Chapter 1121: Not Up To An Outsider
Guan Rui was full of rage now. He did not bother making any more small talk with Lu Chongshan and went straight to the point, "Old Lu, I won't say more, but I'm sure you know why I'm here. That collaborative proposal was discussed with you when I had just returned to the country, and I just confirmed with you half a month ago that there aren't any problems, yet now you suddenly back out of the promise and even gave it to some random Zhao family. Isn't this hitting us Guans below the belt?"
Obviously, Lu Chongshan knew that he was here for this. He first made him sit down then said helplessly, "Bro Guan, our families have been friends for so many years. Of course, I'll help you, my bro, now that you're back in the country to expand and I'm glad to collaborate with the Guan family. Not only I, Tingxiao has the same thoughts too. He also agreed to this arrangement earlier…but, you know as well as I do about that incident a few days ago…"

Guan Rui was immediately furious when he heard Lu Chongshan bring that up. "That incident has already been investigated to be an accident, Rong Rong was wrong to speak rudely, but it's common for girls to squabble a little. She's even paid with her life, yet that woman is still unwilling to forgive. Isn't she a little too evil!?
"I don't know what that woman has been saying to Tingxiao until we have suddenly been cut off from such a huge proposal! Chongshan, Tingxiao is young, credulous, and he acts on impulse. He's about to be bewitched by that woman. Are you just going to watch him mess up?"
When Lu Chongshan heard this, his expression turned solemn. He could scold and interrogate his own son, but he would not let an outsider say all of these. Even if this person was Guan Rui.
Furthermore, he had seen that incident from the moment it started. He had seen for himself that Ning Xi was pushed into the water by a relative of the Guan family. He also saw for himself in the CCTV footage that the woman had been rudely provoking her, while Ning Xi did not say anything all the way until she was pushed into the emergency ward. When they received an official letter informing them of her critical condition, he had heard the heartbreaking cries of Little Treasure himself… All of this still left him fear lingering in him.
Even though Cao Lirong had died after that, it was classified as sudden death and not caused by the Lu family. Still, Guan Rui's tone sounded as if she had been killed by the Lus and that it was the Lu family who was unwilling to forgive.

Besides, the dead could not testify, so no one knew whether the Guan family had a hand in this incident. Even he could not help but be suspicious, much less Tingxiao.
Thus, even though he felt that it was slightly negligent of Tingxiao to cut off their collaboration without a word, he could understand why his son did it.
It was impossible for any man to be indifferent when such an incident happened. Even if he had opinions about Ning Xi, he could not deny that the incident had nothing to do with Ning Xi at all.
On the contrary, it was still thanks to her that Little Treasure could finally speak.
When he thought of this, Lu Chongshan just said, "Bro Guan, Tingxiao was indeed sloppy to suddenly change the collaboration, but it's understandable. After all, the Guan family was wrong in the first place. If it was not for Cao Lirong's sudden provocation to hurt someone, would the incident have developed to the stage it was now at? Knowing Tingxiao, the fact that he had only changed the collaboration, this is already mild considering our two families' many years of friendship!"
Chapter 1122: Little Treasure’s The Most Important
Guan Rui was really frustrated, but he also understood that there was no use arguing with Lu Chongshan now. He said in a low voice, "Bro Lu, I know that my family is responsible in this matter, but Tingxiao really hurt our relationship. Anyway, we’ll be a family soon in the future.
"Ziyao’s already suffered a lot because of that woman. First, he had a woman outside before Ziyao came back, and now he’s attacking us for that woman’s sake. Is this really the right thing to do?"
Lu Chongshan’s expression turned serious. After putting some thought into it, he sighed, "Bro Guan, in regards to Ziyao, Ruyi and I have both really liked her since she was small. We view her like half our own daughter. If possible, of course, I hope we can become a family.
"But we Lus aren't so selfish as to ask Ziyao to wait endlessly for Tingxiao. After all, you know what’s happening to Tingxiao now. Ruyi and I can’t do anything, so I really don’t want to waste Ziyao’s time. I suppose we should leave relationship matters in their hands!"

Lu Chongshan genuinely hoped that they could become a family with the Guans, but with the current situation, not only Tingxiao, even Little Treasure was getting closer and closer to the woman. They could not make the Guan family wait forever!
They might not be friends anymore and might even become enemies, so Lu Chongshan decided to be straightforward with Guan Rui.
Guan Rui’s expression changed.
He had no rebuttal to Lu Chongshan’s words since they had just promised each other privately. There was not even a marriage contract, so the Guan family had no say in this.
He was too impatient this time!
Lu Chongshan took the risk into consideration and backed off…
Guan Rui clenched his teeth. "Bro Lu, I believe the both of them still have feelings for each other. It's just a small misunderstanding. It’s alright if the project won’t be carried out with us. Just take it as an apology for what happened the last time. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have brought a distant relative to an event like that…"

"Bro Guan, since it’s a misunderstanding, it’ll be fine after some clear explaining! Our relationship won’t be affected by our children’s drama!"
As Lu Chongshan spoke, he felt his sleeve being pulled at from behind. He looked around and saw his own grandson tugging on his sleeve. In his other hand was a painting.
Lu Chongshan’s expression turned gentle. "Are you done? Do you want to show Grandfather?"
Little Treasure nodded and looked at Guan Rui. He probably remembered that he had seen this man at the dinner the last time and that he was the grandfather of Guan Zhichen, so Little Treasure tensed up.
Lu Chongshan realized his grandson’s unease, so he quickly sent Guan Rui away. After Guan Rui left, Lu Chongshan returned to the living room.
There was nothing more important than getting his dear grandson to call him "Grandfather"!
Lu Chongshan looked at Little Treasure’s painting and praised him with a loving smile.
As he saw Little Treasure’s lively expression and beautiful eyes, Lu Chongshan sank into deep thought…
He was not against Lu Tingxiao being with that woman because he hated her. It was because his past experience had traumatized him…
Chapter 1123: Mother!
At night, Yan Ruyi came over with a lot of bags. She had bought all of them for Little Treasure.
The moment she went in, she saw Lu Chongshan who had disappeared for the whole day, following Little Treasure around while handing pens to him and praising his drawing…
Yan Ruyi yelled irritatedly, "Lu Chongshan! You lied to me that you went to play golf with your friends, yet you’re here!"
Lu Chongshan coughed unnaturally when he saw his wife, "Can’t I come over? Do I have to report to you that I'm visiting my grandson?"
"If you’re just visiting your own grandson, why do you have to hide from me?" Yan Ruyi realized what his intentions were.
Lu Chongshan kept quiet.
Yan Ruyi pointed her finger at him, in anger and jealousy. "You stayed a whole day with him. Did Little Treasure call you 'Grandfather'?"

Suddenly, Lu Jingli popped out of nowhere, munching on an apple. He laughed, "Hahaha…Mother! Don't worry! Father’s unfair strategy didn't work! I asked the maid already. Little Treasure said nothing at all today!"
Lu Chongshan was frustrated. "Bastard! So what?! I spent some quality time with him!"
Yan Ruyi suddenly felt lighter when she heard that Little Treasure did not call him Grandfather!
Good thing he did not. If not, Lu Chongshan would surely have bragged to her!
Lu Jingli was even more gleeful. "Hahaha, I told you so, Little Treasure is my true love!"
Yan Ruyi and Lu Chongshan were trying to get closer to Little Treasure these days, but their tactics did not work.
He was still the record holder!
The door suddenly opened. Lu Tingxiao returned with Ning Xi. They had a few bags full of vegetables and meat with them.
Ning Xi was surprised when she saw Yan Ruyi and Lu Chongshan there. She whispered to Lu Tingxiao, "Why didn’t you tell me your parents were going to be here?!"
Lu Tingxiao innocently shrugged. "I just found out myself."

