Chapter 14: Push Me Hard

“Mr. Xiong, that shareholder really put in a lot of effort to get Mr. Xie to agree to meet you again.”

On the way to the teahouse, the little secretary nervously straightened Mr. Xiong’s collar. “We must have a good talk this time. This is our company’s last hope.”

“If the company goes bankrupt, I’ll join you guys in selling popcorn.”

There was a faint sense of despair in Mr. Xiong’s eyes. “I could also sell roasted sweet potatoes.”

“Pull yourself together!” The little secretary almost wanted to slap the boss.

“If you can’t close this deal, we’ll all be left with nothing. Have you forgotten who packed your bag, prepared snacks and a thermos for you, and reminded you not to drink and to come back early when you went out for business? It was your lovely employees! Are you going to abandon us now?!”

“I’m not giving up, but I had a good deal going before.”

Mr. Xiong looked sad as he spoke about it.

“Back then, the Xie family offered a good price, and Mr. Xie even came to negotiate with me personally. I was almost convinced, but then I thought the Gu family was more powerful and secure, so I rejected them and chose to work with the Gu family. Who would have thought the Gu family would disappear overnight, leaving me hanging!”

Mr. Xiong covered his face with one hand, revealing a large, dejected face.

“Even so, you need to have confidence.” The secretary couldn’t find the words to encourage the boss.

“We could lower our offer by two more points.”

“Even if we make concessions, it’s already over. Look at the place Mr. Xie chose; it’s close to his home. He doesn’t even want to go to the company to talk with us.”

Mr. Xiong looked out the window with sadness, avoiding the little secretary’s disappointed expression. He saw something lying in the alley they just passed.

The car backed up to the alley, and Mr. Xiong saw it was a person. Seeing they still had some time, Mr. Xiong and the secretary carefully approached, turning over the unconscious person. As soon as they saw the face, their pupils shrank, and they exchanged a glance.

Mr. Xiong clutched his chest, unable to speak, while the little secretary’s eyes darted around. He quickly instructed Mr. Xiong to help the person into the car. By the car, the little secretary grabbed Mr. Xiong’s large face with both hands, looking serious.

“See, boss, this is a gift from heaven for us! You, walk over to meet Mr. Xie. I’ll take him to get his wounds treated and then bring him over as a gift for Mr. Xie. We’ve already missed one chance with the Xie family; we can’t miss a second!”

Mr. Xiong stood there dumbfounded, watching as the little secretary slipped into the car. The driver made a sharp turn, leaving him with a resolute view of the car’s rear.

Time was tight. The car left the clinic, slowed down around a bend, and the little secretary glanced nervously at the bandaged, unconscious man beside him. Taking a deep breath, he urged the driver to speed up.

The car stopped at a red light, and the little secretary picked up his phone to update the eagerly waiting colleagues at the company. Suddenly, he felt movement beside him. Looking up, he saw the man, who the doctor said had lost too much blood to regain consciousness, was somehow awake!

It seemed like he hadn’t fully come to his senses, or maybe it was the blood loss causing confusion. The little secretary watched the Gu family heir for a while, who didn’t move but just stared blankly ahead with deep blue eyes, his fingers slowly touching his surroundings.

Sensing something was off, the little secretary waved a hand in front of Gu Mingchen’s eyes, noticing he seemed to sense something but his gaze didn’t focus.

“Who?” Gu Mingchen’s voice was hoarse, and everything was dark before him. He could vaguely smell the car’s air freshener and the cosmetics scent from the person beside him.

There was a faint movement of air in front of him, as if someone was waving a hand in front of his eyes. Gu Mingchen closed his eyes and opened them again, still seeing nothing.

“You don’t need to know who I am.” The little secretary pinched his nose, lowering his voice.

The once-glorious heir of the Gu family had fallen to this point, which was quite lamentable. But the little secretary, thinking of the hundreds of people in the company, forced himself to harden his heart.

“Gu Mingchen, do you remember the Moon Bear Cinema chain?”

Gu Mingchen’s eyes lowered slightly, recalling the documents once placed in Gu Qiu’s study.

It seemed… there was such a company.

“You might not know, but your Gu family owes our company a large breach of contract fee.” The little secretary spoke with a pinched nose.

“A father’s debt is a son’s responsibility. It’s not too much for us to get something back from you, is it?”

Gu Mingchen’s face turned towards the direction of the voice, his eyes growing colder.

“What do you want?”

“We want to make the most of your remaining value and give you away!”

The little secretary tried to dispel the guilt in his heart, speaking with a fierce tone.

“We have no choice but to take this step. As for what happens to you after we hand you over, you’ll have to fend for yourself!”

Gu Mingchen was silent for two seconds, feeling the bandaged wounds on his body and the scattered shirt.

The little secretary watched him closely, seeing him touch the car window as if confirming something. Suddenly, he tore a strip from his shirt, raising his hand to blindfold himself with the cloth.

Without much hesitation, Gu Mingchen continued tearing strips of cloth, wrapping them around his hands. His skilled movements made the little secretary’s heart pound.

