Chapter 72: Backstabbing and Usurpation, An Unexpected Reversal

Wen Ruoxuan and her female assistant revisited the scene, stepping into the conference room with a myriad of conflicting emotions.

Originally, they had been fully capable of acquiring the Chu Group last time, but Jiang Chen had suddenly emerged out of nowhere to disrupt their plans. Now that Jiang Chen was struggling to protect himself, the Chu Group was firmly within their grasp.

"Miss Wen, you're finally here. That brute Jiang Chen is simply too arrogant; he actually dared to strike me in public!"

Wang Zeyu scrambled up from the floor, clutching his face in furious resentment as he walked over to lodge a complaint with Wen Ruoxuan.

"Jiang Chen, you assaulted the young master of the Han family and provoked such a colossal disaster. The Chu Group is about to be crushed into oblivion by the Han Group, yet you still haven't learned your lesson?"

Wen Ruoxuan's gaze settled upon Jiang Chen as she issued a cold, haughty warning.

"None of your damn business!"

Jiang Chen spat out those four indifferent words.

...

Wen Ruoxuan's expression darkened. Even though she had witnessed Jiang Chen's unbridled arrogance on more than one occasion, every single time still filled her with an impulse to tear her hair out in frustration!

The female assistant holstered a furious bark: "Death is at your doorstep and you still dare to act so rampant—"

"A defeated foe is unworthy of speaking to me, let alone a mere running dog!"

Jiang Chen cast a look of utter contempt toward the female assistant, interrupting her with chilling indifference.

The female assistant's teeth nearly shattered from grinding them in rage; she wished she could lunge forward and tear a chunk of flesh out of Jiang Chen.

"Engaging in mere verbal disputes has no meaning whatsoever; it only serves to prove your incompetence!"

Gliding past Jiang Chen, Wen Ruoxuan fixed her gaze on Chu Yan with a smile. "Chu Yan, didn't you want to engage in a commercial war with me? Today, I am going to let you witness with your own eyes how I acquire the Chu Group right in front of you!"

"I would also love to see just how humiliating you look when your acquisition fails miserably a moment from now!"

Chu Yan retorted without a shred of fear, matching her blow for blow, tit for tat.

"Wang Zeyu, Zhang Qingbo, the moment for you to shine has arrived!"

Wen Ruoxuan smiled as she signaled the two major Chu Group shareholders who had defected to their side.

"Understood, Miss Wen!"

Wang Zeyu and Zhang Qingbo nodded with beaming, obsequious smiles.

Composed and steady, Chu Yan resolved that no matter what sinister plots and schemes Wen Ruoxuan and her cohorts had devised, she would shatter every single one of them!

"Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of her husband Jiang Chen's selfish personal gains, Chu Yan has completely disregarded the safety of the entire Chu Group and severely damaged corporate interests. Therefore, I formally propose that Chu Yan be stripped of her position as President!"

Wang Zeyu spoke with a veneer of righteous dignity. "According to the relevant regulations, as long as the voting rights held by shareholders present at the general meeting exceed a simple majority—meaning over fifty percent of the equity—the resolution to dismiss her takes effect immediately!"

"We will now proceed with a vote at the shareholders' meeting. All shareholders in favor of removing Chu Yan from the presidency, please raise your hands!"

Before his voice had even faded, the two major shareholders, Wang Zeyu and Zhang Qingbo, took the lead by raising their hands in a vote of approval, prompting the other participating shareholders to follow suit one by one.

"I am the largest shareholder of the Chu Group, holding thirty-two percent of the equity! The second-largest shareholder, Jiang Chen, holds fifteen percent, and my second uncle's family also holds fifteen percent!"

Chu Yan stated with unruffled composure, "Added together, all of you shareholders combined hold at most thirty-eight percent of the equity. Exactly how do you intend to remove me?"

Wen Ruoxuan, Wang Zeyu, and Zhang Qingbo exchanged knowing glances before turning their eyes unanimously toward Chu Lihan.

"Second Uncle Chu, it's your time to shine!"

Wen Ruoxuan extended a hand with a beaming, triumphant smile.

Chu Yan's expression underwent a drastic transformation as she whipped her head around to stare at Chu Lihan. "Second Uncle, don't tell me you've been bought off by Wen Ruoxuan as well?"

"Xiao Yan, I'm sorry... I have hidden difficulties that forced my hand!"

Hanging his head in shame, unable to meet Chu Yan's eyes, Chu Lihan apologized in a voice laden with agonizing pain as he slowly raised a trembling hand.

"Thirty-eight percent of the equity, plus fifteen percent of the equity, brings the total to fifty-three percent!"

