Who's going to be the female lead's simp? Aren't the supporting female characters mor

Zhao Mansion.

This Ming and Qing style mansion was once the gathering place for the logistics circle in Beijing. At this time in the past, luxury cars could line up all the way to the alley entrance, and people begging to see the Fourth Prince would wear down the threshold.

Tonight, the place is deserted.

Only the century-old locust tree in the courtyard rustled in the night wind, as if sighing for someone.

Inside the main hall, smoke swirled.

Zhao Hongtu sat in a rosewood armchair, replacing the walnuts in his hand with a thick cigar.

He didn't light it, but just bit down hard on the cigarette butt until his gums bled and his mouth tasted fishy.

"Fourth Master, the tea has gone cold. Shall I get you a fresh cup?" The old butler approached cautiously.

"roll."

Zhao Hongtu squeezed out a single word from his throat, his voice sounding like two rusty iron pieces rubbing against each other.

The butler shuddered, lowered his head, and retreated.

There were seven or eight cell phones on the table, their screens flickering.

Zhao Hongtu took a deep breath, picked up one of the phones, and dialed a number.

That was his old brother who had followed him for twenty years, and he controlled the largest fleet of vehicles in western Beijing.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

"Hey, Lao Ma," Zhao Hongtu said, trying to make his voice sound strong and authoritative, with the air of someone in a superior position. "Are you asleep?"

"Hey, Fourth Master." The voice on the other end of the phone was a bit noisy, like it was in a karaoke bar. "Not yet, I'm drinking with a few clients. Any instructions?"

"It's not a big deal." Zhao Hongtu fiddled with his lighter. "I heard that some small, unruly trucking companies went to haul goods for that Deep Blue Technology company today? Old Ma, you have to do something about this. Our logistics association has regulations; we can't break the rules for a little bit of profit."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, with only the background music continuing to blare at the top of its lungs.

"Fourth Master," Old Ma's voice suddenly became somewhat slick, "I've heard about this too. But you know how it is these days, drivers are hard to manage. Deep Blue pays them cash and even subsidizes their fuel costs. The drivers all have families to support, and as their boss, I can't just stand in their way of making money, can I?"

Zhao Hongtu's hand tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning white: "Old Ma, what do you mean by that? Back when your racing team's funding dried up, who lent you five million to tide you over? Now you're talking to me about supporting your family?"

"Fourth Master, this is too much." Old Ma's tone turned cold. "I paid back that five million with interest a long time ago. Besides, I've given you plenty of money these past few years, haven't I? Your toll fees are more ruthless than anyone else's. The world has changed now. People are out here to make money, not to be your pawns. If you have nothing else, I'll hang up now. The client is waiting."

"Beep, beep, beep."

The busy tone was like a series of slaps to Zhao Hongtu's deeply lined face.

He slammed his phone against the wall.

"Bang!"

The screen shattered, and parts were scattered everywhere.

"They've rebelled...they've all rebelled!" Zhao Hongtu gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.

He never imagined that the prestige he had built up over twenty years would crumble in less than twenty hours in the face of Bai Jingyou's promise of immediate payment without any delay.

Just then, the third confidant, who hadn't dared to utter a sound, pushed open the door and came in, his face more grim than if he were crying.

"Fourth Master, I just received news." The third brother swallowed hard. "Old Liu, Fatty Wang, and several agents from Tianjin Port are all... having dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel tonight."

"Eating?" Zhao Hongtu narrowed his eyes. "With whom?"

"With...that woman surnamed Zhang."

……

Shangri-La Hotel, Top Floor Executive Lounge.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the night view of Beijing resembles a flowing galaxy.

Zhang Yi wore a burgundy silk dress and swirled a glass of red wine in her hand, looking like a languid yet dangerous beautiful snake.

Sitting opposite her was Bai Jingyou.

Compared to Zhang Yi's glamorous appearance, Bai Jingyou remained casually dressed, with two buttons undone at the collar of his shirt and a laptop in front of him.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Zhang Yi took a sip of red wine, her gaze sweeping over the group of middle-aged men sitting on pins and needles at the corner table. They were Zhao Hongtu's former staunch allies. "Young Master Bai, you really know how to use the tactic of besieging a point to attack reinforcements. Zhao Hongtu must be furious at home."

