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Meanwhile, within the walls of the Luo mansion, Mr. Luo's anxiety is palpable as he paces back and forth in the master bedroom.
Worry etches lines across his face, visible in the furrow of his brow and the tense set of his shoulders.
His once perfectly styled hair now lies disheveled as he repeatedly ran his fingers through it. His clothing did not tell a different tale nonetheless.
The amount Feng Houyi pulled out from his company has left a notable dent in the company's income, drawing scrutiny from the board members.
Their questioning only adds to Mr. Luo's mounting stress. The weight of the situation was taking a toll on him.
It was manifesting not only in his troubled demeanor but also in the physical. Exacting on his appearance, a stark reflection of the internal turmoil running amok in his head ever since.
Just then, Mr Luo's phone rang out loud, startling him. He heaved out a sigh before dipping his hands into his pocket to pull out his ringing phone.
The call was from one of the companies that invested in his company. Gulping and hoping it would not be more bad news, he received the call.
"H-Hello," his voice was so hoarse he had to clear his throat- hiding his nervousness as well.
"Hello, please am I speaking with Mr Luo?" A female voice spoke.
"Yes. That's me," Mr Luo confirmed.
"Alright. Mr Luo I am calling to relay a decision from my boss at Ruoming Int'l. I'm sorry to tell you that we have decided to pull out the percentage put into your company as an investment. This decision is made following the recent removal of the same purpose by Feng Corporation."
GBAGHAN
The news felt like a bomb had been dropped on Mr Luo. His face was paralyzed with shock as he took in the woman's extensive words.
"Hello? Are you still there Mr Luo? Did you hear me?" The woman asked after a little while of silence.
Mr Luo shook out of his stupor and quickly began to speak. "P-Please. Can you speak to your boss to reconsider his decision? I-It is not like my company is going bankrupt."
"I'm sorry, Mr Luo but that is not my place. My boss has already made a decision and he was very certain of what he was doing. So I can't speak to him concerning this matter," the woman explained.
Just then, Mrs Luo came into the room. Her steps came to an abrupt halt upon seeing the panic on his face.
Her heartbeat sped up as she knew he was not listening to some good news. There was nothing good about his expressions at all. And it troubles her greatly.
'What is going on?' She silently asked but was completely ignored by her husband.
"But... Please let me talk to him instead. I can try to convince him," he was quick to propose another way to reach the said boss.
"Mr Luo, please don't make things difficult for me. I won't be able to do anything you request. Please understand."
"No, please. Tell him I will be able to find another investor and he would not lose money by investing in my company. I swear to God that he won't regret it. Iā"
The long beep from the phone indicated the end of the call. The other lather and cut him off before he could finish whatever he had to plead.
"Hello... Hello?" There was no response. "God damn it," he shouted as he threw his phone at the queen-sized.
He raked his hand through his hair as he shouted a few profanities. Mrs Luo could not take more of the wait as she was getting too anxious.
"Dear, what is going on? Who was that on the phone just now?" She inquired in a shaking low voice.
"Any investor just called... They called to pull out their share of the investment," he relayed the message to his wife.
Mrs Luo gasped as her eyes blew wide in shock. "They what?! Why?"
Mr Luo's pacing stopped for a few seconds as he answered her questions.
"It is because of Feng Houyi. They heard he pulled out and they did too. I can't believe this," he exhaled harshly.
"God no. But Feng Houyi did not completely pull out all of his money. Why are they doing this then?" It was Mrs Luo's turn to pace the room.
Her right hand gripped tightly on her skirt while her other hand fell to her chest, rubbing downwards as if it would stop her heart from beating too fast.
"How did the news even reach them? It hasn't even been up to two days yet," she wondered out loud.
"I don't know how the news got to them. But that doesn't matter at this moment," he lashed out. "If not for your stupid daughter, I would not be in this disturbing situation. All because of her selfishness, my hard work, my sweat is about to come crashing down. All because your daughter wants to be petty."
Mrs Luo's brows furrowed as her face morphed from worry into a frown. Her eyes were set still on her husband who was staring back at her.
"Oh so she's MY daughter now? Just mine? Have you forgotten you made a contribution into birthing her? Have you forgotten she is also a product of YOUR own sperm?" She lashed back at him.
"It is your responsibility to raise her right. Now look at what she has caused. She wants to send me to an early grave, I'll tell you. An early grave."
"Stop spouting nonsense. And do not go on pushing all the responsibility on me now that we are in a dire decision," she added.
"I don't care right now. You had better talk some senses into h-ah aarrgghh!"
Mr Luo fell to the floor with his hands clutching tightly against his chest. His expression contorted into that of pain. Excruciating pain.