Chapter 193: What a Pain in the Balls
This isn't scientific. Du Yuheng looked at the computer beside him, then at the phone on the table. It had already been four days. The stock price of Yimao Group had dropped from 7.38 yuan per share to just 4.77 yuan. Yang Fei held about five million shares of Yimao's stock. That meant she had lost 13.05 million yuan on paper in four days. Even for Du Yuheng, that kind of loss would hurt like hell, let alone for Yang Fei.
They had investigated before. It seemed Yang Fei's relationship with her father had never been good since she was young. The only thing she could rely on was the tens of millions her mother had left her. She bought a lot of properties in Meining, and even took some print ad jobs in the past few years. What was it all for? Naturally, to earn more money.
They had also found out that in recent years, Yang Fei had made tens of millions through stocks and funds. She was good at financial management, and the stocks and funds in her hands changed constantly.
But they noticed that the only thing Yang Fei hadn't touched was her five million shares of Yimao Group stock, because that was the company her mother had worked for before her death. This showed she still missed her mother, and Yimao Group should be her soft spot.
That's why Cai Yu was willing to do whatever it took to control Yimao, using it as a link to get closer to Yang Fei.
How to get closer? In this world, if a man wants to make a good impression on a woman he likes, he either has to appear as her Prince Charming, or as her savior.
Du Yuheng looked at Cai Yu. Young Master Cai was good at everything—except his looks.
He was dark-skinned. From a distance, people might even mistake him for an African guy. So trying to play the Prince Charming role was going to be difficult, especially when compared to that pretty boy Zhang Yang—it was just… way too obvious and tragic.
But nothing is absolute.
Although Cai Yu's skin was darker and he wasn't as good-looking as Zhang Yang, his facial features were still pretty decent.
Plus, even though his clothes didn't show any obvious brand names, the noble aura they carried couldn't be hidden, and his every gesture oozed elegance.
He could definitely charm countless girls.
Yang Fei, being a top-tier goddess, must have seen plenty of handsome men. She should find a man like Young Master Cai more memorable.
But he found that Cai Yu still chose to appear as a savior. The plan was simple: let him, Du Yuheng, play the bad guy first and crush Yimao Group—preferably destroy it completely.
They knew how important Yimao's stock was to Yang Fei. When she was at her most desperate, Cai Yu would appear before her as a hero to save her. That would surely have the best effect.
But in this play, Du Yuheng felt awful, because he had to play the villain—the one to destroy Yimao. That made him really uncomfortable.
When dealing with any beauty—
Du Yuheng had always been ruthless. From SM to a good beating, he could do it all. But facing someone like Yang Fei, just that one calm, serene glance, paired with her flawless face—
It could kill him.
He couldn't bring himself to hurt her. His balls would shrink on the spot. Yet now Cai Yu wanted him to play the bad guy—the worst kind—mercilessly destroying the thing Yang Fei cared about most. How was he supposed to handle that?
But he had no choice. He couldn't disobey Cai Yu. Not only was it the old master's will, but Cai Yu was also his strongest backer once he took over the Du family. If the Du family didn't want to remain small-time forever, they needed a powerful ally. Since the Qiao family had drifted away, the Cai family had become their lifeline.
So he could only obey Cai Yu, appearing before Yang Fei as a villain. Of course, not literally—if he dared to show up in person, Zhang Yang would probably drown him in a pig cage.
It had been three days. Starting from the second day after Yimao hit its first limit down, he had been texting Yang Fei, appearing as a rich playboy, threatening that if she didn't agree to be his girlfriend, he would destroy Yimao Group.
But she ignored him and even blocked him outright.
Du Yuheng was miserable. He was the eldest young master of the Du family—he had never been ignored before! It was one thing to be brushed off when flirting in person, but now? She didn't even reply to his text, and when he called, she blocked his number. Normally, he would've stormed over and taken her by force.
But he couldn't. Seeing that Yang Fei hadn't changed her phone number, he swallowed his pride and quickly changed to a new number to text her again.
Following Cai Yu's orders, he lowered his demands this time—he only asked her to be his private tutor. As long as she agreed, he promised Yimao's stock price would start rising again tomorrow.
But even with such a small request, Yang Fei still ignored him. Hours had passed. She must have seen it, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea—no response at all.
"Maybe she's just busy right now," Du Yuheng looked at Cai Yu, carefully choosing his words so as not to displease him. "Young Master Cai, I think she'll reply soon. The request isn't too much."
Becoming a private tutor could instantly earn her tens of millions. What job could pay more than that?
Du Yuheng thought about it. Even hiring a top-tier actress for… certain services wouldn't cost this much.
Cai Yu glanced at him, lightly swirling the red wine in his glass. Watching the liquid spin like drifting clouds, he smiled faintly and said, "It's been three hours, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, to be exact, three and a half." Du Yuheng felt dejected. He'd never failed like this before. He'd chased proud women before, even persistently, but at least they'd respond. Yang Fei? She treated him like air.
"She's not going to reply." Cai Yu stated flatly, then took a small sip of the red wine, letting its aroma linger on his tongue. This 1990 Burgundy was expensive—at least forty thousand a bottle.
Only a spoiled brat from the Du family would bring it out to show off.
But Cai Yu's face didn't show contempt. Instead, he wore that faint, mysterious smile that made you feel seen yet afraid to get too close.
