Chapter 911

Pei Chuan froze for a moment before hastily explaining, "That's not—" It wasn't out of pity. He just... realized things a little too late. "President Pei, in my current state, I have no intention of returning to Pinebrook, no energy to collaborate with anyone, and certainly pose no threat to you or Beckett. So... please leave." Gu Yun's breathing was uneven as he suppressed the turmoil in his chest, forcing himself to maintain composure while asking Pei Chuan to go. This was the most dignified way he could handle the situation. "Gu Yun..." Pei Chuan stepped forward, wanting to take his hand, but hesitated when he noticed the injuries. The last thing he wanted was to cause him more pain. "Let's talk properly after you're discharged," Pei Chuan said, standing stubbornly by the bedside, refusing to leave. Gu Yun frowned, his patience wearing thin. The urge to snap simmered just beneath the surface. "President Pei, isn’t the company busy? If you’re so worried about Tang Jinzhou harming Beckett, shouldn’t you be at the office right now?" Gu Yun met Pei Chuan’s gaze, his voice edged with bitterness. He cared so much about work, so much about Beckett—why was he even here? To mock him? "I took leave. Annual leave..." Pei Chuan wasn’t one for sweet talk. Whatever Gu Yun asked, he answered plainly, without sugarcoating. Not that Gu Yun would listen to anything he said right now. Gu Yun let out a hollow laugh. "I’m not badly hurt. I’ll be discharged tomorrow. So please, just go. I need to be alone." His tone left no room for argument. Pei Chuan fell silent for a long moment before finally speaking again. "I’ll be right outside. Call if you need anything. I’m not leaving." Gu Yun instinctively tried to clench his fists, but the fractures sent sharp pain shooting through his hands, forcing him to stop. He remained silent, gazing out the window. What exactly did Pei Chuan mean by this? Was he calling off the engagement? The wedding? He knew Pei Chuan wouldn’t hold out much longer. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to keep pushing him away. Fine. Let him stay. … Pinebrook, Zhongcheng Group. "Tang Jinzhou suddenly turned against us, snatched the West Ring project, and partnered with the Park family. What’s that about? A declaration of loyalty?" Madeleine walked into the office and asked Beckett. "It’s just a small project. He knows what he’s doing." Beckett chose to trust Tang Jinzhou. Madeleine sighed. "Good thing Tang Jinzhou’s a man, or I’d be jealous." Beckett chuckled. "I’m the one who should be jealous. He’s always watching me, waiting for the tiniest slip-up so he can swoop in and take you and the kids away." "…" Madeleine shrugged. "Too late. He already has." "Huh?" Beckett shot her a wary look. "Both your sons adore him for some reason. They’ve got a three-day break starting tomorrow, so I told the driver to take them to Tang Jinzhou’s place." Madeleine propped her chin on her hand, baffled as to why both Beckett and their boys trusted Tang Jinzhou so much. "With Pei Chuan gone, I’ve been swamped lately. Might as well let Tang Jinzhou experience the joys of fatherhood." Beckett ruffled Madeleine’s hair. Madeleine checked the time. "Pei Chuan’s a total workaholic—I can count his vacation days on one hand each year. What’s going on with him?" "No idea. He took his annual leave and won’t say why." Beckett was curious too, but if Pei Chuan wasn’t talking, he had no reason to pry. "But... I heard some juicy gossip," Madeleine whispered, leaning in closer. "I heard that Pei Chuan's fiancée, that Linda girl, went back to the States. Rumor has it she's not coming back." Beckett raised an eyebrow in surprise. So Pei Chuan's relationship ended before it even began? He had been taken aback when Pei Chuan first mentioned he might be getting married. Madeleine nestled into Beckett's arms, savoring this rare moment of intimacy. She was just about to tease him when— "Mr. Beach, has Tang Jinzhou lost his damn mind?" Carl burst into the room like a storm. Madeleine coughed awkwardly and straightened up, putting some distance between them. Beckett smirked. "I think the desert project is still yours to handle." Carl's eyes darted around the room before he spun in a circle. "I saw nothing. Carry on—pretend I don’t exist." "We weren’t doing anything..." Madeleine muttered under her breath. "Just kidding," Carl said with a cheeky grin before snapping