Chapter 121 Irritability

Manager Chen escorted Han Que and Yu Xiaoli out of Xu Chun's office.

The three of them were silent along the way, but Han knew that there were surveillance cameras in the corridor of their company and he couldn't say much. Yu Xiaoli had a dejected expression.

The opportunity I finally got is now gone. After this meeting, I don’t know if I will have another chance.

Although Han Que had just spoken very tactfully, from Xu Chun's tone, it was clear that there was basically no hope if their requirements could not be met.

Yu Xiaoli cursed secretly in her heart, blaming that damn old man Wang Jianan, who was bent on destroying them.

When they reached the elevator at the company's door, Han Quecai said to Manager Chen, "Thank you, Manager Chen, for giving us this opportunity."

Manager Chen hesitated for a moment and said to her, "Mr. Han, you should go back and think about it carefully. Mr. Xu is still very optimistic about you, although the price..." He paused and said nothing.

Han smiled and said, "Well, let's go back and calculate the cost and see if there is any room."

Manager Chen smiled helplessly and whispered, "Wang Jianan is keeping an eye on you. The last time he came, he said a lot of bad things about Zhening in front of Director Xu and also mentioned some quality issues of your products..."

He paused and moved closer to Han, saying softly, "Although Mr. Xu may not like his character, you know, business is all about business."

"I understand." Han Que said thoughtfully: "Thank you, Manager Chen, for your reminder. We will pay attention to it."

Manager Chen nodded and took a few steps back.

The elevator came, Han smiled and waved to him, and walked into the elevator with Yu Xiaoli.

As soon as she entered the elevator, Yu Xiaoli's face fell, and she muttered to herself, "That damn old man, he's haunting us. He insists on following us. He goes to every store we go to, and his prices are always lower than ours."

Han snorted and laughed: "It's a suicidal attack, killing one thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of our own. He is following us to fight."

Yu Xiaoli suddenly realized: "No wonder, I was wondering why my clients were talking so well, but when it came time to purchase the goods, they suddenly changed their minds. It turns out they were behind the scenes, it must be Zhu Mei and the others who did it."

Han hummed noncommittally and said slowly, "Then wait."

Back at the company, Han Que was looking at a data sheet in front of his computer. Yu Xiaoli came over with two cups of iced Americano. "Sister Han Que, I bought you some iced Americano."

Han shook his head.

The people at Zhening Company didn't know about Han Que's pregnancy yet. Director Pan strictly ordered the people on the 24th floor not to spread the news and said that if they were found out, they would be severely punished.

Yu Xiaoli thought she was being polite and said with a smile, "Everything at takeout is having discounts now. I bought it with a coupon, buy one get one free. It would be a shame not to buy one." Then she sighed, "Everything is discounted now. If you don't follow the discount, you'll have no way to survive!"

Han shook his head and said, "Then you drink two cups by yourself. I don't drink iced drinks, or I'll get diarrhea."

She glanced at Yu Xiaoli again and said, "But even if we roll up, we have no way to survive."

After saying that, she went back to looking at the computer.

Yu Xiaoli leaned closer to her computer, looked at the screen full of data, and asked, "Hey, Sister Han Que, are you calculating the cost? Can we still lower the price?"

Han put down his mouse and shook his head. "I don't need to calculate. I know we can't go by her price. She's deliberately trying to squeeze us and take advantage of us."

Yu Xiaoli sighed: "This Xu Chun is quite smart."

Han smiled with emotion and said, "For a single woman to be able to build a business to this scale, she must have some skills."

When he returned home in the evening, Han seemed a little listless during dinner and had no appetite. He only took a few bites of each dish and then stopped eating.

Seeing this, Aunt Zhao said cautiously, "Is today's food not to your liking?"

Han shook his head and said no.

Gu Ningwei glanced at her and said to Aunt Zhao, "Aunt, don't bother with her. She encountered something unhappy today and is in a bad mood."

Han frowned and glared at him after hearing this. For some reason, he felt that he was laughing at his own joke.

Aunt Zhao also noticed that the two of them were not getting along today, so she quickly lowered her head and hurriedly finished her meal. She said she would go back to her room to make a video call to her son, and asked them to finish their meal. She then put the dishes aside and she would come out to wash them later.

Gu Ningwei waved her hand: "Auntie, go ahead and do your work. I'll wash the dishes later."

Aunt Zhao returned to her room and closed the door.

Han still sat there, staring at the table full of dishes.

Gu Ningwei knocked on her bowl and said, "Eat first. We can talk about anything after dinner."

Han frowned and said, "I have no appetite and I feel very irritable."

Gu Ningwei looked at her, put down his chopsticks, and asked, "Then tell me why you are so upset?"

Han Que briefly told Xu Chun about her meeting today. Finally, she said worriedly, "Look, she knows that the price she offers can't cover our costs, but she's trying to lower the price and ask us to supply the full supply. Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for us?"

Gu Ningwei put his hand on the back of her seat and nodded, "Of course."

"But we want to do their business, really..." Han muttered to himself.

"So what should we do now? Have you thought of a solution?" Gu Ningwei asked with a smile, circling her hair that hung on the back of the chair with his fingers.

Han shook his head, lowered his head and continued eating: "I don't know, I can't think of a better way to deal with a big-name client like Xu Chun."

