Never Apologize

In the past, whenever Luo Feifei arrived at the company, everyone would greet her with smiles and gentle voices. Those respectful calls of "Vice President Luo" and "Sister Fei" sounded even more affectionate than from her own family members.

However, today, seeing her was like seeing a plague ghost; everyone hurried past and gave her a wide berth, desperate to avoid her.

It would be unfair to say that everyone was simply bowing to the high and scraping to the low, or currying favor. After all, Luo Feifei was still a vice president and had made monumental contributions to the company in the past. While a portion of the staff might be gloating or even blaming her for ruining the company's project, the majority simply wanted to avoid bringing up the incident in her presence, not knowing how to face her, and so they chose to keep their distance.

Even so, this alone was enough to make Luo Feifei feel deeply distressed.

One day in heaven, the next in hell. Once surrounded by flowers and applause, now completely ignored—who could truly remain indifferent to such a drastic shift in fortune?

Fortunately, a few close friends came to comfort her, telling her that everything would be fine and that Mr. Tang would surely be able to handle it.

Through various rumors and gossiping whispers, Luo Feifei learned that things were not going smoothly and became aware of the demands and conditions set by Nanhua Group.

The entire Longyue Group was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Everyone was counting on this project to completely turn their fortunes around, and now, with the faint signs of negotiations breaking down, naturally no one felt at ease.

If everyone else felt bad, Luo Feifei felt even worse.

She personally went to Tang Long's office.

"Feifei, is something the matter?"

Tang Long sat behind his desk, still smiling warmly, showing no trace of displeasure on his face.

"Mr. Tang, I've heard all about what happened."

Standing before the desk, Luo Feifei said earnestly, "If there is no other way, please fire me from the company. Apologizing to Ning Jiagai is fine too, but I will not kneel. That is my bottom line."

Tang Long smiled and said, "Don't worry, the company won't fire you, and certainly won't make you apologize to Ning Jiagai... You did nothing wrong, what is there to apologize for?"

"But the project..." Luo Feifei hesitated.

"Don't you worry about the project," Tang Long said. "President Ning is a bit hot-headed right now, so I've temporarily suspended direct contact with him. There's a political and business conference coming up in a few days, jointly hosted by the authorities, and all kinds of entrepreneurs will be attending. I'll have a face-to-face talk with President Ning then."

"Can negotiations succeed?" Luo Feifei asked cautiously.

"If this project goes through, it will benefit both of our groups. As long as President Ning has a shred of sense, he won't let such minor matters affect our cooperation..." Having said this, Tang Long paused briefly before continuing, "Of course, nothing is absolute. If President Ning dotes on his daughter too much and cannot bear to see her suffer even the slightest grievance, then perhaps things really will be troublesome..."

"Then what should we do?" Luo Feifei asked anxiously.

"If worst comes to worst, we drop it..." Tang Long laughed. "Huaijiang City isn't the only enterprise out there, is it? Our project is mature enough; we can just take it and cooperate with other companies!"

Tang Long made it sound effortless, but Luo Feifei knew it wasn't that simple. While Huaijiang City certainly had many enterprises, very few were a good match for Longyue Group.

When choosing Nanhua Group initially, Tang Long had deliberated carefully, holding countless meetings and discussions with senior executives before finally making the executive decision.

This project had consumed countless days and nights of hard work from a whole team, tailored specifically to the strengths and advantages of both groups. It was impossible to simply pull the project out and cooperate with another enterprise!

Only by partnering with Nanhua Group could the optimal results be achieved.

If they had to find a new enterprise and start the groundwork all over again, who knew how much time it would waste...

Yet, since Tang Long had put it that way, Luo Feifei found it hard to say anything further and could only pray that the upcoming political and business conference would go smoothly.

Meanwhile.

Zhuxi Garden.

Early in the morning, Lin Qi was once again practicing his boxing in the courtyard.

Bai Jianqiu was already waiting outside the courtyard gate.

Lin Qi let her in.

For a full week now, Bai Jianqiu had come rain or shine, showing up every morning to practice boxing with Lin Qi.

Under Lin Qi's rigorous coaching, Bai Jianqiu's performance of the Subduing Tiger Boxing finally resembled something proper. Her movements were quite standard, but her punches remained soft and lacking in power.

"Master, I still feel like there's no deterrence to it..." Bai Jianqiu threw a punch and furrowed her brows slightly.

"Of course there's no deterrence, you don't have any strength," Lin Qi remarked casually.

"How do I increase my strength?" Bai Jianqiu asked.

"Eat plenty of meat, eggs, and dairy, and then strap sandbags to your body. Put five-kilogram ones on each arm and leg. Once you get used to that for a while, move up to ten kilograms, and so on. Keep increasing the weight according to your own capacity. The heavier the sandbags, the greater your strength... In martial arts, there are no shortcuts. If you aren't willing to sweat, you'll never improve," Lin Qi said seriously.

"Alright, I'll remember that. I'll get the sandbags ready as soon as I get back..." Bai Jianqiu resumed practicing her boxing.

Lin Qi practiced alongside her. After running through a few sets of forms, he did push-ups and sit-ups, effortlessly completing a hundred of each, leaving Bai Jianqiu profoundly awestruck and full of praise.

"Careful, your form is slipping again!" Lin Qi picked up a branch and poked Bai Jianqiu's arm.