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Hearing about Li Mei having a panic attack at this time from Zhao Bolin, Wang Haoran sometimes wondered if he had chosen the right path. Shaking his head to clear the thought out, he hurried and said, "Let's go."
He stopped and spoke, "Next time, do not take matters into your own hands, especially when it does not concern you." After leaving these words, he continued walking.
He meant that Zhao Bolin had overstepped his bounds, and if he did it again, Wang Haoran might not tolerate it.
Zhao Bolin was shocked. Wang Haoran had always been amicable towards him.
"Yes, Boss," he answered, frowning as he followed, not even bothering to close the door behind him.
Zhao Bolin had forgotten that he only got to his position, despite there being more qualified applicants because he had been with Wang Haoran since his time abroad and had shown that he could be trusted.
Before Li Mei came into the picture two months ago, he used to give his best because he wanted to stand next to Wang Haoran and Liu Leah. He got his job done, but it could have been better. He could always feel Liu Leah's disappointment towards him.
However, Wang Haoran insisted on using him since he had known him for a long time. They had gone through life challenges together during their time abroad. Additionally, he was part of Wang Haoran's inner circle, working on the plan to overthrow his half-brothers.
Wang Haoran had missed that his superior-subordinate relationship with people he had sentimental feelings for caused confusion about how they should act around him.
He let them treat him like a son and a brother, and when the lines blurred, their work mixed up misunderstandings, miscommunications, and irrational and personal decisions. This led to underperformance, work dissatisfaction, and an unorganized workflow.
Both Wang Defu and Wang Haoran ran out of the room to try to catch up with Leah, but they couldn't even see her shadow.
Ding—
At the same time, both parties received a message from Leah through Zhou Chun.
The content?
"Half of the cooperation I vouched for and made happen for the Wang Family and Wang Haoran's company has been terminated by my father while I was hospitalized.
"These cannot be taken back, as my father firmly believes they were a well-deserved payback for the attached link, and I agree.
"Do not contact me or any members of the Liu Family; otherwise, this website goes public, and the remaining cooperation between the Lius and Wang will be completely canceled."
One attached link to a website contained and explained the content of two videos.
The first video showed Li Mei falling down a flight of stairs by herself while a group of nearby employees pointed and mocked a helpless Liu Leah who happened to pass by. The video depicted how disrespectful and unhinged the employees in Wang Haoran's company were towards their superiors.
The second video showed Wang Haoran throwing a heavy object towards Liu Leah, who passed out and was bleeding on the floor, with a panicked Zhou Chun by her side. This showed what kind of man and fiancé Wang Haoran was towards Liu Leah.
Both parties were shocked, but Wang Defu's side took it more calmly than Wang Haoran and Zhao Bolin.
"Assistant Cao, Wang Haoran is of no use anymore. Issue a statement that he will no longer be a part of the Wang Family and will be removed from participating in the succession."
"Yes, President."
"Also, send him a letter to pay off his accumulated debt based on the agreement we signed long ago. Given his company's past growth, I am sure he can pay me back easily, but his company will shrink a bit. He can consider that company a gift from his estranged father."
"Yes, President."
"Also, inform my wife—the chairwoman—of my decision," he added.
They reached the underground parking and left.
…
Both Wang Haoran and Zhao Bolin also reached the underground parking later with heavy hearts.
While sitting in the car, they tried to call Liu Leah's number but were unsuccessful. They were ignored when contacting her via email and other forms of communication.
Ring—Ring—
This time, it was Wang Haoran's phone ringing. He received a call from Li Mei.
"—We're on our way back. Hmmm, I'll see you later." Wang Haoran ended the call. He currently had more pressing matters to attend to.
Sigh—
He exited the car and slammed the phone he had used to video stream with Li Mei. He even stepped on it to ensure it didn't work.
Everything happened so naturally that Zhao Bolin could not believe what he was seeing.
Wang Haoran took the broken phone pieces and gave them to Zhao Bolin inside the car. "Take this and get out of the car. Go back to the villa and accompany Li Mei. Tell her that the phone got into an accident," he ordered.
Zhao Bolin snapped out of his stupor and got out of the car. "Boss, what are you doing? Where are you going?"
Bam—
Wang Haoran did not answer. He closed and locked all the car doors and left.
The day after visiting Wang Defu, they devised a plan to fake Li Mei's miscarriage to prevent the cancellation of the engagement.
Zhao Bolin spread the news in unofficial channels about the miscarriage and moved Li Mei to a safe location. However, they did not need to hide Li Mei's safe pregnancy right now.
Zhao Bolin stood in the parking lot while the car Wang Haoran was in drove away. He exited the parking lot and took a taxi to the villa they used as a secure location for Li Mei.
…
Wang Haoran went everywhere Liu Leah used to live, but those places were either for sale or sold. He even tried to call her private number, but it was out of service.
He went to the secluded tea house near his company, hoping to see her, but to no avail. It was lunchtime, so he decided to stay and have lunch while keeping an eye out.
One hour turned into two, and two turned into three. He waited until it was eight in the evening, but Liu Leah did not appear. Due to her experience of being kidnapped, Liu Leah typically avoided going out, so the public places she frequented could be counted on one hand, and Wang Haoran knew all of them.
After leaving the tea house, he visited the other three places, but according to the employees, she had yet to be spotted.
He went to a liquor store, bought Liu Leah's favorite cheap sake, and drove outside the city. In a valley overlooking the city, there was a parking lot where Liu Leah liked to hang out away from prying eyes. Wang Haoran drove to this last known location, but again, the person he wanted to see was not there.
Meanwhile, his phone, which had been on silent mode for a long time, kept accumulating missed calls from Li Mei and Zhao Bolin. Even Aunt Hi's name popped up now and then.
"Damn it," he muttered.
"What am I doing?"
"I did this."
From inside his car, he gazed at the view with a haggard expression. The reality that he had lost someone he might have actually cared about hit him, and his eyes started to lose their light.
He took all the drinks and drank them like water while watching the bustling city lights from the hood of his car.
The view got him thinking clearly about his decisions, but the high alcohol content from what he drank muddled his thoughts.
"Fuck, I am tired—" he touched the injury Wang Defu had given him last time, which was covered by his hair.
That night, he slept inside his car with discord in his heart.
.
.
.
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