Chapter 892: Good News and Bad News
by xennovel“Friends? Are we friends?”
Xu Shaochen asked, sounding surprised, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
Jim’s heart raced upon hearing this. He quickly said, “Xu, aren’t we? You know, I always thought we were friends. That day, it was just a minor argument, but that won’t affect our friendship, right?”
“Jim, how much do you think our friendship is worth?” Xu Shaochen asked.
Jim fell silent, realizing that this was Xu Shaochen testing how much the Johnson Family was willing to sacrifice to resolve this dispute.
After a long pause, Jim threw the ball back. “Xu, what do you think?”
“I think our friendship is priceless. Any price would insult the noble bond between us. Don’t you agree?”
Xu Shaochen said seriously, each word resonating with conviction.
I say?
I say, damn you! Jim silently cursed Xu Shaochen’s ancestors, all eighteen generations. Priceless? He wasn’t just opening a lion’s mouth wide; this was an open-mouthed Tyrannosaurus Rex!
“Xu, I have a great idea. How about we discuss this profound topic over a round of golf?”
Jim suppressed his urge to curse and tried to maintain a calm tone.
“What? You found that blasted bug eating my lawn?!”
Suddenly, Xu Shaochen raised his voice and then, turning to Jim, said, “Jim, I’m terribly sorry. But I think you heard what I just said. Catching that bug is more important.”
With that, Xu Shaochen hung up the phone.
If he guessed correctly, Jim must have called Mike, then Tony, before finally calling him.
Because, if there was any solution at all, Jim would want to avoid dealing with him the most.
If Jim could settle things with the first two, he wouldn’t need to talk to him.
But now that Jim had called him, it meant that both Mike and Tony had also refused.
Delay, the longer they delayed, the more panicked they would become. The longer they dragged it out, the greater the price they’d have to pay.
“Weren’t you going to catch that bug?”
Li Qianya smiled mischievously at him.
“You’re the big caterpillar I’m catching.”
As Xu Shaochen finished speaking, he immediately jumped on her and restrained her.
………………
“That damned bastard! Fuck! Shit! To hell with that fucking bug!”
Hearing the dial tone, Jim could no longer maintain his calm demeanor and immediately began cursing.
“Ding ding ding…”
Suddenly, his phone rang again.
Jim thought it was Xu Shaochen calling back and instinctively answered, “My friend…”
“Young Master, it’s me.”
Before he could finish, the other person interrupted him.
“Shit, what is it?”
Jim swore and then coldly asked.
It was his secretary calling.
“Young Master, I have good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear?”
“The bad news,” Jim said without hesitation. Get the bad news first, then the good would make him feel a little better.
Besides, in the current situation, how much worse could things get?
“Young Master, the bad news is that someone caused a scene at the press conference. It was a complete mess, and the conference was a failure. The media backlash has only worsened.”
“Shit!” Jim cursed, feeling tightness in his chest. He quickly asked, “Tell me the good news, quickly!”
The bad news nearly knocked him out. He desperately needed some good news to lift his spirits and save his failing heart.
“Young Master, the good news is that I won fifty million USDs in the lottery! Hahaha! Fifty million USDs! I never have to look at you again. I’m emigrating! This is the best news of my life! Hahaha…”
Jim: “…………”
“Fuck you, you bastard!”
Hearing that joyful laugh, Jim swore fiercely, then slammed his phone on the floor.
He felt like his heart hadn’t been saved at all; instead, it was failing even more. It hurt to breathe.
“Huff— huff—”
Slouched on the sofa, Jim was panting heavily. He felt like this wasn’t his year at all.
He didn’t have time to deal with that lottery-winning bastard right now.
The press conference debacle alone was enough to feel like he’d been struck by a hammer.
If he guessed correctly, the troublemakers at the press conference were definitely Xu Shaochen, Mike, and Tony.
“Ding ding ding…”
Suddenly, his phone rang again, despite having just been slammed onto the ground.
Jim thought it was that bastard calling back to gloat again. After all, over the years, he hadn’t been kind to that guy.
He grabbed the phone and immediately started cursing, “You bastard! It’s just fifty million USDs! You’d better hope I don’t have the time to deal with you, you jerk…”
“Jim?”
A calm voice came from the phone, tinged with a bit of anger.
Jim froze, then immediately started sweating. “Father! I’m sorry, I thought… I thought it was… some jerk. No, no, I wasn’t cursing you, I was cursing…”
“Enough. I called to ask if you’ve talked to them. Where do they stand?”
Sam interrupted Jim, knowing that the more Jim talked, the more it sounded like he was cursing him.
“Father, those three bastards, they all refused. They’re doing it on purpose, dragging things out! They want to wait until we’re completely cornered so they can make outrageous demands, knowing we can’t refuse!”
Talking about Xu Shaochen and the others made Jim grind his teeth with hatred.
“They can afford to wait, but we can’t. You’ve probably already heard about the press conference. We need to reach a compromise with them quickly.”
“Oh my God! That damned Chinese bastard!”
Suddenly, Sam let out a curse.
“What happened, Father? What’s going on?” Jim asked hastily.
“The secretary just told me that Xu Corporation has officially filed a lawsuit against us, accusing us of producing counterfeit drugs that have severely damaged their reputation. They’re demanding fifty billion USDs in damages.”
“Damn it! That bastard! Why doesn’t he just rob a bank!”
Sam was furious. They were the ones who got screwed over, yet now they were being sued and the demand was for an astronomical amount, almost causing him to vomit in rage.
(Xu Someone: Rob? Are you kidding? Robbery doesn’t make money this fast!)
In the U.S., damage claims in lawsuits are often sky-high. Even trivial matters can be dragged to court.
That’s one of the reasons why lawyers hold such high status in Mg Country.