BF Chapter 56

Zhan Shili’s car remained parked outside the Xu Family estate all night.

The man who had once said his patience only lasted half an hour broke his own rule for the first time. Xu Shen’s words, “I’m very disappointed in you too,” had genuinely stung.

There was half a pack of cigarettes Xu Shen had left in the armrest compartment. Ever since Zhan Shili said he didn’t like the smell of smoke, Xu Shen rarely smoked in front of him, and he had no idea how long it had been lying here.

Zhan Shili took one out and held it between his fingers for a long while before lighting it.

Like alcohol, cigarettes could indeed numb a person. He didn’t like the smell, but that didn’t stop him from finishing the cigarette, or even from smoking the entire half pack that remained.

At daybreak, he held the empty cigarette pack in his hand and watched the first glow of dawn rising ahead for a moment, then finally tossed it aside, started the car, and backed away.

Xu Shen had to go to the company early that morning. When he came downstairs for breakfast, he heard the servants murmuring that they had just seen Zhan Shili’s car drive away. He stood there distracted for a moment, then walked over to the bar and made himself a cup of coffee.

A few minutes later, Xu Zikang came downstairs too. When he saw Xu Shen, he froze for a moment before awkwardly avoiding his gaze.

Ever since Xu Shen had confronted him about what happened back then, Xu Zikang had acted somewhat guilty every time he saw him. Xu Shen, however, called him over and asked, “What did Nic say to you last night that you agreed to?”

Xu Zikang looked uncomfortable and said quietly, “I don’t need to explain that to you, do I? Since you drove him out of the company, stop asking about his business too.”

“So you know he was driven out of the company by me.” Xu Shen stepped forward and reached out to clamp a hand tightly around Xu Zikang’s neck, forcing him to raise his eyes and answer him directly: “And you still dare to get involved with him? Do you want me to drive you out of Zhaoqi too?”

Xu Shen’s grip was strong, and he didn’t hold back one bit. Xu Zikang’s eyes immediately turned red with pain. He tried to pry Xu Shen’s hand away but couldn’t, so he could only glare at him: “You’re acting completely without restraint. After dealing with Second Brother, now you want to deal with me too? Aren’t you afraid Father will see your true colors and rescind your position as acting chairman?”

“How would he take it back?” Xu Shen’s voice was edged with ice, his thumb tracing the pulsing carotid artery on Xu Zikang’s neck. “You’re going to complain to him about me? Can you even see him?”

“What did you do to Father?” Xu Zikang’s lips trembled as he forced out the question. “You’re insane! You even dare to lay a hand on Father?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Xu Shen sneered. “The day he threw me to those kidnappers, he should’ve known this day would come sooner or later.”

Xu Zikang’s eyes widened in disbelief. Xu Shen had returned not only to take revenge on him, but also to take revenge on their father, or rather, on every single person in the Xu Family.

“You’d better know what’s good for you.” Xu Shen’s words were both a warning and a threat. “Keep clinging to Nic like a mangy dog and I’ll make sure you suffer a terrible death.”

Xu Zikang was struggling to breathe under his grip, and at last revealed his true nature. His expression twisted, a shrill laugh escaping his throat: “Ha! Are you jealous that I can still be with him? So you get jealous too?”

Xu Shen’s grip suddenly tightened, his gaze cold as a knife: “Then let’s wait and see.”

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Three days later, a secretly filmed video of Xu Shiji after his stroke suddenly exploded across the media, showing him hemiplegic and and suffering from urinary incontinence, eyes and mouth crooked, body trembling uncontrollably, urine dripping steadily from beneath his wheelchair.

The notoriously vicious gossip reporters came up with an equally sensational headline: [Business Tycoon Reduced to a Leaking Chamber Pot: Is It Convenient or Not?]

Although the Xu Family quickly sued the online media outlet that first posted the video, the footage showing Xu Shiji in such a humiliating state had already spread rapidly across the entire internet. Even after they applied for a court injunction, those who wanted to see it had already seen it.

Xu Shiji was the pillar holding up Zhaoqi. The news they had been suppressing all this time, that he was seriously ill and mentally impaired, was now confirmed, and immediately afterward countless financial media outlets and so-called experts emerged to deliver sharp commentary on the series of negative effects his condition would have on Zhaoqi. Xu Ziren’s case and the bond redemption dispute with Silicon were also dragged back out and mentioned over and over again.

Zhaoqi’s share price, which had only just stabilized, plummeted and hit new lows.

For a time, everyone on Zhaoqi’s board was on edge, while Xu Shen, the acting chairman, became the target of everyone’s criticism.

At the company’s administrative meeting, faced with one blunt challenge after another from the others, he couldn’t even be bothered to explain. He only said he would give everyone an answer later, then directly announced the meeting adjourned.

He had only just returned to his office and sat down when his secretary hurried in and told him that after the market reopened that afternoon, the company’s share price had suddenly begun rebounding abnormally. Someone was pouring huge sums of money into buying shares at the bottom, coming in aggressively, and clearly wasn’t simply trying to make a quick profit before leaving.

