Water and Fire~Chapter 37.2: What Do You Want (Second Revision)

 

Chapter 37.2: What Do You Want (Second Revision)

By the time Ren Yan left the due diligence office to find Dong Lan to confirm things, Qin Qianyu finally seized his opportunity. He leaped to his feet, stood in front of Chu Qianmiao's desk, and said, "Qianmiao, talk to me!!!"

Chu Qianmiao's shoulders slumped, and she leaned back in her chair. "What's up, Brother Qin? Tell me!"

Her entire disguise was temporarily gone. Qin Qianyu nearly burst into tears.

How wonderful it was for her to do this! How wonderful! She had to be so polite that she'd be utterly mortified by him!

"Qian Miao," Qin Qianyu said, adopting a sincere, heartfelt tone. "I know President Ren said the other day that he were a bit too harsh and indiscriminate. You're indeed somewhat wronged, but could you please stop being so hypocritically polite? Every wrong has its perpetrator. Can't you just go after President Ren alone? The four of us are so upset by your accidental injuries. Can't you just give us back what we once had?"

Chu Qian Miao leaned back in her chair, glancing sideways at Qin Qianyu. "Just let me have my moment for a couple more days!"

Qin Qianyu slammed her desk. "No, you're just enjoying yourself. Your fake politeness makes us want to scratch the table!" He paused, then said, "Qian Miao, actually... I know our boss regrets scolding you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to come here every day these past few days. Actually, our company has something going on these past two days, and he should have been staying there for a meeting. Plus, he keeps trying to find opportunities to talk to you—even if his words are a bit awkward and sound like he's picking on you, he doesn't have much experience in coaxing people. But all this actually shows that he truly regrets scolding you that day!"

Chu Qianmiao leaned back in her chair, grinning like a piece of meat. "Brother Qin, let me have a few more days of fun. I'll see if I can make anyone cry if I want to!"

It would be best if she could make him cry, too. That would be completely satisfying.

Qin Qianyu returned to his seat, looking as if he wanted to call in sick tomorrow.

It turns out that when Chu Qianmiao wants to piss someone off, she can really make them feel hurt.

After days of polite silence, Ren Yan finally lost his temper.

He cornered Chu Qianmiao in the tea room and said, "Let's chat for a minute."

Chu Qianmiao replied with a polite smile that showed all eight teeth: "Okay, Mr. Ren."

Ren Yan asked her, "Can you please stop being so artificially polite?"

"Okay, Mr. Ren," she replied, her politeness even more artificial than before.

Ren Yan looked away. He put one hand on his waist and raised the other to pinch his forehead.

He let out a breathy laugh. A snort.

Then he lowered his hand, turned back, and smiled, a hint of an angry, sinister smile.

"Chu Qianmiao, why don't you tell me how you can get back to normal?"

Chu Qianmiao smiled and saluted him, cup in hand. "Mr. Ren, you're too kind!" Then she pointed behind him. "Mr. Ren, Mr. An Rudaan is here to see you!" As he turned to look, she nimbly slipped through the gap beside him.

Ren Yan could only smell a sweet fragrance.

Then she slipped away. Not even a ghost could be seen behind him.

He pinched his forehead, feeling even angrier.

Little liar!

After escaping the tea room, Chu Qianmiao sat back at her desk and reflected on Ren Yan's question.

How can you get back to normal?

Is the answer that difficult? Just apologize and tell me you were wrong to lecture me without any basis for truth.

Is that that difficult??

Despite her frustrations, Chu Qianmiao understood that important matters needed to be addressed through a concerted effort.

Hanhai Home Textiles, which had previously submitted its listing materials and was in the waiting list, finally moved one step closer, moving from "accepted" to "feedback received." Following the feedback, there was pre-disclosure, then the preliminary review meeting, and then the IPO review meeting. Once the IPO review meeting approved the application and the issuance approval was received, Hanhai Home Textiles' IPO was officially complete.

During this period, Ren Yan and his team temporarily shifted most of their attention from the Jialeyuan project to address the Hanhai Home Textiles feedback. After the feedback meeting, Hanhai Home Textiles quickly received the feedback, and Ren Yan immediately organized the company's personnel and various intermediaries to discuss and prepare responses based on the requirements of the feedback.

The feedback contained numerous questions requiring clarification, and each one required careful discussion and a carefully considered response. Chu Qianmiao was so busy with Hanhai Home Textiles that she almost forgot to be polite.

Chu Qianmiao discovered that the busier things got, the more troubles piled up.

While she was scrambling to process feedback, Gu Miaoyu happened to run into another major problem.

Overnight, Gu Miaoyu was subjected to online bullying so intense that she couldn't even call out "Mom."

Chu Qianmiao felt that Gu Miaoyu was truly a textbook example of someone being scapegoated.

