A Call That Changed Her Entire Life

Chapter 1587 A War Without Smoke

Because of the HT Group's incredible success with their brand new line of skincare products, countless superstars and even some well-known news anchors reached out to the company, wanting to be their spokesperson. Luckily for them, Jacob felt generous and gave each one of them a few products to test on their own, free of charge. When these celebrities got a hold of the products, they couldn't stop telling everyone about how great the products were for their skin. As a result, the public's interest grew exponentially.

While the HT Group's products rose to the top, the KING Group's hold on the skincare industry gradually dwindled. For the last six months, the KING Group's skincare products were all the craze. But now, not a single soul was even talking about them anymore.

Frustrated,

Darren slammed the stack of reports on his table.

Seeing their sales go down the drain on a piece of paper in front of him, he felt like he had gotten a huge slap in the face. No matter where he looked, all he could see was a line going straight down on a sales chart.

At that moment, he couldn't help but dwell on the time when their sales had reached its absolute peak. People couldn't stop saying good things about the KING Group, and everyone in the business world wanted to work there. Even his employees were brimming with delight because of their success. Back then, everyone had only had praise and admiration for Darren. But now that they had hit rock bottom, the whole company felt dull and uninspired, probably because everyone knew that Darren had been bested by his rival once again. Even if the KING Group's employees greeted their boss with respect, Darren could sense that they had lost respect for him just by looking at their eyes.

“In recent news, the HT Group's grand entrance to the skincare industry has been a big success. Their meticulous scientific research and use of the best quality materials has allowed them to create products

that have swept the entire nation off their feet. Keep in mind that several months ago, the KING Group was the most prominent name in the skincare industry. However, when we asked customers who have used both products about which is the better one, pretty much every single one of them said that the HT Group's products were miles ahead in quality and effectiveness for their skin. We talked with the HT Group about how they made such wonderful products. They said that it's because they believe that if you start with the best materials, your product will definitely come out on top. And that's just what they did. Our sources say that the material LQ that they used in the products came from their supplier, a renowned company, who is pretty much known for providing top of the line raw materials for the biggest manufacturers in the world. Is it really just because of that? Why are the HT Group's products so good? To answer those questions, we've arranged an interview with a leading professor in our own Medical University. Here's what he had to say.“

The morning news report on the TV just added insult to injury. Darren was an inch away from throwing something at it just to shut it up.

'I'm willing to bet all my money that if Jacob hadn't stolen LQ, his company wouldn't be on the news right now,' Darren irritably thought to himself with a peeved expression on his face.

All of the time and effort he had put into propelling the KING Group to success had been rendered useless in a matter of weeks. There was barely any space for them in the skincare market, all because of Jacob.

The more Darren thought about his rival's underhanded approach to win, the more his blood started to boil. When he heard what the professor had to say about the HT Group's new products, he finally succumbed to his rage. Losing all sense of control, he stood up and walked over to the TV. Then, he smashed the screen with his bare hands repeatedly. Even after all of that violence, Darren still wasn't done. He pulled the TV from the wall and threw it down to the floor with all his might.

The screen completely cracked and shards of glass scattered all over the floor.

Miraculously, the TV still worked after all that abuse since the power was still connected to the wall. The reporters' faces, twisted and distorted through the cracked glass, looked like a terrifying scene from a horror movie, just like the look on Darren's face at that moment.

Right after that, Darren fell into despair. He knew that if he couldn't find a way to bring the KING Group back to its former glory, he would never be able to save the love of his life. How could he possibly live with himself when an innocent girl was in prison because of him? Especially when her lonely, sorrowful face always popped up into his head every time he saw a girl who slightly resembled her. Because of all of this, his head throbbed in pain, and his brows furrowed in anger —not at his rival, but at himself for being such a useless man. Despite all these sorrowful thoughts, Darren knew in his heart that he couldn't just sit and watch while his whole world collapsed on itself. If he was truly the man that Bonnie loved, he needed to think of something to turn their situation around.

No matter how sad or dejected he felt, there was no way he was going to let Bonnie rot in prison because of taking the blame for him. At that moment, Darren made a promise to himself that he would get her out of there no matter what, even if he had to do the unthinkable.

Meanwhile, the sound of the TV hitting the floor resounded outside of his office. Naturally, the curious employees outside couldn't help but gossip about it.

“What was that sound just now?“ the employee closest to the office asked in a low voice. Original content from NôvelDrama.Org.

“It sounded like something big fell down,“ an employee from a few rows back replied.

After that, a third employee voiced out his thoughts. “That didn't sound like something falling down. It was more like something being thrown to the floor.“

Everyone pretty much agreed with what the third employee said since all of them knew that Darren was alone in the CEO office, and he wasn't in a good mood.

After a while, a fourth employee told everyone his opinion. “Judging by the harsh sound, it's probably his gigantic TV that was mounted on the wall. If it was his computer, we would've barely heard it, right?“ His explanation made sense to everyone, so they just nodded in agreement. When everything had settled down, they all walked back to their desks. But before they could sit on their chairs, the fourth employee sarcastically added, “Wasn't the news on just a while ago? There was an interview with a professor who explained why the HT Group has been so successful. It's because of LQ.“

When the employees heard the name “LQ,“ all of them immediately thought of the big posters that could be seen on the sides of big malls. For some reason, it was a well-known fact that the best raw materials came from LQ. When the HT Group had advertised that their products were made from LQ's supplies, it had pretty much guaranteed them their success.

Even the employees of the KING Group, mostly female, couldn't help but buy their rival company's products secretly. Some would even wear disguises when they went to malls to buy the HT Group's products. They all just wanted to try those products, but after actually using them, all that secrecy disappeared. Some were even crazy enough to recommend the products to their families, friends, and loved ones.

