Chapter 58: Forced to Drink

Seeing Su Mian’s face flushed with redness, the project department manager knew she must have reached her limit. Fearing that Su Mian would not be able to handle the situation, the manager picked up her wine glass to smooth things over. "Gentlemen, Manager Su has a low tolerance for alcohol. Allow me to propose a toast to you on her behalf."

After she downed her drink, the bosses completely ignored her gesture. "Manager Su is young, promising, and clearly a heavy drinker. She's barely had anything. Aren't you worrying a bit too much?"

Watching the greedy, predatory gleam in their eyes, the manager knew they harbored malicious intentions. Desperate to secure the investment, Su Mian had no choice but to force herself to play along. After a grueling round of drinks, the bosses finally agreed to grant her a brief respite.

Several other PR elites who were accompanying them also stood up to toast. "Gentlemen, our President Lin had an emergency meeting and couldn't make it tonight. Please forgive our poor hospitality, and we hope for your understanding."

"Work is of the utmost importance; how could we not understand? President Lin introducing such an exceptional talent as Manager Su to us is proof enough of how much he values our partnership!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the other bosses chimed in with agreement. However, the staff from the PR and project departments found this remark rather unsettling, feeling as though they had completely misinterpreted Lin Mu's intentions.

The project manager exchanged glances with the others, signaling them to stay alert and make sure Su Mian was not taken advantage of.

Su Mian drank two glasses of water to sober up slightly, then pulled several documents from her bag. "Gentlemen, I have a few projects here that I'd like to present for your review..."

Before she could finish, another glass of liquor was pushed toward her. "Manager Su, we can talk about the projects later, and investments can wait. Tonight, let's just focus on enjoying ourselves to the fullest."

Feeling somewhat dizzy, Su Mian pushed the glass away. "Gentlemen, I really cannot drink any more. You can have my other colleagues accompany you instead."

The project manager and the others hurriedly stepped in to rescue her. "That's right, we can accompany all of you and keep you company. Our Manager Su has already had quite a bit to drink. If she drinks any more, she might end up back in the hospital."

A flash of displeasure instantly crossed the bosses' faces. They felt that Su Mian wasn't unable to drink, but rather that she simply looked down upon them.

One of the investors slammed five bottles of white liquor onto the table. "What, are you questioning our financial strength? Fine, each of these five bottles on the table is worth four million. We will invest as much as you can drink."

Although humiliating, Su Mian could not refuse. After all, this twenty-million-yuan injection of capital would completely wipe out the company's financial deficit.

The project manager leaned close to Su Mian's ear and whispered, "Manager Su, if we can't close this deal, we can find another way. Don't risk your health over this."

Su Mian decided to take a chance. Though she disdained taking shortcuts, this was a promise made directly by the investors, and surely they wouldn't renege in public.

She smiled and unscrewed a bottle. "Alright, then today I'll risk my life to accompany you gentlemen. You must keep your word."

"Wonderful! I love girls like Manager Su—both beautiful and straightforward. If you can finish these, we will definitely keep our promise."

Having barely finished two bottles, Su Mian felt the alcohol rushing heavily to her head. The project manager tried to help, but was immediately cornered and forced to drink as well.

What should have been a welcoming banquet instantly transformed into a slaughterhouse. Not only Su Mian, but several other colleagues as well, were plied with alcohol until they were completely dazed and dizzy.

Unable to take it any longer, a project department employee slammed his hands on the table and stood up. The bosses looked at him with mocking expressions.

Fearing trouble, Su Mian quickly tried to smooth things over. "I'm so sorry, everyone. Let's continue. He must have had too much to drink."

Things had already progressed this far; if the deal fell through because of a momentary impulse on his part, all their hard work would be completely wasted.

Su Mian forced herself to muster some energy and reached out to twist open a bottle cap when she heard a sharp, cracking crash. A wine bottle smashed squarely against one of the bosses' heads, shattering into a spray of flying fragments.

Everything happened so fast that no one present had time to react.

The assaulted boss sprang to his feet, his face contorted with rage as he cursed, "Damn it! Which bastard hit me?"

Huo Beihan's eyes flashed with a fierce, murderous intent. "Whose father are you?"

Su Mian hadn't expected Huo Beihan to show up here, let alone coincidentally arrive to bail her out. Could he have been having someone keep tabs on her all along?

Right behind Huo Beihan, acting like a fawning lapdog, Lin Mu hurried over, babbling as he ran, "I told you to wait for me! It was just dinner with clients, there's no need to get this worked up..."

Before he could finish the word "up," Lin Mu was struck dumb by the scene before him. How could a simple dinner have escalated into such a disaster?

Huo Beihan roared with fury, "Is this what you call 'just dinner'?"

By now, the project manager along with the young male and female PR staff had all been drunk under the table.

Lin Mu's guts were turning green with regret. Thank goodness he had run his mouth and told Huo Beihan; otherwise, heaven knows what kind of inhuman treatment Su Mian might have suffered tonight.

Seeing that the newcomer was Huo Beihan, the investors were so frightened they were rendered speechless for a long moment.

Su Mian pressed her temples. "President Huo, President Lin, why are you here?"

Huo Beihan helped her settle into a chair, then shot a glare at Lin Mu. "You created this mess, you fix it!"

The beaten investor hurriedly bowed and scraped, offering a sincere apology. "President Huo, I'm so sorry."

"We didn't mean it. We just had a bit too much to drink, otherwise we wouldn't have... Oh, this is all a misunderstanding! Please be the bigger man and spare us this once, will you?"

Huo Beihan had no patience for their whimpering, tearful pleas for mercy. He turned to Su Mian and asked, "I am not the one they should be apologizing to."

The investors hurriedly looked toward Su Mian. "Manager Su, we're sorry. We were just joking around earlier. Could you please put in a good word for us?"

At this moment, Lin Mu felt completely redundant, unable to even wedge a single word into the conversation.

Though deeply intoxicated, Su Mian's mind was still consumed by the company's financial deficit. She pointed at the wine bottles on the table. "I haven't finished drinking yet."

The project department colleague who had nearly lost his temper earlier abruptly stood up and kicked them while they were down. "President Lin, President Huo, they just said that as long as Manager Su finishes those five bottles of wine, they'll invest twenty million in the company."

These old perverts were truly utterly shameless. To take advantage of a young woman, they were capable of pulling such stunts.

Lin Mu was furious, but these men were still business partners after all. Since Huo Beihan had already played the bad cop, he might as well play the good cop and put in a few favorable words for them.

He cleared his throat. "You gentlemen went a bit too far with this. Our Manager Su holds a rather extraordinary position. I merely had her tag along with the project team to gain some experience; how could you offend her like this?"

The men instantly grasped Lin Mu's intent. They pooled their resources on the spot, drew up a twenty-million-yuan check, handed it to Lin Mu, and then turned to Su Mian. "Manager Su is truly a heroine among women. We've issued the funds now; we hope you can forgive our rashness."