Beg Me to Remarry
Chapter 449: The Building is About to Collapse

Chapter 449: Chapter 449: The Building is About to Collapse

"I won’t sit; I have things to do and need to leave shortly," Yi Lixing said, stepping back two steps instead of sitting, but this time he was well-prepared and didn’t show any look of disgust: "Qin Nuan, you’ll be discharged in two days. Just hang in there a little longer."

Even the most common love has its humble side, let alone their inherently unequal love.

Even so, Qin Nuan smiled happily: "Did the doctor tell you? That’s great, I’ve been wanting to leave for so long. Will you come to pick me up when I’m discharged?"

"Of course," Yi Lixing squeezed out a small smile, and after hesitating, he still reached out to pat Qin Nuan’s shoulder: "You need to take care of yourself alone in the hospital. If something comes up, go find the nurses; I’ve already made good relations with them, and they’ll take care of you."

"Okay, I know," Qin Nuan replied with a smile, instinctively reaching for Yi Lixing’s hand, but Yi Lixing had already retracted his.

Qin Nuan’s grasp missed but she wasn’t angry, instead, she smiled even more: "Thank you for everything you have done for me, I’ll keep it all in my heart."

The ward always had an odd smell in the winter, with the air-conditioning on all day and no ventilation — the scent of medical fluids and the different body odors of each person made it difficult even to breathe.

Yi Lixing simply couldn’t stay any longer, he dropped a "I’ll come see you tomorrow," then without waiting for Qin Nuan’s response, he turned and strode out.

Once outside, Yi Lixing sniffed his suit, feeling as though the strange smell from the ward clung to him. He pulled out a bottle of men’s cologne from his briefcase and sprayed himself generously. After using up almost half a bottle, he then walked away with firm steps.

Leaving the hospital, Yi Lixing directly drove at top speed towards Huangpu Group.

The security guard on the first floor of the Huangpu Group didn’t stop Yi Lixing. Instead, they diligently opened the access control to let him in.

Representing Xia Group, Yi Lixing was collaborating with Huangpu Group on that project, snatching the lucrative deal right out of He Group’s mouth.

These days, he had to spend half a day at Huangpu Group, and considering that he was her classmate, Madam Huangpu had arranged a temporary office for him.

It was amusing, in a way, that Yi Lixing’s office in Xia Group wasn’t even as large as the temporary office that Huangpu Group had arranged for him; however, that wasn’t much of an issue, after all, Mr. Ji had worked with Xia Guoxiong for so many years, and his office was only about the same size as Yi Lixing’s.

Yi Lixing had planned to first go to his office to sort out some materials, but just as he placed his hand on the handrail, someone from behind said: "Mr. Yi, the Chairman and his wife are waiting for you. Please go there immediately."

"Alright, I’ll be right there," Yi Lixing responded, heading to Mr. Huangpu’s office while muttering in his mind, wondering what was so urgent that they needed him.

Mr. Huangpu’s office was spacious, with its door wide open, like a monster with its mouth gaping, waiting for someone to walk into its trap.

The soles of Yi Lixing’s mirror-shiny shoes stepped on the shiny floor with crisp sounds. He stood at the door and knocked lightly with two fingers: "May I come in?"

Though he asked, he didn’t wait for an answer. After uttering the polite phrase, he walked right in.

The Huangpu couple was sitting on the sofa discussing something. Upon seeing him, their expressions shifted from solemn to unsightly.

A bad premonition crept into Yi Lixing’s heart. He was about to sit down without invitation as usual, but instead, he stood in front of the Huangpu couple and asked, "What’s going on? Why are you looking at me like that?"

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Mr. Huangpu took the lead to break the silence, delivering a bolt from the blue: "The collaboration between Huangpu Group and Xia Group has ended. Take the people from Xia Group and withdraw immediately from all the projects under Huangpu Group."

Yi Lixing’s already dark face grew uglier. Forgetting his composure, he asked in haste, "What happened? I won’t take anyone away unless you make things clear."

The atmosphere in the office became oppressive in an instant, as if a silent standoff was happening, with one side attempting to completely overpower the other.

Seeing that things were going south, Madam Huangpu hurriedly interjected to explain, "Mr. Yi, here’s the situation: someone reported us for regulatory violations, and the higher-ups are investigating. It’s best for your people to leave quickly, let’s temporarily disengage."

"Temporary disengagement?" Yi Lixing furrowed his brows so deeply he could have trapped a fly between them, his dissatisfaction clearly apparent as he looked at the Huangpu couple: "When can we resume our cooperation?"

"This..." Madam Huangpu glanced at her husband, then spoke softly, "We’re not even sure if we can hold onto this project right now. We’ll definitely work together if there’s another opportunity in the future."

"Don’t try to fool me with these empty promises," Yi Lixing kicked the sofa forcefully, but unfortunately, the sofa didn’t budge, which significantly diminished the impact of his action, "If it weren’t for my help, could you have secured the project? Now that you have it, you’re kicking me to the curb without a second thought, do you really think I can be fooled that easily?"

The Huangpu couple exchanged a meaningful glance.

Madam Huangpu stood up and walked over to Yi Lixing, handing him a bank card while speaking in a lowered voice: "We know that we wouldn’t have this project without you. This card contains a token of our appreciation. The situation is tense right now; the best course of action is for you to retreat temporarily. Rest assured that as soon as we’ve dealt with this crisis, we will not let you down."

It took some effort, but she finally managed to send Yi Lixing on his way. When only the Huangpu couple was left in the office, Madam Huangpu drank an entire cup of cold coffee in one breath.

Mr. Huangpu, however, remained grim throughout, just as emphatically as the words that came through his clenched teeth: "Didn’t we have someone on the inside? Why didn’t we get any advance warning about this investigation?"

"I suspect..." Madam Huangpu paused, carefully looking around before continuing in a hushed voice, "I suspect we’ve been targeted. Our collaboration with Xia Group was very discreet. Their people on the project always pretended to be from Huangpu Group, which isn’t something just anyone would know."

Mr. Huangpu clenched his teeth so tight that even from his cheeks, one could see the force he was exerting.

Just like each word that popped out from between his clenched teeth: "At any cost, this must be thoroughly dealt with, or Huangpu Group might very well crumble."

Madam Huangpu nodded, her beautiful face full of worry: "I... am a little concerned about Su Cheng. Should we tell Su Cheng about this?"