“In just this short while, they’ve already bought nearly two percent on the market, and it doesn’t look like they intend to stop.”

Xu Shen asked, “Do we know who it is?”

“Zhuosheng’s He Mingzheng,” the secretary said. “They were clearly prepared for this, and they’re not even trying to hide it. They’re coming straight for Zhaoqi.”

Xu Shen nodded; nothing could be read from his expressionless face as he simply said, “I understand.”

From the moment that video of Xu Shiji was exposed to now, the opponent had finally bared their fangs. He should have guessed it long ago; apart from Zhan Shili, no one else could have gotten close enough to Xu Shiji’s caregiver to film that video.

And this was just the beginning.

In the following two weeks, He Mingzheng moved with overwhelming force, buying nearly 20% of Zhaoqi’s shares in huge quantities without concealing his intentions in the slightest. When reporters asked him about it, he stated directly to the cameras that he intended to take control of Zhaoqi and was determined to succeed.

Financial news channels broadcast rolling updates on this century-defining takeover battle every day. Countless people predicted that the great ship Zhaoqi was finally approaching the moment when it would run aground and sink. Xu Shiji was seriously ill, the Xu Family was torn apart by internal conflict, and Xu Shen, the inexperienced acting chairman, may be powerless to reverse the situation.

Xu Shen had no personal assets. Cai Lihao barely managed to scrape together two billion to help him compete for shares, but it was only a drop in the bucket.

“What exactly are you thinking?”

Xu Shen himself hadn’t shown much anxiety, but Cai Lihao was getting anxious for him first: “Nic, that bastard, is working with He Mingzheng to go against you, and what about you? If you still don’t come up with a plan, Zhaoqi will really be handed over to someone else!”

They were in Xu Shen’s office at the moment. Cai Lihao kept talking, but Xu Shen barely listened, leaning back in his chair in a daze while continuously playing with the gold coin between his fingers.

Seeing that Xu Shen remained silent, Cai Lihao continued talking to himself: “Who knows how much money He Mingzheng has prepared to throw at this. The total amount of Zhaoqi shares circulating on the market is only a little over thirty percent anyway, so he can’t possibly swallow all of it, right? It probably won’t reach the point of a complete takeover, but if he wants to surpass your father and become the company’s largest shareholder, that’s still possible. Speaking of which, are those two cheap brothers of yours really going to join forces with him?”

“What do you think?” Xu Shen sounded tired when he finally spoke. “Xu Ziren hates me to the core. Right now, no matter who comes to deal with me, he’ll support them with both hands raised. As for Xu Zikang, he’s basically Nic’s little follower. Whatever Nic tells him to do, he’ll do. And if they really plan to push Xu Zikang out as a puppet, the other shareholders might support it too. He Mingzheng’s plan was never to swallow Zhaoqi in one bite. He wants to kick me, this stumbling block, out first, then arrange for his own people to enter the board and slowly devour Zhaoqi from the inside. It was probably Nic who gave him that idea.”

Cai Lihao was dumbfounded: “So when he warned you before that lust is a double-edged sword, he really meant it. He never had good intentions from the very beginning. But since you already know all that, what are you planning to do now?”

Xu Shen said slowly, “According to Zhaoqi’s articles of association, as long as more than half of the shareholders with voting rights agree to re-elect the chairman of the board, the motion can pass. So if He Mingzheng manages to sweep up more than 20% of the shares, they’ll have a very good chance of succeeding.”

“Then find a way to compete with them for shares!” Cai Lihao said urgently.

Xu Shen asked calmly, “With what?”

Cai Lihao: “…”

The two billion in cash he had managed to scrape together was already his limit. Anything more was truly beyond his ability to help.

Xu Shiji did have plenty of assets under his name, but selling them would take time, and the moment Xu Shen touched any of Xu Shiji’s property, the rest of the Xu Family would definitely jump out and obstruct him in every possible way. After all, what Xu Shiji had authorized Xu Shen to exercise back then was only the rights attached to his Zhaoqi shares, not anything else.

As for letting Xu Shiji die and dividing up the inheritance, even if Xu Shiji died tonight, by the time the estate was distributed, it would already be far too late.

“I’ll apply for a temporary trading suspension,” Xu Shen said.

Cai Lihao reminded him, “Even in a situation like this, trading can’t be suspended for very long. You still need to come up with a solution as soon as possible.”

“I know,” Xu Shen stood up and picked up his suit jacket. “I’m thinking about it. Enough of this, I have someone to meet in a while. I’m heading out first.”

The person he was meeting was Lin Si’er. That evening, they went together to see a jewelry design exhibition.

Girls were always interested in things like this. Lin Si’er was full of enthusiasm, saying that her mother’s birthday was coming up and she wanted to ask a designer to custom-make a set of high jewelry for her.

