OBS Chapter 1641 Angrily Confronting the Old Witch
Chapter 1641 Angrily Confronting the Old Witch
A week later, Huang Yimei overheard her colleagues talking about it in private.
In the tea room of Dragonfly Culture.
"Let me tell you, that Zhuang Guodong, he dresses like a respectable man, but he's actually all show and no substance."
"How to say?"
"I went out with him on business the day before yesterday. We passed a coffee shop, which only cost eighteen yuan, but he insisted that he was feeling hot and bothered lately. As a result, he went back to the office and made himself a packet of instant coffee."
"Huh? Really? He doesn't look like someone who's short of money."
"So you can't judge a book by its cover. He may look all dressed up, but he's actually broke. He can come up with a hundred reasons to avoid anything that costs money."
Huang Yimei was hesitating whether to go in or not when a figure rushed in first.
"What nonsense are you all spouting? Are you just bored and gossiping about others?"
Han Ying stood at the door with a dark expression.
The group looked at each other, none of them daring to utter a sound.
"The company paid you all to come here so you could have a tea party in the break room?" Han Ying's gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally landing on Sister Wang: "Sister Wang, you're a long-time employee. Don't you know what you should and shouldn't say?"
Sister Wang blushed and lowered her head without saying a word.
"And you, Xiao Zhou, the work in the administration department is pretty easy, isn't it? Should I talk to your supervisor and ask them to give you some more work?"
Xiao Zhou waved his hands repeatedly: "No need, no need, Sister Han, I was wrong, I'll go back to work right away."
"Then what are you waiting for?"
The crowd immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
Huang Yimei was also about to slip away with them when Han Ying's voice came from behind her just as she reached the door.
"Rose, wait a moment."
Huang Yimei paused, turned around, and put on a sweet smile: "Sister Han, what can I do for you?"
Han Ying looked at her, her expression somewhat complicated. She hesitated for a moment before asking, "You were the first among us to know Eric. Do you know anything about his family situation?"
Huang Yimei quickly waved her hand: "I only met him once, at a banquet at the China World Hotel. At that time, he was Mr. Teng's assistant. I know nothing about his private life."
Upon hearing this, Han Ying frowned slightly.
Zhuang Guodong's looks and temperament were exactly Han Ying's type. Standing over 1.8 meters tall with deep-set features, he certainly possessed a touch of French romanticism. Han Ying was already in her late twenties, single, and had met many men in Beijing over the years, but few had caught her eye. Zhuang Guodong was one of them.
But if the other party is penniless, then you should think carefully.
Han Ying wasn't the kind of naive girl who would throw caution to the wind for love. Having climbed the corporate ladder for so many years, she knew all too well the importance of money. In Beijing, you couldn't get anywhere without it. She'd worked her way up to where she was, and she didn't want to find a man she had to pay to get ahead.
"Alright, I understand." Han Ying waved his hand and turned to leave the tea room.
As Huang Yimei watched her retreating figure, she suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
-
It was already dark when I got off work.
Huang Yimei packed her things and had just stepped out of the company gate when she saw Qin Hao's Porsche 986 gleaming discreetly under the streetlights.
Why are you here?
"Do I need a reason to pick up my girlfriend from get off work?" Qin Hao opened the passenger door and gestured for her to enter.
Huang Yimei smiled and sat down inside.
Qin Hao started the car and drove into the evening rush hour traffic.
After thinking for a moment, Huang Yimei told Qin Hao what she had overheard in the tea room.
After listening, Qin Hao's lips curled up slightly, revealing a satisfied smile.
"The effect is good."
"Honestly, aren't we going a bit too far?" Huang Yimei turned her head to look at him: "Two hundred and seventy thousand, many people can't earn that much money in their entire lives."
Qin Hao snorted and tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel: "Dare to make a move on my girlfriend? Making him lose some money is the least I can do."
"What do you plan to do with the heavier one?"
"They kill but don't bury."
