Jiang Tingchen slowly stood up from his seat, tapped the tablet with his slender fingers, and projected the screen onto the large screen in the conference room.
"Mr. Fu, are you sure this is a frame-up?" Jiang Tingchen said gently. "This is a record of you transferring 20 million to an offshore company associated with Howard. The time is exactly after the data was tampered with and after you received Xu Zhao's email. Interestingly, this money is marked as 'technical consulting fees,' but we have checked all the contracts and don't find any consulting agreements with Howard."
There was a murmur of surprise from the board room.
"This is just a normal business transaction!" Fu Chen's face turned pale and his fingers clenched into fists.
Ning Nanxue tapped the table lightly to attract everyone's attention.
"Normal business dealings? Then, Mr. Fu, why did this money, after being transferred from the company account, be laundered through three intermediary accounts before ultimately ending up in a private account? According to the company's financial regulations, expenditures above 20 million require approval from the Finance Committee. Do you have the relevant procedures?"
"Ah Chen, I watched you grow up and took over the company. I never thought that one day I would have to confront you in this situation." Mr. Wen stood up, his voice hoarse and painful. "Falsifying data, operating behind closed doors, embezzling public funds, and colluding with competitors... What are you doing? You are unworthy of the foundation laid by our ancestors!"
"Uncle Wen, please listen to my explanation," Fu Chen said hurriedly, "This is all a misunderstanding. I just wanted to save the company's project, so I had to take some unconventional measures."
"Unconventional means?" Another female director sneered. "Slandering colleagues and tampering with data is no longer unconventional; it's illegal."
Fu Chen looked around and found that the directors who used to bow and nod to him were now avoiding his gaze, and the whispers were getting louder and louder.
"I'm afraid this transfer record is hush money for Howard?" Jiang Tingchen said calmly, "Get him to cooperate with you in this drama and create the illusion of a patent dispute."
"I..." Before Fu Chen finished speaking, Xu Zhiru suddenly stood up from the audience.
"Directors, you're being so unfair!" Xu Zhiru said sharply. "Ah Chen has worked so hard for the company for so many years! Ning Nanxue is just an outsider. What right does she have to treat Ah Chen like this?"
"Zhiru, stop talking." Fu Chen suddenly grabbed her wrist with a sinister look in his eyes.
"I won't allow you to be wronged like this!" Xu Zhiru struggled, tears welling up in her eyes. "Nanxue, you've gone too far! It was Ah Chen who gave you the chance, but now you're repaying kindness with hatred and being so aggressive!"
Ning Nanxue shook her head slightly, her tone as calm as water.
"Ms. Xu, emotions and company affairs should be kept separate. I'm only speaking the truth. This isn't a personal grudge, it's about the company's interests."
"That's enough, Zhiru." Fu Chen warned in a low voice, with such force that Xu Zhiru felt pain.
Xu Zhiru looked at Fu Chen aggrievedly: "Ah Chen, why don't you defend yourself? Do you really..."
"I've said enough!" Fu Chen almost squeezed out these words from between his teeth.
Jiang Tingchen spoke at the right time: "Dear directors, the evidence is conclusive. We also discovered that President Fu had frequent contact with Xu Zhao, and Xu Zhao was Howard's middleman. This is not accidental, but a carefully planned conspiracy."
Xu Zhiru realized that she had said the wrong thing and looked at Fu Chen in panic, only to find that his face was extremely ugly.
Director Wen sighed heavily: "Fu Chen, do you have anything else to say?"
"Everyone," his voice suddenly became unusually calm, "There are many misunderstandings here, but today is not the time to explain."
"Achen!" Xu Zhiru grabbed his arm in panic.
"Quiet." Fu Chen shook off her hand and turned to Ning Nanxue, "Nanxue, you won this round. But the game is not over yet."
Ning Nanxue stood up and looked directly at Fu Chen: "This has never been a game, but a matter of principle. The project will continue to move forward."
Fu Chen sneered, turned and walked towards the door, leaving the room in cold silence and the directors' complicated gazes.
"Achen, wait for me!" Xu Zhiru chased out in a panic, her high heels making rapid tapping sounds on the marble floor.
"If you want to accuse someone of a crime, you can always find a pretext." Fu Chen's voice was as cold as a knife, yet his tone was terrifyingly steady.
He didn't even glance at anyone else and walked straight towards the conference room door. Behind him, Xu Zhiru hurriedly followed in her high heels, the sound of them tapping out an anxious rhythm on the marble floor.
The directors watched this scene with a mixture of shock, pity and complexity in their eyes.
The chairman opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately fell silent.
Ning Nanxue stood in front of the projection screen, the light shining on her tall figure, outlining a resolute outline.
"Dear directors," she said in a clear and calm voice, "that concludes today's matter. Fu Corporation needs to unite and face the outside world, not fight internally. The truth behind the environmental crisis and patent dispute is now clear. Next, we should refocus on the project itself."
Director Wen nodded gently: "Nan Xue is right, the interests of the company are above all else."
"The report from Louis Laboratory has confirmed that our technology fully meets the standards, which is the most important thing." Jiang Tingchen added, his eyes resting on Ning Nanxue with appreciation and tenderness.
After the meeting, Jiang Tingchen and Ning Nanxue walked out of the building side by side, the autumn sun gently brushing their shoulders.
"You could have taken this opportunity to completely bring him down." Jiang Tingchen whispered.
Ning Nanxue shook her head slightly: "What I want is never his position, but the future of the company."
Jiang Tingchen placed his hand on the back of her hand: "Xue'er, sometimes your tolerance makes me sad."
"It's not tolerance, but rationality." Ning Nanxue responded calmly, "Fu Chen has his own forces behind him, and the board of directors is not entirely on my side. Now we need to stabilize the situation and continue to advance the project."
In Fu Chen's mansion, wine bottles rolled on the carpet, making muffled sounds.
He tilted his head back and drank the third glass of liquor, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, his eyes filled with bloodshot.
"Achen, stop drinking." Xu Zhiru tried to take the wine glass from his hand, but was pushed away and almost fell to the ground.
"Get lost!" Fu Chen roared, his voice filled with dejection and anger. "Ning Nanxue, how dare she do this to me... This is all because of that Jiang Tingchen!"
He smashed the glass against the wall, sending shards flying everywhere.
Xu Zhiru bit her lower lip, retreated to the corner, and took out her cell phone. She hesitated for a moment, then dialed the number.
"Azhao?" She lowered her voice and hid on the balcony. "You have to come back. Achen...his condition is very bad."
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "What's going on?" Xu Zhao's voice was defensive.
"At the board meeting... Nan Xue revealed Chen's data manipulation and the records of his transfers to Howard..."
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