Gu Zhaoping’s tone was so calm and matter-of-fact, as if this was something she had been planning for a long time, and now it was simply a matter of execution.
Mr. Hou was momentarily stunned, unable to keep up with Gu Zhaoping’s pace.
Yuanqi Technology was still in Gu Zhaoye’s hands, and since he had planned to invest in them before, he was well aware of their situation.
He paused in shock, then carefully asked,
“Are you confident?”
“If it were anyone else, I might need more preparation to be this confident,”
Gu Zhaoping replied smoothly, “but if it’s my brother, then it’s not so complicated. I’m very at ease.”
Mr. Hou: The corner of his mouth twitched, nearly bursting into laughter!
Her words were too sharp, but on second thought, they were absolutely true—
Gu Zhaoye was even more unreliable than he had imagined.
He stood no chance against Gu Zhaoping.
“Then I’ll be waiting to see Miss Gu shine,” he said.
“No, many people are waiting to see Miss Gu shine.”
He smiled warmly and shook hands with Gu Zhaoping before parting.
It was getting late, and the old man, being advanced in age, couldn’t stay up much longer.
Seeing that all the guests had been seen off, he was about to turn and leave.
But at that moment, his private assistant, who had been waiting on the sidelines for a long time, couldn’t hold back anymore and hurriedly stepped forward, saying to the old man,
“There’s trouble back home—big trouble!”
The old man’s drowsy, bleary eyes snapped open, as if a thunderclap had gone off in his ears.
He stared at the assistant, a flood of ominous premonitions surging in his heart: “What’s happened? Don’t tell me it’s that brat Gu Zhaoye causing trouble again!”
He hadn’t even noticed that, in the past, when faced with such a question, his first thought would have been Gu Zhaoping stirring up trouble.
Now, his immediate assumption was Gu Zhaoye.
In such a short time, his impressions of the two had completely flipped.
The assistant’s face paled, not even addressing him as
“Young Master”: “Gu Zhaoye showed up at the meeting just now, and it was caught on camera— it’s been broadcast globally and has blown up completely!!”
It really was him!
The old man’s eyes rolled back, nearly needing to be revived on the spot.
This was his worst fear.
He had thought this meeting, though significant in the industry, wouldn’t attract much public attention, but why had it exploded like this?
A worse premonition surged in his heart: “Don’t tell me it’s something to do with that actress again…”
“That’s the worst part!”
The assistant explained,
“When Gu Zhaoye was on that show on the snowy mountain, he was so caught up interacting with Ruan Nian that he ignored someone’s distress signal, leaving them stranded on the mountain!”
“…Old Master! Old Master!”
The assistant jumped in alarm, rushing forward with the nanny to catch the old man as his body nearly collapsed.
The old man felt his mind go blank upon hearing this.
Supported by the crowd around him, he could barely stand, staring in disbelief as he questioned repeatedly: “What? Who? He left someone stranded on the mountain?! Is the person okay now? Have they been rescued?”
“They’ve been rescued, they’ve been rescued!”
The assistant, genuinely worried about the old man’s heart giving out, looked distressed but had to continue,
“Old Master, brace yourself—the next part might be even more shocking!”
What could be more shocking than this?!
If circumstances allowed, the old man would have loved to faint on the spot, but that fool Gu Zhaoye had no idea how big a mistake he’d made, and it was waiting for him to clean up.
Suppressing the blood that felt ready to burst from his chest, he forced down his rage and demanded,
“What else?!”
The assistant said,
“The person was rescued by the eldest miss!”
“Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness, thanks to Zhaoping— I knew she was reliable…”
The old man’s tension eased, but before he could fully relax, his eyes widened again.
“What? When did this happen?
Hasn’t Zhaoping been by my side these past few days?
How did she go to the snowy mountain…”
Suddenly, the old man remembered—oh, right!
A few days ago, that young master invited Zhaoping to go skiing, didn’t he?
And she came back with that rascal Gu Zhaosi in tow!
The old man was stunned.
No way, in just one day out, Zhaoping, you went and saved someone?
And you didn’t even mention it when you got back?
In the blink of an eye, you saved the Gu family from disaster??
The old man knew all too well—if that person hadn’t been rescued, the Gu family would have faced a storm of unimaginable backlash, all because of that idiot Gu Zhaoye!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, practically spitting blood.
He roared,
“Get Gu Zhaoye back here immediately!”
The assistant, supporting him, said,
“Gu Zhaoye has already returned to the country!”
“He’s back? And he thinks he can handle this?!”
“He can’t handle it at all! Right now, Yuanqi Technology is surrounded by a mob— people are smashing windows and throwing vegetable leaves. Business is taking a huge hit, orders are being canceled left and right, and…”
The assistant, looking pained, could barely continue: “What are we going to do about our stock price when the market opens tomorrow?”
The old man closed his eyes, unwilling to open them, hoping it was all an illusion.
But having run the Gu family for a lifetime, even this storm wasn’t the greatest challenge in his eyes.
