"Weiwei, wait for me!"

Marcus grew anxious. He put all his strength into his movements and finally grabbed Clara's wrist.

His expression relaxed, "Weiwei, why are you ignoring me..."

The soft sensation on his hand gradually vanished, turning into countless rose petals falling to the ground.

Marcus’s heart trembled. He turned to find her figure, but couldn't find her at all; only petals remained on the ground.

"Weiwei!"

Marcus woke up from his dream with a start, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

Whether in his dreams or in reality, Clara was not by his side.

He clutched his throbbing head, his complexion looking terrible.

"Buzz, buzz."

The phone on his nightstand vibrated, and Marcus answered immediately.

"Marcus, what have you done?!"

Meng Yuwen's merciless reprimand came through the receiver, sobering Marcus up significantly.

"Get over here and find me. Look through all the files. I'm waiting for you to explain clearly how you managed to lose tens of billions for the company!"

Marcus’s pupils contracted; he immediately got up, washed up, and went downstairs.

The butler had been waiting downstairs; seeing that he didn't even eat breakfast, the butler hurriedly followed him to drive.

Marcus opened his phone, paused for a moment on Clara’s message interface, and then immediately opened the file sent by his secretary to review it.

The more he read, the more shocked he became. In a single night, tens of billions in shares of the Meng Group had been resold at a low price.

It was a withdrawal of investment from the top global management consulting firm that cooperated with the Meng family. To discard such a massive amount of capital so casually was like a joke—it was absolutely insane!

Marcus hurriedly called the secretary-general of the company, "Finless Porpoise," which acted as the intermediary.

She picked up quickly and said in a professional tone: "Hello, Mr. Meng, how may I help you?"

Marcus didn't intend to beat around the bush and asked directly: "Is there some misunderstanding on your company's part?"

The secretary-general took out the instructions left by the president and told him word for word:

"Mr. Meng, our President Bai only left one message."

President Bai?

Marcus’s heart skipped a beat, and then he heard her say in Chinese:

"My daughter is not someone you can bully whenever you want. You are on your own."

Chapter 18

Marcus’s complexion turned gloomy instantly. Before he could pursue the matter further, the other end of the line had already hung up.

No one had ever made him lose face like this.

No one had ever dared to be so disrespectful to him, daring to hang up on him first.

With a dark face, he requested a set of documents from his secretary.

When he opened the first page and saw the name of the acting general manager, Jane Willis, a flash of surprise surged in his heart.

However, the moment he opened the second page and saw the face of the person in charge, his entire body stiffened, unable to move.

The file clearly stated: President in charge of Finless Porpoise — Bai Chuyong.

A surge of inexplicable shock rose in Marcus’s heart. Wasn't this Weiwei’s father?

His temples began to throb violently. He flung the document from his hand, and his face turned pale.

Finless Porpoise actually meant "Bai Tun" (White Porpoise).

He remembered that after he married Clara, the Meng family became the first group to be invested in by a top overseas firm, and their stock price skyrocketed by 500% overnight.

Clara’s parents had always been very low-key; the only high-profile move they ever made was the gift given during the engagement—a collection of precious items worth 1.1 billion.

That event had passed seven years ago, and almost everyone had forgotten it, including Marcus himself.

He picked up the phone, trying to contact Clara’s parents, but there was no answer on the other end for a long time.

An unprecedented sense of powerlessness washed over him.

Marcus threw his phone aside, rubbed his forehead, and fell into silence.

In the office on the 60th floor of the Meng Group.

Just as Marcus stepped out of the private elevator, a jade ornament was thrown at his forehead.

The secretary on the side was so frightened that she could only keep her eyes fixed ahead, pretending she hadn't seen anything.

"What exactly is going on?!"

Meng Yuwen’s gaze was terrifyingly gloomy. What could be worse than waking up to find that your core investor had withdrawn their capital and left without warning?

It was something the Meng family could barely withstand; they were on the verge of bankruptcy.

