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

The black Rolls-Royce slowly drove into the ornate iron gate of the Li family mansion.

The once bustling Li family home now appears exceptionally desolate.

The precious flowers and plants in the yard seemed to have been neglected for several days and were withered. Several servants were packing their luggage in the corner. When they saw a car coming in, they just looked up blankly and then quickly lowered their heads.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; that's the gist of it.

After the car came to a stop, Chen Mo got out and opened the car door.

Bai Jingyou stepped out, straightened the hem of his suit jacket, and looked up at the mansion that once symbolized the dominant position of Beijing's retail industry.

"Boss, do you need me to go in with you?" Chen Mo asked in a low voice.

"No need," Bai Jingyou said calmly. "The Li family can't hurt me now. Wait for Mengyao's news in the car. Report to me as soon as the logistics park starts taking over the assets."

"Yes."

Bai Jingyou walked up the steps alone.

The door was ajar, and the butler who should have been standing at the door to greet us was nowhere to be seen.

Pushing open the heavy mahogany door, the living room was filled with a faint musty smell and lingering tobacco odor.

Li Jianguo sat in the armchair in the center of the living room.

After just a few days apart, this once influential figure in Beijing's business world seemed to have aged more than ten years.

Her hair was gray and messy, her eyes were sunken, her Tang suit was wrinkled, and she held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in her hand, but she couldn't turn them no matter what she did.

Hearing footsteps, Li Jianguo slowly raised his head.

The moment he saw Bai Jingyou, a complex light flashed in his cloudy eyes—anger, resentment, but more than anything, a sense of utter despair at the inability to turn the tide.

"You've come." Li Jianguo's voice was hoarse, like a broken bellows.

"Mr. Li." Bai Jingyou walked to the sofa opposite him, but did not sit down. Instead, he looked down at him. "I heard you wanted to see me."

"Want to see me? Ha..." Li Jianguo gave a bitter laugh, tossing aside the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. "I have no choice but to see you. In the entire capital, besides you, President Bai, who else dares to step into the Li family's gate?"

His hand trembled as he pointed to a document on the coffee table: "This is what you wanted. The equity transfer agreement, and the list of assets to offset debts."

Bai Jingyou glanced at the document but didn't pick it up immediately.

"Mr. Li, you're a smart man," Bai Jingyou said calmly. "You know, given the current situation, these things aren't worth much. The banks have frozen the accounts, the suppliers are suing, and the two billion that Li He absconded with is a huge hole. If I take over, it's like I'm taking on your debt."

"Then what do you want?!" Li Jianguo slammed his hand on the table, but his lack of force made it look somewhat comical. "Bai Jingyou, leave some room for maneuver! Although the Li Group is currently facing a cash crunch, its decades-long foundation remains! Those hundreds of stores, that well-established logistics network—as long as there's an injection of funds, it can be revived immediately! Are you trying to get something for nothing?!"

Bai Jingyou smiled, a smile that was calm and serene.

He walked to the coffee table, picked up the now-cold teapot, and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

"Your foundation? Is your foundation that bloated personnel structure, or those purchasing managers who only know how to take kickbacks?"

Bai Jingyou put down his teacup, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "Mr. Li, times have changed. Your traditional retail model is too inefficient. What I value is merely the location and land of those stores. As for your logistics network... forgive my bluntness, but it's all rubbish and needs to be completely overhauled."

"You..." Li Jianguo's chest heaved violently with anger.

"One price." Bai Jingyou held up one finger. "Besides assuming the debt, I'll leave you an extra ten million. This is for your retirement, and also hush money to ensure the Li family completely withdraws from the Beijing business world."

"Ten million?!" Li Jianguo's eyes widened. "Although the Li Group's market value has dropped, it was once a multi-billion dollar conglomerate! You think you can fob me off with ten million?!"

"You don't have to sell," Bai Jingyou shrugged indifferently. "I'm not in a rush either. In about three days, the bank will initiate the forced auction process. By then, those assets will be broken up into pieces, and whether we can even sell them for ten million is a question. Besides..."

Bai Jingyou leaned forward slightly, staring into Li Jianguo's eyes, and lowered his voice: "Your good son, Li Zifeng, owes five million to underground lenders. If I don't take over, those people will be knocking on my door tomorrow. Guess how they'll treat a bankrupt former chairman?"

Li Jianguo's face turned deathly pale instantly.

This is the final Achilles' heel.

If it were business competition, he might be able to hold on a little longer.

But he was old, and he had a good-for-nothing son.

Once they go bankrupt and are liquidated, those ravenous creditors will tear them to pieces.

A deathly silence fell over the living room.

After a long while, Li Jianguo seemed to have lost his spine, and slumped into the chair.

"Bai Jingyou...you won." He closed his eyes, and two streams of turbid tears flowed down his face.