"It's best if you're furious." Bai Jingyou didn't even look up, his fingers tapping on the keyboard. "People who are furious are most likely to make mistakes."

"However, I'm very curious." Zhang Yi put down her wine glass, leaned closer, and stared intently at Bai Jingyou with her peach blossom eyes. "You spend so much money, buying goods at high prices and hiring cars at high prices. Although you can squeeze Zhao Hongtu out of business, how long can your own cash flow last? Deep Blue Technology is just starting out, and the money from the Ye family doesn't come easily."

Bai Jingyou stopped what he was doing, turned his head, and looked at the exquisite face so close to his.

"Who said I'm going to keep spending money?" Bai Jingyou's lips curled into a playful smile. "President Zhang, doing business is all about momentum. Right now, the momentum is on my side, so naturally I get to set the rules."

He turned the laptop toward Zhang Yi.

On the screen is a newly drafted electronic contract template.

"For the first three days, we settled in cash and bought at high prices. This was to buy valuable resources and show everyone that there's profit to be made by following DeepBlue," Bai Jingyou said calmly. "Starting from the fourth day, which is tomorrow, the DeepBlue platform will adjust the settlement cycle to weekly, and the purchase price will return to the market price."

"Are you crazy?" Zhang Yi's eyes widened. "You just won them over, and you're already cooling things off? Aren't you afraid they'll run back to Zhao Hongtu?"

"Run?" Bai Jingyou chuckled lightly, his eyes revealing a cold indifference that seemed to see right through people. "Zhao Hongtu is like a drowning man now, penniless and bankrupt. I've spoiled those suppliers; even if I revert to weekly payments, it'll be a million times better than Zhao Hongtu's quarterly payments. Besides..."

Bai Jingyou paused, then lightly tapped the screen with his fingertip: "I've already had Lin Lanfeng enter all their transaction data into the system. From now on, anyone who wants to take orders on the Deep Blue platform will have to follow my standardized procedures. Trying to run away? The sunk costs are too high; they won't be willing to give them up."

Zhang Yi stared at Bai Jingyou for a full five seconds before finally letting out a long sigh, looking at him as if he were a monster.

"Bai Jingyou, you're a real bastard," Zhang Yi cursed, but her face was flushed with excitement. "However, I love working with bastards like you. Tell me, you didn't just call me here to show off your skills, did you?"

"Of course." Bai Jingyou leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced. "Although Zhao Hongtu is in a bad mood right now, he still has a lot of fixed assets. Especially his old warehouses in the south of the city, the location is good, but the facilities are terrible."

Zhang Yi's eyes lit up instantly when the old warehouse was mentioned.

That was the place Chen He had ordered at the banquet.

"Zhao Hongtu's cash flow has dried up, and the banks will probably withdraw their loans soon." Bai Jingyou's voice was as calm as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather. "To save his own life, he'll definitely sell off assets. Mr. Zhang, you're in investment; you should be very good at this kind of opportunistic... oh no, asset restructuring, right?"

"Ha!" Zhang Yi laughed heartily, her ample bosom heaving. "I knew you were up to no good. You want me to be the villain, forcing Zhao Hongtu to cut off his own flesh?"

"It's a win-win situation," Bai Jingyou shrugged. "What I want is his market share, and what you want is his land. Besides, if you don't make a move now, once Zhao Hongtu recovers, or if someone else snatches it away, this piece of fat meat will be gone for you."

Zhang Yi licked her red lips, her greed undisguised.

"Deal." She raised her glass and gently tapped it against the side of Bai Jingyou's soda glass. "Tomorrow morning, I'll have someone go to the bank and make some calls, and while I'm at it, find a few professional asset appraisal teams to properly value Fourth Master's prime properties. I'll make sure to drive him to a price that will make him bleed."

"It's a pleasure to work with you." Bai Jingyou picked up his soda water and took a sip.

