Although Zhou Ziwei was quite amazed by the strange blush on Wang Xuewei's face just now, it wasn't enough to make him fall in love with her.
The reason Zhou Ziwei suddenly lost his composure was because, through his previous knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, he noticed that Wang Xuewei's complexion was somewhat abnormal, and he suspected that she might be suffering from a serious blood disease.
However, these were just Zhou Ziwei's suspicions. He wouldn't speak carelessly before they were confirmed. Seeing Wang Xuewei's embarrassed and annoyed expression, he couldn't help but laugh. He nodded and said, "Alright! But it's quite quiet here. Come in and talk if you have something to say!"
After saying this, Zhou Ziwei, without allowing Wang Xuewei to object, immediately opened the door, turned around, and went in first.
"Hey... here... how can you..."
The thought that Zhou Ziwei had just been in this room doing *that* with a shady woman, and that the room might still smell of their bodily fluids, was unbearable for Wang Xuewei, who was always a bit of a germaphobe.
Seeing that Zhou Ziwei completely ignored her opinion and had already entered the small guest room, Wang Xuewei was stunned for a moment, stomped her foot hard, and wanted to turn around and leave. However, when she thought of the current predicament of Xinda Daily Chemicals, she could only sigh helplessly, grit her teeth, and make a great decision before slowly walking in.
The Zhou family's old house is a large mansion, divided into three courtyards, each of which is further divided into several smaller courtyards in the east, west, south, and north.
It is said that this residence was originally the ancestral home of a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty. It was severely damaged during the Cultural Revolution, but the basic structure is still intact.
Later, Zhou Zhengxiang became wealthy and bought it. After a series of renovations, it became the old house with a strong ancient charm that it is today.
Zhou Ziwei now lives in the west wing of the rear residence. The entire courtyard has three rooms. Except for the kitchen, it is fully equipped with a living room, bedroom, and bathroom.
Wang Xuewei breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw that Zhou Ziwei had only led her to sit down in the living room and hadn't taken her to the bedroom to show her the place where he had just fought.
"What's the rush to see me about?" Zhou Ziwei asked as he reached for two cans of drinks in the refrigerator. He tossed one to Wang Xuewei and opened the other, then gulped it down in large mouthfuls. The earlier exertion had left Zhou Ziwei sweating profusely, and he was thirsty, so he didn't care about his image.
Wang Xuewei seemed to have considered this factor as well. She took the can of drink but didn't drink it. She gently placed it on the coffee table, curled her lip in disdain, and then turned her head to look at the half-open bedroom door. She frowned slightly and said, "Is that woman still inside? What I want to talk to you about is Xinda Daily Chemicals. This... do you think we should find a place to talk privately?"
After finishing his drink, Zhou Ziwei gently wiped the water from his mouth, smiled slightly, and said, "It's alright, she's not an outsider. Just say what you want to say!"
"She's not an outsider?" Wang Xuewei was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, wondering if the woman wasn't a prostitute Zhou Ziwei had temporarily summoned, but rather...
The first woman that came to Wang Xuewei's mind was Luan Yuqing. She was the woman Zhou Ziwei brought back last time, and it seemed that she had also served as Zhou Ziwei's personal assistant.
The idea of a young boss hiring a beautiful personal assistant... this is probably the kind of thing that most easily evokes images of an intimate relationship.
Wang Xuewei thought to herself, "Which man these days isn't a womanizer? Even her father, who's so old, still has an ambiguous relationship with his secretary."
She'd seen this kind of thing countless times and had long since stopped taking it seriously.
But... Zhou Ziwei was, after all, her husband in name only. When she learned that her husband had that kind of relationship with another woman, Wang Xuewei still felt a little sour inside.
“Oh, so the person inside is Assistant Luan… If it’s her, then it doesn’t matter…” Wang Xuewei deliberately put on a nonchalant expression and said, “Hmm… If it’s convenient for Assistant Luan, let her come out and we can chat together! Assistant Luan seems very shrewd; maybe she has some good ideas about this matter.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei glanced at Wang Xuewei with a strange expression and said, "What Assistant Luan? I just got back this morning and haven't seen her yet."
