Chapter 52 He must have been the one handing her the knife...
Yu Zeheng spoke calmly and unhurriedly, stating the objective facts.
The calmer he remained, the angrier Qiao Kaiyu became. He should have known that Qiao Shu alone didn't have the power to damage Zhongcheng's foundation.
Qiao Kaiyu pressed his temples: "Do you have to go this far? Our two families are still in a cooperative relationship. What does this do to both of us?"
“I don’t think this goes against our current cooperation. If you feel there’s a problem, you’re welcome to hire a lawyer and appeal to the court. I’m happy to cooperate and will definitely appear in court.”
Qiao Shu listened silently.
She looked up at him, his eyebrows and eyes seemed somewhat unfamiliar and unfathomable, yet pleasing to the eye. Intelligence truly is a man's best cosmetic enhancement. As she listened to Qiao Kaiyu's repeated setbacks, every line of his face was so clear and beautiful that she could trace it with her gaze.
The heart inside my chest kept beating.
It is the wind that is moving.
The string of wind chimes hanging high was struck by the wind, making a tinkling sound that filled my entire chest.
"Yu Zeheng!"
Qiao Kaiyu shouted, and you could feel his hatred through the phone, as if he wanted to grind his teeth to pieces. He changed the subject, knowing that Qiao Shu was also listening: "Qiao Shu, do you know that you made Grandpa so angry that he had to go to the hospital today? He raised you all these years, and this is how you treat him? You are heartless and have no conscience at all."
Yu Zeheng was about to speak when Qiao Shu grabbed his wrist, indicating that she would do it herself.
Qiao Shu's tone was cold: "Did I make him angry? Your messy list is enough to send him to the hospital countless times. He can handle it all, so he must be in good health. He's been through a lot, so he won't be upset by my little troubles."
Qiao Kaiyu hadn't had a peaceful day in the past few dozen days. He threw things around and cursed, "Bastard, bastard, you should have died with your mother back then."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely outlive you." Qiao Shu kindly reminded him not to get too angry and ruin his health, lest he send himself to the hospital before the old man was even alright.
After saying that, she hung up the phone and then added his number to her blacklist.
The movements were clean and swift, giving the opponent no time to react.
Qiao Shu could even picture him yelling at his phone after being hung up on, and finally losing control and smashing it to the floor.
Having enjoyed smooth sailing for years, I've long forgotten what setbacks and turmoil are, and all I can do in the face of a crisis is helpless rage.
Without Qiao Kaiyu's voice, the room was much quieter.
Qiao Shu held her phone and looked at him: "Alright, now it's our turn to talk."
"Go to bed first."
The two people sat facing each other, cross-legged.
Qiao Shu asked, "Did you release any more dirt on Qiao Kaiyu?"
Yu Zeheng nodded: "Yes."
"So you were already planning to short it a long time ago?"
Short selling should naturally begin when Zhongcheng's stock price is at its best. At that time, she signed a cooperation agreement with the Yu family, and a series of positive news were released, resulting in an unprecedented seven-day winning streak for Zhongcheng's stock price.
Yu Zeheng must have played a role in this.
He shorted Zhongcheng when it was highly regarded by everyone, so when Zhongcheng's stock price plummeted due to scandals, he made a fortune and then bought Zhongcheng's stock at a low price.
Yu Zeheng said, "At least not when we were working on projects together, but that is indeed a point that can be exploited. It would be best if things were peaceful, but if things fall apart, there will be corresponding countermeasures."
Qiao Shu blinked her eyelashes and asked softly, "Is this the gift you're going to give me?"
"Yes, but not entirely. The real gift is those shares." Yu Zeheng had calculated for her that the shares he held, plus the shares Qiao Shu had recently purchased at a low price, were enough for her to have a lot of say in Zhongcheng.
Qiao Shu chuckled to himself.
"You even know that I bought shares in Zhongcheng."
Yu Zeheng squeezed her hand: "Since I've decided to go along with you, what you do is very important to me."
“Not only the stocks I bought, but if Qiao Kaiyu can’t repay that debt, his shares will also be mine,” Qiao Shu added.
He used the phrase "to go with the flow" again, and Qiao Shu felt it for the first time.
With Qiao Mingjie preceding her and Qiao Kaiyu following her, Qiao Shu's attitude towards relationships is negative. She may have genuine feelings, but they will definitely be fleeting and short-lived. She never places her hopes on vague and uncertain emotions.
She didn't want to call the emotion she was feeling "like," but preferred to call it the joy of finding someone like her.
Understanding her is more important than liking her.
Qiao Shu's fingers traced patterns on his palm, her other hand supporting her leg as she leaned forward. She asked, "Do you know what? My dad called me, trying to persuade me to stop making trouble, to apologize to the old man, and he would forgive me and let the matter rest, and we could still be family."
The voice was like cool water, icy and emotionless, as if the incident had happened to someone else.
“I said no. Whether we turn the page or not is up to me. I’ve come this far not because I’m a child crying and begging for candy after being wronged. I didn’t make a fuss. I’m very serious, more serious than ever before. After a long pause, he said, ‘How could I be so terrible?’”
After saying that, Qiao Shu licked her lips and smiled.
horrible.
She even terrified her own father.
"What I want to tell you is that I might be a little worse than you think." Qiao Shu looked at him, trying to see something in his eyes.
“Your dad has never earned a single penny on his own in his entire life, it’s quite remarkable that he’s still so naive at this age.”
Yu Zeheng held her on his lap, stroking her soft hair: "This is business. If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not about people being kind. You may be kind, but others may not be, and the market won't be either. Even without you, Zhongcheng's future wouldn't be good after Qiao Kaiyu took over."
They will either be eliminated by the market or devoured by others.
Nothing is static.
