Chapter 526 – All of Jiahe's management lowered their heads. (3)
"We are calling off this recruiting effort. Don't nobody contact her ever again!"
Gu Wushuang took a deep breath and returned to her usual elegant look.
"Okay."
Manager Li turned to leave but there was a sort of light in his eyes.
As soon as he had left, the resume on the desk was torn to pieces by Gu Wushuang and sent into the trashcan like snowflakes as though that would somehow make her feel better.
The ink painting videos that she had watched million to times before now even hurt her eyes to look at.
She grabbed her cellphone and removed it completely from her saved list!
So what if Gu Shishi could painting?
She, Gu Wushuang, graduated from a music school and she had the Gu's family fortune!
She had no reason to worry about Gu Shishi!
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Gu Wushuang clenched her fists. Her heart, which hadn't hurt for a long time, seemed to feel uncomfortable all over again.
[Sister Shishi, as an artist, you should contribute whatever you have left in the backstage.]
Gu Wushuang sent a message over.
Gu Shishi, however, did not respond to her at all.
As though Gu Wushuang wasn't even worthy of that much. Gu Wushuang was upset all over again.
All of a sudden, Gu Wushuang's strategy in the way she managed her company became even more extreme.
From the standpoint of a bystander, she acted as though she had lost her mind.
100 million yuan had been invested into marketing cost for Jiahe's high-end products. The brand quickly filled everyone's eyes.
Suddenly, right when sales were climbing steadily and Gu Wushuang was feeling happy, she was struck by bad news!
Gu Wushuang never anticipated for this to happen!
She never even thought about having an emergency plan for this.
"How could that have happened? What was it?"
Her heart tightened.
The face of the manager who came delivering the news dropped.
That was a question from an extremely inexperienced boss.
Her first reaction was to place blame instead of coming up with a solution. That was the worst thing she could do.
They, nevertheless, answered her question.
"She is an internet influencer that we had given samples to when our products were first rolled out. She had over ten million fans. She said she had been a loyal supporter of our products since she was a child. But now that she had used our high-end products......"
The management didn't know how to go on.
"She said that our high-end products are too similar to our low-end ones other than the fragrance.
"She had a friend tested and compared them and learned that they were up to 85% identical."
The high-end products cost 10 times that of low-end ones.
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The fact that they were so similar was shocking.
Jiahe went all the way onto the hot search list.
Many consumers even asked for their money back.
Gu Wushuang shrieked. "What is wrong with you guys? How did you make such a basic error? Don't you know to at least modify the formula?!"
She had completely forgotten her earlier marketing theory stating that the value of the name brand far exceeds that of the ingredients.
Her radical push to the market allowed no time for R&D to develop new formulas for their high-end products.
And now, it was the fault of everyone else.
All of Jiahe's managers lowered their heads and remained silent.
***
A year later.
Gu Shishi dressed Huo Xiao Bao in a set of bunny suit and brought him with her over to the Chen's.
Old Mrs. Chen's birthday this year was not a round number (as in divisible by 10) so it wasn't a massive event. Only close friends and families were invited to dine together.
Old Mrs. Chen was very happy when Gu Shishi showed up.
Huo Xiao Bao made his baby talk as he reached his arms out at Old Mrs. Chen. He was affectionate like he was part of the Chen family. That put a big smile on Old Mrs. Chen.
"Aiya, our precious little one is here. He knows I am grandma."
Gu Shishi blinked. It was a happy day and she wasn't going to say anything otherwise.
She quietly pulled back her son's little hand that was holding onto the jade buddha that Old Mrs. Chen had dangling in front of her chest.
"Aye. It's fine. It's fine. He's got good taste. I knew he would like this piece of jade. Hahaha. I just got this not too long ago. I wore this today intentionally so our little precious could appraise it."
Old Mrs. Chen smiled so much that her wrinkles could be seen.
Chapter 527 – He knew he won't have a say in who he will be marrying. (1)
She looked behind Gu Shishi.
"Where's your man? He didn't come with you?"
She had invited the entire Huo family this time.
Recently, words had it that Gu Shishi was good luck for her husband.
Not only did she negate Huo Sishen's cursed nature, she brought good luck for both her husband and son and allowed the Young Master Huo to live a happy life.
As opposed to the Second Young Master Huo who had been wasting away, having bad luck both in his marriage and on the having children fronts, Huo Sishen's life was seemingly going very smoothly right now.
Whenever the couple showed up together in any events, they both looked well-rested and their cheeks pink. They just looked like lucky and happy people.
