Chapter 124: Bankruptcy?

The air conditioning on the top floor of Xinghui was whirring. Yu Ling's fingertips clacked on the keyboard. The screen showed Xinghai's spending plan for the next quarter.

She grabbed the precious silver thermos on the corner of the table, unscrewed it, and took a gulp. The spicy taste of the ginger candy rolled down her throat, but the warmth couldn't suppress the sourness that had been lingering in her heart since breakfast.

Zhao Chen's light yet devastating words, "Tear up that piece of paper?", and the light that instantly went out in his eyes, played in her mind like a movie on cassette.

She fled. Like a coward. She coveted the warmth of his fried eggs, but was afraid to tear open the protective shell and find the abyss beneath, which would make her legs go weak.

Knock knock.

The knock on the door was accompanied by Xiao Yang's caution.

"Come in." Yu Ling put down the cup and forced a straight face.

Xiao Yang came in holding a thick, unmarked brown paper bag, looking confused. "Director Yu, this is an urgent intra-city package the front desk just signed. The sender... is blank. Just write "To Yours."

Empty? Yu Ling frowned. She took the bag; it was heavy! Her fingertips touched the cold edge of the paper, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Got it." She waved her hand. Xiao Yang slipped away quickly.

The office was dead silent. Yu Ling stared at the bomb-like paper bag on the table. The familiar ache in her stomach returned. She grabbed a paper cutter and slashed along the seal. With a swish, it opened.

Crash——

A stack of neatly bound documents slid out and hit the smooth mahogany table with a dull thud.

The bold words on the top page pierced her eyes like poisoned needles:

[Lawyer's Notice Regarding the Abnormal Financial Status and Debt Risks of Chenxing Capital Management Co., Ltd., an Affiliate Company Under Mr. Zhao Chen's Name]

Yu Ling's mind buzzed! Her fingers instantly went cold! Zhao Chen's company? A mountain of debt?!

She suppressed her turbulent heart and flipped down with trembling fingers.

Page 2: A terrifyingly realistic demand letter from Swiss XX Private Bank! The string of zeros in the amount column is dizzying! Followed by Zhao Chen's flamboyant English signature (nearly perfect imitation). The reason: "Mortgage overdue!"

Page 3: Financial statements stamped with a blood-red "Top Secret" seal! The assets column is a glaring red! The liabilities column has numbers like astronomical codes! Cash flow is broken! Assets are frozen!

Page 4: Several demanding letters from “creditors”! “Malicious default!” “Asset transfer!” Every word is damning! They even allude to “financial fraud”!

Page 5: A copy of a newspaper clipping from a foreign, unofficial financial media outlet, with a shocking headline: "Mysterious Eastern Capital Giant Shipwrecks? Rumor has it the Zhao family is urgently distancing themselves from the matter!" The accompanying image shows a blurry silhouette of Zhao Chen at a dinner party.

The documents were flawlessly executed! The paperwork, the seals, the logical chain—all aimed at killing someone—the conclusion was this: her "ordinary husband" who wore a cartoon apron and was afraid of burning an omelet, and his "small company" hidden in a corner, had long been insolvent! He was a con man ready to be chopped to pieces by his creditors at any moment!

Boom——!!!

Yu Ling's vision went dark! The world spun! Anger mixed with a fear like icy shards instantly knocked her to the bottom of the sea!

She clutched the stack of papers tightly, her nails digging into her palms, her body shaking like a leaf in the wind! The cramps in her stomach suddenly intensified, and she gasped in pain!

Gu Qianqian!

It's definitely this poisonous snake!

Only her! She chose the moment when she was worried about the contract and her "future" and dropped this nuclear bomb! Forged the company! Forged the debt! Forged the bank documents!

Vicious! So vicious!

This was to nail Zhao Chen to the pillar of shame as a "liar"! He wanted Yu Ling to believe that those fried eggs, brown sugar water, and clumsy guards... were all a deliberate scam!

The immense humiliation and anger of being made a fool of instantly scorched her sanity! She grabbed the thermos on the table. The warm walls of the cup were now as hot as a branding iron! She wanted to smash it! Smash this disgusting lie!

Just when the cup was about to slip out of my hand!

Her eyes seemed to be welded to the signature column of the Swiss debt collection notice!

Imitate Zhao Chen’s English signature: “Chen Zhao”.

Smooth, fancy, and with a sense of deliberate showiness.

Yu Ling's heart felt like it was being strangled by an icy hand!

wrong!

This handwriting is wrong!

A clear image cut through the chaos—in the Stanford yearbook, Zhao Chen signed the award documents as a student representative! She had just seen it last night!

The signature in the yearbook is also "Chen Zhao." But the handwriting is... completely different!

The words in the yearbook are restrained, steady, and powerful, like a peerless sword that has never been unsheathed, its edge hidden so well that not a drop of water can leak out!

This knockoff looks like a fake, but its spirit is scattered! The writing is so weak and light, the transitions are deliberate, especially the tail of the final "o", which is so flirtatious and artificial! It's exactly the style of a flamboyant woman like Gu Qianqian!

A huge sense of absurdity and a glimmer of cold hope suddenly exploded in Yu Ling's mind! She flipped through the pile of tattered papers like crazy, as if she had grabbed a lifeline!