back to seriousness. "Boss, seriously, what’s wrong with Tang Jinzhou? He’s targeting Zhongcheng at every turn! I was just working on the Star Ocean project, and guess who I ran into? Shen Rou! That bastard actually used his family connections to help her snatch the deal right from under me. Two weeks of work—gone!" Carl was fuming. Of all people, why did Tang Jinzhou have to pick on him? After finally leading his team to clinch last month’s sales crown, he was now on track to hit rock bottom this month—all thanks to Tang Jinzhou’s meddling. "The Star Ocean project?" Beckett shot Carl a sympathetic look. "What did you do to piss him off?" It was like Tang Jinzhou had a personal vendetta against Carl, plucking him clean like a chicken. Carl threw his hands up in frustration. "How the hell should I know when I offended that lunatic?" Carl slapped his forehead as a thought struck him. "Last month at that high-society banquet in the southern district, I ran into Shen Rou and made a couple of sarcastic remarks. Next thing I know, he's targeting me. Seriously? He's actually playing for keeps? I get that the guy's crazy, but is he really into Shen Rou? Is he blind too?" Carl gritted his teeth in frustration. "This situation..." Beckett hesitated, struggling to explain. "Tang Jinzhou's way of doing things—I can't figure him out." "Fine. Enough is enough. If he wants to play dirty, don't blame me for pulling some tricks of my own." Carl clenched his fist dramatically. Madeleine and Beckett exchanged sympathetic glances. Truth be told, ten Zheng Kais wouldn’t stand a chance against Tang Jinzhou. Beckett calmly stood up, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Madeleine. Not wanting to crush Carl’s spirit, he asked in a measured tone, "So, what kind of scheme are you planning against Tang Jinzhou?" Carl narrowed his eyes. "The honey trap." "Pfft—" Madeleine nearly choked on her water. "Cough, cough, cough..." After catching her breath, she shot Beckett a questioning look and whispered, "Does Tang Jinzhou like men?" Beckett sighed. "Are you planning to take the field yourself?" "..." Carl looked utterly bewildered. "What the hell? Don’t even think about it. My family’s counting on me to carry on the bloodline." Madeleine took an awkward sip of water. "Then this honey trap of yours..." "I just hired a few girls today—all different types. I’m going to send them out one by one, test the waters. There’s gotta be at least one that Tang Jinzhou likes, right? That guy’s like a wild boar who’s never tasted fine grain, falling for a woman like Shen Rou?" Carl scoffed indignantly. "I’ll show him what real quality looks like!" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "So that’s why HR’s been flooding my inbox with complaints about you abusing your authority, pulling strings to hire unqualified candidates?" He glanced at the stack of grievance letters from the HR department. "What do they know? Every single person I've recruited is a gem." Carl pulled out the employee files. "Take this girl for example—only twenty, never went to college. She was tricked into working at a sketchy nightclub, but I rescued her when she escaped." "And this one—twenty-three, stunning, right? I found her working at a convenience store selling oden. What a waste of talent for someone so beautiful." "..." Madeleine swallowed hard, shooting a stunned glance at Beckett. Was Carl really okay talking like this? "Officially, our department falls under Project Management, but let's be real—it's sales. Just high-stakes negotiation sales. These girls have what it takes." Carl thumped his chest with conviction. "..." Beckett leaned against the desk, arms crossed. "If you're going to treat company policies like decorations, why don’t you take over as CEO? My seat would suit you better." Carl stood his ground. "Mr. Beach, you’ve seen my track record over the years." "What track record?" Beckett cut him off. Tension crackled between them until Madeleine cleared her throat. "Look... Carl does have an eye for talent. Why not give it a shot? Rules are rigid, but people aren’t. A three-month trial—if they don’t measure up, then get mad. Fair?" She blinked in surprise. In all the years she’d known Carl, this was the first time he’d openly defied Beckett. And the first time she’d seen Beckett genuinely furious with him. Yet here Carl was, digging in his heels to defend two uncredentialed girls...