Chapter 38
Han Zhiyu still held a torch for Gu Yuetong and wanted to give her a heads-up, but Gu Hezhu was pressing her at every step and had become more vigilant. After a period of frustration, Han Zhiyu calmed down.
Leave it to fate, Gu Yuetong. Whether you can win against your mother depends on your destiny.
Beside her, Qi Baizi felt Han Zhiyu’s gaze and returned it without mercy.
A rival in love—barely a rival, perhaps. When rivals meet, their eyes burn with jealousy. But Han Zhiyu had helped her once, and Gu Yuetong had been even more gracious to her. Yet here she was, helping Gu Hezhu trip up her benefactor. Any respect Qi Baizi once had for her had now vanished completely.
After a few seconds of stalemate, Han Zhiyu looked away. Qi Baizi snorted through her nose and continued writing.
At 2:50 PM, the conference hall on the second floor of the Gu Group building was packed with reporters.
Cameras and microphones were aimed at the stage, and the buzz of discussion filled the air. Some speculated that the Gu Corporation was about to take a fall, that the lawsuit would leave them skinned alive even if it didn’t kill them. Others believed that a company as robust as Gu wouldn’t stoop to withholding termination fees and was likely being framed by villains.
Backstage, Duan Ying applied some light makeup for Gu Yuetong and held up a small mirror for her to inspect. “Much better than before. The lipstick really adds a lot of color to your face.”
Auntie Qin handed her a glass of honey water. “Have a drink, it’ll soothe your throat.”
Gu Yuetong smiled gratefully, drank the honey water, and returned the glass to Auntie Qin, squeezing her hand in the process. “I’ll try to handle the situation with Zhou Qin privately. Don’t you worry.”
Auntie Qin paused for a second, her eyes turning red. “Yuetong, I’ve caused you trouble.”
Gu Yuetong squeezed her hand firmly before leading Duan Ying onto the stage.
The chatter below instantly died down as all eyes focused on the two of them. Gu Yuetong composed herself. The ibuprofen was kicking in, the dull ache in her lower abdomen receding, and her spirits, which had been drained by the pain, gradually returned.
Gu Yuetong looked at the pairs of eyes below the stage and began to speak. “My apologies for troubling all our friends from the media and the general public on the last day of the work week. Thank you for your attention. This morning’s events have caused quite a stir. As the President of the Gu Corporation, I have an obligation to verify the various claims. After an internal self-inspection, I would like to announce some facts on behalf of my position. Now, I’d like to invite my personal lawyer and the lead counsel of Jingzhou First Law Firm, Duan Ying, to provide the details.”
After her opening remarks, they exchanged a look, and Duan Ying stood up to take over.
Gu Yuetong sat to the side, calm and composed. When Duan Ying reached a critical point, she gently closed her eyes, feigning an inability to listen any further.
As three o’clock approached, Auntie Qin silently broke into a sweat for them.
If they couldn’t finish what they had to say before the press conference officially began and were interrupted by Gu Hezhu and her group, the scene would become very ugly.
A reporter interjected with a question. Just as Auntie Qin was getting nervous for the two on stage, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder from behind.
“Aunt.”
“Zhou Qin?” Auntie Qin was stunned. “What are you doing here? Where are Gu Hezhu and the others?”
“They’re already in the elevator.” Zhou Qin’s face was expressionless, her tone flat. “How does Gu Yuetong plan to deal with me?”
“You… you know?”
“I guessed.” Zhou Qin gave a bitter smile. “I knew this day would come sooner or later. I took a hundred thousand yuan in hush money. That money doesn’t belong to me.”
“Yuetong said she’ll be lenient with you. You… should look out for yourself.” Auntie Qin sighed. On one side was the child she had watched grow up, and on the other was her own niece. She couldn’t favor either. Besides, from the company’s perspective, what Zhou Qin did was wrong.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Qin said to Auntie Qin, “You should stay far away later. The scene might get ugly.”
Auntie Qin was shocked by her words and grabbed Zhou Qin’s hand. “What do you know? What is Gu Hezhu going to do? That’s her own daughter!”
“Being her own daughter is useless. The business world is a battlefield. When your positions are different, who cares about sentiment?” Zhou Qin reassured Auntie Qin. “This day was bound to come. You have to believe in Gu Yuetong. Panicking won’t solve the problem.”
Auntie Qin fell silent. Zhou Qin took the opportunity to help her out of the conference hall, only to run right into Gu Hezhu’s group coming downstairs. Peng Chunyue and another shareholder followed behind Gu Hezhu, and behind them, two burly bodyguards flanked Qi Baizi.
Seeing Qi Baizi, Auntie Qin became agitated again, but Qi Baizi shook her head slightly, signaling her not to panic.
The group entered the backstage area one after another, leaving only their backs in view.
It was over. Auntie Qin’s face turned ashen. She hadn’t expected Gu Hezhu to call Qi Baizi away just to threaten Gu Yuetong at this moment.
She asked Zhou Qin, “Did you know all along?”
Zhou Qin remained silent. Auntie Qin understood and slapped her in anger.
Zhou Qin took it silently, having already prepared herself to be fired. Gu Yuetong had always been impartial. There were only things she couldn’t be bothered with, never things she showed favoritism for.
