-84- Exchange

The studio hadn't been this bustling in ages. Ji Anya, the new Tomato, Xiao Liang, Lu Kai, Zhao Jinghuan, Wan Feng's mother, and even Dorasi, who was "cultivating" at home, were dragged along by Zou Jie. There was practically no room left in the room. Wan Feng's mother and Zou Jie occupied the sofa, while Dorasi clamored to return to her workstation, leaving Xiao Liang with nowhere to sit. Lu Kai offered his small stool and leaned against the table. By the time Tomato arrived back in Waikiki, Zhao Jinghuan and Zou Jie had already fully analyzed Liang's situation. Hu Mingyuan was furious because Tomato had fabricated a story that portrayed him as a scumbag who belittled and controlled his girlfriend. It was hard for him to refute this. After all, were you and Zhao Jinghuan dating? Yes. Did you start a trendy toy company after graduation? Yes. Did your girlfriend, Zhao Jinghuan, deliver food after graduation? Yes. Since they were both trendy toy companies, did Lu Kai recognize Zhao Jinghuan's abilities and let her work in Waikiki? Later, when Waikiki attended HEC, did Zhao Jinghuan reluctantly go to work for Mr. Hu? Not to mention the video of Lu Kai beating Hu Mingyuan. At the time, some netizens questioned why the video wasn't a surveillance video, but a cellphone recording. Tomato didn't fabricate any facts; instead, he constructed a chain of logic that tagged Hu Mingyuan with the deadly crime of PUA. Furthermore, Tomato's argument doesn't even mention Wanfeng. In other words, Tomato inadvertently accomplished what Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan had always failed to do—punish Hu Mingyuan without affecting Wanfeng or her mother. Even Tomato himself couldn't help but sigh, hands on his hips, "I truly am a genius." But Lu Kai couldn't help but worry, "If Hu Mingyuan really gives up like he said on the phone and directly sues Auntie over the contract, that would be troublesome." Wanfeng's mother, sitting nearby, said, "I'll compensate him whatever the cost is. After all, I chose the wrong person, and I'm willing to bear the consequences." Lu Kai shook his head and said, "The cost of making trendy toys is quite high. Even if you're willing, we can't ask you to pay. Besides, while the production costs of trendy toys are relatively transparent, the cost of promoting them is different. If Hu Mingyuan wants to disgust us, it's not impossible for him to find invoices for millions. We can't afford to be taken advantage of." Tomato was in a state of overflowing self-confidence. Seeing that everyone was at a loss, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Are you guys at your wit's end again? Wait until I go downstairs to buy you a bottle of wine, and I'll help you drink it out." Sister Zou rolled her eyes at him, "Don't make trouble."

The studio hasn't been this lively for a long time. Ji Anya, the new Tomato Xiao Liang, Lu Kai, Zhao Jinghuan, Wanfeng's mother, and even Dorasi who was "cultivating immortality" at home were pulled here by Sister Zou.

There was almost no place for people to sit in the room. Wanfeng's mother and Sister Zou occupied the sofa, and Dorasi was clamoring to return to his workstation, leaving Xiao Liang with nowhere to sit. Lu Kai gave up his small stool and leaned against the table.

By the time Tomato rushed back to Waikiki, Zhao Jinghuan and Zou Jie had already pretty much analyzed the current situation: Hu Mingyuan was so angry because Tomato had made up a bunch of stories, portraying him as a scumbag who belittled and controlled his girlfriend, and it was hard for him to refute that. After all:

Are you in love with Zhao Jinghuan? Yes.

Did you start a trendy toy company after graduation? Yes.

Did your girlfriend Zhao Jinghuan deliver food after graduation? - Yes.

As they are both a trendy toy company, does Lu Kai recognize Zhao Jinghuan's abilities and let her work in Waikiki?

Later, when Waikiki went to attend HEC, did Zhao Jinghuan go to work for Mr. Huzi reluctantly?

Not to mention the video of Lu Kai beating Hu Mingyuan. At that time, some netizens questioned why the video was not a surveillance video, but a mobile phone recording.

Tomato did not fabricate any facts, but reconstructed a logical chain to tie Hu Mingyuan to the death penalty of PUA. Moreover, in Tomato's argument, there was not a single word about Wanfeng. In other words, Tomato inadvertently did what Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan had never been able to do - punish Hu Mingyuan without affecting Wanfeng and Wanfeng's mother.

Even Tomato himself couldn't help but put his hands on his hips and sigh: "I really am a genius."

But Lu Kai couldn't help but worry: "If Hu Mingyuan really does what he said on the phone and directly uses the contract to sue Auntie, then it will be troublesome."

Wanfeng's mother, who was sitting nearby, said, "I'll compensate him no matter how much money he has. After all, I chose the wrong person, and I'm willing to bear the consequences."

Lu Kai shook his head and said, "The cost of making trendy toys is quite high. Even if you are willing, we can't ask you to pay for it. Moreover, although the production cost of trendy toys is relatively transparent, the publicity cost is different. If Hu Mingyuan wants to disgust people, it is not impossible to find an invoice worth millions. We can't be the ones to make such a fool of ourselves."

Tomato was overflowing with confidence. Seeing everyone was at a loss, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Are you guys at your wit's end again? Wait for me to go downstairs and buy you a bottle of wine. I'll help you guys find some solutions."

Sister Zou rolled her eyes at him and said, "Don't make trouble."

