Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Huang Shiyu looked at this person wearing an anonymous hat...

Huang Shiyu stared at the person with the anonymous username, lost in thought. She had forgotten who this person was. In Douyin, such a private app, she only remembered adding a few people.

She clicked into the chat window, which was blank with black text, followed by a row of links.

Huang Shiyu remembered who he was.

The incident happened a few years ago when she was still in college. At that time, she joined a Douyin group, which was full of financial investment enthusiasts. Every day, Huang Shiyu could get first-hand information about the stock market as soon as she woke up.

Huang Shiyu not only learned a lot of knowledge outside the information cocoon, but also made a name for himself in the stock market with this information, and met a mentor.

That person is the anonymous user.

However, their relationship only went so far on Douyin (TikTok). The two never exchanged real-life contact information, and their conversations consisted of nothing more than financial matters.

In Huang Shiyu's memory, the anonymous user lived abroad and was in a different time zone from her. Every time Huang Shiyu asked the other party a question, she had to wait for the answer for about seven hours.

This conclusion was drawn by Huang Shiyu assuming that the other party had finished their work before answering her, a nobody.

Huang Shiyu snapped out of her daze. The screen was already off. She turned her phone back on, opened it, and started typing.

[It's a lucky cat: How long does it need to be linked?]

Huang Shiyu didn't click the link and waited for the other party's reply.

The chat box displayed "Typing..." at the top. Soon, a message arrived, and she knew the other person was online because a green light bulb icon appeared above it.

[Anonymous user: The official statement says that after binding your account for a year, signing a relationship agreement, and completing 100 small couple activities, you can receive 30g of gold coins.]

[Anonymous user: I forgot you have a partner, you should be driving with your partner.]

Huang Shiyu's eyes were fixed on the word "golden pearl," and he didn't even glance at the sentence below.

She clicked on the link, accepted the other party's invitation, and signed a relationship agreement.

Then I typed a reply.

[It's a lucky cat: I've signed the agreement.]

[Anonymous user: You cannot quit midway, otherwise the agreement will be invalid.]

[It's a lucky cat: Yes, I know.]

Huang Shiyu saw that the other person sent her a "Good" emoji, but she didn't reply. In her mind, this meant the conversation was over.

Seeing that it was already this late and there was no efficiency to be found, Huang Shiyu lost all interest in working. She packed up her things, turned off the lights, and only glanced at Wang Ping's office as she passed by, noticing that the lights were still on.

She knew Wang Ping was very hardworking, but she didn't expect him to still be here at this hour.

As Huang Shiyu approached, Wang Ping was still working at her desk. Seeing that she was still writing code, Huang Shiyu asked, "It's already past eleven o'clock, aren't you planning to go home yet?"

"I'm still getting familiar with the algorithm. I want to get familiar with the complete system first before moving on to the next step," Wang Ping said.

Wang Ping is currently working on a project in the field of artificial intelligence. The company is a small workshop, so those who own shares generally hold two positions.

Huang Shiyu thought for a while and said, "Don't bother with your algorithm, we can think about it tomorrow."

"This algorithm is like making love; it doesn't allow interference in the proof and will directly delegate it."

“I knew you’d say that,” Huang Shiyu said. “You’re the leader of our AI group, you can’t afford to fall.”

Wang Ping didn't look up, waved his hand, and said, "Don't worry about me, go ahead. I'll keep track of the time."

Huang Shiyu didn't try to persuade him any further. He glanced at Wang Ping, who was working diligently with his glasses on, and then rushed to catch the last subway train.

They constantly break down difficulties and tasks to find solutions, and no boss dislikes an employee like that.

Besides, Wang Ping also holds shares in Speed ​​Technology, so every extra penny he puts in will earn him an extra three points.

Although this subway train was the last one, bustling metropolises are never short of crowded working people; it's always peak time.

Back home, Huang Shiyu couldn't wait to take off her dirty clothes; she immediately collapsed onto the bed and started watching videos on her phone.

This is how she treats herself. In this small rented room, she doesn't have many nights, and her free time is all squeezed out.

Huang Shiyu glanced at the time, and although she didn't want to move, she still reluctantly got out of bed. Just as she took her change of clothes from the closet, her phone, which was on the bed, rang.

She paused when she saw the name on the caller ID. She didn't want to answer, but the other person seemed to know what she was thinking, and the phone rang for a very long time.

Huang Shiyu knew that if she didn't answer, the other party wouldn't give up so easily.