Wang Zeyu announced with an ecstatic grin, "Chu Yan, you have been voted out!"

"Second Uncle, what hidden difficulties could you possibly have? Could it be that they kidnapped Second Aunt and Yuting to blackmail you?"

Chu Yan asked Chu Lihan in sheer disbelief.

"No, Xiao Yan... Just don't ask anymore. It is Second Uncle who has failed you!"

Shaking his head, Chu Lihan stubbornly refused to reveal the truth.

"Chu Lihan, are you even a member of the Chu family? To actually aid an outsider in turning against your own flesh and blood—do you truly believe Grandpa will ever forgive you for this?"

Unable to watch any longer, Yao Bing glared at Chu Lihan and roared furiously.

"Heh, if the Chu family truly regarded him as one of their own, why would Old Master Chu have only given his family of three a meager fifteen percent of the equity? That's even less than what a live-in son-in-law gets!"

Wen Ruoxuan mocked mercilessly, "Second Uncle Chu turning away from darkness to embrace the light is a wise and brilliant move! An Old Master Chu who has been reduced to a titular chairman with no real power is even less worthy of respect than a live-in son-in-law!"

Though she did not utter Jiang Chen's name outright, every single word she spoke was dripping with contempt and degradation toward him.

Glancing at Wen Ruoxuan, who was deliberately sowing discord, Chu Yan turned her gaze back to Chu Lihan and continued, "Second Uncle, how Grandpa treated you is something you know better than anyone else! After my father passed away, the company was even placed under your management."

"Yet time and time again, you plunged the company into crisis, causing billions in losses over the years. Ask your conscience: if Grandpa hadn't treated you like his own biological son, would he have allowed you to remain in the company after committing all those grave mistakes?"

Hearing this, Chu Lihan wore a mask of profound guilt, opening and closing his mouth as words failed him.

Fearing that delays would breed complications, Wen Ruoxuan directly pressured Chu Yan, backing her into a corner. "Chu Yan, further discussion is pointless! Your dismissal as President is absolute today. Are you going to hand over your equity voluntarily, or must you wait until I devour everything you have left?"

Chu Yan felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and helplessness wash over and consume her. The company's shareholders had betrayed her, and her own flesh and blood in the family had stabbed her in the back. Was the Chu Group truly destined to be destroyed in her hands?

Suddenly, a voice ringing out in unwavering support echoed beside her.

"Wen Ruoxuan, the shareholder vote isn't even over yet. What are you panicking for? You act more anxious than a eunuch at a wedding!"

Rapping his knuckles against the conference table, Jiang Chen cast a barbed, sarcastic look at Wen Ruoxuan.

With a complex gaze, Chu Yan looked at Jiang Chen. Out of all the shareholders present, miraculously, only Jiang Chen stood by her side—though tragically, it seemed incapable of altering the grim reality.

"Jiang Chen, keep whistling in the dark with your stubborn mouth!"

Narrowing her eyes like sharp nails, Wen Ruoxuan glared at Jiang Chen with a sinister smile. "Whether you and Chu Yan raise your hands to vote is utterly irrelevant now. You brainless brute, can't you even do simple math, or are you just entirely illiterate?"

"My math has always been top of the class, it's just that you're blind and completely incapable of seeing it!"

With a cold chuckle, Jiang Chen reached out and pointed toward an unassuming middle-aged man sitting among the shareholders. "Director He owns five percent of the equity, and just like us, he hasn't raised his hand either. Is he unimportant too?"

Every single person in the room instantly snapped their heads around to fix their gazes upon the middle-aged Director He.

"Jiang Chen, who in this company doesn't know about Director He's close ties with Director Zhang and myself? He's simply a cautious man who prefers to deliver the final, decisive blow at the very end! Isn't that right, Director He? You can go ahead and raise your hand to vote now!"

Wang Zeyu sneered, convinced that Jiang Chen was merely clinging to a sliver of unrealistic wishful thinking.

"Director He has always been accustomed to keeping a low profile, prioritizing absolute stability above all else! Old He, go ahead and let them feel true despair!"

Zhang Qingbo also laughed dismissively, deliberately using a familiar, intimate form of address.

"After careful and prudent consideration, I have concluded that President Chu has committed no faults whatsoever. Therefore, I vote against the motion to dismiss President Chu!"

Director He kept both hands resting flat beneath the conference table, speaking with an expression of utmost seriousness.

As these words dropped, the sheer shock sent seismic waves through the room.

The smiles on the faces of Zhang Qingbo, Wang Zeyu, and Wen Ruoxuan froze dead in their tracks, each of them feeling as though Director He had just delivered a stinging physical slap across their faces.

Virtually everyone in the room was struck dumb with absolute astonishment!