Chapter 52 Scolding
At the end of the month, the Charity Federation will hold a fundraising auction for the Children's Cancer Foundation and invite well-known companies to participate.
Chengguang Group is a member of the Charity Federation and was of course among the invited guests.
Nowadays, there are constant rumors in the market, which is very unfavorable for Chengguang Group to maintain the stability of its stock price. The more so, the more Chengguang Group needs to make a high-profile appearance to set the record straight.
Gu Zhicheng had left all these government affairs to his younger brother, who claimed that his education level was limited and he couldn't handle all the roundabout ways. In reality, he was worried that his temper might flare up if he heard something he didn't like, causing him to stir up trouble.
But this year is different from the past. Gu Zhiguang told Gu Zhicheng that he was old, had too many things to take care of, and lacked energy, so he would leave these matters to Gu Ningwei in the future.
"How can he do that?" Gu Zhicheng disagreed: "This kid knows nothing but eating, drinking and having fun, and he just wants to piss me off. Does he understand?"
"He just doesn't understand. You have to let him practice. We two old men can't keep them under our wing forever." Gu Zhiguang advised kindly, "Besides, this kind of event is different from the past. The organizers say they want to keep up with the times, making it fancy and even doing live broadcasts. I'm too old to be used to it. Let the young people go." Gu Zhiguang said, looking at his daughter beside him, "Oh, you should go too, keep your brother company."
Gu Ningli sat on the sofa with her feet up, playing with her phone, and shook her head: "I'm not going. There's nothing fun there."
"Play? You play all day long. Is this what you call play?" Gu Zhiguang's face darkened. "This is about the reputation of the group. How can you not go? Not only must you go, but you must go with Xiao Jiang. This is also a good opportunity for him to make an appearance and give those media outlets some publicity, so they don't keep talking nonsense all day long."
Gu Ningli didn't say anything, still looking down at her phone. After a while, she showed her phone to Gu Zhiguang, "Dad, this is pretty good. I'll take a picture of it later."
Gu Zhiguang glanced at the page. It was a set of three pieces of jade jewelry with a full green and lustrous color: a necklace, a bracelet and earrings. They looked very valuable.
Gu Zhiguang knew she was negotiating terms. He glanced at Gu Zhicheng, frowned at her, winked, and said seriously, "I'll take care of the sign-raising. You don't have to worry about it."
Gu Ningli knew it all. She stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "Then Brother Wei will have to bring Sister He Lian with him, right?"
Gu Zhiguang frowned and paused: "Let me ask him."
Gu Zhicheng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting his mind. Suddenly, he interrupted and said, "Since he has agreed to marry He Lian, he should take this opportunity to bring that girl to the wedding, disclose the news publicly, and reassure the He family so that the funds can arrive sooner."
Gu Ningli glanced at her father after hearing this. Gu Zhiguang understood and said, "I think it's better to discuss it with him."
As they were talking, Gu Ningwei came back from outside. After greeting everyone, Gu Zhiguang told him about participating in the event, and Gu Ningwei agreed.
Gu Zhicheng said, "You take the girl from the He family with you. It's just right for you to announce your engagement with Ning Li and the others."
"I won't take it." Gu Ningwei refused without leaving any room for negotiation.
"Since the event requires it, and you've agreed to get engaged to Miss He, this is a perfect opportunity. Why not?" Gu Zhiguang advised with a pleasant face, "If we insist on making a public announcement, it will seem very deliberate. The four of you attending the event together will actually achieve the best effect. It will show everyone that our Gu family has a successor. How wonderful!"
"Uncle, I remember I said that you would give me three months. During these three months, I would not announce my marriage to anyone. Now is not the time yet, so I will not announce it." Gu Ningwei said in a calm tone and with a firm attitude.
"Hey, you and Miss He, it's only a matter of time. The sooner you announce it, the sooner the group's financial problems can be solved. This is a good thing. Why are you dragging your feet? I don't understand." Gu Zhiguang asked in confusion.
Gu Ningwei lowered his head and remained silent.
Gu Ningli glanced at him again and knew that another quarrel was inevitable, so she quickly found an excuse to slip away.
"I naturally have my reasons for doing this." Gu Ningwei said indifferently.
"Hey, that's just his character. If you ask him to do something, he'll always make excuses and procrastinate. All he does all day is eat, drink and have fun. He doesn't care about helping the group at all. Look, we spent so much money on that company acquisition last time. If we had invested that money in the group..."
"That's gone long ago." Gu Ningwei interrupted Gu Zhicheng's complaint.
"You..." Gu Zhicheng was stunned for a moment, then slammed the table and pointed at Gu Ningwei, furious: "How dare you talk like that? So what if I lost money? It's still my money. How much money do you have? You still eat and drink at my expense..."
"That's my money, the profits I've made from doing business and investing over the years," Gu Ningwei said. "I can spend it however I want."
"What did you say? Your money, the one you earned from investing? Who gave you the capital for your investment? It was mine..." Gu Zhicheng was so angry that his face turned pale and his lips trembled.
"The principal is not yours. It is the inheritance my mother left me." Gu Ningwei looked at his father with a cold gaze.
Hearing him mention his ex-wife, Gu Zhicheng's face froze, he choked and didn't say anything. The person he felt most sorry for and hated the most in his life was Su Xiu. Back then, he and Gu Zhiguang were penniless and had to build their business with bare hands. They also relied on the connections of Su Xiu's family. Later, they made some money and had many other girls outside. One time, they were caught by Su Xiu and asked for a divorce.
