Chapter 321 320: Stand-in

In essence, its purpose was to expand the Zhou Family's territory in the financial world.

Not many people knew this publicly, but basically everyone at the top levels did.

They all knew each other's secrets, and under normal circumstances, no one would use them against one another.

But the moment someone decided to take you down, those secrets became fair game.

Mu Lin guessed that was exactly the situation unfolding now.

Of the Zhou, Liu, and Yang families, the Yang Family was clearly the wealthiest. But they had been swallowed whole by the Zhou Family, leaving not even a trace behind.

So now, the Zhou Family was the one basking in the limelight.

It was inevitable they would attract some envious eyes, people looking to use this opportunity to stir up trouble. That was a very real possibility.

Mu Lin was a layman in these matters, so he wasn't sure what kind of trouble Zhu Qiyu had actually run into.

He would have to wait until he arrived to learn the details.

Mu Lin hurried on his way.

Inside Liangyu Investment, Zhu Qiyu was bustling about in his office.

One moment he was pacing back and forth, the next he was furiously typing at his desk.

The past two days had been absolutely frantic.

Heaven knew what was going on; it was just one thing after another.

Several startups he'd been bullish on had been hit with scandals, and their business prospects looked grim.

Meanwhile, they were being targeted in the capital markets; several stocks in which they held large positions were being maliciously shorted.

The once-thriving Liangyu Investment was now on shaky ground. What was most outrageous and baffling to Zhu Qiyu was that several of Liangyu Investment's shareholders had actually started to openly oppose him.

When the investments were successful, everyone put him on a pedestal. Now that things were going south, the shareholders were getting restless. Collectively making a scene was the least of it.

Many were trying to force him into high-stakes performance agreements, threatening to pull their funding if he refused. Several major shareholders had already demanded he sign one.

But Zhu Qiyu refused them all. 'If I sign those agreements, the shareholders will want the company to fail. They'll secretly try to sabotage it.'

With his limited resources, there was no way he could bear that burden alone.

All these problems piling up at once had Zhu Qiyu at his wit's end.

He had been tempted several times to just use the Zhou Family's name to shut them down, but he always talked himself out of it. 'After all, if I do that, the first person to get taken down won't be these rabid shareholders—it'll be me.'

Besides, doing so might be playing right into the schemers' hands. They were probably just waiting for him to admit his connection to the Zhou Family.

'It's at times like this you have to stand firm.'

He was drafting a letter to reassure the investors. At such a critical juncture, he couldn't afford to lose his composure. Absolute unity was essential.

That was Zhu Qiyu's thinking.

But as he continued to write, several people burst into the room.

When Zhu Qiyu saw the two men at the front, his expression darkened. "Gentlemen, I'm working. If you wish to see me, please wait in the reception room. I'll be over as soon as I'm finished."

Mi Xintian and Xu Haofeng. Both were major shareholders in Liangyu Investment, second only to Zhu Qiyu himself.

But since Zhu Qiyu's shares actually belonged to the Zhou Family, these two were, in reality, the largest shareholders after the Zhou Family.

"Working? Get the hell out!"

"I'm not leaving. If I go, who's going to make money for you?" Zhu Qiyu was remarkably calm. His supposed investment genius was mostly just hype from the Zhou Family, but his ability to remain composed under pressure was a genuine talent.

"Make money? You really think you're the one making this company money? Without our cash, you wouldn't have a damn thing to invest!"

It was all too clear to Zhu Qiyu now. These men were the masterminds behind all the troubles he'd been facing recently.

They were sabotaging things, disrupting the company's operations and sowing discord, all to create a pretext to attack him for being incompetent.

The problems were clearly caused by these shareholders deliberately letting things fall apart, yet they insisted he take the blame. How utterly absurd.

And yet, it wasn't the least bit funny.

Zhu Qiyu said, "Threatening me is useless. I'm a shareholder in this company, same as you."

"Same my ass! How can your one percent compare to our stakes?"

