After hanging up the phone, Ning Nanxue picked up the instant coffee on the table and sipped it slowly.
The bitter taste spread in her mouth, but it made her thoughts unusually clear.
The next morning, the atmosphere in the Fu Group meeting room was solemn.
Ning Nanxue arrived ten minutes early and calmly sat in the main seat, flipping through the documents in her hands. Directors entered one after another, whispering to each other and frequently looking at her.
The last person to come in was Fu Chen, who was wearing a black suit and had a gloomy expression.
"Good morning, everyone." Ning Nanxue looked up and smiled, as if yesterday's argument had never happened. "I think everyone has seen those reports. I've gathered you all here today to clarify a few things."
"Nanxue, this concerns the company's reputation and must be handled with caution." Fu Chen said stiffly, "Your relationship with Jiang Tingchen has indeed caused market speculation."
Ning Nanxue put down the folder and folded her hands on the table: "Mr. Fu seems to be particularly concerned about my personal life?"
Fu Chen frowned: "I'm just considering the issue from the company's perspective."
"Then I'll answer your concerns from the company's perspective." Ning Nanxue took a stack of documents from her assistant and distributed them to each director. "This is the cooperation agreement between Greenlight Technology and us. You can take a look at the last page. Jiang Tingchen's name is clearly written in the partner column."
The directors flipped through the documents and immediately started talking.
"If it weren't for Jiang Tingchen's recommendation, Green Light Technology wouldn't even consider cooperating with us. Besides, Jiang Group also has a partnership with Green Light Technology." Ning Nanxue continued, her voice clear and powerful. "Who helped us resolve Howard's threat? And who persuaded Huayun Group to come forward to help us?"
"That doesn't prove anything." Fu Chen sneered, "Maybe they're planning to wait until the Fu Group becomes stronger before taking it over. The business world is like a battlefield, and this kind of tactic is not uncommon."
Ning Nanxue shook her head slightly. "Mr. Fu, with Jiang Tingchen's ability and background, if he really wanted to take over the Fu Group, why would he bother with all this trouble? He could have achieved his goal directly through the capital market. Why would he even bother with a relationship with me?"
"You're too naive." Fu Chen retorted, "Emotions are often the best smokescreen."
"Yes, I was fooled by a smokescreen back then, and that's how I ended up here!" Ning Nanxue's voice rose slightly. "If you don't have the ability, you'll only doubt others. Since you took over the company, how much has the Fu Group's market value increased? How many technological innovations have you made? How much has your market share expanded?"
The temperature in the conference room dropped sharply, and Fu Chen's face turned pale.
"Mr. Ning, what do you mean...?" the CFO asked cautiously.
"My point is very simple." Ning Nanxue looked around at each of the directors present. "Jiang Tingchen is my partner and my lover. If anyone thinks this will affect the company's operations, please provide evidence, not hearsay."
"You are too emotional." Fu Chen stood up and put his hands on the table.
He had never seen Ning Nanxue care so much about someone, so why wasn't he that person?
"Are you going to go against the entire board for an outsider?"
"I'm not confronting the board of directors. I'm just stating the facts." Ning Nanxue said calmly, "But you, Fu Chen, why are you so eager to distance yourself from Jiang Tingchen? Is it because he helped me that you can't tolerate him?"
Fu Chen's body stiffened slightly, but then he sneered to maintain his dignity: "You think too highly of yourself."
"Dear directors," Ning Nanxue turned her eyes away from Fu Chen, "today's press conference is of vital importance to the company. I hope everyone can focus on doing their jobs well instead of indulging in meaningless speculation."
"Mr. Ning is right," the marketing director said first. "Instead of worrying about hypothetical issues, we should focus on the actual benefits. Mr. Jiang has indeed made contributions to the company."
"I agree," the HR director nodded. "There's currently no evidence that Mr. Jiang has any ill intentions."
Seeing this, the other directors expressed their agreement.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Fu Chen returned to his seat coldly.
"Since everyone has no objections, the meeting is now over." Ning Nanxue closed the folder. "Please ask all departments to prepare for the press conference."
Outside the Fu Group, Jiang Tingchen leaned against the car door, waiting for news from Ning Nanxue. His phone screen lit up with a text message from Ning Nanxue: "The meeting is over. Everything went well."
"Great." Jiang Tingchen replied, then dialed another number. "Mr. Li, have you found the source of those anonymous emails?"
"Master, the email address is temporarily registered, but the IP address has been locked and is from a server abroad."
Jiang Tingchen hung up the phone, his brow furrowed. Fu Chen and Xu Zhao, it turned out to be these two people behind the scenes.
He drove straight to Huayun Group.
In the headquarters building of Huayun Technology, Li Ming showed the tracking results to Jiang Tingchen.
"This code is very interesting," Li Ming pointed at the data flashing on the screen. "The email went through multiple jumps, but the initial sending point was indeed from Europe."
Jiang Tingchen nodded and asked, "Is there any news from the media?"
"Yes." Li Ming handed over a USB drive. "We paid the reporter double the money, and he provided all the evidence. Fu Chen personally instructed the publication of the article and provided the so-called 'inside information.'"
"Where's the recording?"
"It's all in there, very clear," Li Ming replied. "Fu Chen personally instructed how to discredit your relationship with President Ning, and the wording was quite vicious."
Jiang Tingchen took the USB drive and held it gently in his palm. "Thank you for your help. Please don't make this public for now."
"Understand, Huayun is always your backing, no matter what you want to do."
In the evening, Jiang Tingchen came to Ning Nanxue's apartment.
The doorbell rang twice and Ning Nanxue opened the door. She was wearing home clothes and had shed her daytime dominance and looked a little more gentle.
"Are you tired?" Jiang Tingchen asked softly, holding dinner in his hand.
"Fortunately, those old foxes on the board of directors didn't get the upper hand." Ning Nanxue took the food and walked towards the kitchen. "Fu Chen's face looked very ugly,"
Jiang Tingchen followed her into the kitchen and gently put his arm around her waist from behind. "Xue'er, I have something to tell you."
"What's the matter?" Ning Nanxue turned around and found Jiang Tingchen with a serious expression.
"Regarding those anonymous emails and reports, I have found out who is behind them." Jiang Tingchen took out the USB drive, "It was all done by Fu Chen and Xu Zhao."
Ning Nanxue was startled for a moment, then took the USB drive and inserted it into the computer. The evidence appeared on the screen one by one.
Every piece of evidence was clear and intuitive. This was a carefully planned conspiracy whose purpose was to alienate her from Jiang Tingchen.
"They never thought I was more prepared than they were." Jiang Tingchen gently held her hand. "Xue'er, no matter how many questions you have, I will do my best to answer them for you."
Ning Nanxue looked at the evidence on the screen, feeling mixed emotions.
She felt angry and a little guilty.
That day in the coffee shop, she was almost shaken by the man who called himself Miller; that night at home, she questioned Jiang Tingchen's attitude as being too cold and harsh.
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