"It's all your fault!"
Jiang Tai's thunderous roar confirmed Jiang Chenghua's worst fears. This really was connected to Lu Chen.
Unable to understand it, Jiang Chenghua blurted out, "How is that possible? I had someone investigate him. He's just some small-time entertainer from the mainland who only recently debuted and got together with a famous actress. How could he possibly have this kind of influence?"
Getting both the Tax Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau to target a major Hong Kong-funded company wasn't something an ordinary powerful person could pull off. Someone at the highest levels on the mainland had to be behind it.
Jiang Chenghua wasn't an idiot. Before making his move against the 'A Chinese Ghost Story' film crew, he had looked into Lu Chen's background.
Now it seemed he had either been deliberately misled, or Lu Chen's real connections had been hidden far too well. He had gone looking for an easy target and ended up provoking a great white shark. At that moment, Jiang Chenghua felt nothing but helplessness.
Jiang Tai sneered. "You investigated him? You believed whatever people told you. You got played without even realizing it."
Jiang Chenghua's heart skipped a beat. His father was clearly implying something. Going after Lu Chen hadn't been his own idea; someone had encouraged him to do it and promised him benefits in return. Apparently, Jiang Tai already knew the truth.
His father's sarcasm only made Jiang Chenghua more defiant. "Maybe so. But Brother Dong…"
"Brother Dong my ass!" Jiang Tai exploded.
He grabbed the crystal ashtray from his desk and hurled it straight at Jiang Chenghua.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the crystal ashtray smashed into Jiang Chenghua's forehead, splitting the skin open. Blood immediately streamed down his face. His body swayed, but he didn't make a sound.
Everyone else in the room was shocked.
Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. Seeing his son's forehead covered in blood, Jiang Tai immediately regretted acting on impulse.
He slumped back into his chair and said wearily, "Clean up the mess you made yourself. I'll handle things on the mainland. They've already sent a message through an intermediary."
Ignoring the blood running down his face, Jiang Chenghua asked, "What did they say?"
Jiang Tai replied calmly, "This is just a warning. If anything like this happens again, no one from the Jiang family should ever expect to do business on the mainland."
Jiang Chenghua silently nodded. Blood reached his lips, tasting salty and unbearably bitter. After a long pause, he finally said, "I know what I need to do."
Today's Hong Kong could no longer do without the mainland market. Any Hong Kong family that limited itself to local business would never become truly powerful. The Jiang Group had invested enormous resources on the mainland.
If they were deliberately targeted by people at the highest levels, the losses would be impossible to measure. Just the news that their two factories were under investigation would be enough to send the Jiang Group's stock price into freefall. Better to mend the fence after the sheep were lost than do nothing at all.
Jiang Tai waved his hand, signaling that he could leave.
Dragging his heavy feet, Jiang Chenghua walked out of the Jiang family estate. At that moment, he hated the man who had persuaded him into this whole affair more than anything. But for now, his top priority was putting out this fire and obtaining Lu Chen's forgiveness.
As for how to do that... After thinking it over, Jiang Chenghua came to a simple conclusion.
No one ever died from losing face. If it came down to it, he would kneel.
---
While Jiang Chenghua was desperately trying to come up with a solution, Lu Chen, the other party in the conflict, was sitting in his workshop office dealing with a backlog of paperwork.
The dog abuse incident had grown into such a major scandal that, coupled with the earlier collapse in morale on the film crew and the departure of several staff members, Lu Chen decided to suspend filming altogether.
He left Chen Wenqiang and Wan Xiaoquan in charge of reorganizing the crew and recruiting new personnel. As for himself, he returned to the workshop, intending to resume filming in a few days once the situation became clearer.
At the same time, he was also waiting to see how Honghua, or rather, the Jiang family, would respond. In this invisible war, Lu Chen firmly held the upper hand. There was no reason for him to rush. The anxious ones should be Jiang Chenghua and his father.
'Ring... Ring...'
Just after Lu Chen signed another document, the mobile phone beside his computer suddenly rang.
Lu Chen had bought a new phone and a local number after arriving in Hong Kong, using it for work. Whenever Chen Wenqiang, Wan Xiaoquan, or Li Zhen needed to reach him, they called that number.
Over the past few days, the work phone had been ringing nonstop. Most of the calls were from reporters requesting interviews, so Lu Chen had simply handed the phone over to his assistant. Out of sight, out of mind, it kept them from interrupting his work.
The phone ringing now, however, was his private one. Anyone calling this number was either family or a close friend.
The name on the screen made Lu Chen laugh. He answered immediately with a grin. "Young Master Bai, what made you think of calling me?"
The "Young Master Bai" he was referring to was none other than Li Mubai, a teasing nickname that only friends could get away with. Ever since coming to Hong Kong, Lu Chen and Li Mubai had barely been in touch.
The last he'd heard from Pastor Li when he returned to the capital was that Li Mubai had taken his girlfriend to Hawaii on vacation and wasn't planning to come back until he'd gotten a nice deep tan.
"Brother Chen!" Li Mubai's familiar voice came through the phone, but what he said next was completely unexpected. "I'm downstairs at your workshop!"
"Huh?" Lu Chen blinked. "I'm in Hong Kong, not the capital. Weren't you in Hawaii?"
"I got back the day before yesterday," Li Mubai said with a laugh. "I know you're in Hong Kong. I'm here too, at Rongjin Building. The security downstairs won't let me in without an appointment, or I'd have gone straight up to your office."
Li Mubai had actually come all the way here. Lu Chen was momentarily speechless. "All right, wait there. I'll be right down."
If it had been any other unexpected visitor, he could have asked Li Zhen to receive them. But Li Mubai was different.
They were genuine friends. After returning from Hawaii, Li Mubai had come all the way to Hong Kong just to see him. There was no way Lu Chen could stay comfortably seated in his office. Of course he had to go down personally.
After hanging up, Lu Chen immediately left the workshop and took the elevator to the building's ground-floor lobby.
Rongjin Building had strict security. Visitors without appointments had to contact the tenant through the front desk and receive permission before they were allowed upstairs, preventing unwanted disturbances.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Lu Chen spotted Li Mubai standing by the security desk. The guy had always had a flashy streak. Like a firefly glowing in the dark, he stood out in any crowd.
But Lu Chen's attention didn't stay on Li Mubai for long. It was quickly drawn to the woman standing beside him.
She wore a long dress and oversized sunglasses. She looked so familiar that, even with most of her face hidden behind the large shades, Lu Chen recognized her instantly.
The unexpected surprise hit him like a bolt of lightning. For a moment, he felt as if he were floating.
---
'(End of Chapter)'
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