Chapter 138: Reinforcements Arrive

Finally realizing she had caused trouble, Tan Xueye behaved obediently, not even daring to mention filing a complaint when she was beaten. With lowered eyes and a submissive demeanor, she helped Chu Dong light his cigarette and hand him water, fulfilling her duties as an assistant at last.

That evening, when Tan Xue told Li Youlan about the incident, she was surprised to see Li Youlan actually praise her.

“Xue’er, you really have a knack for this. You know, what you did was an unconventional strategy—putting yourself in a deadly situation to come out alive. With this approach, not only does Yinlong have great potential, but even the ailing Chu Corporation might have a chance to revive. You’re amazing,” Li Youlan said excitedly, almost dancing with enthusiasm.

Tan Xue blinked her large eyes at her friend, “Lanlan, I feel like you’re hoping I cause even bigger trouble. Am I really as clever and wise as you say? Are you mocking me?”

“Don’t be silly, why would I mock you?” Li Youlan pulled Tan Xue close, wrapping an arm around her fragrant shoulder. “You don’t see it yet? Your guy acts dumb all day, mostly busy chasing girls. Since you’ve decided to win him over, you have to use some tactics. We can’t keep an eye on him all the time, so you have to give him tasks. The harder the tasks, the more energy he uses, and then he won’t have time to think about other girls, right?”

“That makes sense,” Tan Xue nodded, feeling that Li Youlan’s words were reasonable. Her guilt immediately vanished. She also forgot the promise she had made to Chu Dong to warm his bed on the way home.

Women in love are often foolish, believing nothing is more important than love. Forget billions of wealth, luxury cars, or mansions—even if it means eating mere scraps with the one they love, they think such fate is justified. (Of course, not everyone thinks this way…)

Chu Dong had originally intended to ignore Luke Hans’s interference—whatever comes, comes. You do your part, I’ll do mine. But Tan Xue strongly opposed this. She didn’t feel she had done anything wrong and urged Chu Dong to stay strong.

Just when Chu Dong thought she would forget in a few days, Tan Xue made a bold move. Without permission, she called a press conference to announce the reconstruction of Chu Corporation.

After seeing the news in the papers, Chu Dong was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead. He immediately drove home to confront this little troublemaker.

“Who told you to do this? Are you joking? Did I ever agree for you to announce this?” Taking the initiative to blame her, Chu Dong couldn’t believe the one stabbing him in the back was his future wife. But Tan Xue’s innocent, pure, and blameless expression silenced him from saying anything harsh, though his emotions were quite “heated.”

“I never said you had to rebuild it. Why can’t I do it?” Tan Xue knew she had gone a little far but spoke confidently. “Give me 100,000 yuan, and I’ll register the company.”

“Why should I give you money? Besides, you’re not short of money, so why ask me?” Chu Dong was helpless. Marrying this wife would surely be a handful.

“I’m doing this for your sake. And the company will still carry the Chu name. Why wouldn’t you want me to invest?” Tan Xue wasn’t stingy about money—it was about legitimacy. If Chu Dong invested, it would be justified. Otherwise, they would still have to rely on Yinlong to survive, just as Luke Hans said.

“Fine, even if I give you 100,000 yuan, tell me, what can you do with that? What kind of company can you build? What’s your core competitive advantage?” Chu Dong almost laughed at her. Did she think this was child’s play?

“Then what do you want me to do?” Tan Xue began to act spoiled. “This won’t work, that won’t work. Just sell me off.”

“I’m not so poor that I’d sell my wife,” Chu Dong rolled his eyes. “The more I look at you, the more you seem like a complete idiot.”

“You’re the idiot! I’m not talking to you,” Tan Xue said, turning and running away before Chu Dong could catch her. Her speed might have just broken her own record.

Tan Xue could act spoiled, but Chu Dong couldn’t. He knew that Luke Hans must have his own reasons for approaching him and proposing this deal; otherwise, he would know better than to be duped. So he called George to ask if anything unusual had happened lately.

“Boss, nothing significant recently. With you overseeing the Yinlong project, there shouldn’t be big problems. The stock market is normal too. Why do you ask?” It was probably George’s bedtime, yet he was still alert.

Chu Dong opened his computer. “Luke Hans is here, in China—and not far from me. You know him.”

“Of course, the great George remembers him well—the defeated adversary,” George chuckled. He had served under Chu Dong’s leadership and knew Luke Hans.