-
Meanwhile, in a Starbucks on Beijing's East Third Ring Road, Zhuang Guodong was staring blankly at his laptop.
The screen displayed his credit card statement. He took out his phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed the number.
I answered the phone after it rang three times.
"Guodong? What made you think of calling your mother?" Mrs. Zhuang's voice came through the receiver, tinged with surprise.
“Mom…” Zhuang Guodong opened his mouth, but suddenly didn’t know how to start.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?" Mrs. Zhuang's voice immediately became alert.
"It's nothing serious, it's just... I'm a little short on cash lately and I'd like to borrow some money from you."
"What do you need? I'll transfer you whatever you need." Mrs. Zhuang's tone softened, clearly not taking it seriously. In her view, it was normal for her son, who was working hard in Beijing, to occasionally have some cash flow problems.
"150,000."
"150,000? RMB?"
Zhuang's mother's voice suddenly rose: "Son, has something happened to you? Have you been threatened? Or been deceived?"
"No, it's just... I treated some friends to dinner, and it cost a bit too much."
"You can eat this much when you treat clients to a meal?" Mrs. Zhuang clearly didn't believe it.
Zhuang Guodong remained silent.
“Son, tell me honestly, what exactly happened?” Mrs. Zhuang’s tone became serious: “If you don’t tell me, I’m going back to China right now.”
Zhuang Guodong knew his mother's personality. She meant what she said.
Left with no other choice, he could only recount what had happened.
On the other end of the phone, Mrs. Zhuang's breathing grew heavier.
"My silly son!" Her voice almost pierced the receiver: "You've been tricked! Haven't you realized it yet? That Qin Hao and the owner of the Japanese restaurant are in cahoots! That Huang Yimei is their accomplice! The three of them conspired to set a trap for you, and you just walked right into it?!"
"Mom, it's not like that, Rose, she..."
"Rose? You're calling her that so affectionately!" Mrs. Zhuang sneered. "She's riled you up like this, and you're still defending her? Have she bewitched you?"
"Mom, Rose doesn't know about this. It's all Qin Hao's fault..."
"Enough!" Mrs. Zhuang interrupted him. "Nothing you say now will make a difference. Two hundred and seventy thousand is no small sum. You wait in Beijing, and I'll book your plane tickets right away."
"Mom, no need, I can handle it myself..."
“What can you handle? If you could handle it, you wouldn’t have been scammed out of 270,000!” Mrs. Zhuang’s voice carried an undeniable determination: “Don’t worry about this matter, I’ll handle it.”
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
Zhuang Guodong held his phone, listening to the busy tone coming from the receiver, and suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.
-
Two days later.
Huang Yimei had just arrived at the company and hadn't even had time to put down her bag when Xiao Zhou, the receptionist, came to greet her.
"Rose, someone is looking for you."
"Who is it?" Huang Yimei glanced at her watch; it was only 8:40.
“I don’t know her, she’s… well, a very elegant auntie.” Xiao Zhou carefully chose her words: “She’s waiting in the meeting room.”
Huang Yimei didn't mind putting down her bag and walked towards the reception room. She pushed open the door and saw a middle-aged woman sitting on the sofa.
The woman looked to be in her forties, and she was indeed very well-preserved. Her skin was fair, with almost no wrinkles around her eyes. She wore a beige coat, a Hermès scarf around her neck, and black pointed-toe high heels. Sitting there, she exuded an aura of confidence.
But she didn't look well.
To be precise, it's quite unattractive.
Upon seeing Huang Yimei enter, the woman's gaze swept over her like a knife, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
"Do we know each other?" Huang Yimei tried to make her tone sound as polite as possible.
Mrs. Zhuang didn't stand up, nor did she even offer a smile. Leaning back on the sofa, legs crossed, she said in a casual tone, "So you're the one who swindled my son out of 270,000 yuan?"
Huang Yimei was taken aback: "Who is your son?"
"Eric."
"Zhuang Guodong?"
Huang Yimei then realized what was happening.
She was about to explain when her mother raised her hand to interrupt her.
