Villain: He humiliated the protagonist's sister, but she fell in love with him.

Inside the president's office of the Liu Group.

Liu Ruoyan sat behind her desk, her brows furrowed, her gaze fixed on her phone screen for a long time.

Just now, the Lin Group suddenly and unilaterally announced the termination of all cooperation with the Liu Group.

Without any warning, without prior communication, and without even a formal letter.

But what really gave her a headache was not just Lin's action.

The Lin family is the number one behemoth in Jiangcheng's business world, and its every move is a bellwether.

The moment news broke that the company was severing ties with the Liu family, all sorts of partners, big and small, rushed to express their support and take sides, afraid of getting burned if they were even a step behind.

Phone calls, emails, and letters kept coming in, but the content was surprisingly consistent.

Suspend cooperation, terminate contracts, and postpone contract renewals.

A few partners who were initially willing to wait and see were also forced to retreat by this momentum.

Within just half a day, almost half of Liu's upstream and downstream supply chains were emptied, and the taut string of the capital chain could snap at any moment...

Liu Ruoyan rubbed her temples helplessly. Since taking over the Liu Group a few years ago, she has encountered all sorts of difficulties, big and small.

But she had never encountered such a great difficulty before; it was practically pushing her, Liu Shi, to the brink of death!

Feeling irritated, she felt a tightness in her chest and wanted to get some fresh air.

She unbuttoned her black suit jacket, revealing a full curve in her white shirt underneath.

As she bent over the desk, the edge of the table gently lifted her up, making her appear exceptionally firm.

As she reached for the coffee cup on the corner of the table, her body leaned forward slightly, making the lines under the fabric even clearer, as if she were bound and about to break free at any moment, without even realizing it herself.

The faint line between his brows never faded, making his face appear cold and tired, with only that oppressive aura remaining...

Just then, my phone vibrated.

It was her second uncle, Liu Zhenye.

Liu Ruoyan paused for a moment, then sighed softly.

As expected, what's meant to happen will happen.

In the past few years when she was in charge of the Liu Group, whenever she encountered a difficult situation, her second uncle's phone call was always more timely than anyone else's concern.

However, the person on the other end of the phone never offered words of comfort or concern, but instead launched into a barrage of accusations and questions.

She knew better than anyone that these elders, while saying they were "thinking of the company," were really just waiting for an excuse.

Once she reveals a weakness, they can seize the opportunity to pull her off that position and replace her with a puppet they can control.

Ultimately, in their eyes, women are never good enough to be considered respectable.

If you hand over the family business to a woman, it will eventually fall into the hands of someone outside the family.

This deep-seated prejudice made her feel more exhausted than any loss on the company's books.

She closed her eyes briefly, answered the phone, and tried to suppress her frustration in her voice:

"Second Uncle, is something wrong so early in the morning?"

An angry voice came from the other end of the phone, as Liu Zhenye launched into a tirade against Liu Ruoyan:

"Liu Ruoyan, what exactly did you do to offend the Lin family?"

"The Lin family cut ties so easily, without even a word?"

"You know that the group's projects are only able to operate with the Lin family's support. Now they're just withdrawing like that. What are we old guys supposed to do?"

"Hmph, I knew entrusting the family business to women like you was completely unreliable!"

Liu Ruoyan was furious when her second uncle launched into another tirade of accusations, which still revolved around her gender.

Tsk, I didn't see any of you when I was busy making money, but as soon as I heard something happened, you all suddenly appeared, huh!

She put the coffee cup back on the table, suppressing her anger and trying to keep her tone calm:

"I only received notification of the changes in the cooperation with the Lin family this morning. I will follow up on this matter, so there's no need for you to worry, Second Uncle."

To everyone's surprise, Liu Zhenye was not appeased after hearing this; instead, he launched into another tirade of accusations!

"No need to rush?"

"Do you know that the production lines under your cousins' control are on the verge of shutting down?"

"Logistics, raw materials, and downstream distribution are all waiting for the Lin family to release the funds."

"You think a simple 'follow up and handle it' is enough? What kind of CEO are you?"

Liu Ruoyan skillfully moved the phone away, waiting for her second uncle to finish his tirade before putting it back to her ear:

"Second Uncle, the normal operation of the group's business relies on the overall structure and risk contingency plans, not on the charity of any one company."

"The suspension of cooperation with the Lin family has indeed affected us, but I will come up with a solution at the board level."

"You don't need to argue with me about this over the phone."

Although Liu Ruoyan didn't have a solution yet, that didn't stop her from telling a little lie to appease these old folks.

It seemed that her little lie had worked, as there was indeed a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

But then a cold laugh rang out:

"Board of Directors? Liu Ruoyan, you know very well how dangerous those shares you hold are."

"Although your dad's shares are what give you your position, aren't all your uncles and elders eyeing that chair?"

"If you can't even secure the Lin family's connection, how many votes do you think you'll get at next month's board meeting?"

Seeing that the old man was going on and on, Liu Ruoyan also felt a little angry.

She decided to stop arguing with Liu Zhenye, her expression darkening slightly, and her voice turning cold:

"Second Uncle, I told you, I will provide a solution from the board of directors!"

"And I'm not in this position because of anyone's charity. The Liu Group's profits have tripled under my management over the years, and you know those numbers better than anyone else."

"If you believe you can make the group better, you can nominate yourself at next month's board meeting. I have no objection."

Seeing that Liu Ruoyan seemed to have given up entirely, Liu Zhenye unusually quieted down.

After all, the current crisis still needs to be resolved by Liu Ruoyan.

What they want to acquire is a complete and illustrious Liu Group.

Instead of a bankrupt Liu Group.

After a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, Liu Zhenguo bluntly uttered a sentence and hung up.

"Fine, think it through yourself!"

The phone went dead. Liu Ruoyan tossed her phone back onto the table and leaned wearily against the back of her chair.

Viewed from the side, the prominent curve in front is even more pronounced...

Liu Ruoyan was well aware of her situation.

The shares she held were less than one percentage point more than those held by her second uncle's faction.

If she's not careful, those old geezers will team up and overturn her table, leaving her no chance to turn the tables.

Although Liu Zhenguo's words were harsh, they hit the nail on the head.

Why did the Lin family suddenly cut off their support?

Thinking of this, Liu Ruoyan quickly picked up her phone, found the number of the person she had previously contacted at the Lin Group, and dialed it...