InvincibleConnoisseur

Chapter 45 Coercion in the Negotiation

The bright sunshine lasting for several days did not come out in the east the next morning. It was gloomy, and the sky became dark with clouds, seeming to herald the arrival of a storm at any time.

Li Ruoxi's mood was like the weather condition. After all, she was a little nervous as she was going to negotiate with the people her family sent. She had done an excellent job over the years. However, she had mainly been under the shelter of her family, like being sheltered by a towering tree. Now, this "towering tree" would no longer shelter her from wind and rain. What was more, it would add a bit of thunder and lightning to her in the harsh weather condition. This made her feel very bad.

The business of Changling Group could be divided into three parts: cosmetics, apparel and accessories, and small household appliances. Changling Group was a well-funded listed company. Although it was not one of the largest group companies in Changji, it was still possible for it to rank in the top twenty.

Following Li Ruoxi, who was in a business suit that could fully show her perfect figure, Wang Ke strode into the grand gate of Changling Group.

He had known something about Changling Group, but it was incomplete. That was because he knew this group company from Mrs. Song.

In the general manager's office on the eighteenth floor, Wang Ke was sitting on the sofa quietly, operating the spirit energy in his meridians concentratedly. He was cultivating himself while waiting for the people of Li Ruoxi's family to come. Li Ruoxi was sitting on the office chair, drawing out a pile of documentsand reading it silently. As time went by, her extremely beautiful face looked more and more indifferent.

"Bang."

Someone knocked on the office door. Then a young lady in a business suit walked in.

"Ms.Li, your guests have arrived. They are now in the prepared meeting room." That young lady said softly.

Li Ruoxi stood up slowly and turned to look at Wang Ke, and then she said with a nod, "Got it. You can go out first. I'll be right there."

That young lady nodded. When leaving the office, she closed the door again.

Li Ruoxi got away from the desk, looked at Wang Ke and asked him softly, "Do you have confidence to protect my safety? As I don't know who in my family come here this time, if someone of my grandfather's generation comes, don't do anything. Just leave on your own."

Wang Ke shook his head and said, "No matter who they are, I would protect you even if the Heavenly King came here! Please be rest assured. Even if they came to blows with us, even if their cultivations were more profound than mine, I would do my best to block them and buy you time to escape."

Li Ruoxi shook her head and said, "If some people of my grandfather's generation come here, you'll be no match for them. Even if I could escape, I'm afraid that they would catch me very soon. Then don't waste your strength. I'm the boss, and you must follow my order unconditionally."

Wang Ke had no choice but to nod, acting to agree with what Li Ruoxi had said.

A few minutes later, they two came to the small meeting room.

At that time, there were a total of five middle-aged people sitting in the meeting room, three middle-aged men in their forties, and two middle-aged women in fashionable dresses. Their expressions were quite indifferent. When Li Ruoxi and Wang Ke stepped into the meeting room, the five people only glanced at Wang Ke and then fixed their eyes on Li Ruoxi.

"Ruoxi, I cannot understand. You were quite sensible and well-behaved before. But why do you go against our will at this important moment this time? Don't you know how much benefits our family could gain from the marriage between you and the Gu family?" Said Li Ziqiang, Li Ruoxi's uncle, who had high prestige in the Li family. Seeing Li Ruoxi sitting opposite to them, Li Ziqiang could not wait to reprimand Li Ruoxi by virtue of his seniority in the family.

Li Yue'e, Li Ruoxi's aunt, a middle-aged woman in her forties, was also wearing a cold face. She looked at Li Ruoxi discontentedly and snorted, "Ruoxi, you think you have grown up, so you don't listen to the discipline of us as your elders, do you? I tell you, no matter what abilities you have, you are a descendant of the Li family. You are nothing without the Li family. Swallow your pride and arrogance. As your elders, we will not harm you. As you can marry the first heir of the Gu family and enjoy the endless glory and wealth in the future, what are you still not satisfied with?"

Although the other three people did not speak, they also showed their opinions by having expressions carrying the meaning of "She was right".

Li Ruoxi looked worse compared to before she entered the meeting room door.

There was a trace of earnest hope and restiveness in her cold eyes. She said coldly, "You don't need to talk about this topic anymore. I insist on my own idea that I would rather die than marry that b*st*rd. Give up your wishful thinking. I know very well why you come here. I advise you to go back however you came! I am a living person, not a pawn in your hands. I have made so much money for the family in the past two years. Isn't that enough? I am the boss of my life, and no one could use me as a tool to earn benefits for the family."

Li Ziqiang had great anger on his face. He thundered, "Li Ruoxi, you'd better be clear that you are a member of the family. As a descendent of the Li family, isn't it your obligation to seek profits for the family?"

Li Ruoxi sneered, "Now you know that I am a descendant of the Li family? If you get me married, regarding me as a tool of marriage, will I still be a descendant of the Li family at that time? Will I still be a member of the Li family? At that time, I am afraid I will have to represent the Gu family, right? As the saying goes, 'A married daughter is like split water.' You know that, don't you?"