She sighed before answering the phone.

The other party immediately launched into a tirade of accusations. Huang Shiyu waited quietly for the scolding to finish, and was just about to explain when Ms. Tong on the other end of the phone became even angrier. "I've told you so much, are you mute? You're such a grown-up, and I still have to call you every time. You don't know how to be considerate or care about your parents at all."

Huang Shiyu rubbed his aching temples and said in a flat tone, "A project at the company is going public soon, so I'm busy. I'll come back to see you when I have time."

Ms. Tong's tone softened after hearing her explanation, and her heart also calmed down. "I see that it's getting colder in Shanghai recently, so please make sure to wear more clothes so you don't catch a cold."

"Okay, I understand, Mom. I'll wear more clothes," Huang Shiyu said.

After that, the two continued their phone call in silence for an unknown period of time, until Huang Shiyu seemed to have compromised first.

"Mom, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now. It's getting late."

Perhaps it was Huang Shiyu who broke the deadlock first, which made Ms. Tong speak more confidently, as if she had made up her mind, and with a tone of negotiation, "Xiaoyu, Mom wants to talk to you about something. Your younger brother will be doing an internship next year. Do you think you can arrange for him to work at your company? I'd feel more at ease if you took him under your wing."

Even though I knew this would be the outcome, I still couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

She'll only be nice to me when she needs something; otherwise, I won't even think of her for ten days or half a month.

She chuckled softly, but it was a silent laugh. Then her voice became even colder than before, "Mom, it's not that I, as your older sister, am heartless. You should see what Yang Hengyu is like. If I hadn't given him money, he wouldn't have been able to graduate from university and would still be relying on you to support him."

"My company is too poor to support such a great figure," Huang Shiyu said calmly.

Yang Hengyu is her half-brother. He was a good-for-nothing in middle school and went to a private university where you could get in by paying money. Back then, everyone said that computer science graduates had good jobs and could earn a lot of money, so her mother let him go. As a result, he wasted his four years of college playing around and didn't have any skills. Even his degree was earned for him by Huang Shiyu.

She could have let Yang Hengyu continue to laze around and just give him a job he wouldn't do, but the truth was that her mother just wanted Yang Hengyu to keep an eye on her.

The person on the other end kept complaining, calling her an ingrate and other such things.

She seemed not to hear, simply placing her phone on the table and pretending to be very busy while giving perfunctory replies.

Only when her mother saw that she had no other choice did Huang Shiyu hang up the phone, making an excuse that her subordinate needed to talk to her.

Her mother was like someone choking her by the neck, forcing her to take in oxygen, and then covering her mouth and nose, leaving her only a slit to breathe.

Then they expect her to be grateful, but they are unwilling to remove the shackles they have placed on her.

Her parents divorced when she was three years old. She lived with her grandparents until she went to high school. Her parents each had new families and treated her like a football, passing her around.

The year she was admitted to the city's top high school, her mother suddenly remembered that she had such a grown daughter, but it was too late. Besides, it wasn't that her mother truly cared; she just thought that her daughter's grades were better than Yang Hengyu's and that she would definitely get into a good university so that she could have someone to rely on in her old age.

Perhaps her mother knew that her daughter wasn't very close to her, and was afraid that she would run away, so she tried her best to hold on tightly to her, calling her from time to time to check on her, and then suppressing her at just the right time to make her feel guilty.

Parents are born with the belief that children are born to know how to be grateful.

She used to believe this wholeheartedly, but now she rejects this kind of moral blackmail.

It's already very good that she transfers 10,000 yuan back every month.

After taking a shower, Huang Shiyu snuggled up in bed and started watching a TV series when Lu Xiao's chat request popped up on the screen.

She answered the call, and Lu Xiao's sweet voice came from the other end: "What are you busy with? I've been trying to call you for ages and the line is always busy."

"I was just on the phone with my mom, but it didn't show up on my phone." She exited the page and scrolled through the screen, and sure enough, there were no missed call notifications.

Lu Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Song Chaoye's news is all over the place right now. Have you two broken up?"

Huang Shiyu's eyelids twitched, and she didn't intend to hide it. "Yes, as you can see, it's true that we broke up." She chuckled, trying to make her voice sound less dejected. "It's good that nothing is delayed. Congratulations on being single."

"It's okay, it's over. There's a saying, 'It's over, it's over, the next one will be better.' With your current conditions, you can find any kind of man you want. We don't need him. Don't be sad."

