Gu Zhaoye was stunned at first.
How did Gu Zhaoping know that was Mr. Lin?
He saw Gu Zhaoping quietly looking at him, and suddenly his heart surged wildly, many ominous premonitions flooding his mind.
Beyond confusion, he felt more fear.
Why was he being asked to guess?
How could he know why?
Could it be that Mr. Lin had already…talked with her and it fell apart?
The calm, confident expression on Gu Zhaoye’s face faded instantly, his features tightening slightly.
His lips felt dry, and for a moment, he could only blurt out:
“You—”
In that instant, he thought of many things, but Gu Zhaoping just smiled, withdrew her gaze, and when she looked up again, her tone was even calmer than before.
Mr. Lin contacted you the day the summit ended, didn’t he?
“That day, he also attended our celebration banquet. Since he didn’t get the cooperation opportunity, he left unhappily. What do you think?”
Gu Zhaoye listened as if hearing a divine revelation, her words sinking in, and only then did the dazed expression on his face shift to realization.
Mr. Lin attended their celebration banquet?
He didn’t even know there was a celebration banquet!
After leaving the summit and learning about the major public relations issue back home, he immediately returned to the country!
The thought that Gu Zhaoping had been by the old man’s side, hosting a banquet for those entrepreneurs, making who-knows-how-many connections, made his heart ache again.
While Gu Zhaoping was shining, he could only return to the country in a mess to deal with these issues…
Then it hit him—what did she mean by Mr. Lin attending their banquet, failing to secure cooperation, and leaving unhappily?
Did it mean that Mr. Lin had been inspired by Gu Zhaoping’s speech at the summit to pursue cooperation, approached her, and when she refused, he turned to him instead?
Was he, Gu Zhaoye, just something Gu Zhaoping didn’t want?
His heart sank with a thud.
This feeling made him clench his fists tightly.
A surge of silent resentment and unwillingness rose in his heart.
Then, suddenly, another jolt hit him, and he froze.
Compared to being something Gu Zhaoping discarded, there seemed to be an even bigger problem…
When Mr. Lin contacted him, he had asked a single question: Was the old man of the Gu family still favoring him?
At the time, Gu Zhaoye had been impatient.
What kind of question was that?
And his mindset then was to avoid anyone knowing the old man had already leaned toward Gu Zhaoping, so he immediately assured Mr. Lin that the old man valued him.
But why had Mr. Lin asked that question?
Was he just trying to spite Gu Zhaoping?
If he was so sincere, he must genuinely want to cooperate.
So, the technical cooperation proposal he brought up…was it aimed at Gu Zhaoping?
Gu Zhaoye’s palms sweated.
He hadn’t heard a word of what Gu Zhaoping said at the summit, nor did he know what direction she wanted to take.
If Mr. Lin came to talk to him now, he might…really not have a proposal to offer.
Gu Zhaoye felt a slight panic.
How could this be?
Could the savior he thought he had…have come about like this?
Impossible.
How could it be possible?
How could he have become Gu Zhaoping’s backup option, only approached because she refused?
How could it be!
If he couldn’t produce a proposal, would the other party still continue to cooperate with her?
But if Gu Zhaoping could come up with a solution, could he really not think of one?
Gu Zhaoye gritted his teeth, suddenly snapping awake.
Even if it was a fallback, when Mr. Lin arrived, he could carefully think through the cooperation direction and work with him, couldn’t he?
If he secured this deal now, the Gu family would take it seriously.
He could pressure Gu Zhaoping through the old man to hand over her plans—wouldn’t that be perfect?
He had figured it out, but the next moment, Gu Zhaoping had already turned to the shareholders at the meeting and calmly said,
“Please state your position.”
She had no intention of explaining further to him.
As if he were just an insignificant passerby.
Gu Zhaoye froze.
A chill of unease crept up his spine, and he gripped the table, unmoving.
His posture still appeared calm, but his arm muscles had stiffened.
Would they really vote?
Why wasn’t anyone stopping her?
Had Gu Zhaoping really convinced them to the point of no objection?
Even when he used to propose ideas, the shareholders wouldn’t be this quiet—someone would always have an opinion.
Why?
After a moment of silence, Gu Zhaoye couldn’t bring himself to turn his head.
It took him a long while before he finally glanced over, and soon enough, someone raised their hand.
It was a shareholder who had never gotten along with him.
After raising their hand, the person didn’t look at him, their expression deliberately serious, but Gu Zhaoye knew they were gloating inside, probably holding back to appear dignified.
How could he let these people have their way!
Gu Zhaoye glared at the first person to raise their hand, but the other seemed prepared, saying grandly,
“Gu Zhaoye’s actions have caused too much social impact this time. Even without hidden accounts or misappropriation, it should be dealt with seriously. Dragging it out this long without a response has already upset the public. From my position, I must support the young lady’s proposal. After all, we rise and fall with the Gu family—nobody wants to see their shares plummet, right?”
Calling him Gu Zhaoye directly, but addressing Gu Zhaoping as “young lady”?
Had she bought them off already?
Gu Zhaoye’s face turned livid with rage! You despicable opportunist!
Stop pretending!
You’ve probably been waiting for this day for a long time, haven’t you?!
