She stumbled, and Lin Yuan quickly steadied her arm, saying, "Be careful."
Having a foothold made things much better, and Gu Yan leaned against him as she walked back. Suddenly, the air pressure plummeted, the temperature dropping several degrees in the entire conference room. A chill swept over Lin Yuan, and it felt as if dozens of transparent skulls had been shot through him instantly; the cold air made him shiver, and he trembled as he looked at the person who had fired the cold arrows.
Liang Feifan's gaze was cold and stern, his lips tightly pressed together as he stared fiercely at the hand Lin Yuan was using to support Gu Yan, as if he were about to pounce on it and chop it off to eat with his drinks.
Lin Yuan then realized something was wrong and quickly let go. Gu Yan had already entrusted most of her weight to him. As he dodged, she fell over. Lin Yuan couldn't bear to see her fall, so with a quick release and a support, Gu Yan, the vice president of Weber, Miss Yan of Liang's Group, and someone's Yan'er, nestled precisely in Lin Yuan's arms.
The murderous aura surged instantly.
Rong Yan gasped in shock. Where did this person come from? Have you decided what to inscribe on the tombstone?
Jessica really wanted to cover her face and pretend to faint. Lin Yuan, you... stinky man!
Gu Yan collapsed into Lin Yuan's arms, listening to his thunderous heartbeat, knowing she had dragged him into this mess. She gritted her teeth, managed to stand up again, and walked back to her seat.
Once she sat down, she felt much better. Gu Yan continued to organize the key points that Jessica had noted down. The entire conference room remained silent, except for the soft sound of her turning the notes.
Rong Yan quietly reminded Liang Feifan that the meeting was still ongoing.
Liang Feifan sneered, but instead of leaving, he walked to Rong Yan's seat with a dark expression and sat down.
Someone immediately realized that the president was going to be personally involved, and quickly handed over the proposals from the two companies.
With the CEO of the Liang Group personally leading the charge, Wei Bo and Yao Lin's think tanks immediately began quietly re-discussing their countermeasures. Wei Bo's team had witnessed Liang Feifan's kidnapping at Gu Yan's welcome party and knew of the ambiguous relationship between the vice president and the CEO of the Liang Group. Now, their spirits were high, confident that this first battle would be a resounding success.
Yaolin's proposal was conventional; it was an old company with its own set of procedures, lacking innovation but also impeccable.
Weber's team is new, and their solutions are beautiful and creative, but they certainly don't have the perfection of Yaolin's in terms of details.
Liang Feifan quickly skimmed through the two companies' proposals, asked Yaolin a few simple questions, nodded, and let it go. On Wei Bo's side, they could hear Yaolin's staff letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Vice President Gu, what are your thoughts on Weber's infrastructure issues?" Liang Feifan turned to Gu Yan and asked.
Gu Yan was still in pain, but after resting for a while, she felt a little better. She smiled gently, "Since I haven't been with Web International English for very long, there are some things I'm not entirely familiar with. Could my assistant answer President Liang's question?"
Liang Feifan scoffed, "If you can't even understand such a basic question, how can I believe your company is capable of handling this bid? Since Miss Gu doesn't understand it 'completely', let's talk about what we do understand."
Gu Yan remained awkwardly silent amidst Huang Yi's mocking laughter. She didn't even understand the meaning of his question. Jessica had been teaching her the details of the bidding process, and she had spent the last few days focusing on memorizing the tender documents and the creative concepts of each proposal.
Jessica began awkwardly, "Mr. Liang, it's like this—"
"—Did I ask you a question?" Liang Feifan interrupted him impatiently. "Or have the relationships between superiors and subordinates at Web International English become so close that we can't distinguish between you and them?"
Yaolin gave Liang Feifan plenty of face and laughed loudly.
Jessica shut up sheepishly.
The silence of the Web International English employees felt like a whip lashing at Gu Yan's heart; she felt that these elites were being humiliated here entirely because of her.
Liang Feifan tapped the table again, "Vice President Gu, do you have an answer? Or is Weber planning to acquiesce to the failure of the first plan?"
The failure of the first plan means the loss of the initiative, and Weber will be in a very passive position from now on. All the hard work of repeated discussions and calculations day and night these past few days will be in vain.
Amidst the commotion in the room, Gu Yan slammed the folder in her hand heavily onto the table, making a loud bang.
"I'm only in charge of bidding projects. As for the question you asked, I... don't... know."
