Father Shen paused, his voice even heavier. "He's your best friend's boyfriend—he's taken. You're getting close to him and speaking up for him like this. What if you fall for him?"
Shen Shuang's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly denied it: "Dad, what are you thinking? I just think he's a decent guy; I'm only judging the matter on its merits!"
"Not yet?" Father Shen snorted, utterly certain. "Don't assume your old man can't read your little thoughts.
He'd always been a doting father; he knew his daughter's mind like the back of his hand.
Exposed, Shen Shuang's cheeks burned. She quickly changed the subject. "Ah, Dad, the important thing right now isn't this—it's Company and the Xu family!"
Her interruption made Father Shen frown even harder. "You think the Xu family has no one? Company's roots in the circle run deep; how could a greenhorn like him bring them down with a few words—"
Halfway through, he swallowed the rest.
Then he continued, "He really told us to stop doing business with Company? We've cooperated with Company for years; our interests are tangled together. If we cut ties, are we supposed to live on air?"
Shen Shuang opened her mouth, wanting to mention the racing incident.
The words reached her lips but came out hesitantly: "I don't know how to tell you, but a few days ago I went racing, right? Some foreigners clashed with our team. Do you know who settled it in the end? A whole bureau was mobilized!"
She paused and added, "Dad, you know Wang Congcong, right? In front of Jiang Cheng he keeps his head very low!"
Those words finally silenced Shen Zhong on the other end of the line—he was taking it seriously.
After a long while he asked grimly, "He… really said we shouldn't do business with Company?"
"Exactly!" Shen Shuang nodded emphatically. "Actually, I've been torn for ages, but I have a feeling the Xu family is heading for a huge fall, and Company will definitely be dragged down too!"
She pressed on while the iron was hot: "Besides, Xu Zhi has a bit of a problem with me."
"What happened? Did you clash with him?" Father Shen's voice turned instantly wary.
Shen Shuang bit her lip and recounted the bar incident exactly as it happened.
"Last time at the bar, Xu Zhi said sleazy things to my face, implying that since our family relies on Company, I should go along with whatever he wants."
The moment those words came out, Father Shen on the phone exploded.
His roar nearly burst Shen Shuang's eardrums: "That little punk! He thinks because we lean on his family he can toy with my daughter? Utter nonsense!"
Hearing her father stand up for her, Shen Shuang felt warm inside.
Her voice softened. "Luckily Jiang Cheng stepped in for me; otherwise I wouldn't have known what to do. After all, our family still has business with Company, and I didn't dare offend Xu Zhi outright."
Silence lingered for a few seconds, then a heavy sigh came through the phone.
"I understand. I know what to do. Cutting ties with Company overnight is impossible; everything's intertwined—it's not something you sever just like that. I'll think of a way."
His voice was exhausted: "Better hope nothing goes wrong. If Company really falls, our family will be in trouble too."
"That's what I think," Shen Shuang answered quietly, uncertainty in her tone, "but…"
"Buts don't help," Father Shen sighed again, voice sinking. "When the big shots fight, us common folk can't do a thing. Let me figure something out."
Hearing the worry in her father's voice, Shen Shuang felt a pang of guilt. She said nothing more and gently ended the call.
After hanging up she stood outside the shop for a moment to collect herself, then walked into LV.
By the time she stepped inside, the faint smile on her face had faded, a trace of hidden worry lining her brows.
Jiang Churan noticed at once, hurried over, and took her arm. "What's wrong?"
Shen Shuang's gaze flicked involuntarily toward Jiang Cheng nearby, her mind a mess.
She couldn't possibly tell Jiang Cheng to lay off Xu Zhi.
Leaving aside the feud between Jiang Cheng and Xu Zhi, her own family's reliance on Company meant she had no standing to say such a thing.
Saying it would only embarrass herself and make her seem ungrateful.
With that thought she quickly pushed aside her turmoil and pulled a flawless smile.
Patting Jiang Churan's hand she said, "Nothing—just Dad nagging at me a bit…"
2:30 p.m., Pengcheng.
The trader's scream jammed in his throat.
"President Xu, it's a forced liquidation! Twelve-billion-yuan short positions were dumped into the system—no takers!"
He hadn't eaten or drunk since morning.
Hearing this, he lunged at the screen, pupils shrinking.
On the account interface, numbers that had crawled downward now plunged before his eyes.
The margin column, which had held only tens of millions after the earlier top-up, instantly zeroed out, replaced by glaring red negatives.
-2.37 billion yuan.
Those figures felt like poisoned needles stabbing into his eyes.
The stock price stayed nailed at 183.5 USD.
He watched the 15 billion of family funds he'd misappropriated—along with years of grind—melt away like ice cubes in a furnace, vanishing without a wisp of steam.
He watched the 15 billion of family funds he'd misappropriated—along with years of hustle—melt away like ice cubes in a furnace, vanishing without a wisp of steam.
Xu Zhi roared, voice as hoarse as a cracked gong.
"Jiang Cheng—you bastard!"
It was a trap set by Jiang Cheng; Jiang Cheng had ruined everything!
The hatred burned fiercer than bone-eating poison.
Keener than the blade of a thousand cuts, it made him want to rush to Jiang Cheng and tear the man who had destroyed his life into pieces!
Clenching his fists, all Xu Zhi saw in his mind was Jiang Cheng's seemingly gentle yet viciously ruthless face.
With no way to vent his hatred, fury sapped his strength in an instant.