BF Chapter 59

Hospital.

 

Xu Shen stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the hospital room, his footsteps sounding especially clear in the overly quiet corridor.

 

The heavy smell of disinfectant hung in the air. He disliked it, but he had grown used to it.

 

Xu Shiji was the only person in the ward, asleep. The heavy curtains were tightly drawn, leaving the room dim and silent.

 

Xu Shen stopped beside the bed and stood there for a moment, lowering his eyes to look expressionlessly at the gaunt Xu Shiji lying there. Xu Shiji sensed his presence and groggily opened his eyes, lifting his eyelids.

 

“You’ve come…” Xu Shiji’s voice was extremely hoarse, and he struggled just to get those few words out. Ever since he had been resuscitated after the sudden heart attack last time, he had become like this.

 

Ever since the video exposing his humiliating condition leaked, Xu Shen had transferred him to another hospital. No one knew Xu Shiji was here, including the rest of the Xu Family.

 

Xu Shiji now spent most of each day asleep, his mind no longer so clear, so he hadn’t even realized that it had been a long time since anyone other than Xu Shen had come to see him.

 

“What time is it?” he asked.

 

Xu Shen dragged over a chair and sat beside him, saying calmly, “Night just fell.”

 

In reality, it was only noon, but Xu Shiji, who had already lost his sense of time, didn’t suspect a thing: “How are things at the company now?”

 

Xu Shen gave him a brief explanation: “The Lin Group’s financial company in Europe was hit by an attack from a major short seller. They’re too busy protecting themselves, so they rejected the invitation to invest in Zhaoqi. I’m still thinking of other ways.”

 

Xu Shiji frowned, looking very unhappy, and his voice was hoarse: “It’s bad enough that I misjudged Nic, that ungrateful bastard but have Second and Third both gone crazy too? They’re actually joining forces with outsiders to go against the company. Second always had ambitions higher than the sky, but how did Third become like this too?”

 

Xu Shen said, “Third Brother knows nothing about company affairs. He was probably coaxed and taken advantage of. After all, he holds a lot of shares, so there are plenty of people watching him. And…”

 

Xu Shiji asked unhappily, “And what?”

 

In truth, from the beginning, he had never agreed with giving his sons so many shares. In the past, he and his father, Xu Zhongtai, together held more than fifty percent of Zhaoqi’s equity. Father and son were united, firmly controlling Zhaoqi from top to bottom, and something like what was happening today should never have occurred.

 

But when Xu Zhongtai died, no one knew what he had been thinking. He actually left a will distributing all twenty-seven percent of the shares he held among his three grandsons, and gave Xu Zikang even more than the other two. Xu Shiji had been dissatisfied, but could only accept it. From then on, he became wary of his sons. The infighting may very well have been partly the result of his deliberate indulgence.

 

He had even brought Xu Shen back in order to use this illegitimate son to suppress the others, never expecting that those wonderful sons of his would join forces with outsiders, with his enemy, trying to seize power from him before he was even dead.

 

“And there’s something else, Father. Please stay calm, your health is important, don’t get too worked up.”

 

There was hint of schadenfreude in Xu Shen’s tone, but Xu Shiji’s mind was too slow to catch it: “What is it?”

 

Xu Shen opened a file he had brought with him and handed it over.

 

It was a paternity test report. Xu Shiji froze, the expression on his face shifting from confusion, to shock, to outright fury in a spectacular cycle.

 

Xu Shen reached out and pressed a hand to his shoulder, reminding him in a low voice: “Father, calm down.”

 

Xu Shiji’s eyes were bloodshot as he heaved through clenched teeth: “Is this true?”

 

“Aunt told me,” Xu Shen said. “She once caught Second Mother being intimate with someone else…”

 

“With who?!” Xu Shiji demanded sharply.

 

Xu Shen looked at him and, for once, felt a little spectator-like sense of sympathy for this father of his. No wonder Chen Ping said the Xu Family was filthy; a younger brother sleeping with his sister-in-law, an old man sleeping with his daughter-in-law—it really was filthy enough.

 

He could actually have chosen not to say it. Instead, still looking directly into Xu Shiji’s eyes, he said the word: “Grandfather.”

 

 

On Zhan Shili’s first day on Zhuosheng’s board, someone immediately picked a fight with him, or rather, made fun of him to his face.

 

Before the meeting began, not all the directors had arrived yet. Ma Shouliang sat back in his chair with his legs crossed, drinking tea, openly giving Zhan Shili, who had just entered, a disdainful look and made no attempt to stand up and exchange pleasantries with him.