"You're all seasoned foxes, so don't give me that nonsense." Mrs. Zhuang's tone was as cold as ice: "You, that guy who runs the Japanese restaurant, and your boyfriend, the three of you conspired to set a trap for my son. Do you really think no one can see through it?"
"Auntie, things aren't as you think..."
"I told you, don't give me any nonsense." Mrs. Zhuang stood up. She was half a head shorter than Huang Yimei, but her aura was very imposing. "If you don't pay back the money, I'll go to your boss right now and let her judge. I want to see if your company is just like you, a company that specializes in cheating and swindling."
Huang Yimei's smile also faded.
She may seem gentle and speak softly, but deep down she's the type who responds better to kindness than force. If you talk to her nicely, everything can be discussed. But if you start by berating and threatening her, well, sorry, she won't listen.
"First of all, I'm not a fox." Huang Yimei's voice wasn't loud, but she enunciated each word clearly: "Secondly, even if it's about money, Zhuang Guodong should be the one to talk to me. I remember he should be an adult, right? Why is he still having his parents intervene when something happens?"
Mrs. Zhuang's expression changed instantly.
"You!" Her fingers trembled with anger. "Fine, you cheated my son out of so much money, and you still think you're right? I'll see if anyone in your company is reasonable!"
After saying that, she turned and walked out.
Huang Yimei tried to stop her, but Zhuang's mother walked very fast, her high heels making a crisp sound on the floor, heading straight for Jiang Xueqiong's office.
The office door was pushed open.
Jiang Xueqiong was reading documents when she was startled by the sudden noise. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar middle-aged woman standing angrily in the doorway.
"May I ask who you are...?"
"Who I am is not important!" Mrs. Zhuang's voice rose eight octaves: "What is important is that your company's employees colluded with outsiders to swindle my son out of 270,000 yuan! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not done with you!"
Jiang Xueqiong frowned, but quickly resumed her professional smile.
"Please don't get agitated, sit down and tell me slowly." She stood up and personally poured a glass of water for Mrs. Zhuang: "Which employee are you talking about? Let me find out more about the situation."
"Huang Yimei! That Huang Yimei from your company!"
Jiang Xueqiong's heart skipped a beat.
She comforted Mrs. Zhuang for a few words, then left the office under the pretext of needing to understand the situation.
Huang Yimei was standing in the corridor, her face looking rather pale.
"What happened?" Jiang Xueqiong asked in a low voice.
Huang Yimei briefly recounted what had happened.
After listening, Jiang Xueqiong remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
"This Qin Hao is quite good at playing pranks on people."
“President Jiang, you’re still laughing.” Huang Yimei said with a bitter face, “They’ve already come to our door.”
"Don't worry." Jiang Xueqiong patted her shoulder: "Go back to work first, I'll handle this."
Huang Yimei hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
After Huang Yimei left, Jiang Xueqiong returned to her office, closed the door, and dialed Qin Hao's number.
I answered the phone after it rang twice.
"President Jiang? What made you think of calling me?" Qin Hao's voice came through the receiver, with a lazy smile on his face.
“Mr. Qin, there’s something I need to tell you.” Jiang Xueqiong briefly explained the situation of Zhuang’s mother causing trouble at the company: “She’s in my office right now, demanding an explanation from us.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang. I'll be right there."
"Mr. Qin, you're too kind. As the owner of Rose, I can't just let my employees be bullied."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xueqiong returned to the reception room and gave Zhuang's mother a standard professional smile.
"Mrs. Zhuang, please wait a moment. The relevant personnel will be here soon. We can talk things out in person then."
Mrs. Zhuang snorted coldly: "That's for the best."
-
Forty minutes later, Qin Hao appeared at Dragonfly Culture.
Why are you here?
Huang Yimei was somewhat surprised to see Qin Hao. She was organizing documents at her workstation when she looked up and saw Qin Hao striding in.
But then she realized. It must have been Jiang Xueqiong who secretly tipped her off.
