Ye Tiancheng’s expression was unapproachable at the moment, and Hou Mingzhu’s teeth began to chatter. Facing such a Ye Tiancheng, Hou Mingzhu was indeed a little scared, which was why she reacted this way.
“Not necessarily. Think about it, I can kill even the peerless experts you sent. If I wanted to take your head, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it would be as easy as turning my hand. What do you think?”
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng didn’t seem to be joking, Hou Mingzhu, terrified, grabbed her bag and ran. However, she was blocked at the door by Ye Tiancheng’s subordinate.
“Hou Mingzhu, what do you take this place for? You can come and go as you please. You can’t leave without my permission.”
“What do you want? Ye Tiancheng, in broad daylight, you’re not going to kidnap me, are you? No matter how awesome you are, you can’t be above the law.”
Seeing Hou Mingzhu’s fear was exactly what Ye Tiancheng wanted. He felt his inner maliciousness satisfied.
“Hou Mingzhu, I’ve never liked you. Do you know why? Because you’re too arrogant. From the very beginning, you never treated me, your fiancé, as a person. You almost starved me to death in the Hou family ancestral hall. Do you know how I’ve spent these three years? When I thought of you, I only felt hatred. But after all this, I suddenly understood everything, and my hatred for you dissipated. My heart is only left with the battlefield. So don’t provoke me. I might really kill people, and I won’t show you any mercy.”
After this speech, Hou Mingzhu’s legs went weak with fear, and she wished she could kneel before Ye Tiancheng and beg for her life.
Seeing that Hou Mingzhu was terrified, Ye Tiancheng immediately changed to a smiling face, as if the previous agitated state had never existed.
“Haha, I was just acting. I wanted to tease Miss Hou. Did I scare you?”
Whether Ye Tiancheng was telling the truth or not, Hou Mingzhu was indeed frightened.
“Are you crazy?”
“Alright, don’t be rude to women. I don’t know what you’re thinking. Hurry up and let Miss Hou go.”
After Ye Tiancheng’s subordinate released Hou Mingzhu, Hou Mingzhu cursed Ye Tiancheng a couple more times before stumbling away.
After Hou Mingzhu left, Ye Tiancheng still found her quite amusing. This woman, knowing she was no match for him, still tried every possible way to oppose him.
Every time she fled in disarray, neither of them felt ashamed. Her thick skin was truly remarkable.
Ye Tiancheng did have a lingering shadow from Miss Hou. The abandonment back then was a lifelong nightmare for Ye Tiancheng. Belated sincerity was cheaper than grass, and besides, that woman was so mercenary, could she truly have sincerity?
After another week of being down and out, the certificate issued by the drug administration was officially announced. Then, an investigation was launched into the matter, and finally, a press conference was held to prove that the drugs under Ye Tiancheng had no problems and that he had indeed been framed.
Ye Tiancheng’s businesses in various industries restarted. Due to his inherent advantages, everything quickly recovered. This beautiful comeback surprised everyone. No one expected Ye Tiancheng to be so capable. After a slump of less than half a month, he soared again.
Of course, the most surprised was Hou Mingzhu. Later, she wondered why the fallen Ye Tiancheng hadn’t come to beg her. It turned out to be Ye Tiancheng’s backup plan.
“This hateful Ye Tiancheng, it seems all of this was his scheme. He did it deliberately, pretending to be ruined just to amuse everyone. It turns out I was the real clown!”
Hou Mingzhu was so angry she almost fainted. She was utterly helpless against this nominal fiancé. Every time, he outmaneuvered her completely, making her feel like a monkey being played with, yet she felt like Sun Wukong. In reality, she was just an insignificant wild monkey.
She was so angry she couldn’t do anything, yet she didn’t dare to go directly to Ye Tiancheng. The last time she went to Dahe Village, she was so scared by Ye Tiancheng that she fell ill for several days after returning home. Just as she recovered, she heard such devastating news. She seriously suspected she was experiencing a period of bad luck.
However, when bad luck strikes, it rarely comes alone. It caught her off guard, one thing after another.
After the exposure of the deeds done by Hou Mingzhu’s subordinates, Hou Mingzhu’s counterfeit pharmaceutical company was also investigated. The investigation found that many materials did not match the advertisements. Hou Mingzhu was forced to suspend operations, resulting in huge losses from this business.
To salvage these losses, she had to cooperate with the genuine product. Only by establishing a cooperative relationship would the public believe that Hou Mingzhu was not selling fake or harmful drugs.
With no other options, Hou Mingzhu had to drag Hou Xiaolin, who was enjoying herself traveling abroad, back.
“Hou Xiaolin, you go and beg Ye Tiancheng now. Tell him to cooperate with me. My pharmaceutical company can only be saved by him now. No one else can save it.”
Hou Mingzhu was much more polite than usual. When Hou Xiaolin used to obey her orders, Hou Mingzhu didn’t treat this relative sister as a person. Now, this bit of politeness was only because she needed Hou Xiaolin’s help.
“Sister Mingzhu, are you serious? Ye Tiancheng and I have completely fallen out. If I go to him now to make demands, I’m afraid Ye Tiancheng will slap me to death.”
Hou Xiaolin spoke directly, but her reasoning was sound. The falling out between Hou Xiaolin and Ye Tiancheng was not a quiet affair; many people had witnessed it.