As Zhou Ziwei spoke, he turned around and called out loudly into the bedroom, "Xiao Fei... come out for a moment, I want to introduce you to someone."
"Not Assistant Luan?" Wang Xuewei asked in surprise, then her expression turned increasingly grim.
If Zhou Ziwei had only had an ambiguous relationship with his personal assistant, Wang Xuewei might have thought it was normal. But... now Zhou Ziwei said that the person wasn't Luan Yuqing, so... he's found another woman outside again. And Zhou Ziwei actually said he wanted to introduce this woman with whom he had an inappropriate relationship to his legal wife. Wang Xuewei really didn't know whether she should slap Zhou Ziwei immediately, or...
As soon as Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, Liu Xiaofei, wearing a light purple dress, walked out of the room somewhat timidly.
Having just experienced the nourishment of rain and dew, Liu Xiaofei now looked like a delicate and beautiful flower. Her slightly flushed cheeks exuded a charming shyness, and her appearance would make any man who saw her lose his composure for a moment.
Although Wang Xuewei was a woman, she was still quite amazed when she saw Liu Xiaofei walking out of the bedroom.
She sighed inwardly. No wonder Zhou Ziwei, that womanizer, would fall for her. She really was a beauty of the highest caliber... But... what a waste of such a good girl. How could she be ruined by that womanizer Zhou Ziwei?
Liu Xiaofei had already vaguely guessed Wang Xuewei's identity, so she looked a little flustered at this moment. After all, Wang Xuewei was Zhou Ziwei's legal wife, and she was essentially a vixen who seduced her husband, or... the legendary mistress.
However, since Liu Xiaofei had already made up her mind to follow Zhou Ziwei, she knew that she would have to face Zhou Ziwei's wife sooner or later, so she was mentally prepared for this.
Therefore, although she was somewhat uneasy at this moment, she didn't hesitate much and boldly walked to Zhou Ziwei's side, sat down next to him, gently pursed her rosy lips, and whispered, "She...she is..."
Zhou Ziwei, however, did not notice the awkwardness of the two women's identities beside him. In any case, he had never regarded Wang Xuewei as his wife. He also knew that Wang Xuewei had always hated his body's former owner and had no interest in interfering with the decadent private life of the previous Zhou Ziwei.
Therefore, Zhou Ziwei had no intention of hiding anything from Wang Xuewei. When Liu Xiaofei asked, he generously introduced her, saying, "Oh... her name is Wang Xuewei, um... she's my legal wife!"
Then Zhou Ziwei turned to Wang Xuewei, pointed to Liu Xiaofei, and said, "Her name is Liu Xiaofei, and she is my girlfriend now."
Hearing Zhou Ziwei's strange way of introducing himself, Liu Xiaofei and Wang Xuewei couldn't help but twitch their pretty faces slightly.
If it were another man introducing his "girlfriend" to his wife like this, he would probably be greeted with two warm, delicate hands in an instant.
However, Wang Xuewei and Liu Xiaofei were not the kind of women who would act aggressively. Moreover, they had foreseen this kind of thing beforehand, so they did not have any extreme reactions at this time. Instead, they looked at each other and smiled politely, even though their smiles looked rather unpleasant.
"Let's get down to business first!" Zhou Ziwei finally noticed that Wang Xuewei's expression was a little unnatural, and shook his head helplessly. He knew that although the Zhou Ziwei of the past had been a womanizer and had slept with countless women, he had never brought a woman home to spend the night. This was a kind of respect for Wang Xuewei, his nominal wife! But now he had brazenly brought a woman home, and even engaged in illicit relations in broad daylight, only to be caught red-handed by Wang Xuewei. Even if Wang Xuewei didn't consider him, Zhou Ziwei, as her husband, she would probably feel embarrassed out of a woman's pride!
However, Zhou Ziwei didn't feel too guilty about it. He wasn't the same Zhou Ziwei he used to be, and Wang Xuewei had never treated him as her husband. So Zhou Ziwei naturally didn't feel any obligation to maintain this ridiculous marriage.
