Chapter Twenty-Six: Reversal

The reason Shu Yiming took the initiative to convene the board meeting was to seize control, but this authority was not so easily grasped. At present, nearly everyone in the company was on Shu Zucheng’s side. Even if Shu Yiming managed to gather everyone here, he feared few would support him.

The situation was urgent and unexpected; from yesterday to today, he’d only had a few hours of rest, and now everything was in chaos. Both men felt the weight of their predicament.

As the directors began to trickle into the conference room, Zuo Fang pushed open the door—without knocking—and shouted, “Mr. Shu, the boss wants to see you.”

“Bah, who do you think you are? Do you have any manners when you speak here?” Ouyang Zhu, already displeased, couldn’t stand it any longer. He flung a folder, which landed with a sharp smack directly on Zuo Fang’s face.

A vivid red mark immediately bloomed on her cheek. Zuo Fang screamed and ran out.

“Ouyang, look at you—why do you hit people at the slightest provocation now?” Shu Yiming felt a brief moment of satisfaction but, realizing the other party was a woman, worried Ouyang Zhu would be accused of misconduct.

“I can’t stand her. She really thinks she’s someone important? I’ve seen plenty like her. If I weren’t in a good mood today, I’d have slapped her harder!” Ouyang Zhu regretted it a little but kept his thoughts to himself.

“Let it go, let it go. Let’s see if we can buy some time first. I’m afraid today’s general meeting is doomed.” Though weighed down by anxiety, Shu Yiming had survived worse; these troubles, while vexing, were not enough to frighten him.

Inside the conference room, the various shareholders had already taken their seats. Shu Ji sat in the president’s chair, and there wasn’t even a seat left for Shu Yiming.

Shu Yiming stood for a moment, then walked over to Shu Ji.

Ouyang Zhu, quick-tempered as ever, grabbed Shu Ji by the collar and shoved him aside, reclaiming the chair for Shu Yiming.

Shu Yiming nodded his thanks, sat upright, offered a gentle smile, and looked around the room.

“Shu Yiming, what’s the meaning of this? We already passed the motion before you arrived—no one objected! What are you trying to do? Give up the seat!” Shu Ji moved forward, intent on reclaiming the chair.

Ouyang Zhu blocked Shu Ji’s path, snorting coldly. “Even if you’ve all passed the motion, there’s a process to follow. This is a company, not a free-for-all! Since you’re a publicly listed company, you must abide by rules and bylaws.”

“Exactly. Even my secretary understands this, yet none of you seem to. But that’s fine; I won’t hold it against you. If you don’t want me in this seat, so be it—just follow the proper procedures.”

“As soon as the formalities are complete, I’ll hand over the position,” Shu Yiming declared as he rose and left, maintaining his composure and smile, though inwardly uneasy and troubled.

Back in his office, Shu Yiming narrowed his eyes at Ouyang Zhu and asked, “Do you have any good ideas now?”

“I’ve got a few tricks for investigating cases, but running a company? That’s outside my experience,” Ouyang Zhu confessed, scratching his head.

Shu Yiming closed his eyes, sorting through everything in his mind. Suddenly, his eyes brightened. “Public pressure.”

“Hurry and contact that girl from this morning. If there’s no way to act internally, we’ll have to rely on external pressure. The old fox has been laying his plans for years; it won’t be dismantled overnight. Only by holding onto my position can I dismantle it step by step.”

“And another thing—Zhu Wanwan told me earlier that Shu Ji started a new company. Look into it; all this information will be useful. Also, I must see Lin Peishi.”

Shu Yiming’s mind worked swiftly, already outlining a plan.

Knowing the situation was grave, Ouyang Zhu nodded and hurried off to handle matters.

Meanwhile, Lin Peishi, resting at home, received a call from Shu Yiming.

Since the awkward incident last time, Lin Peishi had quietly moved back home. Hearing about the company’s upheaval in recent days, she’d stayed away from work and hadn’t expected a call from Shu Yiming.

“Hello?” Lin Peishi sounded puzzled.

“I know you’ve got a lot of documents. I need you now. Can you help me?” Shu Yiming rubbed his temples, a wave of headache washing over him.

At this juncture, nothing could be left to chance.

Lin Peishi nodded. “Yes, I can. Where are you? I’ll come find you and bring the documents.”

“No, I’ll come to you. It’s best if you don’t move around. Things aren’t safe right now, and I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Shu Yiming would rather expose himself to danger than see someone else harmed.

A few minutes later, they split up to act.

Vivian came from a wealthy family, but, disliking her parents’ control, she’d started her own studio after graduating from university. It had always been a modest success, but she enjoyed the freedom.

The streaking incident changed everything—Vivian, who had never been in the spotlight, suddenly found herself famous.

Ouyang Zhu, ever the detective, soon obtained Vivian’s phone number.

“Hello?” Vivian yawned. She hadn’t slept all night, had gone out early to wait for someone in vain, and had slept the morning away in frustration.

“Vivian? Is this Vivian? I was one of the runners last night, and you came looking for someone this morning,” Ouyang Zhu said nervously, knowing how precarious the situation was.

Vivian grew angry at the mention and hung up with a click.

Back in the day, so many had pursued her, but now she faced rejection after rejection. Ouyang Zhu rubbed his nose in frustration.

“This woman!”

He had no choice but to keep calling. When persistence failed, he went straight to Vivian’s villa.

At that moment, at the glass window of Mingtai Tower, Zuo Fang stared blankly at the red dot on her computer screen, then turned to Shu Ji and said, “Boss, don’t worry. I’ll take care of him. Once this is over, the world will be ours; nothing will stand in our way.”

“Good, well done. From now on, you’re in charge here. When I take the top position, I’ll make you my vice president. Then, this company will be yours to command.”

The two exchanged a knowing smile and embraced.

Sun Qianqian hadn’t expected to capture such explosive footage and hurriedly copied all the videos, planning to make a lucrative deal when the opportunity arose.

After leaving, Shu Yiming felt increasingly uneasy, sensing something was wrong. Lost in thought, he suddenly saw a car speeding toward him…