Winner Takes All
“Are you done?” Gu Ke-Wen quickly lost patience. She waved her hand and one of the bodyguards behind her walked to her side and opened a briefcase, setting two documents on the table before her.
She even had the contracts prepared.
Liu Ying was like a fish on the chopping block to Gu Ke-Wen – she could chop at her however she wished.
Liu Ying spoke timidly, “I… I’ll let Xia Lei represent me in negotiations with you.”
“Him? Represent you?” Gu Ke-Wen wrinkled her brows.
Xia Lei walked over, “I am only going to negotiate the buying of shares. Signing will still be done by CEO Liu. This should be no problem, shouldn’t it?”
Gu Ke-Wen shrugged, “Whatever. Speak. What is the amount you want?”
“50,000,000,” said Xia Lei.
“Have you gone mad? The entire Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company is worth that much and you want me to give you that for half the shares?” ridiculed Gu Ke-Wen.
“The entire Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company is indeed worth that much but you did so much and tried so many means to try to get your hands on it so this must mean that it is worth more than 50 million to you. You want to buy and CEO Liu is willing to sell. Surely you wouldn’t mind this 25,000,000?”
Gu Ke-Wen sneered, “I wouldn’t spend like this even if I had money in excess.” She pointed at the four other shareholders and said, “25,000,000. If you’re not selling then I’ll get it from them and this company shall be ruined.”
Xia Lei laughed, “I’d heard that rich people were willful – so it was true. If your motive was to let the company fall into ruin, you wouldn’t have sent that tranny to steal the design plans, would you? And get your underling to spike CEO Liu’s wine?”
“You! The punk surnamed Xia! Watch your words! You need evidence for these things!” Lin Bo-Wen scolded, “Or we’ll sue for defamation!”
Xia Lei spoke lightly, “It’s true that we have no evidence so we cannot make a big fish like your Second Miss Gu be bothered. We just want to sell the shares for a good price. That’s it.”
“25,000,000. Not one cent more,” said Gu Ke-Wen.
“Then we have nothing to talk about. Just buy their shares and let this company be ruined,” said Xia Lei.
Gu Ke-Wen glared fiercely at Xia Lei, “30,000,000. This is my last offer.”
Xia Lei shook his head, “40,000,000. This is also my last offer. If you give us 40,000,000, Nice Moves Sports Equipment will be yours.”
“Don’t you overreach!” Gu Ke-Wen looked obedient and docile but was as fierce as they come when angry, like a little tigress.
The two bodyguards also looked angrily at Xia Lei. They would take action if Gu Ke-Wen ordered.
Liu Ying stood beside Xia Lei, a roller coaster of emotions running through her in dramatic waves. She had wanted to just sell her shares when Gu Ke-Wen quoted 25,000,000 but Xia Lei’s persistence had actually raised the price to 30,000,000 and she was secretly glad she had not interrupted his negotiations. She would have agreed to the price too, but Xia Lei had raised the price to 40,000,000. She hesitated once more.
Xia Lei showed no sign of cowardice; he was calm and collected. “40,000,000. Take it or leave it.”
“Xia Lei, is it? Just you wait.” A bone-chilling hate was folded into Gu Ke-Wen’s beauty. Never had anyone dared to challenge her, the second daughter of the Gu clan, till Xia Lei.
Xia Lei laughed, “Miss Gu, I think I know what sort of person you are when you’re willing to threaten a mother with her child, and I roughly know how your Gu clan operates. I cannot afford to offend you and even more so your family but I am not afraid of you. If you want to take me down you’ll have to make sure to kill me or I will drag you down to hell with me.”
Gu Ke-Wen was so angry she laughed, “You dare threaten me?”
Xia Lei shrugged, “I was just saying it like it is. I don’t have anything I’m unwilling to give up; just my rotten life.”
The two bodyguards moved.
Gu Ke-Wen raised her hand and both the bodyguards returned to their places.
