Chapter Ninety-Eight: No Tears Left to Shed

Seabreeze Group had risen to prominence seven or eight years earlier. At that time the economy was developing steadily, without any dramatic upheavals, so the company’s sudden ascent drew the attention of people in the industry.

It was a conglomerate with foreign capital behind it. Thirty percent of the shares were held by overseas investors, Wang Jintong controlled sixty-five percent, and several minor shareholders held the remaining five percent. Its main business lay in real estate and building materials. With its unique price advantage and formidable strength, it quickly drove several large construction-material companies out of the field and carved out a place for itself.

Its true leap forward, however, came only after the Chu Group collapsed because of a disastrous investment mistake. In a very short time, Seabreeze completely monopolized some of Chu’s former strong sectors and its sales and procurement channels. Only then did it truly step onto the fast track of development, transforming from a joint venture into a publicly listed company and securing a position of great importance in the nation’s construction-material industry.

Now Wang Jintong, as the head of the enterprise, was dazzling in the business world as well. He had been named one of the top ten economic figures of the early twenty-first century, and his son, Wang Dongliang, was also under close watch, for he might very well become his successor.

Yet this favored son, admired by all, was currently in the villa at Lijiao Bay, watching a striptease on his computer while listening to a report from the bespectacled manager.

"Young Master, before the close, their resistance suddenly weakened. A lot of small investors bailed out, and Silver Dragon’s sell orders increased steadily. We made a good profit from it. Though it still can’t make up for the losses from this morning, at the current pace we can secure more than five percent of Silver Dragon’s shares at any time. What do you think? Should we start building our position now?"

"Mm, yes. Didn’t I say so? Don’t panic. Opportunities always come around, and here it is. They fought so stubbornly before, and now they’ve gone obedient." Wang Dongliang took his crossed leg off the desk, shut off the video on the computer, and said, "Come on, let’s go take a look."

When Wang Dongliang arrived in the hall, the place was in an uproar of excitement. He was very satisfied with everyone’s reaction and waved for them to quiet down.

He stood beside the huge wall screen, where the day’s fluctuations in Silver Dragon were displayed. From the opening price of more than twenty to the current eight, the whole day had been like a roller coaster. The jagged rise-and-fall line made it obvious that Wang Dongliang’s team had met fierce resistance. Even just now, Silver Dragon’s stock had ticked up a little. From that point of view, his opponent should already have been running on empty.

"With the funds we have in hand, how much can we acquire at this price?" Victory had not come easily, and Wang Dongliang asked with satisfaction.

"About thirty percent of Silver Dragon in total. That would put us ahead of the Tan family and make us the largest shareholder..."

"Haha, then keep buying. The faster, the better. I’m already getting impatient to sit on Silver Dragon’s board..." Wang Dongliang cut him off. Crushing Silver Dragon was not his main goal. What he wanted most was revenge for being driven out of Silver Dragon by Chu Dong.

The manager shouted at the top of his lungs, and the people in the hall immediately threw themselves into full-scale operation.

Well-trained and quick to react, Wang Dongliang’s team really was an elite force. They went all out to build their position and absorb Silver Dragon’s circulating shares. By the moment before the close, after spending the more than three billion Wang Jintong had transferred over, they had actually accumulated thirty-two percent of Silver Dragon. Silver Dragon’s stock price had also climbed to more than fourteen, which meant Wang Dongliang had effectively made back over a billion.

To celebrate, champagne was specially opened. Wang Dongliang told the manager that everyone could work a little harder tomorrow, and that starting the day after tomorrow they would all be given leave, along with a generous bonus.

Chu Dong had not even eaten lunch. Only after the market closed in the afternoon did he finally stop, his fingers somewhat numb, and shut down the computer that had labored all day alongside him. After a shower, he wrapped a towel around himself and lay down on the bed. He was exhausted. Even with his eyes closed, all he could see were red and green lines, and the numbers that kept flashing and tugging at his nerves.

Tan Xue went to the school to pick up Little Jade in the evening and came back as well. She had spent the whole afternoon watching Silver Dragon’s movements in the market too. When the price fell to around ten, her nerves had been stretched taut, but out of pride she clenched her teeth and still did not call Chu Dong again. Only when she saw the market gradually stabilize did she finally breathe out in relief.

When she returned to the villa and did not see Chu Dong, she did not go in to call him. Instead, she and Little Jade made do in the living room with a family bucket of KFC takeout they had bought on the way home. At Little Jade’s insistence, they even left Chu Dong a little food.

Li Youlan had gone back to the hotel where she was staying. She had been away from home for too long and missed her mother, so she planned to go back and make a trip home. She did not let Tan Xue see her off, and went alone to pack her things, so she did not return with them.

Chu Dong slept until after nine before waking. By then he was ravenous. After putting on his clothes and coming out, he saw Tan Xue and Little Jade watching television in the living room. The little bit of food left on the table was not enough to fill a tooth gap, but it had still been completely cleared away.

He plopped down beside Little Jade and said carelessly, "What show is so good?"