"Oh! My sister-in-law! Are you making some dishes tonight? Are you? No wonder birds were singing outside my window today! Come in!" Lu Jingli quickly took the things from Ning Xi, then yelled loudly towards upstairs, "Little bun! Your mother is back!"
A quick patter of footsteps came from upstair. The little bun was summoned by the word "mother". He hugged her, then opened his arms wide and asked for a hug again, "I want a hug, Mommy!"
His expression seemed to be saying, "I’ve waited for Mommy the whole day long".
With Little Treasure’s touching words, Ning Xi forgot even about Lu Tingxiao, only the little bun filled up the space in her heart.
She quickly handed all her stuff to Lu Tingxiao and freed her hands to hold Little Treasure up. Her gentle tone made even Lu Tingxiao jealous. "My baby, what did you do today?"
"Drawing!"
"And?"
"Writing!"
"Did you do your training?"
"Yes."
"My baby is the best!"
…
Chapter 1124: Little Treasure Calls Grandfather
Seeing how Little Treasure was having a conversation with Ning Xi, Yan Ruyi looked at Lu Chongshan, happiness and pride swelling in their hearts.
They had asked Qin Mufeng about Little Treasure’s condition. He mentioned that Little Treasure was mostly fine now, but he would probably just talk to the people he felt safe with.
Unfortunately, they took some extreme measures while trying to help Little Treasure back then, so now, their only grandchild did not trust them.
Yan Ruyi walked towards them and asked, "Tingxiao, are you guys cooking your own dinner?"
"Little Treasure’s homework is to cook a dinner with his parents," replied Lu Tingxiao.
Yan Ruyi nodded. "I see! What a meaningful homework! Would your father and I be interrupting?"

Lu Tingxiao was surprised and even Ning Xi felt odd.
She was just here today to make dinner with Little Treasure and did not expect Yan Ruyi and Lu Chongshan to be here as well. She was thinking that she might have to return tomorrow to complete Little Treasure’s homework, but not only did Yan Ruyi not look unhappy, her attitude was also…far gentler than ever…
Lu Tingxiao and Ning Xi looked at each other. "It’s alright, just watch some TV for a while. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Okay, go on! If you need help, let me know!" Yan Ruyi said. Lu Chongshan did not have any complaints as well.
"Mmm," Lu Tingxiao replied.
After Ning Xi greeted the elders, she went into the kitchen with Little Treasure.
Lu Jingli went back to his own yard to get some vegetables after the three of them went into the kitchen as he felt that his own vegetables were the best.
Yan Ruyi and Lu Chongshan sat on the sofa as they looked at the happy family in the kitchen with mixed expressions.
From time to time, they heard Little Treasure’s cute little voice from the kitchen…

This was the ideal scenario they had dreamt of…
Ever since Little Treasure’s incident, the Lu family was surrounded by stormy drama. They never expected that they could still be alive to see the day Little Treasure recovered…
"Chongshan, I suppose we should put down what happened the last time. We can’t just deny everyone else because of one person. We’ve observed this girl for so long. She really cares for Little Treasure…" Yan Ruyi sighed.
Lu Chongshan remained silent. He did not react like before and erupt into anger. He mumbled, "Let’s observe longer…"
You would really only know a person after a long enough time!
…
In the kitchen, under Ning Xi’s commands to the big bun and the little bun, they soon finished preparing a delicious meal.
Ning Xi glanced at the pot of soup on the stove and told the little bun, "Little Treasure, we’re finishing soon. Go and tell Grandfather and Grandmother to come and eat!"
"Okay, Mommy." Little Treasure obediently ran towards the living room.
When Little Treasure went over, Yan Ruyi was speaking to Lu Chongshan and they did not notice him there.
When they were still talking, they heard a cute little voice call out, "Grandfather!"
Chapter 1125: To Become Mother’s Leg Accessory
Lu Chongshan’s opened his mouth wide as he turned around in disbelief. His body trembled slightly while looking at the little guy, not believing his own ears…
Did Little Treasure…just say…something?
"Grandfather, dinner’s ready!" Little Treasure repeated, then turned to Yan Ruyi, "Grandmother, time to eat!"
It was so sudden that Yan Ruyi lost control of her tears. She turned around and wiped her tears, then replied, "Okay…we heard you, we’ll be there soon!"
Little Treasure then left happily.

Lu Chongshan and Yan Ruyi both looked at each other, their eyes tearing up.
Yan Ruyi wiped her tears away and said to Lu Chongshan, "Little Treasure called you first, happy now aren’t you!"
"Look at you. He just called both of us together, stop being so petty! How childish!" While Lu Chongshan said that, he could not hide the satisfaction and excitement on his face.
Yan Ruyi mumbled to herself when she saw Lu Chongshan’s face. Although he said it did not matter, he was actually ecstatic on the inside! Who was childish now!?
During dinner, the atmosphere was warm and everyone was happy at the table.
Yan Ruyi and Lu Chongshan were smiling all the while. Their attitude towards Ning Xi had improved as well.
After dinner, as Ning Xi was about to leave, Yan Ruyi said to her, "It’s very late already, why don't you stay here for tonight?"
Ning Xi was really surprised by Lu Chongshan and Yan Ruyi’s attitude tonight. She rejected carefully, "Thank you, Madam Lu, for your concern, but I have to go to Qingdao tomorrow for a business trip. I have to go back and prepare the materials I need for tomorrow."

"I see…" Yan Ruyi nodded. "Is it for your apparel company?"
Ning Xi affirmed, "Yes."
"I heard Xinyan’s retail store housing your brand is doing pretty well."
Ning Xi put on a bitter smile. "She had a great start. Account-wise, her store had the highest sales, but who knew that she was running multiple discount campaigns and tried to pump up her numbers with more sathat? She even changed the professional salespeople I arranged for her…"
Although Yan Ruyi was not a professional, after being around Lu Chongshan for so many years, even she understood the problem. "This child! How could she do that?! Then, what happened?"
"I talked to her and made sure she followed the rules and regulations. Her discounts have made her a great loss and it'll take some time for her to recover, but as long as she doesn’t do anything reckless, it’ll surely get better…"
Yan Ruyi patiently listened to Ning Xi’s market analysis of several brands and she nodded, continuing to chat with her.
Lu Chongshan had actually investigated Ning Xi’s company and found out that she not only started it up by herself, she also did most of the things on her own. Despite being a small company to develop to the state it was today, Tingxiao had never involved himself in any of the process…
Yan Ruyi chatted with Ning Xi for quite a while. It was only after Lu Tingxiao urged her to leave so she would not be too tired that Ning Xi was sent to the door.
"Mommy!" The little bun clung onto Ning Xi’s trousers and looked up as if he wished to become his mother’s leg accessory and follow her back.
Chapter 1126: Get One Yourself!
"Ah!" Ning Xi squatted down and patted the little bun’s head.
"When will you come back?"
"Mmm, I’m not sure yet, but I’ll video call you!"
"I want a hug!"
Ning Xi hugged him for a while.
"I want a kiss!"
Ning Xi kissed his forehead.

