Chapter 927 — Parting Instructions

"You have two days to give me your answer!" Li Cihua and the Medicine King rose and walked out of Gu Pengzhan's office, looking as though they had Gu Pengzhan exactly where they wanted him.

In fact, Li Cihua indeed had Gu Pengzhan cornered—as Gu Pengzhan's attitude today made clear: he was furious yet dared not speak out. It had not always been so. The last time, when Wei Zhao was hurt, Li Cihua had likewise come to Gu Pengzhan to sound him out, but Gu Pengzhan, utterly composed, had dismissed him in a few words. At that time Wei Zhao, though injured, had lost none of his strength, and so Gu Pengzhan had had a strong backing to rely on.

But this time it was different. Without Wei Zhao's help, Gu Pengzhan had become a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Watching the two men leave, Gu Pengzhan let out a dejected sigh. He was so useless—faced with threats from such powers, he had not the slightest room to resist.

It was only when he confronted enemies who could not be dealt with by conventional means that Gu Pengzhan felt a deep sense of helplessness. Of course, he also knew he had been simply unlucky: among so many billionaires, none had drawn the attention of the great clans—it had to be him who caught their eye.

Now, at last, Gu Pengzhan understood: in the final analysis, he was nothing more than a merchant, and it was utterly impossible for a merchant to contend with these mighty clans. Without a powerful trump card in hand, he could not hope to stand against them. It seemed he was not yet a competent businessman after all.

A businessman must understand what to take and what to let go. A stubborn, unyielding stance would only lead one down a road of no return. When Gu Pengzhan took over the Gu Group from his father, everything had gone almost too smoothly, with no great setbacks. It was not until Jin Gubang tried to swallow up the company that Gu Pengzhan took the wrong turn.

Had Wei Zhao not stepped in, Gu Pengzhan's best solution would have been to compromise with Li Cihua, split off the real estate company, and sell it to Zhao Qibing at a low price in order to preserve his own company. In business, there are times when one must choose compromise. He who does not know when to yield, and offends people who must not be offended, may very easily end in utter ruin.

But Gu Pengzhan had chosen to let Wei Zhao step in with force, and that had marked the beginning of a head-on collision with Zhao Qibing. If Wei Zhao could always stand by Gu Pengzhan's side, he would naturally keep the Gu Group safe and sound. But once Wei Zhao encountered trouble, Zhao Qibing's counterattack was all but certain.

And now, Gu Pengzhan had finally grasped this truth: his earlier show of toughness had been an act of recklessness.

At Guan Xuemin's house, Wei Zhao hung up the phone after Gu Pengzhan's call and could not help shaking his head. The Xiao family's sudden visit had caught him completely off guard, yet there was nothing he could do about it, and that made him feel stifled.

In any case, until he left, he was still in Gu Pengzhan's employment. For now, the only thing he could do was place his hopes on the new expert Gu Pengzhan had hired.

"Boss, what's wrong? Have you run into some trouble?" Seeing Wei Zhao frowning as if he had encountered some difficulty, Lai Pangzi asked.

"It's nothing..." Wei Zhao gave a wry smile. He could hardly protect himself now—what else could he do?

Letting out a breath, Wei Zhao drew in a deep one. Everything the enemy had subjected him to today, he would repay twofold in the days to come!

"Grandpa Guan, Lai Pangzi, I'm leaving... I came here today to say goodbye to you both." Wei Zhao set aside his vengeful thoughts for the moment and said calmly to Lai Changyi and Guan Xuemin. When he finished, he looked over at Kang Xiaobo: "I'll leave Xiaobo in your care from now on."

"What? Boss, you're leaving? Why would you leave?" Lai Pangzi jumped up from the sofa. He had thought Wei Zhao had summoned him this time to discuss matters concerning the new product launch early next month—never had he imagined it would be to say goodbye.

"Mm. I was injured, and my martial arts are entirely gone. I have too many enemies here..." Wei Zhao gave Guan Xuemin, Lai Pangzi, and Kang Xiaobo a rough account of his situation.

Guan Xin had just been brewing tea for them. She was carrying the tea tray in when she heard Wei Zhao say he was leaving. She froze, stopping short, and even the tray slid uncontrollably from her hands, crashing to the floor. The teacups shattered into pieces, spilling tea water everywhere.

"Ah... I'm sorry..." Only then did Guan Xin realize she had lost her composure. She hurriedly bent down to pick up the broken pieces, but in her heart there was a profound sense of loss. Wei Zhao was leaving? Why so soon?

Between the two of them... before it had even begun, was it already coming to an end?

For a moment, Guan Xin's mind went blank, her heart a tangle of confusion. A shard on the floor cut her hand—slim and fair as a lotus root—and blood immediately welled up. The pain brought her back to her senses.

"Xinxin, are you all right? How could you be so careless?" Seeing his granddaughter's hand bleeding, Guan Xuemin asked, alarmed.

"It's nothing—just a scratch. I accidentally touched the shards..." Guan Xin said, a little embarrassed.

Having dressed other people's wounds every day, Guan Xin was not squeamish about blood. Seeing herself bleed, she paid it no mind and simply intended to bandage it herself.

"Lai Pangzi, give her a bottle of the wound medicine. You brought quite a few samples today, didn't you?" Wei Zhao said to Lai Pangzi.

"Yes, Boss..." With the thought of Wei Zhao leaving weighing on his heart, Lai Pangzi's face twisted with immense sorrow. The more he brooded, the more grieved he became, until finally his tears could no longer be held back, and he actually burst into loud sobs.

"What? Lai Pangzi, you..." Wei Zhao was both amused and exasperated by his reaction. "Guan Xin cut her hand. What are you crying for?"

"I'm heartbroken! Boss, are you really leaving?" Wiping away his tears, Lai Pangzi went to fetch the wound medicine for Guan Xin. He still had to heed Wei Zhao's words—no matter how grieved he was, finding the medicine came first.

Lai Pangzi had thought Wei Zhao had summoned him this time to discuss the new product launch early next month, which was why he had specially brought along some samples of the wound medicine. At this moment, they came in handy after all.

"It's not like I'm never coming back. I'm only going into hiding—once my martial arts have recovered, I'll return!" Wei Zhao said. "This won't affect your pharmaceutical company."

"Boss! But I won't be able to see you anymore! My life is going to turn all dark and boring!" Handing the wound medicine to Guan Xin with a stricken heart, Lai Pangzi then waddled over to Wei Zhao in utter dejection, his big hips swaying: "I don't want you to leave! Boss, don't abandon me! Wah wah wah..."

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