“This is exactly the reason why I’m here!”

Mrs. Hong pulled Lin Wan back into her room and the two of them sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I overheard your conversation with him. I knew you’d be soft-hearted. So I had to stop you. If you stop this test now, you are not helping him. Instead, you’re bringing harm to him!”

Lin Wan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked at Mrs. Hong.

The considerate Mrs. Hong let Lin Wan lean against the bed and pull over the blanket to cover her legs and feet.

“You’re pregnant. Be careful and don't catch a cold. Cover yourself with this blanket and listen to what I have to tell you.”

Lin Wan obediently hid under the blanket with her eyes still fixed on Mrs. Hong.

Mrs. Hong said unhurriedly, “Let me ask you a question first. Who’d be Li Mu’s main rival after he takes over the Lin family?”

“There’re too many!” Lin Wan answered truthfully, “We have enemies in both the underworld and the legal world, even within the military! And of course, the seven families are our most dangerous rivals!”

“Great. You still have a clear mind. Let me ask you again. If our rivals have a chance to put us all from the Lin Family to death, what would they choose to do?”

“They’ll not hesitate to strike and destroy the Lin Family to bits!” Lin Wan said frankly.

“Good. Then tell me again. Will they choose to let the Lin Family go because you beg for mercy?”

“Absolutely not!” Lin Wan said firmly.

Mrs. Hong nodded and said to Lin Wan, “Lin Wan, you and I both know very well in our hearts that this is how it is. Everyone is bloody, cruel and does not show an ounce of humanity! Our rivals will not show us any mercy. And we will not show them any mercy either! The Lin Family has become the strongest family in the South Seas not only because of benevolence and morality. Instead, we got to this position by blood, sweat, and tears!”

Speaking of this, Mrs. Hong tucked in the corner of the blanket for Lin Wan. “Now, do you still think that your decision is helping him instead?”

“I’m worried.”

“I know what you are worried about. But there is no other way out. Li Mu must stay strong for the sake of you and his happiness. We can let go this time. But our enemies will never do the same. When that time comes, what is he going to do? Go to his rivals and beg for mercy?”

Lin Wan did not say anything. She certainly understood this and knew that the Lin Family was a responsibility that Li Mu could not escape from. As her husband, he had no choice but to be brave enough to take on this burden.

“Lin Wan, we are not trying to make things impossible for them. Dongyang Group is just a victim of the training. It may not necessarily be the end for Dongyang Group even if they lost this order. Li Mu has a point. But it’s not totally insolvable. It all depends on their motivations and means. Begging will not work!”

“I don't want to put too much pressure on him. I'm afraid he won't be able to take it.” Lin Wan said worriedly.

Mrs. Hong immediately said, “If that's the case, that just validated my point that Li Mu needs to undergo such training. He has suffered too little and hasn’t encountered enough challenges like this before, which is one of his weaknesses.”

Lin Wan nodded silently. She knew Li Mu's background. Although he was not born into a family of great fortune and wealth, he had grown up with no worries or disasters. And his studies and career were always smooth with no challenges or hardships. It was true that he did not have a heart made of steel that would help him through hardships one after another.

Mrs. Hong went on, “What he'll have to face in the future are family struggles, rivalries, and strange things that he’d wish he never knew! All of these are things he had never been exposed to before! He may break down any time if he doesn’t have a strong mentality. When that time comes, how can we help him?”

“What do you want me to do? Continue with the training?” Lin Wan asked uncertainly.

“Yes. Force him to come up with countermeasures and force him to grow up to be more mature as quickly as possible. I believe that after this training, he will become much more sensible and mature. Although he still needs to be trained every now and then, there should be no problem for him to cope with general affairs.”

Lin Wan hesitated for a long time before finally nodding her head and agreeing, “Alright then. Let's go on with this plan. I'll also take this matter as training for me. I want to be fair and not show favoritism!”

“That's right, Lin Wan. Always remember that enduring a moment of pain can lead to permanent happiness, while the result of a moment of weakness can lead to permanent pain!”

"I got it. Don't worry. I know exactly what to do."

The next morning, Li Mu woke up early and personally cooked a sumptuous breakfast for the two ladies. When Lin Wan and Mrs. Hong got up, he immediately greeted them and asked them to wash up and eat.

The two of them ate their breakfast with a sour face. It was really bad. The rice porridge was almost boiled down to solely rice. The eggs were burnt on both sides. And the bread was toasted harder than a stone. The only thing that was tasty was the pickles and he didn't even make them.

Mrs. Hong said as she ate, “Li Mu, you'd better not get up so early in the future. Don't ever cook again! We know you meant well and that’s enough! Don't ever cook for us again!”

Li Mu blushed as he said, “That’s exactly the reason I need to practice. Do you think famous chefs know how to cook since they were a baby? Practice makes perfect! I was a little too rushed today. I swear this isn’t my best meal. Next time. Next time I’ll make it better!”

After they finally finished the meal begrudgingly, Li Mu seized the chance to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen.

