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

10:00 AM, top-floor conference room of the Bai Group.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

Gu Yanzhi sat at the head of the guest seats, still wearing a silver-gray suit, his gold-rimmed glasses giving him the air of a refined scoundrel.

A thick document lay before him, and four lawyers in suits stood behind him.

At the other end of the conference table, there was only Bai Jingyou.

"Young Master Bai, the situation is beyond our control." Gu Yanzhi pushed up his glasses, his tone as gentle as if he were advising a lost lamb. "According to Article 7 of the supplementary clauses to the investment agreement we signed yesterday: if Party B is involved in a major criminal case or a reputation crisis, Party A has the right to demand the immediate termination of the cooperation and require Party B to return all investment within 24 hours and pay liquidated damages."

"Oh?" Bai Jingyou leaned back in his boss's chair, toying with a pen. "The five hundred million just arrived and hasn't even warmed up yet, and President Gu already wants to take it back with interest, and even wants to swallow up several of Bai's most core subsidiaries to pay off the debt. Isn't that a bit too ugly?"

"This is called risk control." Gu Yanzhi smiled slightly. "Young Master Bai, the Bai family is a leaky ship right now. Court summons, regulatory investigations, banks withdrawing loans... what can you use to turn things around? Sign it, mortgage the land in the east of the city and the logistics subsidiary to us, at least we can still preserve some of the Bai family's dignity."

Once Bai Jingyou signs the document, the Bai family will become a complete puppet of the Chu family.

"Mr. Gu, have you forgotten something?" Bai Jingyou suddenly stopped twirling his pen. "That case from five years ago, the so-called illegal fundraising, was it really illegal fundraising?"

Gu Yanzhi's eyes flickered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure: "It's all in black and white. The victims are already downstairs with banners. Does Young Master Bai still want to deny it?"

"There are indeed victims, and the money is indeed gone." Bai Jingyou leaned forward, his deep eyes fixed on Gu Yanzhi. "But did the money really end up in the Bai family's pockets?"

"Chen Mo."

Bai Jingyou snapped his fingers.

The conference room door was pushed open, and Chen Mo walked in carrying a tin box covered in dirt and rust.

The box looked quite old, and it still carried the damp, muddy smell typical of the recent rainy days.

Gu Yanzhi's eyelids twitched when he saw the box.

"Let me introduce it." Bai Jingyou pointed to the box. "This is the belongings of Li Guofu, the deputy director of the finance department of the Bai Group five years ago. Last night, my men went to great lengths to dig it out from under an unclaimed tombstone in the western suburbs cemetery of Haicheng."

Gu Yanzhi's smile finally crumbled, becoming as stiff as a mask.

"Li Guofu died in a car accident, and the police have already closed the case." Gu Yanzhi's voice was slightly cold.

"Yes, the dead can't talk." Bai Jingyou opened the iron box and took out a yellowed ledger and several bank transfer slips that had long since turned yellow. "But the dead can keep accounts."

"Five years ago, the so-called fundraising amount of 1.2 billion yuan was transferred by Li Guofu in batches to an overseas account called Shengshi Capital through twelve shell companies just three minutes after entering Bai's account."

Bai Jingyou picked up a slip of paper and flicked it lightly. "Coincidentally, I had someone check the equity structure of Shengshi Capital. Mr. Gu, guess whose name I saw on the shareholder list?"

Gu Yanzhi's hands, which were resting on his knees, tightened suddenly.

"It's you, Gu Yanzhi."

Bai Jingyou slammed the receipt onto the table, his voice booming like thunder: "Back then, you were the Chu family's money laundering mastermind overseas, and Li Guofu was your spy planted in the Bai family! This 1.2 billion was embezzled by your Chu family! The so-called illegal fundraising was nothing more than a smear campaign you fabricated against the Bai family when you shorted your previous competitor!"

The conference room was deathly silent.

The lawyers behind Gu Yanzhi exchanged bewildered glances, cold sweat pouring down their backs. This was no longer a commercial dispute; it was a massive financial fraud and money laundering case!

"Bai Jingyou, you fabricated evidence!" Gu Yanzhi stood up abruptly, his eyes behind his glasses filled with venom. "Li Guofu has long since been burned to ashes, where did this ledger come from?!"

"Whether it's a forgery or not, the Economic Crime Investigation Team will be here to verify it soon." Bai Jingyou glanced at his watch. "Oh, by the way, to prevent President Gu from saying that my word is unreliable, I've already broadcast our conversation to the media reporters downstairs via the group's internal live stream."

"What?!" Gu Yanzhi's face turned pale instantly, and he turned around sharply to look at the surveillance camera in the corner of the conference room.

The flashing red light seemed to mock his foolishness.