Right now, his strongest urge was to drag Gu Zhaoye back, put him in front of Gu Zhaoping, and have her try that technique from last time—what was it called, the cross choke?
Pin him to the ground and slap him eighty times!
That fool!
He’s ruined the family!
The old man took several deep breaths, then hurriedly turned to find Zhaoping: “Where’s Zhaoping? We need to discuss what to do!”
Gu Zhaoping had just finished seeing off the guests and was coming back down.
Hearing her name called, she approached and said,
“Grandpa, what’s wrong?”
Seeing her appear right on cue, the old man felt as if he’d seen a savior.
He was getting old, his energy was waning, and he knew dealing with this himself would probably take half his life.
He still wanted to live a long life!
So, with a mix of embarrassment and deep trust, he looked at Zhaoping, took her hand, and said: “Do you know what that fool Gu Zhaoye has done? Zhaoping, this time, the Gu family might have to rely on you.”
“Grandpa, I know, I just heard,”
Gu Zhaoping said, holding his hands, her tone steady and unshaken, calming the old man’s heart almost unconsciously.
“This is a big problem, but with you and me working together, we’ll definitely overcome this crisis.”
She left everyone else out of the conversation,
but the old man was too preoccupied to notice.
He nodded vigorously, feeling a bit more grounded, and said,
“Just a couple of years ago, a scandal involving a family’s heir caused their stock to plummet nearly 10% in a week, evaporating billions in market value. The Gu family is facing a major crisis now— we need to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
He didn’t say anything else, nor did he apologize for Gu Zhaoye’s mess falling on Gu Zhaoping to clean up.
Gu Zhaoping didn’t bring it up either, because they both understood.
If Gu Zhaoping resolved this, the shift in her status within the family would be seismic— something they both tacitly acknowledged and could foresee.
That would be their gratitude and apology to her.
Now, as the Gu family’s potential heir,
Gu Zhaoping’s handling of this PR storm would serve as both a test and an expectation, ultimately allowing her to bury Gu Zhaoye even deeper.
Gu Zhaoping held the old man’s hand reassuringly, her solution straightforward and immediate, showing no inclination to whitewash Gu Zhaoye’s actions: “The Gu family’s image is critical. Right now, we need to promptly replace him with someone who projects a more positive image to represent the Gu family.”
The old man paused for a moment, then hurriedly nodded,
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“Return to the country immediately and convene a shareholders’ meeting. Start an internal investigation process. We must give the public an explanation first. Gu Zhaoye needs to step up and apologize— he can’t hide behind others. The apology must be sincere, and the compensation to the victim must be substantial,”
Gu Zhaoping continued.
“Exactly, our attitude must be impeccable.”
The old man made the decision on the spot, his heart filled with lingering fear.
He wished he could teleport to Gu Zhaoye’s side right now, pin him down, make him kowtow to everyone, and then beat him senseless with his cane.
At this moment, he glanced at Gu Zhaoping again, suddenly thinking with regret that he was just a bit too old.
If he were younger, how great would it be to learn some of Zhaoping’s skills?
Maybe even pick up that jujitsu of hers!
Then he could personally thrash Gu Zhaoye until he was half-crippled, unrecognizable even to his own mother!
“Grandpa, don’t worry, this crisis will definitely turn out for the best.”
With the old man’s confirmation to hold a shareholders’ meeting immediately,
Gu Zhaoping’s tone grew even calmer and more composed.
Her words seemed to express urgency about the Gu family’s crisis, but her steady tone betrayed no trace of panic, calming the old man’s heart in turn.
It was only at this moment that the old man realized how fortunate it was to have a reliable, capable, and outstanding heir.
His heart, which had been pounding wildly, gradually settled down.
“By the way, Grandpa, I discovered something else. This was when I was reviewing matters as a financial consultant for Yuanqi Technology,”
Gu Zhaoping finally brought up.
“Their accounts are a mess, and it’s not just about that one incident. After losing Aurora Green Energy Group’s investment due to that major accident, they didn’t take it as a lesson.”
“I’ve been re-examining their accounts recently and found an even bigger issue.”
The old man froze, thinking to himself that Zhaoping had been quietly investigating all this time without a word.
He was completely drawn in by her words and asked,
“What issue?”
“Yuanqi Technology may be involved in misappropriation and concealing debts. After reviewing the company’s profits, I noticed something off. I couldn’t get access to more specific contracts or financial data to analyze the cash flow, but there’s a significant discrepancy.”
The old man’s heart sank with a thud.
Could Gu Zhaoye really be this utterly deplorable?
But considering Zhaoping had uncovered the last issue as well, this new problem might very well be real too.
It was like pouring fuel on the fire— another issue cropping up at such a critical moment.
The old man pondered for a long time, then suddenly thought of something.
He looked up sharply at Gu Zhaoping’s face, as she earnestly analyzed the pros and cons, and a thought struck him.
Wait—what if, after convening the shareholders’ meeting, he chose to oust Gu Zhaoye?