"Say it!" she said slowly, raising her chin and staring at Liang Feifan.
Liang Feifan sneered, "Miss Gu has quite the airs."
Gu Yan replied coldly, "Not as imposing as Mr. Liang."
Gasps of breath rose and fell from all sides. What was going on?
Rong Yan watched as sparks flew between the two men's eyes and sighed inwardly, "Why bother?"
Gu Yan's expression just now was truly frightening; he couldn't bear the responsibility, so he immediately went up to report to Liang Feifan. As expected, the person who was having a video conference with the oil prince of Africa, upon hearing that Gu Yan was pale and swaying, rushing out without even grabbing her coat, sternly shouted at the secretary's office, "Call Dr. Chen over, immediately!"
Why is it that now that you've met someone, you're acting all cool and aloof, tormenting them instead?
Jessica's hand, which was clutching Gu Yan's clothes, twitched uncontrollably. Oh no...
After venting her anger, Gu Yan realized how bad things were going to get. How was she going to handle this? If she went back and told her sister that she had lost the deal because of arguing with Liang Feifan, given Gu Mingzhu's personality, she would probably have to be completely dismantled and reassembled.
A warm sensation surged from her lower body, and the cramping pain in her lower abdomen reached its peak. The cold air from the air conditioner sprayed down, raising goosebumps all over her skin. Gu Yan thought sadly, "I have no choice but to resort to some shameless person's self-inflicted injury."
Huang Yi observed Liang Feifan's expression, feeling smug, and chimed in sarcastically, "Who spoiled him with this temper!"
Gu Yan felt a sting in her heart and glared at him. She hadn't settled the score with him from last time, and now he was provoking her again!
She glared coldly at Huang Yi, then slammed the notebook containing the tender documents onto the table with a clatter, before abruptly standing up and walking out.
The sudden dizziness caused by low blood sugar, with stars flashing before her eyes, made her performance even more realistic.
She pushed the chair away, and after taking only two steps, her body went limp and she collapsed.
III. II. I.
A strong hand caught her firmly, and the next second, she was lifted up and placed against a familiar, solid chest.
With her eyes half-closed, she rubbed against his chest. Although it was intentional, the excessive blood loss and pain had made her legs feel weak.
The person in his arms had a deathly pale face, with no color in their lips, and their teeth were biting their lower lip, which was bluish-white. Liang Feifan frowned, raised his long leg, and violently kicked a chair, scattering wooden pieces everywhere.
He asked Huang Yi, word by word, "I spoiled him, do you have a problem with that?"
Huang Yi's original intention was to mock Gu Mingzhu's poor management. He had always despised the methods Gu Mingzhu used in the business world, considering them low-class and unworthy of respectability. He had heard about Liang Feifan and Gu Yan's affair a while ago and thought it was just another deceptive tactic by Gu Mingzhu. Liang Feifan's attitude today had further reassured him. Who knew that in such a short time, everything would turn out so differently…
He chuckled twice, "No objection...hehe...no objection."
Liang Feifan carried Gu Yan into the president's office.
She nestled obediently in his arms the whole way, letting him hold her softly. Liang Feifan's gloomy mood improved a lot. He gently put her on the bed, and she whimpered as she moved down.
"Lie down!" he pressed her down.
"No..." Gu Yan looked at the white sheets beneath her, feeling quite annoyed, "I... got my period."
Liang Feifan suddenly realized why it hurt so much.
He pressed the intercom by the bedside. "Secretary Lin, come in."
Gu Yan secretly pursed her lips. Aren't you going to call your Yunzhi to serve me?
Secretary Lin smiled and nodded when he saw Gu Yan lying on the bed. "Miss Yan."
"Dr. Chen, you don't need to come in. Bring Miss Yan a set of clothes, prepare some brown sugar water, find a hot water bottle, not too hot, not too cold—and, um, sanitary napkins."
Secretary Lin nodded understandingly and went out to prepare.
Because of the pain, Gu Yan curled up, burying herself completely in the blanket.
A large hand reached in, lifted her clothes, and pressed against her lower abdomen. The warmth of the palm seeped through her slightly cool skin, soothing her seemingly knotted internal organs, and little by little, the warmth spread until it reached her heart.
Gu Yan sighed comfortably, opened her body a little, snuggled against the pillow, and closed her eyes to rest.
