The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 258 Industry Exchange Meeting (Part Two)

"I have met Miss Ye before, and I knew that she was capable and hardworking. But what I didn't expect is that... her personality would be so different from her ability. Miss Ye came here and told me that she thought the budget given by Light House Company was way too low. And she hoped that that I would convey her suggestion to provide more funding. She then gave me a room card and promised that she'll do anything for me as long as I do her this favor."

Seeing that Hoada Masahiro was tarnishing her image with such a vicious lie, when in fact the room card was actually in her hand, which became an essential evidence, Autumn was growing more and more impatient to explain. As the people's suspicion grew, she was about to break down.

"Don't be scared. Everything will be okay." Charles stood behind Autumn, as he cast a cold look at Hoada Masahiro, who was pretending to be the victim.

Moments after he comforted her, Autumn felt less worried.

Even though she was still upset, she was not intimidated by the situation anymore.

"Mr. Seitan, you know that now I'm in my forties, and I have a happy family. My wife has also been exceptionally good to me, I won't do anything wrongful to betray her trust. To be honest, I am quite disappointed and appalled by what Miss Ye has done." Hoada Masahiro pretended to laugh bitterly as he continued to narrate his fabricated story, "Then I refused her offer and tried to return her room card back. However, Mr. Lu misunderstood my intention and hit me. That's the entire scene."

After Hoada Masahiro said that, he turned at Charles and added, "Mr. Lu, it is all actually a mistake. Please don't bear it in mind. While Miss Ye is indeed beautiful and many men might want to woo her, I am not one of them."

Charles still didn't say anything, which made Hoada Masahiro feel a pinch of guilt.

Autumn felt wronged. She immediately explained to Mr. Seitan. "This is not true! Please listen to the reality of what actually occurred!"

Do all the men act like this? Even though they have a gentle, loving and dedicated wife waiting at home for them, they still wish to seek pleasure outside of those sacred walls. And once their affairs come to light, they pretend to be the victim and conveniently shift the blame onto others.

That's why Dakki, the imperial concubine, was blamed for letting Shang Dynasty perished.

Autumn felt like a voiceless victim of the situation. She wanted to explain, but it seemed like Mr. Seitan had made up his mind to stand by Hoada Masahiro.

"Miss Ye." He gave her a cold glance. There was no appreciation in his eyes, but only indifference. "I used to appreciate you and your nature. But now, I only see woman motivated by money. Even though I have spent many years in business, I thought I had gained enough experience to tell right from wrong. However, I guess I have misjudged you. You are a greedy woman."

Seiten then whispered something to the assistant behind him, and then faintly said, "To tell the truth, I do really like your proposal. How about I buy it from you? But the following execution will have nothing to do with you, what do you think?"

Hoada Masahiro smiled as he stood beside him.

Autumn felt extremely disgusted at the thought of what had transpired. She tried desperately to hold back her tears, trying not to care about the suspicion from surrounding people. After a long time, she finally uttered some words as she addressed Mr. Seiten who was sitting across her, "Mr. Seiten, I have always respected you. For me, it is a great privilege to have the opportunity to work with big companies like Light House Company."

She then continued, "Before coming to Japan, my team and I worked day and night, in a bid to ensure that the project will be perfect. I cherish this opportunity and respect myself, so I would never do such shameful thing. Please believe me."

Autumn noticed that a shameless smile wiped across Hoada Masahiro's smug face. He was sure he would be the one to come through as victorious in this little game of tricks he played. Words seemed meaningless at a time like this, which made Autumn feel distressed.

"When Mr. Hoada came to China, he had already expressed his interest in me. But I refused his invitation. I admit that I did ask him to increase the funding. It was simply because the budget given by Mr. Hoada was really too low. To make do with that budget, I'd have to invest my own money, let alone making any profit from it. So I had no choice but to ask for more funding." She tightly clenched the card in her hand, as she tried to control her feeling, and slowly said, "What I I didn't expect was Mr. Hoada would ask me to sleep with him in exchange for these additional funds. I know that you certainly don't believe what I am saying, so you can go and check the customer name of the room. Then everything will be clarified."

When Hoada Masahiro heard Autumn narrate the truth, there was no trace of panic or guilt setting in on his face. Instead, he said with ease, "Well, go and check it quickly. I also want to my innocence to be proved as soon as possible. Otherwise, my wife will lose her temper once I go back home."

Autumn was stunned for a moment. Then she realized that Hoada Masahiro must have used her ID card to reserve the room. She recalled that it was him who used to reserve flight ticket for her. Thinking about this, she could not help but blame herself for being so stupid.

Mr. Seiten stared at the two with a blank face. Indeed, as he had worked many years with Hoada Masahiro, he knew somewhere in his heart that what Autumn was saying was true, given that Hoada Masahiro was not a man of honest means.

However... today was an important day, and as Hoada Masahiro was the manager who was recently promoted by him. As the host, he could not allow himself to lose face by being unable to judge an employee properly.

If he helped Autumn, it would mean that he recognized what Hoada Masahiro had done to her. It would also mean that a scumbag was working in his company. Mr. Seiten was sensitive about his reputation, so he could never allow that to happen.

Therefore, even though he knew that Hoada Masahiro was lying, today he had to continue to defend him in a bid to save his pride. This was also to protect Light House Company's reputation.

"Miss Ye." Mr. Seiten stopped Autumn from further explaining and said, "Mr. Hoada has been working with me for years and during that time I have come to know him very well. He also has a very happy family, thus I don't see any reason why he would want to sleep with you! Besides, I also know that the budget I have allotted to you is definitely enough for you to make profits."

Mr. Seiten apologized to Autumn, "Sorry, it is with regret that I have to announce that our contract must be cancelled."

Although there were many foreigners around who didn't understand Chinese, there were also many Chinese people. Within a few minutes, everyone there knew what happened in the end.

After Mr. Seiten said that, Hoada Masahiro became more complacent. He sneered and said to Autumn, "Miss. Ye, as for the project, our staff will take over it. We hope that you can manage your business more diligently and professionally the next time. Please do not try to seek shortcuts, as it will do no good."