Chapter 18: Don’t you want revenge?

"Mr. Bo, please…"

Susan Song was trying to approach Benjamin Bo, but he waved her away.

"Go away, Ms. Song. I'm busy. You're interfering with my work."

"No! Please, Mr. Bo, just give me a chance…!"

Susan Song clung onto Benjamin Bo's arm, and he impatiently tried to dislodge her away. He pushed her, trying not to be too rough, but not bothering to be gentle either. However, Susan Song continued to stubbornly cling onto his arm.

"You won't regret it! My Song family can offer you a dowry of the likes that you'll never imagine! You can merge the two companies together and take over as CEO! Think about it!"

Then she took a deep breath and looked away shyly.

"Also…I've always been in love with you. For a long time now…"

"Are you fucking with me?" Benjamin glared at Susan. "Weren't you Justin Han's girlfriend just last week? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No! That was a mistake! A misunderstanding! Anyway, Justin betrayed me! He cheated on me! I saw the error of my ways…"

"Sorry, but I find it hard to sympathize with someone who decides to switch her target of romance over a single weekend and make up a lie about being in love with me for a long time when she just dumped her cheating boyfriend only last Thursday."

Susan Song looked at him, trying to swallow her despair. Then she put on a confident display, smiling seductive.

"It matters not, does it, Mr. Bo? I know you find me attractive. I'm very confident in my beauty. You won't regret dating me. I'll definitely be an asset to you whenever you need a partner for formal events. Just give me a try."

Benjamin gave Susan a look of disdain. "I apologize, Ms. Song, but I do not find you attractive at all. And I am no longer single. I already have someone I like."

Susan gritted her teeth. "Who?!"

"Lily Ling." Benjamin smiled darkly. "You're nothing compared to her."

Then he strode off, leaving Susan spluttering. She clenched her fists and trembled in fury, hatred flooding her mind.

"What!? Lily Ling?! That slut! How dare she steals my Benjamin Bo from me?! Does she think she is very beautiful? That she has all the men in G City wrapped around her finger? I'll teach her!"

Then she clasped her hands together, a malevolent glint shining in her insane eyes.

"I'll take my revenge on that slut and teach her the lesson for stealing my man!"

*

"What?!" I growled, glaring at the landlord. "You can't do that! We just paid our rent last week! You can't evict us!"

"It's illegal," William agreed furiously.

"Hang on, you misunderstand." The landlord held up both hands, looking guilty. "I am not evicting you. It's just that…this warehouse no longer belongs to me. The Bo Corporation has just purchased the building…the entire plot of land here. And they want all tenants to move out with immediate effect. I'm just a messenger."

"Bullshit. Do you think we are born yesterday? We know the rules." I placed my hands on my hips and glared at the landlord. Or ex-landlord, for that matter. "If you want us to move out, you need to give us at least a month's notice in advance! In fact, the contract says six months! The buyer won't officially own the land until six months later! According to the law, they can't just buy property or a plot of land and become the new owners overnight! There's a transition period, and you need to give notice to the tenants well in advance!"

"Eh? But that's not how they do it in all those web novels and manhua."

"You've been reading way too many CEO web novels and manhua!" I shouted angrily. "Do your research before spouting such nonsense online, won't you?!"

Yeah, all those dramatic scenes where the CEO bought out entire properties, buildings or lands with a snap of the finger (or a single signature on a bunch of documents) were completely false and unrealistic. Purchasing property and land required different set of rules. It wasn't like buying a consumer product in a mall where you owned the product immediately after transaction. Since you had to deal with tenants and residents, you needed to give them advance notice. You couldn't just kick them out like in so many CEO novels.

That would be a breach of contract and it was downright illegal. Did you think the government wouldn't put laws in place to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords and businessmen? Seriously, these CEO story authors really needed to use their brains or at least do some basic research. It was clear that none of them had ever bought property or conducted any real sort of business in their lives before. They thought it was so quick and easy.

The landlord looked uncomfortable.

"You might be right regarding the law," he conceded. "But you know how these rich and powerful CEOs work. They don't care about the law. If they want to kick you out of the land, they will find all sorts of way to do so."

He sighed and raised a finger.

"One week. That's all I can give you. You must move out by the end of this week. I won't charge you rent for this week at all, and I'll return your deposit in full."

"Preposterous!" William snapped. "How are we supposed to find a new place and move out in a single week?! We need at least two months! One, if you really want to push us!"

