What a shameless scoundrel!
Qiao Xihe took a deep breath and forced a smile: "Mr. Shen, I am sincerely begging you, please name a price."
"Fifty thousand." Shen Rong didn't bother beating around the bush and held up a hand.
"Fifty thousand?!" Qiao Xihe's expression changed. "Mr. Shen, this is an outrageous demand. Don't push your luck. I think you know my reputation in Beijing."
It's an obvious threat. If he wants to stay in Beijing, he'd better behave himself. No matter how big a name he is as a designer, he has to abide by her rules on her turf!
Shen Rong scoffed, stood up, and looked down at her: "If Miss Qiao wants to use the same tricks she uses on others against me, I'm afraid it won't work. I was able to come back from Yingguo, and I can naturally go back from here. Miss Qiao should know that I still have some influence in the design world."
He knew countless designers from Yingguo's group. If he went back and embellished the story, she would probably have a hard time hiring designers from there in the future.
Qiao Xihe sensed the man's threat, gritted her teeth in anger, and still agreed.
Watching the man's retreating figure, she slammed her pen onto the table.
She was filled with regret. The man Yang Qingheng had chosen wasn't a designer at all; he was practically a thug!
They were practically robbing them!
If she had known this would happen, she would have been better off spending her own money to hire a more internationally renowned designer from abroad.
He immediately dialed another number.
"Hello? Uncle?"
Pan Zhen answered Qiao Xihe's call with a smile still lingering in his eyes: "Xihe, what do you want to see your uncle about?"
"The company is having cash flow problems lately, Uncle, could you lend me 100,000 yuan?" Qiao Xihe said it as if it were as simple as eating or drinking.
Pan Zhen's face stiffened. They called it a loan, but it was really just a disguised way of asking for money. They had never paid it back. The problem was that they were still relying on the Qiao family's power, so they had no choice but to obediently give them the money.
However, when he thought about how Qiao Xihe had introduced him to Song Hengjue some time ago, and how he had met a wealthy businessman from Hai Province through that connection, he felt much better and reluctantly nodded.
"Okay, I'll tell my secretary later."
Boxiang Building.
Song Hengjue lay on the sofa, his pupils unfocused, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Fang Nan knocked on the door, but the man didn't notice. He simply walked in and said, "Song Hengjue, the meeting has been going on for ten minutes. Everyone in the meeting room is waiting for you. If you don't hurry up, those old guys will have something to say."
Song Hengjue weakly raised his head to look at him, then lay back down, grabbing a nearby cushion and covering his head with it: "What's the point of the meeting? Tell them to disperse. We're not having one."
"Tsk, you decided to hold a morning meeting once a week yourself," Fang Nan rolled her eyes, getting angry and helpless at his half-dead appearance. She threw the cushion off his face. "Song Hengjue, can't you be normal for once? It's just a woman. You've already made a scene, and she doesn't want to be with you. Can't you just let her go? Tell me what kind you want, and I'll find you someone else!"
Song Hengjue pouted, turned over, and a muffled voice came from under the sofa: "You lifelong single dog, what do you know?"
Fang Nan was taken aback and made a few slaps at the back of Song Hengjue's head. Song Hengjue moved slightly, and Song Hengjue guiltily withdrew his hand and put it behind his back, not daring to breathe loudly.
"Did Yang Qingheng go to the company today?" Song Hengjue looked up at the top of the building in the distance.
Fang Nan shook his head, then suddenly remembered what the person on the other end had said earlier, and became serious: "No, but I found out some information. Sun Rong revealed that she's sick, it's pneumonia or something, anyway, it's quite serious and contagious. She probably won't be going to the company for a long time."
The man, who had been listless just moments before, suddenly sprang to his feet, forgetting even to put on his shoes. After rushing out, he hurriedly returned to put his shoes on and glared fiercely at Fang Nan: "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
He then hurriedly ran out of the office.
Fang Nan was shocked and called out, "Song Hengjue, calm down. Just take a look from a distance. I heard it's contagious."
What a load of rubbish!
Song Hengjue was a little dazed due to lack of oxygen to his brain. He hadn't been to work for several days and had probably been sick for a few days, which is why he only found out now.
After an unknown amount of time, the car finally stopped under a secluded shady tree outside Tang Bainian's house.
Song Hengjue remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the direction of the villa. Despite the unease and distress in his heart, he gritted his teeth and waited until nightfall, when the villa was shrouded in darkness, before extinguishing his cigarette and heading towards the back door of the villa.
The living room was brightly lit, and two familiar voices could be heard. Song Hengjue recognized them as Tang Bainian's. When he saw the woman's face clearly, the veins on his forehead throbbed twice, and the ruthlessness in his eyes seemed to materialize, piercing the hearts of the two of them like a thousand arrows.
Yang Qingheng has pneumonia, and Tang Bainian, as her husband, not only didn't go to take care of her, but instead shamelessly flirted with his mistress.
The thought of Yang Qingheng being sick and miserable inside the house, while she could hear the two of them laughing and chatting outside, made his nose inexplicably sting.
If he could turn back time, he would want to rush back six years and slap himself twice.
His biggest mistake was insisting on divorcing her; otherwise, she wouldn't have been brainwashed by that hypocrite, Tang Bainian.
He glanced up at the upstairs, then quickly climbed up the drainpipe.
Mu Xiaoxiao noticed her brother suddenly looking outside. She followed his gaze and saw only a dark window with no one outside. Feeling uneasy, she asked, "Brother, what are you looking at?"
"It's nothing. It's getting dark, and there are rats. I'll go check on them. You should finish eating and go to bed early." Tang Bainian's eyes flickered as he put down his chopsticks and walked upstairs.
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