CHAPTER 1517: CHAPTER 1569: NON-MARRIAGE ADVOCATE

Wu Shuwei kept watching Li Yifei get in the car, start it, drive on the road, and disappear around the corner.

She sighed a little wistfully, pinched her own cheek, and whispered to herself, "Wu Shuwei, oh Wu Shuwei, you can’t just let your mind wander."

Turning around and walking back into the building, just as Wu Shuwei stepped into the hotel, several people waiting in the lobby rushed over with varied expressions, some surprised, some worried, and among them, a man in his forties shouted towards Wu Shuwei, "Manager Wu, where have you been? We were waiting since yesterday; you didn’t answer your phone, and just disappeared."

Wu Shuwei turned around, saw it was several of the company’s vice-presidents and staff, smiled, and said, "Sorry, I got held up by something yesterday; I tried to tell you, but I lost my phone."

"Ah? That’s good, that’s good, I was worried something might have happened on your end, Manager Wu, as long as you’re safe." Tang Ma nodded continuously as he spoke.

Wu Shuwei retrieved her room key, turned to the group, and said, "I missed the morning meeting, what did the other party say?"

"The other party... is very angry, but if we explain it to them later, it should be fine. What’s important is that the other companies are offering bigger stakes than us, plus, last night headquarters already issued instructions: if necessary, just give up on this bid to avoid unexpected problems."

"So, you also plan to give up?" Wu Shuwei raised her eyebrows. At this moment, her demeanor was completely different from when she was with Li Yifei. Even though she was still wearing the same clothes and hadn’t even washed her face, the feeling was different.

On Wu Shuwei’s inquiry, several senior executives hesitated for a moment, and then it was Tang Ma who, looking troubled, said, "It’s not that we want to give up. We’ve been following this project for almost a year; it was about to succeed, then suddenly someone else came in to intercept. Of course, we’re not happy, but now overall evaluation puts us at the bottom, we have no competitive strength, and forcibly competing will yield the same result."

"So, you all just decided to give up?" Wu Shuwei interrupted, her voice somewhat cold, "Dismissing your own efforts without a fight? Just watching the project fall into the hands of those companies?"

The group hastily shook their heads and said, "No, of course not, but our overall assessment does put us at the back, compared to the few other companies, we have no competitive edge..."

"The project hasn’t been finalized, which means there’s still competitiveness," Wu Shuwei reiterated.

The group looked troubled, speaking as they headed upstairs and into the elevator, Wu Shuwei stood in the center, surrounded by the senior executives, and Tang Ma said, "Well... Manager Wu, we’ve already informed some employees to prepare to return home..."

Wu Shuwei just gave him a slight glance and said, "I wasn’t here, and you dare issue such orders?"

"No, no, it wasn’t me who issued the orders, I only passed them on; it was issued by... by Boss Bai back home. He said that the daily expenses of each employee here add up to a significant amount, so unrelated personnel should return home first."

Wu Shuwei’s lips curled into a cold smile and said, "Heh, then Boss Tang, you should be the first to head home, let unrelated personnel return first."

Tang Ma was suddenly at a loss for words, his face turning a bit unnatural as he said, "Well... I should be the last to go home, and I will stay on my post."

"By rank, the last to go home should be me, not you, Boss Tang." Wu Shuwei said unceremoniously, "Alright, contact them, I will meet them tomorrow, now I need to go take a shower, do you all plan to come in with me?"

Wu Shuwei had already reached her room door, turned around with a cold glance at the others, and everyone quickly shook their heads. Wu Shuwei said, "Alright, everyone go back, also, the company’s project hasn’t failed, no one is allowed to spread rumors and cause trouble, or don’t blame me for not being polite."

After saying this, she specifically gave Tang Ma a glance before turning to open the door and going inside, leaving Tang Ma’s face extremely grim. He is the Vice-president of the Dubai branch, with quite a bit of authority and responsibility, but Wu Shuwei is the General Manager, one rank above him, so he has to listen to this not-so-old woman.

Usually, Tang Ma doesn’t get along well with Wu Shuwei, as he is Boss Bai back home’s man, naturally, he won’t listen to Wu Shuwei.

In fact, he would be happy to see Wu Shuwei fail, which would make both him and Boss Bai pleased.

The others were merely fence-sitters; whoever was stronger, they followed, bullying them didn’t concern them.

