Chapter 18: The CEO's Counterattack

Tang Qiao'er woke up the next day and threw up again. "Little sister, I remember you used to hold your liquor well. How did you get so bad now?" Tang Xu quickly handed her some water to rinse her mouth and then brought over a hangover remedy, ready to give it to her. "I haven't had a drink in three years... who could handle suddenly drinking so much?" Tang Qiao'er knew Shen Jingjue disliked women who smelled of alcohol, so she had given up drinking entirely during their three years of marriage. "Anyone who didn't know you were just drunk would think you were pregnant," Tang Xu teased her. "Heh... if I really got pregnant with Shen Jingjue's child, what would you brothers do?" A subtle, almost imperceptible pain settled in Tang Qiao'er's eyes. "What else could we do? Of course, we'd raise the child for you, through thick and thin. No matter whose blood flows in their veins, the child is innocent." Although Tang Xu detested Shen Jingjue, his moral compass was true, likely a professional ethic from his legal background. "Don't worry, Shen Jingjue wants me to have his child? Is he even worthy?" Tang Qiao'er sneered, taking a sip of water to clear her throat. Tang Xu: "By the way, do you remember what happened last night?" "I remember I went looking for trouble with Jin Zeyu, and Shen Jingjue seemed to... show up? Then I don't remember anything else." "You really don't remember?" "I think... I also saw a high-quality handsome guy, and he even came to help me out? Ugh, I was too drunk then, otherwise I definitely would have added him on WeChat." "That was Huo Ruxi. We went to his newly opened place last night." At the mention of that troublemaker's name, Tang Qiao'er lost all interest. "Forget it, that kid's kidney wouldn't even buy an iPhone if he sold it. Even dogs shake their heads at him." "Do you know Shen Jingjue dragged you into the men's restroom later?" Tang Qiao'er's eyes widened: "?!" "I don't know what you two did, but when I went in, you were hugging him and wiping your nose on him." Tang Xu shook his head repeatedly, unable to bear the memory. Tang Qiao'er gasped: "............" "Little sister, if your brother hadn't arrived in time to take you away, that jerk might have..." "No, he wouldn't. Shen Jingjue isn't like Huo Ruxi." Tang Qiao'er rubbed her forehead in annoyance. "You're still defending him now!" "I'm not defending him. Besides being cold, heartless, unromantic, and hating me, he's still a gentleman." Tang Qiao'er felt a pang of sadness after saying this. "Heh, but Shen Shimei, for some reason, asked me last night if I would marry you. He even told me not to play with your feelings, saying that a girl from a small family like you couldn't handle love games." Tang Xu's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Don't you think he was just being a jerk for no reason? He should worry about his own garden before asking if someone else's chickens have been fed." "Wait, why did he bring that up to you out of nowhere?" "Because he mistook me for our eldest brother, so I just went along with it and told him not to touch my woman again. Hmph, that jerk must have been furious." Tang Xu's tail practically wagged with pride. "Damn it, go to hell!" Tang Qiao'er, exasperated, punched Tang Xu's handsome face. ... Lin Su prepared a delicious and light breakfast. Knowing his young mistress had drunk too much, he specifically made vegetable porridge. Tang Qiao'er came down to eat wearing a peach-pink silk slip dress with her long hair loose. Although she had underwear on, it was still too revealing and sexy. Lin Su's face flushed, and he quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look closely. "Hey, hey! You have two red-blooded men in this house, can you consider our feelings?!" Tang Xu rolled a thin-shelled egg on his bruised cheek, making a disgusted face. "I'm sick of wearing white dresses and sneakers for three years. Now I'll wear whatever I want. If I'm happy, I'll run naked in the middle of the night, who can stop me?" Tang Qiao'er rolled her eyes and took a big bite of bread. "Why could you only wear white dresses and sneakers for three years? Young mistress, did you go to teach in a mountain village? Will you mislead the next generation of our country if you teach?" Lin Su asked very seriously. "None of your business?!" The siblings said in unison. * With exquisite makeup and dressed in a white pantsuit, high heels by Jimmy Choo, Tang Qiao'er transformed back into the stunning female CEO, heading to the hotel to take charge, looking perfectly refreshed. Even if her head felt like it had been pounded by an African gorilla. Sitting in her office, Tang Qiao'er recalled her conversation with her second brother that morning, her emotions a tangled mess. Did Shen Jingjue really care about her, helping her out last night and saying those things to Tang Xu? Heh, how