Only after a long while did Ning Xi finally leave.
Lu Jingli witnessed the whole process of the little bun parting with Ning Xi.
The moment Ning Xi left, Lu Jingli went up to the little bun and said, "Don’t be sad, Little Treasure, Second Uncle can give you hugs and kisses. Come to Second Uncle!"
The little bun’s gentle gaze remained focused on his mother before he looked at Lu Jingli seriously. "Second Uncle, I’m my mother’s baby. If you’d like to one, get one yourself."
Lu Jingli was speechless. He felt like multiple arrows had just been shot through his chest!
"Brother! Look at your son!"
Lu Tingxiao patted his son’s head. As expected of his clever son! "Mmm, Little Treasure is mother’s baby."
Yan Ruyi went along, "Little Treasure’s right. If you like kids, go and find someone and get your own kids. Stop troubling other people’s kids!"
Lu Chongshan sneered at him, "If he’s capable to find one that is!"
He was attacked simultaneously by his nephew, his brother, and his parents…

He did not dare to brag to them about Little Treasure calling him "Second Uncle" again…
…
The next morning, after a good night's rest, Ning Xi brought Han Momo with her to Qingdao.
Qingdao was under the Hubei province, which was much closer to Imperial. There were two competing shopping complexes and Qiao Weilan had already contacted one of them.
Ning Xi’s aim this time was to discuss the details. She did not have to do everything by herself as the boss, but she wanted to experience this learning process.
On the plane, Han Momo was arranging Gong Shangze’s designs as Ning Xi was looking into the proposal carefully in case there were any mistakes that needed to be rectified.
Ning Xi did not really feel pressured for this cross-state retail store as this was just the first step. Spirit would be expanding its roots to every state in the country until it went international.
Qingdao was not far away, so it only took them an hour of flying.
After they left the airport, they checked into the hotel they had booked.
After lunch, Han Momo followed Ning Xi and went to the largest shopping complex in Qingdahad the New Era mall.
In Qingdao, there were two renowned shopping complexes, one being New Era Mall, and the other was Allstar mall.
Chapter 1127: Initial Success
A few years ago, Allstar Mall dominated New Era Mall in terms of customer flow and product placement.
Due to the development in recent years, many infrastructure had been built such as schools, government buildings, and residential areas, contributing to higher traffic flow to New Era Mall.
New Era mall grabbed the opportunity and promoted themselves heavily, then rose as the largest shopping complex of the city.
The business deal this time was with one of the best clothing companies, whose owner was called Deng Kuan. He had eight brands under him and he handled low to medium-class brands well, but what he lacked was a luxury brand like Spirit.

During this period of time, Spirit’s popularity was rising. Along with the attractive bonus for franchising, this made Deng Kuan interested in joining them.
About half an hour later, Ning Xi brought Han Momo to New Era. After they walked around for a while, they realized that New Era Mall was pretty big and a lot of people came here as well. If the deal with Deng Kuan went well, it would be very advantageous for Spirit’s growth in the Hubei province.
Ning Xi called Deng Kuan to inform him that she and her assistant had arrived. A short while later, a middle-aged chubby man with a female secretary came to Ning Xi.
"Hello Ms. Ning, I’m Deng Kuan." Deng Kuan smiled and shook hands and Ning Xi.
Deng Kuan then led Ning Xi to his office.
After some small talk, Ning Xi passed her proposal to Deng Kuan as she smiled. "Mr. Deng, the details of franchising are all in the proposal. Please have a look."
Deng Kuan nodded and started to go through the proposal seriously.

"We’ve included some of our latest works inside. Check it out." Han Momo presented a well-packed outfit to Deng Kuan.
"Mmm…great!" Deng Kuan smiled. "Ms. Ning, I’ve been to Spirit’s store twice and I really like Spirit’s quality and designs. Overall, I think it’s great, but, about the price, do you think you could give me a little discount?"
Ning Xi replied, "Mr. Deng, I’m sure you understand that quality comes with a price. We’re really looking forward to Mr. Deng’s collaboration as well, so we’ve made a special consideration on the pricing."
"Heh, Ms. Ning, we’re business people. We’re all aiming to earn more money, no?" Deng Kuan said suggestively.
"Mr. Deng, well…" Ning Xi paused for a short while. "If I tell you that I can give you more discouan today, then Spirit’s loss will need to be compensated from the materials. It would be a bad thing for both the consumers and you, Mr. Deng. With Spirit’s popularity and assurance in quality today, I believe you can see for yourself, as a smart businessman, you’d be able to understand the full potential of Spirit."
Deng Kuan’s eyes brightened as he looked at this young founder in front of him. He was trying to get a lower price, yet she was so experienced that what she said made sense.
Spirit’s brand impact and potential was what he was aiming for.
Chapter 1128: Breach Of Contract
"Haha, Ms. Ning, it’s all set then. Let’s return to Imperial tomorrow together. Let me take a look at Spirit’s headquarters and we’ll get the contract signed. How does that sound?" Deng Kuan beamed.
"Of course, we’ll welcome you. It’s set then. If there’re any more questions, you can contact me anytime." Ning Xi’s expression softened.
After a short casual chat with Deng Kuan and agreeing on the time to go back together to sign the contract, Ning Xi left with Han Momo.
Ning Xi and Han Momo went straight back to their hotel after they left New Era mall.
…
Just a moment after Ning Xi left, a man walked into Deng Kuan’s office.
"Mr. Deng, please allow me to introduce myself. I’m the Marketing Director of History, Qin Zifan." The man looked at Deng Kuan smilingly.

"History?"
Deng Kuan was a little taken aback. Of course, he knew about History. History had been founded earlier than Spirit. Coincidentally, both their brand positionings and styles were similar. Everyone knew that these two luxury brands were currently competing.
"Qin Zifan…if I remember correctly, you’re the former Marketing Director of SF?" Deng Kuan took a glance at Qin Zifan, seeming to remember him.
Qin Zifan nodded, not denying it.
"Haha, Mr. Qin, I’m afraid you’re too late, I’ve already made an agreement with Spirit. I’m going to franchise Spirit’s brand. Sorry but you’ve wasted your efforts to come here."
An experienced businessman like Deng Kuan could surely guess Qin Zifan’s intentions for being there.
"Oh…hmm, an oral agreement?" Qin Zifan pondered, "I believe as a businessman, I’ll be straightforward with you. We’re really interested in working with you. This proposal was written by me personally. You may take a look before making a conclusion."
Deng Kuan took the proposal and read through it patiently.
"Two points lower than Spirit?!"
Deng Kuan was shocked. This offer was much more attractive than Spirit’s!

"If you accept our offer, from the brand management to the supply and training of the salespeople, we’ll make the necessary arrangements directly from our headquarters, and most importantly, any fees needed for promotions will be provided by us as well." Qin Zifan offered an extremely attractive deal.
Deng Kuan took some time to contemplate. "Well, we’re all friends. Let’s have dinner tonight and go through the details…"
Qian Zifan gave Ning Xueluo a call after he came out of the office.
"Boss, it’s done! I told you so, the Marketing Director of Spirit is just a nobody!"
He ended the call with a wide grin, then left.
…
The next day, in the hotel room, Ning Xi received an abrupt message from Deng Kuan. He said that after a long consideration, they decided to give up Spirit and choose History instead. The main reason was that History made a better offer.
"How could he be like this? That Mr. Deng broke our promise!" Han Momo expressed her injustice of the situation.
"We were too careless this time. Anyhow, we should go there and confirm with him directly…" Ning Xi’s expression turned serious. She did not say much and went straight to New Era mall. She then realized that Deng Kuan had made his decision earlier
He had invited Ning Xi for lunch but had not said anything about Spirit’s franchise.
Chapter 1129: Ace’s Move
Ning Xi found out that after she left, the Marketing Director of History, Qin Zifan, had quickly gone to talk to Deng Kuan.
After he dropped by, Deng Kuan decisively gave up on franchising Spirit and chose History; one did not have to guess much about what happened.
As she was leaving New Era mall, Ning Xi gave Qiao Weilan a call and asked her to go over to Qingdao immediately.
The Marketing Director of History seemed to be very experienced. In such a situation, she could only rely on Qiao Weilan!
Let’s hope she has a solution…
In the afternoon, Qiao Weilan rushed to Qingdao and stayed in the same hotel as Ning Xi.