"Thank you for the compliment." Bai Jingyou took out his pen and placed it next to the document. "Sign here. Once you sign, I'll have someone handle the five million in high-interest loans. You can take the remaining ten million and find a small city to live out your retirement in peace."

Li Jianguo picked up the pen with trembling hands.

Just as the pen tip touched the paper, a scream suddenly came from the stairwell.

"Dad! We can't sign it! We absolutely can't sign it!"

Li Zifeng, with disheveled hair, rushed down from upstairs.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was holding an empty wine bottle in his hand; he was clearly out of his mind.

"It's all that bastard's fault! He ruined Li He, and he ruined me too!" Li Zifeng brandished a bottle and charged at Bai Jingyou like a mad dog. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to die with you!"

Li Jianguo was horrified: "Zifeng! Stop!"

Bai Jingyou stood still, without even blinking.

Just as Li Zifeng was two meters away from him, a dark shadow flashed past the gate.

boom!

A muffled thud.

Li Zifeng was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the sofa. The wine bottle in his hand rolled to the ground and shattered.

Chen Mo withdrew his leg expressionlessly, blocking Bai Jingyou, and coldly looked at Li Zifeng on the ground.

"Boss, are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Bai Jingyou didn't even turn around to look at him, still staring at Li Jianguo. "Mr. Li, it seems your upbringing is indeed a bit problematic. Of this ten million, I might have to deduct one million as compensation for my emotional distress."

Seeing his son writhing and screaming on the ground, Li Jianguo's last line of defense completely collapsed.

He knew that if he didn't sign, Li Zifeng might not even be able to leave this door today.

"I'll sign... I'll sign..."

Li Jianguo wept as he signed his name on the document that declared the end of the Li family dynasty.

The pen tip sliced ​​through the paper with a sharp, soft sound.

Bai Jingyou picked up the signed document, checked it over, and after confirming that it was correct, handed it to Chen Mo behind him.

"Chen Mo, notify the finance department to make the payment. Also, have Director Ye take a team to Li's headquarters for the handover. From this moment on, that place belongs to the Bai family."

After saying that, Bai Jingyou straightened his collar and turned to walk towards the door.

As he reached the door, he stopped and, with his back to Li Jianguo, said:

"Mr. Li, there's something you've never understood. It wasn't that I ruined the Li family; it's that the Li family was already rotten to the core. I simply performed an amputation that should have been done long ago. Although it was painful, at least... your life was saved."

The gate slowly closed.

Li Jianguo stared at the empty doorway, clutching the pen tightly in his hand.

Meanwhile, Li Zifeng, still drunk, was muttering his dreams of making a comeback.

......

DeepBlue Technology Building, top-floor conference room.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, the night view of Beijing was dazzling and captivating. But the atmosphere inside the conference room was unusually serious and busy.

The long conference table was piled high with various documents, reports, and asset lists.

Ye Lingqing, along with more than a dozen core members, is currently engaged in intensive asset liquidation and integration work.

"Reporting to General Manager Bai, the property ownership certificates for all 320 stores under the Li Group have been recovered."

"Manager Zhao has completed the receipt of the logistics fleet, and vehicle inspections and personnel re-registration are currently underway."

"The debt restructuring plan from the suppliers has been sent to the representatives of each company, and most of them have agreed to our deferred payment plan. After all, they know that no one but us can give them money."

Good news kept coming in.

Bai Jingyou sat in the main seat, twirling a pen in his hand, listening quietly to the report.

This battle was fought exceptionally well.

Not only did it acquire the core assets of the Li Group at an extremely low price, it also eliminated potential competitors, establishing DeepBlue Technology's absolute dominance in Beijing's retail supply chain.

"Well done." Bai Jingyou put down his pen, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "But this is just the beginning. The next week will be the real battle. I need to transform all of Li's outdated stores into DeepBlue Smart Retail Experience Stores within a month. The system needs to be changed, the equipment needs to be changed, and even the minds of the service staff need to be replaced."

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison, their voices filled with barely concealed excitement.

Working for a boss like that is tiring, but it's incredibly satisfying. The thrill of conquering new territories and rewriting industry rules is something money can't buy.

After the meeting ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Ye Lingqing stayed until the very end. She rubbed her temples wearily, but the light in her eyes remained bright.

"I have to say, you played that move brilliantly." Ye Lingqing leaned back in her chair, looking at Bai Jingyou. "Chen He just called me and said the industry is in an uproar. Those investors who were originally observing are now all eager to pay their respects. Even the remaining branches of the Shen family have sent people to ask if we can cooperate."

"Just a fence-sitter." Bai Jingyou stood up and walked to the window. "Ignore him. By the way, how's Li He doing?"

"He's causing trouble in the detention center," Ye Lingqing sneered. "He keeps proclaiming his innocence, saying he was deceived by you. But the evidence is conclusive. He embezzled public funds, committed job-related crimes, and is also involved in money laundering. With multiple charges, his lawyer estimates at least fifteen years. By the time he gets out, the world will have changed."