"Like I said, I don't have a choice. If you don't move out by the end of this week…" The landlord gulped and looked around cautiously before turning back to us and dropping his voice into a whisper. "I can't guarantee your safety. You know how CEO Bo has connections to the underworld. He'll hire thugs and gangs to violently harass you and destroy your equipment."

"That bastard!" William yelled. "All of the time to…"

"I think this isn't a coincidence. They are aiming at me precisely when we are starting work on the energy shield generator. They are deliberately causing trouble and trying to sabotage our business." I scowled.

"I…I honestly don't know…and it's none of my business!" The landlord backed away. "Anyway, I've given you the one week's notice. You know what to do!"

He then fled from the warehouse, leaving William and me behind.

"Bloody hell!" I swore, scratching my head in despair. "We just solved the issue of rent last week, and then Benjamin Bo pulls this stunt on us. What do they have against us?"

"Perhaps I can answer that question."

Both William and I spun around, catching sight of Susan Song sashaying into the warehouse. She smiled sweetly and innocently, but I was sickened by the fake façade.

"What do you want?"

"Cooperation." Susan maintained that smile despite my hostile tone. "I know why Benjamin Bo is sabotaging your business. He's…jealous. He views you as a threat…because of Lily Ling. In fact, that slut Lily Ling is definitely the cause of your troubles. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one who convinced him to buy out this warehouse and put your company in trouble."

"That's a lot of assertions without evidence," William remarked suspiciously. Susan giggled.

"But you know I'm right."

"Uh, no? I don't believe you."

"You have to." Susan leaned toward me. "Don't you want revenge? I can help you with that. I was also targeted by that slut, Lily Ling. If we work together, we can take revenge on her! Make her pay for messing with us!"

"Are you…insane?" I stared at her in disbelief. "Listen to yourself. Never mind whether your claims are true or not. Right now, my company is in financial trouble and needs to find a new place, but instead of focusing on the present and figuring out solutions, you want us to waste our time on revenge? Do you think we will magically find a new place to rent or solve all our financial problems if we take revenge? Are you an idiot?"

"What…?"

"Also, what did Lily do to you, anyway? Why do you want revenge on her so badly?"

"That's…that's because she stole Benjamin Bo from me!" Susan gestured angrily. "How is that slut worthy of Benjamin? No! I'm the only one worthy of Benjamin!"

"Huh? Since when is Benjamin Bo yours?" I couldn't help but bury my face in my palm. "And weren't you supposed to be Justin Han's girlfriend? Why are you suddenly Benjamin Bo's woman now?"

"About that," William spoke up. "Ms. Song dumped Justin Han last week."

"So what? I'm the first daughter of the Song family! I deserve only the very best men! Yet that slut stole Benjamin from me!"

There were so many things wrong with what she was saying that I couldn't even begin to rebut. I decided to focus on the most glaring one first.

"How is it that Lily Ling is a slut and you want revenge on her regarding Benjamin Bo, but for some reason you have no intention of taking revenge on the women who Justin Han cheated on you with? How come you're not condemning those women as sluts?"

"That's…!" Susan looked taken aback. Then she waved her hands about. "Isn't it obvious? It's because Lily Ling is the female lead! She's the female main character of this CEO story! Therefore every other female antagonist must direct their hatred toward her and her alone! It doesn't have to be rational! We must try to kill her or sabotage her so as to cause drama!"

"What the fuck is she talking about now?" William demanded, turning to me with an utterly bewildered expression. My face was probably a mirror of his.

"I don't know…but I have a feeling that she just broke the fourth wall."

"Shut up! Just help me take revenge already! You're nothing more than the second male lead at most! No, you're not even that! You're just a stupid mob character whose role is to get stomped on by the male lead so that he has an excuse to save the female main character, Lily Ling, from your filthy paws!"

"I don't understand a single word she just said," William moaned, clutching his head.

"Let's just kick her out." Spinning around, I delivered a roundhouse kick that sent Susan Song flying out of the warehouse. Shutting the grilles to the entrance, I then returned my attention back to William. "More importantly, we need to focus on finding a new office. One that can fit all of these."

I waved toward the semi-completed Titan and all the tools that lay messily scattered about the floor.

"Yeah, we should." William looked exasperated as he ascended the stairs toward the second story office. "I'll make a few phone calls and see what we can find."

"And I'll start packing." I sighed heavily. "Heavens willing, we'll be able to move out of this place by the end of this week. And good riddance too."

If there was one silver lining, it was that we would never have to deal with that caustic landlord ever again.