I'm such a lovesick person.

Chapter 342 A woman’s thoughts

That evening, Liu Yue invited Hua Hongshan out for the second time.

She never mentioned that Wei Lin had come to her office and caused a scene.

She subtly kept asking Hua Hongshan about Wei Lin, especially whether Wei Lin had been flirting with Hua Hongshan in private.

"Not really."

Hua Hongshan sipped the red wine Liu Yue had brought, cut a piece of filet mignon on her plate with a knife and fork, and said with a worried expression, "He just touched my finger that day, that's all."

Wei Lin's explanation made her feel like it was all her imagination, and she thought it might really have been just an unintentional thing Wei Lin did.

Otherwise, why would Wei Lin tell her so clearly that he already has a girlfriend?

Hua Hongshan was feeling very complicated. She had been depressed all day and couldn't muster any energy to do anything.

—This is because Wei Lin stated that his relationship with her was purely a business partnership, and there was absolutely no possibility of anything else.

"She never asked you out for dinner or drinks? She never texted you in the middle of the night?"

"Shanshan, how could a scumbag like Wei Lin not take advantage of work to say some ambiguous things to you?"

Liu Yue looked completely incredulous.

"Then see for yourself!"

Hua Hongshan handed her chat window with Wei Lin to Liu Yue to look at, saying, "I don't have the habit of deleting messages. Look through them one by one from top to bottom and see if he has sent me any strange messages."

Liu Yue didn't stand on ceremony with her and actually picked up her phone, reading it word by word.

The two didn't exchange many WeChat messages, and Liu Yue quickly finished reading them, finding no trace of Wei Lin's ambiguous or flirtatious remarks.

The two talked about Qingque's development, signing Li Qinling, and the situation with Jiang Cong.

"Really not?"

Liu Yue found it hard to believe. After a moment of hesitation, she asked again, "He told you today that he has a girlfriend now? He said that you two are just colleagues?"

Hua Hongshan nodded slightly, her smile appearing somewhat forced: "Perhaps I'm overthinking things, and I've misunderstood him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yue also began to doubt herself.

She felt that she had probably misunderstood Wei Lin, and it was rather ridiculous that she had asked her best friend to be wary of Wei Lin at all times.

Then she realized that Wei Lin's big fuss at the firm was probably because he was annoyed by her meddlesome and foul-mouthed nature.

"Yueyue, you're too concerned about me! Is something wrong with you? You don't seem to have much of an appetite today, and you look a bit down."

Hua Hongshan inquired with concern.

"It's nothing, what could possibly be wrong with me?"

Liu Yue sighed inwardly, but still couldn't bring herself to talk about what had happened that afternoon. She simply said, "Just remember one thing: never get involved with him emotionally. Wei Lin is a very difficult person to deal with; you're no match for him."

Hua Hongshan: "Oh."

……

After saying goodbye, Hua Hongshan returned home, removed her makeup, washed up, and lay on the bed in a quiet daze.

"Hey."

She gazed at the chandelier on the ceiling and sighed softly, suddenly feeling a sense of regret that she was about to lose Wei Lin and that the two of them would probably never be able to make any progress in their relationship.

But it's just a regret.

Since Wei Lin had clarified that he had a girlfriend and it was impossible for him to have any other relationship with her, and that the woman at the City Bookstore was just a friend, she no longer complained about Wei Lin.

"A partner? Forget it, let's leave it at that."

Hua Hongshan felt disappointed and bitter.

……

The next day.

December 3th, Wednesday.

Affection level: 765/50000.

Life Energy: 120/5000.

After waking up refreshed, Wei Lin immediately checked the Love Value System and breathed a sigh of relief.

Yesterday's affection points were not deducted again!
This means everything is back on track, and he no longer needs to worry about being penalized from time to time because of Hua Hongshan.

"Well!"

By carefully examining the source of the affection points, he was surprised to find that Hua Hongshan had given him 80 affection points overnight.

This left Wei Lin deeply puzzled.

In order to resolve the problem once and for all, he clearly explained to Hua Hongshan that he had a girlfriend and that he had never had any improper thoughts about her.

What Wei Lin wanted was simply to prevent her from constantly deducting points from his reputation due to resentment, and to completely sever ties with her.

In Wei Lin's eyes, it was already a great blessing that she stopped reducing her affection points; he couldn't even imagine that she would continue to contribute affection points to him.

But she was still contributing, and even more than before, far exceeding the contributions of the women who had had substantial relationships with Wei Lin.

"Can this still happen?"

Wei Lin was stunned and couldn't help but think about the reasons behind it. "Once the emotional bond is established, it is not so easy to sever, unless a large amount of life essence is consumed, using that kind of extreme and special method."

"After I made things clear and said that I wouldn't have anything to do with her anymore, did it actually trigger more emotional turmoil in her, even as she was feeling lost and upset?"

"Her love for me has not only not diminished, but has become even more intense?"

"Women are such strange creatures!"