Their little son was chubby and smiled no matter who it was who picked him up. He rarely cried. He particularly loved to grab onto elegant things and was very precise when he did that.
The distance that people had been keeping from Huo Sishen were, often times, minimized for Huo Xiao Bao who earned the fondness of everyone.
Old Mrs. Chen, at her age, and being closed with Gu Shishi had long since stopped avoiding Huo Sishen.
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"What did he know about appraisal? He just wants to shove it into his mouth when he sees big and bright things." Gu Shishi genuinely worried that the next thing her son was going to do with to shove the piece into his mouth and chomp down on it. She quickly took him away. "His dad is behind us. He is bringing in the diapers and bottles."
Old Mrs. Chen looked at the child and rubbed him on his head. "I was wearing a gold locket a few days ago and he didn't even look at it twice. He wasn't interested in that one at all. This jade was polished by an old master with the carving of buddha. It had even won an award before. And the little guy fell in love with it right away! He's got good eyes!"
Gu Shishi smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Her son, indeed, had good senses in this area.
He would act abnormally excited when he encountered renowned work.
To make matters worse, he had a prodigal father and would not only buy him whatever he grabbed, but also a string of new things.
He was such a prodigal that he even said if his son was broke in the future, he could always go into appraisal.
Gu Shishi couldn't stop these two men and had no choice but to let them immerse in their precious items day in and day out.
"I am sure he had inherited Sister Shishi's artistic talent," said Chen Kexin as she looked over enviously.
"I still can't tell these things apart. He is surely better than me on this front."
Gu Shishi smiled helplessly, "You come and babysit for me. I guarantee that you will be able to tell good jade from bad in three months."
All the bad ones were tossed behind him by Huo Xiao Bao and picked up by Aunty Lin.
Those that he approved of he would shove into his toy box and only she was allowed to touch them.
Chen Kexin's eyes lit up but she quickly saw Huo Sishen who was walking inside. Tall, cold, and a very intimidating aura. She immediately shook her hands in intimidation.
Gu Shishi, on the other hand, looked over in the same direction and saw her prodigal man. She quickly handed her heavy son over to him.
The little kid always wanted to play with precious things. It was getting harder and harder to stop him.
"Happy birthday, Old Mrs. Chen."
Huo Sishen took his son and put one arm around him tightly. The little boy pouted immediately.
He nodded and greeted Old Mrs. Chen.
"Aye!"
Old Mrs. Chen was emotional.
It wasn't so much that she cared a lot of congratulatory words from him but, for some odd reasons, hearing them made her happy.
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Huo Sishen was extraordinarily handle and was an elite among his generation.
He was a cold one, though, and rarely attended any events in their circle. No other elders had received congratulatory words from him before.
Chapter 528 – He knew he won't have a say in who he will be marrying. (2)
Old Mrs. Chen's eyes reddened a little all of a sudden. "When you were still a child, you came to celebrate my birthday once. I remember a girl was chasing behind you and Keke bawled her eyes out because you didn't want to play with her."
"No way, Grandma! That did not happen!"
Chen Kexin almost bit her own tongue.
Huo Sishen's lips curved a little. He reached out his hand and held Gu Shishi's. "Mmhmm. I remember that too. Grandma Chen didn't look a day older than you did before."
Old Mrs. Chen put her hand over her mouth and smiled.
"Now we know who your precious bun looks like.
"He truly is the child of the two of you."
Gu Shishi had known for a long time now that this man knew how to say sweet things. He just didn't care to engage with people normally.
"Come. Come. C'mon in, quickly. Chat with us old folks inside."
Old Mrs. Chen quickly showed them in.
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Inside, the guests separated into the men and women groups.
The ladies were chatting about skincare and the men gathered to talk about current events or business.
Even though Huo Sishen hadn't been to events like this in a long while, he was still able to quickly locate his own spot.
He was an articulate talker, had a lot of substances, unique viewpoints on things, worldly experiences, and had a good grip on the information on the everchanging market.
All of the patriarchs and those of the uncle and grandpa generation all had their attentions on him instantly and only wish they could chat with him all night long in their studies.
Gu Shishi, naturally, followed Old Mrs. Chen. The old lady insisted on carrying Huo Xiao Bao, even if he had one hand on her jade while drooling all over her.
After she had sat down, Old Mrs. Chen wiped his saliva off of him and his shirt before handed him an opal bracelet for him to play with. She then smiled at Gu Shishi and said, "I've heard from my oldest son that Jiahe is going belly up and that the Gu family plan on packaging it up and selling it?"
That was a known secret by now.