In the video call before, Ning Xi had already told Qiao Weilan about the situation, but she repeated it again after they met each other.
"Give up on New Era," Qiao Weilan voiced her thoughts straightforwardly.
"Give up? My ace…are you sure?" Ning Xi felt skeptical. Was this something Qiao Weilan would say?
"That’s right," Qiao Weilan replied, "The Marketing Director of History came here fully prepared. He wanted to wage a war of pricing. If we deal with him, we won’t be able to win. In fact, we’d lose even if we get the deal."
"What do you mean, Director Qiao?" Han Momo was a little confused.
"It's simple. History wanted a price war, so they gave New Era the lowest price possible, which means that History wouldn’t be earning. If we’re going to get the deal back, we can only offer a lower price, which is bad for Spirit. It might even affect our product’s quality. It’s not necessary to go that far just for New Era," Qiao Weilan explained.
"Director Qiao, do you mean that if we were to get the deal back, we’d be hurting ourselves, and History would stop giving their sweeter deal as they would have achieved their goal? If we don’t try, New Era would be go to History anyway. Although they will have very little profit, it’s still good promotion for History’s brand," Ning Xi said.
"That’s right." Qiao Weilan nodded and Ning Xi understood the situation perfectly.
Ning Xi was shocked. Who exactly was the Marketing Director of History? He had just created a sure-win scenario for himself!

If Spirit wanted to get New Era back, then they would have to pay a price. On the other hand, if Spirit did not do anything, it would benefit History. Regardless of whether they snatched the deal back or not, Spirit would still lose either way!
Spirit was now stuck in an awkward position. Neither moving forward nor backward was good.
"So, we’ve lost?" Ning Xi felt a little frustrated as their first cross-state deal was snatched by History.
"Lose? The game has just begun." Qiao Weilan’s cold face lit up when she talked about a topic involving her area of expertise.
"Ah? But, Director Qiao, you just said that no matter what we do, we’ll lose, so what should we do?" Han Momo was confused.
Not just Han Momo, even Ning Xi could not tell what Qiao Weilan was thinking about.
"Besides New Era, we have another suitable choice. It's New Era’s opponent, Allstar," Qiao Weilan replied.
"Allstar mall…"
Ning Xi thought about it when she heard Qiao Weilan mentioned Allstar.
"In these last few years, while New Era was performing better than Allstar in overall, it did not mean that Allstar was doing poorly. Instead, Allstar was really capable, especially its luxury franchise retail stores. Allstar performed well in this area and the customer flows are consistent," Qiao Weilan elaborated.
"So, Director Qiao, you're saying that we should go to Allstar instead?" Ning Xi somewhat understood Qiao Weilan’s intentions.
Chapter 1130: An Eye For An Eye
"Actually, I’ve been talking to people from Allstar. They're interested in working with us as well," Qiao Weilan said.
"Then, why did you ask me to look for Deng Kuan in New Era?" Ning Xi realized that she did not understand this woman at all.
"Boss, if you and Han Momo went to Allstar first, wouldn’t it mean we'd have to give up Allstar and go to New Era instead?" Qiao Weilan replied.
Han Momo and Ning Xi were shocked. What Qiao Weilan meant was that she already had a conclusion to put Spirit in Allstar, and not New Era all along! She and Han Momo had been deceived and used by Qiao Weilan!

Ning Xi was speechless. She had deceived her own boss. The gall of it! She would surely reduce her salary!
Qiao Weilan realized Ning Xi’s thoughts and laughed, "Boss, it’s not what you think. The best case scenario is to place our brand in both Allstar and New Era, but since History is interested, we’ll just give them New Era. It’s not a big deal."
Ning Xi’s eyes glowed. She was really touched that Qiao Weilan was fully focused on fighting for Spirit!
"Director Qiao, you’re really awesome. If we had gone to Allstar first and History started the price war, we could only hand it over to them. But now that History has chosen New Era, to defeat us, they offered a near zero-profit proposal! This means that the moment History stepped into Hubei province, they've already lost!" Han Momo was really impressed by Qiao Weilan, totally forgetting about her earlier dissatisfaction towards her.
History had snatched New Era away with a near zero-profit offer and was probably grinning ear-to-ear happily now, not knowing they had already lost.
Had it not been for Qiao Weilan, even if History planned to place a store in New Era, they would not have such a healthier profit margin. They would have had to spend a lot and offer a hefty discount to Deng Kuan too!
"Director Qiao, how did you know that History would surely come and compete with us?" Han Momo was still a little confused. Maybe Qiao Weilan could predict the future!

Qiao Weilan replied, "History’s current Marketing Director is Qin Zifan and he worked in SF before. During his time there, he used similar tactics to defeat many strong opponents for SF. Since we’re now History’s most threatening opponent, he'll surely do something about us."
"What if Qin Zifan didn’t go over?" Han Momo asked.
Qiao Weilan looked at Han Momo like she was a silly girl. "If he didn’t, then both New Era and Allstar will be ours."
"Awesome! Really impressive! Now, I know what a real tactic is!"
"I think I have to treat Owner Qin to another meal…" Ning Xi smiled.
An eye for an eye. Qiao Weilan had thought a step further than Qin Zifan.
Qiao Weilan was not really keen on New Era anyway. Most of the clothing brands there were proposed by Deng Kuan, which meant that New Era never really had a luxury clothing store before, so the market potential there was low.
As for Allstar, they started taking in luxury clothing brands many years ago and were probably the earliest in the Hubei province to do so, which made Allstar popular with high-spending potential customers.
Chapter 1131: Bumped Into Someone Familiar
The definition of Spirit was obvious. It was classified as a high-end luxury brand. While New Era's human traffic was more than Allstar's, they were clearly not the ones Spirit was targeting. Allstar was different; it had many high-end customers!
…
In just two days, Ning Xi and Qiao Weilan had discussions with Allstar and finally signed the contract for opening a retail store.
And this retailer was even more capable than New Era's Deng Kuan. It was one of Allstar's shareholders!
In the past few days, Qiao Weilan had accompanied Ning Xi to travel back and forth Hebei and was very busy helping Spirit's retailer launch their business in person. This made Allstar's shareholders have a favourable impression of her.
Further unexpectedly for Ning Xi, on the first day of business, she had bumped into a familiar face in Allstar.
Ming Fangfang.

She was not shocked to bump into Ming Fangfang in Qingdao. She was more surprised to see the man beside her. The man was tall and handsome. He looked very young and was holding a mix of big and small bags with an ice cream in one hand. He was attentively pampering her.
"Miss Ning, long time no see! Didn't think I would actually bump into you here! I haven't thanked you for the last time. Let's find a place for a meal together," Ming Fangfang suggested when she saw her.
She was different from the hysterical and sallow woman from before. The Ming Fangfang today emitted the gentleness of a woman and looked really good too. It seemed like she was living a healthy and lucky life.
"This is…?" The man looked at Ning Xi and asked.
"Ning Xi. I've mentioned her to you before."
"Oh, you're Ning Xi…" The man instantly revealed a good-natured expression. "Then, we should indeed treat her to a meal. I wonder if you're free?"
When Ning Xi regained her senses from her shock, she answered frankly, "Sure! Of course, I don't mind being treated to lunch!"
At a nearby restaurant later, the man knew that with him around, they would not be able to speak freely, so he did not bother them and left after dropping them off at the restaurant. "Call me when you're done, I'll pick you."
"Mmm," Ming Fangfang responded.
After he left, Ming Fangfang leaned back on her chair and looked at Ning Xi, then asked, "Have you been shooting recently?"

