Chapter 54

Gu Yunhao knitted his brows.

Actually, the words he had just uttered were different from the mental draft he had prepared before coming here.

Before meeting Ning Yuxuan, Gu Yunhao had made up his mind that no matter how much this woman begged him, he would absolutely not relent and allow the manufacturer to cooperate with Ning Yuxuan at the original price.

At most, he would reduce the price hike from ten percent to eight or five percent.

This was a lesson he wanted to give Ning Yuxuan, to show her that with just a casual wave of his hand and a couple of phone calls, he, Gu Yunhao, could cause her shabby hotel to suffer a massive loss.

If she dared to make an enemy of him, she would come to no good end.

Yet after meeting Ning Yuxuan and exchanging only a few words, Gu Yunhao had found himself unable to resist offering even more enticing conditions, forcing her to yield.

He was simply too eager to see the look of her begging him.

Back when they were still together, these things were clearly within his effortless grasp—

Her submissiveness, her docility, her entreaties—he could pick them up anywhere.

Yet now, the woman before him was as beautiful as he remembered, even more radiant than before, and yet obtaining a single smile from her had become so difficult.

Realizing that he had been staring somewhat blankly at Ning Yuxuan, Gu Yunhao cleared his throat.

"Ning Yuxuan," Gu Yunhao took a step forward, "did you not hear clearly what I said? I said, as long as you are willing to lower your pride and earnestly beg me, I can consider helping you talk to the factory so they sign the order with you at the original price."

Ning Yuxuan suddenly laughed.

In order to attend the banquet, she had changed into a formal, grand evening gown, paired with luxurious jewelry and exquisite makeup.

Gu Yunhao stared, momentarily dazed.

The next moment, Ning Yuxuan smiled faintly and said, "Gu Yunhao, when all is said and done, do you just want to hear me grovel and beg you?"

Gu Yunhao: "..."

Knowing full well that her words carried a tone of mockery, he still couldn't help but admit, "So what if I do?"

"As long as you beg me..." Gu Yunhao stared at her, "I can spare Huayuan for the time being."

Ning Yuxuan's smile vanished, and she took a step back, "In your dreams."

Gu Yunhao: "You—!"

He could not understand where Ning Yuxuan's confidence came from.

With eyes full of frustration and defeat, mindful of the fact that they were still in a public place, Gu Yunhao lowered his voice and said, "Are you acting so high and mighty because you've latched onto Xie Zhiyan?"

Ning Yuxuan raised an eyebrow, "So what if I have?"

Such an unconcerned and fearless expression from the woman made Gu Yunhao not only furious beyond measure, but consumed by uncontrollable jealousy.

Gu Yunhao gritted his teeth and said, "Take a good look at yourself, Ning Yuxuan. Right now, because of your suppliers, you've come to the banquet all by yourself, pulling all kinds of strings just to see Wu Shangdong. Where is your President Xie at a time like this?"

Seeing that Ning Yuxuan did not answer immediately, Gu Yunhao wore an even more sarcastic expression.

Sure enough, everything was under his control.

Gu Yunhao gave a cold snort, "I'll bet before you came here, you must have already looked for Xie Zhiyan. You should know that with just a single phone call from him—without even needing to show his face in person—he could easily help you resolve this matter. Yet Xie Zhiyan is still unwilling to help you. Don't you understand by now what your true standing is in his heart?"

Ning Yuxuan quietly watched Gu Yunhao.

When he finished speaking, instead of answering his question, she let out an amused smile, "Gu Yunhao, you have Xie Zhiyan constantly on your lips. Are you perhaps terribly jealous of him?"

Gu Yunhao's pupils constricted, "...What did you say?"

