What?? Is she intending to throw herself into the lion's den and investigate this incident on her own?!
To be up against the other members of the Zhong family is already a huge challenge.
But... it is entirely another matter on its own to deal with Javier Zhong directly!
With perfect facial features and a muscular build, he is known to be the most powerful and ruthless person in the Zhong Family.
If people are already so afraid of his family members, it is almost unimaginable how much more fear they would carry for him!
Furthermore, he has a very low tolerance for women and all of them are advised to stay at least three meters away from him.
Mia Xue widened her eyes and looked at her boss in shock. She really did not dare to imagine the consequences of her boss' decision.
If Javier Zhong knows about what she is planning to do, she would definitely be skinned alive!!
"Director Ruan... It's too dangerous to investigate this on your own. Why don't we think of another..."
However, Stephanie Ruan remained adamant about her decision. She interrupted Mia Xue with an assuring smile, "It's okay, don't worry about me. Just do what I say."
Stephanie Ruan knew that things would not be easy for her but since she had already come this far, she could not just give up at this moment!
After all, she had already suffered so much for the past few years. And to be honest, no situation could be worse than not knowing the reason for her family's death.
With this thought in mind, she is ready to risk everything that she has! Even if it means losing her life in the process!
...
Over at Zhong Holdings, an eerie silence overwhelmed the entire conference room that is occupied by all the high-ranking leaders from the company.
It is not even an exaggeration that everyone in this room has the same nauseating feeling in their stomach.
And their condition only becomes worse as each meeting goes by...
The final presenter gulped down his saliva nervously as he looked at Javier Zhong's sharp stare towards him.
Beads of perspiration formed on his forehead as he spoke his first words. "The business report for the current financial year has shown that our department has made an increased profit of 5.2% as compared to the previous year and..."
As soon as he saw Javier Zhong put his hand up, he had no choice but to stop his speech abruptly.
"5.2%??" Javier Zhong squinted his eyes dangerously at the department's manager in front of him.
"Ye...Yes, Chairman Zhong." The manager stuttered as he hurriedly responded to him.
With a blink of an eye, Javier Zhong threw their department's proposal report and it came flying towards the manager.
"Turn to page 157 and read out the first sentence from the sixth paragraph."
Everyone held on to their breaths as they watched the panicky manager pick up the report and rush to flip to that exact page.
"Chair...Chairman Zhong... it says that with... with the new raw materials and equipment, the department would be able to get an increased profit of at least 5.25%..."
The manager's voice trailed off as he pleaded for his boss' mercy with watery eyes. "This... let me explain, Chairman Zhong..."
However, Javier Zhong interrupted him by looking at his secretary, Isaac Wen, who is seated beside him.
"Go and prepare a contract for him to pay the remaining 0.05% in cash to the company by the end of this week!"
"!!..."
His words instantly threw the manager into a panic mode as he knew that he could never afford to pay that large sum of money.
Although it seems like a small percentage, it could easily amount to at least a few million yuan!
"That... that... Chairman Zhong, I don't... have the money to..."
"Then you don't deserve to be here! I trust my employees by their actions and not by their words."
Javier Zhong stared at the other employees, "This is also a warning to the rest of you. If you are not performing up to the company's standards, you can choose to compensate the company for the losses, or you can just pack up and leave!"
"I'll say it again, I'm a businessman, not a philanthropist." He added on indifferently.
"Isaac, fire him!"
Javier Zhong heartlessly gave the order as he stood up and left the conference room without looking back.
"No... no... I'm sorry, Chairman Zhong... please..." With Isaac Wen's subordinates holding the manager back, he could only continue begging in tears.
The employees in Zhong Holdings are known to be the most well-paid in the industry and no other companies could afford to offer such high salaries.
As such, despite them having such a hard time with a cold-blooded boss, they are still reluctant to leave the company on their own accord.
Isaac Wen quickly chased after Javier Zhong from behind, "Chairman Zhong, we only have 45 minutes to your next appointment."
"Leave now. Get the driver here."
...
Step by step, Stephanie Ruan walked confidently into the Tudor Clubhouse's reception area, with Mia Xue following closely behind her.
Though she is dressed in a white designer business suit with a pair of high heels and diamond earrings, it is not enough to hide her femininity and elegance.
Her aura is so strong that even the staff and guests could not keep their eyes away from her.
"Hello, good afternoon! I have a booking under the name of Stephanie." She smiled and greeted the staff in a polite manner.