 

Zhan Shili calmly greeted the others and walked to his seat. Ma Shouliang spoke in a sarcastic tone: “And who’s this? I almost forgot. Mr. Zhan is one of our Zhuosheng’s great contributors. After swallowing humiliation and serving the Xu Family like a dog for so many years at Zhaoqi, today you’ve finally waited until the clouds parted and the moon came out, holding your head high. Who wouldn’t admire that kind of backbone?”

 

Ma Shouliang had a grudge against Xu Shen, and naturally had no good feelings toward Zhan Shili either, who used to come and go with him as his assistant. Whenever he got the chance, he always had to step on him.

 

The others treated it as entertainment. No one joined in, but no one stepped forward to stop it either.

 

He Mingzheng still hadn’t arrived. His son He Wenhui laughed and said, “Nic really is capable. Managing to coax several young masters of the Xu Family into doing what he wanted, ordinary people couldn’t pull that off without some special talents and skills.”

 

His tone was full of ridicule too. Ever since his scandal had been exposed, he had always suspected Zhan Shili was behind it, but unfortunately held no evidence.

 

Zhan Shili’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, treating their words like wind passing by his ears.

 

Ma Shouliang was irritated by lack of response and continued: “But I still think people should know their own limits. Wear a hat that fits the size of your head; you haven’t worked a single day at this company, yet you came in demanding a seat on the board. Brother Zheng is easygoing enough to satisfy you, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have no objections. You’re still young and already this greedy, aren’t you afraid you’ll choke yourself to death?”

 

Only after he had said enough did Zhan Shili finally speak, asking in return: “And what contribution has Young Master Ma made to the company?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Zhan Shili didn’t bother being polite: “Ma Group was acquired by Zhuosheng. It was precisely because the big boss was easygoing that he let you onto Zhuosheng’s board, Young Master Ma. Given Ma Group’s situation back then, even if Zhuosheng had swallowed it whole, there was nothing you could have done. I should thank the big boss, and so should you.”

 

Ma Shouliang’s face darkened. The bankruptcy and acquisition of Ma Group by Zhuosheng had always been a sore spot for him, and Zhan Shili had been one of the chief culprits back then but actually dared to speak so arrogantly here.

 

Zhan Shili ignored him.

 

He Mingzheng entered and sat down, acting as though he hadn’t noticed the tense atmosphere in the conference room at all, and asked, “What are you all talking about so happily?”

 

There was no point continuing the argument, so everyone naturally changed the subject, exchanged a few jokes, and began the meeting. The main topic was still the acquisition of Zhaoqi.

 

He Mingzheng had purchased the Zhaoqi shares in Zhuosheng’s name. The board had approved it unanimously, reallocating money from several projects and pouring in several tens of billions, mortgaging almost all of Zhuosheng’s liquid assets, a desperate gamble with no room for failure.

 

Some directors were deeply worried. After Zhaoqi resumed trading yesterday, its share price was still rising but Zhuosheng had persisted in buying more despite there had been no movement at all from Xu Shiji’s side—or more accurately, Xu Shen’s. No one knew what big move he may have been planning.

 

He Mingzheng didn’t state his own position and asked Zhan Shili, “What do you think?”

 

Zhan Shili said calmly, “We only need to buy a little under 1%. Together with the shares held by those Zhaoqi shareholders we’ve won over, our total voting stake will exceed half and we can immediately demand that they convene an extraordinary general meeting to replace the chairman.”

 

He Mingzheng nodded: “I think they’re probably out of moves. No matter what, let’s finish this quickly.”

 

The day of the extraordinary general meeting happened to be a typhoon day.

 

Xu Shen arrived late. The moment he got out of the car, countless reporters surrounded him, chasing and blocking him from every direction. Microphones were thrust in front of him, asking him to predict the outcome of today’s shareholders’ meeting and whether he was mentally prepared for the possibility of being removed.

 

Xu Shen’s expression was cold and did not say a word, letting his secretary shield him as he quickly entered the venue.

 

Once inside, he didn’t sit down and had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with anyone either. He only told his secretary that he was going out to buy a cup of coffee.

 

The secretary said, “Young Master Shen, I’ll go buy it for you…”

 

“No need,” Xu Shen said. “It won’t start that soon anyway. I’m going out for some air. Keep an eye on things here and don’t let any clueless reporters follow me.”

 

After buying the coffee, he walked to the end of the corridor. The sky outside was oppressively gloomy, the wind howling ferociously as it battered the palm leaves in the courtyard behind the building.

 

It was completely different from the noise and commotion in the venue up front, this side desolate and deserted—except for Zhan Shili.

 

He stood alone beneath the veranda, smoking, the wisps of smoke he exhaled scattering into the wind.

