Chapter 15: A Ruthless Slap in the Face

Stacks of bright red cash lay on the front desk. Though no one counted it exactly, a glance was enough to confirm it matched Wang Meng’s claim—around two million in cash.

Seeing this, Sun Xuan and the suppliers waiting to settle accounts were stunned into silence. Sun Xuan’s face darkened as he strode to the front desk, grabbing a bundle of bills to inspect.

“Hey, what do you mean by that? Do you think this is counterfeit? I just withdrew this from the bank,” Wang Meng said coldly, standing nearby. He watched as Sun Xuan pulled out the hundred-yuan notes, scrutinizing them under the fluorescent light, his disdain clear.

Sun Xuan’s face flushed red from Wang Meng’s sarcasm. He tossed the bills onto the table without a word and turned toward the elevator.

Panicked, the middle-aged man hurried forward and grabbed Sun Xuan’s arm. “Mr. Xuan, you can’t leave! If you go now, what will we do?”

Realizing the situation, the suppliers quickly closed in on Sun Xuan. One shouted, “Mr. Xuan, you were the one who asked us to come to Mr. Sun for debt collection. Now that things have come to this, you can’t just walk away...”

“Yes, Mr. Xuan, you can’t leave. Shouldn’t you compensate us for the 10% payment?”

“Not just that—Mr. Xuan, you promised us other things, and those need to be fulfilled, too!”

Embarrassed under their pointed remarks, Sun Xuan ignored them entirely. With his bodyguards flanking him, he fled into the elevator in disgrace.

The middle-aged man and the others exchanged helpless glances as Sun Xuan escaped. Though he had fled, they were unwilling to give up so easily. The 10% payment was trivial to them, but they valued the future benefits Sun Xuan had promised.

For those benefits, they could seek him out later, but they didn’t want to lose the 10% payment now. The middle-aged man turned to Sun Xiaoyan, eyes glinting with a new idea.

Thinking the woman only cared about saving face, he decided to soften his approach.

He gave a subtle signal to the suppliers—old friends who understood his intentions without words.

Then, stepping up to Sun Xiaoyan, he spoke with a flattering tone, “President Sun, we know we’ve offended you before, mostly because of some instigators among us. We admit our mistakes. Could you be magnanimous and let this one slide?”

Hearing this, the suppliers immediately caught on and nodded eagerly, bowing and pleading, “President Sun, please don’t hold grudges. We’ve realized our errors. We want to keep cooperating long-term, so please don’t withhold the 10% payment.”

“We’ve seen the light and will stand by you from now on. Please forgive us this once!”

“Yes, President Sun, we were wrong!”

Sun Xiaoyan sneered coldly at these once arrogant suppliers. “Apologies? What use are they? Why do we even need the police then?”

Their smiles froze. They had thought their submission was enough to earn her favor, but instead, her words struck them like a slap.

The middle-aged man’s expression soured as he straightened slightly. His voice turned cold: “President Sun, please consider — we are suppliers to Tianhai Pharmaceuticals. If we stop supplying you, your medicine...”

“Hm?” Sun Xiaoyan narrowed her eyes, a cold smile curling her lips. “What? You think that without Mr. Zhang, my Tianhai Pharmaceuticals’ raw material supply will be cut off?”

“Never!” The man addressed as Mr. Zhang grinned smugly. “The materials in our hands cover about 50% of Kyoto’s supply. So...”

He glanced at Sun Xiaoyan, forcing a fake smile. “It’s best we cooperate peacefully—mind our own business.”

“Hmph!”

Sun Xiaoyan’s anger flared. “Mind our own business? You were the first to offend me today. You really think you’re some big shot as a mere supplier? I want to see how far your power goes—how you’ll make everyone hate money!”

Without waiting for a reply, she stepped forward and declared, “As Executive Director and CEO of Tianhai Pharmaceuticals, I hereby revoke Mr. Zhang’s qualification as a raw material supplier, blacklisting him permanently. We will never cooperate again!”

“Furthermore, to expand Tianhai Pharmaceuticals’ production, I announce an immediate 20% increase in raw material purchase prices, effective today!”

Her words stunned everyone present. Most suppliers smiled with delight—the original prices were already top-tier in the market, and this 20% hike pushed them to the absolute ceiling. Those holding large stocks of raw materials couldn’t help but beam.

Many cast mocking glances at Mr. Zhang, whose face flushed red from the shock of Sun Xiaoyan’s bold move.

Then, Mr. Zhang seemed to piece things together. He stepped forward and addressed the suppliers, “Everyone, don’t be fooled by this young woman. A 20% price increase means at least an extra million spent each quarter. Does Tianhai Pharmaceuticals really have the capacity to pay that now?”

He paused deliberately, letting his words sink in before adding, “I think she’s just issuing empty promises. Don’t believe her!”

“Oh, Old Zhang makes a good point.”

“Yeah, it kind of sounds true…”

“Well, if it’s just empty talk, we’d only be celebrating for nothing.”

Mr. Zhang’s words sparked renewed doubt among those present, their skepticism focusing on Sun Xiaoyan and Tianhai Pharmaceuticals’ ability to pay.

Seeing the earlier momentum falter, Sun Xiaoyan smirked inwardly but said nothing at once. Instead, she turned to Wang Meng.

“Manager Wang, please tell everyone how much the order I placed at your supermarket today cost.”

Wang Meng was momentarily surprised but quickly caught on. He silently gave her a thumbs-up—this CEO seemed fragile but was shrewd in business.

Instead of trying to defend her financial capability, which would only worsen the topic, Sun Xiaoyan took a different route, using an outsider to prove her ability to pay.

Eager to align with such a major client, Wang Meng stepped forward. “Hello everyone, I am the manager of Kyoto Premium Supermarket. This morning, President Sun placed an order with us worth ten million yuan, and prepaid 30%, that’s three million yuan. I have the contract here—anyone who doubts can come see it.”

He pulled out his phone and showed a photo of the contract to the crowd.

Of course, he wouldn’t carry the actual contract around, but to praise his boss, he had taken a photo and sent it to the supermarket’s owner, so the image was stored on his phone.

Hearing this, the crowd was stunned once more. An order of ten million yuan with a three million yuan prepayment confirmed that President Sun and Tianhai Pharmaceuticals’ ability to pay was rock solid.