“40,000,000. Deal. Look through the contract, CEO Liu. Sign if there are no problems,” said Gu Ke-Wen.
Liu Ying did not seem to have heard her and stood, unmoving.
Xia Lei pushed her gently with the back of his hand and she came to her senses. She took hold of the contract and read it.
Gu Ke-Wen spoke mockingly, “CEO Liu, I don’t know if you have a good dog, or a good little boy-toy.”
“You…” Liu Ying’s face turned red. She wanted to scold her but she didn’t dare and sputtered before she could form a sentence, “Our relationship is not what you think.”
Lin Bo-Wen snorted and spoke in disdain, “Don’t make it sound so nice. I’m not blind. Would he have helped you if you were not rich and single? You two have done it already, haven’t you? Hahaha!”
Liu Ying was shivering in rage, “You have no shame!”
The ‘he’ whom Lin Bo-Wen spoke of was obviously Xia Lei. The words he said were ugly but Xia Lei did not seem the least bit angry. He laughed softly, “Lin Bo-Wen, let me give you a warning. Dogs need to take note of who their masters are – you may still be dreaming of riches when you get chopped up and eaten.”
“I dare you to say that again!” Lin Bo-Wen rolled his sleeves up, looking all eager to have a go at Xia Lei.
Gu Ke-Wen glared at Lin Bo-Wen again and he immediately shut his mouth.
Liu Ying quickly finished reading the contract and put it down. She took out a bank card from her wallet and held it in front of Gu Ke-Wen. “Deposit 40,000,000 into this account. I will sign after I get the money.”
Gu Ke-Wen glanced at the bank card in Liu Ying’s hand but did not even bother to reach out her own. “Ya-Ru, deposit 40,000,000 in her account,” she ordered.
Lin Ya-Ru made a sound of agreement and retrieved the bank card from Liu Ying’s hand. She opened up the Macbook she was carrying and started the transfer process.
40 million was a sum ordinary people could only dream of having but it was just a paltry amount to the Second Miss of the Gu clan. Buying Liu Ying’s shares was like buying a car to her.
Lin Ya-Ru was soon done with the deposit and Liu Ying received the SMS notification for the transfer. She then lifted a pen and signed on the contract.
Gu Ke-Wen also signed the contract and tossed the pen on the table after signing. She looked at Liu Ying and laughed all of a sudden, “Do you know how much your company is worth?”
“Fifty million,” said Liu Ying.
Gu Ke-Wen shook her head and laughed even more merrily, “No, no, no. It’s worth at least a hundred million U.S. dollars.”
“What?” Liu Ying froze on the spot.
The four other shareholders were thunderstruck and their eyes were full of dismay and regret.
“Don’t regret it. You’ve already sold your shares so there’s no use regretting it,” said Gu Ke-Wen.
Liu Ying looked at the dejected shareholders and realisation dawned. “So you’ve bought their shares long ago and that was all an act earlier? You lied to me!”
“All’s fair in war – haven’t you heard this before? Nice Moves Sports Equipment is now mine and I tell you, the automatic surfboard your husband developed is a very impressive project indeed. There has not yet been a product like this in the market anywhere in the world. It will become a global sensation once it hits the shelves. Saying that it’s worth a hundred million U.S. dollars is an underestimation of its value. Hahaha!” said Gu Ke-Wen.
Liu Ying was going to say something but Xia Lei pulled her back.
Gu Ke-Wen looked at Xia Lei, her eyes full of provocation, “You say I raised a good dog and it sounds awful but this deal was actually facilitated by Lin Bo-Wen. I had no idea that Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company had such a project and it piqued my interest as soon as I heard about it. I want to have my own company too. I will show my father and my older brother that I can be successful without them too.”
“Is the way you achieve success snatching it out of the hands of others? You’re really something,” said Xia Lei.
“This is the world of business. Winner takes all; winning is winning and losing is losing. I don’t care what methods are used.”