Seeing Gu Zhaoping propose his removal, you must be thrilled, eager to agree immediately!
Gu Zhaoye had some sense of his own popularity and influence.
He knew staring at this person wouldn’t yield results, so he turned his gaze tightly to the others.
Some had good relations with him, tied by deep interests—they couldn’t possibly stand against him.
Others, he thought, would at least stay neutral or abstain for the sake of their relationship.
Impossible, impossible…
Under his intense gaze, sure enough…
Gu Kaichang raised his hand second.
Uncle Gu raised his hand too.
They held a portion of the shares.
This made Gu Zhaoye’s face turn ugly!
He stared at the two with bloodshot eyes.
How could they betray him so quickly?
Did they think he could never recover?
These two fools—didn’t they realize that, no matter what, he was still the eldest grandson of the Gu family?
What good would it do them to burn bridges with him now?
Were they so eager to see him fall?
Gu Kaichang only turned his head slightly, unable to hide the gloating expression on his face.
He only thought about how he had offended the old man at the summit, and now he had to quickly align with the old man’s wishes to vote Gu Zhaoye out.
It was clear to anyone with eyes that the old man had already made up his mind, or else he wouldn’t have let Gu Zhaoping run the entire meeting.
Though he might not necessarily want Gu Zhaoping to take over just like that, he was happy to take a swing at Gu Zhaoye.
After those two raised their hands, other shareholders who had been watching started raising theirs one by one.
In truth, many weren’t unwilling to vote; they just didn’t want to be the first to stick their necks out.
Now, seeing even the Gu family members had voted, they no longer worried about being the vanguard.
I agree too.
The young lady’s idea is good.
Our company’s reputation has already been damaged.
If we let this continue, who knows how much more we’ll lose in the future.
“This is a necessary crisis PR move. We should punish him and announce the punishment to the public to regain their forgiveness.”
Gu Zhaoye was practically shaking with rage.
People were actually agreeing with Gu Zhaoping?
He’d been the heir for so long, and now they were just voting to oust him like this?
At that moment, someone said weakly,
“It doesn’t have to be this serious, right? After all, President Guochen has been at Yuanming Tech for years. Rashly removing him might cause upheaval.”
“Upheaval? Could it be worse than the public backlash we’re facing now? Are you blind? If it gets to the point of a nationwide boycott, will you still think Yuanming’s upheaval is no big deal?”
The first voter turned and snapped.
Gu Zhaoye glared at the shareholder he’d clashed with, his eyes burning with fury.
In the past, perhaps because he was the Gu family’s designated heir, the other had held back, but now they had no reservations.
If they couldn’t pull Gu Zhaoye down this time, their earlier stance would be for nothing.
The next chance like this might not come for years.
Though he didn’t necessarily support Gu Zhaoping, at this moment, he had to stand with her.
And so, the hesitating shareholders raised their hands one after another, and Gu Zhaoye’s face grew increasingly rigid.
His heart was too panicked, too chaotic to speak, unable to think of the best solution in the moment.
He couldn’t even stop them—he wasn’t even sure if his last lifeline, Mr. Lin, was real.
He wanted to find Mr. immediately to confirm, but the man hadn’t arrived, and the shareholder meeting was right in front of him.
Hands went up, one by one, like tombstones rising.
These people who used to flatter and fawn over him.
People who’d been close to him on the surface, saying he had a bright future.
At this critical moment, they showed no regard for old ties.
This time, the tree fell, and the monkeys scattered faster and more fiercely than he’d imagined.
Gu Zhaoye gripped the edge of his chair tightly, but he could think of nothing, no words came.
His mind was consumed with the fact that his embezzlement of company funds for investments had been discovered—how could he salvage this?
He had indeed misappropriated funds.
If he’d had Yuanming Tech firmly in his grip, maybe no one would’ve noticed, or dared to speak up.
But with Gu Zhaoping around, any slight mistake he made, she could seize and crush him with it!
Soon, when he came to his senses, the raised hands had surpassed half!
This was more than he’d imagined, and they decided faster than he expected.
His face had become extremely grim!
He thought his position in the Gu family was at least more secure than this, but reality slapped him in the face again!
Some people remained neutral or silent, heads lowered, avoiding eye contact.
In some companies, this voting ratio might’ve been enough to oust him, but the Gu family’s rules required over two-thirds, so Gu Zhaoye clung to a sliver of hope, staring intently at those below.
Gu Yingjie raised his hand too!
He looked at his cousin in disbelief—he actually…
This cousin had always been low-key.
But now, he was so blatantly…
Did he think voting him out would gain him some advantage??
Gu Yingjie didn’t think he’d gain anything.
He just found Gu Zhaoping too terrifying and figured it was better to curry a bit of her favor at this moment.
Whoever inherited the Gu family in the future, he knew it wouldn’t be him.
So, he’d follow whoever was stronger—it was better for his future.
The votes were now nearing 60%, approaching the critical point.
Gu Zhaoye’s throat was dry.
Looking at them, scenes from his life over the past twenty years flashed before his eyes.
Once, he’d been the center of attention, surrounded by thousands, greeted with smiles.
In a suit, he’d walked to the stage under his father’s proud, loving gaze, announcing he’d take over as Yuanming Tech’s CEO.