"And what about the old woman?" Qin Hao asked directly.
"What old woman? She's well-maintained and looks only in her forties." Huang Yimei lowered her voice and tugged at Qin Hao's sleeve: "Don't do anything reckless later. This is the company; it won't look good if things get out of hand."
"Don't worry, I always persuade people with reason."
Looking at Qin Hao's expression, Huang Yimei became even more worried.
“I’ll go in with you.” Huang Yimei followed behind him.
The two entered Jiang Xueqiong's office one after the other.
Mrs. Zhuang was sitting on the sofa drinking tea when she saw Qin Hao come in. Her gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before she gave him a disdainful look.
"You're Qin Hao, the one who conspired with me to swindle money from my son, aren't you?"
Qin Hao didn't reply. Instead, he slowly walked to the opposite side of Zhuang's mother, sat down, crossed his legs, and looked at her with the eyes of someone appraising goods.
"You're Zhuang Guodong's mother?"
Zhuang's mother's face immediately turned black.
"I'm probably not younger than your mother, right? Is this how your parents taught you to talk to your elders?"
Qin Hao sneered.
The cold laugh wasn't loud, but it seemed to lower the temperature in the entire office by several degrees.
"Stop trying to act superior to me." Qin Hao's voice wasn't loud, but every word was as sharp as a knife: "A whore who relied on her husband's financial support to go abroad, then turned around and wanted to divorce him, and obtained foreign citizenship by destroying foreign families, who do you think you are to talk to me as an elder?"
The air in the office seemed to freeze instantly.
Zhuang's mother's face changed from black to red, then from red to white, and finally turned into an ugly, ashen color.
Her lips trembled a few times before she managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You...you're slandering me!"
"I'm making baseless accusations?" Qin Hao raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me, how did you obtain French citizenship?"
"I had marital problems with Guodong's father first, and he kept dragging his feet on getting a divorce before I started seeing someone else!" Mrs. Zhuang's voice became sharp. "Besides, this is my private matter and has nothing to do with you."
"Disagreements?" Qin Hao's smile grew even colder: "Your relationship was fine when you were in China, and you even had a son. When you first went abroad and spent the money your ex-husband gave you, how could there not be discord? If you had any shame, you wouldn't say such heartless things."
He paused, his tone becoming even more sarcastic: "Stop talking about freedom and democracy. Someone like you would be despised even abroad."
Zhuang's mother was so angry that she trembled all over.
However, after so many years abroad, she hasn't learned anything else, but she has certainly mastered the art of shamelessness.
"Hmph." Mrs. Zhuang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her anger, and once again adopted an arrogant demeanor: "My character is not for outsiders to judge. But you conspired to swindle my son out of 270,000 yuan, and this debt must be settled! Otherwise, I will make sure she can't stay in this business!"
As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at Huang Yimei.
Huang Yimei stood behind Qin Hao without saying a word. She had thought Qin Hao had gone a bit too far when he scolded Zhuang's mother earlier, but now she suddenly felt that his scolding was too gentle.
Some people just deserve to be scolded.
Qin Hao smiled coldly: "Are you sure you want that 270,000?"
"Of course!" Mrs. Zhuang crossed her arms and raised her chin slightly, looking as if to say, "I knew you wouldn't dare not give it to me."
Qin Hao nodded and stood up.
He was more than a head taller than Zhuang's mother, looking down at her with a meaningful smile on his lips.
"Okay. It's simple if you want money. Just call your son over, and I'll treat you and your son to a big meal at noon."
Mrs. Zhuang frowned, looking at him warily: "What are you up to?"
"There are two options," Qin Hao said, holding up two fingers. "If you want money, do as I say. Otherwise, go back to your France. If you dare to do anything to harm my girlfriend, I will retaliate a hundredfold against your son."
He turned to look at Jiang Xueqiong: "If you don't believe me, ask President Jiang if I have the ability."
Zhuang's mother looked at Jiang Xueqiong with a mixture of belief and doubt.