"You're getting far too ungrateful! How could our Li family have such a heartless descendant like you? Li Ruoxi, you'd better figure out what will happen to you if you resolve to refuse the marriage arranged by the family. Do you regard this group company as your last protective umbrella? You are having a pipe dream! If you do not go back with us, we can immediately take away your administrative authority and kick you out of the company." Li Ziming, Li Ruoxi's second uncle, thundered at Li Ruoxi, slapping the table.

Li Ruoxi's expression changed slightly, but she still said in a tough voice, "So what if you take away my administrative authority of the company? This group company was founded by me. All the senior executives in the company were developed and promoted by me. If you kick me out of this company, I can guarantee that almost all the senior executives will follow me to leave. The company will go badly off the rails in an instant. I don't think I need to talk about what loss the family will suffer at that time, right?"

Li Ziqiang and the other four people were full of sarcasm on their faces. They showed great disdain towards Li Ruoxi's threat.

Li Ziqiang sneered, "Do you think they will follow you to leave just because you promoted them? You forgot a sentence saying that he that serves God for money will serve the Devil for better wages. After all, those senior executives have to rely on the company to earn money. Almost all of them are the sandwich generation. Who will leave with you? Are they going to leave with you and live on air?"

Speaking of which, he had more sarcasm on his face. He propped his hands on the conference table and stood up slowly. Staring condescendingly at Li Ruoxi sitting on the chair, he sneered, "Think about your fate if we cast you out of the family and take back your management authority of this last company! Without the support of the family, you are nothing. And before we came here, the family head imposed on us an ironclad duty that if you refuse to marry the first heir of the Gu family, we will take back your current house, that villa worth tens of millions. At that time, you will not only have no money but also have no place to live. Come back with us. Otherwise, you can only wait to sleep in the street!"

Li Ruoxi's face was so overcast as if there had been some rain dropping. Her lips trembled, and her eyes were full of despair and pain. The feeling of being oppressed and threatened by her relatives was like a poisonous snake biting her heart in which she still begged that her family members could consider the family affectionbetween them.

Her body trembled slightly, not because of fear but because of cold. The chill rising in her bones made her feel cold throughout her whole body.

She had never expected that her family could be that ruthless.

Seeing Li Ruoxi, Li Ziqiang thought that Li Ruoxi, his niece, was in fear. Therefore, the anger and sarcasm on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by a smug smile. He touched the stubble on his chin and grinned, "Ruoxi, you were smart when you were a child. You should be very clear that there is no leeway in this matter. Moreover, this time the power-holder of the Gu family brought his son to ask for a marriage alliance, which has given our family great dignity. And the benefits they promised us were so much that even if you work hard to manage the family business for ten years, you will not be able to make such a huge profit."

"You need to know that you will be an authoritative person in the Gu family if you marry its first heir. As a wife of a distinguished family, do you know how many rights will you have? How much fortune will you own? If you give birth to a child in the future, he will be cultivated as the first heir of the family and will surely control all of the properties of the Gu family in the future."

"Perhaps there's one thing you still don't know. The Gu family, like our family, is also a family of ancient martial arts. The power-holder of the Gu family has already made it clear that if the two families could unite by marriage, he will give us a martial arts esotericaas a betrothal gift. Considering it is a presentable gift given by the Gu family, you can imagine how good the esotericawill be, can't you? If you marry into the Gu family, you can practice all the cultivation techniques of the Gu family, which will also be a blessing for you."

"So, stop resisting. That's meaningless. It would be better for you to sit idle and enjoy the fruits. Just enjoy this penny from heaven."

Li Ruoxi became ashen in the face. When Li Ziqiang finished his last word, she suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, "There is no way for me to marry that b*st*rd Gu. You'd better give up that idea forever! I would rather die than agree. Since you have forced me so hard, then I will leave with those senior executives I developed. I don't believe that with talents in my hands, I can't build another business. Wang Ke, let's go."

After following Li Ruoxi into this meeting room, Wang Ke was standing behind Li Ruoxi. He heard every word both sides had said clearly and even had a panoramic view of the expressions of the five people on the other side.

He could also feel a chill because of the heartlessness of the people from the Li family, let alone Li Ruoxi.

However, seeing the sarcasm appearing on those people's faces when they heard Li Ruoxi saying that she would take those senior executives to leave, Wang Ke suddenly had a nasty feeling.

Hadn't Li Ruoxi settled the matters down in these days?

Would there be something unforeseen?

Wang Ke wanted to remind Li Ruoxi, but he finally gave up this idea after thinking.

It was only in his heart that he had such a nasty feeling. Even if he reminded Li Ruoxi, what use of it would there be? Then why not let her have a try and see if the people of her family would compromise?

Thinking of this, he turned to follow Li Ruoxi, striding out of the meeting room.

Li Ziqiang, Li Yue'e, and the other three people looked at each other and raised their lip corners slowly, showing great sarcasm and disdain.

Li Ziqiang clapped his hands and sneered, "Let's come along for the ride, too! Now that this niece wants to go against us to the end, just let her know that the older, the wiser. She, a fledgling little girl, still needs to learn a lot of things in the future."

"That's right. Today, let's teach her a lesson. We need to let her know that without the support of us behind her, she is nothing. Previously I thought she was a smart girl. However, she failed to understand what a good thing this is. It seems that her cleverness is just in trivial matters. It is not an exaggeration to describe her as stupid." Said Li Yue'e with a cold face and chill flashing in her eyes.