So... what's done is done! At worst, I can just sign a divorce agreement with Wang Xuewei later. Maybe that's what Wang Xuewei has always longed for?
"Hmm... alright!" Wang Xuewei sighed softly, then composed herself, managing her somewhat chaotic and inexplicable feelings. She considered what she had wanted to discuss with Zhou Ziwei before speaking, "I wanted to talk to you about Xinda Daily Chemicals... As you should know, Xinda Daily Chemicals hasn't been doing very well lately, and we've been facing a tight cash flow. Furthermore, due to some reasons, we encountered problems with the sales of our older products recently, and now our original sales channels are practically paralyzed."
Now we've finally managed to produce the vaporized laundry detergent powder, following the formulas you initially designed for the two new products. However… the sales problem is difficult to solve in the short term, and without sales channels, even the best products will only pile up in the warehouse and get moldy.”
“We had already contacted several operators and retailers a few days ago and had even made some sales inquiries, but… when they found out about the relationship between you and me… they immediately backed out. They refused to cooperate with Xinda anymore. Now, Xinda Daily Chemicals has produced more than ten batches of products, which are almost filling the warehouse, but we can’t sell a single one… What should we do now?”
"What... because of me, all those middlemen have refused to cooperate with Xinda Daily Chemicals?"
Upon hearing this, a chilling glint flashed in Zhou Ziwei's eyes. It was quite obvious that someone was targeting him.
And the fact that this person targeting him could influence so many middlemen shows that this person has quite a bit of influence.
Wang Xuewei nodded and said, "Yes... They were initially very optimistic about our company's new products and offered quite favorable terms. We were almost at the point of formally signing the contract when suddenly, overnight, all the middlemen backed out. My father asked them why they backed out, and one of them subtly mentioned you. Later, my father investigated through some connections and learned that these people had all chosen to cooperate on projects with a newly established company called Yuntian Group. The reason they refused to cooperate with Xinda Daily Chemicals was entirely due to the influence of Yuntian Group. Afterwards, my father inquired further about the background of Yuntian Group and learned that... several of its major shareholders were actually from the former Zhou Group. It seems... their main target is probably your Zhou Group! And we, Xinda Daily Chemicals, have been caught in the crossfire!"
"People from the Zhou family... Yuntian Group?" Zhou Ziwei paused for a moment, then quickly asked, "You mean... the people in Yuntian Group are all former shareholders of the Zhou family? But as far as I know, those former small shareholders of the Zhou family group don't have much financial strength. It's not surprising that they could quickly set up a new group company, but... the fact that these people can influence the decisions of so many intermediaries means they must have established more than just a small-scale group company, right?"
Wang Xuewei nodded and said, "The Yuntian Group is definitely not small. As far as I know, its registered capital is a full 1.5 billion yuan, and it is involved in a wide variety of industries. Moreover, within three days of its registration, the group frantically acquired more than a dozen small companies and factories in Dangyang. Its strength and financial resources are unimaginable. If my father hadn't received definite information, I wouldn't have believed that the original few small shareholders of the Zhou Group could make such a large-scale deal!"
“Yuntian Group… Yuntian Group…” Zhou Ziwei tapped his fingers lightly on the coffee table a few times, frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly hummed softly, saying, “Hopefully they have nothing to do with that Yunzhong International, otherwise… humph…”
Whether in his past life or this one, the person Zhou Ziwei resented the most was Huang Lianshu, who had caused him to eat peanuts in his past life. Because the names Yuntian Group and Yunzhong International sounded quite similar, Zhou Ziwei naturally thought of that person.
It's not surprising that the few minority shareholders who left the Zhou Group would turn against the Zhou Group. However, as Wang Xuewei said, those few minority shareholders certainly couldn't have such a large-scale operation. There's no doubt that they must have someone supporting them.
There are probably not many people who can support such a large operation, have such strong financial resources and extensive connections, yet hate Zhou Ziwei to the core!
However... logically speaking, Huang Lianshu should not have guessed that Zhou Ziwei was Yang Hongtao from back then.