Jiahe had been penalized by the Industry and Commerce Bureau for false advertisement and outrageous pricing. Not only did they have to pay a large fine but they had lost all of their reputation.
Even Chen Kexin chimed in when they were talking about that.
"Aren't they packing it with their gaming business as well?
"They are hoping to fetch a good price, I've heard. But who would want that?"
First, they had offended the official of their district, then they were exposed as unconscientious business. Others were no fools. Who would want to pay high price for something like that?
"The remaining estates aren't doing all that hot either. I heard from my husband that the next two years will be wintertime as far as real estates are concerned."
Mrs. Zhou chimed in from next to them.
She had heard about it already. Gu Wushuang wanted to use their Zhou Mi's dowry as a contrast and be ahead of them. So how could the mother not be upset at that?
This Gu Wushuang wasn't shut out by the Huo family for no reasons!
"I heard that Gu Wushuang is about to develop businesses overseas. She hired an overseas upper management and it was said that they have been in contact with an oil merchant," said Mrs. Zhang softly as she put down her tea cup.
With the exception of Gu Shishi who had no ties to the Gu family, none of the other ladies from the Gu family were invited today. As such, nobody would defend the Gu family when they were talked about.
Everybody wanted to add in their 2 cents' worth in degrading them.
All because Old Mrs. Chen clearly sided with Gu Shishi.
"And that Mother Huo. Why couldn't she just accept Gu Wushuang? It's been almost 2 years already."
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"Aiya, Gu Wushuang already had a miscarriage once. Who knows when she can get pregnant again. I would worry about a daughter-in-law like that too."
Gu Shishi had a peculiar look on her when she heard that.
"She was pregnant?"
The lady immediately gave her a this-is-between-you-and-I look.
Finally, Mrs. Zhang was the one who elaborated on that.
Chapter 529 – He knew he won't have a say in who he will be marrying. (3)
"She got pregnant a while ago. It was an accident, I think. Neither one of them were prepared. My daughter-in-law ran into her and Wencheng when she went for her prenatal checkup. She ran into them a week ago right after the miscarriage and Gu Wushuang was crying. My daughter-in-law overheard that she asked... for 50 million from Huo Wencheng and they will get a divorce."
Chen Kexin's eyes widened as she gasped. "50 million. Oh wow! Huh, I didn't hear about that before."
Mrs. Zhang smiled and waved her hand. "You are a single girl. You don't need to know these things.
"And it only happened a week ago. I have invited you to come for flower appreciation and you skipped out on it."
Chen Kexin let out a small cry. "Oh. I was travelling last week."
She missed out on this big melon.
Gu Shishi wasn't close with the Zhang family and took her son swimming the week before and also missed the gathering.
She, too, was surprised when she found out about it.
It seemed Chuchu didn't know about that either.
"Alright. What's talked about here stays here. Shishi, give this chocolate mousse a try," said Mrs. Zhou with a smile.
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"You must stay and play mahjong with us tonight. Grandma Chen will help you babysit your child."
Gu Shishi bowed and smiled bitterly for real this time. "I need to head to a dinner event with my husband tonight."
"Huh?"
Huo ChuChu truly didn't know about this one.
It was until after Old Mrs. Chen's mini birthday celebration did Mother Huo threw a glass tea cup at Huo Wencheng in front of the whole family.
"How did I end up with a trouble like you who can't read people and bring about disasters to our family?!"
Mother Huo's breathing was hastened.
"This was the first time that the Chen family did not invite us to their birthday banquet."
Grandma Huo closed her eyes for a little bit and said, "Everybody is just waiting to watch our dramas right now. It would be unpleasant for us to be there anyway."
Huo ChuChu had her head lowered and her head to her side while she listened quietly.
That how she learned about the incident.
Huo Wencheng's eyes were bloodshot. "We used protection. The pregnancy was an accident. We didn't expect her to have a miscarriage."
He also didn't expect that she would turn around and ask for 50 million yuan.
She said that her body was damaged and probably wouldn't be able to have children again. The 50 million yuan would compensate for both her physical and psychological recoveries. That the amount was lowered considered the years that they had spent together.
All of those were just excuses!
The thought of it all made Huo Wencheng gritted his teeth.
He would most likely feel that he had wronged her had he not heard about the rumors between her and an oil tycoon. Lo and behold, not only had he heard about the rumors, she also saw photos taken stealthily of the two together on his desk a few days later.
Gu Wushuang was all over a blonde man passionately.
He was a 32-year-old man with two sons. He didn't need her to give him children and he could help her take her businesses overseas.
