CHAPTER 150: CHAPTER 150: UNFORESEEN CALAMITY

After the lawsuit.

The Hale Group was unsealed, and the company returned to Poppy Hale’s hands.

After discussing with Truth Hale, Poppy Hale decided to continue using the previous office building.

Firstly, to save funds, and secondly, so that many things wouldn’t need to be replaced.

But by doing so, where they are currently living is somewhat far from Hale Tower.

Poppy Hale has to commute a long distance, which is somewhat troublesome.

After signing up for a driving school, Jackie Barrett somehow found out about it.

That night, she sent a car over.

Saying it was to celebrate Poppy Hale and Florence Lynch overcoming a crisis.

The car was also chosen to be a low-key model and brand, so as not to overwhelm Poppy Hale.

Poppy Hale lay on the bed, holding her phone.

She sent a message to Declan Hawthorne.

Saying Jackie Barrett had given her a car.

Declan Hawthorne replied: "It’s my mother’s gesture, just accept it."

Poppy Hale replied with an okay.

In the chat above, most messages were sent by Declan Hawthorne, and Poppy Hale selectively replied with one or two sentences.

Sometimes, when she was busy, she simply pretended not to see them.

Although they decided to register their marriage, Poppy Hale’s attitude towards Declan Hawthorne remained unchanged.

She was even quieter.

Declan Hawthorne thought more than once if Poppy Hale regretted the decision made that day.

Jackie Barrett and Hugo Hawthorne still didn’t know about their plans to get married.

If they knew, Jackie Barrett would definitely give a more luxurious car.

On the day of discharge.

Declan Hawthorne didn’t tell anyone and handled the discharge procedures himself, leaving the hospital.

When he returned to the Hawthorne Group, Hugo Hawthorne was shocked to see him.

"Why did you leave the hospital?"

"The doctor said I’ve recovered well, I’ll go to remove the stitches in a few days."

Hugo Hawthorne nodded, "Lying there too long, whether you’re tired or not is uncertain, but I’m exhausted."

Handling the company’s affairs isn’t work for humans.

Old Master Hawthorne was initially going to be sent away, but he stubbornly refused, eventually agreeing not to interfere in Declan Hawthorne’s marriage plans and returned to the Hawthorne ancestral home after a standoff.

Hugo Hawthorne said confidently, "Your grandfather has recently contacted several old shareholders, this battle won’t be easy for you."

Declan Hawthorne responded with a hum.

"I could resign, Poppy’s place needs people, I could work for her."

"That’s not possible either, you can’t leave the Hawthorne Group just to become a live-in son-in-law, can you?"

"Not impossible, my daughter won’t even take my surname. Besides, Poppy wouldn’t mind me not having money."

Hugo Hawthorne: "..."

This brat.

Now he’s come to his senses.

What was he doing earlier!

What a mess this all is.

It’s not just Old Master Hawthorne who couldn’t bear to let Declan Hawthorne leave the Hawthorne Group, even the shareholders understood his importance to the company.

"I can’t control you."

Hugo Hawthorne feigned an angry demeanor and stood up abruptly.

He hurriedly left, got into the elevator, and departed.

Morgan Sloan nervously asked, "What’s with President Hawthorne...? Did you upset him?"

Declan Hawthorne glanced at his phone and laughed.

"He found an excuse to go fishing."

Morgan Sloan: "..."

No wonder Old Man Hawthorne kept looking at his phone since President Hawthorne entered.

He figured that if he didn’t leave soon, he’d miss his fishing time.

"President Hawthorne, on the day of our game’s release, we’d like to invite Mr. Finn Young to the event."

On the release day, some industry guests would be invited.

Finn Young already dominated the game illustration field.

Inviting her wasn’t surprising.

Declan Hawthorne nodded in agreement, "Invite the illustrators from the art department to the event as well."

"Okay, President Hawthorne."

This game had been in the Hawthorne Group’s pipeline for a long time.