Oh... if that guy really knew about this, he probably wouldn't have the guts to pull any of these tricks in front of Zhou Ziwei, right?
Since Yuntian Group is even targeting Xinda Daily Chemicals, a company that doesn't seem to have much connection with Zhou Ziwei on the surface, then there are probably countless more obstacles waiting for the Zhou family...
Zhou Ziwei sneered inwardly. Although he wasn't particularly good at business, the new products he designed were all quite advanced for the time. He didn't believe that the original minority shareholders of the Zhou Group and their backers could really stifle it.
In an instant, Zhou Ziwei had a solution, but after considering it for a moment, he didn't say it immediately. Instead, he looked at Wang Xuewei with a helpless expression and said, "I don't have any good ideas for this matter for the time being. Um... your father has been in business for so many years, surely he has some business friends? I think that as long as we find an opportunity to launch this revolutionary cleaning product, even on a small scale, it will definitely cause a great sensation. What if these people try to hinder us from behind?"
Volume 2, The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 341: Marriage ★ Transaction
"it's useless……"
Hearing Zhou Ziwei's words, Wang Xuewei smiled bitterly and said, "My father has tried every possible solution, but... even if there are some solutions, they won't show results in the short term. And now, because of developing new products, Xinda Daily Chemicals doesn't have any disposable working capital at all. They still owe their workers two months' wages, and a large bank loan has also matured. Just three days ago, we received a notice from the bank that the loan renewal application had been rejected, and they have to repay it within fifteen working days, otherwise... sigh, in short, now... I'm afraid Xinda Daily Chemicals won't even last another week... sigh..."
Seeing Wang Xuewei's hesitant expression, Zhou Ziwei seemed to realize something. He didn't say anything, but instead frowned slightly and said, "Well... coming to me won't do you any good... You know I'm not very good at specific company management matters. Besides... when I presented the formulas for those two new products, didn't I already say that I only own a portion of Xinda Daily Chemicals' shares and wouldn't participate in Xinda's management? At most, you could come to me if there were technical problems with the new products, but this kind of thing... I'm afraid I can't be of much help, can I?"
Wang Xuewei sighed helplessly, hesitated for a moment, but said nothing more. She then stood up, turned and walked towards the door, but stopped abruptly at the doorway. Turning back, her face bitter, she said, "I understand you don't owe the Wang family anything, and you really have no obligation to help us with Xinda Daily Chemicals. However… you do own 49% of the shares there. I'm telling you these things because you are also a major shareholder of Xinda Daily Chemicals and naturally have the right to know about these matters. Besides… although this matter may have implicated Xinda Daily Chemicals because of your Zhou Group, I don't mean to blame you. I'm just telling you… if Xinda Daily Chemicals goes bankrupt, I will definitely return the patent rights to those two new products to you, and I will definitely not let you suffer any losses because of this… I'm sorry, we've disappointed you."
Wang Xuewei's words took Zhou Ziwei somewhat by surprise. Seeing her walk out of the small courtyard again, he hesitated for a moment, then quickly called her back, saying in a low voice, "Or...we might have another way to solve this problem, perhaps...you and I..."
As soon as Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, Wang Xuewei's expression changed drastically, her pretty face turning as cold as if it had been instantly covered by ice and snow.
"I know what you want to say. Maybe if we announce our divorce at this time, Xinda Daily Chemicals will no longer be implicated by you, right?"
Wang Xuewei gritted her teeth and said, "I don't know if you really want this, or if you just want to test my attitude. But let me tell you... if it were another time, I would be happy to dissolve this marriage with you, which is nothing more than a formality. But... not now!"
As Wang Xuewei spoke, she clenched her small, white fist tightly, as if to emphasize her words, and said firmly, "I have already traded my marital happiness once because of my family, and now... I don't want to trade my marriage a second time. Please leave me with some dignity, okay?"
