PB - Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Old Master Jin arrived unexpectedly. His car had just gotten on the highway when he received a call from one of the directors, specifically asking his opinion on the emergency board meeting. The Old Master immediately had the driver turn around and rush back to the company at top speed. His sudden appearance sent new ripples through the already calm meeting room.
Jin Zhihuan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, extinguishing his smugness. He tried his best to remain calm, rising to greet him. “Chairman, what brings you here?”
The Old Master sat down in the chairman’s seat and raised a hand to stop Jin Zhihuan from speaking. The wrinkles on his face were like lines carved into his skin, unmoving. He raised his eyes to look at Qiao Qi, but the words he spoke were not as severe as his expression. “Zhihuan, you don’t need to say any more. I got a general understanding of the situation on my way here. When something like this happens at the company, it certainly needs to be investigated. It was right for the board to form a committee.” His gaze shifted to Jin Zhihuan. “But you can’t just target the commander-in-chief. Everyone who handled this project must undergo the company’s internal investigation.”
Jin Zhihuan was intimidated by the Old Master’s gaze, but he had been so close to winning. No matter how composed he appeared, he couldn’t hide the extreme anxiety in his heart. He wanted to take a gamble, betting that the uninformed Old Master wouldn’t excessively favor Qiao Qi. “Chairman, before you arrived, Vice President Qiao already stated she would take full responsibility. She said she would resign to accept the blame.”
The Old Master’s expression turned cold, and Jin Zhihuan knew he had made the wrong move. The Old Master ignored him and said to Qiao Qi, “Come back to my office with me.” Then he turned to Xu Yangpu. “You will lead this investigation. I’m ordering you to find the results within one week.”
Xu Yangpu breathed a sigh of relief, though his face remained expressionless as usual. “Understood, Chairman.”
The Old Master led Qiao Qi back to the office on the thirty-fourth floor. As soon as they entered, he hurled the pen holder from his desk at her. He held back his strength and didn’t aim directly at her; it just landed with a clatter at her feet, but it made quite a noise. He seethed for a good while before starting to scold her. “Jin Zhihuan is making a scene, and you just go along with it? Do you think I’m so senile I can’t see that a slip-up like this is someone trying to frame you? And you? You just stand there and let them, even offering to resign.”
He picked up a file from the desk, wanting to throw it, but then feared he might actually hit his granddaughter. So he walked over with the file and tapped her lightly with it a couple of times. “I’ll give you a resignation! All you think about day in and day out is resigning. Is Ruifeng not good enough for you? Such a huge enterprise, others scheme and plot to get a piece of it, and you just say you don’t want it.”
From beginning to end, Qiao Qi stood tall and poised, perfectly still. She habitually lowered her gaze, her face devoid of expression. The Old Master was so angry he laughed, throwing the file down. Still vexed, he pinched her ear. This time, a look of displeasure finally crossed Qiao Qi’s brow. “Chairman.”
The Old Master let go. “Resigning is impossible. Alright, tell me your plan.”
“I want to rest for a while.”
“No.”
“Zhiyu is back.”
The Old Master was so exasperated he laughed out loud again. “You already guessed their follow-up move was to hold you accountable at a board meeting, so you made arrangements in advance, didn’t you? It’s good that he’s coming back, of course, but don’t you think about leaving Ruifeng. I’m telling you right here, today: sooner or later, I’m going to hand Ruifeng over to you. You can blame me for forcing you in the past, forcing you now, and forcing you in the future. But let me ask you, after all these years, do you really have no feelings for Ruifeng at all?”
Qiao Qi’s feelings were complex. She had been at Ruifeng for six or seven years, and every step of her growth had been achieved on her own. Witnessing her own progress was a joyous and fulfilling experience. The busy cycle of finishing one project and diving into the next had become a habit. The companionship of Yao Qiu and Xu Yangpu had also become an important part of her life.
