"No! It's not what you said!" Su Yao screamed, "It's all Ning Nanxue! She took away everything from me! If it weren't for her, how could Brother Tingchen ignore me? How could Fu Chen treat me like that? It's all her fault!"
Looking at her daughter's unrepentant look, Su's mother let out a long sigh, and it seemed as if her last hope for her daughter had been extinguished in that sigh.
"It's you who has completely disgraced the eldest daughter of the Su family and thrown away the bottom line of being a human being." Mother Su's voice turned cold. "Do you think that other people are blind and deaf and can't see or hear the little tricks you do? Do you think Jiang Tingchen and Fu Chen are fools who will let you do whatever you want?"
"I..." Su Yao was speechless. The disappointment in her mother's eyes stabbed her whole body like a knife.
"Fu Chen has already called your father." Mother Su spoke slowly, each word hitting Su Yao's heart like a stone. "He said that if you keep making trouble, Fu's will reveal the contents of the contract when Su's invested. The contract clearly states that Su's will bear 30% of Fu's debt. There is also a clause that if the cooperation fails because of one party, the party at fault will have to pay a large amount of liquidated damages. Yaoyao, you dug this huge hole yourself!"
"No! It's not me!" Su Yao retorted sharply, her voice distorted by excitement. "Fu Chen promised me! He said that as long as the funds are in place, he will help me deal with Ning Nanxue! It's all because of that bitch Ning Nanxue! It's her! She stole Brother Tingchen and destroyed everything for me!"
Mother Su looked at her daughter's appearance. Her beautiful face, which she once took pride in, was now twisted with resentment and anger.
She shook her head tiredly, and the disappointment in her eyes was like ice water, extinguishing Su Yao's arrogance bit by bit.
"He agreed to you? Yaoyao, my silly daughter, who is Fu Chen? You've been the eldest daughter of the Su family for so many years, and you don't even have this little ability to judge people? He's just using you as a pawn, letting you charge in the front so he can reap the benefits! With your little cleverness, can you outsmart a veteran like Fu Chen who has been in the business world for so many years?"
"I didn't! Everything I did was for Brother Tingchen and the Su family!" Su Yao was still stubborn, but her voice was obviously weaker, revealing a panic that she herself didn't even notice.
"For the Su family?" Su's mother's voice suddenly rose, carrying with it the pain of being deeply hurt by a loved one. "For the Su family, you dare to touch the old house? That was the last thought your grandparents left for our Su family. It is the root of the Su family! For a man who doesn't love you at all, for your unfounded fantasies, you are going to dig up the roots of the Su family. Yaoyao, what is your heart made of?"
Tears finally rolled down from the corners of Su's mother's eyes. She raised her hand and wiped them away carelessly, but her voice was as cold as ice: "You disappoint me so much. The Su family raised you for so many years, not for you to stab the Su family in the back. With those little tricks you did, do you really think others are blind and deaf? Do you think Jiang Tingchen would fall for a woman with such a vicious mind who would do anything for a man? Do you think Fu Chen would really help you, someone who might bite him at any time?"
Su's mother opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but found that her throat was tight and she couldn't utter a word.
The pain in her mother's eyes and the look of almost giving up made her feel a fear she had never felt before.
"Your father is already extremely worried." Mother Su sniffed, as if trying to suppress all the turbulent emotions. "The Su family can't be completely destroyed because of you alone. You should take care of yourself."
After saying that, Mother Su no longer looked at her and turned to the door. The heavy wooden door creaked shut again, and the click of the lock reached Su Yao's ears clearly, as if locking away her last ray of hope.
She collapsed on the cold floor. The luxuries in the room that once made her feel so glorious now seemed to be silently mocking her stupidity and embarrassment.
The atmosphere in the Su family's old house was more depressing than ever before.
The next afternoon, when the housekeeper announced Jiang Tingchen's visit, Su's father was sitting alone in the study, with the ashtray in front of him full of cigarette butts.
He hardly slept all night, his eye sockets were sunken, and his hair, which was usually meticulously groomed, looked a little messy.
"Please let him in." Father Su's voice was very hoarse.
Jiang Tingchen slowly walked into the study.
He was wearing a dark grey suit today. The material was crisp, which made his figure look even more upright.
Behind him followed a serious-looking man who appeared to be a lawyer.
Jiang Tingchen's gaze fell on Su's father. His eyes were deep and emotionless, but they made people feel a sense of pressure for no reason.
"Mr. Su," Jiang Tingchen said, his voice low but clear. Without beating around the bush, he gestured to the lawyer behind him to place a document on the large mahogany desk in front of Mr. Su.
Father Su's eyes fell on the document, and the big words "Technical Patent Comparison Report" on the cover made his heart skip a beat.
He reached out and, with some difficulty, flipped open the document. It was filled with densely packed technical drawings and data analysis. On one side were patents registered by Huayun Group many years ago, while on the other, the core technical parameters that the Su Group was so proud of were clearly printed. The high degree of similarity between the two parts made him shudder.
"President Su should understand clearly." Jiang Tingchen's voice was calm. "The core technology that Su's company relies on for survival is suspected of serious plagiarism of an old patent of Huayun Group from fifteen years ago. We have sufficient evidence. If Huayun files a lawsuit, Su's company will not only face a huge amount of compensation, but also a ruined reputation and even bankruptcy."
Father Su's face turned pale, and his hands, which were holding the documents, trembled constantly. He knew that Jiang Tingchen was not trying to scare him.
Over the years, in order to make Su's company grow rapidly, he did take some "shortcuts" in research and development and condoned some shady means. However, he never expected that the biggest bomb was buried here and was caught by Jiang Tingchen.
"What...what do you want?" Father Su asked, his voice dry as sandpaper. He looked at the young man before him. He was only a few years older than his son, but he had a suffocating calmness and oppression.
Jiang Tingchen just sat there quietly, but it seemed like everything was under his control.
Jiang Tingchen tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, making a regular sound, as if knocking on Su's father's psychological defenses.
"My demands are simple." He spoke slowly, but each word carried weight. "First, the Su Group must immediately cease the production and sale of all infringing products, publicly apologize to Huayun, and compensate Huayun for all economic losses caused by this. My lawyer will communicate with Su's legal department for the specific figures."
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