Chapter 48 Willingly Being Used

As Shang Wu watched Chen Mian rush over, she threw the photo in her hand away first.

As he slept, a corner of the photo scratched the back of his hand, and he retreated hastily.

She lowered her head, her breathing becoming heavier.

The ground was covered with photos of her and Zhou Yanci's private rendezvous, taken from a third-person perspective.

Shang Wu walked up the steps and said lazily, "If you send these things to Zhou Yanci, do you think he'll think you're desperate for a title and that you're just putting on this show because you can't wait?"

"No, I didn't! You took all these pictures!" Chenmian took two steps back, as if she had seen a ghost.

Shang Wu took another step and arrived at the door of Chen Mian's house.

“But Zhou Yanci doesn’t believe it. After last night, his trust in you has collapsed. If anything happens now, do you think he will believe you?”

Chenmian swallowed hard, her lips trembling.

Suddenly, Shang Wu reached out, grabbed her hair, and yanked it hard.

Chenmian screamed as she was pulled in front of her, forced to tilt her head to look up and meet Shang Wu's sharp, mocking eyes.

"And what will Zhou Yanci think when she sees those provocative text messages and photos you sent me? I've kept them all safe."

Shang Wu's tone was light and casual, but a cold and resolute look suddenly appeared in her eyes, "If you want to play, I'll play with you. But Chen Mian, you've already betrayed Zhou Yanci once. You can't afford to lose. If you don't stay obediently by his side, you'll only be eliminated."

Chenmian was terrified; sweat beaded on her forehead, and despite the excruciating pain in her scalp, she dared not cry out.

She trembled: "You, you know he cheated on me, the person he loves is me, why are you still by his side!"

Shang Wu laughed: "Then you should ask Zhou Yanci why she won't give you a formal title and why she insists on keeping me by her side."

Chenmian opened her mouth, but didn't reply.

She knew that Zhou Yanci was trying to keep Shang Wu from making money at the branch.

However, it was originally agreed that after the limited-edition new product was released, they would leave Shangwu behind.

If this drags on, when will it end?

Shang Wu released her slumber, took out a wet wipe to clean her hands, and threw it into the trash can.

"This is just a warning. Don't overestimate yourself and try to film me again."

She turned and left.

Chenmian slumped to the ground, grabbed her phone, and trembled as she tried to call Zhou Yanci.

"Hello, the number you dialed is busy..."

Zhou Yanci blocked her.

Chenmian bit her lip: "Shangwu, Shangwu!"

She kept repeating Shang Wu's name, her eyes filled with ruthless intent, wishing she could skin this woman alive.

Just because she can't be followed and filmed doesn't mean she has no other way to snatch Zhou Yanci away!

...

Chengzhou Group.

Zhou Yanci glanced at the names on the list and smiled casually.

“Ah Wu, how come all the employees you’re sending across by boat are from the Shang family back then?”

Shang Wu lifted her eyelids to look at him, her face showing confusion: "I brought them over because they used to work at my parents' company. I know them well and they're easy to manage."

Zhou Yanci pinched her brow, helplessly saying, "But they have no experience in jewelry design. They are all talents in the field of new energy. If you send them to a branch, they will not be able to make use of their strengths."

Fearing that Shang Wu might be unwilling, he emphasized: "Moreover, they are also working on the projects I invested in."

Shang Wu pursed her lips slightly, stepped forward, and gently pressed Zhou Yanci's hand.

She suddenly leaned closer, and her magnified face made Zhou Yanci slightly dazed.

Just as he was about to speak, Shang Wu solemnly said, "In three days, I will bring the branch's reputation to its peak and get 50,000 jewelry reservations. Is this enough for me to take these people away? Is this enough to make up for the losses of your project?"

Zhou paused, speechless.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Shang Wu curled her lips: "Yan Ci, when have I ever made empty promises to you? I worked so hard to maintain this branch, I would never ruin it myself."

Zhou Yanci finally couldn't resist and relented: "If you do what you say, I'll give you the person. That way, we'll have something to say to the shareholders. Once you've really got the branch up and running, I'll throw you a celebration banquet."

Shang Wu smiled and said, "Okay."

She picked up the list and was about to leave.

"Awu, wait a moment."

Zhou Yanci's eyes flickered slightly as she stood up: "Do you still love me?"

An impatience flashed in Shang Wu's eyes, and she turned around with a surprised look on her face: "Why would you ask that?"

“You weren’t like this before. Lately, you come to the company, say what you need to do, and leave without talking to me. I support what you want to do, but you don’t hug me and say thank you anymore.”

Zhou Yanci's eyes darkened, and a sense of gloom inexplicably settled over her.

He felt that Shang Wu had changed.

There are many more of these details; he can't quite put his finger on them, but he can sense them.

Shang Wu sighed softly and asked helplessly, "Yan Ci, do you know how much pressure I'm under, carrying the expectations of all the shareholders and you? I'm busy with the branch's affairs all day long, trying to prove myself and make money for you. If I didn't love you, why would I work so hard for you?"

Zhou Yanci paused for a moment, then realized she had overthought things, and smiled as she gently stroked the tip of her nose with her finger.

"I've been a bit sensitive lately, don't blame me, Ah Wu."

Shang Wu lowered her eyes and clutched the list document tightly in her hands: "Then I'll be going now."

"etc."

Zhou Yanci raised an eyebrow and looked at her affectionately: "I love you."

A hint of mockery flashed in Shang Wu's eyes, but her expression revealed a touch of shyness: "Me too."

After saying that, she quickly left, only letting out a long sigh of relief after exiting the president's office.

Just then, a sound came from the next room.

