Unaware of the details, he optimistically asked: “What’s she doing in Los Angeles? Just tagging along with Grandpa to relax?”
He muttered to himself, knowing Gu Zhaoye’s reality show fiasco had angered Grandpa, who excluded him from the summit.
He felt bad but didn’t dare defy Grandpa.
He figured Gu Zhaoye was upset because Zhaoping went to Los Angeles while he didn’t.
So he comforted them: “Zhaoye, don’t overthink it. Your sister’s just playful. She’s probably having fun in Los Angeles. Didn’t she study there? Maybe she’s visiting friends. It’s no big deal.”
“No big deal?” Gu Zhaoye’s blood surged, nearly fainting from anger, as if his dad was mocking him!
“Dad, you don’t know what Gu Zhaoping’s doing? She’s giving a speech at the summit! Who let her go?!”
Old Mr. Gu was stunned, taking a full minute to process.
He thought he was going deaf, immediately turning to Ms. Hua: “Wait, check if there’s any news from Grandpa. What’s up with Zhaoping?”
Ms. Hua, just waking up, felt a pang of worry, thinking Zhaoping was in trouble again.
Opening her phone, she saw Zhaoping had attended the summit with Grandpa and delivered a highly praised speech!
In the video, Zhaoping was still their daughter, but her tone and demeanor were completely transformed, leaving Ms. Hua stunned for a long time.
After a while, she decisively shut her phone, looked up, and said: “Who goes to the summit doesn’t matter. Grandpa wanted to bring Zhaoping. It’s still our main branch’s child, not Gu Kaichang or Gu Yingjie!”
Old Mr. Gu’s brows twitched, realizing what she meant.
Yes! Whether it’s Zhaoping or Zhaoye, they’re both their kids!
Grandpa favoring the main branch was good news!
Despite being upset with Zhaoye, he didn’t choose second or third branch kids but Zhaoping, showing both their children were capable!
Old Mr. Gu turned to scold Gu Zhaoye: “Zhaoye, your attitude’s wrong. She’s your sister, part of the same team, our main branch’s pride. What’s wrong with her going? Look how much face she’s brought us! Her poise, her words—where did she fall short?”
“She’s your sister. You should support each other. Why are you unhappy about her success? Isn’t it your fault for angering Grandpa?”
Gu Zhaoye’s eyes froze in disbelief, staring at his phone.
His parents thought this way?
He felt utterly isolated, his mind reeling, ears ringing.
Yes, he’d always shone, with the natural advantage of being the eldest grandson, so his parents naturally favored and groomed him.
But they weren’t opposed to Zhaoping being valued.
They had subconscious biases shaped by social norms, but they didn’t disown Zhaoping.
Her success was their pride too!
They’d worried she’d cause trouble before, but now, though unsure how she’d advanced so rapidly, could they disown such a promising child?
On the phone, his parents took turns saying his mindset was wrong, urging him to resolve conflicts with his sister, to get along, not to dwell on her past lessons, as she was protecting the Gu family’s reputation…
Just one appearance, and his family had completely shifted, glorifying Gu Zhaoping’s actions.
Gu Zhaoye felt like he’d been slapped dozens of times. Even his parents weren’t firmly on his side?!
This was something Gu Zhaoping never worried about.
Ms. Hua and Old Mr. Gu were biased, but they weren’t unreasonable parents.
They weighed their children’s value subconsciously, tilting slightly toward one when conflicts arose.
Gu Zhaoye had always carried the weight of being the eldest grandson, naturally tipping the scales.
Plus, being younger, they assumed the older sister should yield to him.
Power and influence—two words. Power, at its core, is the weight on a scale, shifting to measure others’ worth.
She’d once explained this to Theodore.
Now, Gu Zhaoping had step-by-step added weight to her side.
The scale tipped toward her.
She began to press down, while Gu Zhaoye was lifted up.
