Chapter 261 - 199: Who Is Bluffing (3)

Song Wen continued, "You really have guts, vouching for them and getting the company to ship the goods before payment. I was sweating bullets for you back then. But everything turned out for the best. It just proves you know how to spot a diamond in the rough."

Yanghe Commerce’s cash flow was tight. They only had a little over a million yuan in their accounts, which was all from their recent NLB sales, and that money was needed to restock their physical stores. The single batch of goods for their online channels had a retail value of ten million yuan, which at 20% of the price, came out to a two-million-yuan payment. Yang Hui couldn’t come up with that much money, so he mentioned to Serene the possibility of shipping the goods first and delaying the payment deadline by a few days.

For a new, small partner company, such a proposal was almost impossible. Song Wen had warned Serene time and again to stand her ground and refuse. But Serene personally vouched for them to the company, and to everyone’s surprise, the boss actually approved it.

This whole affair left Song Wen baffled. For one, she couldn’t understand why Serene trusted Yanghe Commerce so much. For another, she couldn’t fathom why the boss would accept Serene’s guarantee. Her salary was peanuts; what would they do if the two million couldn’t be collected? She knew Serene was a rich heiress, but being wealthy and being willing to foot the bill were two different things. What if Serene just took the blame for a professional error? Could you really demand two million yuan from her then? All of this shrouded Serene’s background in even deeper mystery for Song Wen.

Futong Commerce, inside Li Yang’s office.

Dan Biao sat across from him, his expression grim. He recounted his conversation with Xia Jie, reporting everything, including the salary and benefits. He didn’t leave a single detail out.

He was doing it on purpose. It was his way of telling Li Yang, ’Take a look at what other companies offer, and then look at what you pay. Is it really as generous as you make it out to be while you’re manipulating us every day?’

Just as expected, a storm of emotions crossed Li Yang’s face, but he quickly composed himself. He let out a laugh that was dripping with anger. "Xiaodan, how can you be so naive? Why do you think I said she was stupid and wicked? Remember when she reported the salaries of Yanghe Commerce’s store staff? I knew they were fake the second I heard them. She was just trying to get me to raise our staff’s wages. It would make her job easier, sure, but what about the increase in our labor costs?"

"And she’s still lying to you today. On the one hand, she’s sending you back to me to see if you can get her a better deal. On the other, she has a more sinister motive: to destroy the morale of you and your team. That woman is truly rotten. I would never hire someone like that. From now on, don’t even try to poach anyone from Yanghe Commerce. All they do is brag and lie about how much they make. Their motives are far from pure."

Dan Biao just smiled, unfazed.

’If I could still believe you, I’d have wasted all these years on this earth. Do I not know what kind of person Xia Jie is? When it comes to lying and bullshitting, no one at Futong Commerce even comes close to Li Yang.’

Just then, Li Yang picked up his phone to scroll through his social feed. His expression changed in an instant. He slammed the documents in his hand onto the desk, sending papers scattering everywhere. WHOOSH. A few fluttered to the floor. The veins on his temples bulged, his face turned a furious shade of purple, and his lips pressed into a tight, hard line.

The air in the office seemed to freeze. The bustle of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows was sealed away, leaving only the sound of his ragged breathing, harsh and grating in the silence.

His fingers drummed unconsciously on the mahogany desk. The rhythm grew faster and faster, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

The city’s streets were still a blur of traffic and motion, but in this office, the temperature felt like it had plummeted. Even the hum of the central air conditioning seemed to tread carefully. He shot to his feet, his leather chair emitting a piercing screech as it flew back and slammed into the bookshelf behind him, knocking a few hardcover books askew.

"Xiaodan, who’s the online streamer for Yanghe Commerce? Do you know?"

Dan Biao knew, of course. He hadn’t brought it up earlier for fear of this exact explosive reaction. But now that Li Yang had asked, he had no choice but to answer, "It’s Shen Meng."

He ripped at the second button of his shirt, tearing it off completely. The motion made the heaving of his chest all the more obvious, his shoulders trembling with suppressed fury. His eyes were fixed on Dan Biao, pupils constricting, the whites of his eyes streaked with blood.

"I knew it. Of course. I knew it!"

He fought to suppress his rage, grinding his teeth. If Yang Hui were there right now, he honestly might not have been able to stop himself from tearing a chunk of flesh out of him.

The string of numbers on the social media poster was a punch to the gut, leaving him breathless. 4.1 million. ’That was supposed to be mine,’ he thought. ’All of it. Yang Hui... you’re despicable. Absolutely despicable!’

"Xiaodan, go inform the livestream team that we’re putting NLB online. Look at what the competition is doing! Don’t you feel the least bit motivated? Go talk to the malls, negotiate for resources and promotional events, and get our on-site live-selling going."

Dan Biao pulled out his phone and glanced at his own feed. The corner of his mouth twitched. 4.1 million. It was just brutal. In half a day, they had sold as much as Futong Commerce moved of the NLB brand in several months. No wonder Li Yang couldn’t take it. Who the hell could withstand a blow like that?

"Boss, we don’t have the online authorization for NLB," Dan Biao pointed out helpfully.

"Are you a fucking idiot? You think I don’t know something you do? I’ll handle the authorization. You handle the sales. Get to the malls and start talking, then report back to me. And another thing. Regarding Yang Hui, I don’t care what the situation is, you make him do another livestream for Airex this month, just like the last one. That’s an order. It’s not up for negotiation."

’Li Yang, you motherfucker. I never should have said anything. You’re giving orders to Yang Hui? Who the hell do you think you are? He already made it clear he’ll just do what’s required of him and nothing more. What gives you the right to demand he use his personal connections to serve you? You’re so goddamn shameless. What a piece of work.’

But he still just said, "Understood," and left the office.