Mrs. Hong folded her arms as she stood aside to see him clown around. She frowned as she watched him and couldn’t help but say, “You’re pretty lazy huh? Do you think the utensils will be clean if you don’t wash them with dishwashing liquid?”

“I call this going green! We have to refuse the use of dishwashing liquid! We’re all a family. It doesn’t matter as long as it’s clean. There’s no need to be so fussy!”

“Nonsense! How on earth would it be clean if you don’t use the dishwashing liquid? We’re sharing our utensils if you don’t make them squeaky clean. I’ll feel like I’m eating what you’ve taken a bite of!”

“Well, I don’t mind! Aren’t we sharing food when we eat together at the table? That's how the Eastern food culture is. It makes us seem closer!”

“Thank you for reminding me. From now on we'll be distributing our meals in the house. I’ll never have to eat what you’ve eaten before ever again!”

Li Mu said irritably, “This disease of yours is called pretentiousness. And it needs to be cured!”

Mrs. Hong giggled, “Cut the crap. Hurry up and go out. Lin Wan has to go to work. Go see her off!”

Li Mu hurriedly left the kitchen and found Lin Wan fully dressed and about to leave for work.

“Lin Wan, wait!”

Lin Wan turned to look at him and said in a calm tone, “Are you trying to ask me about my decision?”

Li Mu nodded embarrassedly.

Lin Wan said lightly, “I'm sorry. I can't do it. I can’t bring myself to abuse my power for personal gains. If I did that, I would be going against my bottom line and principles. I can only choose to be fair when it comes to Dongyang Group’s matters!”

Li Mu froze. He then shook his head with a bitter smile, “Alright. Got it. Go to work now. Take care!”

Lin Wan could not bear to look at him anymore. She forced herself to turn around and walked out.

Looking at the closed door, Li Mu stood in a daze. He was unable to say what he felt in his heart. It was a mixture of disappointment, sadness, helplessness, which all concluded into sorrow!

Mrs. Hong walked over and comforted him softly “Don’t blame her for that. She had her own reasons for doing what she did. I’m sure you probably would’ve made the same choice if you were in her position.”

Li Mu shook off his head vigorously and forced a smile, “It doesn't matter. There is always a way out. Who knows? Maybe hardship is also considered a form of hope. I don't believe there is no way to crack the problem.”

“That's right. Instead of begging in a humble tone, why don't you think of a good solution to the problem? I'll give you a piece of advice. Start from the roots - the company. If you don't solve your own problems, you'll be defeated by the same problem sooner or later even if Lin Wan lets you off the hook this time. Do you want to get by on begging humbly every time a problem arises?”

These few words were like an enlightenment to Li Mu and he suddenly came to his senses. What Mrs. Hong said was right. If they didn't solve their own problems, sooner or later they would be defeated by a similar problem. The users could forgive them once, twice, and even three times! But did they really expect them to keep forgiving them over and over again?

“Thank you, Miss Hong!” Li Mu expressed his gratitude genuinely from the bottom of his heart.

Then he said with great pride, “It's no big deal. I'm determined to overcome this difficult hurdle! Let’s start from home. Miss Hong, can you promise me something?”

“I'll promise you anything except you cooking!”

“Alright. That’s what you said! No resisting. And no hitting me either!”

Mrs. Hong laughed delicately, “Alright. What do you want to do?”

Before she could finish her sentence, Li Mu hugged her. Followed by a steamy breath was a few pecks of kisses on her face by Li Mu’s warm, hot lips.

Fortunately, Li Mu did not dare to go too far and ran away after taking advantage of Mrs. Hong. Without waiting for her to react, he grabbed his mobile phone and car keys and rushed out of the room like a whirlwind.

Mrs. Hong stood frozen on the spot like a statue for a long time before she finally came to her senses. Blushing, she spat furiously and picked up her mobile phone to make a call. Upon second thoughts, she put it down and couldn't help but giggle.

Victory! Li Mu managed to accomplish one of the most impossible things on earth. He kissed the icy beauty that he respected so much, leaving her with a face full of his saliva and diminishing her pretentiousness. Li Mu regained his confidence and drove straight to the office.

When he arrived at the office, the first thing he did was to change into another set of clothes. He was in a mess when he escaped. So he didn't have time to change into his clothes and still had his casual home clothes on. That was too inappropriate in a formal workplace.

Immediately afterward, Li Mu issued an urgent notice asking all the staff of the business department to go to the company auditorium immediately for a meeting.

At the meeting, he briefed all the staff on the current situation and announced that the business department would enter a period of rectification.

First of all, the right to appoint and dismiss human resources was delegated to the team. And supervisors at all levels were asked to set a strict order to rectify their respective teams within the given deadline. They were required to reward those who were diligent and punish those who were lazy. They had to get rid of useless people and recruit useful ones in the shortest possible time. They must revive the business department.

At the same time, they made a few urgent calls to the respective sales in the country. They were instructed to take the initiative to visit customers and to provide them with a full set of rectification plans to make it up for their previous flaws. The aim of this was to show them their determination to reform and to make them feel satisfied and reassured, no matter how much it cost.

Such plans that were announced at the meeting immediately panicked all of them.