“Something’s wrong, George,” Chu Dong said, staring at Yinlong’s recent transaction records on the screen, nearly jumping.

“What’s wrong?” George was puzzled.

“One listed company has hundreds of stock trades in a single day. Is that normal?” Chu Dong’s expression grew serious.

“Recently, there’s been a lot of trading in Haifeng’s stocks; I hadn’t paid much attention to Yinlong…” George’s mood shifted.

“Yinlong has 49% of its shares publicly traded, with 30% freely circulating. Such trading activity could mean one of two things: trapped low during a bear market, or…” Chu Dong paused.

“You mean someone is quietly acquiring a large portion of Yinlong’s circulating shares? How’s that possible?” George exclaimed.

“Why not? Especially with Luke Hans’s arrival. I’m sure that’s it,” Chu Dong felt immense pressure.

If Luke Hans acquired more than 20% of Yinlong’s circulating shares, he could quickly drive down the stock price, causing Yinlong’s assets to shrink rapidly. With a 40% debt ratio, Yinlong could soon become insolvent and face forced suspension.

Crisis loomed.

“George, bring your entire team to China immediately—I need you now,” Chu Dong ordered swiftly. “I’ll say it again: move as fast as possible.”

“Yes, boss. George understands,” George replied, dropping the grandiose title this time.

Outside, the dim streetlights flickered, snowflakes danced in the north wind like summer fireflies. Chu Dong, unable to sleep, lit a cigarette and leaned against the window. As the ember glowed orange-red, he exhaled a plume of smoke…

Even without Tan Xue’s recent disruption, Henghai Fund wouldn’t let him off easily. Wang Dongliang hated him to the bone, and Luke Hans clearly wanted revenge for his previous defeat. Chu Dong was truly beset on all sides.

He knew that when Chu Corporation fell years ago, his father, Chu Huazhou, had forged countless business connections, yet none had come to help. With Chu Dong’s short tenure, no one would lend a hand now. Yinlong was on the brink of ruin.

There was only one sure way to help Yinlong survive: the Sturgeon Fund stepping in. Yinlong simply didn’t have enough cash to buy back over 20% of its stock being offloaded; even loans were scarce. But this would expose the Sturgeon Fund, and the carefully guarded secret cultivated over two years would be blown, possibly losing any chance to find those who had set them up. Revenge would be impossible.

There was a riskier path: using his own Haifeng Group stocks to gamble. If the opponents faltered first, there might be a chance to regroup and rise again.

If he lost…

Chu Dong stubbed out his cigarette, dressed, and left. He drove to the Feipeng Hotel, which he hadn’t visited in a long time.

Almost nothing had changed—the neon lights still shone, many people came and went, and from outside he could see Xiao Lan busily working behind the bar.

The hotel’s shares had all been reclaimed, bank loans fully repaid. Its annual million-yuan profits no longer impressed Chu Dong, but he still harbored a special affection for the place.

He opened the car door, stepped out, lingered a moment, then walked inside.

“Brother Chu? What brings you here?” Xiao Lan, now well-paid and fashionably dressed, was surprised to see Chu Dong after months of absence.

“It’s been a while, so I missed that big bed. Also, I wanted to see if you’ve been slacking off,” Chu Dong teased, smiling. “Looks like you haven’t done much—you’ve even put on weight.”

“Brother Chu, you’re just talking nonsense! I haven’t been lazy,” Xiao Lan blushed and lowered her head, vigorously polishing the shiny bar counter with a rag.

“Alright, get some rest early. I’m leaving now,” Chu Dong said. He had no intention of going upstairs and turned to leave.

“Brother Chu, aren’t you going to stay here tonight?” Xiao Lan was puzzled why he would leave right after arriving.

“No, maybe another time. I’ll come by when I can.” He waved his hand, got into his car, and drove back to the development zone without looking back.

The next afternoon, Chu Dong received a call from George. Their team of over ten had arrived at Beijing International Airport and would fly to Dalian within a few hours.

They had been remarkably swift. From Chu Dong’s order to George’s state of readiness, the team had assembled in record time—just one hour for full mobilization. George’s leadership shone as he quickly assigned tasks after briefing. In three hours, all formalities were complete. Within less than twenty hours of Chu Dong’s call, they were already on Chinese soil.

Chu Dong closed the phone and exhaled in relief—his reinforcements had arrived.