CHAPTER 1536: CHAPTER 1588: NOT FIGHTING ALONE

It seems that the entire company, except for Wu Shuwei, has given up. This is very unusual. As a company, at least as the highest person in charge on the Dubai side, doesn’t she have any loyal people under her?

Li Yifei’s gaze swept across everyone involved in the meeting, but he still couldn’t see anyone who seemed to be a supporter of Wu Shuwei.

Someone even spread their hands open and said directly, "Manager Wu, we don’t want to give up either. Everyone has worked hard for so long, but we’ve done all we can. The other party suddenly breached the contract, and there’s nothing we can do, right? Our country has other companies doing projects here, and if it becomes a mess, it won’t be good for them either. Moreover, even if we pursue legal channels, it might take years for a lawsuit to conclude, and by then, who knows how much oil would have been extracted..."

Hearing this, Wu Shuwei immediately glared, retorting, "So we’re going to slink back just like this? Are the funds we invested earlier just going to be wasted? Do you think this is how things should be done?"

The other party gave an embarrassed smile. He understood the principle of "it’s better that the other person suffers rather than oneself". When the sky collapses, the taller one will bear it. Although Wu Shuwei has a background, she would still suffer significant losses. As for them, they can easily say they weren’t the decision-makers, and the blame on them would be much less.

Therefore, the other party foolishly said again, "We’ve already tried our best. Over these days, do you know how much effort we’ve put in, cajoling and coercing? We’ve used every trick in the book, but the outcome remains the same..."

Unable to bear it, Li Yifei looked at the isolated and helpless Wu Shuwei, gently coughed, breaking the silence in the meeting room. Wu Shuwei and the senior executives immediately turned their gaze to him. Some frowned, seemingly ready to reprimand Li Yifei; why is an outsider interfering?

"It’s almost noon; we can go have lunch." Li Yifei walked to Wu Shuwei’s side, held the chair behind her with both hands, scanned the room, and faced those who seemed discontent. He remained calm, but his gaze occasionally turned razor-sharp, intimidating some who wanted to berate him into silence.

Wu Shuwei hadn’t expected Li Yifei to speak suddenly. Slightly hesitating, she heard Li Yifei continue, "In the world, everything ultimately comes down to reason. The majestic Huaxia, over a billion people, countless have strived for the past century so that we can stand tall, not kneel and speak here. Dubai, or the UAE, is merely a small barbaric nation. Some people don’t even dare speak ill of these minor countries behind closed doors; what use are you?"

Even more surprised by Li Yifei’s sudden outburst, Wu Shuwei instinctively turned to stop him, but Li Yifei merely patted her shoulder and continued to look at the people on either side of the table. One of the vice-presidents wanted to speak, but Li Yifei chuckled, pointed at him, and said, "You’d better keep quiet, or I might have to deal with you with force. Don’t believe me? Try it."

The other party’s face filled with anger, but he didn’t dare say anything, just heavily snorted once.

However, someone else wasn’t afraid of this kind of power, stood up, and accused Li Yifei, "Who are you? This is an internal company meeting. You’d better leave immediately, or I’ll have security escort you out."

Li Yifei removed his hand from Wu Shuwei’s shoulder, and Wu Shuwei instinctively thought Li Yifei was about to make a move. She hurriedly grabbed his hand and said, "Don’t!"

She then said to the senior executive, "This is my friend; he is an expert in legal matters and is very familiar with Dubai. He can help us."

Giving Li Yifei an improvised identity was merely an instinctual move, to give Li Yifei a legitimate standing.

Upon hearing Wu Shuwei speak up, the other party didn’t pursue the matter too much, merely saying, "Since you are Manager Wu’s friend, please come up with some constructive suggestions."

"Heh... I originally didn’t want to hit you, but with your attitude, I’d feel sorry for myself if I didn’t!" Li Yifei’s words immediately made Wu Shuwei tense. She knew how strong Li Yifei’s combat ability was; the dead terrorists were proof. Her tension made her grasp Li Yifei’s hand even tighter.

The other party’s face showed anger, and so did some other senior executives. Although Wu Shuwei was indeed the general manager, bringing an outsider to shame them like this was enough to make them furious.

Li Yifei said again, "But right now, I won’t hit you. Just remember this; once the project is settled, I’ll beat you up!"

"You... hmph!" The other party stood up and said to Wu Shuwei, "Manager Wu, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first."

With that, he turned and left. The other senior executives exchanged glances and also got up. Someone said, "Manager Wu, we’ll leave as well."

In the end, two people remained. One, slightly older, said, "Manager Wu, there’s still worth in pursuing. As an engineering designer, I don’t want my hard-designed work to become scrap, but now it seems the other party is determined to breach the contract, so I believe we should strive to minimize the losses."