Lu Xiao has a natural talent for coming up with all sorts of twisted logic, but when she says them, they don't sound out of place at all.

"Of course not." Huang Shiyu leaned against the headboard, looked at the night sky outside the old alley, smiled, and showed no emotion. "I'm not sad. It's better that we broke up. We were never from the same world. Even if we had forced ourselves to stay together, the result wouldn't have been any better than it is now. Our hearts are not beating at the same frequency, which means it's time to end it."

As he spoke, Huang Shiyu's smile gradually faded, whether from the deep darkness of the night or from the familiar yet changed scenery.

Then, amidst this heavy sense of desolation, she heard Lu Xiao ask about the situation at her company.

Huang Shiyu relayed Song Chaoye's words to Lu Xiao verbatim.

"Do you have enough funds?" Lu Xiao asked. "No, I'll invest some. Don't be shy, I've made quite a bit of money in the stock market lately."

Huang Shiyu knew Lu Xiao's good intentions, so she neither refused nor agreed, and asked, "Aren't you afraid of losing everything?"

Lu Xiao quickly spat twice, then said with a smile, "I call this investing in advance, you know? Besides, the role you played in Speed ​​Technology's current development cannot be summarized in just a few words. With your keen market sense and accurate investment acumen, buying your stock is definitely a sure win."

"I'm afraid my stock is going to fall," Huang Shiyu joked. "Then I might have to go out and take on several jobs to support you employees."

This is not a joke.

Strictly speaking, Huang Shiyu is not the actual controlling shareholder of Speed ​​Technology. She is only the nominal legal representative, holding only 30% of the shares. She has veto power, but the final decision-making power is not in her hands.

But now that Song Chaoye wants to withdraw his shares, he will inevitably sell them. The original shareholders have the right of first refusal, and the 34% of shares held by Song Chaoye will most likely flow to her.

She chatted with Lu Xiao for a while longer, and seeing that it was getting late, the two hurriedly hung up the phone.

The next day, when Huang Shiyu arrived at the company, she had just stepped out of the elevator when she ran into Lu Xiao standing at the front desk. Just as she was wondering what was going on, Lu Xiao saw her and hurriedly walked towards her.

Huang Shiyu looked at her professional skirt, which made her walk with a confident stride, and his eyes were full of laughter: "What good news is there that you're in such a hurry?"

"You've finally arrived! I tried calling you several times but couldn't get through," Lu Xiao said, sounding both anxious and helpless. "The people from Black Tower Group are in the conference room right now. They sent their investment manager to discuss the acquisition of Speed ​​Technology with you."

"My phone was on silent, so I didn't hear it." Upon hearing this, Huang Shiyu frowned and asked as she walked, "Does Song Chaoye know?"

“I know.” Lu Xiao showed Huang Shiyu the chat history with Song Chaoye on her phone. “I didn’t believe what the people from Black Tower said at first, but look for yourself, this is what Song Chaoye said.”

Huang Shiyu's eyes were filled with undisguised surprise. Although there were many examples of companies like theirs that had once achieved remarkable results being subsequently acquired by related companies.

But this goes against their original intention in founding the company, just like going against their former beliefs.

This tense atmosphere continued until Hui met with representatives from the Black Tower Group, reaching its peak.

There were three people sitting in the conference room, with a huge fish tank behind them. The fish tank in the conference room had no special meaning; it was just a symbolic way to attract wealth.

The petite woman in the middle looked over. She was dressed in a black business suit, with a polite smile. Her large earlobes were adorned with ruby ​​spiders the size of fingernails. Huang Shiyu glanced at her, then resumed her usual aloof expression and sat down opposite Lu Xiao.

"Hello, Mr. Huang." The woman pushed her business card in front of Huang Shiyu. "This is my business card."

Huang Shiyu didn't pick it up, but just glanced at it.

Sam, Investment Manager, Black Tower Group.

Sam simply smiled when his business card was ignored, and then brought out today's main event: "This is the contract for the acquisition plan of Speed ​​Group. Black Tower's sincerity is evident to all. Mr. Huang, you are a smart man and know how to choose."

The big fish in the tank stared at the little fish in the corner, raised its dorsal fin, and gently touched the little fish's tail. However, it was so impressed by the little fish's calmness that it continued to probe.

Huang Shiyu looked at the merger and acquisition plan in his hand. It was clearly stated that after the merger, Speed ​​Technology would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black Tower Holding Group and would continue to retain its brand.