It was the first game released after Declan Hawthorne fully took over all Hawthorne Group operations.

Countless eyes were watching him, watching Hawthorne Group.

They had to ensure everything was perfect at the launch.

-

Online, a game video went viral.

Poppy Hale was in the office handling previous business, her phone continuously buzzing with notifications.

The phone screen kept lighting up.

The assistant reminded, "President Hale, your phone seems to keep ringing."

Poppy Hale nodded, taking her phone.

Amber Yates had sent a ton of messages.

"Poppy, look, isn’t this video from our company’s game? Has it been leaked?"

Poppy Hale opened the video.

Indeed, it was a scene where one of the male protagonists appeared in the game.

The illustration used was previously accused of plagiarizing Finn Young’s work.

That image had since been replaced.

But in the video’s comment section, many of Finn Young’s fans were still accusing that illustration of being a copy.

[Already plagiarizing Finn Young’s illustration before the launch? The art community lies flat but isn’t dead!]

[What a trash game, even the artwork is subpar!]

[What if Finn Young accepted the commission herself?]

[Absolutely impossible! The style and coloring technique are obviously not Finn Young’s work!]

Another post accusing the game of plagiarizing Finn Young’s work was getting upvoted too.

Poppy Hale replied to Amber Yates.

"Seems leaked, let the legal department handle it."

Amber Yates sent over a dozen crying emojis.

No surprises, they’d be working overtime again.

Poppy Hale had resigned, so she couldn’t comment further.

But unexpectedly, in a post claiming to be a Hawthorne employee’s leak, someone accused the marketing department’s Hale of leaking.

The accusations were well-reasoned and almost directly pointed to Poppy Hale.

The Hawthorne Group had other games, and players detested leaks, turning the comment section into a hotspot for cursing Hale.

A look at social media.

People were even directly messaging Finn Young, asking if she accepted such a commission.

Poppy Hale didn’t reply, setting her phone aside.

She continued managing her tasks.

She believed the Hawthorne Group would handle it, saving her the worry.

But all those so-called leak allegations targeting her were screenshotted by Poppy Hale.

Initially thought to be minor disruptions.

By evening, the situation escalated.

Poppy Hale’s private account was uncovered, flooded with netizens.

Her account only had one post, showing a beautiful Lucas Lowe at the office building’s entrance after work.

Coincidentally, the game’s male protagonist video used Lucas Lowe’s material.

The private messages were full of remarks about Poppy Hale’s parents.

Just reading those messages gave Poppy Hale a headache.

She ended up deactivating the account.

At the end of the day, Poppy Hale hadn’t left.

The assistant, blushing, ran in, "President Hale, a very handsome guy is looking for you."

Poppy Hale was startled, then stood up to follow the assistant downstairs.

She saw Declan Hawthorne standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers beneath the building.

The bouquet was vibrant, featuring many rare and expensive flowers, aesthetically arranged.

Yet it couldn’t compare to the man standing there.

The wind of late autumn was strong.

Blowing the corner of Declan Hawthorne’s coat.

Poppy Hale realized she hadn’t seen Declan Hawthorne in a while.

Seeing him again, she missed him quite a bit.

Poppy Hale nodded to the assistant.

The assistant, understanding that President Hale couldn’t speak recently, grasped her intention, "Goodbye, President Hale."

After saying that, she watched their graceful and elegant President Hale walk towards the super handsome guy by the Cayenne.

The super handsome guy even hugged President Hale!

The assistant expressed that it was delightful to her eyes!

-

Once in the car.

Declan Hawthorne brought up the earlier incident.

"I’ve already had the legal department handle it, you don’t need to worry."

Among the comments, it was Finn Young’s fans who were the harshest.

Poppy Hale nodded slightly.

She wasn’t worried.

Even less concerned about those accusing Hale of insulting Finn Young.

After all, she herself was Finn Young.