Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Staying with You to the End
The next moment, the hall erupted with earth-shattering howls!
"You two ungrateful wretches, how have I treated you usually? And you dare to hit me? Stop it right now!"
"Ah, damn it! Xu Hao, you bastard, you spineless wretch, my aunt will definitely not let you off!"
"Liu Ruyan, you damn bitch, just you wait, once my aunt takes over the company, I'll make you kneel and beg me!"
...
Listening to the howling behind her, Liu Ruyan gave Xu Hao a slight smile and took his arm, saying, "Let's go, we have a meeting to attend!"
"Those who rely on others to intimidate, they're so detestable! Ruyan, if you ask me, why don't you reform the company? A business that wants to develop sustainably can't keep so many relatives on staff, they're all just eating away at it!" Xu Hao said to Liu Ruyan as they entered the elevator together.
Liu Ruyan sighed deeply, "You think I don't want to? The key issue is that people like Zhang Lin and Liu Fei hold important positions in the company, and I alone can't bring them down."
"Don't worry, if you want, I'll help you!" Previously, Xu Hao would have indeed been helpless to assist Liu Ruyan, but now Xu Hao's mysterious father had immense power; he could even toy with Wu Corporation, so a few moths within Liu Corporation should be no trouble at all, right?
...
Xu Hao and Liu Ruyan, arm in arm, entering the company intimately like that, stunned all the employees in the hall.
Sun Hao's howls were still echoing in the hall, but the employees' attitudes towards Xu Hao had begun to change.
Before, Xu Hao was just a good-for-nothing son-in-law, but now with Liu Ruyan backing him up, Xu Hao was no longer a pushover that anyone could step on.
After reaching the 18th floor with Liu Ruyan, Xu Hao excused himself to go to the restroom, separating from her.
Inside the restroom, Xu Hao dialed Wang Zhong's number, "Uncle Wang, I want to ask you something. Regarding Zhang Lin, Liu Fei, and a few others in Liu Corporation, can you make them resign on their own?"
Wang Zhong's respectful voice came through the phone, "Young master, regarding Liu Corporation, I've already gathered all the information neatly! The ones you mentioned, Liu Fei, Zhang Lin and the others, they have quite a bit of dirt on them... Here's what I'll do, I'll send the information to your phone... You could go about it like this..."
After some instructions over the phone, Wang Zhong sent several documents to Xu Hao. The information was very detailed, with videos, photos, written explanations—everything.
Stepping out of the restroom, Xu Hao couldn't help but whistle. With this evidence in hand, bringing down Liu Fei and Zhang Lin, and the likes was going to be a piece of cake.
He had only taken a few steps when his phone rang again, this time it was his college classmate Zhao Feng, "Brother Hao, haven't you checked the college WeChat group? Our classmates are organizing a reunion, are you coming?"
A class reunion?
"Forget it, I'd rather not, thanks anyway, Zhao Feng. I'll treat you to a meal when I'm free!" Xu Hao hesitated briefly, but decided to decline.
That bunch from college, not many of them were decent. At past reunions, they always bullied Xu Hao, made him dress in drag, bark like a dog... Every time, Xu Hao was the one aggrieved.
Out of all the classmates, only Zhao Feng, who he dormed with, his family was well off with a sizable company in South City, took good care of Xu Hao and had argued many times with the other classmates on his behalf.
Zhao Feng sighed deeply, "You have to come today, if you're tight on money, I'll cover the cost for you. Your secret crush back then, Qin Yao, is also coming, and the one who initiated this meetup is Qi Jun. I reckon Qi Jun's planning to get Qin Yao drunk and take advantage; can you bear that?"
"Damn! Send me the time and place on my phone!" Xu Hao swore outright. He had planned to keep a low profile and skip these class meetups.
But if Qi Jun was plotting against Qin Yao, the girl he had a crush on back then, then Xu Hao had to attend.