Gu Zhicheng did not agree to divorce at first. He felt that as long as his man had affairs outside and the red flag was still flying at home, it was not a big deal. Su Xiu was just bluffing and the quarrel would pass.
But Su Xiu was determined. She found a lawyer and used her family connections to sue the court, demanding a share of his property, which also included Chengguang's shares. At that time, Chengguang had just started to get back on track, and Gu Zhiguang advised her to spend a small amount of money to settle the matter.
After the divorce, Su Xiu raised Gu Ningwei alone until she was fourteen years old, when she was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer. She then sent Gu Ningwei back to Gu Zhicheng.
Su Xiu is the knot that can never be untied in the hearts of both father and son.
"Alright, that's all in the past, let's not talk about it." Seeing this, Gu Zhiguang quickly tried to smooth things over. He said to Gu Ningwei, "If you don't want to bring it, then don't bring it. It wouldn't be a good idea to leak so much information to the media at once."
Just at this moment, Gu Ningli came back with Jiang Jin who had just got off work. Gu Zhicheng ordered dinner to start. At the dinner table, Gu Zhiguang announced their arrangements. Jiang Jin listened silently and did not seem very happy.
This made Gu Ningli very unhappy. The two returned to the apartment where Jiang Jin lived. As soon as they entered the door, Gu Ningli kicked off her high heels and angrily asked Jiang Jin what he meant.
Jiang Jin was changing clothes and asked with a faint smile: "What do you mean? I didn't say anything?"
Gu Ningli said, "You didn't say anything, but just now at my dad's place, when you heard the news that we were going to be announced, there wasn't a trace of joy on your face. What do you mean?"
Jiang Jin took off his coat and stroked his chin. "Don't you think I'm not happy? You must have seen it wrong. I didn't dare show it in front of your father, so that he wouldn't always think I wasn't steady enough and not as smart and capable as Gu Ningwei."
Seeing his perfunctory attitude, Gu Ningli panicked and hugged Jiang Jin's waist from behind, pressing her face against his back. She changed her tone and said coquettishly, "Jiang Jin, you've changed now. You treat me differently than before. Tell me, have you changed your mind and don't like me anymore?"
Jiang Jin was stunned for a moment, then sighed deeply. He patted Gu Ningli's arm around his waist and said softly, "What are you thinking about? I've had too much on my mind lately. I have to deal with Gu Ningwei's affairs, and your father has arranged a lot of things for me. I really can't handle it all. The pressure is too great."
"Then just tell Awei to forget about his crappy company. You weren't in sales before. You've returned to your old profession and are specifically helping my dad with investment and financing matters." Gu Ningli said in a soft voice.
Jiang Jin was stunned for a while, and didn't say anything for a long time. He pried Gu Ningli's arms apart, lowered his head and unbuttoned his shirt.
Seeing his gloomy eyes and expressionless face, Gu Ningli couldn't help but say pointedly, "Jiang Jin, I know you are busy with work, but your mind is less and less on me."
The charity auction was sponsored by the Chengguang Group and was held in that famous five-star hotel.
Because they were very close, that afternoon, Gu Ningli asked He Lian to go to Gu Ningwei's office to sit and chat, and wait for them to finish their work before going there together.
Han was sitting at the outermost workstation when he saw Gu Ningli walking out of the elevator arm in arm with He Lian. He Lian was wearing a purple waist-hugging long dress, silver high heels, and a silver sequined jacket. Her long hair was tied up low, revealing her snow-white skin. On her chest was a butterfly necklace inlaid with diamonds, which made her look dazzling and radiant.
Gu Ningli wore a goose yellow silk haute couture dress with a waist, thin golden high heels, a waist that was fitted and a wide skirt, which swayed gracefully and looked bright and beautiful.
"Hey, Miss Han has been transferred here?" Seeing Han Que, He Lian pretended to be surprised, looking her up and down, and said with a mysterious smile: "You were transferred to be A Wei's secretary?" When Han Que didn't answer, he nodded and exclaimed: "Well, it seems that you succeeded in getting the position. So, listen to me and don't be so pretentious, okay? Look at how good the idea I gave you is."
Han knew that her words were meant to impress him, but he just smiled and greeted them politely, "Ms. Gu, Ms. He, Mr. Gu is in a meeting. Please sit in the conference room for a while."
Gu Ningwei was holding a video conference in his office with several university biology professors to discuss research and development, and he had clearly stated that he did not want anyone to come in and disturb them.
This was something that Gu Ningwei attached great importance to after he took charge of research and development. He bypassed the company's R&D department and Teacher Wang and directly outsourced the project in order to keep it secret.
Gu Ningli frowned after hearing this: "Why? Can't we go in?"
Han shook his head: "No, Mr. Gu has instructed that he is discussing confidential matters and it is not convenient for outsiders to disturb him."
Gu Ningli's face froze slightly. She pursed her lips for a moment, then chuckled, "Ms. Han, I think you've forgotten that I'm not an outsider. I'm also a shareholder of the company. Doesn't that mean I can't go in as a shareholder?"
Han Que stood up and blocked the door with his body, still smiling calmly: "I'm sorry, I can only follow Mr. Gu's instructions."
Gu Ningli stared at her in silence for a moment, then felt a buzzing in her ears. All the old and new hatreds surged into her heart. She walked straight up to Han Que, sneered, and said harshly, "Han Que, who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that? Don't think you're a nobody just because you slept with my brother. I'm telling you, you're just his plaything. His real girlfriend is right here."
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