The incident began when Gu Miaoyu once served a young couple as clients. When she was giving them a quote for a renovation, she also provided a list of the materials. The couple, impressed and impressed by her service, rejected her offer and signed a contract with Tu Xiaorong instead.

—Ever since Gu Miaoyu had knocked her off her perch as the top performer, Tu Xiaorong had become completely ruthless, snatching up any business she could get. She relied on nonsense and random promises to snatch the young couple's clients away.

That wasn't a big deal; Gu Miaoyu didn't bother to argue with her. However, after Tu Xiaorong finished decorating the house for the young couple, they moved in with their daughter, Yueyue. Just over a month later, Yueyue was diagnosed with leukemia. Not long after her diagnosis, Yueyue passed away.

The young couple could not accept this fact and believed that the formaldehyde-laden renovation materials must have been responsible for their precious daughter's death.

A young couple went to Gu Miaoyu's company to demand power or money. The husband even recorded his wife's heartbreaking sobs, as well as Tu Xiaorong (who had nearly been strangled by her collar) pushing her. Tu Xiaorong, driven by the principle of "I can't be the only one to suffer the consequences," dragged Gu Miaoyu into the dispute without hesitation. She insisted that she had renovated according to the materials list provided by Gu Miaoyu, and that any problems were her fault. The husband then recorded Gu Miaoyu in the video as well.

The video was posted online, and overnight it went viral. Both Gu Miaoyu and Tu Xiaorong were dubbed "murderers."

Chu Qianmiao thought that anyone with a modicum of common sense would recognize Gu Miaoyu's innocence. However, in the online bullying situation, those keyboard warriors who hold the moral high ground don't need reason. They only need "justice." Justice made them sympathize with the deceased child and the mother weeping hysterically. Justice also allowed them to stand up straight and insult Gu Miaoyu, calling for her death as if for no reason.

The keyboard warriors were incredibly skilled. Besides "justice," they were also masters of "human flesh search." They quickly discovered the address of Chu Qianmiao and Gu Miaoyu's rental house, and then a steady stream of deliveries arrived, either razor blades or wreaths.

For the first time, Chu Qianmiao experienced firsthand the horrors of cyberbullying.

Soon, the online bullying escalated from "Justice 10"—the delivery of razor blades and wreaths—to "Justice 20"—with messages urging Gu Miaoyu to be careful and watch out for cars and people when going out. They, the messengers of justice, might be on her side at any moment, enforcing justice.

Chu Qianmiao and Gu Miaoyu figured, if that was the case, they might as well stay home. At least staying home would save their lives.

But the righteous keyboard warriors wouldn't allow them to remain isolated. They immediately dug up the phone number of the landlord who rented the house to them and righteously warned him that if he didn't evict the scumbag living in his house, he would be aiding and abetting the evil, and they would enforce justice! They might send something to the landlord's house, remind him to be careful when he went out, and even throw feces on his doorstep to help him look good.

The landlord was terrified. Although he felt bad, he made up his mind and asked Chu Qianmiao and Gu Miaoyu to leave that very night.

So, in the middle of the night, Chu Qianmiao, Gu Miaoyu, and their pile of luggage were evacuated from the house and left on the street.

Chu Qianmiao had never felt this city night so chilling.

She was worried that Gu Miaoyu was on the verge of depression from the online bullying, so she couldn't let her worry about it. She had to find a way to accommodate them both quickly.

Looking for a place to stay in the middle of the night wasn't an option, so she had to stay in a hotel. But they still had so much luggage to stay in a hotel. Alternatively, she could take the luggage to the law firm first, pile it in Zhang Teng's office, and then move it out once she found a place to stay. Then, she would have to find a van to transport the luggage, and after that, take Gu Miaoyu to a hotel.

After figuring everything out, she began to search online on her phone for the phone number of a delivery van.

She flipped through her phone with one hand, holding Gu Miaoyu in her arms with the other, offering her both physical and emotional support.

Suddenly, the 58.com* page was switched to a call from a certain number.

*58.com (Wuba Tongcheng) is the largest classifieds website in China

Gu Miaoyu turned her head and saw Chu Qianmiao staring at the caller ID, a complex expression on her face. She was in the spotlight, her mind had long been dulled, and she couldn't immediately decipher the complexities in Chu Qianmiao's expression. Was it a hint of joy? Or perhaps a hint of aggrieved?

Anyway, she answered the phone.

The person on the other end of the line said something, and she pursed her lips.

Then she let go of her and stepped aside to continue her conversation.

The streetlight cast a new light on her face. It was as if a princess, trapped on a snowy mountain, near death, had been rescued by her prince.

After hanging up, Chu Qianmiao walked back to Gu Miaoyu and said, "Little Daogu, we have somewhere to go!" She smiled, looking relieved. "Ren Yan saw this online and said he'd drive over to pick us up right away. We'll stay in one of his empty houses for the time being."