Yu Zeheng continued, "Your grandfather understood the reasoning behind this, and that's what he did."
Qiao Shu's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded. The old man had obtained the reputation in the same way, taking it from his own son.
Years later, she used the same method.
Qiao Shu hugged him and rested her forehead on his shoulder: "Thank you."
Sincerely.
Yu Zeheng maintained his embrace, gently patting her back with his palm.
What is certain is that whatever Qiao Shu wants to do, he will be the one handing her the knife.
Will I be able to sleep tonight?
Qiao Shu gave a muffled "Mmm": "I want to hug you a little longer."
Her heart was churning, yet she felt strangely at peace, as if she had been nothing more than driftwood, drifting wherever it took her.
Now, she seems to have found a place where she feels she can stay.
—
One phone call later, Qiao Kaiyu's phone became unusable.
Hearing the commotion, the aunt came upstairs and saw a phone with a shattered screen lying on the floor. She frowned and said, "These days, what's the point of smashing a phone?"
In just over ten days, the Qiao family was in complete chaos.
Debt collectors come to the door every day. They deal with some of them, but new ones always appear. They repeatedly question their son about how much he has borrowed, and even he himself can't remember.
Chen Yi is making a scene about divorce and has already taken Qiao Yan back to her parents' home.
The Chen family is quite powerful. Chen's parents stood up for their daughter and demanded an explanation. They went to their door and verbally abused them mercilessly. The Chen family had already lost all face and couldn't even retaliate. They only hoped that the Chen family would consider Qiao Yan, as the child didn't want their happy family to fall apart.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen's face turned purple with rage: "When your son went out and messed around, did he ever think about his family? When your son brought other women home, did he ever think about my daughter or Qiao Yan? What did she do wrong in being a good wife and mother in your Qiao family that your son has to humiliate and demean her like this?"
"Divorce, you must get a divorce. A lawyer will discuss the property matters with you."
The uncle was furious and wanted to grab a stick to beat Qiao Kaiyu to death to end the matter. The aunt naturally protected her son, shouting that since things had come to this, they should still find a way to resolve the situation.
"What else can be done? If it weren't for his messing around, we could still have the help of his in-laws. But now that we've fallen out with the Chen family, what hope is there?"
Qiao Kaiyu was covered in dust and dirt. After being beaten, he was called over by the old man.
The family looked at each other in silence, their faces ashen.
Aunt stepped forward: "If you ask me, Dad, you've spoiled that brat too much. She's doing this because she thinks she has the Yu family backing her up. You should go talk to Chairman Yu and explain the situation clearly. If this continues, our two families will fall out, which won't be good for anyone..."
"Shut up!"
Qiao Zhenkai suddenly became angry and shouted.
The aunt immediately fell silent, shut her mouth, and retreated to a corner of the sofa, her face grim.
The Qiao family has already begun public relations efforts to clarify the online public opinion, but at the same time, a powerful force is launching a massive smear campaign against Qiao Kaiyu and the Qiao family, which is why it has been unable to be suppressed.
With the stock price falling continuously, shareholders could no longer sit still and started causing trouble, demanding an explanation and a resolution.
Qiao Zhenkai didn't want to blame anyone at this point. Now that things had come to this, his focus was on solving the problem. The shareholders' meeting needed to be held, and someone needed to take responsibility for this matter.
He said to Qiao Kaiyu, "Be prepared to resign voluntarily and not worry about company matters for the time being."
"Grandpa, haven't I done enough for the company over the years? I came to the company to help you after graduation, working overtime without complaint. If you just let me leave the company like this, wouldn't that be exactly what Qiao Shu wanted?"
Qiao Kaiyu couldn't understand it.
"Otherwise, tell me a solution? Asking you to resign is already giving you face. Do you really want to be dragged out of the company?" Qiao Zhenkai retorted sharply.
Qiao Kaiyu was speechless for a moment.
Qiao Yizhou, who had been standing by, raised his hand: "Don't worry, big brother, I'm here."
Qiao Kaiyu laughed: "What good are you anyway? I don't want to talk about your dirty secrets. If they get out, you'll only suffer a worse fate than me."
None of the people in the room are of any use.
Qiao Zhenkai was exhausted: "It's settled then. Qiao Yizhou will take your place, and I will return to the company."
No matter how many complaints there were, no one dared to utter a word. Qiao Kaiyu had nowhere to vent his anger, so he grabbed Qiao Yizhou's clothes tightly as he went out: "Don't even think about replacing me. You'll never be able to."
Qiao Yizhou chuckled nonchalantly, "Big brother still has the nerve to threaten me? You should use that energy on that girl Qiao Shu."
The shareholders' meeting is scheduled for Friday.
Qiao Kaiyu was mentally prepared, but he couldn't help being dissatisfied with what was about to happen. With a dark face, he cursed the driver downstairs for being overtaken before stepping into the elevator.
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator after reaching his floor.
"Big brother."
A clear female voice called out to him.
Qiao Kaiyu turned around and saw a figure not far away, still wearing the signature high-saturation, vibrant color, a light pink coat, and the other person's smile had a touch of playfulness.
It's Qiao Shu.
The tall, imposing figure beside her, dressed in a sharp dark suit, with a stern face, exuded composure and maturity. Who else could it be but Yu Zeheng?
Qiao Kaiyu's expression changed, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "What are you doing here?"
Qiao Shu's smile deepened instead of fading: "Brother, have you forgotten? There's a shareholders' meeting today. As a shareholder, how can you not attend?"
"By the way, you should know that you've defaulted on your debt to me, and you know what the consequences of defaulting are."
-----------------------
Author's note: I'll definitely work harder and grow taller tomorrow!
50 red envelopes, kiss kiss! [cat emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
