Susan Song was so shocked that she wasn't able to respond for a good number of seconds. First, she staggered to the side and leaned against the wall. Then fury drove her and she stomped toward Justin Han and his current beau.
"Justin Han!"
William and I watched from the distance, thoroughly amused. Before Susan could reach Justin or before Justin could say anything, a familiar voice spoke up behind me.
"Here, something for you guys to eat while watching."
Turning around, I caught sight of Lily Ling. She smiled and handed William and me a slice of watermelon each. Then she chomped on her own slice and watched the unfolding drama. William and I bit into the juicy watermelon and gleefully watched as well, unable to hold back from enjoying ourselves.
"S…Susan?! You're here too?!"
"Of course! My father is also handling a product for the military! But never mind that! Who is that vixen?! Why is she clinging so closely to you?!"
"Who are you?!" the other beautiful girl retorted, glaring at Susan. She placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you acting so intimately with my Justin?"
"Your Justin? He's mine!"
"Huh? Stop deluding yourself, you bitch. Have you looked in the mirror?"
"What!? You're the thieving vixen!"
"Ladies…" Justin raised his hands, looking a little distraught as he tried to calm them both down. It backfired, with Susan and the other woman turning on him.
"Explain, Justin!"
"Yeah! What's going on?!"
"There's nothing to explain, is there?" Justin tried to flash a winning smile. "You're both my women."
"Huh?"
"What?!"
Both Susan and the other woman gaped at him in disbelief. Justin merely waved his hand airily, a smug smile on his face.
"Come on, my little beauties. Do you seriously think a man like me will be limited to only one woman? Not when I'm so handsome, successful and wealthy?"
Not to mention narcissistic, but obviously I didn't say that out loud. Instead, I bit off another portion of my watermelon and enjoyed the show.
"You're lucky that I even deigned to go out with the likes of you two. You should be happy to have the honor of sharing me with each other! Don't you know how many women are after me? It was difficult for me to divide my attention between you two!"
"Justin, you…!" Susan was at a total loss for words.
"Just us two?" the other woman began laughing somewhat hysterically. Tears streamed down her eyes. "Let me guess, we are not the only two women you've dated, right? Are there more?"
"Uh, well…"
Yeah, evidently Justin Han had been playing around with a lot of women. Lily Ling giggled and raised her voice.
"There are about another three women with whom Justin Han is rumored to be dating right now. An actress, an idol, and I think the sister of the CEO of Bo Corporation."
"You…!" Susan turned very pale as she glared at Justin, unable to comprehend the depths of his betrayal. Beside her, the other woman broke down.
"How could you?!" she wailed before she ran away. Justin reached out for her, and then he shrugged and turned away.
"Her loss."
"You…!" Susan stepped forward and slapped Justin in the face. He reeled back and then glared at her.
"You bitch! How dare you slap me?!"
"How dare you deceive us in the first place?!"
"Deceive? You're the only one deluding yourself! Have it never occurred to you that someone like me will be the object of desire for many women? How can I possibly reject them all?"
What sort of fucking logic was that? I couldn't help but bury my face in my palm. At least with the hand that wasn't holding the slice of watermelon.
"He's scum," Lily commented darkly. "He deserves a hundred more slaps. What does he treat women as?"
"He probably thinks he's god's gift to women," William muttered in agreement.
"You should be honored to be part of my harem!" Justin proclaimed proudly to a stunned Susan. I shook my head in disbelief.
"This guy is the one who's deluded. He let all his fame and success get into his head."
Just as Lily, William and I finished our watermelon slices, Susan finally snapped. She tried to slap Justin again, but he caught her hand, gripping her wrist tightly.
"That's enough, woman," he snarled before he shoved her. Susan fell onto her rump, staring at Justin in shock.
Come on…even though Justin deserved to be slapped, did you really think he would just stand still and let you slap him? Were you really that retarded?
"You…!" she growled, only for the soldiers to step in.
"Sir, ma'am, this is not the venue for you to have your argument. If you have any conflicts, please settle them at home."
Susan's mouth opened and closed, but it was clear that she was at a loss for words. She shook her head, tears leaking from her eyes.
"Sorry, ma'am, I sympathize with you…I really do." The soldier in front of her lowered his head. "But this is neither the time nor place. We have a demonstration ready in a few minutes, and our orders are to escort all the guests to the auditorium."
"That's right…I'm the first to present." Justin was rubbing his cheek and glaring at Susan. "Stop behaving like a child. We're all adults."
"You're not an adult, you're scum!" Lily snarled. Justin winced as he looked in her direction.
"Come now, Ms. Ling. You didn't mean that." he then smiled. "You also have a place in my harem if you want to. All you need is to give the word."
Wow. This guy was utterly deluded.
"This way, sir," a soldier said impatiently. Justin gave us one last look before he turned around and strode toward the auditorium. He adjusted his blazer as he did so, carrying an air of importance.
Susan watched him go, and then she rose to her feet shakily, shrugging off any assistance the other soldier offered. Giving Justin one last look, she then turned and sprinted down the corridor, unable to hold back her tears.
Wow. That was one hell of a drama. William and I exchanged bemused glances before we threw the now empty watermelon skins into the bin. Lily followed our examples and then accompanied us toward the auditorium.
"That reminds me. What are you doing here? Does Ling Conglomerate also have a product to sell?"
"No, we don't. I'm just here to see what you have to sell. I'm very interested in your product, I think it has a lot of potential." Lily smiled. "And if possible, to secure a partnership with you if all goes well. You'll need a supplier."
"Oh, sure. That will be very helpful." I nodded gratefully. Most companies didn't build their products themselves. They outsourced the manufacturing to other smaller subsidiaries, or purchase the required components and parts elsewhere before putting everything together. It was like how Nike had sweatshops in this country, with local workers assembling and sewing the shoes and clothes together before shipping them overseas.
The main company of Nike didn't do the actual manufacturing, just the marketing and administrative work. As such, they would subcontract suppliers – basically get the cloth, rubber and other materials they needed for their shoes and clothing from other companies, and then hire other subsidiaries to do the manufacturing and sewing for them.
Given how tiny Shen Industries currently was, we were going to need all the help we could get. But first we needed to secure the funding. And in order to do that, we needed to impress the top brass of the military today, so that they would give us a contract. Then we could use the advance payment to pay off the rent, some of the loans, and purchase the components we needed to manufacture the product. From there, we could get the rest of the payment after handing over the product, more than enough to pay off the rest of the bank loans and even churn out a profit.
Running a company wasn't easy. The authors of CEO stories made it look so easy, but in reality they never did their research.
"Wow, this is quite the place."
William and I looked around at the auditorium. It was a grand place, resembling a classical amphitheater. A massive stage had been placed at the front, while hundreds of fixed cushioned seats were arrayed in a slight semicircle. I was reminded of a cinema or theater somehow, which surprised me. I had been expecting something more Spartan and utilitarian because it was located in a military base, but I guess the ministry of defense or the top brass of the military were just as prone to human foibles as everyone else.
The other dignitaries and guests were filing in, grabbing whatever seats they could. Some went to the front, chatting genially with each other, while others lingered at the back.
"Oh, I'm also here to scout for information," Lily added. She had taken a seat beside me and was smiling. "All big corporations need to keep tabs on their rivals, you know? We've to check what kind of products they are selling and keep up with the times."
Information warfare. I understood perfectly…except that I always left that job to William.
Fortunately, I was here today, and I was determined to see what my rivals had in store for me. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back in my seat and kept my eyes on the stage.
If I wasn't mistaken, Justin Han was going to be the first presenter.