"The collaboration is canceled?!"
Upon hearing Gu Xiyan's verdict, Li Shuyue felt as if the sky had completely collapsed.
Her husband's Tianyi Textile was just one of the material suppliers for Face of Jade Group, not any big corporation.
It was a small company that depended on them to survive.
Otherwise, she would not have shopped for clothes at their Face of Jade Exclusive Store to cement the relationship.
But now, because of her own momentary greed, bullying Gu Xiyan's boyfriend, and even calling people to beat him, their relationship had ruptured.
Li Shuyue felt utterly foolish.
Only now did she realize the grave mistake she had made, she had even foolishly thought to have Gu Xiyan take her side and confront Mu Jinyu!
In her remorse, Li Shuyue suddenly felt somewhat relieved.
Relieved that Mu Jinyu was exceptionally skilled, otherwise, if Chen Chen had crippled him, she would have inevitably faced prison!
Shocked and remorseful, her face ashen, Li Shuyue hurriedly pleaded with Gu Xiyan, "General Gu, I'm sorry, I really didn't know he was your boyfriend, I… it was just my momentary greed, please don't cancel our collaboration…"
"If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?" Gu Xiyan retorted unapologetically, "Besides, it was you who initiated just now that if I don't take your side, you'd have your husband cancel the collaboration with me, right? I am just fulfilling your wish! Aren't you happy now?"
"Whimper..." Li Shuyue burst into tears, mimicking Chen Chen earlier, hitting her own mouth while pleading, "That was just something I said in the heat of the moment, General Gu, please don't take it to heart, I truly didn't know he was your boyfriend. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared do it even with a hundred guts…"
"So, you mean you would dare to bully someone else?" Gu Xiyan asked with a cold laugh.
"I…" Li Shuyue was speechless, thinking that of course, she could bully an ordinary person easily, press them down without causing such a fuss.
Seeing this, Gu Xiyan shook her head slightly, her tone full of disappointment, "You see, with your nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, how could I continue to work with you? What if one day you misjudge someone low and provoke someone you shouldn't, causing trouble for me? Enough said, I dare not collaborate with someone of your caliber. Our collaboration ends here; let's part on good terms!"
Li Shuyue, hearing this, looked ashen, knowing there was no longer any room for turning things around.
At this moment, she deeply regretted having earlier said, "General Gu, if you don't stand up for me, I won't work with you."
She had only meant for Gu Xiyan to placate her and take her side, to anger and teach Mu Jinyu a lesson.
That statement was never meant as a threat to Gu Xiyan.
But to her dismay, she had hit a snag, angered Gu Xiyan over her boyfriend, which led Gu Xiyan to directly cancel their collaboration.
Engulfed in deep regret, Li Shuyue had no idea how to explain this to her husband when she returned, how to continue to support her kept man, her lips quivered, unwilling to concede, still wanting to say another word.
Just then,
Xu Zhixin, who had finally found Mu Jinyu's whereabouts, hurried into the store with a few young members of the Gu Family.
As soon as he saw Mu Jinyu standing next to Gu Xiyan, his eyes lit up, a frenzied joy appeared, completely ignoring Gu Xiyan, he quickly bowed deeply to Mu Jinyu, respectfully saying,
"Divine Doctor Mu, I've finally found you again. We are all aware of the disrespect from Huaguang this morning, and we have already punished him. When my father arrives shortly, he will bring him and the other young ones who were disrespectful to you yesterday to fulfill your request. Could you please consider..."
When Mu Jinyu saw Xu Zhixin at his door, his mood immediately soured, and he waved his hand dismissively after a few words, saying, "I'm busy, I'm not in the mood, can't you see I'm troubled right now? I have no time to heal your father!"
Xu Zhixin's attitude toward Mu Jinyu was deeply respectful and humble, while Mu Jinyu's attitude toward him was one of disdain and contempt, not sparing him a glance.
The spectators on the scene were stunned, their mouths agape in disbelief.
Good heavens, who is this?!
The Xu Family's second son, Xu Zhixin?!
But why… why is he bowing and apologizing to Mu Jinyu?
They completely failed to understand, feeling that after Gu Xiyan had appeared, Mu Jinyu's stature seemed even more imposing and had swelled considerably!
As soon as Xu Zhixin heard that Mu Jinyu was in trouble, he quivered and knew that now was his chance to prove himself; he promptly asked, "Divine Doctor, what trouble do you have right now? Just tell me, our Xu Family may not dominate River City, but we can still throw our weight around. What is your trouble? I'll back you up, let's see who dares to mess with you!"
The way he spoke was filled with a murderous aura, as if he were ready to relocate anyone who dared to provoke Mu Jinyu.
The gossipy women who were previously shouting that Mu Jinyu was a thief and a kept man, and clamoring to call the police, were now terrified, their faces turning pale as they looked helplessly at Mu Jinyu with pleading eyes.
Gu Xiyan and Yu Linglong, looking at Mu Jinyu, changed their gaze somewhat, their beautiful eyes shimmering with curiosity, yet their thoughts were unknown.
Mu Jinyu ignored the looks from the crowd; when they were accusing him of being a thief and demanding to call the police, they showed no mercy.
"It was all of them," Mu Jinyu said coldly, pointing at the crowd. "I came to return some clothes, and they looked down on me with their snobby eyes, insisting that I must have stolen them and even wanting to call the police on me. I said my girlfriend gifted them to me, and they then called me a kept man. And then..."
He pointed to the colorless and frightened Li Shuyue, continuing, "Then, the store manager called this damned fatso here, and this shameless fatso insisted she was my sugar mama and even tried to take my clothes. I refused, and she had people come to deal with me. If I didn't have some connections, my legs might be crippled by now!"
"We... we didn't..."
Li Shuyue and the gossipy women, upon hearing Mu Jinyu's words, hurriedly tried to retort.
Mu Jinyu sternly interrupted, "Didn't? Didn't what? Are you daring to say you didn't do these things?!"
They looked at the fierce eyes of Mu Jinyu and Xu Zhixin, and the words they wanted to retort were swallowed back down.
Really didn't?
They had indeed called Mu Jinyu a thief and a kept man, reveling in the drama without fearing the consequences, even ready to call the police just for the thrill of it...
All in all, Mu Jinyu's speech merely omitted the fact that he had hit them.
But did it matter if he had struck them?
With Gu Xiyan and Xu Zhixin supporting Mu Jinyu, it didn't matter whether he had just slapped them or even if he had crippled them, he would face no repercussions.
Those who would suffer were those who had insulted Mu Jinyu.
And they would face the thunderous retaliation of the Xu Family!