The veins on the back of Marcus’s hands bulged. He tried his best to control his emotions before speaking: "The Finless Porpoise Group belongs to the Bai family. Clara left, and they left too."

Meng Yuwen was stunned for a moment, then realized how ridiculous all of this was.

His sharp gaze swept over his nephew’s dejected appearance. He picked up his cane, and while walking toward Marcus, ordered the secretary to leave.

"Kneel!"

Marcus closed his eyes and fell to his knees in front of his uncle with a thud.

Meng Yuwen raised his cane and struck Marcus heavily, his eyes full of disappointment.

"The first blow is to let you know you did something wrong; the second blow is because you forgot the family motto of the Meng family—whoever you marry, you should be responsible for her. The third blow is a lesson for your lack of conscience and sense of responsibility..."

The solid wood cane landed solidly each time, striking Marcus heavily, yet it felt as if it were lashing his soul.

After countless blows, just as Meng Yuwen was panting heavily and raising the cane high, his body suddenly went limp, and he collapsed.

"Uncle!"

Marcus scrambled up in a panic and caught his falling uncle.

Only then did he notice that Meng Yuwen’s temples were already gray, and his forehead was covered in wrinkles.

Enduring the pain all over his body, he carried his uncle onto the elevator and sent him into the ambulance called by the secretary.

After the surgery room doors closed.

He sat alone in the hospital, his whole body trembling, filled with shame, confusion, and emptiness.

Ever since Weiwei left, everything in his world seemed to be spiraling downward; no good news had happened since.

"Buzz."

The phone vibrated continuously.

Marcus took out his phone with a blank expression; it was a call from Jiang Ruoxiao.

He pressed answer but remained silent. In the past, he would have been unable to contain his joy at her proactive calls, but now his heart was unusually calm.

"Marcus, why didn't you return my messages or answer my calls? I’m angry!"

Jiang Ruoxiao’s voice was as coquettish as usual, but Marcus wasn't moved in the slightest.

"I have things to deal with. Find Meng Ci to accompany you."

Jiang Ruoxiao’s expression changed, and her tone became displeased.

"Do you really want me to find Meng Ci? Aren't you afraid I'll stop talking to you?"

Marcus replied indifferently: "I'm hanging up if there's nothing else."

Jiang Ruoxiao panicked and hurriedly shouted: "Marcus? Marcus!"

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The private room was silent. Someone watched Jiang Ruoxiao’s terrible expression with amusement, feigning ignorance while coaxing her.

"The Crown Prince has been busy these few days; it's understandable."

"It's just not answering calls or returning messages. Why don't you learn from me, Ruoxiao? I've hooked a second-generation rich kid from Shanghai; do you want one?"

"Oh, she already has the Crown Prince; why would she want some pretty boy from Shanghai? Can she even handle that much?"

"That's right, besides, it's not like Marcus is busy chasing after Clara just because she left!"

These people were mocking Jiang Ruoxiao openly and covertly. She couldn't stay any longer and pretended to go to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Jiang Ruoxiao sent a message to Meng Ci, but received a reply that he was also busy, which made her so angry she kicked the trash can hard.

"Ah!"

Dirty paper balls with a foul odor spilled onto Jiang Ruoxiao, and she was so furious that she left immediately.

When she got into the car, the driver endured it for a long time before secretly rolling down a window.

He didn't dare to look at Jiang Ruoxiao’s livid face.

"Ding."

Jiang Ruoxiao opened her phone and saw someone posting on social media about looking for gossip, hinting at her situation.

Her face turned from green to white; she felt as if something she had controlled was gradually slipping away.

Since when had Marcus stopped caring about her?

Chapter 19

The hallway of the hospital emergency room was dim, and the air was thick with the scent of disinfectant.

Marcus sat alone on a bench, rubbing a yellowed old photograph on his phone screen.

In the photo, a young Meng Yuwen and his aunt were huddled closely together, holding a stubborn-looking little boy in their arms—that was what Marcus looked like as a child.