"Oh, then in this situation, there are usually two options. One is to obey her and accept her price pressure, and the other is to give up." Gu Ningwei looked at her with a smile: "If the first option is not possible, then we have no choice but to give up and not do business with them."

"How is that possible? Yu Xiaoli and I racked our brains to squeeze in. How could we give up so easily?" Han Que said while eating.

There were a few grains of rice on the corners of her lips, and Gu Ningwei stretched out his fingers and gently brushed them away.

His fingers were slightly cold, brushing against her lips, but Han couldn't help but tremble slightly. She raised her eyes, stared at him, blushed slightly, and complained softly: "We are talking about serious matters, don't touch me."

Gu Ningwei looked at her playfully: "I'm also doing something serious."

Han put down his chopsticks and looked at him speechlessly, "Gu Ningwei, can you be more serious? I'm discussing serious matters with you, but you act so perfunctory. Is this my company or yours?"

"Your company." Gu Ningwei said with a smile.

"ah?"

"It's my company too," Gu Ningwei corrected, smiling casually, "It's all the same, isn't it? What's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. We share a common interest."

"Who is in the same community of interests with you? We are not a family." Han knew that if he continued, he would talk about their relationship again, so he ignored him, finished the rice in his bowl, and put down his chopsticks.

"You wash the dishes." She stood up and prepared to leave, but was pulled by Gu Ningwei and sat back on the chair.

"Well, you're still not happy." Gu Ningwei carefully observed her expression and said flatteringly, "Let's go see your mother tomorrow, okay?"

Han said, "I have a lot of important things to do tomorrow."

Gu Ningwei said: "That's not as important as your mother's matter. You have to take me to meet my mother-in-law."

Han frowned, a little impatient: "Gu Ningwei, can you be more serious? What's more important now, our relationship or improving Zhening's company's performance?"

Gu Ningwei frowned slightly: "Don't you want me to go see your mother?"

Han paused and nodded, "No, I don't want to."

"Why?" Gu Ningwei frowned.

His gaze lingered on Han Que's lower abdomen for a few seconds.

"Because you're afraid that mom will find out?"

Han sighed and didn't answer. She turned her head away and stared at a picture frame in the living room in a daze.

Gu Ningwei took a deep breath and asked her slowly, "What do you think? Do you still not want this child? Or do you not want to marry me?"

Han looked at the picture frame and shook his head.

Gu Ningwei murmured softly, breathed a sigh of relief, and asked her more gently, "Why is that?"

Han didn't look at him, and said softly: "You don't know my mother's character..." She thought for a moment and shook her head: "It's not that I don't want to take you to see her. If I can, I don't want to see her either."

She didn't say anything else, not wanting to mention Liu Suping's bad things in front of Gu Ningwei, but the last time she visited Liu Suping at the rehabilitation center was still vivid in her mind, making her feel upset.

Liu Suping lives in a rehabilitation center, where she is cared for by professional doctors and nurses, and looked after by a nanny. She has no worries about food and clothing. The rehabilitation center has real-time monitoring, and Han can check her condition at any time through the mobile phone APP, and gradually feels relieved.

She visited her once a month, bringing some fruits and nutritional supplements, and chatting with her about daily life. Even though Liu Suping would still criticize her in a sarcastic tone, Han pretended not to hear.

But the last time was the Dragon Boat Festival, Han took time out to visit her. As soon as they met, Liu Suping began to criticize her, saying that she was an unfilial daughter and left her alone in the rehabilitation center and nursing home just to make it easier for herself to hook up with men.

Han Que was so angry that she tried to argue with her. Liu Suping actually slapped her in the face and cursed at her with a slipper.

The nanny and nurses came forward together to mediate and separate the mother and daughter.

Han was sitting alone on a chair outside the room, crying in grievance. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and her chest felt stuffy and blocked.

After a long time, the nanny came out of the room and saw Han waiting for her. She sat down and apologized cautiously.

Han waved his hand and asked her, "Is my mother's temper always this bad?"

The nanny sighed and said, "She seems to be very irritable lately, and gets angry easily." She stretched out her hand to show Han Que, with a tooth mark on the back of her hand. "Look, she wanted to do something the other day, and I didn't let her, so she bit me."

Han was silent for a moment, then frowned and asked, "She's like this, what does the doctor say?"

The nanny shook her head. "The doctor didn't explain it clearly. You know, they're all general practitioners here. They're just general caregivers, not experts..."

Han nodded.

The nanny glanced at her and continued, "Hey, I'm old now. I can't do anything like Aunt Liu's condition anymore. Otherwise, I'll just do it until next month..."

Han knew what she was thinking, so she tried to keep her and gave her a raise before sending her away. However, she still felt a little uneasy, wondering why Liu Suping's mental state was getting worse and worse.

Han finished speaking slowly, turned around and looked at Gu Ningwei, remaining silent.

Gu Ningwei also remained silent and said nothing.

After a long time, Han laughed at himself and said, "Can you and your family accept my mother being like this? And your father."

"It doesn't matter what they think." Gu Ningwei said, "It's not like I just found out today."

Han looked at him doubtfully: "You know everything?"

"The last time your mother was hospitalized, I talked to the doctor about her health condition." Gu Ningwei frowned and said thoughtfully, "But current medical technology is still unable to cure her."