The Old Master began to gently persuade her. “You said you wanted to rest, and that’s a good thing. I also think you’ve been working yourself too hard lately, and your health is getting worse. It’s good to take a break. Haven’t you been paying close attention to emerging industries recently? You can take this time to go out, observe, and learn more. Ruifeng’s future still depends on your leadership.”
After watching her for so many years, he understood his granddaughter’s character. Qiao Qi was not an ambitious person, but she was a responsible one. Though she appeared delicate, she could withstand any setback. She was upright and unyielding, and she especially looked down on Jin Zhihuan’s convoluted schemes. It was no wonder he favored her more and more.
The Old Master used a mix of soft and kind words. “Look, Jin Zhiyu is coming back too. He’ll be able to share more of your workload in the future. If you think I did wrong in the past, I’ll apologize to you right here. From now on, I’ll listen more to your opinions, how about that?”
If Qiao Qi remained silent, he planned to keep nagging. Qiao Qi met his gaze and couldn’t help but interrupt, “You don’t have to say any more. I understand.”
“Then how long do you want to rest?”
“One year.”
The Old Master hesitated for a moment before agreeing to her request. “I will handle today’s matter personally. I won’t let you be wronged. As for your year, we’ll tell everyone you’re on vacation.”
After leaving Qiao Qi’s office, Old Master Jin left the company without seeing anyone else. Rumors spread far more easily than the facts of a board meeting. Without needing to know the full story, everyone knew that the Chairman had spent a long time in the Vice President’s office and hadn’t even gone to the President’s floor. Their relationship was clearly anything but ordinary.
Jin Zhilan heard the news and went to the president’s office to ask Jin Zhihuan what had happened. The moment she entered, she saw the room in shambles. Jin Zhihuan had smashed nearly everything he could. It was understandable. A sure victory had turned into a defeat because of the Old Master’s arrival. To have the prize snatched from his grasp like that—it was impossible for him not to be furious.
Jin Zhilan asked cautiously, “Is it just over like this?”
“What else do you want? Grandpa personally took her away and put Xu Yangpu in charge of the investigation. You’d better go clean up your mess so Xu Yangpu doesn’t trace it back to you.”
“Is it really that serious?”
“Do you think this was just about kicking Qiao Qi out? The company’s interests were sacrificed too. If Grandpa finds out it was us, he could very well kick us out of the Jin family.” At this point, Jin Zhihuan felt some regret. He had hesitated before, fearing his grandfather would find out, but had acted on a sliver of hope. Now, he was truly remorseful.
“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go.”
While Ruifeng was in turmoil, Rongfang was undergoing its own changes, though in a much calmer fashion. At the board meeting called by Gu Yong, Gu Jianchu had turned the tables, and with the backing of major shareholders, her victory was a foregone conclusion. The transition of Rongfang’s CEO was thus smooth and stable. Gu Yong no longer held any position at Rongfang but retained his seat on the board of directors.
After the meeting, Gu Mingyi, feeling his family had been defeated by Gu Jianchu twice now, stormed into her office in a rage. Gu Jianchu initially let him rant, but his endless noise eventually got on her nerves. She pinched the bridge of her nose and snapped, “Enough.”
“Enough? Gu Jianchu, I’m telling you, this isn’t over.”
“Gu Mingyi, what right do you have to shout at me in here? In terms of position, you’re my subordinate. In terms of shares, Rongfang has nothing to do with you. Your father at least gets to keep a board seat. What about you?”
Gu Mingyi panicked. “What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it clear what I mean? You secretly mortgaged Rongfang shares to cover losses from your bad investments in the US. I don’t plan to pursue that matter. As for the gambling debts you’ve racked up, I wonder if Uncle knows about them.”
“Gu Jianchu, you dare.”
“Get out.”
Gu Mingyi slammed the office door with a deafening crash, and finally, there was quiet. Gu Jianchu leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to rest. The shares Gu Mingyi had mortgaged were in her hands. Based on her current holdings, she was now the company’s second-largest shareholder. Rongfang was now completely and utterly hers.