The manager swiftly checked their administration system and ushered the two of them towards the VIP area. "Miss Stephanie, this way please."
This luxurious clubhouse is divided into two separate areas. One area is for their regular guests while the other is specially reserved for their VIP members.
Don't mention about becoming a VIP member, even signing up as a regular member in this clubhouse is a big hurdle to climb over.
Simply put, the regular membership of the country's best clubhouse is very exclusive. Without a referral, it doesn't matter how rich or powerful you are, you cannot apply to be their member at all.
As for their VIP membership, it is almost like a private clubhouse with only less than 10 Gold cards given out so far.
Thankfully for Stephanie Ruan, Daniel Yan's good friend owns this clubhouse. Otherwise, she wouldn't know how she could step into this place today.
As they were led into a long hallway filled with private dining rooms on both sides, Stephanie Ruan spotted two men in suits who are about to enter the room that she is eyeing on.
She gave a questioning look to Mia Xue, who is also thinking about the exact same question in her head. "Who are these two men?"
Didn't the investigator tell her that only a foreign business partner - Mr Robertson, Javier Zhong, and his subordinates would be in the room?
Did they invite another group of people whom she is unaware of?
"I see that our room is right at the front. You don't have to walk us there. We would like to explore this place on our own first." Stephanie Ruan maintained her smile as she spoke to the manager.
"Certainly, Miss Stephanie. There are many service buttons situated inside the room. If you need to reach us, you can just press any button and we would attend to you immediately." The manager replied respectfully before bowing and taking his leave.
She nodded at him, "Thank you very much, appreciate your hard work!"
Within a few steps, they have reached the entrance of their targeted room just in time for Stephanie Ruan to have a quick glance at the seating arrangement in the room, as well as the faces of the two men who had just entered.
"HG Group??..." Though they are the second most successful company in the country, everyone knows that both Zhong Holdings and HG Group are fierce competitors.
Before the door had closed fully, she managed to eavesdrop on Mr Robertson's words, "I hope you won't mind, Chairman Zhong. I've invited another potential partner to join this negotiation..."
"So... the foreign business partner is still in the midst of deciding on who to work with?..." Stephanie Ruan crossed her arms and fell into deep thought while tapping her fingers lightly.
Surely, it is very dangerous for her to get close to Javier Zhong and so, she better ensure that her steps are well-planned ahead and that she is taking calculated risks.
But the hard truth is, "Once you enter into the game... there is no turning back."
Well, she could only pray hard to get the good side of the coin.
With that, Stephanie Ruan placed her hand on the doorknob and decisively pushed the door open.
Over on the other side, there is a strange silence in the room. Without having to look at Javier Zhong's cold and unfriendly expression, Isaac Wen could already feel the low pressure from him. In fact, he closed his eyes and prepared to embrace what is to come as his body started to break into a cold sweat! Clearly, Isaac Wen knows that if the young master were to throw a temper right now, no one could control him at all! And at the end of the day, the person who would have the toughest time could only be him... "..." It did not take very long for everyone in the room to realise that the temperature has already dropped to its freezing point! Even Mr Robertson could not help but question himself if he had made the right decision to bring both parties together. However, from a business standpoint, he had no choice as this is the most effective way to negotiate for the best terms in the contract. Of course, as a ru
Judging by their closeness, Mr Robertson is satisfied that he has 'accurately' guessed their relationship.However, as soon as Javier Zhong heard what she said, he gritted his teeth in anger!He did not know Stephanie Ruan's motive for coming close to him but yet at the same time, it is not ideal to create a big scene in front of his new business partner."Certainly, we will be there."Well, isn't it just attending an event? How difficult could it be??In the worst-case scenario, if she refuses to come, he would just get Isaac Wen to tie her up and drag her to the event with him.After all, a promise has already been made and he is one who never breaks his promises.When Stephanie Ruan heard his quick and decisive reply, she could not help but let out a light smirk.To be able to reach this stage of development with Javier Zhong could already be considered as 'mission accomplished' for her."That's great, I will see you