Jiang Xueqiong nodded slightly and said calmly, "This is the young master of the Qin Group."
Mrs. Zhuang's expression changed again.
A company that can be called a conglomerate is certainly not a small, insignificant enterprise. She spends most of her time in France and isn't afraid of Qin Hao's retaliation, but her son is in China.
Finally, Mrs. Zhuang took out her phone and dialed Zhuang Guodong's number.
The phone rang several times before I answered it.
"Mom? Why did you suddenly decide to call me?" Zhuang Guodong's voice sounded a little tired.
"No need to pick me up from the airport, I'm already at the hotel." Mrs. Zhuang's tone returned to calm, but if you listened carefully, you could still detect a hint of unnaturalness: "Come to that Japanese restaurant from last time in a little while, I have something to tell you."
"A Japanese restaurant? Mom, you..."
Before he could finish asking his questions, Mrs. Zhuang hung up the phone.
-
Noon, at a Japanese restaurant.
When the boss saw Qin Hao and his group walk in, his face immediately lit up with a smile, and he greeted them warmly.
"Mr. Qin, you've arrived! How many are in your party today?"
"Boss, do you have enough stock today?" Qin Hao asked with a smile.
"Absolutely, absolutely!" the boss assured, patting his chest. "I guarantee you'll be completely satisfied."
Qin Hao gave a meaningful smile: "Whether I'm satisfied or not today is not important, as long as someone else is satisfied."
The boss was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and led the group into the private room.
The private room was the same one as last time. Tatami mats, a low table, sliding doors, and the ukiyo-e prints on the walls were still vibrant and eye-catching.
The three of them had barely sat down when Zhuang Guodong rushed over.
He pushed open the door to the private room and saw Qin Hao and Huang Yimei there, and immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Mom, what's wrong...?"
Before he could react, Qin Hao had already called the waiter.
"Just like last time, ten books from the menu."
The waiter clearly remembered the commotion from last time, and paused for a moment before reacting: "Okay, Mr. Qin, please wait a moment."
Qin Hao turned his head to look at Zhuang Guodong, his smile as gentle as a spring breeze in March.
"Zhuang Guodong, your mother thinks you wasted that 270,000 yuan." Qin Hao's voice was unhurried: "Today I'll give you a chance. If you finish eating all ten menus, I'll give you the 270,000 yuan in full, and this meal is on me."
He paused, then turned his gaze to Zhuang's mother, his smile unchanged, but his tone turned cold.
"If she can't finish it, send that old woman back to France and never let her show her face again."
The private room was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the wall clock.
Zhuang Guodong's face turned pale.
Mrs. Zhuang gritted her teeth and said, "How could one person possibly eat ten menus? You're all conspiring to rip off my son..."
"Mom, it's true, I saw him finish it with my own eyes." Zhuang Guodong's voice was like that of a defeated rooster.
"Let's go."
Zhuang Guodong was about to get up when Qin Hao pressed down on his shoulder: "You come and go as you please? Do you think I'm some kind of silly kid you're just playing around with?"
"You've got some nerve! Nobody's leaving until you've finished all this!"
Zhuang Guodong tried to get up, but found that Qin Hao's strength was astonishing, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move an inch.
Upon seeing this, Zhuang's mother screamed and tried to push Qin Hao away, but Qin Hao froze her in place with a cold, stern look.
"Old witch, if you touch him again I'll cripple him! Don't you know where you are? Harassing my girlfriend on my turf, I was already letting him off the hook by giving him a lesson, but you still dare to harass my girlfriend? Do you think I'm a pushover?"
Only then did Zhuang's mother realize that what she had learned in France would not work in the mainland, so she could only ask Huang Yimei for help.
"Ms. Huang, it was my fault. This has nothing to do with my son..."
Huang Yimei's answer plunged the Zhuang family mother and son into an icy abyss.
"My boyfriend did nothing wrong. He ate ten menus that day. Now that you're asking for money, shouldn't you finish it too?" (End of Chapter)