Wang Xuewei's words once again greatly surprised Zhou Ziwei, leaving him speechless for a long time before he couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying, "You're right, why should we use our marriage as a bargaining chip? Besides... the other party might not really let you off the hook this way. If I'm not mistaken, the reason they're doing these things to Xinda Daily Chemicals is probably not just because of our marriage. They must have learned about the magic of the vaporized laundry detergent powder through some channel, so they just want to bring down Xinda Daily Chemicals to obtain the patent formula for this product."
Zhou Ziwei slowly stood up, walked over to Wang Xuewei who still seemed somewhat agitated, and gently patted her slender shoulder, saying, "Don't worry! I won't let Xinda Daily Chemicals fall. Or perhaps I'm being a little despicable... You guessed right, I was just trying to test your Wang family's intentions. If your Wang family really wants to completely sever ties with me at this time to escape their predicament... then I will absolutely not interfere in your Wang family's affairs, nor in Xinda Daily Chemicals. That Yuntian Group is nothing but a bunch of fleas and clowns to me. Go home and stay put! Tell your father to wait three more days at most. After three days, I will let him see the day when the clouds part and the sun rises..."
Wang Xuewei was stunned by Zhou Ziwei's words for a long time. In the end, she didn't say anything more, but just nodded slightly, then waved politely to Liu Xiaofei, and then turned around and left silently.
"This is impossible... Xiaowei, you're too easily fooled!"
Inside the Wang family villa, Wang Guohui stared at Wang Xuewei with a frosty expression, angrily saying, "Didn't I tell you to go and negotiate a divorce with him? Isn't this what you've always wanted most? Why are you going back on your word now that it's finally here... Hmph... The clouds will part and the sun will rise in three days? Who does he think he is? Li Ka-shing, the chosen one of heaven, or Bill Gates, the IT tycoon? He's just an incompetent good-for-nothing, a lump of mud that can't be plastered on a wall, a pile of stinking dog shit left on the roadside that everyone hates. What right does he have to say such things, and why should we believe him?"
At first, Wang Xuewei remained silent in the face of her father's rage and rebuke. However, when she heard Wang Guohui's last few words that belittled Zhou Ziwei to the extreme, she finally couldn't hold back her grievances and anger, which suddenly flared up.
She ripped a handful of her hair and screamed at her father, "Dad... are you still my father? In your eyes, is your son-in-law so hateful and incompetent? If he's a piece of trash, a piece of dog shit, then why did you force your daughter to marry him in the first place? But now... it's clearly your son-in-law who brought hope for the revival of your family business, but because of some difficulties, you're going to abandon this son-in-law who just helped you without hesitation, and you're going to force me to divorce him... You've always been thinking about your career, your family, but have you ever thought about your daughter?!"
This was the first time Wang Guohui had seen Wang Xuewei so distraught in front of him, so furiously yelling at him without any regard for his dignity as her father. He was slightly taken aback, realizing that he had indeed wronged his youngest daughter in these matters. He couldn't help but sigh and said, "Xiaowei, I know... you harbor resentment towards your father. I really shouldn't have let you marry that boy Zhou Ziwei. If we had formed an alliance with the Yan family through marriage, perhaps none of this would have happened. I knew you didn't want to live with that boy Zhou Ziwei, which is why I made you file for divorce... Anyway, you two have no feelings for each other, so why continue? Why not take this opportunity to get Zhou Ziwei to give you your freedom, and it can also help our Xinda Chemical get out of its predicament? It's a win-win situation, so why not?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Xuewei was utterly disappointed in her father. It turned out that her father did regret marrying her off to Zhou Ziwei, but that was only because the Zhou family was no longer as prosperous as before. Instead, he was regretting that he hadn't arranged a marriage with the Yan family.
Wang Xuewei had met Yan Jun from the Yan family, and of course she knew that the young man was no better. Did marrying Yan Jun bring her any good fortune? It seemed that in Wang Guohui's eyes, his daughter was nothing more than a bargaining chip to maximize the benefits for his family and business.
“Little sister…you really have to listen to Dad about this…” Wang Xuewei’s older brother also hurriedly came over to persuade her: “I’ve long thought that Zhou Ziwei is a scoundrel. I just heard that he went off to play somewhere for more than a month this time, and when he came back, he brought a pretty woman with him. He just swaggered over and brought the woman home.”