“Yanyan, come in.”
Liu Yanyan entered the office and took the initiative to report on the situation at Ruifeng. “We don’t know much yet, only that Chairman Jin suddenly appeared in the middle of their board meeting and took President Qiao away in front of everyone.”
Gu Jianchu hadn’t had time to think about Jin Zhihuan’s follow-up move, but for Old Master Jin to personally go to Ruifeng to rescue someone, she couldn’t think of any other reason than Jin Zhihuan putting the leaked proposal on the table to use against her. Although Rongfang had won the partnership with U.E., they had also become an accomplice in framing Qiao Qi, which made her feel a little uneasy.
This matter wasn’t going to end so easily. Once Ruifeng launched an investigation into the leak, regardless of whether they found the mastermind, Rongfang’s act of stealing trade secrets would be implicitly confirmed. Although it was a common tactic in business competition, if word got out, it would ultimately damage Rongfang’s reputation.
“In a few days, Ruifeng will throw out a scapegoat. Prepare the PR response in advance to minimize the impact.”
“I know what to do, President Gu. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
The gloomy, overcast sky finally decided to release its rain. From such a high floor, the view was excellent. She could see lightning flash across the open sky, followed by the low rumble of thunder. The storm had arrived with a vengeance and wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon. Gu Jianchu watched the rain from the window, suddenly remembering a morning when Qiao Qi had stood just like that, watching the rain, and she had hugged her from behind.
She had never deeply considered their relationship. At first, she found their unspoken, undefined connection to be freeing. There was no need for promises, and her partner’s rationality, in particular, had convinced her it would be a clean break when the time came. But the result was not as burden-free as she had imagined. Especially at the board meeting, when she saw Gu Yong become the target of public criticism, she had unexpectedly thought of Qiao Qi, who was in a similar situation.
And then there was Qiao Qi’s gaze at the U.E. office that day—distinctly cold, unlike the tender smile she used to have for her. The sense of panic she’d felt that day hadn’t been a sudden emotion. She had pretended it was nothing, thinking she wouldn’t care, but things hadn’t gone as she’d wished. Looking at her reflection in the glass, Gu Jianchu saw no trace of a victor’s happiness.
The next day, news of Ruifeng’s personnel changes spread quickly through the city’s major companies. Liu Yanyan reported to Gu Jianchu immediately. “Ruifeng is indeed conducting an internal investigation, led by Xu Yangpu. Also, Vice President Qiao has applied for a one-year leave, which the board has already approved. However, there are rumors that she offered her resignation at the board meeting that day, so the leave might just be a pretext to calm things down.”
Gu Jianchu asked, “What about Yao Qiu?”
“No personnel changes have been announced for her.”
“Don’t overthink it. She probably wasn’t suspended as the rumors say. Alright, you can go now.” As soon as Liu Yanyan left, she called Su Jiayin. Su Jiayin hung up on her three times. Looking at her phone, Gu Jianchu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and decided she would have to go to the hospital after work to corner her.
At noon, Qiao Qi personally went to the airport to see off Thomas, who was returning to his country. She said apologetically, “I’m so sorry to have made you waste your time.”
“Qiao, don’t say that. The outcome wasn’t what you intended. But I have a question, and I hope you can answer honestly. The reason you all chose to withdraw that day—was it because the other company stole your proposal? This is just a guess based on your reactions that day, I don’t mean anything else by it.”
“There were indeed some irregularities, but the group is already investigating.” Qiao Qi chose to end the topic. She added, “I hope we’ll have another chance to cooperate.”
“Of course. I look forward to us having even greater opportunities for cooperation in the future.” Thomas looked at the woman before him—cultured and beautiful, with a taste in clothing that was neither flashy nor overly modest. After spending time with her, anyone would be captivated by this woman. “May I have a farewell hug?”
A smile touched the corners of Qiao Qi’s eyes. “Of course,” she said. She stepped forward to hug Thomas, who found his mood improving as he caught the scent of her perfume.
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