 

Xu Shen hadn’t expected to run into him here and instinctively stopped, looking at him for a while. Zhan Shili suddenly turned his head, his gaze falling on him.

 

The eyes behind the smoke shifted slightly, the emotions in them sinking deeper and deeper until they were out of sight.

 

Xu Shen stood with both hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorway as he gazed at him. This was the second time that Zhan Shili, who always said he hated the smell of smoke, had been caught smoking.

 

Their silent staring contest was like a long tug-of-war. Zhan Shili was the first to give in and spoke: “You’ve made no move these past few days. Have you figured out how you’re going to deal with things later?”

 

Xu Shen asked, “Are you concerned about me, or are you waiting to laugh at me?”

 

Zhan Shili said, “Just asking.”

 

“Mr. Zhan.” Xu Shen’s said seriously. “You’re definitely going to lose today. Do you believe me?”

 

Zhan Shili showed little reaction. He didn’t care about winning or losing today’s round at all: “You’ve already found a way.” It was phrased like a question, but the statement was spoken with certainty.

 

“Fair enough. You’re already on Zhuosheng’s board, so you’ve achieved your goal anyway.” Xu Shen gave a sarcastic smile. “Even if He Mingzheng doesn’t get what he wants today, at most he’ll make things difficult for you afterward and your days will be a little harder, but at the end of the day, he can’t exactly kick you back out immediately.”

 

Zhan Shili nodded, not particularly wanting to talk about this.

 

He stubbed out the cigarette against the trash can, then took a piece of candy from his pocket and asked Xu Shen, “Want one?”

 

“I’ve quit,” Xu Shen said.

 

He had quit candy, while Zhan Shili had started smoking.

 

After a beat of silence, Zhan Shili said nothing and lost his desire to eat the candy too.

 

Xu Shen lowered his eyes with a faint scoff, checked the time, and was about to head back. As he turned, Zhan Shili suddenly reached out and caught his wrist: “Seren.”

 

Zhan Shili’s breathing was slightly heavy. He said his name, then stopped again, momentarily at a loss for words.

 

Xu Shen’s gaze lingered for a moment on the hand gripping his wrist before he raised his eyes to look at him. The wind blew into his eyes, making him squint slightly as he said softly, “Nic, you’re not good to me at all. I told you I need to be coaxed. You can’t do it, so I’m not playing with you anymore. What’s the point of acting like this now?”

 

He had given Zhan Shili chances, and not only once. It was this man who didn’t want them, who rejected him again and again.

 

It hadn’t been a lie when he said that he was heartbroken.

 

Zhan Shili’s grip on Xu Shen’s hand tightened slightly. He could handle anything with ease, except when it came to Xu Shen. He couldn’t even tell how much of what Xu Shen said was true and how much was false. Even after hearing Xu Shen say it was over, he was still unwilling to accept it.

 

After playing with other people’s feelings for so long, he had finally met his retribution.

 

“What if I don’t want it to end?” Zhan Shili tightened his hold on his hand and said forcefully, “You were the one who seduced me first. You don’t want to admit it, but that’s a fact. Even if you did it to get revenge on someone else, I accepted that. Now you’re unilaterally saying it’s over again. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I don’t agree.”

 

Xu Shen raised a eyebrow slightly: “Nic, you really are controlling. Too bad, that trick doesn’t work on me. Before, you said I could do whatever I wanted, so what is this now?”

 

Zhan Shili said, “What if I insist?”

 

Xu Shen glanced at his hand, signaling for him to let go: “Maybe you still don’t understand me very well. What I hate most is betrayal, no matter who it is. I said I couldn’t bear to kill you, but that’s as far as it goes.”

 

“You don’t understand me well enough either,” Zhan Shili said, obediently released his hand after their exchange. He really did regret it. He could let Xu Shen do whatever he wanted, just not end things between them. “Whatever I want, I will get by any means necessary, and the same goes for people. I won’t give up.”

 

He sincerely hated this feeling of losing control and falling into the weaker position. Since he couldn’t accept it, then he would simply act according to his usual style and forcibly keep the person he wanted. He had plenty of patience.

 

Scorn flashed through Xu Shen’s eyes: “Suit yourself.”

 

At 10:30 A.M., the extraordinary general meeting began.

 

Xu Shen entered and sat down, casually sweeping his gaze across the venue. He Mingzheng’s group had just arrived and were chatting and laughing together.

 

On the other side, Xu Zikang sat beside Lin Meina with his head lowered, no one knew what he was thinking. When Zhan Shili came in, he ignored him and walked straight over to sit behind He Mingzheng.