No matter what, the person in front of him was over 1.9 meters tall. As the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even if the other party was blind and injured, in such a confined space, neither he nor the driver might have the upper hand in a fight.

The little secretary panicked for a while, suddenly thinking of something. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out an eyebrow trimmer, opening it and gripping it tightly in his hand.

“I have a fruit knife in my hand. I advise you not to move recklessly. Cooperate obediently, or don’t blame me for being ruthless if I poke a hole in you!”

Gu Mingchen paused for a moment, then continued tearing strips of cloth, slowly wrapping his other hand.

The sixth sense screamed danger, and the little secretary grew increasingly anxious, gripping the eyebrow trimmer and clenching his teeth.

“Don’t move! Do you know who we’re handing you over to? That person is not someone you can afford to provoke right now!”

Gu Mingchen finished wrapping both hands, clenching them slowly. His perfectly sharp facial features showed no extra expression.

The little secretary felt a chill down his spine, resisting the urge to jump out of the window and run. He mustered his courage, using his biggest voice to threaten fiercely.

“You have no idea who you’re up against. The head of the Xie family, Xie Ting’an, you’ve heard of him, right?”

Gu Mingchen’s movement of raising his hand towards the car window suddenly stopped. His body slowly turned back, facing the little secretary holding the eyebrow trimmer.

“Who did you say?”

“The CEO of the Xie family, the head of the Xie family, Xie Ting’an.” The little secretary raised his head, speaking fiercely.

“We’re going to hand you over to him today!”

“Really?” Gu Mingchen stood there in a daze.

“Is there any doubt?” The little secretary raised his chin, trying to calm himself down.

“With the mess left by your Gu family, we can only seek help from Mr. Xie. Besides the Xie family, there’s no other group in Rong City that can take over our company’s shares!!”

Gu Mingchen’s thin lips pressed tightly together. After a while, he removed the cloth strips from his hands, feeling his already tattered shirt.

“Scared, aren’t you?” The little secretary sighed in relief, squinting his eyes. “I advise you to behave, or else…”

“Do you have any clothes I can wear?” Gu Mingchen raised his hand, politely interrupting the little secretary.

“Huh? No.” The little secretary was momentarily stunned, then looked at Gu Mingchen’s blood-stained shirt, which was also covered in black soot and dirt, as if he had crawled over the ground. It wasn’t very presentable as a gift.

“Wait, I think I prepared an extra suit for Mr. Xiong.” The little secretary suddenly remembered, holding the eyebrow trimmer, tilting the back seat, and reaching into the trunk to search.

The little secretary found a new shirt of Mr. Xiong’s, compared the size, and handed it over. Watching Gu Mingchen feel the shirt for a while, distinguishing the top from the bottom and the inside from the outside, he put it on himself but, due to his blindness, buttoned it incorrectly.

Gu Mingchen quickly realized the problem, showing no sign of frustration. He patiently unbuttoned it and carefully felt his way to button it correctly, adjusting the collar, and sat quietly with his hands on his knees, showing no further signs of struggle.

The little secretary gripped the eyebrow trimmer, feeling a twinge of conscience.

Given the poor relationship between the Gu and Xie families, handing Gu Mingchen over, he might suffer unimaginable torment.

Moreover, he’s blind now, making it all too easy to bully him.

The little secretary had also heard that the second young master of the Xie family, Xie Yurun, had recently said that he would beat up any Gu family member he saw.

The car stopped below the teahouse, and the little secretary covered his hand with clothing, gritting his teeth as he pressed the eyebrow trimmer against Gu Mingchen, leading him step by step to the private room. Hearing the boss inside pleading for the other party to take a look at the gift, the little secretary’s heart was almost drowned in guilt.

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.”

Two voices sounded almost simultaneously, and the little secretary froze, incredulously looking at Gu Mingchen standing in front of him.

What did he just say?

Thank me!?

Thank me???

“Put away your eyebrow trimmer.” Gu Mingchen heard a familiar gentle voice from inside, struggling to suppress the urge to smile.

“Huh?” The little secretary was stunned, looking at the eyebrow trimmer in his hand. “How did you know?”

“Sound, deduction.” Gu Mingchen tilted his face slightly, pointing to his ear.

“I also heard that your eyebrow trimmer has a plastic casing.”

The little secretary stared blankly at the pink plastic-cased eyebrow trimmer in his hand. Suddenly, applause came from the private room, signaling the presentation of the gift.

The little secretary put away the eyebrow trimmer, about to help Gu Mingchen inside, when a clear voice came from beside him.

“Push me.”

“Huh?” The little secretary was confused.

“Push me hard.”

The private room door opened, and the little secretary, bewildered, followed the instructions and gave him a hard push.

The little secretary watched as Gu Mingchen fell into the private room, then looked at his hand, which had used only half its strength, and closed the private room door tightly, filled with confusion.

What… kind of trick is this?

Why does it seem like this person is actually quite happy?