Chapter 138: Have You Cooled Off Yet?

Sun Hong, trembling with fear, thought for a moment before hurriedly sending Su Zheng another message: "Sir, I am already on my way back to Qingyang. I will go to CEO Chen's place personally to apologize!"

Su Zheng, knowing that Sun Hong was unaware of Chen Muxue’s hospitalization, sent him the hospital address and told him to come directly there.

Upon hearing that Chen Muxue was actually in the hospital, Sun Hong was terrified to the point of nearly losing control. Fearing that something might have happened to her, he urged his driver to speed up while frantically calling his industry peers to seek their help. After a mad dash, Sun Hong finally reached the outskirts of Qingyang.

Inside the hospital room, Chen Jianguo had just finished the paperwork and returned to find his daughter with eyes swollen from crying. His anger flared up again. He glared at Su Zheng and snapped, "You useless piece of trash, get out! What is the point of having a man like you around?!"

Unable to help with the troubles at his daughter's company, he vented all his frustration on Su Zheng, pushing and berating him until he was shoved out into the corridor, drawing curious glances from the families of other patients.

"Excuse me, is this the room of CEO Chen Muxue?"

Before long, two figures came panting into the ward. After checking the room number, they asked Chen Jianguo in a hushed tone. It was Sun Hong and his driver. Both were breathless and drenched in sweat, clearly having run all the way up.

"CEO Sun? What are you doing here..." Chen Jianguo asked, looking confused.

"H-hello, this is the right place, then... Phew... Where is CEO Chen? May I see her?" Sun Hong wheezed. Seeing Chen Jianguo, he knew he had arrived at the right place, his face turning beet red after catching his breath.

"Ah! Hello, hello, CEO Sun! Please, come in!" Chen Jianguo’s expression brightened instantly, his attitude softening as he reached out to shake Sun Hong's hand with enthusiasm.

Su Zheng, standing nearby, felt a flash of murderous intent when Sun Hong entered. He wanted nothing more than to rush over and beat the man senseless, knowing that the jerk was the very reason Muxue had been so upset she fainted.

When Chen Muxue saw Sun Hong enter, her eyes widened in shock. She never expected him to show up here. However, her expression quickly turned icy. "What is this? Are you here to mock me or to pressure me in person? Let me tell you, even if I, Chen Muxue, starve to death, I will never agree to your terms!"

She had her own suspicions: she had been in the hospital for less than half a day, and Sun Hong had already arrived. She assumed he had planned this all along, intending to crush her completely while she was at her most vulnerable.

But the next moment, Chen Muxue was left completely stunned.

Without a word, Sun Hong raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Smack!"

The sound was so loud that it made Chen Muxue and her parents flinch in surprise, their eyes fixed on Sun Hong. But he wasn't finished; he didn't dare stop.

*Smack, smack, smack!* He followed up with several more crisp slaps to his own face. His once fair and oily cheeks became visibly red and swollen.

The Chen couple stood frozen, utter disbelief on their faces. Was CEO Sun having a mental breakdown?

Chen Muxue was even more bewildered. She wondered if Sun Hong had been triggered by something; otherwise, why would a boss of his stature slap himself in public? Even though there were no outsiders in the room, the corridor outside was bustling with patients' families and hospital staff.

"CEO... CEO Chen, are you satisfied now?" Sun Hong stopped, shivering. He forced a smile onto his bruised and swollen face, bowing his body in a gesture of pathetic subservience.

His actions and words left Chen Muxue bewildered and wary. "Sun Hong, what... what kind of game are you playing?"

She couldn't fathom his motives, and though she knew he was a man of many underhanded tricks, this seemed far too extreme.

"Cough... CEO Chen, you’ve really misunderstood me. I’ve come here to sincerely beg for your forgiveness! If I have a single dishonest bone in my body, may I be struck by lightning!" Sun Hong said with a solemn, devout expression, thumping his chest to prove his sincerity.

He continued to bow, explaining respectfully, "Please rest assured, CEO Chen. On my way here, I contacted Changsheng Ji, Wanyuan, and the others. All the boycott statements issued against your company have been withdrawn!"

"Furthermore, from now on, my company will prioritize supplying your firm with all types of medicinal materials, selecting only the highest quality for you."

"As for the pricing, I’ve realized the contract we signed was far too unfair to you. Raising the prices so high was inexcusable. I’ve already instructed my secretary to draft a new contract at ninety percent of the original price! I have also advised the other suppliers to lower their rates to match ours."

"Also, I will not take a single cent of the security deposit, and as for the reports filed with the Chamber of Commerce, I have already..."

Sun Hong’s words left Chen Muxue with her mouth agape in astonishment. Her mind couldn't keep up, and she looked at him as if he were a lunatic.

Was this man... actually insane? He had been threatening her with such despicable arrogance just a short while ago—how could he have done a complete one-eighty?

"Er! CEO Chen, are you... not satisfied?" Seeing the look in her eyes, Sun Hong shivered violently again. Thinking she was still unhappy, he quickly flashed a nervous, pleading smile.

"Yes, yes, I was too greedy. The supply price is still a bit inflated—that was truly excessive! Eighty percent of the original price, no more than that! I’ll call my secretary right now to have her amend the contract..."

As he spoke, he scrambled to pull out his phone to issue the order.

"Wait!" Chen Muxue called out, trying to steady herself.

Sun Hong froze, a look of despair on his face. His voice trembled with helplessness. "CEO, is it... is it still too high? Fine, seventy-five percent! Seventy-five percent is fine too..."

He felt as though his heart were bleeding. At seventy-five percent of the original price, he wouldn't just be making no money—he would be losing a fortune! But remembering the cold, chilling voice he had heard over the phone, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and bear the loss. It was a matter of paying to avoid disaster!

"You misunderstood. What I meant to say was... wouldn't a price this low be too little for you? I’m trying to understand—you certainly didn't have this attitude when you called me this morning, did you?"

Chen Muxue was filled with doubt and caution. She truly could not believe that Sun Hong would change his stance so drastically over this partnership.