Chapter 126 Bitching About Maria


    Maria understood totally. She realized that Colby was really a cunning man. After thanking Norman,


    she called Colby. She was upfront with him, telling the businessman that Norman''spany had


    projects in the development phase, but had no ns for releasing any of them now.


    Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.


    Colby was satisfied with her answer. He knew the answer already, and was just testing Maria. He


    apologized and told her he must have heard wrong. The man figured Maria would ept his


    apology and be none the wiser.


    But Maria was no fool, and so she gracefully epted his apology. The two ended the call, but with


    very different views on things. Maria now knew where she stood with Colby.


    In the dead of night, the woman gritted her teeth and ignored the pain all over her body. She


    dragged herself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom to wash her hands. The sanitizer was


    sticky and smelled, but it could prevent infection.


    After all that, she still didn''t feel that good. She slowly walked to the nursing station and found the


    nurse on duty. She smiled and said, "Excuse me. Could you change my bedding, please?"


    That should have been done by cleaning staff during the day. The cleaning staff were off duty. But


    Maria lived in a VIP ward and was nice to the staff, so the nurse had no reason to refuse.


    ''Okay, Ms. Song. One moment please. "Thank you!"


    Maria slowly made her way back to the ward. The nurse followed her in, carrying a new four-piece


    bedding set and changed the sheets and covers for her.


    After that, Maria climbed into bed and closed her eyes, surrendering herself to sleep.


    The next day, the living room of the Song family had been brought to life by the guests. They were


    excited. Lorenzo was supposed to propose to Carolina today.


    In order to keep her reputation and dignity in front of Lorenzo''s parents, ine even called Alina


    over, because she was Mrs. Xi-to-be.


    As soon as the Lan family saw Alina, they knew what the Song family meant. Had they known about


    this, they would''ve called Judy and asked her to join them too.


    But the Lan family didn''t want to make that much of a big deal out of it, so they didn''t call Judy.


    The parents of Lorenzo and Carolina made conversation. The four chatted in the living room, and


    the younger generation were sitting together, gossiping among themselves.


    Somehow, Alina and Dani managed to bring up Maria.


    Dani sneered. "Maria doesn''t know her ce. She used to wear second-hand clothes that my


    sister and I didn''t want. She even called Mr. Xi to—" She stopped abruptly.


    Alina was uneasy. She didn''t like the idea of James and Maria being mentioned in the same breath.


    She asked Dani, "What happened? Why did you stop?"


    Dani was emboldened, and continued her litany ofints. "We went to a clothing outlet, and


    Maria got Mr. Xi to pay for a coat worth two million bucks. She also brazenly walked out of the store


    with the purse I liked. She''s just using him for his money. I don''t mean to me you, Alina. You''re


    going to be his fiancee. You should teach Maria a lesson. Don''t let her take Mr. Xi away from you."


    Carolina didn''t like the way her sister was talking. She frowned and said, "Dani, let''s stay out of


    this. It''s between Mr. Xi and Alina."


    "But I can''t stand Maria! She''s so arrogant. Who does she think she is?" Dani rolled her eyes.


    Dani got quite upset whenever she thought about Maria.


    Lorenzo gave Carolina a look. "Ohe on, Carolina. You know how crass Maria is. You can dress


    a beggar in expensive clothes, but she won''t stop being a beggar, right?"


    He didn''t have the chance to bitch about Maria during working hours. Now that he finally found an


    opening, he couldn''t resist. "Maria asked me to wash Mr. Xi''s water mug. She deliberately left her


    lipstick mark on it. She''s done other things, too, and Mr. Xi wouldn''t punish her. Alina, you have to


    work harder!"


    Theirints shattered Alina''s good mood. She asked uncertainly, "You said Maria used James''


    mug?"


    "Yes, You know Mr. Xi has a serious case of germaphobia. Maria used his mug. He should have


    tossed the mug in the trash." But he didn''t. After asking Lorenzo to disinfect the mug, James


    continued to use it.


    Dani couldn''t stop harping on Maria. "That woman is impossible!"


    Alina gritted her teeth, but she had no choice but to suffer through it. Carolina and Lorenzo were set


    to be engaged by the end of the year, a week after James and Alina''s engagement party.


    In fact, Carolina was a little disgusted by Lorenzo''s little tale, but she kept silent. This was for the


    sake of the family business.


    At HL Group


    Annoyed, James threw the pen aside. After a while, he pressed the button of his internal line to


    summon Summer. When she walked in the office, he said, "Call Maria and tell her that I want to talk


    about herpany."


    "But she''s still in the hospital. Mr. Xi, are you going there to talk to her in person?" Summer asked.


    James nced at her coldly. "She forced me to invest. Why would I go see her? If she still wants


    the money, she cane to me!"


    Summer was speechless. Instead of saying anything else, she simply answered, "Yes, Mr. Xi."


    Then she was about to leave his office and call Maria, but unexpectedly, James added, "Call her


    here."


    "Okay." Summer almost rolled her eyes. ''Mr. Xi, are you on your period? Why are you in such a bad


    mood?'' her inner voice asked.


    Summer called Maria. "Hi, Maria. Did I wake you up? Feeling better?"


    "Here''s the thing. Mr. Xi wants to talk to you about yourpany."


    "Oh, I see. Okay. I''ll tell Mr. Xi. Remember to get lots of rest. Get well soon! Bye." Summer locked


    her phone and calmly told James, "Mr. Xi, Maria said she doesn''t need your investment anymore.


    Her boyfriend has invested in herpany."


    Her boyfriend? Frowning, James asked, "Who''s her boyfriend?"


    "Mr. Lu. Remember, Mr. Xi?" Summer reminded him seriously. ''Are you losing it, Mr. Xi? Maria told


    you she is in love with Lawrence. Why are you asking?'' Summer couldn''t help worrying about


    James'' mental health.


    James stewed silently.


    The CEO didn''t look happy at all, and Summer was too frightened to utter a word.


    She tried to think of countless excuses to leave the awkwardness behind, but she could scarcely


    force herself to say anything. Atst, James said, "Leave!"


    "Yes, Mr. Xi!" With his permission, Summer left the office as fast as she could.


    It was getting dark outside. With a cold face, James picked up his phone and called Lawrence.


    "Let''s go out for a drink," he said when he heard his friend pick up.


    Lawrence replied in an apologetic tone, "Sorry, James. I can''t make it tonight. Maria''s getting


    discharged from the hospital. I have to drive her back."


    James didn''t expect the rejection.


    Wasn''t she seriously injured? Why was she leaving so early? He couldn''t understand what Maria


    was up to.


    James asked icily, "I heard you''re investing in Maria''spany?"


    "Yes, Maria''s got a startup. I put up eighty million. She''ll be the legal representative, shareholder,


    and chairman of thepany." James couldn''t find his tongue again. He always knew his best


    friend was rich, but he didn''t know Lawrence was so generous. They''d been together less than


    three days, right? And he was willing to invest eighty million dors in Maria''spany.


    No wonder Ethan called Maria the enchantress.


    Lawrence urged from the other end of the line, "Hey, I gotta run. Maria has a short fuse, you know. I


    don''t want to keep her waiting. Bye!"


    Si


    Ophelia Q