Ning Yuxuan smiled gently, "If I recall correctly, Xie Zhiyan is only three years older than you. Yet today, he is already the head of the Hengjiang Group, one of the most powerful figures in North City, able to summon wind and rain in the business world with a single word. And you—"

She gave Gu Yunhao a sympathetic look, "You can only rely on the meager face and influence of the eldest grandson of the Gu family to trip up me and Huayuan with petty little obstacles, and then rush eagerly to a banquet hoping that I will beg you, just to satisfy your pitiful self-esteem."

Ning Yuxuan did not follow Gu Yunhao's line of thought: proving her standing in Xie Zhiyan's heart to Gu Yunhao was entirely meaningless.

Instead of self-defense, it was better to attack the opponent.

It would be even better if she could shift Gu Yunhao's hostility from Huayuan to Xie Zhiyan, saving her effort in the future.

Just as she expected, upon hearing these words, Gu Yunhao turned pale with rage.

He had been holding a glass of red wine when he arrived, and now his right hand trembled slightly, causing the wine glass to sway continuously.

She had hit his sore spot.

Throughout his life, Gu Yunhao had never lacked material comforts, and his greatest craving was the approval of others.

Yet under the shadow of Elder Gu and the elders, while people respected him on the surface, behind his back they actually referred to him as the good-for-nothing eldest grandson of the Gu family.

If not for the many guests around, Gu Yunhao would have completely lost his temper right then and there.

"Ning Yuxuan, you—"

Before he could finish, an older male voice rang out beside them.

"Isn't this little Ning... and Yunhao?" A kind-faced man of around fifty-five years old walked over.

The newcomer was named Guo Zhihong, in the building materials business, whom everyone respectfully addressed as "Chairman Guo."

Guo Zhihong was on good terms with Wu Shangdong, and the two families had collaborated multiple times in recent years; he had come to the banquet to show his support for the Wu family.

However, compared to Wu Shangdong's reputation for being difficult to get along with, Guo Zhihong appeared much more modest and courteous on the outside, showing no airs even in front of juniors.

Guo Zhihong smiled and gestured to a waiter, having him hand Ning Yuxuan a glass of red wine.

"Little Ning," Guo Zhihong smiled, "I saw you last time at Elder Gu's birthday banquet, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to properly greet you. Do you remember me?"

Not knowing the purpose behind the man's sudden approach, Ning Yuxuan nevertheless accepted the red wine and politely replied, "Of course, hello Chairman Guo. Elder Gu could not stop praising the Five Blessings Welcoming Longevity painting you sent him last time."

Guo Zhihong laughed heartily, "Hahahaha, you flatter me, little Ning. Young people have such good memories; even after so long, you still remember what I brought that day."

He raised his glass to indicate Gu Yunhao, "I saw you and Yunhao here, so I came over to say hello. What were you two chatting about?"

Gu Yunhao's expression was rather ugly as he forced a smile, "Chairman Guo, Yuxuan and I were just chatting casually about family matters."

Having just been provoked by Ning Yuxuan, his emotions were already somewhat out of control, and seeing that Guo Zhihong was even more cordial to Ning Yuxuan than to himself made his heart feel all the more strange.

Although he had long known that these people did not hold him in high regard, Ning Yuxuan was merely Xie Zhiyan's temporary girlfriend—by what right did she receive Chairman Guo's special treatment?

Guo Zhihong smiled and nodded, "You juniors certainly have plenty of topics to discuss. Yunhao, remember to send my regards to your grandfather and your father."

Guo Yunhao: "Yes! I—"

He wanted to say more, but Guo Zhihong had already turned back to Ning Yuxuan.

"Little Ning, I just heard Shangdong mention that he and that... what is the name of your company..."

Ning Yuxuan timely supplied, "Huayuan."

Guo Zhihong nodded and chuckled, "Right, right, Huayuan. Shangdong said he just reached a cooperation with Huayuan, and even praised your eloquence! It's not easy to get a word of praise out of Shangdong's mouth; I'm a bit impressed with you now."

Ning Yuxuan exchanged a few more casual pleasantries with Guo Zhihong, who politely stated that if there was an opportunity in the future, he looked forward to cooperating with Huayuan.