Snapping out of his thoughts, he squinted his eyes at Stephanie Ruan.In Javier Zhong's opinion, this woman in front of him is obviously not trustable at all!Who knows what's the real reason for her coming so close to him?But if she could be trusted to handle this difficult business deal and yet at the same time be able to help him please his grandmother for the time being, then he does not see why he shouldn't make full use of her?After all, she is the one who came knocking on his door first!"State your terms and conditions." Javier Zhong threw out these few cold words.He had learned since young that the number one business rule is to wait for the other party to state their conditions first so that he would not lose out unnecessarily.However, Stephanie Ruan is also well-educated on this rule. But someone has to start first, right?So with this thought, she decided to play the game differently. "Relax, I'm not after any o
To be more accurate, it was just a peck on their lips that lasted for about one second.But this is more than enough to send Stephanie Ruan flying into a rage!Horrified by his actions, Stephanie Ruan raised her voice at him in disbelief. "Javier Zhong!! How dare you!!""!!!..."The minute she finished her sentence, the car became dangerously silent, with both Isaac Wen and the driver drowning in fear.Though they did not manage to witness the incident, they could vaguely guess what had happened just by looking at their body language.And this is the first time they have encountered someone calling their young master by his full name and also looking to start a fight with him!Such a bold lady! But does she know that she is playing with fire?!"..."Frankly speaking, it is indirectly the driver's fault for unintentionally causing the 'kiss' to happen. But their boss is actually getting scolded for it instead!What
It's no wonder why the boy would have such a huge reaction especially after seeing Javier Zhong's ferocious eyes staring straight at him.Is he even a human at all?! Who treats such a young child like this??With a frightened child in front of her, she could not be bothered with Javier Zhong any longer and gave her full attention to the young boy instead.She cuddled him in her arms and soothe him, "It's okay, Ethan. Don't be afraid... Auntie is here..."Stephanie Ruan then shifted his attention to a fancy ice cream truck nearby. "Wow, what is that, Ethan?? Take a look at it!""Do you want to have some ice cream?""Let's go get one for you, alright?"With that, she ignored Javier Zhong and brought the boy over to the ice-cream truck."..."Meanwhile, Javier Zhong stood at the same spot and watched Stephanie Ruan from afar with a complicated gaze.He had deliberately ordered the driver to make a u-turn just t
Grandma Zhong looked into Stephanie Ruan's pure eyes and nodded her head with satisfaction. "Stephanie... That's a nice name.""I am Javier's grandmother. You can call me Grandma Zhong.""!!..."Startled, Stephanie Ruan briefly glanced at Javier Zhong before meeting Grandma Zhong's eyes again.Never would she have imagined herself to be meeting his grandmother so quickly... And what's more, in such an unexpected situation!At the same time, Javier Zhong wore his usual indifferent look on the outside but is actually very surprised to hear his grandmother's words.People have to know that she does not just let anyone call her by the name of 'Grandma Zhong'.She must have taken a liking to Stephanie Ruan!"Grandma Zhong, it's nice to meet you." With a sincere smile and a slight nod, Stephanie Ruan greeted her politely.Having been in the business industry long enough, Grandma Zhong has already met all kinds of people. As su
With that, she gave him a slight smirk and returned to her original position."!!..."Stalking her?! Missing her??!!Did she seriously say that??!!..."Crazy woman." Javier Zhong muttered under his breath in disbelief.This lady is truly capable of making his heart boil each time she speaks!Although he refused to entertain her right now, he has already made a mental note to count these 'debts' with her in the near future!Amidst their conversation, Isaac Wen, who almost burst out laughing, quickly regained his composure after noticing Javier Zhong's piercing gaze through the rear-view mirror.To be fair, nobody could blame Isaac Wen for having such a huge reaction!I mean, throughout his many years of working closely with Javier Zhong, no one has ever dared to speak to his boss in such a manner before!Indeed, it was truly an eye-opening scene!And of course, Stephanie Ruan did not pursue the matter any fu
Similar to the exterior of the house, the interior followed a classic and luxurious French design, well-lighted with several huge chandeliers.It is easily notable that only the finest materials are used.Soon, what greeted them are two grand and elegantly curved staircases that leads to the second floor of the mansion."!!..."Wow!! This place is basically like a palace!Stephanie Ruan quickly recognised the expensive paintings that are hanging on both sides of the wall.Each painting could easily be sold at the auction for at least ten million yuan (about 1.5 million US dollars)!And there are at least 20 paintings here in just this area alone!...As they entered the main living room, the originally lively atmosphere had become totally silent within a split second!In the eyes of Stephanie Ruan, it is pretty obvious that the two of them are not welcomed at all.Meanwhile, the Zhong family members are ast