Chapter 1587 A War Without Smoke
Because of the HT Group''s incredible sess with their brand new line of skincare products, countless
superstars and even some well-known news anchors reached out to thepany, 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 thest 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 mmed 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 p 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 sess. Back
then, everyone had only had praise and admiration for Darren. But now that they had hit rock bottom,
the wholepany 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 sess. 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 definitelye 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
renownedpany, 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, hispany 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 sess 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
sumbed 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 screenpletely cracked and shards of ss 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 ss, 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 copsed 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 me 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.
“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 hisputer, we would''ve barely heard it, right?“
His exnation 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 exined why the HT Group has been so sessful. 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 sess.
Even the employees of the KING Group, mostly female, couldn''t help but buy their rivalpany''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 rmend 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 hisposure, 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.
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“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!“ Han 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 theirpetitors'' products. Han 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 Han''s shouting and his intense re. As a result, they hurried
back to their desks and continued working with their heads pointed down low.
Suddenly, a veteran of thepany winked at Han, pointing him to the direction of the CEO office.
Han 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 ss was all over the
floor and even on the carpet. Han 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, Han 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,“ Han 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 arepared to the HT Group? Our sales are basically nonexistent! All of those
times we stayed upte 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, Han didn''t need
him to finish it to know what he was talking about.
All of Darren''s heartfelt words caused Han 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
sessful 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?“
Han''s questionpletely stunned Darren. He had already considered what Han 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 sessful?“ Han 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 Han 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!“ Han boldly eximed.
“Everyone in this country knows that!“ Darren irritably replied.
He didn''t need Han 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 orter. We just have to be sharp enough to catch on when it happens.“ Han''s meticulous
analysis of their situation astounded Darren. He couldn''t help but be inspired by the calcting 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 Han was acting, he knew his assistant already had a n for the
Han 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 n works, we''ll have no one to oppose our new
venture!“