"Oh, right." Zhang Yi seemed to remember something, her eyes becoming somewhat mischievous, "Aren't you afraid your Miss Ye will get jealous if you just share all the benefits with me like this? I think she's very protective of you."

"This is business," Bai Jingyou said calmly. "Ye Lingqing understands."

"Tch, what a boring man." Zhang Yi rolled her eyes and turned to walk towards the suppliers who were anxiously waiting at the table in the corner.

Bai Jingyou's gaze darkened as he watched Zhang Yi's graceful figure swaying back.

He knew, of course, that Zhang Yi was an ungrateful wolf, but now, this wolf was just the right thing to use to kill Zhao Hongtu, this sick tiger.

At that moment, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from Lin Lanfeng: [Boss, the bait has been cast. Several of Zhao Hongtu's core members have just registered driver accounts on the Shenlan platform and are trying to accept orders.]

Bai Jingyou replied with two words: 【Release】

Even Zhao Hongtu's confidants, when faced with absolute self-interest, will become employees of DeepBlue Technology. This is an open conspiracy.

……

The next day, the business districts of Beijing were still bustling with traffic, but an unseen undercurrent was surging wildly.

Headquarters of the Zhao Group.

Zhao Hongtu, sporting huge dark circles under his eyes, sat in the main seat of the conference room. The long table, which could originally seat twenty people, was now sparsely occupied, with less than half of the seats occupied.

"Where's the finance department? They haven't arrived yet!" Zhao Hongtu slammed his fist on the table and roared.

"Fourth Master..." the secretary reported nervously, "The CFO just sent a message saying... he's not feeling well and has taken sick leave. Also, President Li from the bank just called to say that our 20 million bridge loan application has not been approved."

"It didn't pass?!" Zhao Hongtu stood up abruptly, his mind going blank. "Didn't we agree on this last week? Why the sudden change of heart?"

"President Li said... that our company's operational risk rating has been downgraded." The secretary's voice trailed off. "Moreover, someone reported that our company's warehouse fire safety facilities are substandard. If we don't rectify the situation, the asset value will be greatly reduced, and it won't be usable as collateral."

"Who reported this?!"

"I...I don't know."

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open.

There was no knocking or announcement.

Zhang Yi, wearing ten-centimeter high heels, walked in with a fragrant breeze and seven or eight elite men in black suits.

"Hey, Fourth Master, good morning." Zhang Yi took off his sunglasses, a signature fake smile on his face. "I heard you're having some trouble? Perfect timing. I'm a soft-hearted person and can't stand seeing old friends suffer. That's why I brought a few friends over to talk to you about the acquisition of those plots of land."

Zhao Hongtu looked at Zhang Yi, and then at the lawyers and accountants behind her who were holding folders and looking shrewd. He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He got it.

This is a complex scheme.

Bai Jingyou cut off his supply lines from the front, while Zhang Yi raided his hometown from the rear.

"Zhang Yi!" Zhao Hongtu gritted his teeth, cracking the walnuts in his hand. "You're kicking me when I'm down!"

"Fourth Master, don't put it so harshly." Zhang Yi walked to the table, casually picked up a document, and threw it in front of Zhao Hongtu. "This is called a market economy, survival of the fittest. Besides, although the price I offered was a bit low, it was real cash. Isn't that exactly what you need right now?"

She leaned down and whispered in Zhao Hongtu's ear, "Fourth Master, take my advice. Sell them now while you can still get a good price. Otherwise, once the bank initiates enforcement proceedings, or if Bai Jingyou makes any further moves, you might not even be able to sell these plots of land for a pittance."

Zhao Hongtu stared intently at Zhang Yi, his eyes bloodshot as if they were about to burst.

He wanted to flip the table, curse, and order someone to throw the woman out.

But he can't.

His phone rang again; it was his third brother calling.

"Fourth Master...the warehouse...something's happened at the warehouse! The workers are on strike because they heard they won't get paid! And...someone's even saying they're going to set it on fire!"

Zhao Hongtu swayed and slumped into a chair.