Tomato raised his eyebrows. "Hey, how can you talk to a great hero like that? You don't trust me, and you don't trust wine either? Li Bai drank a hundred cups of wine and wrote hundreds of poems, and I drink a lot..."

Sister Zou curled her lips. "You've been drinking for a hundred days." She ignored the noisy Tomato. "We still need to find a chance to talk to Hu Mingyuan. After all, our primary goal isn't to get angry with him, but to get him to give up the Pixz IP and stop using the Evening Breeze name."

Lu Kai said, "It might not be easy to get Hu Mingyuan to give in." He noticed that Zhao Jinghuan hadn't said anything for a long time. He turned his head and saw that Zhao Jinghuan was lost in thought. So he called out to her, "Jinghuan?"

"Hmm?" Zhao Jinghuan came back to her senses. Lu Kai asked her what was wrong. She said, "It just suddenly occurred to me that Hu Mingyuan might be more anxious than we thought." She turned to look at Sister Zou. "TD is offering 15 million to acquire Mr. Hu. I guess the contract isn't complete yet."

Sister Zou was stunned for a moment before she said, "Oh, right, I didn't handle the contract. I had completely forgotten about it. Eh? How did you know?"

"Your colleague let something slip the day I came to see you," Zhao Jinghuan said. "If this gets out of hand, will the acquisition contract be affected?"

Sister Zou thought for a moment, then nodded with a smirk on her face:

"As long as I'm here, it will be affected."

With Sister Zou's words, Zhao Jinghuan felt much more at ease. She asked Sister Zou how much TD would spend to acquire Mr. Hu Zi's IP. Sister Zou said, "The contract amount is confidential, so I can't tell you it's 15 million."

Zhao Jinghuan nodded. "For such a big contract, even if Hu Mingyuan is stubborn, he should be willing to discuss it with us."

After a few people discussed it, they realized that Tomato's video had just been released, and Hu Mingyuan was very angry and might not be able to see the situation clearly. It would be better to wait for two days for things to develop before meeting him.

After the serious business was discussed, Dorasi suddenly jumped down from his workstation and arranged for everyone to take a group photo, saying that it was to commemorate this special moment. Everyone in the room was a little confused, as they didn't understand why they had to take a group photo, nor did they think there was anything special about this moment.

But Lu Kai and his friends have always doted on Dorasi, so taking a photo was no big deal, so they set the automatic shutter on their phones and took a group photo with everyone.

Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan sent Wanfeng's mother on the high-speed train for her return trip, and agreed to update her as soon as there was any new news. After that, they went home and checked their phones. By the evening, there were indeed a lot of gossip posts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu. While denouncing the "scumbag" Hu Mingyuan, they also portrayed Zhao Jinghuan as a talented designer who was being PUAed without knowing it.

Although it is still a long way from becoming a trending topic, I am afraid that most bloggers and players in the small circle of trendy toys have basically known about it in one night.

Hu Mingyuan was obviously very angry. That night, he sent countless abusive WeChat messages to Lu Kai. Lu Kai did not reply, but took screenshots and sent them to Zhao Jinghuan. Zhao Jinghuan also took screenshots of his own WeChat and showed them to Lu Kai, which were also full of Hu Mingyuan's insults.

It seems that he is really anxious.

Both of them turned their phones to silent mode. When they woke up the next morning, they saw that Hu Mingyuan had been cursing until seven in the morning, as if he had not slept all night.

So they waited until the afternoon before calling Hu Mingyuan. They were also afraid that Hu Mingyuan would do something out of the ordinary in an emotional state, so they decided to meet in a public place instead of Hu Mingyuan's company.

Hu Mingyuan cursed on the phone, saying, "If I don't go, who knows what trap you two bad guys will set for me?"

Zhao Jinghuan didn't argue, but just said, "We'll wait for you at Starbucks until 7 o'clock." Then he hung up the phone.

At seven o'clock in the evening, Hu Mingyuan, who said he would never come, finally showed up. He was obviously dressed up on purpose, wearing a suit and shirt, with a slicked-back hair, as if he wanted to overpower Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan in terms of momentum, or perhaps he just didn't want to show even the slightest sign of fatigue in front of them.

After Hu Mingyuan sat down, he bit his cheek and looked at the two of them fiercely. Before Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan could say anything, he rushed to speak: "It's too late for you two to say anything now. This time, I will make Wanfeng's mother lose everything." Zhao Jinghuan did not argue with him. She held up the screen of her mobile phone and let him see the "clarification video" she had recorded in advance last night.

"I'm Zhao Jinghuan, a designer and business manager at Waikiki Studio. Hu Mingyuan and I did have a lot of conflicts, but I still want to clarify that we broke up peacefully during college. Delivering food after graduation was just my personal choice. I wasn't controlled or manipulated by him..."

Hu Mingyuan watched the video on his phone, his expression slightly shifted. He clearly knew this was his only chance to "get out of this predicament." But after the video finished playing, he still bluffed, "What? You want to make peace already? I tell you, there's no such thing as a free lunch."

Zhao Jinghuan then opened up: "I know the acquisition contract between TD and you hasn't been finalized yet."

Hu Mingyuan was stunned for a moment, but this time he didn't rush to speak.

"Hu Mingyuan."

Zhao Jinghuan said: I want you to terminate the contract with Wanfeng’s mother and return Wanfeng’s IP.