She had her road paved for herself well ahead of time!
Huo Wencheng couldn't be angrier.
All of his loyalty and protection for her over the years was but a big joke!
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"Not only was she the fake daughter, she was not even a healthy one. And she is shameless, flirting with you starting from a young age. Now that she is all grown up, she was an unappreciative one, vicious and dirty. I have no idea what you see in her! You have pretty much lost your mind when it came to her! Had you listened to me back then and married Gu Shishi instead, none of this would have happened!"
Mother Huo, too, was infuriated.
"You are so much worse than your big brother. You have disappointed me so!"
Huo Wencheng turned pale and his hand trembled as he clenched them into fists.
Gu Shishi......
Her pretty and delicate face flashed through his mind......
"We have a dinner gathering tonight and you are coming with."
Mother Huo took a few deep breaths.
"They want to meet both you and Chuchu."
Huo Wencheng was taken aback a little. His pale face twitched before returning to normal.
He knew that he no longer has the rights to go against his mother's wish.
Nor would he have the right to decide on who he would be marrying in the future.
"Alright."
Chapter 530 – "Let me sell off my stock and I will be ready to go with you whenever." (1)
Inside a private room of Jinhai Club.
For a change, the entire Huo family was present.
Mother Huo reminded her pair of children after the waiter had left.
"The party that we are meeting have been overseas for a long time. Many of the enterprises overseas are family businesses that had passed down from generation to generation so the family situations of their partners are important to them.
"Don't do anything that will embarrass us today. One way or another, do show them how well the two of you work together."
Huo ChuChu pouted a little when she heard that.
Huo Wencheng, on the other hand, raised his brows. "What is their background?"
Huo ChuChu lowered her head and rolled her eyes.
Surprisingly enough, Mother Huo, who was infuriated just earlier today, had a smile on her.
"H Corporation that we would like to work with closely for the two following years. Both you and Chuchu had dealt with them before, but mostly his subordinates or management."
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Huo Wencheng changed colors upon hearing that. Fear could be seen in his eyes.
Mother Huo failed to notice that but continued to remind Chuchu. "Their global CEO had finally agreed to meet with us today. That was also an affirmation of the work that we had done together in the past. He will be bringing his wife and meeting with our entire family. Meeting in this super VIP room that need to have a reservation made three months in advance clearly demonstrated their sincerity to partner up in the future. Do not fight with your brother later on. If there's anything that you want to say to him, say that after we get home."
Huo ChuChu pursed her lips and nodded in a mocking way. Looking at her second brother, she said, "That's not a problem. I have already been holding back all the years, what's one more night?"
Picking up on her subtext, Huo Wencheng stood up abruptly. So abrupt that his chair flipped and fell onto the floor.
"Why are we having dinner with them? How come I didn't know about this ahead of time?
"Was this your idea, Chuchu?"
"What are you doing, Wencheng?"
Mother Huo looked unhappy.
"Sit back down. What do you think you are doing? Whatever happened to your etiquette, your elegance, and your chivalry?"
Old Mrs. Huo chimed in abruptly, "He had been poisoned by that sickly seed."
Huo Wencheng's face twitched.
The CEO of H Corporation, asked to have dinner with his family...... he had never agreed to meet in the past. He was just here to mock him!"
Huo Wencheng closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Standing right where he was, his face turned red and his chest heaved up and down.
"Do you know... who he is......?"
On the other side, Gu Shishi got out of the car with Huo Sishen after handing her son over to Aunty Lin and the bodyguard who were with them. She turned and peeked at the look on Huo Sishen from time to time.
Seeing that he had never said a word, she finally placed her hand inside of his.
Huo Sishen was taken aback a little and recollected himself from being lost in his own thoughts.
His thin lips shut gently. He quickly grabbed the little hand and shoved it inside of his suit pocket.
"Are you nervous?" asked Gu Shishi softly when they were alone in the elevator.
He hadn't seen his mother in years.
And to meet her with this identity of his......
Huo Sishen was taken aback a little but quickly let out a chuckle.
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"I am not the one who needs to b nervous."
Gu Shishi blinked.
He was here today after he had achieved great accomplishments. He was here to faceslap the others.
He had always lived in the shadow in the past. They resented him so he hid in the dark and never showed up in front of them.
He had a lot of mental issues and probably finally died from depression.
Things were different now. He had Huo Xiao Bao, his flesh and blood, and a delicate wife like her. He would not want to die. Instead, he wanted to walk out from the darkness and live in the open. He was to announce his return!
That was the only way to allow his children, and his children's children, all live under the sun.