Mo Qingyun brought Ou Yunchen back to her home and found him some clean clothes.
Ou Yunchen handed Mo Qingyun the check from Sister Hong.
Mo Qingyun signed, "So much? Can this help with the cash flow?"
Ou Yunchen smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Mo Qingyun signed, "Not enough?"
Ou Yunchen: "All of AtL's projects require funds. As per the agreement, if payment is not made on time, there will be double penalties."
Mo Qingyun signed, "How much more is needed?"
Ou Yunchen: "Do you know how much capital Huaming Capital spent on a single project back then?"
Mo Qingyun shook her head.
Ou Yunchen extended his hand and wrote a six on Mo Qingyun's palm.
Mo Qingyun signed, "Six million?"
Ou Yunchen shook his head.
Mo Qingyun signed, "Sixty million???"
Ou Yunchen still shook his head.
Then he wrote countless zeros on Mo Qingyun's palm…
Mo Qingyun signed, "How much is this???"
Ou Yunchen: "Sixty billion."
Mo Qingyun was terrified. AtL's funds were a bottomless pit. No wonder Ou Yunchen said he had to frequently take out bank loans!
Looking at the ten million check Sister Hong generously gave, it was truly a drop in the bucket…
Ou Yunchen took the clean clothes into the bathroom, leaving Mo Qingyun stunned in place. She couldn't think of anywhere else to borrow more money.
By the time Ou Yunchen came out, Mo Qingyun had already laid out all her savings on the coffee table.
Ou Yunchen smiled. It seemed she was truly determined to follow him, otherwise why would she stake her entire fortune to help him through this crisis?
Mo Qingyun signed, "I know it's not enough, but I think we should just run away, to a place no one can find us."
Ou Yunchen held Mo Qingyun on his lap. He looked seriously at her plan to escape and almost burst out laughing.
Ou Yunchen: "AtL is my life's work. I won't give it up."
Mo Qingyun signed, "But…"
Ou Yunchen held Mo Qingyun's hand and asked her to listen carefully.
Ou Yunchen: "I know who is targeting AtL. He wants to bankrupt me to prove his own prowess. He has used people I cannot afford to offend. I have no choice but to concede…"
Mo Qingyun had a strong inkling of the answer, but she couldn't believe Xie Youlin had such power!
Ou Yunchen: "I thought that when I had nothing, that would be the day you'd leave me."
Mo Qingyun signed, "Never! And I won't allow you to think that!"
Ou Yunchen: "No one can help me anymore. Perhaps I'll be suppressed by him my entire life."
Mo Qingyun signed, "You have me!"
Ou Yunchen smiled and nodded.
Ou Yunchen: "Let's go visit the orphanage tomorrow."
Mo Qingyun signed, "Why?"
Ou Yunchen: "I remember you used to visit your teachers and the children regularly. I was too busy then and rarely went with you. Now that I'm less busy, let's go together."
Mo Qingyun hugged Ou Yunchen's neck and kissed him repeatedly. She was very grateful that Ou Yunchen was willing to accompany her back.
Ou Yunchen patted Mo Qingyun's bottom and told her to go back to her room to sleep. But Mo Qingyun wanted to pull Ou Yunchen into the room with her.
Ou Yunchen: "You want me to… you so badly?"
Mo Qingyun signed, "I'm worried about how exhausted you are these days. How could I bear to let you sleep on the sofa alone!"
Ou Yunchen: "You go back to sleep. I'm going to the balcony for a smoke."
Mo Qingyun signed, "Then hurry back."
Ou Yunchen nodded and smiled as he escorted her to bed. He gave her a goodnight kiss and closed the door.
Only on the balcony could he finally get some real work done. He had been pretending to be unemployed for days, and many tasks could only be completed when Mo Qingyun wasn't around.
Ou Yunchen made call after call, to Liu Jinhua, to Lawyer Ma, to Jin Datong…
It was simply troublesome and time-consuming to not be able to conduct normal face-to-face meetings!
Sometimes, with messages being passed back and forth, he couldn't even remember what was said and what wasn't!
Just as he finished all his calls, another one came in.
—Ou Yunchen on the phone—
Ren Xiaoguang: "Mr. Ou, how have you been lately?"
Ou Yunchen: "Sister Ren, you're still awake so late?"
Ren Xiaoguang: "I saw the news. Is AtL facing difficulties?"
Ou Yunchen quickly explained that everything would be fine. After all, the Baiyun Mountain housing project was still underway and couldn't just be halted!
Ren Xiaoguang: "That's good."
A silence followed. Ren Xiaoguang spoke again: "I heard you sold your house and car."
Ou Yunchen took a deep breath. This must have been blabbed by that big mouth, Fan Zhijie!
He wrote his reports without regard for truth or falsehood, only including whatever he felt portrayed Ou Yunchen's downfall!!!
Ou Yunchen: "Yes, yes…"
Ren Xiaoguang: "If your funds are this tight, I find it hard to believe our project can proceed smoothly."
Ou Yunchen: "It absolutely will not affect our project."
Ren Xiaoguang: "Alright…"
Another silence. As Ren Xiaoguang was about to speak again, Ou Yunchen repeatedly assured her that there would be no problems.
Ren Xiaoguang: "Okay…"
Ren Xiaoguang: "Yunchen…"
Ou Yunchen's heart skipped a beat. His heart was in his throat. Was Ren Xiaoguang calling him by his given name too familiarly?
Ou Yunchen: "Sister Ren, please speak."
Ren Xiaoguang: "Do you need my help?"
Ou Yunchen: "AtL? Sister Ren, believe me, I won't let AtL go under."
Ren Xiaoguang: "No, I mean you."
Ou Yunchen: "Sister Ren, listen to me. I did sell my house and car, but I really can't accept your money…"
—Ou Yunchen's call ended—
Unbeknownst to Ou Yunchen, Mo Qingyun, who had fallen asleep in a daze, overheard his humble explanations outside the balcony that everything was fine with him and the company.
This only made her heart ache more. Had Xie Youlin truly driven Ou Yunchen into a corner with no way out?
So, in order to convince his clients, he had to beg them for more time?
Mo Qingyun sighed softly and quietly returned to the room. She seemed to have made a decision.
But how could she help Ou Yunchen? Should she ask Xie Youlin to let him go? Ou Yunchen would surely be angry if he found out!
So, as Mo Qingyun pondered, she found herself unable to sleep.