[Trying to play dirty tricks on me? Don't you know I'm a man who's read the script?]

[That old gambler Li Guofu's biggest fear in life was being silenced by you all, so he buried his life-saving account book in his lover's fake grave. In the original story, this thing wasn't discovered until the very end; now... let's borrow it for a bit.]

"Mr. Gu, the situation has changed."

Bai Jingyou stood up, straightened his suit, and walked step by step to Gu Yanzhi, looking down at him.

"Those 'victims' downstairs will soon find out that the person who swallowed their hard-earned money was not the Bai family, but the CEO of your Chu Group."

"Do you think the angry shareholders and the misled media will tear down the gates of the Chu Group?"

Gu Yanzhi trembled all over. He had planned everything, but he never expected that Bai Jingyou would be able to dig up information from five years ago! And he had accurately pinpointed the backup plan left by Li Guofu!

This is not just breaking the deadlock, it's a counterattack!

"Bai Jingyou...you're so cruel." Gu Yanzhi gritted his teeth, the voice squeezed out from his throat.

"Likewise." Bai Jingyou leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Go back and tell that old dog Chu that I've accepted the five hundred million. Consider it compensation for the emotional distress caused to the Bai family by taking the blame for the past five years. As for the contract..."

Bai Jingyou picked up the investment agreement on the table and slowly tore it in half in front of Gu Yanzhi.

"This is called 'contract invalid due to force majeure.' After all, Party A is suspected of serious financial crimes, and my Bai Group is a law-abiding citizen. How can we cooperate with criminals?"

"see a visitor out!"

Chen Mo stepped forward and gestured with a blank expression, "Mr. Gu, please. Or, would you like to stay for a cup of tea and wait for the police?"

Gu Yanzhi gave Bai Jingyou a deep look, his gaze seeming as if he wanted to devour him alive.

He grabbed his briefcase from the table and, in a disheveled state, led his legal team out of the conference room.

Five minutes later.

Bai Jingyou stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the crowd that had originally besieged the Bai family now surge wildly towards Gu Yanzhi's convoy. Rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs rained down on the various luxury cars.

"bite."

My phone vibrated.

It was a WeChat message from Bai Qing: "[The bank called, saying it was a misunderstanding, and they've increased the loan amount by 20%. Xiao You, what did you do to Li Guofu?]"

Bai Jingyou smiled and replied, "It's nothing, just letting him use his remaining energy. Sis, I want braised pork for dinner."

Putting down his phone, Bai Jingyou looked out the window at the clearing sky after the rain, his gaze gradually becoming deep.

This counterattack, while relieving the immediate crisis, also completely severed all pretense of civility. The Chu family's plans in Haicheng have suffered repeated setbacks; what follows will likely be a true bloodbath.

"Chen Mo."

"Young Master."

"Help me arrange an appointment with Director Wang of the Municipal Planning Bureau." Bai Jingyou turned around, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "The Chu family wants to bring us down, all they want is that piece of land in the east of the city. Since they want it so badly..."

"Then let's turn this land into a super sinkhole where anyone who enters will die."

"Also," Bai Jingyou paused, "go check who Gu Yanzhi has been in contact with lately. Although he lost for a while, he's like a viper; as long as he's not completely dead, he'll definitely bite back."

"Yes."

Chen Mo accepted the order and left.

Bai Jingyou sat back down in his chair, closed his eyes, and a map of Haicheng appeared in his mind.

[Chu Cang, Gu Yanzhi... and Ye Lingqing, who hasn't shown up yet.]

[This scene has only just begun.]

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

"Jingyou!"

Jiang Mengyao rushed in, panting, holding a freshly printed document in her hand. Her face was filled with undisguised anxiety. "It's terrible! I just received news that the Chu Group has suddenly announced that it will join forces with three foreign investment banks to acquire all the outstanding shares of the Bai and Jiang Groups on the secondary market!"

"What are they trying to do..."

"A hostile takeover." Bai Jingyou opened his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips, a smile that seemed to confirm his expectations.

[Are you getting angry already?]

[I originally thought we'd have to wait another two days, but it seems Gu Yanzhi has been pushed to the limit and is now willing to overturn the table and rely on his wealth.]

"Don't panic." Bai Jingyou stood up, walked to Jiang Mengyao's side, and gently tidied her messy bangs. "Since they want to give us money, we'll play along. Mengyao, are you brave enough to bet big with me?"

"What are we betting on?" Jiang Mengyao looked at the composed man in front of her, her heart racing involuntarily.

"We'll stake the entire fortune of the Bai and Jiang families." A crazed, confident light gleamed in Bai Jingyou's eyes. "What we're going to do isn't defense, but... trap them and beat them!"