Chapter 218: One Piece of Bad News After Another

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: One Piece of Bad News After Another

"He didn’t say anything, did he? He didn’t give you a hard time?"

Li Muwan hurried over to Jiang Fan as he returned, her tone slightly worried.

Jiang Fan grinned. "Do I look like someone who’s easily bullied?"

"Come on, let’s go look at other things. Don’t let him ruin our good mood."

"Okay."

Li Muwan walked ahead with her arm linked through Jiang Fan’s, while Zhou Jing walked behind them with Li Jiaxiang, watching the young couple with a benevolent expression.

"Look how well-matched those two are."

"If it weren’t for the old man..."

"Forget it. Let’s not talk about this for now, and the old man won’t find out."

"After a while, I’ll find an excuse to test the waters."

"As a parent, all I want is for her to be happy. This world is too cruel. I used to think she might have a happier life with the support of both the Li and Liu Families."

"But now it seems that marrying into the Liu Family wouldn’t guarantee her happiness," Li Jiaxiang said slowly.

"Hmph, so you finally realize it now? I was against it from the beginning, but you insisted on agreeing. You didn’t say a word to the old man, just let it happen."

The more Zhou Jing spoke, the angrier she got, and she gave his waist a sharp pinch.

Li Jiaxiang winced in pain but didn’t dare make a sound.

"You know the state of the old man’s health. He really can’t handle any kind of shock."

"What if..."

Hearing this, Zhou Jing could only sigh helplessly.

"Fine. Then let’s not talk about it for now."

The couple ahead had no idea about the hushed conversation between her parents.

"Now that we’ve fooled them, things should get better, right?"

Jiang Fan asked in a low voice.

"Definitely. It’ll be much better. Once my parents leave in a couple of days, this matter will be completely settled."

"They won’t bother me again anytime soon, and I’m sure my parents will go talk to my grandpa for me."

There was a trace of irrepressible excitement in Li Muwan’s voice.

"Didn’t they want you to marry into the Liu Family?"

Jiang Fan was a little confused.

After all, Li Muwan had been avoiding her parents like the plague just before.

"They just want me to live well and be happy."

"I didn’t expect you to be such a good actor. You captured my parents’ hearts in such a short time."

"Have you considered a career in acting? I could introduce you to some resources. I think you’d definitely be a huge star," Li Muwan said with a completely serious face.

"No, no."

"Come on, let’s get something to eat first. I’m starving."

"We’ve been at this all day, and I haven’t had a single bite."

...

The day passed quickly. In the end, the two of them first dropped Li Jiaxiang and Zhou Jing off at their hotel, only heading back themselves after making sure the couple was settled in.

What he found a bit strange was that an entire day had passed, and it was now after 10 p.m., yet neither Sun Yanzi nor Yin Ruxue had sent him a message or called.

"You worked hard today. Tomorrow, I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’re busy."

"If I really can’t handle them anymore, I’ll call you."

"Alright, I’ll send Mom and Dad a message then."

"Hey, hey, hey! They’re *my* mom and dad. What are you calling them that for?"

Li Muwan rolled her eyes at him.

"Wasn’t it your dad who told me to call them that when he was drunk? What was I supposed to do? Should I call him ’big bro’? Then you’d have to call me ’Uncle’."

Li Muwan gave his chest a light punch. "You couldn’t have just gone easy on him? A couple of liters of hard liquor... you two drank it all."

At this, Jiang Fan rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed. His competitive spirit had flared up, and he’d ended up drinking Li Jiaxiang under the table. By the end, the man had insisted on acknowledging him as his son-in-law.

The alternative was becoming sworn brothers with him. Who could put up with that?

"Alright, enough of that. It’s late, so hurry back and get some rest. It’s been a long day."

Jiang Fan stretched. After Li Muwan said goodbye with a nod, he opened his door and went home.

But as soon as he stepped inside, he found the living room brightly lit.

Yin Ruxue and Sun Yanzi both had grave expressions, clattering away on their keyboards in front of a computer.

They didn’t even notice he was back.

"Why haven’t you gone back? What are you two doing here?"

The two of them only turned around when they heard his voice.

"Something came up at the company, so I borrowed your laptop," Yin Ruxue said with a sigh.

"Something? What happened? I didn’t see anything about it in the group chat."

Jiang Fan was extremely curious. He walked into the bathroom and asked while washing his hands.

As soon as he came out, Sun Yanzi handed him a glass of warm water.

"Your lips are so dry, and you didn’t even think to drink some water. And why do you reek of alcohol? Were you drinking?"

"Something came up, so I had a little. But I didn’t drink much."

"What’s the situation with the company?"

"It’s very serious."

"So serious that it can’t be discussed in the group chat. Only a few senior executives know."

"Fengming Group and the family behind it have started to attack Xuerong."

"They’re frantically pouring money into the market, trying to dilute Xuerong’s shares at any cost. They’ve also used various methods to poach many of our top technicians from our new factories."

"And that’s not all."

"Right now, the internet is flooded with all kinds of slander against Xuerong Group, with online trolls running rampant."

"There are all sorts of rumors, but without exception, every single one is aimed at Xuerong Group and is detrimental to our company."

"Even Yaoyao’s live streams have been impacted."

"Our online store’s business has dropped by 50% overnight."

When Sun Yanzi said this, Jiang Fan was shaken.

He might not have understood the other details, but a 50% drop in online business... for any company, that was like a stab to a major artery.

"This... Has Fengming Group gone insane?"

"If our two groups go to war, neither side will come out unscathed, right? Even if they have a powerful family conglomerate backing them."

"You’re underestimating the power of the conglomerate behind them."

Watching the stock price plummet, Yin Ruxue’s brow furrowed deeply.

"Yanzi, has the news been released?"

"It was released a while ago. I even hired our own online promoters to push it."

"Xuerong Group and Yufan Design Team Have Reached a Partnership!"

Normally, a simple headline like that would cause an earthquake in the industry and excite countless netizens.

But this time, it was like a stone sinking into the sea.

Coupled with the constant stream of all sorts of bad news, Yin Ruxue felt like she could barely breathe.