Xu Shen accompanied her, occasionally offering a few suggestions. They weren’t necessarily professional, but he had good taste and excelled at providing emotional support.

“Brother Shen, aren’t you bored coming to a place like this with me?”

Halfway through, they sat down at the café inside the exhibition hall, and the girl treated Xu Shen to coffee.

Xu Shen relaxed for once: “It’s not too bad. Looking at things like this once in a while is actually pretty fun.”

Lin Si’er asked him, “Actually, I heard about what’s happening with Zhaoqi too. When you went to my father’s company to meet him that day, did he say that if you were willing to date me, he’d lend you money to support the stock prices?”

“Mm,” Xu Shen admitted. “Mr. Lin did have that idea.”

More precisely, it wasn’t just dating; he wanted Xu Shen to agree to marry Lin Si’er and form a marriage alliance between the two families, and then the Lin Family would step in to help Zhaoqi.

Lin Si’er said awkwardly, “Don’t take it to heart. I admit I do like you, but if you’re unwilling, then what my father is doing is basically taking advantage of you while you’re in trouble. I won’t agree to that.”

“It’s not that serious,” Xu Shen said. “If anything, I’m grateful that Sir Lin thinks highly enough of me to be willing to entrust his daughter to me.”

Lin Si’er blushed slightly.

Xu Shen continued, “Sorry, don’t misunderstand. I only wanted to make things clear to you. Zhaoqi really is in a difficult position right now, or rather, I’m the one in trouble. Once He Mingzheng takes control of Zhaoqi’s board, there’ll be no place left for me in Zhaoqi, so I can only do everything I can to fight for it.

But asking your dad to lend one or two hundred billion all at once, I know that’s asking too much. Perhaps the condition he set was meant to make me back off in the first place, but there’s also another way; I want to invite the Lin Family to enter the game. If Zhaoqi is destined to be acquired, I’d rather it be the Lin Family than Zhuosheng.”

Lin Si’er understood: “You want me to persuade my father?”

Xu Shen said, “It would be great if Miss Lin is willing to help. I will go to the Lin family again tomorrow, and I hope that you can give Mr. Lin a heads-up. At least in my view, even a marriage may not necessarily last forever. Only aligned interests can take people further.”

Lin Si’er sighed, “You really are frank, direct enough too. Don’t worry, I’ll mention it to my dad when I get home. As long as you can offer suitable terms, I believe he’ll be interested.”

Xu Shen smiled: “Thank you.”

As they drank their coffee, Xu Shen casually turned his head and happened to see Zhan Shili in the exhibition hall downstairs.

Ever since they had parted on bad terms outside the Xu Family estate that night, they hadn’t seen each other for more than half a month.

Zhan Shili wasn’t alone either. The woman accompanying him was that “confidante” of his, Joanna.

Xu Shen stared at him for a while. As though sensing it, Zhan Shili raised his eyes and looked over, meeting his gaze.

Their eyes met, then quickly parted again.

Xu Shen turned his head away and didn’t look at him again.

“Nic, look at this necklace…”

Joanna turned around, noticed where Zhan Shili had been looking, and glanced toward Xu Shen too before whispering, “That’s Young Master Shen from Zhaoqi, right? You brought him to meet me last time.”

Zhan Shili withdrew his gaze and gave a faint “Mn.”

As they walked into the next exhibition hall, the woman remarked, “I thought you two were on good terms. Now that you’re helping He Mingzheng fight Zhaoqi in this takeover battle, you’ve really ended up going head-to-head with this Young Master Shen directly.”

Zhan Shili said nothing.

Joanna, oblivious to his silence, continued, “The woman beside him looks like that young lady from the Lin Family. I heard they’ve been appearing together quite often lately. Maybe he’s hoping the Lin Family will step in and save Zhaoqi, which wouldn’t be surprising. If Zhaoqi really wants the Lin Family to come in as a white knight, do you still have a chance of winning?”

Zhan Shili finally spoke, only saying, “Let nature take its course.”

Back at the café, Lin Si’er suddenly asked, “Brother Shen, you actually have someone you like, don’t you?”

Xu Shen set down his coffee cup and looked at her: “Why would you say that?”

“Intuition,” Lin Si’er said. “That time you asked me what life in the UK was like, you said you had a friend who had studied there before, and that you didn’t know how they had developed that kind of personality, and that you couldn’t see through them. Back then I thought, this friend must be very special to you, otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about trying to understand them.”

Xu Shen laughed: “Do all you girls believe in things like intuition?”

Lin Si’er thought for a moment and said, “At least I believe in my own intuition.”

“Maybe.” Xu Shen lowered his eyes to the now-empty coffee cup, his thoughts drifting as his fingers lightly stroked the handle. After a long while, he said, “Unfortunately, they don’t believe it, and neither do I.”

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t/n: Advance chapters up to ch 68 are up on kofi shop~ ^^ (my stock is dwindling renfuijfekf)

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Continue Reading Ch. 57-68: click me <3