A BITTER LIFE

PART 49

As Eros clutched his head, he covered his mouth with a cloth to muffle his sobs, but as the minutes passed, the pain in his head intensified. He couldn’t help but bang his head against the wall. "Ahhhhhhh, my head hurts so much," he muttered, still keeping the cloth over his mouth.

Meanwhile, Gu Wei grew increasingly worried when Eros didn't respond. He desperately tried to push the door open, but it was locked from the inside.

Elsewhere, Liying arrived early at the company, where the board members were already waiting for her. She entered the conference room with a smile, but it quickly faded when she saw the angry faces of the shareholders. Jiyang smiled at her.

"Good morning, sorry I'm late," she said before sitting down.

"What's your plan for the viral video? In just one night, our stocks plummeted, and the comments about you on social media..." one of the shareholders began.

"My team is already working on removing the video, and whatever comments there are about me are irrelevant to the company," she said dismissively. Her colleagues in the room shook their heads. "How can you say that? Any damage to the CEO affects the company as well. It would be fine if you weren’t dragging us down with you," one of them replied.

"You might not be aware, but some of our investors have pulled out. Liying, if you continue with this attitude, we’ll be forced to sell our shares. We don't want to see our hard-earned money go to waste," another member said angrily.

"I know an investor who can help us," Jiyang interjected, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" another member asked, so focused on the company’s problems that they hadn’t noticed Jiyang sitting there.

Liying stood up. "Everyone, this is Song Jiyang, our new CEO," she announced, shocking everyone, especially Jiyang. He and Liying hadn’t discussed anything like this, but he quickly masked his surprise with a smile and stood up.

"Hi, sorry for not introducing myself properly," he said with a smile, though one of the members secretly smirked at him. He glanced at Liying, silently asking what was going on, but she just smiled back at him.

"Okay, since I'm the new CEO, I'll solve the company's problems. You can trust that by the time you leave this conference room, that video will be gone. And don't worry about the investors who left," he said confidently, pleasing most of the shareholders, though some remained unconvinced.

"Maybe you're just all talk," said an older man. Jiyang smiled calmly at him, took out his phone, and with one ring, someone answered on the other end.

"I want all of Mrs. Wang's videos removed from the internet. Also, contact the investor I mentioned to you. I want everything done in three minutes."

"Copy, sir," said the voice on the other end. The shareholders exchanged glances, listening intently to the conversation. Liying proudly gave Jiyang a thumbs up, and he returned a knowing smile. "One day, you'll wake up, and this company will no longer be yours," Jiyang thought.

"But it still isn’t right, Liying, to make decisions without informing us first," one of the board members said. Before anyone else could speak, Liying's secretary knocked on the door to inform her that the video had been successfully taken down. The board members exchanged glances, then smiled at Jiyang.

Elsewhere, a man frowned as he stared at his computer. "Someone deleted the video we spread," he said, sending a message before returning his focus to the screen. "Next, we’ll buy shares in Liying’s company," he said, picking up his phone to make a call.

Meanwhile, Eros was crawling across the floor toward a small table where his medicine was kept. "Wait, hold on," he gasped, struggling to reach it. After taking his medication, he leaned against the edge of the bed, tears still streaming down his face. "It feels like I'm being slowly killed," he whispered. A few minutes later, the pain in his head subsided, and he composed himself before leaving the room.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Gu Wei and A-yuan standing by the door, their concern evident on Gu Wei's face. When Yibo looked at A-yuan, he couldn’t quite read his expression, but he knew A-yuan was worried too. Yibo smiled at them, but Gu Wei could tell he had been crying from the redness of his eyes.

"Is something wrong, Yibo?" Gu Wei asked. Eros smiled again. "Yes," he replied. Gu Wei raised an eyebrow. "My problem is figuring out how to make you fall in love with me," Eros joked, laughing along with A-yuan, but he stopped when Gu Wei glared at him. "I'm heading back to the city later," Gu Wei said, turning away from Eros.

Eros followed him. "Is it because of my joke? I'm sorry, I was just kidding. Let's stay here a little longer," Eros pleaded. A-yuan approached as well. "Uncle Superhero, can we stay here for just one more night?" he asked, holding Gu Wei’s hand. Gu Wei looked at Eros. "I didn’t tell him to say that," Yibo said, raising his hands in surrender.

Gu Wei looked back at A-yuan. "Okay, just for you," he said with a smile, surprised when A-yuan hugged him tightly. "Thank you, you're the best" A-yuan said, secretly exchanging a high-five with Eros, who was standing behind Gu Wei.

Later that night, Eros stepped outside to get some fresh air. Lost in thought, he received a message.

"I know now, why you won’t get the surgery. Have you gone that crazy just because Gu Wei is marrying your cousin?" Yibo smiled, knowing that if Mianmian were beside him right now, she would have punched him. "What’s the point of living if he’s not mine anymore?"

"You’re such an idiot, Chen Yu. I’m telling you, if you don’t get that surgery done soon, you might not even make it to a year. You still have your son to think about," the message read. Yibo stared sadly at the screen, deep in thought, and didn’t notice Gu Wei approaching. But before Gu Wei could read the message, Yibo quickly hid his phone.

"What were you thinking about that you didn’t even notice me coming?" Gu Wei asked, without looking at Eros. He lit a cigarette. "I was thinking about how to make you love me," Eros replied, staring into the distance. When he noticed Gu Wei looking at him, he turned and gave a wide smile. "Would you still like me if I forced myself on you?" Eros asked, meeting Gu Wei’s gaze.

"At first, you wanted to know who I was, and now you want to force yourself on me," Gu Wei said, turning away. "I'm engaged, and you’re married," he added before taking a drag from his cigarette.

Eros didn't take his eyes off Gu Wei. "Give me a good enough reason to like you, and I'll cancel my wedding," Gu Wei said, still avoiding Yibo's gaze.

"Would it be a good enough reason if I told you that I know you're Xiao Zhan or am I about to die?" Eros asked with the last word on the tip of his tongue, his eyes still locked on Gu Wei. Gu Wei suddenly choked on his cigarette smoke, and Yibo quickly reached out to pat his back. As Gu Wei continued to cough, he looked at Eros.

"Sorry, sorry, I was just joking. But from your reaction, it seems like it might be true," Yibo said with a meaningful smile. Gu Wei playfully hit him on the arm. "Crazy!" he exclaimed, before walking back inside and heading straight to the bedroom, where he locked the door.

A-yuan, who was still awake, looked puzzled. "What happened?" he asked. "We're sleeping here alone," Gu Wei said coldly, but he couldn’t help glancing at A-yuan when he saw the sadness in his eyes. Feeling awkward, Gu Wei forced a smile. "Hehe, I was just joking. Go ahead and unlock the door—your dad's making too much noise outside," Gu Wei said before lying down.

THANK YOU FOR READING IT 💚 ❤️ 😊