Night Rose

"Nephew, look at how this has been handled! Why didn't you say so sooner? We should have invited you to the shareholders' meeting as well."

"Yes, I've never seen that major shareholder before. Oh, it was you."

"That depends on what you think; we can't make any decisions."

Several shareholders instantly switched sides, knowing full well that having more friends is worse than having more enemies.

Does Zhou Chengzhuo have anything substantial or reliable? No. Zhou Zheng, on the other hand, holds real shares and is someone who can rival them in the future.

Besides, since Zhou Ruian is still unconscious, their word doesn't count in this matter. It just means they've avoided offending anyone, and they can make things easier for him in the future.

Zhou Chengzhuo's mind went blank from the shock of this equity stake. He kept muttering "impossible!" He just couldn't believe that Zhou Zheng actually owned so many shares in the group!

"How could Dad possibly give you the shares?! He abandoned you a long time ago!"

Zhou Zheng laughed, "I never said he gave this to me. He didn't even give you a single share, so how could he possibly give it to me?"

"What do you mean? Where did you get these shares?! Or is this certificate fake?!" Zhou Chengzhu tore the document to shreds, scattering the snowflake-like pieces of paper across the long table with a heavy swipe.

"These are shares that my mother transferred to me. She originally had a share in this group." Zhou Zheng tapped the table, his fingers strong and powerful, exuding an imposing aura.

Everyone immediately understood that it was perfectly reasonable for Zhou Zheng's mother to have accompanied Zhou Ruian in building the company from scratch and to own original shares in the group.

Back then, Zhou Ruian was deeply in love with his wife. To put her mind at ease, he specially gave her the shares that were worthless at the time. His wife was deeply moved and never supported his business. She never withdrew any dividends and left them for Zhou Ruian as funds for the following year.

However, things changed. Zhou Ruian cheated on his wife in less than a year, spending time with his lover and illegitimate child behind her back. He even lied about working overtime and not going home to be with his wife on important holidays.

He said he loved Liao Yun, but he never gave Liao Yun or Zhou Chengzhuo a single share of the company. They could spend the money as they pleased, but getting shares was out of the question. Liao Yun's power grab always made Zhou Ruian wary of her.

It's said that he doesn't love Zhou Zheng's mother. Even though the shares are worth so much, he has never mentioned asking his wife for them back. Perhaps his blackened heart still has a trace of guilt left, making him want to use the shares to make amends. But his wife never wanted his money; she just wanted him to spend more time with her and their son.

"But...but he doesn't love your mother at all! Why would he give her shares? He didn't even give my mother any!" Zhou Chengzhuo roared, rushing forward to attack Zhou Zheng.

Wu Ting hesitated for a few seconds, wanting to step forward to protect his superior and show his loyalty to Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng stopped him, saying, "Alright, with your abilities, you should take care of yourself."

He suddenly stood up, his 1.9-meter height making him look like a small mountain, a mountain that Zhou Chengzhuo could not cross.

"If you dare to hit me, I'll make sure you leave this world lying on your side," Zhou Zheng said in a low voice.

Zhou Chengzhuo's raised fist trembled, his arm shaking like a bird flapping its wings.

"Nephew, what are you doing? This is our major shareholder! Apologize to him right now!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengzhuo's face immediately contorted with rage. The shouts of the crowd reached his ears, turning into the hum of a machine.

"Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell!"

He yelled and threw a punch.

The punch didn't land on Zhou Zheng's face as he expected; instead, it was caught steadily.

A large hand enveloped his fist, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free.

"Honestly, I already advised you against it," Zhou Zheng sighed.

He shoved Zhou Chengzhuo hard, causing him to take a step back. Before Zhou Chengzhuo could even calm down, Zhou Zheng raised his leg and kicked him hard in the stomach.

"Clang!"

Zhou Chengzhuo was kicked to the ground, knocking over a trash can. The trash can contained coffee that Zhou Chengzhuo had poured himself, mixed with cigarette ash, which was poured over his head.

His suit was soaking wet, his hair was slicked back and ruined his style, and to make matters worse, he was covered in coffee!

But he couldn't care less about any of that; a sharp pain shot through his stomach, so intense that he couldn't get up at all.

The shareholders watched the chaotic scene in silence, remaining seated as if they hadn't seen anything.

"Zhou... Zhou Zheng..." Zhou Chengzhuo couldn't finish his sentence.

Wu Ting had already notified the security guards, who came up and saw the disheveled General Manager Zhou, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hurry up and carry him away. Remember, go that way." Wu Ting pointed in a direction where the media arranged by Zhou Chengzhuo were waiting, ready to capture a big news story.

After the security guards carried Zhou Chengzhuo out, the media, hearing the commotion, assumed it was the time Zhou Chengzhuo had mentioned and rushed out with their cameras and microphones. When they saw the disheveled Zhou Chengzhuo, they were all stunned.

Someone in the crowd pressed the shutter first, and the crowd swarmed around Zhou Chengzhuo like locusts, capturing his ugly behavior in their photos.

This will definitely fetch a good price!

"Everyone, before President Zhou wakes up, I suggest that this young President Zhou temporarily take over the position and handle company affairs." Wu Ting coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention back.

"Ah... okay, let's leave it at that for now."

What else could they say? Zhou Zheng held more shares than they did, had less say than Zhou Ruian, and was Zhou Ruian's son. What reason did they have to stop him from taking over?

The shareholders' meeting ended in discord. Zhou Zheng obtained the temporary authority to manage the group. When he sat in Zhou Ruian's seat, he looked down at the people rushing about in the building. They looked like ants, busy and never stopping.

Wu Ting made him a cup of coffee and placed it on the table. "Try it? It's your dad's favorite coffee, imported from abroad, and it's very expensive per pound."

Zhou Zheng didn't speak, so Wu Ting let him stand there in a daze. She made herself a cup of coffee, picked up a pen from the table, and said, "Young Mr. Zhou, you should hurry up and deal with these backlogged documents. We don't know when your father will be discharged from the hospital, so someone has to do these things."

"Sign it," Zhou Zheng said.

"What?" Wu Ting nearly spat his coffee onto the contract. He coughed and patted his chest. "Mr. Zhou, are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding you. You can at least imitate a signature, right? You can handle these documents," Zhou Zheng said.

"No, what do you mean? Aren't you afraid I'll ruin the company?"

"Secretary Wu, that's not what you said when you came to me to recommend yourself. You said you've been with Zhou Ruian for so many years, you've long since learned how to handle group affairs, and you still want one percent of the shares as a reward. Ruin the group? You?"

"That's what I said, but you're just asking me to sign documents, isn't that the same as making me the CEO?" Wu Ting joked.

He thought Zhou Zheng would laugh, but Zhou Zheng looked at him seriously and said, "I still have to go to school, and someone has to keep an eye on the company for me."

"Me?!" Wu Ting pointed at himself, his face filled with disbelief.