Liang Feifan lay down on the bed, letting her rest her head on one hand, and gently patted her back. Gu Yan had been up all morning, exhausted and had lost too much blood. With his comforting words, she gradually fell asleep.
When Secretary Lin brought in the items, she saw the usually stern-faced President Liang, dressed impeccably and without even taking off his shoes, lying on his side on the bed, one hand under the covers and the other gently patting the back of the woman in his arms.
"Take the water out and keep it warm. Bring it back in when I call you," Liang Feifan said softly.
He withdrew his hand, and Gu Yan snorted, looking like she was about to wake up. Liang Feifan quickly patted her gently and coaxed her in her ear, "Be good, keep sleeping." He wrapped a towel around the hot water bottle, tested the temperature, and then tucked it into the blanket, placing it on her lower abdomen.
He got up, went to the bathroom to fetch warm water, and gently wiped her lower body clean. He then stuck a sanitary napkin to her underwear and changed her into it.
Even with the gentlest touches, Gu Yan was still somewhat awake. The warm towel felt comfortable against her skin, and she hummed a few times. After he finished changing her, she had fallen asleep again.
Liang Feifan carefully covered her with the blanket, but she still frowned.
He lay back down on the bed, pulling her and the blanket into his arms. Gu Yan let out a soft "hmm" in her sleep, moved closer, her brows relaxed, and her forehead rested on his chin as she fell into a deep sleep.
downstairs.
Jessica and the others looked at Rong Yan with confusion.
Huang Yi was alarmed and looked at Rong Yan.
Rong Yan shrugged and stood up casually. "Both bosses are gone. We'll talk about it next time."
Jessica narrowed her eyes, quickly packed her things, and left.
Huang Yi grew anxious and grabbed Rong Yan. Only after Jessica and the others had all left did he lower his voice and say, "Second Young Master, please give me some pointers."
Rong Yan glanced at the table, clearly considering the situation. He didn't want Liang Feifan and Gu Yan to cause any more trouble, but he couldn't disobey the instructions given by the Rong family patriarch regarding Huang Yi's matter.
"As you've seen, let alone the bidding case, my elder brother wouldn't even bat an eye if Gu Yan wanted the entire Liang family business. However, they're still in a cold war right now, so you need to seize this opportunity and finish this quickly," Rong Yan advised, stopping just in time.
Side Story: Rongyan
bloom
The rain kept falling.
Li Weiran and Ji Nan were playfully gesturing and punching each other over dessert, while Qin Song watched from the side, occasionally tripping them. Chen Yubai sat on the sofa, his laptop on his lap, intently looking at stocks. Occasionally, when Ji Nan missed a punch, he would quickly turn his head to dodge it without even looking.
Liang Feifan had been silent all night. Then he received a phone call, said "Okay" and hung up. He suddenly stood up and asked them, "Whose car is parked the closest?"
His breathing was somewhat rapid, and his eyes were bright like those of a patient with a high fever.
Li Weiran immediately raised her hand high, "My second brother's car is downstairs, I just secretly drove it for a stroll—"
Before Rong Yan could even glare angrily at Li Weiran, he was grabbed by the collar and dragged out.
As Rong Yan drove, he glanced at his boss in the rearview mirror. As soon as Liang Feifan got in the car, he rolled down all the windows, seemingly keeping an eye on something along the way. Rong Yan was afraid he would miss it, so he slowed down, but Liang Feifan yelled angrily, "Drive faster! Can't you see how heavy the rain is!"
How could he not have seen it! The car was soaked by the rain, and he didn't dare to remind his boss that it was his new pet. He just drove forward cautiously.
The car finally stopped in front of the Gu residence.
Liang Feifan left the car in a hurry, saying, "Don't follow me."
There seemed to be someone kneeling at the entrance of the Gu residence. The eldest brother rushed over, but the two of them remained motionless for a long time, soaked by the heavy rain. Finally, the eldest brother got up, picked up the person, and carried them back.
He was in a dilemma: should he get out of the car to get an umbrella, or should he listen to his boss and stay put?
The top-of-the-line sports car crawled along at a snail's pace behind a tall man.
As darkness fell and the streetlights came on one by one, Rong Yan saw the long, wet hair hanging down in the arms of the person in the boss's arms. So, it was a woman.
But isn't the eldest brother supposed to avoid women?
The phone kept ringing, and Rong Yan was too annoyed to answer. He felt like he had fallen into a magical world that night, and something was completely changing.