprise guest – Lin Bo-Wen’s sister, Lin Ya-Ru.
In the instant the door was violently pushed open by Liu Ying, all eyes in the room went to her and Xia Lei, who was behind her.
Liu Ying walked in, followed by Xia Lei.
“CEO Liu is here.” Lin Bo-Wen smiled emptily, “Find yourself a seat. You’ve come at the right time. I was about to announce something important.”
He stayed in the seat that was originally Liu Ying’s and left her to find herself a seat. He was already acting like he was the CEO of Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company.
Liu Ying went pale with anger. She strode to Lin Bo-Wen and struck the table viciously, then pointed at the door and shouted, “Lin Bo-Wen, you’re fired! Get out!”
Lin Bo-Wen did not move, however. “You? Fire me? You’ll have to first ask them if they’d agree,” he ridiculed.
Liu Ying seemed to realise something. She looked at the shareholders and her eyes were full of disappointment and resentment.
The shareholders avoided her eyes, not because they were guilty but because they didn’t want confrontation.
Lin Bo-Wen sneered, “Liu Ying, I’ll tell you straight. Your best choice now is to sell the shares you own. Take the money and leave or you’ll have nothing.”
“You scum!” Liu Ying swung her hand in a slap.
Lin Bo-Wen caught Liu Ying’s hand and tossed it aside. His demeanour changed, “You, the one surnamed Liu. Be smart about this. You’ll never get your patent approved in this lifetime. The patent will only be approved once you leave Nice Moves Sports Equipment. You can’t single-handedly ruin it for the rest of the shareholders, can you? Name a price. How much do you want for your 50% stake in the company?
Tears fell from Liu Ying’s eyes yet again.
“Sell them, CEO Liu. You can still get a good price for them if you sell them now,” said a shareholder.
“Yeah, the patent will never get approved if you stay in Nice Moves Sports Equipment. You may not want to make any money but we do. We need the money for our families,” a shareholder said.
“If you don’t sell, we will. This company would be done for. It is your husband’s life’s work – can you bear to see it die like this?” said a shareholder.
“Yeah, sell them. Take the money and you and your son can live in comfort your whole lives. Women. Why work so hard? Staying at home to take care of the children is so nice,” said a shareholder.
The four shareholders in the meeting room were in agreement; they wanted Liu Ying to sell her shares. If Liu Ying refused, they would sell the 50% that they owned and Nice Moves Sports Equipment would be done for.
“You… You…” Liu Ying was so angry she could not speak.
Xia Lei spoke up, “Who is buying CEO Liu’s shares? This is not a small transaction – the buyer should show his face and talk this through, shouldn’t he? Instead he sends a dog here to bark. What is this?”
“You dare call me a dog!” Lin Bo-Wen was so humiliated that he got angry.
“I am.” A female voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Xia Lei turned to look and saw the Gu clan’s second daughter, Gu Ke-Wen. She was beautiful as always, refined as an Eastern Barbie. She was very young but already gave people the impression of one who never ages.
Xia Lei understood everything the moment Gu Ke-Wen turned up.
He’d asked who was going to buy the shares with the intention of finding out who the mastermind was. He’d thought it would be troublesome and would require a lot of probing to find out who the mastermind was but the mastermind had appeared unexpectedly just like that right after he spoke.
Gu Ke-Wen spoke only two words but her stance and attitude was clear for all to see – I am the one behind all of this; what can you do about it?
Two hulking bodyguards had entered the meeting room with Gu Ke-Wen. These bodyguards maintained a three-step distance from Gu Ke-Wen and they looked like they had a lot of practice. No matter how or where Gu Ke-Wen walked, they would always maintain the same precise distance – not one step more and not one step less.
“Have a seat, Second Miss.” Lin Bo-Wen bowed a greeting and stood aside.
Lin Ya-Ru walked over too and greeted Gu Ke-Wen respectfully.
Gu Ke-Wen only nodded faintly at the siblings’ greetings and was not even bothered to say anything in response.
