15: Chapter 15 Xu Mengjie's Difficulties

11:00 PM.

After Zhao Dong returned, Xu Mengjie didn't say a word; she took out her phone and started a recording.

Zhao Dong listened to it and remained silent for a while.

"Since you've already found out, I have nothing left to say. Tell me, what do you want?"

Xu Mengjie said expressionlessly.

"Nothing in particular. I don't want to make a scene either; I can't afford to lose face like that. I know that family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. Let's just get a peaceful divorce so we can both maintain some dignity."

"Fine. Contact me when you get to the Civil Affairs Bureau."

After saying this, Zhao Dong grabbed his clothes and left the house immediately.

The next day, Xu Mengjie told her parents about the divorce during a video call.

Her father, Xu Dongjian, didn't say anything, but Xu Mengjie could clearly sense that his expression was very grim.

However, her mother, Wang Guifang, scolded her for a long time, saying that she had never agreed to her marriage with Zhao Dong in the first place, as she could tell that little white face was unreliable from the start.

As she spoke, Wang Guifang's tone softened, and she told her that as long as she had thought it through, it was fine.

Xu Mengjie comforted her mother for a while longer, hung up the phone, and later went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to finalize the divorce with Zhao Dong.

Unexpectedly, right after the divorce, Zhao Dong began to openly be with Xiao Meier at the company. Of course, she was in no position to say anything about them anymore.

Originally, Xu Mengjie and Zhao Dong held a combined sixty percent of the shares.

Now that Zhao Dong was gone, she only held forty percent of the equity.

Forty percent was originally not bad.

But recently, after Zhao Dong and Xiao Meier got together, their combined equity also amounted to forty percent.

Furthermore, they frequently interfered with the various decisions she made.

Recently, they didn't know what kind of benefits they had given to another shareholder, but that person voted against every proposal she made.

This had left Xu Mengjie feeling physically and mentally exhausted during this period.

She also blamed herself for being too eager to start the business back then. Plus, since everyone was an alumnus, they hadn't been rigorous when drawing up the contract on the spot.

Moreover, a batch of goods ordered from a partner recently had a contract signed at the time.

By the time they transferred the money, the goods still hadn't arrived.

She had always ordered goods from them before, and the delivery dates had always been punctual.

However, Zhao Dong had always been in charge of that previously. Now that it had suddenly turned out this way, she felt there must be something fishy going on.

Later, Xu Mengjie hired a lawyer to sue them, but they shirked responsibility, claiming that some issues had arisen recently and that the goods would arrive as soon as possible, and then there was no further word.

They were a small company to begin with, and their capital chain was already tight. With things like this, they simply couldn't continue operations.

On top of that, the other three shareholders hadn't cared about the company's survival recently, leaving her to worry about everything alone.

She was truly exhausted and called her father the day before yesterday to tell him about it.

For this reason, she specifically asked her father not to tell her mother; she knew her mother's temper, which was explosive.

Her father's suggestion was for her to sell her shares and go back to their hometown to find a steady job.

At the time, Xu Mengjie was indeed tempted, and she even held a shareholders' meeting to bring it up.

But they were disgusting; they said they would only offer one million huaxia coin to acquire her shares.

Or, Xu Mengjie could acquire their shares for that same price.

Xu Mengjie knew that Zhao Dong understood her family's situation. It was obvious he had colluded with them, and he only dared to say that because he knew she didn't have that much capital.

Over these few years, she had come to see things clearly.

Alumni or whatever—once you truly enter society, everything is based on interests.

She had previously talked to another senior shareholder as well.

Unexpectedly, that senior wanted her to accompany him for a month.

Only then would he stand on her side. Xu Mengjie felt that this person was so disgusting that she turned around and left without even thinking.

Thinking about it now, she was truly too naive. She had trusted them so much, yet they were setting traps for her behind her back.

Thinking about these past few years, not only had she not earned any money.

She had even poured her entire salary into it, and she felt even more embarrassed to explain it to her parents.

There were also the loans the family owed the bank, as well as debts borrowed from relatives and friends.