"If a woman I, Cai Yu, fancy, replied so casually to your text, then she wouldn't deserve to be my woman." He clicked his tongue.
Savoring the lingering taste, his smile deepened.
"But this isn't a solution either. We've already invested nearly four hundred million." Du Yuheng's heart ached.
Out of that four hundred million, at least three hundred million came from the Du family. They thought Young Master Cai truly wanted to start an industrial company in Meining.
Turns out it was just for chasing a girl. Four hundred million to flirt? Who thinks of that? Maybe for the Cai family, it wasn't much, but for the Du family, it was huge. Even if the Feihe Fund's returns were decent lately, throwing that much money in without clarity was terrifying. Three hundred million in cash!
Damn it!
Cai Yu smiled. "We've been buying and selling back and forth. Looks like we haven't lost much. Tomorrow, gather another two hundred million. Yimao's current market cap is only eight hundred million. We'll drive it below six hundred million—then take it all."
"Two hundred million? Possible, but I'm worried the Securities Commission might notice…"
"Heh, we're doing legitimate business. Any problem with that?" Cai Yu glanced at him. "You're afraid if Yimao actually collapses, we'll lose everything, right?"
"Not exactly." Du Yuheng looked at him, thinking, Easy for you to say—it's not your money. The Feihe Fund was a joint venture managing just over a billion yuan. Their performance wasn't great, but there were precedents of using funds for acquisitions. Still, throwing in four hundred million at once was risky.
"Young Master Cai, I think with a woman like Yang Fei, using money to threaten her is… well, a bit dull." Du Yuheng tried to find the right words to dissuade this rich boy without offending him. "With your status and charm, if you just confessed directly, I think you'd have a great chance. Why go through all this trouble?"
"Confess directly? Do you think I should?" Cai Yu looked at him, smiling as always.
"Of course. Definitely. I've met many women like Yang Fei—cold and proud by nature. She's used to seeing playboys like me, so ignoring us is normal. But someone like you? I'm sure she's never met one before. To be honest, with your aura—if I were a woman…" Du Yuheng forced down his disgust, trying to butter him up. "If I were a woman, I'd throw myself at you."
A dark line flashed across Cai Yu's face. He looked at Du Yuheng again, still smiling, but already seething inside.
Confess directly?
Cai Yu prided himself on being a handsome young man—not bragging, but plenty of girls had been captivated by his demeanor without even knowing who he was. Over the years, there had been hundreds, maybe thousands. But he always turned them down politely. He was confident he could leave a good impression on any woman.
Except Yang Fei!
The first time he met her, it was a disaster—an absolute train wreck.
The mighty Young Master Cai couldn't even say a full sentence to her before getting randomly beaten up by that bastard Zhang Yang, right in front of Yang Fei, and thrown into the freezing lake.
Luckily, he could swim. Otherwise, he might've drowned that night. It was humiliating, pathetic, downright ridiculous.
If word got out, people would laugh their asses off. He had to swallow that humiliation alone. Of course, he couldn't tell anyone. And now, Du Yuheng brought it up again—even if unintentionally, it still pissed him off.
"Just do it. Two hundred million isn't much." Cai Yu narrowed his eyes, his smile still bright. "Hold on for two more days. If she still doesn't crack, we'll just buy out Yimao. As a shareholder, she'll have to meet us sooner or later."
Du Yuheng was speechless. Spending six hundred million just to see her? Was this the new millennium's ultimate flirting strategy?
He thought about it. There was no other way now. He could only go all the way. Still, something felt off. After a moment, his heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Young Master Cai, we've been discussing all this, but don't you think we're forgetting someone?"
Cai Yu looked at him, his expression finally turning sour. He knew exactly who Du Yuheng meant, but he didn't want to talk about it. He frowned and said coldly, "Who could that be?"
Du Yuheng blinked at him, completely oblivious to Cai Yu's change in mood, and continued cluelessly, "I mean… could Yang Fei go ask Zhang Yang for help? That guy looks shady as hell. If he steps in, we might be in trouble."
Cai Yu's chest tightened painfully. You idiot! You really had to bring that up? Don't you know that bastard's the one I hate most right now?
But he forced himself to suppress his irritation and said coldly, "Zhang Yang? What can he do to help her? Sure, his current Nuwa Company is doing fine, and the future looks bright, but that's the future. Right now, Nuwa's total assets barely reach a hundred million. In cash, he probably couldn't even pull out one million. What could he use to help her? His reputation? His looks? Besides… isn't that exactly what we want him to do?"
"Yeah, if he really wants to help, he'd have to sell Nuwa Company, haha." Du Yuheng nodded, then frowned again. "He's broke, but the Qiao family isn't. What if Qiao Xier steps in? What then?"
"Qiao Xier? Help Yang Fei?" Cai Yu's lips curved into a smirk. "The only one with real money in the Qiao family is Ye Jing. Would Ye Jing spend money to help her daughter's romantic rival? Sure, the news about Yang Fei and Zhang Yang was wiped from the internet, but that's just online."
He tapped his temple and sneered. "Up here, people don't forget… In the villa, on the third floor, Qiao Xier had just returned to her room. She glanced at Zhang Yang sleeping soundly, hesitated for a moment, then quietly closed the door and walked to the bed. Stopping less than half a foot from him, she found a pillow and leaned against it.
Should she tell him?