Wu Shuwei snubbed Tang Ma’s face and pushed the door to enter.

After closing the door, Wu Shuwei suddenly felt her body weaken, as if she had no strength at all, she plopped onto the sofa, her body sinking into its softness.

Having gone through such an ordeal, even though she was experienced, encountered many situations, appeared calm in front of Li Yifei, even beyond her own imagination, she was still fragile and weak when alone.

Because of Li Yifei, from yesterday to today, she didn’t collapse, didn’t show vulnerability.

But she is ultimately just a woman, not with an extra leg or arm than other women; in this solitary space, she shed all her façades.

Sitting with her feet up, Wu Shuwei curled on the sofa with a pillow in her arms, tear stains still on her face.

She was also filled with lingering fear, unsure who bribed terrorists to kidnap her, being thousands of miles from home without anyone to protect her, and even the people below were of mixed minds, perhaps not genuinely concerned for her safety, rather waiting for her to say she’d give up on this investment plan.

Giving up means the investment of tens or hundreds of people for nearly a year would turn to void, means the initial input would become a bubble, means her recent years of effort would all be wasted.

Moreover, upon returning home, her job would definitely be adjusted, unable to maintain the position of a branch’s general manager.

If it were just these, it would be alright, but Wu Shuwei’s reason for not giving up lies more within herself.

As an older single woman, she’s a non-marriage advocate, believing women can live more wonderfully on their own. Therefore, she has been working hard over the years, striving to prove herself, encourage more belief in her capabilities.

She believes she can live well without depending on her family or a man.

Yet, she failed, missing today’s meeting meant the company she represented had given up on this contention. No other reason, as the chief negotiator, her absence gave the other companies a favorable bias, skewing against Wu Shuwei’s company.

Not knowing how long she was in a daze, Wu Shuwei slowly got up, removed the pillow, and used the hotel phone to dial her home number.

"Where were you yesterday? Couldn’t reach you on the phone, and you even missed the meeting." Her mother asked as soon as she picked up, and Wu Shuwei took a deep breath, calmly replied, "Something happened after leaving the airport, I lost my phone, Mom, I’m okay now."

"You, child... Sigh, your father is worried too, it’s not easy for a girl being out there. If this investment fails, your father will take care of it, just come back in a few days, don’t overthink it, just come home and it’ll be alright."

Wu Shuwei firmly shook her head, stubbornly said, "But I don’t want to go back, the investment isn’t finalized yet."

Her mother said, "Your dad and I have been paying attention to you, it’s already failed, the latest news suggests a higher winning chance for companies from Europe, the United States, and Japan. Come home and have some peace for a while, I’ll introduce you to some young talents, you’re not young anymore, we indulged you when you were in your rebellious phase, but your dad and I will grow old, and can’t always be there for you. Find a good man, get married, and you’ll have security for your second half of life."

This wasn’t the first time hearing her mother say this; every time she heard it, Wu Shuwei felt powerless. This time she didn’t retort but merely acknowledged with a hum, saying, "I still want to try, if I fail, I’ll return home."

"Okay, your mom will be waiting for you back home," Wu Shuwei’s mother said, "Don’t carry too much pressure; if you fail, it’s alright; we’ll support you."

Failing means wasting billions of initial investments in USD, equating to nearly 10 billion in Huaxia currency, a huge loss that her father could mitigate but at great risk; Wu Shuwei knew this well, she brought a giant problem to her father, likely affecting his career path.

She bit her lip, ended the call, didn’t want to cry, so she forcefully shook her head, loathing her own incompetence.

She wasn’t a weak person; on the contrary, these years she often forgot she was a woman, tirelessly working. This investment plan, she had fought for it single-handedly, so the head office sent her here, and nearly a year of negotiation, planning, and investments at the initial stage had already been committed, and who would have thought, at the crucial moment, other companies would interfere. Additionally, she didn’t know how internal plans got leaked, resulting in a disadvantage for her company.

Knock, knock, it seemed someone was at the door, but in her daze, Wu Shuwei didn’t hear it. She felt tired, though her stomach was growling, she had no appetite, not understanding why, even now nothing seemed tastier than the piece of bread she ate in comparison to yesterday.

Bam, bam, bam, the knocking grew louder, almost turning to pounding, and Wu Shuwei barely lifted her head, looking towards the door, hesitated a few seconds, then walked over, she was worried that outside it might be the same terrorists as yesterday.