"Hmph... what else is there to say... how can the Wang family put up with this kind of humiliation? Use this opportunity to make a scene and get him to agree to a divorce immediately. And since he's at fault, we can't ask for less compensation. While the Zhou family isn't completely bankrupt yet, we should pay whatever amount is due. Otherwise, once the Zhou family is bankrupted by the Yuntian Group, we won't get any benefit at all!"
"Yes...yes...you'd better get a divorce from that Zhou guy as soon as possible!" Wang Xuewei's sister chimed in, not to be outdone, saying, "Everything else is fine, but in the divorce agreement, you absolutely have to get back the shares of Xinda Daily Chemicals. That's a Wang family company. After you divorce him, he'll have absolutely no connection with our Wang family anymore. What kind of logic is it for him to still hold so many shares in Xinda Daily Chemicals?"
"Hmph! He only provided two formulas that he copied from who-knows-where, and he dares to demand 49% of the shares... What a load of rubbish... We don't even know when the original developers of those formulas will come knocking on our door to sue us... Bah... What could that high school dropout invent? If you say he didn't copy those two formulas, I'd never believe it even if you beat me to death."
The fact that Zhou Ziwei owns 49% of Xinda Daily Chemical's shares has always been a thorn in the side of the Wang family shareholders. After all, although the Wang family owns 51% of Xinda Daily Chemical's shares, Wang Xuewei still holds 10%. If one day Wang Xuewei is persuaded by Zhou Ziwei to transfer her shares to him, then Zhou Ziwei will suddenly become the largest shareholder of Xinda Daily Chemical in the true sense, and will have the trump card to completely control Xinda Daily Chemical at any time.
This is, of course, the thing that the Wang family father and sons least want to see and are most worried about.
Therefore, if Wang Xuewei and Zhou Ziwei can be persuaded to divorce, then even if Zhou Ziwei cannot get back the shares he holds, this threat will be eliminated.
Wang Xuewei looked at her blood relatives with great disappointment. Under their eager and expectant gazes, she said resolutely, "I said... I don't want to use my marriage as a second bargaining chip, so... if you try to persuade me again, I will immediately transfer all my shares to Zhou Ziwei, and then I... I will just jump off a building and die!"
After saying this, Wang Xuewei glared angrily at the people present, then left without looking back.
Only the Wang family members remained, staring at each other blankly, but no one dared to show any anger anymore.
Or perhaps, given their naturally indifferent nature, they might not care much about whether Wang Xuewei jumps off the building or not. But... if Wang Xuewei really impulsively transfers all her shares to Zhou Ziwei, then... Xinda Daily Chemicals will no longer be considered a family business of the Wang family.
They all knew Wang Xuewei's personality well. She did value family very much and was willing to sacrifice a lot for her family. But once she made up her mind, no one could stop her.
So... no one will take Wang Xuewei's words just now as a joke.
"Sigh... there's nothing I can do."
Wang Xuewei's older brother sighed and said, "Now we can only hope that our brother-in-law wasn't just making empty promises and that he can really help our family get through this crisis in three days! Otherwise... I'm afraid we'll have to sell this villa to pay off the loan."
Wang Xuewei's sister chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Are you really going to pin your fate on that good-for-nothing? Hmph... I don't believe he can really turn things around in three days. As far as I know, the Yuntian Group is actually targeting the Zhou Group, specifically Zhou Ziwei... Hmph... With their new health drink about to hit the market, he'll soon find that the Zhou Group is facing even greater difficulties. At that point, he'll be too busy taking care of himself to have time to deal with us. Maybe... if all else fails, we should think of another way!"
"What other options do we have?" Wang Guohui sighed and said, "If there were any other way, do you think I would be willing to force Xiaowei to divorce her husband? Sigh... Anyway, we'll have to wait three days to find out if Zhou Ziwei was just talking big. If there's still no change by then, we'll talk about it then!"
At the Zhou family's old house, Wang Xuewei had only been gone a short while when Luan Yuqing and Zhou Zixu also came looking for her.