Wei Lin shook his head. Through the feedback from the Love Value System, he gained a deeper understanding of women's emotions.

……

Tianzhong Hat Industry.

"Mr. Zhong, the fire department and environmental protection and sanitation personnel have passed the inspection and have given us permission to resume work."

Exhausted, Yin Xiaojin came to Zhong Xiaowei's office again and said, "The fines are nothing. It's just... today, two of our brand partners said they would no longer give Tianzhong their subsequent orders."

As one crisis is resolved, a new one follows.

The communication between Wei Lin, Zhi Jie, and Hua Mu, and the instructions given to Qi Feng Hat Industry, began to show their power.

Compared to the other companies, Tianzhong already had fewer orders. With the other three companies joining forces to snatch away orders, Tianzhong gradually lost customers.

And there is...

Those customers also found out about the news. They heard that Tianzhong seemed to have offended someone, which led to repeated investigations by government departments.

Customers were worried that Tianzhong would not be able to deliver on time and felt that Tianzhong would face difficulties in the future. In addition, Zhijie, Huamu and Qifeng each had their own advantages, so they naturally switched to these three companies.

“I know everything. Those bosses consulted with me before making their decisions.”

Zhong Xiaowei, smoking a cigarette and looking exhausted from lack of sleep, sighed, "We can't lower the price here. If we lower the price again, we won't make a single penny of profit; it'll be a complete waste of time!"

Yin Xiaojin asked, "What should we do then? If this continues, we will continue to lose customers."

Zhong Xiaowei looked worried and didn't respond to Yin Xiaojin's words.

In such a short time, Wei Lin used all sorts of underhanded and dirty tricks, leaving him overwhelmed and unable to find a way to deal with the situation.

His raw material purchase price was already a bit higher than the other suppliers, so how could he dare to continue lowering the unit price?
"elder brother!"

Zhong Da, the head of the human resources department and a distant relative of Zhong Xiaowei, rushed in and said, "More than twenty long-term employees have suddenly started threatening to resign, saying they won't work if they don't get a raise! I found out that Xinlin offered the same positions with a 25% higher salary than us!"

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiaojin's expression immediately changed drastically.

Zhong Xiaowei suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "Wei Lin has gone too far!"

Because of the salary increase at Xinlin Hat Industry, he has already given a small salary increase to his employees after the Lunar New Year in order to appease them.

At the time, he was making counterfeit "Nimo" products, which sold quite well in rural markets, and he quietly made a sum of money, which was enough to cover the small salary increase.

now.

Xinlin has his eye on him, and they're keeping a very close watch on him. It's almost impossible for him to make money with counterfeit "Reverse Demon" goods anymore.

Currently, they are losing customers and raw material prices are rising. Tianzhong was just fined by two departments.

If another batch of the older employees leave, how will his factory survive?

"Brother, one move affects the whole situation!"

“Xinlin is indeed short-staffed and has been recruiting. Our employees were already eager to join. I heard that Xinlin has decided to prioritize hiring our employees from Tianzhong.”

“Our employees bring out their pay stubs from the most recent month. In the past, they could get a 25% raise while doing the same work.”

"There are only about twenty people right now, because many people haven't received the news yet and haven't made up their minds."

"If those employees go to Xinlin and Xinlin is really willing to hire them at the promised wages, then we... sigh, I'm worried that more than half of our employees will leave!"

Zhong Da was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in Zhong Xiaowei's office, not knowing what to do.

"Wei Lin! I'll fucking kill Wei Lin!" Zhong Xiaowei cursed, "He's really trying to force us to our deaths!"

First, they investigated the industry and commerce department, then the environmental protection department and the fire department intervened, causing Tianzhong to stop production, be fined and rectify the situation. This also caused the price of raw materials to rise, and they instigated several other companies to steal Tianzhong's customers.

Now, they're trying to poach Tianzhong's old employees.

With so many measures being taken simultaneously, Zhong Xiaowei was almost driven to the brink of despair, leaving him with a sense of helplessness at the end of his rope.

“Mr. Zhong, if we can’t find a solution, we’ll only lose money. Every month, every day, we’ll lose money until we’ve wiped out all of your savings.”

Yin Xiaojin sighed deeply.

As he spoke, his eyes flickered, as he pondered what he would do if Tianzhong really went bankrupt.

There are only so many hat companies in Linjiang City, and only a handful that meet his standards. The few he thinks are acceptable all have good relationships with Wei Lin.

Not long ago, he was slapped by Wei Lin for making outrageous remarks. Now that Tian Zhong has fallen, he probably won't even be able to find a new job.

"Brother! If all else fails, why don't we talk to Wei Lin?"

Zhong Da rubbed his hands together, frantically offering suggestions: "It's just a small grudge, right? Apologize to Wei Lin, soften your stance, and promise never to do anything underhanded again. He should let Tian Zhong off the hook, right?"

Yin Xiaojin hurriedly added, "President Zhong, I think Zhong Da is right!"

……

(End of this chapter)