Given Huayuan's current scale, if they could truly cooperate with Guo Zhihong, it would be considered Ning Yuxuan's honor.

Guo Zhihong didn't lack Huayuan as a partner; he had simply heard that Wu Shangdong and Ning Yuxuan had a pleasant chat, and thus came over to exchange a few polite words.

If Huayuan failed to take off in the future, he wouldn't lose anything either.

Ning Yuxuan chatted with Guo Zhihong for a few minutes, but Gu Yunhao had heard practically only one sentence—

Wu Shangdong had actually agreed to cooperate with Ning Yuxuan and supply goods to Huayuan?

This was the Wu family's territory, and almost every guest present needed to exchange a few words with Wu Shangdong. With Ning Yuxuan's status, finding a chance to speak alone with Wu Shangdong should have been difficult.

Furthermore, someone as picky as Wu Shangdong怎么可能看得上华愿那一亩三分四地？ (Wait, translate the meaning smoothly: how could he possibly care for Huayuan's tiny patch of land?) How could someone as picky as Wu Shangdong possibly look favorably upon a small-time venture like Huayuan?

How could this be?

No matter how unwilling Gu Yunhao was to believe it, he knew that given Guo Zhihong's status, he would not speak recklessly.

Since Chairman Guo himself had mentioned this cooperation, the matter of the Wu family becoming Huayuan's new supplier was undoubtedly set in stone.

Guo Zhihong's complexion turned alternating shades of pale and green.

No wonder Ning Yuxuan had appeared unfathomably calm earlier, not only refusing to beg him, but even taking the opportunity to mock him.

It turned out she had already secured her victory.

Guo Zhihong had many people to greet at the banquet and would not linger too long over a junior like Ning Yuxuan.

After chatting casually for a bit, Guo Zhihong exchanged contact information with Ning Yuxuan, then walked away with his wine glass to exchange pleasantries with others.

Guo Yunhao looked at Ning Yuxuan, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

He wanted to throw a few more sarcastic remarks at her, but the thought that Ning Yuxuan had already resolved her supplier issues while he had stood right in front of her smugly waiting for her to beg him left Gu Yunhao utterly speechless.

What must she have been thinking back then? Was she deliberately making a fool out of him?

Yet at this moment, Ning Yuxuan showed no rush to leave.

She swirled the wine glass in her hand and took a slow, leisurely sip, as if waiting for him to continue speaking.

Gu Yunhao felt a mixture of fury and frustration.

He glared resentfully at Ning Yuxuan, finally squeezing out the words, "These people are only showing face for Xie Zhiyan's sake. The day he completely abandons you, let's see if any of them still pay you the time of day."

Ning Yuxuan let out a chuckle, "Is that all? Anything else you'd like to say? You might as well get it all out in one go while you have the chance."

Having suffered the blow from earlier, Gu Yunhao completely lacked his initial aggressive arrogance.

Yet facing Ning Yuxuan's provocation, Gu Yunhao still found it hard to suppress the anger in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, "Ning Yuxuan, you might be able to feel smug for a little while, but I'll put my words right here: in less than half a year, you and that little trashy hotel of yours will reach a dead end. By then, even if you want to come begging me, you won't even have the chance."

Ning Yuxuan gave an "oh," and replied, "Seeing as you care so much about my family's hotel, let me leave you with a word as well."

Gu Yunhao: "...What?"

Ning Yuxuan: "Remember to watch the news more often lately."

With that, she turned and walked away on her high heels.

Finding a slightly secluded spot in the banquet hall, Ning Yuxuan glanced at her phone.

Her mother had sent her a message.

Ning Fei: [Xuanxuan, Mom supports you in getting some exercise and exposure. But don't push yourself too hard, don't drink too much alcohol, and try to get home early.]

Ning Yuxuan had not gone into detail with Ning Fei about coming here tonight, only mentioning that she was attending a banquet and might be home a bit later.