"I just finished shooting a movie. If all goes well, then it should be in the theatres soon," answered Ning Xi.
"Which director?"
"Chen Mian."
"What a coincidence! The first movie I shot was with Director Chen…" Ming Fangfang could not help but say ruefully.
Ming Fangfang had acted in Chen Mian's second movie "Love Is In The Future" as the female protagonist. That movie was still an insurmountable classic and it had also established Ming Fangfang's status in the entertainment industry.
Sadly, Ming Fangfang was the daughter of an affluent family. She had only joined the entertainment industry for fun. At last, she had only acted in this one movie before getting married.
However, even though she had left the industry for a while now, her name still held some prestige, which was why so many people had been interested when Hu Hongda was revealed to be having an extramarital affair.
After exchanging a few more conventional small talk, Ming Fangfang looked to Ning Xi to say, "Don't you have anything that you want to ask?"
Ning Xi had been curious since before, but she just felt that it was not polite to ask too much. However since Ming Fangfang had raised it herself, she decided to just nose in, "Um, Senior, that man just now is…?"
"My husband," answered Ming Fangfang, pleased by the sound of Ning Xi addressing her as "Senior".
"Ah…" Ning Xi had meant to ask whether she had divorced Hu Hongda. Well, now it looked she did not have to. Not only did they get a divorce, she had even remarried very quickly.
Chapter 1132: He Isn't Fertile Either
No wonder she appeared in Qingdao. It turns out that she had gotten married and moved here!
Ning Xi instantly showed her a thumbs up. "Cool!"
Ming Fangfang was amused by her reaction. "Am I?"
"Of course! To be honest, I was quite worried before this. I was afraid that you'd be soft-hearted! I could see that you really loved Hu Hongda. After all, you even forgave him when he had an affair…but thankfully, you're a true goddess! You decisively cut him off!" Ning Xi kowtowed with her fists together as a sign of respect.
Ming Fangfang forced a smile. "I'm not as blunt as you say I am. It's because I'm too indecisive that I dragged it on for so many years…to the point that if it were not for Fang Ya appearing at our door and showing me their true colors, I might have really repeated my mistakes!"
"Fang Ya actually went to your house?" Ning Xi could basically imagine how the situation had panned out. "Even though I think that you should have gotten the divorce…wouldn't that be letting Fang Ya off too lightly?"

Ming Fangfang sneered, "It looks like you haven't been reading the news lately."
Ning Xi blinked and spread her hands innocently. "Are you talking about the news in finance? I only read the entertainment section!"
"Hu Hongda is bankrupt," said Ming Fangfang.
"Bankrupt…then Fang Ya…" Even though Ning Xi was a little shocked, this was still within her predictions. In that situation then, New Era's estates would have already been ruined to the brink of death by Lu Tingxiao, and since they had even chased away Ming Fangfang, naturally, there was only one dead end.
"What do you think?" Ming Fangfang looked at her.
Ning Xi raised her brows. "Did she get an abortion, then run off?"
Hu Hongda was bankrupt, so there was no way Fang Ya would continue to be with him.
In their plan, they thought that Ming Fangfang would compromise and help to save the company, then they could continue to collude together and enjoy the luxury of wealth, but the did not expect Ming Fangfang not to do as they wished. In the end, the two were left with nothing.
"Huh, the company went bankrupt and after Fang Ya aborted their child, Hu Hongda immediately ran back to look for me…"

Ning Xi revealed a worried expression. "With his personality, he must have clung on you to no end and refused agree to the divorce. Am I right?"
"You guessed it."
"Then, how did you get rid of him in the end?"
"What else can I do with these kind of people? My family got someone to beat him up, then he immediately straightened up. Otherwise, do you think I could have gotten logic through him any other way?"
Ning Xi revealed an expression of satisfaction. It looked like Ming Fangfang had thoroughly let go of that good-for-nothing. "The one you have right now…he looks like he treats you very well."
When she brought up that man from earlier, Ming Fangfang's initial cool expression softened quite a little. "Mmm, he's…indeed very good to me…he's liked me for many years, but I've never considered him because he's five whole years younger than me.
"At that time, I thought that he was young and didn't believe that he was serious. I also felt that children of wealthy families like him wouldn't be reliable, but who would have thought that he waited on me for so many years? He immediately came looking for me when he heard that I had gotten a divorce.
"At first, I still couldn't accept him because I felt inferior and that his family would definitely not agree to let him marry a woman who's a divorcee and was so many years older than him…"
Ning Xi frowned. This was indeed a little thorny. "Then, what happened?"
Ming Fangfang continued with a more tender expression now, "Then, I frankly told him that it's hard for me to get pregnant and that I might never bear a child my entire life. I wanted him to back out…at last, he actually got a diagnosis from the hospital and told me that what a coincidence! He isn't fertile either."
Chapter 1133: Come Over To Support A Friend
Ning Xi dumbfoundedly exclaimed, "Wow? Is he really…not fertile?"
Ming Fangfang touched her lower belly bashfully and said, "I'm pregnant, what do you think?"
Ning Xi immediately looked overjoyed. "Whoa! Really?! You're pregnant? Congratulations!"
There was no need to ask any further. That man had obviously lied to her.
When Ming Fangfang saw the girl's genuine joy for her, she felt touched. "Thank you!"
When she talked about this, Ming Fangfang still had some remnants of alarm. "When I had first found out I was pregnant, I was frightened. I thought it was Hu Hongda's and I was ready to get an abortion. Halfway through, he found out and told me the truth, then he brought me to the hospital for a detailed check up. From the timeline, it showed that it was indeed his child, so then his parents agreed to us too…"

Ning Xi listened to this, her hair raised. Thankfully, Fate would not treat the kind-hearted unfairly. She had finally waited for the arrival of a life and it was coming to fruition.
"As for that Fang Ya, I'm too lazy to actually find out how she's doing, but someone did end up telling me that they heard she was being shut out because of her bad reputation, so now she's off to shoot those kind of films…" When she mentioned Fang Ya again, Ming Fangfang's expression had calmed down much more, as if she had just spoken about a stranger.
"I'm very sorry that I misunderstood you then and said all those things to you. Now, I can't drink, so I'll use tea to replace booze and drink to you!" Ming Fangfang apologized to her with a solemn expression.
Apart from apologizing, she had even more gratitude. If it were not for Ning Xi who had exposed Hu Hongda's lies back then, she would not have the life she did today…
Ning Xi quickly returned the toast and said, "No worries, you weren't aware back then."
Ming Fangfang looked at her a little worriedly as though she wanted to say something, but at last she simply said, "I wish that you and that person…can get through everything smoothly too."
"Thank you." Ning Xi was a little surprised and she raised her brows. "I thought you would advise me not to fall for that fatal attraction."
Ming Fangfang laughed, "If it was me, I probably wouldn't have resisted a man like Lu Tingxiao either. Furthermore, you're a young girl! Besides, I can see that Lu Tingxiao does quite like you. Ever since I've gotten pregnant, I just feel like…anything is possible in this world, isn't it?"
"Of course, I've always thought so!"