Last night, she thought about it for a long time at the company before making up her mind to contact those alumni of hers who came from well-off families.

To see if any of them had sufficient capital to help her tide over this current difficulty.

However, as soon as they heard about borrowing money, they kept speaking in riddles.

A few asked her how much she wanted to borrow, but as soon as she mentioned several hundred thousand, they neither agreed nor refused.

They just implicitly suggested that she go over and spend a few days playing with them.

She wasn't a little girl anymore; didn't she understand what that meant?

But she also knew, why should they lend it to her?

In the end, this society is very realistic; if you want to gain something, you have to pay a price.

But she still said angrily.

"I'll cut off contact with them from now on."

Hearing her say that, the other person just sneered.

"School beauty Xu, do you think this is still school? Don't you understand how the world works? We've been graduated for several years now; do I still need to teach you these social lessons?"

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Yes, it had been so many years since graduation, and she had been divorced from Zhao Dong for over a year. Even her own former husband could change.

Let alone those alumni who were neither relatives nor friends.

After handling some company matters, Xu Mengjie dragged her exhausted body back home.

She had been renting a car worth over two hundred thousand for commuting, but recently, due to tight funds, she didn't renew the lease.

During this period, she had been taking the bus to the company. Today, she woke up late, so she had no choice but to take a taxi.

Moreover, it was a strange day; the taxi app kept showing 'waiting,' so she had no choice but to book a private car.

She really didn't have much money left on her.

She knew herself that if the company couldn't resolve the issues by next month, they wouldn't even be able to pay the employees' wages.

As the major shareholder, she would have to bear the main responsibility. When the other three shareholders put pressure on her then, she would only be able to compromise.

Thinking about this, she felt deeply aggrieved, and tears uncontrollably streamed down from the corners of her eyes.

Li Luo, who had been driving peacefully, looked at her since she got into the car.

She had been sitting quietly in the back. Occasionally, he would take a look through the rearview mirror and noticed her expression was gloomy and uncertain.

Now, suddenly, tears were streaming down, and he was a bit bewildered.

Why was she crying out of the blue?

He picked up a tissue from the front and handed it over.

"Miss, here is a tissue. Don't cry. Life isn't easy for anyone. You'll feel better after crying it out, but life still has to go on. Tomorrow will be another beautiful day."

Although Li Luo didn't know what was wrong with this beauty, it was nothing more than marriage, family, work, or those kinds of things.

Xu Mengjie looked at the tissue being handed over and hurriedly reached out to take it.

"Thank you, driver. I'm sorry, I just remembered some sad things. I made you laugh."

"It's fine. Everyone has difficult times. There is no hurdle in life that cannot be crossed. It's just about giving up some things. I hope you will still shine brightly in the future."

Xu Mengjie smiled upon hearing this.

"Thank you, driver. Hearing you say that, I feel much better. I didn't expect you to be so good at comforting people!"

"It's not really comforting; it's just the truth. You envy others, and others envy you. It's all the same."

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

Just as Xu Mengjie wanted to say something, she saw an incoming call from her mother, Wang Guifang.

She hesitated for a moment, then picked it up and answered. Before she could speak, Wang Guifang's voice came through.

"Xiao Jie, I heard your company is in trouble."

Xu Mengjie's tone turned icy immediately.

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Never mind who I heard it from. Tell me, is it true?"

Xu Mengjie didn't know how to answer. She had reached a dead end, and she knew she couldn't hide it for much longer.

She said sadly.

"Yes, Mom. I was too stupid; I was deceived by them together. I'm sorry, Mom. I've failed you and Dad's expectations."

Xu Mengjie was already feeling distressed, and in front of her family, she couldn't hold it back anymore and cried sadly.

Wang Guifang had originally prepared to scold her daughter, but upon hearing her daughter crying so sadly.

She couldn't bring herself to say the words she had prepared; after all, she was her own daughter.

Ever since she divorced that little white face, her daughter had been living alone in a strange city, which was not easy.

"Your younger brother will be on break in a few days. We'll come over to stay for a few days and take care of you."