“You know what, I think the CEO saw the news. That's why he's so mad right now,“ another employee added. Everyone came to that conclusion since there seemed to be no other reason for him to smash anything on the floor.

“Hmm... Do you really think he smashed his big, expensive TV?“ one of the female employees asked in a distasteful manner. She didn't like men who acted violently when times were tough. As far as she knew, Darren had always been a man who carried himself in a proper manner. Even if he was prone to anger, he would always keep his composure, especially if one of his employees did something wrong. With that in mind, all the male employees saw him as a man they wanted to be. On the other hand, the female employees made him a guideline for the man they wanted as their partner. This was probably why they were so disappointed with how he had reacted to a bit of bad news.

“I didn't expect Mr. Xu to be such a sore loser. He should've realized by now that losing is part of being in business. He's acting like he hasn't been in this line of work for so long.“

“Yeah, I think it's childish to break stuff just because you lost.“

For almost thirty minutes, everyone just stopped working and talked about how much they disliked Darren. After all of them had had their chance to voice out their opinion of their boss, they started talking about how great the HT Group's skincare products were. No one had a single bad thing to say about these products. Even the employees who hadn't tried it were forced to buy some online right at that moment.

“Do we pay you to sit around and chat? If all of you have that much free time on your hands, why hasn't one of you thought of a way to increase our sales? Do your freaking jobs!“ Harlan shouted with the fiercest voice he could muster.

He couldn't believe that all their employees were talking badly about Darren. To make matters worse, they were gushing over their competitors' products. Harlan was already in a bad mood since the company was currently in shambles. The employees couldn't have picked a worse time to anger him. As Darren's right-hand man, he simply couldn't let this happen again. He stared at each one of them in the eye, making sure that they knew what the consequences would be if they ever did it again.

Everyone was frightened to death by Harlan's shouting and his intense glare. As a result, they hurried back to their desks and continued working with their heads pointed down low.

Suddenly, a veteran of the company winked at Harlan, pointing him to the direction of the CEO office.

Harlan immediately understood that something bad must have happened to his boss. When he was done checking if everyone was back to work, he walked to Darren's office in a hurry.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw that the floor was a mess. Shattered glass was all over the floor and even on the carpet. Harlan felt a bit of pity for the one who was going to clean up all of this. It didn't take a detective to realize that Darren had just gone berserk.

With this in mind, Harlan walked in with the utmost care, trying his best to not offend his boss any further. When Darren saw his right-hand man, he swaggered his way to the sofa and sat down. He was still feeling quite irritated at that point, so he couldn't stop himself from aggressively scratching the back of his head and ruining his well-styled hair.

“Mr. Xu, calm down,“ Harlan calmly uttered while closing the door behind him. Then, he carefully walked towards Darren while trying to avoid the mess on the floor.

“Calm down? How in the world do you expect me to do that?“ Darren sneered. But as soon as he finished speaking, his emotions became too much to bear and he inevitably cried. “Haven't you seen how far behind we are compared to the HT Group? Our sales are basically nonexistent! All of those times we stayed up late and worked ourselves to death are in vain now. Our market shares are dwindling by the second and we can't do anything to stop it. If we lose all of it...how... How can I possibly save...?“

Darren broke down on his knees before he could finish his sentence. But of course, Harlan didn't need him to finish it to know what he was talking about.

All of Darren's heartfelt words caused Harlan to feel sorrowful as well. However, he knew he needed to get Darren back on his feet so that they could free Bonnie as soon as possible. “Mr. Xu, don't beat yourself up too much. Don't forget that the HT Group didn't make that much money even with how successful their venture into the skin care industry is. In fact, they even lost a decent amount of money when they just were starting. Think about it. Why is Jacob spending money, as if it grew on trees, just to beat you?“

Harlan's question completely stunned Darren. He had already considered what Harlan just said, but he had never thought about it thoroughly even though his rival's intentions had been clear from the very beginning.

“Do you really think Jacob entered the skincare industry just to make money even though all his other ventures are currently successful?“ Harlan added when he saw Darren sitting back on the chair.

This whole conversation was like a light bulb, popping up inside of Darren's head. Without wasting another second, he took one look at Harlan and said, “How could I have missed it? He's trying to pick a fight with me!“

“Exactly! Don't you find it hard to believe that he coincidentally entered the skincare industry when we were at the top of it? There's no doubt about it. He's trying to outdo you in whatever way he can. He doesn't even care if he loses money while he's doing it! The only thing that is in that man's mind is to defeat the KING Group, and you!“ Harlan boldly exclaimed.

“Everyone in this country knows that!“ Darren irritably replied.

He didn't need Harlan to repeat what he already knew, especially since it was known to pretty much everyone that both groups had been in a grueling war for a long time now.

“Mr. Xu, I know you already know about all of this. But you're still missing the bigger picture. Jacob is focused on defeating you. Because of that, he has no energy nor time to deal with other matters. After all, your rival is still a mortal man. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll show the kinks in his armor sooner or later. We just have to be sharp enough to catch on when it happens.“ Harlan's meticulous analysis of their situation astounded Darren. He couldn't help but be inspired by the calculating look on his assistant's face.

“You're right! That's why you're my right hand man! So what did you have in mind?“ Darren asked in an enthusiastic tone. With how Harlan was acting, he knew his assistant already had a plan for the

company.

Harlan took a few seconds to catch his breath. Then, he calmly replied, “Since he's so focused on going against you, let's give him something to beat. When that happens, he'll undoubtedly pour his heart and soul to besting you once again. When he's giving it his all, we're only going to be using the smallest possible amount of effort to keep up with him. And while that's happening, we can start something fresh on the side. If this plan works, we'll have no one to oppose our new venture!“