After hearing a story so full of positive energy, Ning Xi's mood lightened up quite a bit.
…
After parting ways with Ming Fangfang, Ning Xi returned to the hotel and prepared for the second day of the business launch. Unexpectedly, she met her at the launching ceremony again.
"Miss Ming…no, Mrs. Zhao?"
"I've just come over to take a look, am I not welcomed?" When she saw Ning Xi's shocked expression, Ming Fangfang teased.
"Of course, you're welcome, I'm just a little surprised! You're pregnant. Are you sure it's okay?" When she chatted with Ming Fangfang yesterday, Ning Xi had just casually mentioned the reason she was in Qingdao and had briefly talked about the launch today, but she did not think that she would come to support her personally.
"It's just a little walking. What problems can there be? Don't treat me like I'm made of glass!" Ming Fangfang was probably nagged by her husband often at home, so she quickly rebuked.
But how would Ning Xi dare be careless? She quickly held the pregnant lady to support her.
"Mrs. Zhao! You're here! Excuse me for not going out to meet you!" Even the person in-charge of Allstar was humbled and overwhelmed at the sight of Ming Fangfang, so they quickly rushed up to greet her.
"I've come to support a friend!" Ming Fangfang's tone was casual.
Chapter 1134: Hooked
Not only was Ming Fangfang queen of Imperial's prestigious families, her husband was also from one of the most renowned tycoon, so they did not think that Spirit's owner would be friends with her. The attitude of Allstar's person-in-charge instantly increased in respect and important regard for this retail store.
"Mrs. Zhao, this way in! If I knew you were coming, I would've covered up all the corners in this place just in case you knock into anything!"
Everyone knew how CEO Zhao pampered his wife!
Ning Xi was speechless from the sidelines. Not bad, this person has a talent for brown-nosing!
Ming Fangfang held her forehead in mock distress. "You see that? Everywhere I go, it's like this! I have to suffer days like this for another seven months!"

Ning Xi smiled teasingly. "I pity you!"
As Ning Xi said this, she definitely would not have thought that…one day, she would be the one who deserved the most pity…
Not too far away, Qiao Weilan and Han Momo's eyes were full of astonishment as they watched the way Ning Xi conversed happily with Ming Fangfang. Before this, they had been worried about finding the right person to launch their retail store in Qingdao, but who would have known that Ning Xi had invited Qingdao's favorite lady from the Zhao family over?
Not only was she famous in the entertainment industry, her and her husband's families were public figures too. This was perfect for Spirit's niche and demand. Very soon, they could see hat the effect of Ming Fangfang's visit was even better than they had imagined.
Since Ming Fangfang was had gotten pregnant, she was rarely out and about and had not appeared before the media in a long time. This time, after Qingdao's media heard the news, they all flocked over. It had even attracted a lot of Ming Fangfang's high-end die-hard fans. On just the first day of the launch alone, Spirit's retail store in Allstar had almost been cleared out of stock, making the revenue on the first day tally up to several millions!
In comparison, History's store that had opened yesterday seemed a little quiet. Their two days of business turnover could not even reach Spirit's bar at Allstar.
After Allstar's opening ceremony ended, Ning Xi had stayed for a few more days to see how Spirit would fare in Allstar. Throughout a few days of observation, Allstar's turnover rate looked promising every day.
Ning Xi was now incredibly full of admiration for Qiao Weilan's strategic mindset. Allstar's high-end crowd was indeed a few times more than New Era's, making it an excellent starting point for Spirit to begin in the Hebei Province.

As for Qiao Weilan and Han Momo, they thought that Ning Xi was truly magical instead. She always had unexpected surprises for them every single time. Ming Fangfang's visit and support was truly the powerful key that led to Spirit being renowned in the Hebei Province.
Now, Deng Kuan from New Era was utterly regretful. If he had known that it would turn out like this, he would not have turned on his words back then!
But there was no pill for regrets. It was a done deal now…
…
Very quickly, the news had spread to Imperial. When Ning Xueluo heard about this, she flew into a terrible rage and scolded Qin Zifan ruthlessly.
She never would have thought that not only did Spirit get a deal with Allstar Mall, even Ming Fangfang had gone over to show her support! Allstar did not have such power, so it must have been Spirit who invited Ming Fangfang…
Damn it! What was happening recently!? Not a single thing has been going right!
Ning Xueluo was annoyed as she picked up the phone and said impatiently to the other end, "How's that thing I asked you to help me do the last time? Why aren't there results yet?"
"What are you rushing for? The target is hooked. Be prepared to pull your net in," the man replied nonchalantly on the other end of the phone.
Chapter 1135: Born From Mother's Womb
Ning Xueluo breathed a sigh of relief before a sinister look flahsed in her eyes. "You can be a little cruel when you do it. That way, it'll seem more realistic!"
"Don't worry, little girl, you don't have to teach me these things! Don't forget about what I want!" The man lowered his voice.
Ning Xueluo's tone was slightly annoyed. "Didn't I say that I'd find a time to help you ship those things in? There'll be some stock coming from Los Angeles to Imperial next month! There won't be any problems, you just have to help me get this done right, then everything goes!"
…
At Platinum Palace in Imperial.
In the study room, the little bun was lying his head on his father's desk and his huge eyes stared at the man, unblinking. He asked for the sixteenth time today, "When is Mommy coming home?"
These past few days, Lu Tingxiao and Little Treasure's conversation was basically:
"When is Mommy coming home?"
"Why isn't Mommy home yet?"

"Will Mommy be coming home today?"
"Will Mommy be coming home tomorrow?"
…
Obviously, a son who could speak was harder to deal with than when he could not say a word. Before this , he only used his eyes to attack, but now he could attack with his voice too.
Lu Tingxiao knitted his brows and closed the laptop before him, then he tilted his head and looked at his son with a complicated expression.
These past few days, Little Treasure had called out for Mommy, Grandfather, Grandmother, and even Second Uncle.
Even though Little Treasure was always driving Lu Jingli crazy when he spoke to him, he could see that Little Treasure actually liked Jingli very much because he spoke the most to him and he would basically respond every time.
Yet, he…had yet to hear Little Treasure call him "Father" once.
Every time Little Treasure looked for him, he would only ask about Ning Xi. Apart from that, he had nothing else to say.
To say that he was not bothered at all was lying.
"Little Treasure, come here, let's have a chat," Lu Tingxiao said as he waved at his son.
Little Treasure was focused on waiting for his mother's return, so he was not in the mood for a chat. He clearly looked very unhappy.

"Are you unwilling to call me?" Lu Tingxiao asked him frankly.
When he heard Lu Tingxiao's words, Little Treasure's tiny face instantly turned stiff.
Indeed, this child was unwilling, which was why he had intentionally not called out to him.
"Why? Can you let me know?" Lu Tingxiao tried his best to soften his tone when he asked.
But the little guy's expression looked even worse now, to the point that he was unwilling to even speak to Lu Tingxiao now. He immediately took out his writing board that he had not used for a while.
Even though he now spoke to express himself, the habit of bringing his writing board with him everywhere had not yet changed.
Then, Lu Tingxiao saw his son write stubbornly on the board: [All your fault]
All my fault?
When Lu Tingxiao read the three words, he was confused. "What do you mean?"
The little bun's eyes were full of grief and indignation as he continued to write: [All your fault that Little Treasure wasn't born from Mommy's womb! Little Treasure wants to be born from Mommy's womb!!!]
The little guy's eyes reddened as he held up the board, his expression lookIng like he was about to cry. He knew that even though Aunty Xiao Xi had always been good to him, she was not his biological mother and not the person who had given birth to him.
When he thought of this, he felt especially angry at Father!
Why did Father not have him with Aunty Xiao Xi!?
When Lu Tingxiao saw his son's words, he was startled and stunned for a while, then he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Chapter 1136: Angry Little Treasure
This little guy’s logic…
He would obviously love to have given birth to him with Ning Xi, but if it was their child, then it would not be Little Treasure…
Unfortunately, Lu Tingxiao could not explain all of this to Little Treasure. Or maybe, there was no need for him to explain.
Little Treasure understood all of this deep down too. He was just angry, bitter, and felt wronged. Why could he not have been Aunty Xiao Xi’s biological child?
Inside the study room, the atmosphere between the father and son had suddenly come to a stand still.
At that moment, Lu Tingxiao’s phone rang. It was Ning Xi.