Therefore, they didn’t continue to hold grudges. However, Hou Xiaolin could never have any more dealings with Ye Tiancheng in this lifetime, otherwise, wouldn’t that be slapping herself in the face?
Who would want to slap themselves when they were living a good life? Especially since Hou Xiaolin was now wealthy and had a young lover, living quite comfortably. She really didn’t want to stir up trouble. Moreover, Ye Tiancheng was not a good person; everyone knew he was ruthless. The fact that Ye Tiancheng could make a comeback already explained everything. If Hou Xiaolin wanted to live a good life, she had to stay away from Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng really hadn’t thought of her. If Ye Tiancheng were vengeful and remembered the betrayals, he would have torn Hou Xiaolin to pieces. Fortunately for Hou Xiaolin, she was resilient.
“Sister Mingzhu, we are both children of the Hou family. I believe you don’t want to see me die. I’ve finally managed to live a few days of peace. Please, be merciful and let me go. I can return all the money you gave me. I don’t want any wealth or status. Just please, don’t make me approach Ye Tiancheng again. Ye Tiancheng is a devil. It’s normal for him to kill me!”
When Hou Xiaolin decided to break ties with Ye Tiancheng, she hadn’t realized the severity of the situation. Later, when she realized Ye Tiancheng’s methods were very high-level, she understood that this path back was a dead end. Therefore, she had to control her emotions and remain calm. She absolutely could not think that there was a possibility of reconciling with Ye Tiancheng and clinging to this big tree, and then run to Ye Tiancheng to court death. That man’s ruthlessness was notorious; how could he easily forgive her?
“No need to say more. Your face is not wasted. As long as you are weak enough, and extremely humble before Ye Tiancheng, he will surely give you another chance.”
It seemed Hou Mingzhu was not going to let her go. But Hou Xiaolin was truly afraid. She also didn’t want to go to Ye Tiancheng to suffer again.
“What about a villa? As long as you help me with this matter, I’ll buy you a villa with a garden in the most prosperous area, all cash. If you’re still not satisfied, I’ll give you a luxury car. You can choose any one!” kuAiδugg
As for Tianfu Catering, with the help of Ye Tiancheng’s organic vegetables, it became increasingly high-end and always brought in money. At that time, Hou Mingzhu was already quite satisfied. After all, she had gained face in front of her father. Her father had even praised Hou Mingzhu in front of other family members, saying that Hou Mingzhu was a remarkable woman, no less than a man.
Now, with pharmaceuticals, Hou Mingzhu hadn’t expected the profits to be so much greater than before. After all, these drugs were life-saving. Therefore, Hou Mingzhu adopted a strategy of low profit and high volume. However, once a certain quantity was sold, it did lead to a certain accumulation of wealth. Since opening the counterfeit pharmaceutical company, it had made a profit of over five hundred million yuan from its opening until now. This was a considerable profit for a large group with tens of thousands of employees.
“Sister Mingzhu, are you serious?”
“Yes, Hou Xiaolin. I am a person of principle. I know it wasn’t easy for you to infiltrate Ye Tiancheng’s side at the risk of being persecuted by him. Therefore, I have never mistreated you financially. The money you earned is yours, and I won’t take it back. But your current spending habits are visible to everyone. You spend thousands or tens of thousands every day. Even if you have savings, what good is that? It won’t last long, and you can no longer endure hardship. Therefore, you must accept my conditions.”
Hou Mingzhu was a genius at manipulating people. At this moment, a “sugar-coated bullet” was more effective than mere coercion.
“Alright, let me consider it.”
“The opportunity is before you, and perhaps it’s only once. Once you get used to this good life, eating Western food every day, going to exclusive clubs, wearing designer clothes, and even wearing perfume that costs thousands of yuan a bottle, I don’t believe you can still go back to being a factory girl like before. Perhaps you wouldn’t even look at the factory workers anymore.”
Hou Mingzhu’s words were spot on. Hou Xiaolin quickly considered the situation and finally decided not to struggle anymore. After all, struggling would still lead to the same outcome.
“Okay, fortune favors the bold. If I don’t risk it this time, I won’t have a good life in the future. If I succeed this time, then I, Hou Xiaolin, deserve to be rich, and no one can hinder my future.”
After bidding farewell to Hou Mingzhu, Hou Xiaolin went directly to find Ye Tiancheng. This time, she didn’t beat around the bush but stated her intentions directly.
“Brother Ye, you fancy my face, and I’m willing to be your substitute. However, there’s one condition: you have to help Hou Mingzhu this time. As long as you agree to this condition, I can follow you for a lifetime.”
Hou Xiaolin was not a fool. Of course, she wouldn’t follow Ye Tiancheng for a lifetime. She already had a young lover, and not just one, but several. How could she waste her youth on Ye Tiancheng?
Saying this now was just a delaying tactic. Once Ye Tiancheng agreed to help Hou Mingzhu, Hou Xiaolin would find a way to escape abroad, and perhaps even settle abroad in the future. As long as Ye Tiancheng couldn’t catch her, no one would care if she broke her promise later.
“You’re quite confident.”
If Hou Xiaolin hadn’t appeared, Ye Tiancheng would have probably forgotten about her. After all, he had only been infatuated with her face at first. As time passed, he would realize that this woman was completely different from the old flame he missed.