Qin Yao was the class monitor back in Xu Hao's college days, tall and stunningly beautiful. Knowing that Xu Hao came from a less fortunate household, she often looked out for him and seemed to have a little crush on Xu Hao.
Of course, Xu Hao liked Qin Yao too, but feeling inferior, he didn't think he was worthy of her, so he never confessed his feelings, even by the time they graduated after four years of college.
...
Xu Hao and Zhao Feng hung up the phone and headed to the meeting room. When they arrived, Zhang Lan, Zhang Lin, Liu Fei, Zhang Ya, and all the mid-level and senior executives had already gathered.
However, the looks they gave Xu Hao were filled with malice. Some who were unaware of the situation muttered to themselves, "Isn't that President Liu's loser son-in-law? A little security guard — what's he doing at a shareholders' meeting?"
Once Xu Hao found a chair and sat down, Liu Ruyan cleared her throat at the podium, "Alright, everyone is here. I'll get straight to the point. I've called you all today to announce that our company has secured an investment of 250 million yuan. We can finally overcome this difficult period."
At Liu Ruyan's words, the entire meeting room burst into an uproar among over a hundred people.
"That's wonderful, wonderful!"
"Yes, I thought the company wouldn't survive this time!"
"Who is it? Who invested in the company at the critical moment? It's like sending charcoal in snowy weather!"
"It couldn't be Wu Corporation, could it? I heard that Young Master Wu has had his eye on President Liu for a long time..."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
...
Once the room had quieted down slightly, Liu Ruyan continued, "The investor in our company is none other than my husband, Xu Hao! Thus, the main purpose of today's meeting is to reallocate shares. According to the proportion of Xu Hao's investment, he should be allocated 10%..."
Before Liu Ruyan could finish her sentence, Liu Fei interjected, "President Liu, that doesn't seem right. Didn't you say before that the investor was a classmate of Xu Hao? How come it's suddenly Xu Hao now?"
Liu Fei, the company's financial director who had controlled the company's finances for many years, was unrestrained even when Liu Yi had been around, let alone now that Liu Yi had passed away.
As an old-timer in the company, Liu Fei wielded significant influence. Not only did Zhang Lin and Zhang Lan stir up the crowd, but other shareholders began to question Liu Ruyan's words as well.
Liu Ruyan's brow furrowed, "Uncle, does it make any difference? Xu Hao has said his classmate entrusted him with full responsibility for all investment matters related to Liu Corporation!"
This uncle, not only was he not helping her, but he was also undermining her in front of so many people. Liu Ruyan was stomping her feet in frustration but had no solution at hand.
But Liu Fei firmly grasped this point, glaring at Xu Hao, "President Liu, your statement is incorrect! Even if we are to allocate shares, it should be to Xu Hao's classmate, shouldn't it? And in my opinion, although Xu Hao's classmate helped the company out of crisis, we shouldn't give him shares, we shouldn't give him decision-making power in the company... everyone agrees, right?"
"Absolutely agree!" echoed Zhang Lin and the others, instigating the commotion!
"I disagree with reallocating shares!"
"I also disagree!"
...
In no time, the majority were against it, and these were the high-ranking officers. Even if it went to a vote, it seemed unlikely that Liu Ruyan's proposal would pass!
Liu Ruyan looked apologetically at Xu Hao, who simply shrugged indifferently, scanning Liu Fei and the others with his gaze. These old fellows had a nice little scheme going: they wanted to use his funds to solve the company's crisis but didn't want to give him a share of the pie. Were they planning to take advantage of him completely?
Alright, then let's play!
Xu Hao stood up, quietly walking over to Liu Ruyan. She nodded, connected her phone to the computer, turned on the projector, and began to play a video.
"Oh Director Liu, you're so naughty... someone outside might hear..." A sultry voice echoed through the meeting room, and at the same time, some not-so-child-friendly images appeared on the screen...
The whole room was stunned, all eyes turned towards Liu Fei...