The four shareholders of Nice Moves Sports Equipment stood and spoke respectfully, “Greetings, Miss Gu.”
This attitude, this obedience of a child, was nothing Liu Ying had seen before as CEO of Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company.
Liu Ying’s fighting spirit disappeared at Gu Ke-Wen’s appearance. She looked at Gu Ke-Wen with empty eyes and her mind was a blank.
Gu Ke-Wen sat imperiously in the seat which had belonged to Liu Ying. She looked at Liu Ying and laughed, “CEO Liu, I don’t care what you think because it means nothing to me. I came here for one purpose, and that is to buy their shares and maybe yours. I think it’s better if you leave, so name your price.”
Liu Ying had no reaction, however. It was as if her soul had already departed to another world.
Lin Ya-Ru scoffed, “Liu Ying, do you not hear Second Miss Gu speaking to you?”
Lin Bo-Wen also added, “You should just sell your shares, Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company’s assets are not over 50,000,000. Miss Gu would only need to spend 20 or 30 million to obtain 50% of the shares; a car of hers costs over 100,000,000 so what is this sum to her? If Miss Gu buys the shares of the other shareholders, she will destroy this company and you will not get a single cent. You may even be thrown into debt. Isn’t it a good thing for Miss Gu to buy your shares and you to leave so that the company can continue operating?”
At that moment, Xia Lei’s mobile phone beeped with a text message notification. He went to a corner of the meeting room to check the content of the message.
“I… I…” Liu Ying could not say a sentence; more tears flowed.
She knew very well that there was no way out for her. She had no chance up against an opponent like Gu Ke-Wen, not one percent.
She also knew what Gu Ke-Wen had done – sending a thief, then inviting her to the Gu clan’s club afterwards and when that failed, she had her underling drug her. When both these schemes failed, she tore away her mask and used the Gu clan’s might straight out, hindering the patent process and stopping her from getting it approved. She then gathered the other shareholders to force her to leave Nice Moves Sports Equipment. An opponent like this, who could stab from the shadows and force her to the brink of death would truly spell the end of all she held dear if she kept fighting on!
Gu Ke-Wen seemed to sense Liu Ying’s weakness and a trace of a smile appeared on her lips. “CEO Liu, you are a smart person. Name a price and we can conduct this bit of business happily.”
Liu Ying bit her lip and nodded, “I want…”
“Wait.” Xia Lei walked over, “Big Sister Liu, let’s have a chat before you say anything.”
Liu Ying had long run out of ideas and nodded absentmindedly.
Gu Ke-Wen’s faint smile disappeared. She glared at Xia Lei and her voice grew cold, “You again.”
Xia Lei spoke indifferently, “You wouldn’t mind if I said a few words to Big Sister Liu, would you, Miss Gu?”
Lin Bo-Wen spoke impatiently before Gu Ke-Wen could respond, “Can’t you say whatever you have to say later? Don’t you know how precious Miss Gu’s time is?”
Xia Lei laughed, “You’re a dog, but I must admit that you’re a good dog.”
“You motherf-” Lin Bo-Wen could not help the curse which sprang to his lips.
Gu Ke-Wen shifted her gaze to him and Lin Bo-Wen shut up immediately. His reaction proved that he was indeed a good dog.
Xia Lei pulled Liu Ying to one side and spoke in her ear, “Do you trust me?”
Liu Ying hesitated and looked a little upset, “What’s the meaning of that? Why won’t I trust you? We haven’t known each other for a long time but I see you as my own little brother. How can I not trust you?”
Xia Lei whispered, “I don’t mean that. If you trust me, let me handle this matter for you.”
Liu Ying laughed bitterly and her tears threatened to fall again, “Lei, it has already come to this. What else can I do other than surrender? You can’t help me. I should just sell my shares to her. Big Sister has failed you. I’m afraid the agreement I’ve signed with you is now useless.”
She spoke pitifully but Xia Lei smiled. He moved closer to her ear again and said something in a voice not above a whisper.
Liu Ying stared blankly, then looked at Xia Lei in astonishment.