chapter 20 Done in half an hour ===

"It's fine, you just need to wait on the side for 30 minutes." Thorpe Chen smiled slightly, "Leave everything else to me." "What can you do by taking over? Do you know the boss of Yibo Group? I don’t want to lose this job. I've worked hard for a long time and invested a lot. I'm now competing with Miya Li for the position of Business Department Manager. With what you're doing, you're making me lose directly." Gloria Ye couldn't help but cry. "Hey... don't rush. It was my fault, I shouldn't have agreed so quickly. But Manager Wang was too terrible, I couldn't stand it. Don't worry, give me half an hour, I'll sort this out for you." Thorpe Chen said, comforting her upon seeing her genuinely upset. Gloria Ye wiped away her tears and entered the conference room, wondering what she could do in half an hour. She felt it was her fate. "Nichol Shi, is Yibo Group under your Lin family's businesses?" Thorpe Chen directly called Adolf Lin's bodyguard, Nichol Shi. "Yes, is there a problem, Mr. Lin?" Nichol Shi asked. "Within half an hour, I need someone in charge from there to meet my wife, Gloria Ye, at Jiyun Group about a project she's negotiating." Thorpe Chen said. "No problem, Mr. Chen. We will be there in half an hour," Nichol Shi replied and hung up. "Haha, Gloria Ye, I'm really curious what your husband plans to do. Securing a collaboration in half an hour? It's like he’s just handing it over to us!" In the conference room, Miya Li and Qi Wang laughed even harder seeing Gloria Ye enter. "How about this, just concede and admit defeat. I won’t make you clean the toilets, just demote to train newcomers in the business department. This is also me taking care of you," Qi Wang teased, trying to stifle his laughter. "Sorry, the half-hour isn't up. If the time is up, I'll admit defeat as promised," Gloria Ye coldly said. "What would change even if you had three hours? You'll still lose. Gloria Ye, let me tell you, sometimes when women want to compete, they need to have some means," Miya Li sneered. "Competing with me for a managerial position? Do you even qualify?" "That’s right, ordinary people really can't compete with someone like you, who easily jumps into others' beds. But my wife is highly competent; even if you use underhanded tactics, you won't succeed," Thorpe Chen said, bursting into the room. "Thorpe Chen, shut your mouth! What right does a gambling addict like you have to speak nonsense here? Do you believe I'll tear your mouth?" Miya Li shouted in anger. "If my wife gets the order, will she get the manager's position?" Thorpe Chen inquired. "Let's see you secure it first," Qi Wang smirked. "If my wife can get the order, I'll strip naked and run a lap around the company," Miya Li said disdainfully. She did not believe that Gloria Ye could secure a deal with Yibo Group. "Manager Wang, Mr. Liang from Yibo is here, saying they want to cooperate with us on the West City project," Miya Li was interrupted by Qi Wang’s assistant who hurriedly entered. "What?" Qi Wang and Miya Li exclaimed in surprise. "Secretary Zhang from Mr. Liang's office is here. She's in the lobby," the assistant reported. "Quickly, invite her in," Qi Wang hastily said, rising from his seat. They didn't have much hope for this project initially, but he never expected that Secretary Zhang would come in person. "May I ask which one of you is Ms. Gloria Ye?" A competent-looking woman walked over, holding a contract. She was Yibo’s Secretary Zhang. "I am Gloria Ye. You must be Ms. Zhang, hello." Before Gloria Ye could recover from her surprise, she quickly collected her thoughts and said, "Ms. Zhang, I'll send over the proposal to you immediately. While Jiyun Group may not be large in scale, we strive to do our work to the utmost perfection. Please consider us." "No need. This is the project contract. The funds have been increased to 50 million, and the funds have already been transferred to your Jiyun Group account. Review the contract, sign it if there’s no problem, or draft a new one if needed," Secretary Zhang said with a slight smile. Qi Wang and Miya Li were in shock. The planned funds were doubled, and they didn't need to pay upfront. Plus, they could have the power to draft the contract. "Secretary Zhang, this is Ms. Miya Li from our company. She has more experience and her plans are better. She will take over this project," Qi Wang quickly introduced Miya Li. "I'm sorry, but I can only discuss with Ms. Ye. If you change the person in charge, we will retract our funds," Secretary Zhang said, her brows furrowing. "Why?" Miya Li asked in shock. "I'm not