Song Qiao glanced at Wu Meng in surprise, not reacting for a moment.
He had clearly seen that Wu Meng had no intention of leaving with Du Feng earlier. Her sudden agreement now was clearly an attempt to avoid him.
"Did you hear that, kid? Wu Meng isn't interested in a poor loser like you."
Du Feng hadn't expected Wu Meng to agree either and was overjoyed.
"Wu Meng, what's going on?"
Song Qiao was rendered speechless by Wu Meng's actions. Without a word, he grabbed her wrist.
"You're not going anywhere today. Come with me obediently."
This time, no matter how much Wu Meng struggled, he didn't let go, directly pulling her into his car.
Wu Meng found herself unable to refute Song Qiao's domineering and forceful demeanor. She found herself vaguely following Song Qiao into the car.
"Damn it, this kid dares to get rough with me right in front of me."
Du Feng watched the dramatic scene unfold, instantly enraged and shouting.
Seeing Song Qiao's car already start moving, he finally reacted. He quickly returned to his own car.
"Hmph, a BMW 5 Series. I don't believe you can outrun my Bugatti Veyron?"
"When I catch up, I'll snatch Wu Meng back."
"I never thought Wu Meng, who usually seems so demure, would like it when someone takes her by force."
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have wasted so many words and just grabbed her directly."
He regretfully slapped his thigh, channeling all his anger onto the accelerator, and began racing Song Qiao through the city.
"Where did this spoiled brat come from? Is he trying to die?"
Song Qiao cursed inwardly as he watched Du Feng's speed increase, the latter constantly trying to maneuver alongside him to cut him off.
He abruptly shifted gears and increased his own speed.
He had received professional racing training abroad. Although his car's performance was inferior to Du Feng's, his skill and the city environment allowed him to keep Du Feng firmly behind him, no matter how hard he tried to catch up.
"Song Qiao, don't get carried away with him. Safety first."
Wu Meng felt a tremor of fear as the speedometer needle climbed higher and higher.
"Alright, I'm done playing with him."
Song Qiao agreed and, without slowing down, accelerated through the upcoming intersection. He then took advantage of a traffic light change, made several quick turns, and successfully lost Du Feng.
"Little punk, trying to race me? You need another couple of years of practice at home."
He glanced at Wu Meng, who was still patting her chest in the rearview mirror, and chuckled softly.
Both of them calmed down and arrived at the Emperor Hotel.
"Let's go to the rooftop garden. I've prepared a surprise for you up there."
Song Qiao deliberately avoided asking Wu Meng why she had been avoiding him, and holding her hand, he led her upstairs.
No matter how much Wu Meng wanted to evade him, her heart was filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, Song Qiao. I spent so many years abroad and no one ever celebrated my birthday for me. I never expected to make a friend like you after returning home."
As Wu Meng entered the private room, her eyes welled up with tears. Song Qiao had specifically decorated the room exquisitely in advance. Even the cartoon characters were her favorite, SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Oh, don't be so sentimental on such a happy day."
Song Qiao gently patted her shoulder to comfort her.
Despite her upbringing in a prominent Kyoto family, Wu Meng had lived a rather difficult life. Anyone who showed her a little kindness, she would remember forever. For someone like her, Song Qiao inexplicably felt a desire to protect her.
"No, I want to say it."
Wu Meng wiped away her tears, wanting to bury herself in Song Qiao's arms. But as she remembered Xia Xueqing, she forcefully suppressed the impulse within her.
Song Qiao seemed to sense her feelings and was touched by the atmosphere, his nose tingling. After a moment's hesitation, he even made a move to embrace her.
"No."
Wu Meng stubbornly raised her head, preventing tears from falling. She calmly pushed Song Qiao aside.
"Song Qiao, I am truly grateful to have met a friend like you, a boss like you. But I really cannot do anything to betray Yuqing and Xueqing. From now on, let's just be ordinary friends."
As Wu Meng said these words, she felt her heart shattering. Song Qiao stood frozen, utterly bewildered. In that instant, he finally understood why she had been avoiding him lately.
"Wu Meng..."
He was about to explain when his phone suddenly rang from his pocket. He had intended to hang up, but seeing Ye Zhiwei's name, he quickly answered.
"Song Qiao, hurry to Lan Hai Industries. Something big has happened here."
Ye Zhiwei's voice was tinged with desperation, almost a sob. She hung up before Song Qiao could reply.
"The company is in trouble. I need to go. Wait here for me."
Song Qiao didn't dare to delay. He tossed these words to Wu Meng, grabbed his jacket, and sprinted downstairs. He drove at top speed to the headquarters of Lan Hai Industries.
"What's wrong, Zhiwei? What happened?"
Song Qiao burst in, his voice laced with anxiety and concern.
"This morning, nearly eighty percent of Lan Hai's employees chose to resign and all went to Li Bingqing. Lan Hai has come to a complete standstill."
Ye Zhiwei covered her face, describing the situation to Song Qiao, barely holding back her sobs.
"Li Bingqing again."
Song Qiao muttered through gritted teeth, his face darkening.
"What do we do now?"
"It's my fault. I didn't expect Li Bingqing to resort to such tactics."
Ye Zhiwei could no longer hold back and collapsed into Song Qiao's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
"A while ago, I had Xueqing specifically recruit and train a group of people at Xinkai. Although they are young, their educational backgrounds are top-notch, and they can temporarily fill in without any problems."
"As for the company executives, we can also transfer some from Xinkai to help out here."
Song Qiao formulated a solution within seconds.
"Can that really work?"
Hearing Song Qiao's well-organized plan, Ye Zhiwei's eyes lit up, and she regained some confidence.
"Don't worry, it will work. You are now in complete command of these people. You're the general manager now, so you must steady your nerves. If you lose your composure, then Li Bingqing will truly win."
Song Qiao gently patted her shoulder and continued to analyze the current situation for her.
"As long as we withstand this pressure, Li Bingqing's underhanded tactics will surely backfire."
Xia Xueqing received Song Qiao's notification soon after. Without delay, she arrived at Lan Hai with her team to provide support. In less than half an afternoon, Lan Hai returned to normal operations.
Ye Zhiwei finally let out a sigh of relief.
Seeing that the matter was resolved, Song Qiao rushed back to the hotel to celebrate Wu Meng's birthday. By the time he returned to the villa, it was past eleven in the evening.
Xia Xueqing was pouting, sulking by herself.
"Brother-in-law, today is August 7th. Do you remember what day it is?"
Song Qiao had had a few drinks and was caught off guard.
"It's Wu Meng's birthday today. We talked about it once."
As soon as he said it, Song Qiao realized something was wrong. He quickly looked at Xia Xueqing's expression.