Hardy had no idea how to comfort the shareholders, so he went to ask Frederic for advice immediately.
But when Hardy saw how anxious Frederic was as well, he guessed that Frederic must have known by
then that the stockholders were selling their shares in droves.
Frederic's daily routine included reading the morning newspaper. With nothing else to do now that he
was confined in the hospital, the first thing he did upon waking up was to read the news on his mobile
phone.
Over the years, the TS Group had almost dominated the front page of the financial newspaper as a top
company. But this morning's news was a huge contrast and really shocked Frederic to the core.
The stock price of the TS Group had abruptly plummeted last night. Because of Charles' departure
from the company, the majority of the stockholders were selling their shares in droves.
Frederic was so enraged by what he read that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He tried to call
Charles up in a hurry, but to no avail. He noticed that his phone number had been blacklisted.
Frederic was deeply distraught, so he complained with a whine to Angelina.
Angelina had no other choice but to endure it in silence.
Fortunately, Hardy arrived and was here now. Angelina wanted to leave and let Hardy be the substitute
in taking care of Frederic.
"Do I need to check the status of the stock market? The conflict in the TS Group is all over the news
this morning. Hardy, Charles is really your good son. How could he let the media know that he has left
the company? It is even on the headline! Humph, I think he must have done it on purpose. Does he
really want to piss me off that badly?" Frederic shrieked hysterically without restraint, completely losing
his usual calm and sharp demeanor.
Hardy had never seen Frederic behaving so impetuously before. What could it mean? The TS Group
could really be at stake now and must be in real trouble.
While they were talking, they were interrupted by the ringing of Hardy's phone again. It was another call
from one of the shareholders.
By then, Hardy had lost his patience and refused to pick up the call. However, the phone rang non-
stop, again and again.
"Are you not done yet? That's enough! I don't want to hear it anymore!" Hardy couldn't bear the
persistent ringing anymore and answered the phone indignantly.
"Oh, I don't want to bother you so early, either. But the stock of the TS Group has abruptly fallen
overnight and this is a serious matter. If it continues to go on like this, it will close to the limit down."
The shareholders were all anxious, but the Fu family hadn't even shown up to explain the situation.
The shareholders didn't dare to call Charles personally anymore, mainly because Charles didn't bother
to answer either. The only one left to call was Hardy.
Everyone was aware that Hardy was easy-going, but in the face of a crisis, the good-tempered Hardy
had also lost his temper and was enraged.
It could be said that the Fu family was like ants on a hot pan. They were clueless as to how to handle
the situation they were in.
"Good to hear that!" After saying that, Hardy hung up the phone in disgust.
"You bastard! What are you talking about? How can you be so irresponsible and just give up that
easily?" Frederic grabbed a pillow in disgust and forcefully threw it at him.
Hardy countered his attack by grabbing the pillow in a hurry and bellowed, "The shareholders are now
in a mess. They didn't bother to call you or Charles. They called me instead. They must think I'm that
easy to be bullied, right?"
"You... If they were to call me... It would mean then that they just want me to die in anger!" exclaimed
Frederic reproachfully.
"Then what do we do about Charles? He left us hanging amidst this chaos!" Hardy countered in
annoyance, his anger left unchecked.
"And how about Joseph?" Angelina had been watching their conversation in silence. She finally
understood that the stocks of the TS Group instantly plummeted simply because Charles left.
That was great. In this way, Frederic would become increasingly aware of how important Charles was
in the company.
That being said, it was not Charles himself who initiated the first move to leave. It was Frederic himself
who forced him to leave the TS Group.
But it backfired on him, and now, Frederic was stewing in his own juice that he himself created. He
deserved it.
Angelina gloated a little, feeling a bit arrogant!
"You! How could you say that? You know that Joseph is just a good-for-nothing playboy. How could you
even dare to mention him at times like these? Are you deliberately trying to piss me off? Frederic
covered his chest in disgust and gasped angrily.
"Ouch, Father, have I ever dared to do something to piss you off? You're putting the blame on Charles
for everything. If he were to hear you, he would surely feel aggrieved! I have been witness to what
happened. It's you who didn't allow him to stay in the TS Group. Now that he has left as you asked him
to, you still blame him for everything. How can you be so fickle? Can you not make up your mind?"
Angelina whispered disdainfully.
"Are you blaming me now? You are, right?" Frederic was feeling repentant of the wrong decision he
had made. Angelina's words were on point and were like a knife stabbing painfully into his chest.
His face turned paler and seemed devoid of blood.
Hardy panicked when he saw Frederic's appearance and said, "Angelina, what the hell are you talking
about? Call Charles right now!"
Angelina snorted disdainfully and called Charles up.
When Charles heard that Frederic was short of breath, he felt a little anxious. Fortunately, he was in the
hospital and should anything happen to him, there wouldn't be any big trouble.
As for the sudden decline in the stocks of the TS Group... Charles had been aware of what was
happening.
Or rather, it could be said that he was the manipulator and mastermind behind it.
It was he himself who gave instructions to Jay to cause the stock market turmoil. His main purpose was
to put pressure on Frederic.
The first one to sell the shares of the TS group was, of course, none other than Jay. And the first one to
reveal the news that Charles had left the TS Group had also been Jay.
Jay held a lot of shares of the TS Group in his hand. As long as he was the one to sell them first, there
would be a chain reaction and many stockholders would follow.
In the scheme of all that transpired, Charles had already anticipated the result today and had achieved
his goal without fail.
By the time Angelina's call came through, Charles had already foreseen why she was calling him.
But when he heard that his grandpa was in poor health, he still couldn't help but feel worried and
nervous.
Despite his unease, Charles didn't want to give in that easily, so he stubbornly replied, "Grandpa hates
me, doesn't he? Why should I come back?"
Frederic covered his chest upon hearing Charles' reply and coughed loudly.
Of course, he did it on purpose to let Charles hear that he was not feeling well.
"Oh! Your grandfather just coughed badly. Come on, Charles. Don't be stubborn and stop being angry
with him at this time," coaxed Angelina.
Being on stalemate was not a good solution for their relationship because it could only get worse.
Everything would be resolved only after they personally talked it over in person.
"Okay, I'll go there now," Charles said reluctantly, but they didn't know there was a hidden smile in his
cunning eyes.
He hung up the phone and immediately drove straight to the hospital.
"Uncle, hurry up and follow Daddy. Don't lose him," Nadia said in a restless manner.
"Okay, got it." The driver didn't want to lose track of Charles, so he stepped hard on the gas and closely
followed his car meticulously.
Charles didn't notice that the two kids were following him by taxi. He was too preoccupied and
wondered whether he should compromise or continue to put pressure on Frederic when he saw his
grandfather later.
To achieve the results he wanted, he must control the balance well. He couldn't intensify the conflict,
nor could he easily give in.
In Frederic's eyes, giving in now would be tantamount to admitting a guilty conscience after having
done something wrong.
Soon enough, Charles arrived at the hospital. After parking the car, he got off and went upstairs.
"Your Daddy has gone to the hospital. Shall we follow him inside?" the driver asked worriedly.
"We should follow him, of course," Bobby stated plainly in a serious tone.
"But, but... What if the security guards don't allow a taxi to come in?" the driver again inquired
apprehensively.
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