"Hello?"
"Big Boss, do you miss me?" The girl’s cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone. Simply from her tone, it must have gone well on her end.
"I do." He had never missed her more than this very moment.
My wife, if you do not come home soon, I cannot deal with the son anymore.
"Hehe, I’m about to get on my flight. I’ll reach Imperial tonight but it'll be quite late when I do, so I won’t disturb your sleep. I’ll go look for you and Little Treasure tomorrow morning."
"I’ll pick you up."
"Uhh, I’ll be with Momo and Director Qiao. Do you really want to frighten them both? I’ll just get a cab back! Good boy! Oh, is Little Treasure asleep? If he isn’t, can I say a few words to him?"
Then, Lu Tingxiao passed the phone over to his son who had been waiting impatiently beside him.
"Mommy!" When the little bun heard Ning Xi’s voice, his expression turned much more obedient as if he was a different person from the angry Little Treasure earlier.

…
At the same time, late at night, in a certain underground casino, Zhuang Rongguang’s eyes stared at the cards in his hand and his palms started to sweat while everyone around him watched with fixed gazes.
Finally, the last card was revealed bit by bit, and the instant it was revealed, Zhuang Rongguang’s nasty friends had already emotionally jumped up from their seats and Zhuang Rongguang swiftly tossed the cards in his hands as he declared, "Straight flush! Give me my money!"
A stack of chips were pushed over and Zhuang Rongguang looked very happy. He had already planned to travel the world after graduating, but his family would definitely not agree and had even execute an economic sanction on him. His sister was also very firm on this; she was definitely on the family’s side and refused to give him a single cent.
Recently, he had been thinking about ways to crowdfund, so when his friends heard about his situation, they suggested for him to try his luck here. Even though he was playful, he knew that he should not be involved with certain things like gambling, but this time, he was really in dire need for cash and when he saw that quite a few of his buddies had won quite a bit, he decided to give it a go.
At first, he did not dare to risk too much, but Lady Luck was on his side today and he had gathered quite a few million in chips in no time.
Up next, Zhuang Rongguang played for another three rounds and had won all of them. Initially, he felt that he had collected enough money and was ready to leave, but since he felt so lucky, he could not bear to go and decided to continue playing, fueled by his friends’ persuasion…
Not too far away in a corner, a square-faced man with blonde hair and bare arms revealed a vulgar smile. He picked up his phone and made a call, "The big fish is hooked, reel in the net!"
Not too long after the blonde-haired man hung up, a tall man wearing a thick gold chain had squeezed through the crowd without batting an eyelid and walked right up to Zhuang Rongguang. "Hey! Little brother! I’ve watched you for half a day and they all say you’re in luck today but I don’t quite believe them. Dare to play a round of huge stakes with me?"
"Bring it on, I’m not afraid of you!"
Chapter 1137: Fall Into The Trap
One hour later, Zhuang Rongguang had lost all of his winning chips.
The man wearing the gold chain laughed out loud delightedly before drawing all the chips to him, "You little punk, you're still too inexperienced to play with me!"
"One more round!" Zhuang Rongguang's expression darkened as he slammed his fist hard on the table.
"What!? You've lost everything! Go home and look for your mother, so she can feed you milk!" The man hissed.
The moment he said that, the entire casino instantly burst into laughter.
At this moment, Zhuang Rongguang had really lost it all. The clothes on him were all branded and had been taken off as loan collateral. Even the genuine leather wallet his sister had given him for birthday was gone too.
He was initially prepared to earn some money for the road, yet he had lost all of his life savings instead. Most importantly, he had initially won all those money, but it had now all been gambled away. Withthis roller coaster ride, his young chest was furiously heaving and no matter what, he was unwilling to back down. "Stand right there! Go another round with me! If I lose, then I'll owe you!"

The man with laughed aloud, "Hahahaha…little brother, I don't do that owing thing! I want to see cash!"
"Damn it! Can't I just owe that little bit of money? Come on! If I lose, I'll immediatey have someone send money over!" Zhuang Rongguang roared.
"Pfft…it looks like you wouldn't let it go if we don't go for another round. Then, I'll just be kind and go one more round with you!" The man returned to the gambling table.
Moments later…
Zhuang Rongguang fell, stupefied on his chair and moaning, "No way…no way! One more!"
The man revealed a vicious expression at the sound of this. "We can go for one more, but you'll have to return the five million you owe me first!"
"I…I'll just give you all of it altogether later!" When he heard that he had lost five million without realizing it, Zhuang Rongguang's expression changed.
"Pfft! You little punk, you want to trick me!? I've already let you owe me for five rounds now! You want to owe me more? Who do you think I am? Quickly get someone to send the money over! Or else…"
Zhuang Rongguang had wanted to say something, but he was instantly surrounded by a few of burly guys and they all looked malicious.
Zhuang Rongguang's back was slick with sweat now. He quickly pulled his two friends beside and asked, "Do you guys still have money on you?"

"We don't have anymore money. All that we have has been given to you!"
"Exactly, even my watch has been taken out for collateral!"
"Hey! Then what do we do now? This was all becuase of you guys who made me come here to gamble!" Zhuang Rongguang was frantic now.
"How dare you say that? We only brought you here cause we're nice and you said you needed money. There's winning and losing in gambling. We can't control things like your luck either!"
"Stop talking crap. I don't care what ways you think of. Quickly help me get the money!"
"Where are we suppose get five million?!"
…
"You lot, are you done discussing?! If you don't show me the money, I need one of you to leave a hand!" The man shouted at him sininsterly.
These kind of things happened too often in the casino, so everyone just watched with the attention of an audience, or just ignored them and focused on their own games.
Zhuang Rongguang's face turned pale. "What are you rushing for? Aren't I getting the money for you now?"
He carefully evaluated those people. Apart from that man with the gold chain, there was another blonde who seemed to be the lead. That blonde's gaze was devillish, his entire body filled with exaggerative tattoos and even scars. His mouth was full of vulgarities and he was obviously a gangster, but he did not look local and even had an accent in between his speech. He looked like someone from out of town.
Chapter 1138: Just Chop It Off!
In short, it was obvious that they were not a good idea to mess with!
At this moment, Zhuang Rongguang's two friends looked at each other before one of them said, "Guang, how about this, Qiang and I'll go out and get the money for you first or else, there's no way we can get money just by waiting here!"
"Exactly! We'll get the money as soon as we can and send it over!"
Zhuang Rongguang looked at the hulking, vicious men and agreed, "You two had better hurry!"
"Yes, yes, yes…" The two of them flew out the door.
Then, Zhuang Rongguang was brought to an abandoned store not too far away from the casino. Once the group of people brought him there, they did not care about him and started to play cards and drink noisily because they were guarding the sole exit; there was no way for him to escape at all.

It was late at night and the remote place was eerie with a moldy smell. He was afraid that even if he was killed there, no one would ever find out…
When he thought of this, Zhuang Rongguang could not help but feel a chill travel up his spine.
If this was his usual desperate times, he would definitely use his family, but this time, he had really gone overboard. If his family found out, he would be done for! So, he could only put his only hope in those two friends!
However, with time passing by every second, there was still no news from his two friends, not even a call…
"Hey, punk! Why aren't they here yet!? Your two friends wouldn't have run off, would they?" The gold-chained man kicked him.
"No way! I'll call them now! Maybe they're already on the way!" Zhuang Rongguang quickly dialed their numbers.
At last, their phones rang for over ten times without anyone picking up before automatically hanging up. Zhuang Rongguang continued to attempt both their numbers and this time, they had just switched off their phones.
"Sheet!" Zhuang Rongguang was so angry he almost broke his phone.
Usually, when they had fun together, he would always pay. He even paid for them to pick up girls and lent them his cars, yet when he was in trouble, they disappeared!

