Chapter Seventy-Two: The Carriage Has Gone Missing

"Is this true?"

Not only did everyone present react this way, but even Tan Xue was skeptical. No matter how much her father liked Chu Dong, making such a major decision should have at least warranted a word to her. Yet, seeing Chu Dong's confident demeanor, she doubted he was lying. Using Li Youlan’s cover, Tan Xue called Tan Songhai to confirm, and he was remarkably calm.

"Do as Chu Dong says. It’ll all be yours in the future anyway. Besides, such a large-scale shift might just give the sluggish stock market a boost. In short, handle this yourselves—I've just gotten up and have a chess game scheduled with your Uncle Chu. That’s all."

After hanging up, Tan Xue was still unsure whether this was truly her father's decision, but she did realize that Chu Dong’s maneuvering hadn’t made her father unhappy; if anything, there was a hint of approval.

There were no reporters at this gathering—otherwise, news of such a massive share transfer would have caused quite a stir. Nevertheless, this wouldn’t stop the news of Yinlong’s restructuring and share transfer from hitting the front pages of the financial papers the next day.

"Go check whether they’ve filed with the authorities. If there’s any funny business here—if they’re manipulating the stock price with this sort of maneuvering—then we’ll have quite the show to watch," Wang Dongliang remarked, well-versed in the workings of listed companies. Transfers of over five percent of shares aren’t done at a whim, especially not for a publicly traded company like Yinlong.

"Wang, I already asked. The application was filed long ago—they haven’t just started working on this. They've clearly been preparing for some time, and this gathering is probably just to announce what’s already a done deal. Now, as long as the board has a majority in favor, there’s no problem at all. With the Tan family holding the majority of shares, they can do whatever they want," Tian Bing whispered after finishing his call, leaning close to Wang Dongliang. "This really puts us in a tough spot. Think about it—he’s got the right people and the right circumstances. We don’t even have the timing on our side. That girl you’re interested in—she doesn’t seem especially close to him, but she doesn’t mind him either. If this keeps up, sooner or later she’ll be his."

"Hmph. We’ll see. I’d planned to keep my hands off Yinlong, but now it seems I have no choice. They brought this on themselves." A cold glint flashed in Wang Dongliang’s eyes.

Though Chu Dong was still dressed in a security guard’s uniform, no one dared look down on him now. On the contrary, this newly minted "aristocrat" was suddenly the subject of much flattery. He’d spent years abroad and only took charge when the Chu family had fallen on hard times. When he took over, few paid him any mind; he rarely appeared in the media or at public events. People might have heard of this scion of the Chu family, but few actually knew him.

"Is that matter true?" Tan Xue, seeing Chu Dong moving through the crowd with ease—not exactly debonair, but certainly at home—grew irritated that he didn’t come over to her. She summoned his ever-present shadow, Xiao Yuer, and had Chu Dong brought to her.

"What matter? True or not?" Chu Dong feigned ignorance.

"Stop pretending," Tan Xue said, her face stern. "I’m talking about the shares."

"Oh, that. I thought you were asking about the business plan I gave you." Chu Dong waved a hand dismissively. Xiao Yuer, who always stuck by her side, quickly stood to offer Chu Dong her seat. He took it without hesitation, sitting so close to Tan Xue that she stiffened.

"There is such a matter, but I still need to see if there’s enough money. You know, that’s my nest egg. If I invest it, who knows what the returns will be? So I’m still considering it." Chu Dong slowly swirled the crimson liquid in his wine glass.

"You’re talking about something so uncertain here? Are you crazy?" Tan Xue checked to make sure no one was watching, then pinched the soft flesh at his waist.

"There is certainty. Easy, or I’ll yell," Chu Dong grimaced, trying to keep still. He only breathed a sigh of relief once she let go. "Uncle Tan didn’t tell you everything before he left. Yinlong is in a serious cash crunch. Without outside capital, a crisis could erupt at any moment."

"Nonsense. I’ve seen the reports. Last quarter’s profits were modest but steady—investments, loans, revenue, and expenditures are all in order. Who says there’s a cash shortage?" Tan Xue, who worked at the company, was well-versed in its affairs.

"That’s just on the surface—there are things you don’t know." Chu Dong, looking serious, fished out a cigarette and lit it. "Yinlong is a publicly traded company, under all kinds of scrutiny. Any little thing is known to all. But society isn’t as simple as you think."

"Impossible. There’s no shady business at Yinlong—I’ve been there these past two years," she said, waving away his smoke, no longer in the mood to argue.

"Of course not, but there are things you don’t know. I’ll tell you in time. These are problems our families planted years ago. I’ll explain when I have the chance." With that, Chu Dong patted the rounded knee beneath Tan Xue’s long skirt, then rose to greet a portly man who looked like an official. "Ah, Director Song, you’re here too! What a pleasure..."

Dressed in his security uniform, Chu Dong became the star of the banquet. Wang Dongliang and the so-called “promising youths” dressed in designer brands instantly seemed callow and unremarkable, drawing little attention.

By the end of Yinlong’s banquet, Chu Dong had become the de facto host, bustling about, greeting and seeing off guests. With Chu Dong in charge, Tan Xue felt superfluous, and, burdened with her own concerns, left early with Xiao Yuer and Li Youlan, who still wanted to tease Chu Dong. Wang Dongliang and his friends, finding the event dull, slunk away as well. The remaining guests—hoping to curry favor for future dealings—were in no hurry to leave, and the banquet didn’t break up until the early hours of the morning.

Feeling utterly exhausted and seeing that dawn was about to break, Chu Dong decided not to leave. He asked a server to find him a place to lie down for a while. He’d eaten and drunk plenty—never one to miss out on good food or drink, no matter who was around. He always saw himself as a trendsetter; while others at banquets feared being mocked for indulging, he simply did as he pleased, true to himself. To him, enjoying good food and drink was the best way to make the most of the money spent.

He was jolted awake in the morning by the ringing of his phone. "Is this the owner of a black Audi?"

"No. Wait, yes, I am. Why?" Chu Dong remembered that he’d been driving Qiangzi’s car. Calling it his own wasn’t exactly a lie.

"Do you or don’t you? If you do, please come to the district police station in the development zone to identify whether the car is yours." The woman’s voice on the other end was pleasant—Chu Dong felt it sounded familiar.

"My car’s downstairs. Hang on, I’ll check." Suddenly, he remembered that last night, finding the Windsor parking lot too crowded, he’d parked the car on a wider street nearby.

Jogging over to where he’d parked, Chu Dong found nothing but empty space—not even a trace remained.

P.S.: Posting another chapter—hoping for more readers!