 

The other shareholders arrived one after another. A large number of reporters filled the back, with countless media cameras set up. This time, the re-election of Zhaoqi’s chairman for their board of directors had drawn the attention of the entire city.

 

The meeting chair was a Zhaoqi director nominated by Zhuosheng’s side. After reading out the agenda for the day, he immediately began deliberation on the first motion: removing Xu Shiji from his position as chairman of Zhaoqi’s board.

 

Before voting began, Xu Shen suddenly raised a hand: “One moment. Before the vote, the identity of one shareholder present needs to be confirmed.”

 

He had his lawyer enter. All kinds of discussion immediately broke out throughout the venue. He Mingzheng looked displeased and turned back to ask Zhan Shili, “What is he trying to do?”

 

Zhan Shili turned his gaze to Xu Shen, knowing full well that he had already won, but said aloud, “I don’t know.”

 

He Mingzheng was very dissatisfied, but could only endure it.

 

Xu Shen’s lawyer showed everyone two documents and explained: “The first document is a paternity test report concerning Mr. Xu Shiji and Mr. Xu Zikang. According to the conclusion of the report, it confirms that there is no biological father-son relationship between the two parties. In other words, Mr. Xu Zikang is not Mr. Xu Shiji’s biological son.”

 

The venue erupted. Cameras went off one after another, the reporters looking as though they’d been injected with adrenaline; no one had expected that attending this shareholders’ meeting would also let them hear such explosive inside stories on a wealthy family.

 

Xu Zikang froze on the spot, stunned, his face draining white in an instant as though his soul had left his body.

 

The other shareholders whispered among themselves. He Mingzheng’s brows drew tightly together, shocked and suspicious.

 

Zhan Shili glanced at Xu Shen again and had already guessed what he had done.

 

The lawyer then took out the second document and said: “Before the late Mr. Xu Zhongtai passed away, he made a will leaving a total of 27% of Zhaoqi’s shares under his name to his three biological grandsons, Mr. Xu Zijie, Mr. Xu Ziren, and Mr. Xu Zikang. Of those, Mr. Xu Zikang inherited a total of 11% of Zhaoqi’s shares under Mr. Xu Zhongtai’s name through this will.

 

Given that Mr. Xu Zikang is not Mr. Xu Shiji’s biological son, in other words, is not Mr. Xu Zhongtai’s biological grandson, there is a possibility that the will was made based on unclear facts and misleading information, and its validity is therefore open to question. On behalf of my client, Mr. Xu Shiji, I have already applied to the court to freeze the exercise rights attached to all Zhaoqi shares held by Mr. Xu Zikang.

 

This document in my hand is the court freezing order that has just taken effect. Until the validity of the late Mr. Xu Zhongtai’s will has been judicially confirmed, Mr. Xu Zikang cannot exercise any voting rights attached to his Zhaoqi shares. Therefore, at today’s extraordinary general meeting, Mr. Xu Zikang may not express any position in the voting process.”

 

As for the fact that Xu Zikang was actually Xu Zhongtai’s biological son, heaven knew and earth knew, but no unnecessary person would ever know.

 

The clamor in the venue grew even louder. He Mingzheng’s face had already turned black as the bottom of a pot.

 

Xu Shen’s move had pulled the firewood straight from under the cauldron, swift, accurate, and ruthless, striking right where it hurt the most.

 

There was practically no need to hold the vote after that. Re-electing the chairman had become completely impossible, and after staking several tens of billions, Zhuosheng ultimately ended up drawing water with a bamboo basket and getting nothing.

 

When the meeting ended and Xu Shen stood, he glanced at the ashen-faced Xu Zikang, then turned his gaze toward Zhuosheng’s side. He raised his brows at Zhan Shili with an ambiguous expression before turning to leave with effortless grace.

 

The camera flashes and media lenses behind him followed him the entire way. After this battle, he had truly made a name for himself.

 

Xu Shiji, already incontinent from his stroke, could not have done any of this. Everyone knew perfectly well that it was Young Master Shen who had been planning and directing everything from behind the scenes. After today, no one on Zhaoqi’s board would be able to shake his position again.

 

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t/n: D-Day is next chapter, prepare yourselves… (wife chasing arc countdown: 1)

Also, Here’s a gift to those of you who were probably wondering what Xu Shen looked like. This is my fanart of our Shen-Shaoye, so. Js know that it isn’t the greatest!!! (but at least paints a picture, right?) If you’re afraid of bad art don’t click, this is a rather old drawing TT

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♡♡♡ if you like my translations, please consider buying me a kofi~! ♡♡♡

Continue Reading Ch. 60-69: click me <3