The acquisition price is interesting, though.

Six million RMB.

Even if current speed technology is no longer as glorious as it once was, it shouldn't be worth only this number.

"I thought we were talking about a dollar deal, and this is what Black Tower calls sincerity." Huang Shiyu shrugged, almost laughing in anger. "Sorry, who was talking to you? Go find him."

Everyone knows who this "he" refers to.

"Mr. Huang, please let me finish," Sam said naturally. "After the merger, Black Tower and Speed ​​Technology will be valued at a 2:1 ratio, and Black Tower will also make additional investments in Speed ​​Technology. At that time, Speed ​​Technology's valuation will increase several times over."

Speed ​​Technology is not yet listed on the T-list and has no stock market value for reference, but Huang Shiyu had industry insiders assess it before, and it was worth at least $200 million.

The big fish launched another attack, pouncing on the small fish in the corner, plotting how to swallow it whole.

Huang Shiyu lightly touched the merger and acquisition plan with his fingertips, then tapped it a few times, landing precisely on the line of clear text.

Huang Shiyu avoided the topic and asked directly, "What does 'co-CEO' mean?"

“Because it’s a newly merged company, Black Tower wants to hire you as the co-CEO of the Greater China region,” Sam said. “Black Tower is offering the highest annual salary in the industry at 40,000, and will also give you 3% stock options.”

Sam acted as if he had completely fallen into a trap. His red spider earrings shone brightly and dimly in the sunlight, and to Huang Shiyu, they looked like a large net, waiting for the right moment to catch its prey.

Unfortunately, Song Chaoye thought that by sending the legal advisor on a business trip, Huang Shiyu, who didn't understand the law, would be lured by the tempting offer from Black Tower. He had planned everything, but he didn't expect that someone in Lu Xiao's family was a law student and a well-known figure.

Upon hearing this, Huang Shiyu nodded and slowly turned to Lu Xiao, asking, "What is a 3% stock option?"

“Stock options are financial derivative contracts granted by a company to its holders, allowing them to buy or sell at a specific price on a specific date. They are generally used by listed companies to lock in employees, thereby binding them to the company and motivating them to work harder, thus maximizing the interests of shareholders,” Lu Xiao said, looking directly at Sam.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the conference room were open, and the water in the fish tank near the window was suddenly blown about by the wind, creating turbulent waves. The big fish was biting the tail of the small fish and swaying back and forth. As the resistance increased, the big fish had to give up the fish meat that was about to be eaten.

To put it simply, once you sign this contract, all the shares you own belong to Black Tower, and the company then uses this reward mechanism to incentivize you to work hard to achieve your sales targets.

Ultimately, it's still just working for someone else. The reason she agreed to start a business with Song Chaoye was that she wanted to be the one who controls others, not Huang Shiyu who was being controlled and had to work at someone else's beck and call.

She, Huang Shiyu, did not exchange cups or gossip.

Huang Shiyu glanced at Sam, whose expression remained flawless as always. The two people beside her had been taking notes with their heads down since the beginning of their conversation.

“I still think Speed ​​Technology and Black Tower are two companies with different styles and product philosophies,” Huang Shiyu said to Lu Xiao beside him. “Lu Xiao, see the guests out.”

Faced with Huang Shiyu's blunt rejection, Sam maintained her initial polite smile. Perhaps it was because she had too much hyaluronic acid injected, but her smile looked stiff and fake. She extended her hand to Huang Shiyu, "The Black Tower's acquisition plan is still very much in line with Speed ​​Technology's development strategy. I hope Mr. Huang will reconsider."

Huang Shiyu shook her hand symbolically.

Despite the great effort the big fish put in to fight against the resistance of the current, it was unable to swallow the fish meat that was in its mouth and could only watch the little fish swim back to the hole.

After the Black Tower people left, Lu Xiao said seriously to Huang Shiyu, "Is this something that Song Chaoye can decide on his own, especially since he didn't even give us a heads-up?"

Huang Shiyu called Song Chaoye several times but got no answer. If it weren't for the electronic female voice repeatedly saying, "Sorry! The user you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."

She would assume that Song Chaoye had blocked her.

Huang Shiyu didn't want to answer Lu Xiao's question. She was a little tired, and Lu Xiao noticed this, so she didn't ask any more questions and instead went to deal with the current thorny issue.

She knew that this kind of negotiation would not be a one-time event.

A note from the author:

----------------------