Huo Linsheng pondered for a moment after hearing Fu Qili's words.
"What do you think she wants to do?" Huo Linsheng asked.
Fu Qili shrugged and replied, "Who knows? Our Miss Meng always has a clear goal when doing things. At this time, instead of staying in Shanghai to coax her dear grandpa, she comes to our Beijing. This proves that there must be something more important here than coaxing Old Master Meng."
Fu Qili didn't believe a single word about taking a break, going out for fun, or matters related to the branch company.
Fu Qili looked at Huo Linsheng and joked, "I've thought it over and over. There hasn't been anything special happening here recently. The only thing is your marriage to Ling Nuan."
Huo Linsheng scoffed and retorted, "What does she have to do with me?"
"What's going on between you two? You should ask yourself. How would I know?" Fu Qili replied with a smile.
Huo Linsheng was too lazy to bother with him.
After the joke, Fu Qili became a bit more serious than usual. "As far as I know about Meng Shuluo, she didn't take a fancy to you when you weren't married. Now, it's even more impossible for her to grab a man she once looked down on with the stigma of being a mistress. However..."
Huo Linsheng looked at Fu Qili.
"She must have come to Beijing for a reason. And for now, it seems that the person she wants to contact after coming to Beijing is still you. So, the problem still lies with you."
Huo Linsheng: "..."
"Tsk." After being serious for a moment, Fu Qili couldn't help but tease again. "Could it be that you didn't cherish her before marriage, and now that you're married, she regrets it?"
Huo Linsheng glared at Fu Qili and emphasized, "There's no such relationship between us."
"Got it, got it. It's just outsiders who make random matches." Fu Qili didn't take Huo Linsheng's words seriously at all.
After the joke, he seriously patted Huo Linsheng on the shoulder and reminded him, "If it's not for love, it's for profit. I think the latter is more likely. She may have big plans. You should be more vigilant."
Huo Linsheng let out a soft "hmm" and asked, "So, shall we go?"
"No." Fu Qili refused without hesitation. "She wasn't targeting me in the first place. Why should I go and court trouble? Moreover..."
Fu Qili shook his wine glass and said, "I forgot to tell you. I have a girlfriend."
Huo Linsheng was surprised. "When did this happen? Why haven't I heard you mention it?"
Fu Qili raised his eyebrows and replied, "Probably sometime this coming month?"
Huo Linsheng: "?"
"This coming month." Huo Linsheng repeated the key words.
Fu Qili looked like a rascal. "I'm pursuing her. It's okay to mention it in advance, right? Anyway, she'll be mine eventually."
Huo Linsheng scoffed and poured cold water on him directly. "I don't think so. How blind does a person have to be to fall for you?"
Fu Qili wasn't angry at all. Instead, he said with a smile, "It's no big deal. If she's not blind, I'll make her blind."
Huo Linsheng: "..."
He never said anything serious.
Huo Linsheng was too lazy to bother with Fu Qili anymore.
...
Ling Nuan's situation had improved.
After Old Master Huo spoke up, Mrs. Huo's "teaching" journey had to be put on hold.
Ling Nuan got up early as she had in the previous few days. When she didn't see Mrs. Huo in the living room as usual, she was a bit surprised.
The old butler saw Ling Nuan coming and quickly explained, "Third Madam, the old master has instructed that you should prepare well for the Wen family's banquet during this period. Other matters will be postponed for the time being."
Hearing this, Ling Nuan had an idea.
Maybe her guess was correct. Old Master Huo knew everything that had happened in the old mansion and was finally dissatisfied with Mrs. Huo's behavior. Or perhaps someone else had intervened.
Anyway, because of the Wen family's banquet, Ling Nuan's situation in the Huo family had finally seen a glimmer of hope.
Mrs. Huo was extremely angry.
She couldn't say anything in front of others, but behind closed doors, she scolded Huo Xiao severely.
"I don't know what's wrong with your grandpa. Ling Nuan must have said something to him. He wasn't like this during the day yesterday. He suddenly changed his mind late at night." Mrs. Huo said angrily, "I underestimated Ling Nuan."
Huo Xiao was also angry.
"It's only been a few days. I can't take this lying down!"
She was even more angry than Mrs. Huo.
Both mother and daughter were annoyed, and to make matters worse, Shen Shaoqing called.
"Xiaoxiao, is there something wrong with the company at home? Why... suddenly say that you want to cancel the cooperation with us?" Shen Shaoqing looked anxious.
Although Qingnuan had managed to avoid the tax crisis this time, it hadn't fully recovered. If it had the support of the Huo Group, it just needed to continue promoting the cooperation to get through this difficult period, and its future development would still be promising.
But someone from the Huo Group had come to Qingnuan today.
"What's wrong with the company? Cancel the cooperation? What's going on?" Huo Xiao was also confused.
Shen Shaoqing quickly briefed her on what had happened today. "Someone from the Huo Group just came. They said that our company had concealed something from them during the cooperation. They thought the information we provided was not truthful and that we were suspected of contract fraud, so they wanted to void the contract."
"How dare they void the contract? We've already signed the contract. Even the Huo Group can't just void it at will. What fraud? Who's committing fraud?" Huo Xiao got angry when she heard this.
Shen Shaoqing paused for a moment.
Under normal circumstances, the contract certainly couldn't be voided. But if the situation of one party in the contract was untrue, then the contract could indeed be voided.
When Shen Shaoqing signed the cooperation agreement, he naturally hadn't concealed the company's situation. The problem was that he himself had been kept in the dark. So now the Huo Group said, "Sorry, after our assessment, we think that with Qingnuan's normal operating situation, it doesn't meet our cooperation standards. We signed the contract before because we were deceived. So now we want to void the contract."
Shen Shaoqing had of course insisted. After hearing what the other party said, he first brought up the cooperation. "Our company has indeed encountered some problems, but it's far from the point of contract fraud. If it really comes to the point of breaching the contract and voiding it, it will only be a lose-lose situation."
The representative of the Huo Group said, "This is a matter that our legal department of the Huo Group needs to be concerned about. You don't need to worry about it, Mr. Shen."
Shen Shaoqing: "..."
When reasoning didn't work, Shen Shaoqing started to play the emotional card.
"My wife, Huo Xiao, is a daughter of the Huo family. We're practically family." Shen Shaoqing said, "Does the chairman know about this?"
The representative of the Huo Group said, "Sorry, I'm an employee of the Huo Group. Family matters of the boss are not within my scope of concern."
Shen Shaoqing: "..."
No matter what Shen Shaoqing said, the other party was unmoved. Finally, they said, "If you're not willing to cooperate, Mr. Shen, then we can only take legal action."
After seeing off the people from the Huo Group with suppressed anger, Shen Shaoqing immediately called Huo Xiao for help.
Huo Xiao was furious.
"How dare they? How can they just void the contract like this? Did Uncle do this?"
Ling Nuan happened to pass by the door.
Huo Xiao's voice was too loud, and the word "Uncle" she uttered made Ling Nuan stop in her tracks.