“Robbers’ logic,” said Xia Lei.
Gu Ke-Wen did not speak to Xia Lei again. She gave Lin Ya-Ru a look, “Call that side and let the patent get approved.”
“Yes,” affirmed Lin Ya-Ru, and she took out her mobile phone.
“What are you still standing here for? Get out.” Gu Ke-Wen pointed at the meeting room door, “This place has nothing to do with you anymore.”
“Let’s go, Big Sister Liu,” Xia Lei nudged Liu Ying with the back of his hand.
Liu Ying followed Xia Lei and headed for the meeting room exit. Xia Lei’s steps were quick and she inadvertently sped up as well.
“Stop right there!” Lin Ya-Ru suddenly cried.
Gu Ke-Wen looked at Lin Ya-Ru in surprise. She did not know what was going on yet but she was getting a bad feeling from Lin Ya-Ru’s reaction.
Lin Ya-Ru looked nervous, “Something happened at the patent office! The automatic surfboard project… has been approved!”
“How is this possible?” Gu Ke-Wen suddenly turned her gaze to Liu Ying and Xia Lei.
The two bodyguards suddenly appeared in front of Xia Lei and Liu Ying, blocking the doorway of the meeting room.
“The patent office said this patent was approved by the office in Jing-Du. The applicant was Liu Ying and the application was under her own name. This patent has no connection to Nice Moves Sports Equipment! And this patent was approved at the time you and Liu Ying were signing!” said Lin Ya-Ru.
“Damn you!” Gu Ke-Wen shot from her seat and her chair crashed to the floor. She glared at Xia Lei and Liu Ying with terrifyingly ice-cold eyes.
She had bought Nice Moves Sports Equipment Company for the automatic surfboard patent. Now that the patent was not related to the company, her big purchase had been for a rubbish company!
Lin Bo-Wen suddenly pointed at Xia Lei, “You punk, you must have done something!”
Xia Lei shrugged and smiled as he said, “This is the world of business. Winner takes all; winning is winning and losing is losing.”
Gu Ke-Wen had just said the same thing.
Xia Lei returned those exact same words to her now.
Gu Ke-Wen stared icily at Xia Lei, “Never has anyone dared to fool me like this. You are the first!”
“I just made use of the rules. China is big and it has many patent offices. You can hinder the process in Hai-Zhu City’s patent office and I can ask my friend to help this patent get approval at another patent office. You can’t make everyone dance to your tune no matter how big the Gu clan is, can you? And not everything will go your way, will it?” said Xia Lei.
“Who is your friend?”
“No comment,” said Xia Lei. There was, naturally, only one person in Jing-Du who could have helped him – Long Bing. The message he had sent on his way to the factory was to Long Bing, asking her for help. He had included Liu Ying’s national identification information and the automatic surfboard patent application number. Hai-Zhu City’s patent office had not approved Liu Ying’s application but the information and application number were still in the system and could be looked up. Long Bing was able to make Jiang Ru-Yi a station Chief with her status and capabilities, so why couldn’t she do this sort of thing too?
“Return the money!” Lin Bo-Wen demanded fiercely.
“Shut up!” Gu Ke-Wen slapped Lin Bo-Wen’s face.
The slap resounded. Lin Bo-Wen’s face burned with pain but he did not dare say a peep.
“Get out of the way. Let them leave,” said Gu Ke-Wen.
Xia Lei hesitated; he’d thought that they would face some difficulties in leaving. He had actually been ready to fight but Ge Ke-Wen had unexpectedly let him and Liu Ying leave just like this.
Gu Ke-Wen’s eyes bored into Xia Lei, “Remember this – I will not let this matter rest. I will find out who your friend is and do what I have to do.”
“I’ll give you a warning – You’d better not provoke her,” said Xia Lei.
“Get out!” Gu Ke-Wen suddenly shouted.
Liu Ying pulled Xia Lei by the hand and dragged him out of the meeting room.