The housekeeper opened the door again for Ou Yunchen and Lawyer Ma.
Housekeeper: "Mr. Ou, Lawyer Ma, Madam instructed that you both wait in the study for a moment. Madam will be down shortly."
Ou Yunchen and Lawyer Ma didn't think much of it. However, as they passed the living room on the second floor, they saw the household maids cleaning from the inside out.
Both Ou Yunchen and Lawyer Ma noticed the mess in the room: a table overturned, broken glass all over the floor, and trampled flowers.
The astute Ou Yunchen sensed that a very heated argument must have just occurred there. The person who hadn't come down yet was Mrs. Su, but who could the other person be? Could it be Su Ruiyi?
However, Su Ruiyi wouldn't have had the strength to flip a table.
As Ou Yunchen was contemplating this, Lawyer Ma beside him interjected, "It was Xu Shuming. I just saw his car leaving the compound."
Lawyer Ma patted Ou Yunchen's shoulder and continued, "Let's go, we'll wait for Mrs. Su in the study."
***
After a while, Mrs. Su finally reappeared, having changed into new clothes.
She wore a silk scarf around her neck to cover handprints and let down her hair to conceal half her face. She had applied thick makeup before meeting her guests.
But no matter how she tried to disguise herself, Ou Yunchen and Lawyer Ma could still discern Mrs. Su's unusual state.
Mrs. Su, as always, was graceful: "My apologies for keeping you all waiting. I was having a flower arrangement class with my students before you arrived."
Mrs. Su picked up her teacup, but her trembling hand was evident: "Please have some tea. My students brought this back from abroad."
Ou Yunchen looked at his own bloated stomach from drinking too much tea and quipped, "We've already had a whole pot waiting for you."
The smile on Mrs. Su's face froze.
Mrs. Su put down her teacup, sat up straighter, and said, "Then, let's get straight to the report."
Ou Yunchen opened his laptop, set up the projector, and explained to Mrs. Su his work progress over the past six months and the letter of intent for strategic cooperation with Huaming Guarantee.
However, when they reached this point, Lawyer Ma also offered her opinion. Based on her experience, the risks of this strategic cooperation far outweighed those of an aggressive investment.
Mrs. Su nodded and listened intently to Ou Yunchen's report. The investments over the past six months had yielded consistent profits and losses, generally remaining at a moderate level. Only Huaming Guarantee seemed to have exceeded Mrs. Su's expectations.
Looking at the report, Mrs. Su said, "I share Lawyer Ma's concerns, but I believe in my people. If I trust them, I don't doubt them. I believe Mr. Ou will help me manage the company's operations."
After speaking, Mrs. Su consciously pulled at the silk scarf on her neck, and a shocking red mark of a handprint was inadvertently revealed...
Lawyer Ma caught a glimpse of it and was about to inquire when Mrs. Su lightly coughed.
Mrs. Su smiled at Ou Yunchen: "Mr. Ou, my throat is a little uncomfortable. Could you please ask the housekeeper to prepare a bowl of rock sugar pear soup and bring it up?"
Ou Yunchen, who was turning off the projector, looked up and glanced at Mrs. Su's deliberately composed demeanor.
He understood that Mrs. Su wanted to speak with Lawyer Ma alone, so he stopped what he was doing and left.
Seeing Ou Yunchen depart, Lawyer Ma quickly moved closer to Mrs. Su, scrutinizing her face. No wonder she felt something was off at first glance; the side of her face hidden by her hair was clearly swollen!
Lawyer Ma asked with agitation, "I saw Xu Shuming's car earlier. Did he hit you?"
Mrs. Su chuckled lightly, as if this were not unusual. But the more nonchalant she acted, the more Lawyer Ma felt compelled to get to the bottom of it.
Lawyer Ma pointed to Mrs. Su's neck: "Take off your scarf, let me see."
Mrs. Su smiled and pressed the scarf down: "What's there to see? It's not the first time."
Lawyer Ma's jaw dropped when she heard that it wasn't the first time!
This was when her professional instincts kicked in. Even though she wasn't a divorce lawyer, any woman hearing about domestic violence would be outraged.
Disregarding Mrs. Su's attitude, Lawyer Ma directly pulled away the scarf. A full circle of finger-shaped indentations marred her neck, startling Lawyer Ma into covering her mouth.
Lawyer Ma said angrily, "Are you suffering from some kind of 'elegance disease'? To be beaten like this by that scoundrel, and you're still smiling!"
Mrs. Su lowered her head and re-tied the scarf. Her silence was her answer.
Lawyer Ma continued, "I really don't understand. Why don't you just divorce him? Xiao Yi is grown up now. What are you still enduring?"
Mrs. Su looked somewhat distressed: "For the Su Group that my father worked so hard to build, I cannot just hand it over..."
Lawyer Ma sighed, "It's not going to happen that quickly. How much longer do you have to tolerate him..."
Mrs. Su's gaze was firm: "If I can reclaim the Su Group, then these sufferings are worth it."
Lawyer Ma slapped her thigh. She was also anxious, knowing that a corporate war was not a matter of overnight success!
However, the evidence she had gathered so far was insufficient to bring down the vast Su Group. Just as she was feeling sympathetic towards Mrs. Su and worrying, she suddenly remembered something.
Lawyer Ma's eyes widened: "The other day..."