Shang Wu paused for a moment, then heard Xiao Dong making a phone call in the office next door.

"It's not that I don't want to take care of Mom, I just really don't have time. Do you know how busy I am working with President Zhou?"

"Alright, alright! I recently lost money on investments, I'll try to borrow some money from Mr. Zhou for medical expenses!"

Shang Wu's gaze turned slightly cold. She noted down his words and left silently.

After returning home.

Shang Wu updated her designer account, releasing all the sketches from her vintage-style series and announcing the establishment of a branch called Freya Design Studio.

Once the manuscript was released, everyone reacted in the same way as the shareholders.

Surprise, excitement, anticipation.

The hashtag “Freya’s comeback and establishment of a studio” trended on social media, ranking second on the hot search list.

Shang Wu then announced that she only wanted to focus on design and was not trying to capitalize on the hype to make money.

This piece will be the lowest priced of all the jewelry she has ever launched, waiving the design and craftsmanship fees for customers.

Furthermore, customers who purchase a complete set of jewelry will also receive an exclusive, never-before-seen jewelry piece as a gift.

In just half a day, 30,000 people paid deposits through the official link set up by the branch.

Shang Wu has achieved 70% of its goal of taking away old business associates.

By evening, the number of pre-orders had surged to over 60,000, exceeding the number Shang Wu had promised Zhou Yanci.

After learning about this, the shareholders stopped mocking Shang Wu and even urged Zhou Yanci to send the Shang family to the branch.

"Investing doesn't earn them as much as marketing jewelry; let's stop them from doing it!"

The largest shareholder said this in front of Zhou Yanci, showing no regard for his feelings.

Zhou Yanci's face turned ashen, but he had no choice but to concede.

The eight key technical personnel who were initially taken from Shangjia and came to Chengzhou to work alongside Shangwu have finally returned to Shangjia after many twists and turns.

In the office, Shang Wu signed work contracts with them.

Everyone raised their smiling faces: "Young Miss."

Shang Wu's eyes were slightly red as she tried to calm herself down.

After the merchant's business ceased to exist, she was no longer the merchant's daughter, but merely the director of Chengzhou Jewelry Department.

Everyone in the company calls her Director, but these old business associates still stubbornly call her Miss.

It seems that in their hearts, traveling by boat is merely a temporary shelter for survival, while the business is their true home. As long as the business is there, the business group will never fall.

Shang Wu signed contracts with each of them at double the salary.

She stood up, her gaze intense, and her red lips parted slightly: "Brother Wenxiang will stay at Tang's for now and won't work with us. Now that everyone is here, Aying, go prepare the car, let's go to the hospital."

One of them asked, "Miss, what are you doing at the hospital?"

Shang Wu smiled and said, "Let's go see our last comrade-in-arms in the studio."

Facing the puzzled looks of the others, she was the first to walk out of the office.

When the group arrived at the ward, the nurse was changing Lu Rang's dressing.

Lu Rang had a deep scar on his arm that hadn't scabbed over yet. It was covered with a pale yellow ointment and looked very painful.

Shang Wu walked over and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright?"

Lu Rang met her worried gaze and nodded slightly.

Shang Wu breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside to let the others in.

"This is our branch office's legal counsel, Lu Rang, a top-notch lawyer at Chengzhou. If you need anything in the future, you can contact him."

Eight people stood side by side in front of Lu Rang, showing bright smiles as they introduced themselves.

Lu Rang had never seen anything like this before, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.

Shang Wu explained, "Attorney Lu is a man of few words and a cold temperament, but he is a good person. Please bear with him in the future."

After saying that, she stopped smiling and said solemnly, "It is indeed a waste of your talents to keep you all at the branch. Please bear with it. It won't be too late to return to the store."

Everyone waved their hands, telling Shang Wu not to be so polite.

Lu Rang remained silent, his brow furrowed.

After everyone left, he asked in a deep voice, "Shouldn't Miss Shang give me an explanation?"

"What explanation?" Shang Wu feigned ignorance.

Lu Rang said, enunciating each word clearly: "What you just said meant that you wanted to rebuild the Shang Group."

"yes."

Shang Wu curled her fingers, feigning composure, and walked up to Lu Rang, looking down at him.

"To exonerate my brother, to bring down Ji Yu, to establish a branch—it's all for this ultimate goal."

Lu Rang raised an eyebrow: "You're only telling me now because I've already signed the contract and can't run away?"

Shang Wu smiled and said, "You've boarded my ship, but I gave you a chance. That day you chased me out of the law firm wanting to cooperate with me. In a sense, you were willing to be used by me."

Lu Rang's gaze was inscrutable as he looked directly into her clear eyes:

"Have you considered the consequences of doing this? You want to fight a losing battle and then drag me down with you? I only took your brother's case, I didn't sell my life to you."

Shang Wu said seriously, "I will protect you. You just need to help me get the shareholding agreement sorted out and ensure that every penny of the branch's revenue goes into my pocket."

Lu Rang pursed his lips, completely enveloped in Shang Wu's shadow, his expression unreadable.

"Besides, wouldn't Attorney Lu be interested in a sensational case? As far as I know, you don't take on easy cases; you always prefer to climb to the top."

At this point, Shang Wu had nothing left to hide.

Lu Rang was an extremely intelligent man and had already seen through her intentions.

Her brother's affair with Li Chengzhang was just the beginning; the branch studio was her springboard for building up her strength.

The key is to reopen the investigation into that bloody business case from back then.

It all depends on whether Lu Rang is willing to help.

Seeing that Lu Rang did not react, Shang Wu poked his palm with her fingertip.

"Attorney Lu, can you give me a straight answer?"

Lu Rang glanced at her.