Tan Xue had just been watching with great interest, but the moment she saw Chu Dong come over and sit down, she switched off the television without hesitation and dragged the unwilling Little Jade back to her room to sleep. Chu Dong was left thoroughly bored, able only to watch the graceful backs of the two beauties disappear from sight.

"Damn it. I’m so brilliant and mighty, and I can’t even handle one girl? That’s a serious blow to my reputation. No, tomorrow I’ll have to use some tactics." Chu Dong slapped his thigh and stood up. Back in his room, he called Qiangzi, and it took a long while before the call connected. The noisy music on the other end was so loud it rattled his ears even over the phone.

"Big Brother Dong, what’s up now?" Qiangzi shouted.

"How’s it going with the repainting job for my car?"

"Oh, that’s done. Don’t worry, I’ll have it delivered tomorrow morning. Was that worth calling about? I’m busy here. Gotta go." The kid was definitely with some girl; the look of urgency told the whole story.

Once back in his room, Chu Dong began plotting his campaign to win back his wife.

When Wang Dongliang returned home, he was a world away from the man he had been the previous day. His smugness was impossible to hide.

"Looks like you made a good haul today?" Wang Jintong could tell at a glance that his son had probably turned the tables, so he gave him the chance to show off.

"Hey, that’s right. Dad understands me best." Wang Dongliang pulled his mother, who had just come out of the bedroom after hearing that he was back, over to sit beside Wang Jintong. "Mom, do you know? I made more than a billion today."

"Oh, really? I told you my son was impressive." Wang Dongliang’s mother beamed with delight. What parent does not dote on their child?

"He only tells you the good news and not the bad," Wang Jintong said, though he was still gratified in his heart. After all, his son was not useless. Even if the last time had simply been tuition paid in advance, as long as he had learned something, the loss had not been wasted.

"Dad, I know I was wrong. But today really was a gain. In the morning, the other side put up a fairly strong resistance, but by afternoon they had completely given up. In the end, you could say we won a complete victory." Whenever Wang Dongliang spoke of his proudest moment, he shone with excitement.

"Completely gave up?" Wang Jintong had been happy at first too, but when he heard Wang Dongliang say that Silver Dragon had later abandoned resistance, suspicion rose in his mind.

"Well, not entirely. There were still some scattered counterattacks here and there, but they kept getting weaker, and by the end they could basically be ignored." Wang Dongliang was still basking in his own triumph, and quickly explained when his father raised an objection.

"How much Silver Dragon stock do you hold now?" Wang Jintong asked, frowning.

"It should be over..." Wang Dongliang hesitated before answering.

"Nonsense. Securing five percent would have been enough. Once Silver Dragon goes bankrupt, there will be plenty of cheap assets for us to seize. The way you’ve gone about this, not only do you have to keep things under wraps, but once Silver Dragon’s problems come to light, we’ll go from being the biggest beneficiaries to being the victims." Wang Jintong was deeply dissatisfied with Wang Dongliang’s recklessness.

"What are you afraid of? Silver Dragon is in our hands. If we can move it, who else has that ability?" Wang Dongliang could not understand why his father was so angry.

"You don’t understand. Setting aside the fact that you violated regulations and carried out a hostile acquisition, the way you’ve done this makes it difficult even to dump Silver Dragon’s burden. Go check now and see how much you can unload at tomorrow’s opening. Recover as much capital as possible tomorrow; keep only what we need. Go." Wang Jintong was furious at his son’s inability to learn. He had thought that since the money had just been transferred to him, he would go take a look again tomorrow. Who could have imagined that in just one day Wang Dongliang would, in a fit of self-congratulation, throw all of it in without restraint?

Wang Dongliang still felt that his father was being alarmist. With the elite team under his command, Silver Dragon was practically a paper tiger. Even if they had been a little too aggressive, they could just dump it tomorrow. There was no need to make such a fuss.

But in the Wang household, the old man still had the final word. Though unwilling, Wang Dongliang still obeyed his father, went to the study, opened the computer, and connected to the account he had set up.

After entering the username and password, Wang Dongliang was shocked to discover that there was nothing in the account at all. It had become utterly empty.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong. But no matter how he looked, there was still nothing there. No funds on the books, no stocks, nothing at all.

He logged out and back in again, but the result was the same.

A chill ran through Wang Dongliang’s whole body. He took out his phone, his hands trembling so badly that it took ages before he managed to call the manager on his team. The moment the call connected, he erupted into curses.

"How the hell is my account empty? What happened?"

"Empty? That can’t be. Let me check." After being busy for so long, the manager had finally been able to rest. He had just gotten home and had not even eaten when Wang Dongliang phoned with this baffling complaint.

"How could this happen?" At his place too, the computer showed the same thing as Wang Dongliang’s: the account used to operate Silver Dragon’s shares had nothing in it.

Hearing the voice on the other end of the line, Wang Dongliang sank helplessly to the floor. Thinking of the father downstairs who was still waiting for his answer, he felt like crying but had no tears left.