The "Top Secret" official seal on the financial statements? The edges are so sharp they look like they were cut by a knife! If you stamp a real seal, the ink will naturally smudge and leave a rough edge! This is fake!

Foreign financial news clippings? She immediately checked the media outlet's website on her phone—no such article! It must be a synthetic product!

"Creditor" company name? Enter the company information database - no such company! Empty shell!

Full of holes!

This seemingly intimidating "bankruptcy document" was, in her professional eyes, full of loopholes! It was a crudely made fake!

But the message behind this carefully woven lie sent chills down Yu Ling's spine!

Gu Qianqian not only knew that Zhao Chen had "Chenxing Capital" (even if the name was made up), she also knew Zhao Chen's signature style! She knew how to forge foreign bank collection notices to increase her "prestige"! She knew too well that Zhao Chen was hiding his "unusual" side!

This venomous snake not only had its eyes on Zhao Chen's past, but also had its eyes on the "vest" he was wearing now! By weaving this web, it was not only to alienate her, but also to completely drag Zhao Chen into the cesspool and ruin his reputation!

Yu Ling trembled with fear and icy rage! She clutched the shredded paper tightly, her knuckles cracking! Gu Qianqian! Fuck you!

bite.

The phone screen lit up, and a text message from an unknown number popped up. It was unsigned, with a line of words that read:

"Do the documents smell good? Take a good look at the true face of your 'ordinary husband'! A liar with deep debts! Wake up, idiot! He'll only drag you down to hell!"

Between the lines, there is Gu Qianqian's unique, resentful and mean pride!

Yu Ling stared at her phone screen intently, the flames in her eyes almost bursting out! She slammed the phone upside down on the table! The immense humiliation and anger made her tremble all over!

She grabbed the pile of forged documents and rushed out! Find Zhao Chen! Throw him in the face! Find out what the hell is going on! What the hell is "Chenxing Capital"? How much is he hiding?!

He had just taken two steps when he was suddenly nailed to the spot!

At the breakfast table, Zhao Chen's nervous and expectant eyes, his cautious "Tear it up?", and the light that instantly went out in his eyes... were like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the rage that was raging in her head.

Where is he now?

What are you doing?

What would he do if she really held up this pile of junk to question him?

Would he panic and try to explain? Or would he flee again, just like he did the last time the contract was dug up?

A wave of exhaustion and helplessness washed over her like ice water. She slumped back into the large leather chair, looking at the documents scattered across the table, like venomous snakes, and the silver thermos cup standing quietly on guard.

The brown sugar water in the cup was completely cold.

The cramps in her stomach mixed with the tightness in her chest made it hard for her to breathe. She reached out her hand, her fingertips trembling, trying to unscrew the lid of the cup and take a sip of the cold sugar water to warm herself up.

My fingertips touched the cold wall of the cup.

Not twisted.

A thought is like a match lit in the darkness, weak but firm:

Can't be chaotic.

Gu Qianqian was just waiting for her to go crazy and tear off Zhao Chen's "ordinary" skin!

Don't be fooled!

Stay calm! Find evidence! Find the source of this mess first!

Yu Ling took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the surging anger. She picked up her phone and dialed the encrypted line of Legal Director Zhou Zheng. Her voice was as cold as ice:

"Zhou Zheng, come to my office immediately. Bring the Technical Security Department's best document authentication expert. Top-level security clearance. Immediately! Right now!"

After hanging up the phone, her eyes slashed across the pile of counterfeits on the table like a knife. Gu Qianqian, you want to play? I'll play with you! If I don't peel off your snake skin and hang it on the city wall, I'll take your surname!

1601 Kitchen.

The atmosphere was a stark contrast to the icy atmosphere of Yu Ling's office. The air was filled with the sweet aroma of honey and the warm, caramelized aroma of premium butter, like a soft light filter.

The steamer hummed a little tune on the stove, with white steam curling up.

Zhao Chen was wearing the weathered Shiba Inu apron, his back slightly hunched, his gold-rimmed glasses misted over, and he stared intently at the transparent pot lid - the sweet fried egg that was completely wrapped into an amber ball in a thick layer of crystal clear Manuka honey.

The golden honey juice bubbles in the steam, and the sweet fragrance is alluring.

Zhao Chen's fingertips tapped the table unconsciously, and there was a hint of anxious anticipation in his eyes behind the lenses.

He was waiting. Waiting for his Lingling to get off work. Waiting for him to offer her this sweet trap of "more quantity without increasing the price." He wanted her to soak in this honey pot, soak until she couldn't leave, soak until she tore up the broken contract with her own hands.

Buzz...buzz...

On the center island, the screen of the encrypted mobile phone lit up silently.

A secret message from special assistant Lin Feng popped up:

"Target: GQQ. Action: Forged bankruptcy documents for 'Chenxing Capital', delivered to Ms. Yu's office. Source: Gu Holdings' shell company 'Albatross Consulting'. Forgery team: Overseas professional group (locked down). Document vulnerabilities: signature handwriting discrepancies, anomalies in the edges of the official seal, and a hollow creditor shell (preserve as instructed). Next step: Await Ms. Yu's response. Initiate countermeasures?"

Zhao Chen's gaze scanned the message, lingering for less than half a second. The look behind his glasses instantly switched from anxious anticipation to a chilling, murderous intent as cold as -50 degrees Celsius!