Zhu Qiyu said, "I may only hold a small stake, but I have the authority to act as chairman. That is a measure of trust the chairman has placed in me. I have the final say on all major decisions."

This was a special privilege Zhou Qianfan had granted Zhu Qiyu after a spate of incidents where other families were encroached upon by outsiders, but their patriarchs were too busy to intervene in time.

Through a special agreement, Zhu Qiyu could be temporarily appointed as acting chairman in certain situations, granting him specific authority to exercise executive powers.

Of course, he was required to report everything to Zhou Qianfan afterward.

"You want me to fire myself? Is this some kind of joke?"

"Besides, your combined shares don't even exceed thirty percent. You have no authority to make such a major decision!"

Zhu Qiyu stood up as he spoke. "This company is my life's work! I will never hand it over just like this!"

"You won't? Let me remind you, if you don't cooperate, I'll expose the chairman's identity!"

Zhu Qiyu said, "I don't care who the chairman is, I won't hand over this company!"

"Oh really? Then I'll just go ahead and say it! Don't you regret it when I do!"

Zhu Qiyu felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. 'Do they really know? But how? The Zhou Family is pulling the strings from a distance, with several shell corporations obscuring the connection.'

In all these years, no one had ever found any direct evidence linking them.

'How did they find out?'

'Are they bluffing, or do they really know?'

'But either way, one thing is certain: they're full of malice, and they're here to cause trouble.'

"Was it you?" Zhu Qiyu pointed at Mi Xintian. "You show up the second the company runs into trouble. This has to be your scheme!"

The accusation was so blunt that Mi Xintian burst out laughing.

"Look at you. When you can't win an argument, you start slinging mud. Do you have any proof?"

Xu Haofeng, playing the serious role, pointed at Zhu Qiyu and snapped:

"Don't you dare make baseless accusations! What good would it do me if the company goes under? It's my money you're losing!"

He was speechless. The company's recent losses were a fact, and without performance to back him up, he had no way to fight back. It was a truly awful feeling.

"I'm telling you, get lost now. Otherwise, that secret you're guarding will become completely worthless!"

Mi Xintian spoke with blatant arrogance:

"The chairman of this group is a grasshopper in late autumn—his days are numbered. There are countless big shots out there just waiting to make their move on him. Don't you get it?"

"If you step down now, you can wash your hands of the whole affair. People would kill to be in your position!"

'Impossible,' Zhu Qiyu thought. He could spend his entire life trying to repay the Zhou Family for discovering him and still not be able to.

'How could I possibly betray them?'

The only path forward Zhu Qiyu could see was to retreat for now. He would discuss it with the Zhou Family later and figure out a way to take the company back.

"President Zhu, now you're getting it. Look on the bright side. There will always be other opportunities."

Zhu Qiyu took a few steps, then ran right into Mu Lin. He was so crestfallen, he didn't even recognize him at first.

Mu Lin, however, raised a hand to stop him. "President Zhu? What's the matter?"

Zhu Qiyu looked up, stunned. He couldn't believe Mu Lin was here.

"Mu Sheng! What are you doing here?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Why shouldn't I be? I heard from a friend that you were in trouble, so I came to have a look."

A warmth spread through Zhu Qiyu's chest. 'That "friend" must be the Zhou Family.' Even though they couldn't appear in person, they had sent Mu Lin to help. They were still looking out for him.

"Thank you for coming all this way, Mr. Mu. But it's pointless now. It's too late..."

Zhu Qiyu's face was a mask of despondency.

"I'm no longer the head of Liangyu Investment."

Mu Lin frowned slightly. "What happened? I was asked to come help you, but you've already been fired. What's that about? Was I called here to clean up the aftermath?"

Zhu Qiyu quickly shook his head. "Mr. Mu, you've misunderstood. It's not like that. It's my fault. I have to apologize to you. I was just too useless."

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"The shareholders fired me..." Zhu Qiyu said, his voice laced with defeat.

Mu Lin fell silent for a moment. 'I never thought Zhu Qiyu would be this useless.'