The news about the real identity of Iris' fiancé as Sir Lu Jianhong's grandson continued to be reported in the next few days. Surprisingly, however, it didn't generate as much interest nor trust in its credibility among the general public.
It failed to become a hot topic and many even questioned the major news outlet for reporting such a story. Most of the public treated it as a regular rumour. Besides, it didn't excite them because they didn't know who Lu Zihao was. They knew Lu Jianhong but not his grandson.
In addition to this, the LinRis shippers absolutely rejected the possibility that their Boss Iris was engaged to another man other than their Prince Lin Lin. They still staunchly held the belief that Iris Long was engaged to Jin Chonglin.
The guests who attended Long Tengfei's birthday party didn't elaborate any further about what they witnessed. Oh, they were happy to describe the entire thing to their family and friends but certainly not to the media. They didn't want to offend such an important figure as Sir Lu Jianhong. Even though they also belonged to high society, the Lus were on a completely another level compared to them in terms of wealth and power alone.
While this story gradually died down from the entertainment news, the business news featured the break-up between the Longs and the Wus. All the business partnerships between the two of them were dissolved in a matter of days.
It was by far the most expensive termination of partnerships in the country's business world since the year started. The loss of hundreds of millions suffered by both parties was widely reported in the news. Stock prices dipped to dangerous levels. The investors and employees of both companies were troubled about their futures.
The Wus released an official statement first. They said:
"…We regret that our long-time friendship to the Long family and all of our business partnerships with Long Industries had to end in such a tragic manner. The conflict arose from a petty quarrel which would have been resolved if the Long family only accepted our offer of reconciliation. Unfortunately, our gesture of goodwill was rejected. We are tremendously heartbroken by this outcome…
Based on this "heart-rending" statement, the Wus indirectly placed the blame of the business break-up to the Longs.
A couple of hours later, the Longs released their own official statement as well. They said:
Based on the delivery of the statements, the people sympathized with the Wus more than the Longs. It felt more emotional compared to the cold and indifferent stance the Longs decided to take.
The various competitors of Long Industries started reaching out to the Wus to make offers of similar business partnerships. Of course, this delighted the Wu family to no end.
"Hahaha! Take that, Long Tengfei! While Long Industries is struggling to recover from their massive loss, we, the Wus, will be rising again with a new partner. And we get to choose the best deal out of all of these offers!" Sir Wu celebrated.
"Oh, this is wonderful! Make sure to choose the Longs' worst business rival and ask for the best deal from them," Madam Wu suggested.
"Wife, we are of the same mind. That's what I'm actually planning on doing!"
While the Wu couple celebrated their "victory", Sir Wu's phone started ringing. His eyes lit up. It was one of the companies that made an offer to him. He was already thinking of negotiating a better deal than what was offered. He answered the call with an excited look but after just a few seconds, his expression turned ugly. He hung up with a curse.
"What happened?" Madam Wu asked.
"The motherfucker withdrew his offer!"
"Don't worry about that indecisive fool. You still have a lot of other offers."
His phone rang again. He answered it. And just like before, he hung up in fury. Then his phone rang again. This happened a few more times, until Sir Wu was drained of all his energy to even stay angry.
"What's happening? Why are they all withdrawing their offers?" Madam Wu asked worriedly.
Sir Wu already had an idea, but he didn't want to think about it. If his speculation was correct, then his Wu family wouldn't have any place left in the country's business world.
The phone rang again, but Sir Wu didn't want to answer it anymore. It stopped. Then Madam Wu's phone rang next.
"Hello? Yes, he's here with me. Hold on." She gave the phone to her husband. "It's your assistant."
He listened to what his assistant had to say. "What?!" he exclaimed.
After a few minutes, the call ended. Sir Wu plopped down on the couch like a broken doll.
"What happened? Tell me!" Madam Wu didn't like his defeated look. A great sense of dread overwhelmed her.
"We're finished," he told her.
"Jin Corporation announced that they would be partnering up with Long Industries on the business projects that we just terminated with them. And of course, Long Industries accepted their offer." He sighed and hung his head low, holding it between his hands. "I knew it. We have angered Sir Lu Jianhong and now he sent his Jin Corporation to replace our business. I bet he's also the one who told those companies who made offers to us to withdraw. We can anger anyone in this country's business world, but never Sir Lu Jianhong or Jin Liwei. They are too powerful for the likes of us."
"Oh no! What are we going to do now?!"
They were interrupted by a frantic knock on the door.
"Who is it?! Go away!" Sir Wu roared.
"Father, it's me! Open up, please!" Wu Qianxi's upset voice called out from the other side of the door.
Madam Wu immediately hurried to open the door. As soon as it opened, Wu Qianxi leaped into her arms and sobbed hard.
"My dear Qianqian, what's wrong?! Tell Mother who made you cry like this?!"
She didn't answer but just cried harder.
It took a few minutes before the couple was able to calm their daughter down. Finally, she began to talk.
Her parents were dismayed when they heard about what happened to her.
"Truly merciless. Sir Lu didn't even let our daughter escape from his wrath," Sir Wu mumbled.
Wu Qianxi heard him. "Sir Lu? You mean he did this to me?! This is all your fault! Why did you have to cut ties with the Longs?! Now you angered even Sir Lu Jianhong! You've just ruined your daughter's career!"
"Don't yell at your father!" Madam Wu scolded.
"You're also to blame! You're the one who flew into rage the most and insulted the Longs during the party! I hate both of you!"
Madam Wu slapped her daughter's face.
All of them were shocked at the crisp sound it made.
Wu Qianxi glared at her parents before running off. Within a couple of hours, she was already onboard a plane back to the U.S.
As for Sir Wu and Madam Wu, they were also considering running off to another country. Perhaps they would follow their daughter to the U.S. after she cooled her head.
The Wus might be greedy and ambitious, but they weren't insane. Going against Sir Lu Jianhong and Jin Corporation? It would be a social and economic suicide for them. There was no way that they would ever emerge victorious and unscathed.
Sir Wu sighed. "I guess this is it."
Madam Wu burst into tears.
If only they could go back in time and redo everything again, they wouldn't say the things they said nor act the way they acted. Unfortunately, life had no rewind button. There was no medicine for regret.