"Did they really run away?"
"Huh! They're playing a fool out of us!"
…
When the gang realized what had happened, they were instantly furious.
"Wait! Wait a while more! They will definitely return. They should be getting the money. Five million is a lot. They'll need some time!" Zhuang Rongguang pleaded anxiously.
Though this time, those people had no more patience left. "Motherf*cker! I think this punk won't cry unless he's staring Death in the face! Chop this punk's hand off!"
"You dare?! Do you know who I am? My father is Zhuang Liaoyuan—" Under extreme fear, Zhuang Rongguang blurted out.
When those people heard him, not only were they fearless, they had guffawed out loud instead. "Hahahahaha…Zhuang Liaoyuan is your father!? Then, Zhuang Zhongren is my grandfather! You think you're Zhuang Liaoyuan's son while you look like such a wimp? My ass!"
"You…you people!" Zhuang Rongguang was so angry he turned scarlet.
"Chop it off!" The gold-chained man's gaze turned dark, then the blonde-haired man held a sharp knife and walked over while another person held Zhuang Rongguang's hand down firmly.
Zhuang Rongguang mixed with the community in Imperial, so those in the social circle would know him, and no matter how huge a matter was, they would still respect the Zhuang family a little. No one would really dare to do anything to him. This was the first time someone had actually treated him this way.
Chapter 1139: How Dare You Touch These Things
As much of a rascal as he was, he was still only 18 years old. Zhuang Rongguang was so frightened that he started shaking as he struggled hard. "Hold on! Hold on! Give me one more chance! I'll immediately call for someone to send money over! This time, they'll definitely come! I guarantee! Guarantee!"
The man with the gold chain looked at the blonde first, then said, "We've said it clearly. We want cash!"
"I know! I know!" Zhuang Rongguang replied as he trembled and called Zhuang Keer.
"Hello, Rongguang? Where are you, it's already so late? Why aren't you home yet?" On the other end of the phone was Zhuang Keer's anxious and reproachful voice.
"Sister! Save me! Quickly bring five million to Third East Avenue. There's an abandoned store here! Hurry!" Zhuang Rongguang did not care to elaborate much and immediately shouted.
"What's happening? Explain properly!" Zhuang Keer's tone changed now.
"Sis! Don't ask anymore, just quickly get the money and send it over! My life is in your hands!"
"You want me to get five million for you without explaining clearly?! Five million isn't a small sum. Did you get someone hospitalized again?"

"No…no…" As he watched the crowd of people eyeing him covetously, he could only force himself to mumble, "I owe people five million in gambling debt…"
"Gambling debt?! Zhuang Rongguang, are you crazy!? How dare you touch those things?!" Zhuang Keer shrieked angrily.
"Sis…sis, can you be softer?! Please, sis! Quickly save me! If you don't come, then they'll chop off my hand! Please, sis! Ah!!!" Zhuang Rongguang suddenly cried out miserably as he was kicked in the guts.
"You…you people, don't touch him, I'll send the money immediately! Don't touch him, do you hear me?!" Zhuang Keer shouted.
The man picked up Zhuang Rongguang's phone and said, "I'll give you 30 minutes. For every minute that you're late, I'll chop off one of his fingers!"
Then, he slammed the phone down.
At the Zhuang residence, Zhuang Keer looked at the dead phone and looked stricken.
Sex! Gamble! Drugs! Those were all the things we Zhuangs are strictly not allowed to touch. Even if we did in the slightest, Zhuang Liaoyuan will really kill him with a bullet! Grandfather has a heart problem. There's no leeway at all…
She could not even report it to the police. If she did, Rongguang would be done for…
It was a good thing her father was not home today…
Zhuang Keer had no choice. She could only quickly get the money, rush to the location to pay the ransom and get him…

…
Time passed in agonizing seconds and Zhuang Rongguang's entire being was tormented.
He did not know if his sister could gather the money soon enough. Would she just not care about him?
After all, he had always caused trouble for her and let her clean up his mess. She had probably been long annoyed by him…
When he thought about the two friends that had ditched him, Zhuang Rongguang became increasingly frightened…
"Three more minutes!" The gold-chained man looked at the time on his phone and said.
The blondie blew the sharp knife in his hand. "Don't worry, my skills are really good. Just one clean cut…I guarantee that you won't be in any pain at all…it'll be neat and clean…"
"There's…there's still three minutes! What are you rushing for!?" Zhuang Rongguang's voice trembled as he spoke.
The gold-chained man sneered before continuing to drink and chat idly with his buddies.
Finally…
Three minutes were up…
Chapter 1140: So What If We Crippled You?
It was just three minutes, yet Zhuang Rongguang felt like an entire decade had passed.
The blonde man hinted at the tattooed man beside him, who then put down his bottle of drink and slowly walked over. He pinned Zhuang Rongguang's hand down.
The blonde spat on his knife. "Punk, time's up! Now, it's just one finger! Say, which one should I chop off first?"
The blonde's gaze skimmed his ten fingers like a venomous snake.
Zhuang Rongguang started to struggle like crazy. "Let go of me, let go! My father is Zhuang Liaoyuan, my grandfather is Zhuang Zongren! If you touch me, my family will never let you go!"
"Hahahaha…you sure? Even if you're really Zhuang Liaoyuan's son, you're just a useless piece of crap, so what's the issue if I cripple you? Maybe your family will thank me for helping them educate you!

"Little bro, if you really don't understand, I'll teach you. It's not that easy to roll on the streets. If you owe money and can't return it, then you should pay the price. No matter where you go, that's the rule! Even if it's the Zhuangs, I'm not afraid! If you really want to cause a huge ruckus, I'd really like to see who would be unluckier!" The blonde's tone was fearless.
As he spoke, the blonde had already spread Zhuang Rongguang's fingers out wide and aimed his knife at his pinkie.
"Ah! Ah ah ah!!!" Zhuang Rongguang howled at the top of his lungs.
"Stop right there!" At the same time at the entrance of the store, a girl snarled.
The blond first looked at the girl, then annoyedly struck Zhuang Rongguang's face with the back of the knife. "What are you screaming for? I haven't even chopped it off! Cowardly weakling!"
Zhuang Rongguang looked at his perfectly unharmed pinkie and was already frightened to the point of tears and sniveling. He then glanced hopefully at the person at the entrance as if he was looking at his last life-saving straw. "Sis…Sis…save me!"
He had always boasted about having friends everywhere and always called others his buddies, yet at that moment, the only person he could beg for help…and to help him regardless of anything…
…was unexpectedly his sister whom he had always found annoying!
Zhuang Rongguang felt an indescribable feeling appear as a lump in his throat…

Zhuang Keer panted at the entrance with her hands on her knees. When she saw that they had not done anything to him yet, her face was full of uncertainty and fright. Her stare at Zhuang Rongguang was full of disappointment and anger.
The blonde's demonic gaze swept over Zhuang Keer up and down like a sticky fly before he asked, "You brought the money?"
"I did! Count it, five million, not a cent less!" Zhuang Keer threw the entire box to them.
The man with the gold chain took the box and threw it to his men to count. A few men gathered around to start counting.
Because she did not have much time, Zhuang Keer's box contained cash, gold bars, and some jewelry. It would definitely add up and probably be in excess instead of being less.
Moments later, one of them shouted, "Boss, no problem! This chick is honest!"
"Now, can you let him go?" Zhuang Keer asked coldly.
"Of course!" The blonde signaled and two of the men immediately released Zhuang Rongguang.
"Sis!" Zhuang Rongguang wiped his tears away and rushed to Zhuang Keer. Zhuang Keer was furious but she knew this was not the place to talk. It was more important that they left quickly.
Although, as they were ready to leave, a few people had blocked the entrance.