Chapter 128: The Condition

The appearance of Wei Xueying and Liang Hui took Hua Tianyu somewhat by surprise, but after thinking it over, he found it perfectly understandable. Something like this had happened inside Swan Tower—how could Wei Xueying possibly not care?

If she did not care, she would not be Wei Xueying.

Hua Tianyu was just about to speak when Green Hair cut in first.

“You’re the president of Swan Group?”

Only then did Wei Xueying turn her attention toward him. She saw a young man in his twenties with dyed green hair, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and a lecherous, sidelong gaze fixed on her.

“I am Wei Xueying, president of Swan Group. Who are you, and what are you here for?” Wei Xueying was deeply disgusted by the smoke curling from Green Hair’s mouth and by the look in his eyes, so her voice was icy.

“Heh heh, beautiful—”

Green Hair had barely begun when Wei Xueying cut him off.

“Address me as President Wei,” she said coldly.

“Who the hell cares what kind of president you are? I came here today to tell you that my wife miscarried because of the pollution caused by your Swan Group, and now she’s ended up like this! Pay us!”

Green Hair pointed at the middle-aged woman on the stretcher and shouted.

The twenty or so men with him began making a commotion as well, cursing and yelling. One of them even slammed the steel pipe in his hand against the conference table.

The middle-aged woman kept tossing and turning on the stretcher, letting out low moans of agony. Her miserable cries sent chills through everyone who heard them.

The sobbing beside the stretcher rose again amid Green Hair’s shouting, giving the entire room the eerie sensation of being in a funeral parlor during a final farewell to the dead.

The scene descended into chaos once more.

Wei Xueying frowned. Judging from the situation, they were facing no small problem today.

Although she was the group’s president, she was still only a young woman in her early twenties. She had rarely encountered anything like this, and for a moment she was at a loss, unsure how to handle it.

Liang Hui had far more experience with society than Wei Xueying. Seeing the way these people behaved, she guessed that Swan Group had run into a professional extortion gang.

The woman on the stretcher really did appear to be suffering from some unknown skin disease. Just looking at her was enough to make one feel both nauseated and uneasy.

Liang Hui suspected that the woman had probably been taken directly from the dermatology ward of some hospital.

If this group was not dealt with properly and managed to latch onto Swan Group, the company would be forced to waste a tremendous amount of time and energy on them.

Liang Hui was just about to speak when Hua Tianyu suddenly roared, “All of you, shut up!”

Every eye in the conference room immediately turned toward him.

“Who the hell do you think you are? I’m talking to your president. What gives you the right to interrupt?” Green Hair blew out a smoke ring, flicked his ashes onto the red conference table, and spoke arrogantly.

“I’m just the president’s assistant, helping her take care of a few matters,” Hua Tianyu replied with a faint smile.

“Assistant to the president?” Green Hair looked at Wei Xueying, then at Hua Tianyu, and said sarcastically, “A female president and a male assistant? So you two have been carrying on together, huh?”

“Ooh, pretty boy!”

“This pretty boy must be a real expert in bed!”

“Pretty boy, how about we swap partners?”

Green Hair’s remarks prompted the men around him to taunt Hua Tianyu and Wei Xueying one after another. Even the eyes of several Swan Group security guards held a trace of suggestive amusement.

“Bastards!” A flash of anger crossed Wei Xueying’s face.

“You’re asking for death!” Cui Quan picked up a rubber baton and was about to strike the man shouting the loudest, but Hua Tianyu waved a hand and stopped him.

“Tell me your terms,” Hua Tianyu said calmly.

“Our terms?” Green Hair had originally planned to make a bigger scene before naming his price. Now that he saw this so-called assistant surrendering so quickly, he was delighted.

“You have the authority to decide?” Since Wei Xueying remained silent while Hua Tianyu did the talking, and since he even had a smile on his face, Green Hair’s confidence immediately swelled.

“More or less. As long as your demands aren’t too excessive,” Hua Tianyu said with a nod.

Green Hair was even more overjoyed. Before they had come, the boss behind them had given each of them several hundred yuan to cause trouble and demand compensation, but had not specified how much they were supposed to ask for.

Seeing Swan Group apparently backing down, Green Hair felt that if he did not make an outrageous demand today, he would be letting them down.

“Five hundred thousand! Give us five hundred thousand, and we’ll call things even with Swan Group!” Green Hair declared arrogantly.

“Five hundred thousand? Let me think. Your wife miscarried, which means one life was lost. And judging by her condition, she probably won’t live much longer herself. That makes two lives. Five hundred thousand isn’t much—not much at all!” Hua Tianyu said solemnly, counting on his fingers as though calculating an account.

“If it isn’t much, then hand it over!”

Green Hair had not expected the president’s assistant to be so stupid as to agree to his demand immediately. He had originally planned to haggle his way down to three hundred thousand.

Now he was ecstatic. Five hundred thousand! Once it was divided among them, he would take the largest share. Getting thirty or fifty thousand for himself would be no problem.

Suppressing his excitement, Green Hair put on a stern face and added another threat. “Cut the crap! Otherwise, I’ll bring people to your Swan Group every single day and make trouble!”

Green Hair knew that large corporate groups feared shameless nuisances like them. If they blocked the entrance to the tower every day, it would ruin the company’s public image.

They did not beat anyone or kill anyone. They simply blocked the doors and prevented normal business operations. That was what gave every major corporation the greatest headache.

“All right, all right!” Hua Tianyu turned to Wei Xueying and winked. “President Wei, fifty thousand can settle this matter. That really isn’t expensive. Have Finance prepare five hundred thousand in cash and bring it over immediately.”

Wei Xueying and Liang Hui were both startled. Was Hua Tianyu really planning to give them the money?

Five hundred thousand was not a huge sum for Swan Group, but was it not too rash to simply hand it over like this?

However, both of them noticed Hua Tianyu repeatedly winking at them. Wei Xueying’s heart stirred, and she said nothing.

Liang Hui quietly threatened Hua Tianyu, “If you really dare give them five hundred thousand, I’ll deduct it from your salary.”

It was obvious that the other side had come merely to cause trouble. Liang Hui had never intended to give them any money. Seeing Hua Tianyu winking at her was the only reason she had not interrupted him. Otherwise, she would have stopped him long ago.

Wei Xueying took out her phone and instructed the finance manager to prepare five hundred thousand in cash as quickly as possible and bring it to the group’s conference room.

After Wei Xueying finished the call, Hua Tianyu said to Green Hair, “President Wei has already sent someone to get the money. Please be patient.”

Before long, the finance manager entered the conference room carrying a heavy combination-lock case.