Chapter 50: You Are Ruthless Enough

“You’re a smart person; you naturally know how to choose. This isn’t me begging you unilaterally—this is a deal between you and me.”

After a long pause, Xu Zhixia finally steadied herself and glared fiercely at me. “Jiang Jian, you’re an ungrateful white-eyed wolf, a maggot in the gutter!”

“I advise you to watch your mouth. Right now, it’s just the two of us in this office. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t even have the chance to scream for help.”

Having barely escaped death moments ago, Xu Zhixia dared not provoke me further. She stared at me warily, unwilling to speak and risk angering me.

“If you want me to clear the rumors with you, besides the Chenghui materials, I also want the Long’an project.”

“Delusional! The Long’an project is worth several times that of Xunxing. There’s no way I’ll give it to you!”

Xu Zhixia slammed her fist on the table. “Jiang Jian, I advise you to think carefully before speaking!”

“If you’re not willing to negotiate, then I won’t entertain this any longer. Xu Zhixia, don’t forget you have several cousins eyeing your position. With the huge losses you’ve brought to the Xu Group, whether you remain the future heir is uncertain.”

I turned to leave, but Xu Zhixia’s voice stopped me.

“Wait. I’ll consider the terms you proposed.”

I turned back and looked at her. Her face was as unpleasant as if she had swallowed a fly, her beautiful eyes full of disgust and anger.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Zhixia said, “Chenghui’s raw materials can be supplied to Xushuo at market price, but the Long’an project is off-limits.”

“Then there’s no deal.”

With a loud bang, Xu Zhixia’s fist hit the table again. “Jiang Jian, you’re ruthless. Fine, I’ll give it to you, but that juicy Long’an project depends on whether you can handle it.”

“Haha, no need to worry, President Xu. I hope the contract can be finalized quickly. You wouldn’t want the Xu Group’s stock market to keep fluctuating, would you?”

Xu Zhixia bit her lip tightly and glared fiercely at me. “I’ll notify Chenghui; they’ll contact Xushuo. As for the Long’an project, I can’t decide that on my own. Once I coordinate with Long’an, I’ll have Xiao Zhu get in touch with you.”

I nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, once both sides are finalized, I’ll cooperate with you for the press conference.”

“Oh, and about the porridge I brought you—quite a few people at the company saw it. If I walk out covered in this mess, the rumors about our marital problems will only worsen, won’t they?”

Xu Zhixia rubbed her temples, clearly frustrated. “I’ll have Xiao Zhu buy you a new set of clothes. Change quickly and get out—I don’t want to see you right now!”

Xiao Zhu was called in by Xu Zhixia. Seeing the chaos in the office, he was stunned. “President Xu, what would you like me to do?”

“Go buy a new outfit for Jiang Jian. Come back to me for reimbursement.”

“Yes, President Xu.”

I “considerately” gave Xiao Zhu the brand and size, then leaned back leisurely on the office’s leather sofa.

About half an hour later, Xiao Zhu returned, carrying a bag. “Jiang Ge, try this on and see if it fits.”

I went into the restroom, changed, then came out holding the bag of dirty clothes. “President Xu, please hurry.”

Before Xu Zhixia could reply, I had already left the office.

After dropping off the dirty clothes at the dry cleaners, I drove back to Bijiang Garden. Upon entering, I heard voices coming from the living room—Lin Xingfan and Ji Leqing talking.

“Did Professor Chen reply after you sent him Jiang Jian’s test results?”

“Yes, he emailed me last night and said, if possible, he’d like me to bring Jiang Jian to the institute…”

“That’s impossible. Jiang Jian wouldn’t agree—he doesn’t even want chemotherapy. He won’t become a lab rat…”

As I moved closer to listen carefully, Lin Xingfan and Ji Leqing noticed me and fell silent in unison.

“What are you talking about? If it’s nothing, I’ll go back to my room if I’m intruding—you two carry on.”

They exchanged a glance but no one addressed the topic. It seemed they weren’t ready to tell me yet, so I wisely refrained from pressing further.

“It’s nothing. Leqing told me you had a car accident in Danxi. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m fine, nothing to make a fuss about. Did you drink the porridge I left for you?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d have forgotten. You’ve got some skills, hiding it so well!”

Just as Lin Xingfan and I joked, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out—it was Zhao Xinze calling.

“Jiang Jian, Chenghui just called. They agreed to supply Xushuo at market price. How did your negotiation with Xu Zhixia go? She giving you a hard time?”

“No, don’t worry. The Xunxing project will definitely proceed on schedule. And it won’t be long before you hear good news.”

Hearing this, Zhao Xinze sounded puzzled. “Good news? You’re keeping secrets from me—spill it!”

“Ah, it’s no use telling you now. Just wait. Your priority is to keep an eye on Xushuo to prevent any more issues.”

“Got it. By the way, when you went to President Ye’s house that day, what did she say to you?”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Xinze mentioned Ye Wanyin. Hastily, I turned off speakerphone. Lin Xingfan and Ji Leqing looked at me with curious eyes.

“She didn’t say much, just about the accident compensation. I’ve got some things to do, gotta hang up now.”

Before Zhao Xinze could reply, I ended the call.

“President Ye?”

“Yeah, funny enough, the person who hit my car was Ye Wanyin, the chairwoman of Lantingzhai. Call it a blessing in disguise—I met a powerful benefactor through this misfortune.”

“What kind of luck is that? Getting into a car accident and running into a top female boss?”

Lin Xingfan teased.

Ji Leqing’s gaze lingered on me for a moment, appraising me from head to toe. Then she asked, “Jiang Jian, if I’m not mistaken, you weren’t wearing these clothes when you left this morning, were you?”

“No. I had a quarrel with Xu Zhixia and she threw porridge all over me, so I changed. I sent the dirty clothes to the dry cleaners.”

Lin Xingfan immediately panicked, looking at me anxiously. “That crazy woman Xu Zhixia—what kind of evil spell did she cast? Are you hurt?”

I shook my head and took several deep breaths. “Someone is targeting Xu Zhixia and the Xu Group, stirring up trouble online. To resolve Jianxia’s crisis, I agreed to hold a press conference with Xu Zhixia to clear up the divorce rumors.”

“Jiang Jian, at a time like this, if you stand before the media with Xu Zhixia claiming you’re a loving couple, then the marriage definitely won’t end. Have you really thought this through?”

Lin Xingfan frowned deeply, clearly disapproving of my decision.

Ji Leqing looked at me with a complex expression but lowered her head without saying a word. I wondered what she was thinking.

“I have no choice. To prevent Jianxia from collapsing, I have to do this. Xu Zhixia never planned to let me go. Even if I get a divorce certificate, it will be nothing but a worthless piece of paper.”