"What Engineer Chen said is what I wanted to say. Now that it’s impossible to secure the project, what we should do most is reduce losses, not continue doing fruitless work, trying to change their minds..."

"You two, the door is over there." Li Yifei pointed at the door. Wu Shuwei’s face was already grim. In the end, there truly was no one supporting her. Perhaps those people all assumed Wu Shuwei would be out of luck, so their attitudes shifted accordingly.

Wu Shuwei didn’t speak, nor did she look at the two, who chuckled awkwardly, nodded, and turned to leave.

Once everyone had departed and only Wu Shuwei and Li Yifei remained in the meeting room, Wu Shuwei suddenly seemed deflated, her body slightly slumped, eyes closed, silent for a long time.

Li Yifei gently patted her shoulder, pulled a chair, and sat next to her. However, he also didn’t say anything.

After about ten minutes, Wu Shuwei let out a heavy sigh and rubbed her face with her hands.

"They haven’t signed the contract yet, right?" Wu Shuwei asked.

"I don’t know, but I assume not, otherwise, you wouldn’t be asking me."

"We also signed an initial contract, and the other party breached that."

"Yes, so..."

"So, what I want to say is, I won’t admit defeat. Those companies may not necessarily be stronger than ours. They can break contracts with us, just as they can with others."

Li Yifei grinned and said, "Naturally."

"But now, there’s hardly anyone left to help me. They can’t wait to find a rock to crush me with!"

Li Yifei pointed to himself, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You mean, you want me to help you?"

Wu Shuwei pouted her lips, showing a pitiful look, her big eyes watery as she looked at Li Yifei.

Li Yifei was amused. The Wu Shuwei he knew, or imagined, should be the kind of person with a strong sense of authority, serious at work, harsh on others, and very strict with herself. Even when alone, she should have that cold demeanor of a female CEO. But now, in front of him, she had turned into a cute little woman, clearly acting pitiful and playful to ask for his help...

After half a minute, Li Yifei asked, "Why trust me?"

Wu Shuwei replied almost without thinking, "You’ve saved me several times. If I don’t trust you, who else can I trust?"

"Makes sense," Li Yifei nodded.

Wu Shuwei blinked, waiting for Li Yifei to continue, but he stopped. Wu Shuwei became a bit anxious and waited for a few more seconds. When Li Yifei still didn’t speak, Wu Shuwei couldn’t help but ask, "And then?"

"And then what?" Li Yifei pretended to be confused.

Wu Shuwei raised her small fist as if to hit Li Yifei, and Li Yifei just laughed out loud.

Wu Shuwei felt her cheeks heat up. Her recent actions and expressions were so different from her usual self, to the extent of acting like that in front of a man.

But because of this little scene, her earlier despair faded considerably. Her expression returned to normal, and she told Li Yifei, "Thank you, I’m feeling much better now."

"That’s good. There are always ways to handle things. Just take your time figuring it out," Li Yifei said.

Wu Shuwei stretched her arms and made a relaxing gesture, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

Li Yifei’s gaze happened to fall on her chest, noticing it heave up, get higher, and higher, then relax only a little, proving there was something genuine inside... What am I thinking? Li Yifei shook his head and saw Wu Shuwei already standing up.

"Let’s go. I need to do something meaningful," Wu Shuwei said.

"You?"

"Yes, unless you want to help me?"

"Have I ever refused?" Li Yifei countered.

Wu Shuwei widened her eyes and asked, "You really want to help me?"

"I don’t think I’ve ever said no," Li Yifei said.

Wu Shuwei looked at Li Yifei in a daze, her eyes somewhat moist. She lifted her head, sniffed to control her tears. At a time when no one else had confidence in her, Li Yifei stood by her side, offering to help.

Women are always emotional, no matter how strong they are. Wu Shuwei felt truly moved at that moment.

Li Yifei also stood up, taking her bag and saying, "Let’s go!"

"Where to?" Wu Shuwei asked instinctively.

"Didn’t you just say you wanted to do something meaningful?" Li Yifei asked.

Wu Shuwei’s eyes darted around and she nodded, "Yeah, do you want to come with me?"

Li Yifei chuckled, hoisting the bag over his shoulder as he walked out, with Wu Shuwei smiling and swiftly following suit.

The two walked out of the meeting room one after the other. Some people in the company naturally saw them, and as soon as they left, they quickly began gossiping, speculating about Li Yifei’s identity, wondering if he was Manager Wu’s man, noting that he wasn’t particularly handsome but had a great physique, or whispering even more quietly that Manager Wu, known to be an ice queen, finally wised up and found a man.

Anyway, that kind of gossip fire was burning hot.