His parents didn’t yet know about the Snow Mountain incident. If they did, the weight difference would grow, the scale tipping further toward Gu Zhaoping.
Sometimes, a clever person’s schemes are outdone by a fool’s moment of inspiration.
Gu Zhaoye had brought himself to this point.
He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and hung up abruptly, unable to listen anymore.
His parents and Grandpa wouldn’t budge, Gu Zhasi ignored him, and in the entire Gu family, he was isolated.
Now, he could only seek external support.
Gu Zhaoping had truly thrown him off, panicked him.
Following Grandpa, she’d surely badmouth him, tarnish his image, and block him from Grandpa.
If he couldn’t regain Grandpa’s forgiveness, others would follow suit, and his status in the Gu family would dwindle. The thought of a future where he wasn’t the most valued chilled him to the bone. He couldn’t imagine the consequences.
Yuanqi Technology—right now, it’s the only thing entirely built by Gu Zhaoye, completely under his command.
He had to act fast, to fight Gu Zhaoping!
It was absurd—never in his wildest dreams over the past twenty years had he imagined Gu Zhaoping would openly become his rival. Yet here she was, his sister, standing before him.
But after the call with his parents, his long-silent phone suddenly buzzed incessantly.
He noticed a flood of unread messages and frowned, stunned.
What’s going on?
Opening it, he saw a barrage of messages from a news editor friend, even verification requests from his PR team, which soon turned into cries for help!
Reading it all, Gu Zhaoye’s breath caught in his throat, his body frozen in shock.
What? The Snow Mountain incident was recorded and posted online, now spreading like wildfire with rumors far beyond the truth??
Who filmed it??
How dare someone film it?
The rumors were even more outrageous!
Some claimed he and Ruan Nian were practicing dark arts, draining Liang Zhiwei’s soul??
Saying he used Liang Zhiwei as a sacrificial vessel? Were these people insane? What couldn’t they fabricate?!
Gu Zhaoye’s pupils shook with disbelief!
He frantically contacted people to control the situation, no longer able to confront Gu Zhaoping, rushing back to China to handle the crisis.
But then, even more terrifying news came.
On the flight back, his subordinates bombarded him with reports, nearly driven mad. Their products faced unprecedented boycotts, with massive order cancellations. The entire company was in chaos, everyone overwhelmed!
Previous investors were frantically reaching out, asking if they could manage this massive PR disaster, threatening to reassess partnerships if it continued.
Worse still, the incident made official news!
Using highly negative tones, it criticized Gu Zhaoye’s extreme arrogance and lack of entrepreneurial responsibility. This news nearly broke Yuanqi Technology!
Since its founding, Yuanqi Technology had thrived under the CEO’s halo, never facing such a crisis.
Now, the company was in panic.
With strong unity and decisive leadership, they might have found solutions quickly.
But their boss was Gu Zhaoye.
His subordinates, desperate, contacted him for ages. He only responded with silence, followed by the sound of a phone being smashed, offering no actionable solutions.
Already exhausted workers, hoping for a break, looked outside to see a crowd of onlookers pointing and shouting: “That’s the company of the CEO who almost killed someone!”
Some even mentioned dark arts and sacrifices!
Everyone’s vision went dark.
They were truly unlucky—now too scared to leave the building, fearing they’d be pelted with vegetable leaves!
Employees who once idolized Gu Zhaoye as their spiritual leader now felt intense resentment, wishing they could beat him themselves if he were there!
What now? Yuanqi Technology, with so many ongoing projects and employees to support, what could they do?
This CEO couldn’t solve problems—he only created them!
At that moment, the deputy general manager, clutching his head in frustration, rubbing it furiously, suddenly paused.
He thought of someone.
When financing failed and Yuanqi Technology faced a crisis before, she stayed, tirelessly sorting out financial issues.
She seemed reliable, and she knew Yuanqi Technology well.
…
Is this right?
Her?