could that be? He just saw his former "maid" who used to fawn over him suddenly change completely and follow a new master, which stirred up the selfish possessiveness in his male bones. She, Tang Qiao'er, would not jump into the same pit twice! Just then, a message came from the security department. Tang Yue: Qiaoqiao, the negative news about you from yesterday afternoon has been removed, and those marketing accounts that slandered you have been shut down. Tang Yue: Shen Jingjue did it. Tang Qiao'er: Oh, I thank his ancestors for eight generations. Fourth Brother: Heh, he thinks it's solved just by deleting it? Naive. Third Brother: This morning, Shen Group's stock price only fluctuated slightly. A pity. Tang Xu: Little sister! Even if we can't take him down for a while, we must first deal with the Jin family! Tang Qiao'er: Naturally. A small woman's revenge lasts from morning till night. "A Su, come in for a moment." Tang Qiao'er called into the intercom. Lin Su quickly entered. "Young mistress, you called for me." "Have you prepared the materials and evidence I asked for?" The female CEO rested her hands on the armrests, leisurely spinning in her leather chair. "They're ready. We can report them to the relevant authorities at any time." "No, no, don't rush." Tang Qiao'er crossed her legs, her fair skin gleaming in the sunlight. "First, find a few media outlets closely related to our Tang Group, like 'Haimen News,' and release the news with all the details. Let's create a strong buzz first." "Bringing in the media will make things very complicated. Wouldn't it be better to just directly hit the Jin family by surprise?" Lin Su asked, puzzled. "I'm a person who appreciates ceremony. I won't just slit the throat of the prey I catch. I'll press it down and slowly torture it, slowly bleed it dry." Tang Qiao'er gently stroked the jade bracelet her grandfather gave her, her gaze cold and ruthless. Most importantly, once this matter is exposed, the Jin family will face difficulties. Given the status of the Jin father and son, they are not worthy of speaking with her, so Jin Enrou will only have one path—to beg Shen Jingjue for help. "Shen Jingjue, I can't wait to see you frantic over your fiancée." * That night, when the most users were online, a news story quietly appeared, but in less than an hour, it became a sensation! "Breaking! Due to Serious Quality Issues, KS Group Terminates All Cooperation with Jin Group!" "Substandard Materials? Shoddy Workmanship? Jin Group's Home Furnishing Brand 'Aili' Faces Quality Concerns!" Because the incident happened so suddenly, the Jin father and son were completely unprepared. Coupled with the unprofessional public relations team of their group, public opinion erupted, making it impossible to control the narrative or delete negative comments. [Jin Group? Isn't that Shen Jingjue's second fiancée's family? Such a mess before the wedding, isn't that giving the in-laws a hard time?] [I thought he found a big wealthy family, but it turns out they just sell furniture, and they're unscrupulous merchants!] [Although I don't want to generalize from family issues to individuals, this kind of thing is really off-putting.] [Oh my god, I just ordered Aili furniture for my new house. I have to return it tomorrow, what a rip-off!] In his study, Shen Jingjue listened to Han Xian's report on the negative news about the Jin family, his head splitting. "The Tang Group is the wealthiest in Haimen, and they are leaders in almost every industry they touch. The Tang Group taking the lead to boycott the Jin Group is like the Dragon Slaying Saber unsheathed, commanding all to obey." Han Xian pouted, showing no sympathy for the Jin family, only schadenfreude. "Fortunately, the Jin Group isn't a listed company, otherwise, their stock would plummet tomorrow morning. Your father-in-law already has high blood pressure and is narrow-minded; he'd probably pass out from anger..." Shen Jingjue raised his cold, pale eyes, a sharp glare piercing Han Xian's face. Han Xian secretly stuck out his tongue, not daring to be presumptuous. "This news has no evidence to support it. Perhaps it's just baseless rumor." Shen Jingjue took a deep breath, his eyes dark. "How did this quality issue come about?" "I heard it was a new female CEO at KS World, the Tang Group's hotel in Shengjing. She led the cancellation of cooperation with the Jin Group. Then, within a week, all hotels starting with 'KS' immediately followed suit, canceling cooperation and replacing all Jin Group products." "A mere hotel general manager, how could she have such great power? It's impossible." "Because she is Tang Wanting, Chairman Tang's biological daughter, the eldest young lady of the Tang family, Tang Qiao'er." Tang Qiao'er? Shen Jingjue's eyes deepened. Although the name was unfamiliar, in some mysterious way, it gave him a strange sense of familiarity.