Chapter 20: More Than Just an Explanation!

On the way to the company, Lu Chengze’s face was as black as thunder.

Assistant Lin, hadn’t put down his phone since receiving that call.

Wu Yue, the driver, gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his hands were shaking, muttering over and over again, “How dare he?”

“How dare he?”

Liu Yaozong, a problem student who was expelled from a low-tier college, wouldn’t have even touched the door of the Lu Group if his sister hadn’t saved Lu Chengze.

How dare he substitute inferior goods, messing with the cooperation between Lu and Li?

After all, the two biggest partners of Lu Group, besides Jian, were Li.

Now the matter had blown up, even if they managed to stabilize the cooperation with Li, Lu’s reputation was ruined!

The few tens of millions of yuan he was greedy for had destroyed the foundation of the Lu Group!

Lin’s phone call went unanswered again, until it automatically hung up.

The usually calm assistant was unusually flustered, his voice even a little harsh when he spoke to Lu Chengze, “Mr. Lu, Li’s phone is not being answered.”

For years, the cooperation projects between Lu and Li had been handled by Miss Jian. The Li and Jian families were old friends, and they never made things difficult for them in this regard.

This was the first time they hadn’t answered the phone.

Lin recalled Mr. Lu’s absence from the engagement ceremony for the sake of Liu Yiyi, and he furrowed his brow.

The materials of the past six months had all been problematic, but they chose to erupt at this time. Li might have been giving Jian Yao a chance to vent her anger.

He had opposed the Liu siblings joining the company from the start, but Mr. Lu had been insistent, pushing everyone aside to promote them.

Now, not only was the marriage between the Jian and Lu families hanging by a thread, but the company’s projects had also been thrown into disarray.

He didn’t understand, Mr. Lu was clearly a smart man, why did he lose his mind whenever it came to Liu Yiyi?

Thinking of the Liu siblings, like a pair of stubborn burrs, Lin closed his eyes, feeling an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

Lu Chengze listened to Wu Yue’s muttering, his heart beating uncontrollably, almost bursting out of his chest.

The words of opposition when he appointed Liu Yaozong as the warehouse manager were still ringing in his ears.

“Chengze, Liu Yaozong’s ability is simply not enough to be the warehouse manager. If you want to train him, let him start from the bottom.”

“Mr. Lu, Liu Yaozong’s education barely qualifies him to apply for a security guard position in our company. It might be inappropriate to put him in such a high position.”

Even Wu Yue, who never contradicted him, had rarely raised objections.

“Brother Lu, are you crazy? He was expelled from school for stealing. Letting him manage the warehouse is like putting a rat in a rice bin!”

What had he said back then?

He thought Jian Yao disliked Liu Yiyi and brought her personal emotions into work.

He thought Lin was too rigid, judging people by their education, which was biased.

As for Wu Yue’s so-called stealing, it was just a few tens of thousands of yuan worth of watch belonging to his roommate.

He wouldn’t even look at a watch of that price. In his eyes, it wasn’t even considered stealing.

He said he would take responsibility if anything happened.

He was arrogant, thinking that with Liu Yaozong’s ability, even if he made mistakes, he could cover for him.

Lu Chengze clenched his fists, his neatly trimmed nails digging into his flesh, but his face remained expressionless, as if he couldn’t feel the pain.

The car screeched to a halt in front of the Lu Group, and Lu Chengze and Wu Yue got out first.

As Lin got out of the car, his trousers brushed against a black velvet box.

It was the jewelry Lu Chengze had originally picked out for Jian Yao, but now he was supposed to give it to Liu Yiyi.

Lin wanted to ignore it, but as he was about to close the door, he suddenly paused and reached out to pick it up.

As he passed the front desk, he handed the gift box and address to one of the receptionists and asked her to deliver it.

•  

Top floor of Lu Corporation.

The assistant came in for the third time with a warm cup of coffee, her eyes red, as if she were about to cry.

“Secretary Wang, please have some coffee.”

Mr. Lu and Assistant Lin hadn’t returned yet, and Ms. Jian was not there, so she could only try her best to entertain her.

Secretary Wang, dressed in a neat and professional suit, sat upright on the sofa, glanced at the mechanical clock on the wall, and her tone was not good.

“Is the coffee in your company free? Or is Mr. Lu’s status too high for me, a mere secretary, to see?”

The timid assistant’s eyes welled up, and tears were already welling up in her eyes. “Mr. Lu is on his way, please wait a moment.”

Secretary Wang was also angry, and seeing the assistant’s crying made her even more annoyed.

“Don’t cry, people will think I’m bullying you.”

She didn’t know how Lu Chengze climbed to the position of CEO, but the people in the CEO’s office were all what?

On one side, there was a Liu Yiyi, who, as a secretary, was constantly taking sick leave with headaches and fevers, and even the CEO had to accompany her.

On the other side, there was a weak assistant who could only pour coffee and would cry at the slightest provocation.

The assistant was startled by her words and hiccuped, her eyes red as she looked at her, desperately holding back her tears.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Lu Chengze came in just as he saw this scene, his eyes glared at Secretary Wang, and he spoke to the tearful assistant, “You can go down now.”

After the assistant left, the office door closed.

Lu Chengze sat down opposite Secretary Wang, picked up the contract on the table and flipped through it, saying coldly.

“I will give Li Corporation an explanation about this matter.”

Secretary Wang raised her eyebrows and looked at him, her gaze sweeping over him, finally settling on the blue under his eyes, a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips.

“Explanation?”

“Li Corporation wants more than just an explanation!”

Secretary Wang’s unrestrained gaze made Lu Chengze’s already irritable mood even more irritated.

His fingers stopped flipping through the contract, he looked at Secretary Wang with a smile, “Then what do you think should be done about this matter, Secretary Wang?”

Secretary Wang had a polite smile on her face, “Terminate the cooperation, Lu Corporation will compensate Li Corporation for its losses, publicly apologize, and pay liquidated damages.”

Lu Chengze lowered his head and looked at the documents in his hand, “If I’m not mistaken, Li Corporation hasn’t used any of these things yet, right?”

He closed the documents, looked up at Secretary Wang’s delicately drawn face, “How about we compromise?”

“Li Corporation can keep this batch of materials, and we will return half of the original payment. This way, Li Corporation will save money, and we don’t have to haul the goods back and forth, which is a win-win situation for both sides.”

“Heh!” Secretary Wang sneered, clapping her hands, “Mr. Lu is playing a good hand.”

She said sarcastically, “Then Mr. Lu might as well guess why we haven’t used the goods after half a year?”

It’s not that we can’t use them!

Li Corporation has always pursued a high-end route, and all its materials are carefully selected.

Using substandard products to pass them off as high-end goods for customers is tantamount to suicide.

Secretary Wang’s pretty face was cold, “My previous proposal is the only solution, Mr. Lu has three days to think about it.”

She snatched the documents from Lu Chengze’s hand, “If Li Corporation doesn’t see Lu Corporation’s sincerity in three days, we’ll see you in court!”