Lu Ming was berated so badly that he could only comply in silence. Many times, it wasn't that he didn't want to help others, but that they were not worth it!
Even more excessive was that Jiang Mengxin pointed to the door and said coldly, "Get out. You don't belong here."
Lu Ming shook his head and turned to leave, utterly helpless.
Xiao Zhan let out a cold snort and said to Jiang Mengxin, "President Jiang, I truly don't understand. Why did you bring him here?"
Jiang Mengxin was also helpless. She had merely wanted to separate Lu Ming and Jiang Lan.
However, seeing Lu Ming's current state, Jiang Mengxin suddenly felt that perhaps it didn't matter if Lu Ming stayed by Jiang Lan's side? Looking at Lu Ming's dejected demeanor, he posed no threat whatsoever.
Lu Ming stood alone in the corridor, by the window.
In the conference room, Peter was pontificating, expounding his design concepts to everyone.
After listening, everyone was highly satisfied.
"Let's do it!"
"Master Peter truly lives up to his reputation as a world-class jewelry design master. Following your ideas, we are sure to create the most perfect pendant."
"Let's get to it!"
Soon, the entire design plan was completed.
Xiao Zhan, feeling assured, handed the emerald, which had been acquired for sixty million, to Peter. Under Peter's supervision, the formal carving work commenced.
One hour...
Two hours...
Three hours...
When three hours had passed, something completely unexpected happened.
The sixty-million-dollar emerald broke!
Right before everyone's eyes, it split into two, breaking completely in half! All design concepts had gone up in smoke, and Peter's initial strategy was now all in vain.
Looking at the broken emerald, Xiao Zhan's face turned pale.
Sixty million! That was an emerald worth sixty million, and it was ruined just like that? Wouldn't he suffer an immense loss?
Yet,
Peter nonchalantly said, "This jade is no good. Its strength is too poor. Never mind, Young Master Xiao, get me another emerald."
"What?" Xiao Zhan's eyeballs nearly popped out.
Get another one?
And an emerald?
Xiao Zhan could no longer contain his anger. He grabbed Peter by the collar and yelled, "You piece of trash, you good-for-nothing! Do you know how much I spent to buy this emerald? Sixty million, sixty million! And you just ruined it like this?"
Xiao Zhan's heart was bleeding.
He truly hadn't expected that everything would turn out exactly as Lu Ming had said.
Peter was indeed a huge pitfall.
However, Peter pushed Xiao Zhan away and shifted the blame onto him.
He scoffed, "What do you mean *I* ruined it? It's clearly your raw material that's substandard! My design concept is excellent, and my design plan is impeccable. It's just that your raw material is inferior and unworthy of my design, understand?"
The way he shifted the blame was truly masterful.
Xiao Zhan was so exasperated he felt like biting someone!
Jiang Mengxin also felt quite distressed. Looking at the fractured emerald, she asked, "There should still be a way to salvage it, right? It's only broken; we can still use the large broken piece to make the pendant."
Peter scoffed, "It can still be processed, but it can no longer match my design. Moreover, even if we tried again, given the strength of this raw material, it would still break."
Xiao Zhan could no longer stand it.
It seemed this Peter was utterly inflexible, utterly incapable of adaptation, and his design was simply a castle in the air—impractical!
Everything had been said, everything had been predicted by Lu Ming.
Xiao Zhan regretted it to his very core.
Had he known Peter was so unreliable, he should have heeded Lu Ming's advice. But now that the situation had come to this, it couldn't be changed.
"Get out!"
Xiao Zhan kicked Peter squarely on the backside, sending him out the door.
As Peter scrambled to his feet, he yelled, "How dare you kick me! Just you wait, I'll call the police and have you arrested, you scoundrel, you little brat!"
Xiao Zhan grabbed a cup from the table and hurled it, startling Peter into running away.
Peter was gone, but what about now?
Looking at the broken emerald, Jiang Mengxin displayed her strength as a president and stated firmly, "There's still plenty of time, and the raw material can still be used. Let's immediately find a reliable designer to process the larger piece of emerald into a pendant."
Xiao Zhan nodded and immediately arranged for the company's most outstanding designer to replan and redesign.
At this moment, Lu Ming approached everyone again.
He also glanced at the broken emerald, his eyes shifting slightly. He noticed that after the emerald broke, it split into one large and one small piece, with all the essence concentrated in the smaller one!
The smaller piece was of unimaginable quality.
Such a treasure should not be wasted.
Lu Ming said, "Since you intend to use the larger piece, may I have this small piece to handle? I'll take it to a designer I know, and I'm confident they can craft a peerless pendant that will captivate the world."
This...
Jiang Mengxin glanced at the small piece.
Although the quality was good, it was truly too small to make a pendant.
She said, "Lu Ming, what trick are you trying to play now? How can such a small piece be used to create a perfect pendant? I think you just want to take advantage of it and sell it for money, don't you?"
Even at this point, they still didn't trust Lu Ming.
Helplessly,
Lu Ming sighed and said, "Then how much do you think this small piece is worth?"
Xiao Zhan quickly interjected, "At least five million!"
Lu Ming nodded, "Alright, if I cannot present a perfect pendant at Ma Xiaoling's birthday banquet, I will compensate you five million, how about it?"
Xiao Zhan chuckled.
Who would be foolish enough to be such a gaper?
He glanced at Jiang Mengxin and tentatively asked, "President Jiang, please give us your decision, as Lu Ming is your fiancé."
Jiang Mengxin waved her hand, "Since someone wants to court disaster, why should I stop them? Lu Ming, you can take this small piece. At the birthday banquet, I'll await your result. If you cannot produce a presentable pendant, you'd better be prepared to pay five million. Oh, and don't expect me to help you pay."
Lu Ming smiled wryly, shook his head, silently pocketed the small piece of emerald, and left the Xiao residence without a word.
Watching Lu Ming's retreating figure, Jiang Mengxin felt a flicker of excitement.
She felt that perhaps, through this opportunity, she could finally solve the troublesome problem of Lu Ming!
Using five million would be enough to force Lu Ming to his ruin!
Pitiful, yet detestable.
Lu Ming, for the sake of Grandpa Jiang's dying wish, was constantly thinking of ways to help Jiang Mengxin overcome difficulties and help the Jiang family prosper.
But Jiang Mengxin's thoughts were focused on how to get rid of Lu Ming.
My earnest heart turned towards the bright moon, yet the bright moon shone only into a ditch.
A sincere heart, fed to the dogs!!!