obligated to explain to you," Secretary Zhang glanced at Miya Li dismissively. Miya Li was deflated. After all, Secretary Zhang was the top secretary of a publicly traded company. To some extent, she represented the boss and didn't need to explain to her. "We'll proceed as per Yibo's drafted contract. Ms. Zhang, let's discuss over here," Gloria Ye quickly went through the contract and, with her experience, found no issues. "Sure, Ms. Ye," Secretary Zhang replied with a smile, and the two moved aside to discuss. Qi Wang and Miya Li were visibly disturbed. They hadn't imagined that things would develop like this. Especially Miya Li, she was very unwilling, but she had no choice because they specifically thanked and talked to Gloria Ye. "Someone just said that if the deal goes through, she would streak?" Thorpe Chen glanced at Miya Li. "You shut up." Miya Li's face turned red. She did say that earlier, but she wouldn't streak. "Hehe, even if you dared to streak, I'm not interested." Thorpe Chen sneered and turned to leave. "What did you say?" Miya Li was taken aback, almost bursting with anger, but Thorpe Chen had already left. "Honey, I have a lot of details to discuss with Secretary Zhang, I'll be working late tonight, you go home first." Gloria Ye popped her head out to tell Thorpe Chen. "What... why do you need to work overtime? Can't you discuss it tomorrow?" Thorpe Chen was stunned. "No, we should finalize it early to avoid complications. You go home first." Gloria Ye smiled at Thorpe Chen and went back to her meeting. Feeling helpless, Thorpe Chen had no choice but to leave the building alone. As he left, a man in a certain courier uniform rushed out in a hurry, bumping into Thorpe Chen. "Ouch, I'm sorry, really sorry." The man apologized with his head bowed. "It's okay. Huh, Fan Yu?" Thorpe Chen recognized the voice. Looking up, he realized it was a former classmate from his medical school. A few days ago, Thorpe Chen had asked him for a loan several times. Fan Yu had never asked for repayment. After losing contact, Thorpe Chen assumed Fan Yu was doing okay. But judging by his appearance now, he seemed to be struggling. "Thorpe Chen?" Fan Yu was shocked and quickly lowered his head, seemingly avoiding Thorpe Chen. "Are you working?" Thorpe Chen asked, noting Fan Yu's attire. "Yes, I'm working part-time." Fan Yu smiled awkwardly. "Fan Yu, why can't I reach you on your old number?" Thorpe Chen asked. "Bro, I... I don't have money to lend you anymore." Fan Yu sighed. At this, Thorpe Chen felt a bit embarrassed. He had borrowed money from Fan Yu several times during his low periods. But looking at Fan Yu now, something seemed off. "Thorpe Chen, I have to go. I still have some deliveries pending." Fan Yu smiled and turned to leave. "Fan Yu, you must have run into some issues. Don't worry, I'm not here to borrow money. You helped me a lot in the past. If you're facing difficulties, just tell me." Thorpe Chen stopped him. "Thank you, Thorpe Chen, but I'm okay." Fan Yu shook his head. Just then, his phone rang. After answering and speaking for a bit, his expression changed dramatically. "Olina Li, I'll pay the hospital fees for Xiao Juan soon. Since we were classmates, can you please speak to the hospital leadership on my behalf?" Fan Yu pleaded. "Fan Yu, I'm just a nurse and can't help much. The hospital insists on a deposit of 10,000 at once. No more paying in small amounts." A disdainful voice came through the phone, "We're already clearing out your wife's belongings. Come pick her up." There was a click, followed by the dial tone. Fan Yu stood up abruptly, "Thorpe Chen, I need to go to the hospital. My wife is admitted, and we're short on money." "I'll drive you. Let's go together." Thorpe Chen got up. He had heard the gist of the call and guessed that the hospital was pushing them out due to unpaid bills. The sick person was Fan Yu's wife, Patty Liu. Inside a ward in the hospital, a pale-looking woman was half-sitting in the corridor, her personal belongings scattered around. A nurse threw the last of her things and said arrogantly, "Patty Liu, don't say I didn't help you two. I did my best." "But the hospital has its rules. Have your husband gather the money and then come back." This nurse was Olina Li, who was a classmate of both Thorpe Chen and Fan Yu in medical school. "Patty!" Fan Yu rushed in, quickly helping Patty Liu to a more comfortable spot. "Honey, let's go home. I don't want treatment anymore." Tears fell from Patty Liu's eyes. "What are you talking about? I'll sell my blood, even my kidney, to make sure you get treated." Fan Yu's eyes were red.