Now that the matter of deceiving Gu Yuetong and embezzling compensation funds had been exposed, no one involved would get off easy.
“…If the situation is confirmed, it would constitute the crime of embezzlement.” Inside the conference hall, Duan Ying was answering a reporter’s question. Beside her, Gu Yuetong noticed the shift in the cameras’ direction below the stage. She looked back and, sure enough, Gu Hezhu had appeared.
She brought the two shareholders with her and sat down in the audience.
After Duan Ying finished and sat down, a reporter immediately asked, “Why isn’t Chairman Gu coming on stage?”
Gu Hezhu smiled and replied gracefully, “Because we have an important matter to announce before that.”
With that, she clapped her hands. The main door of the conference hall opened, and Han Zhiyu appeared. She walked through the crowd of cameras, her eyes fixed on Gu Yuetong.
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Yuetong’s eyes. Realizing what was about to happen, she immediately stood up and grabbed the microphone. “The evidence currently in Lawyer Duan’s hands is sufficient to clarify some issues. Friends from the media, you may take pictures and pass them around.”
As she spoke, she began distributing the evidence. Beside her, Gu Hezhu stared at her with narrowed eyes. The two shareholders grew restless, looking as if they wanted to snatch the evidence from the reporters, but Gu Hezhu stopped them with a sharp word.
Han Zhiyu was already on stage, but at this moment, few people were paying attention to her. She took the microphone from in front of Duan Ying and coughed into it.
Someone turned to look at her. She seized the opportunity to announce, “From today onwards, Ms. Peng Chunyue, General Manager of the Gu Group’s Northwest Region Branch and one of our shareholders, will become our group’s Charity Ambassador. In recent years, President Peng has been supporting small and medium-sized private enterprises in her personal capacity, repeatedly…”
The venue fell silent. Duan Ying subconsciously glanced at Gu Yuetong’s expression. Gu Yuetong’s lips were pursed, clearly eager to jump in. She took advantage of Han Zhiyu’s pause for breath and cut in, “What Director Han is currently stating is irrelevant to today’s press conference. Please disregard it…”
“President Gu!”
A firm call interrupted her. Everyone followed the sound and saw Gu Hezhu stand up. She gave Gu Yuetong a small smile and said, “It is relevant.”
Gu Yuetong didn’t back down an inch. “Then please explain, Chairman?”
Since Gu Hezhu was already standing, she certainly wouldn’t sit back down. Digging her nails into her flesh, she walked onto the stage and took the microphone from Han Zhiyu’s hand. “Everyone has seen the evidence President Gu has distributed. As the general manager of the group, she has been manipulated by those with ulterior motives and, wanting to let a mistake slide, shows no remorse. On behalf of all the shareholders, I announce that she will be replaced by the former HR Director, Han Zhiyu, and Gu Yuetong will be suspended from her duties…”
“I don’t agree!”
Qi Baizi’s voice suddenly came from the entrance. Everyone turned to look and saw Qi Baizi standing there with Xu Li and Auntie Qin.
Faced with the cameras, the two bodyguards who had been chasing her were forced to stop. Qi Baizi shot them a triumphant smile.
Gu Yuetong’s pupils dilated. Amid her surprise, her heart leaped into her throat. She didn’t know what Qi Baizi was planning to do. No one in the room was easy to deal with. Being so blatant, she was afraid Qi Baizi would face retaliation.
But Qi Baizi had clearly come prepared. After entering, she gave Gu Yuetong a reassuring smile and had Xu Li distribute Han Zhiyu’s police record.
Xu Li did as she was told. Qi Baizi whispered something in Auntie Qin’s ear. Auntie Qin nodded, took a microphone, and began to speak. “Hello, friends from the media. My name is Qin Lishu, and I am a shareholder of the Gu Corporation. Although my stake is not large and I hold no position, my feelings for the Gu Corporation are the same as those on and off the stage. I do not wish for the position of President to fall into the hands of a criminal suspect.”
The crowd was in an uproar. They all flipped through the papers in their hands, which clearly stated that Han Zhiyu was suspected of possessing prohibited items.
Han Zhiyu’s face turned shades of red and white. She clenched the microphone and jumped off the stage without a word. Gritting her teeth, her eyes burning with fire, she charged straight for Qi Baizi.
Qi Baizi couldn’t dodge in time, nor had she anticipated that she would be crazy enough to attack her in public. She was struck on the forehead by the microphone and instantly fainted.
The on-site security personnel immediately restrained Han Zhiyu. Seeing this, Gu Yuetong rushed to Qi Baizi’s side, knelt on one knee, and gathered her into her arms. Auntie Qin, snapping out of her shock, shouted for an ambulance. From the stage came the sound of Duan Ying calling the police. In the heat of the moment, Gu Hezhu fled the scene.
A press conference that should have been respectable ended in chaos and confusion. As the major media outlets were escorted out of the Gu Corporation building, they were still hungry for more, chasing after the ambulance, hoping to interview Gu Yuetong.
It wasn’t until the ambulance was far away that Duan Ying, looking through the rear window, saw that no one was following them and finally relaxed.
“It’s quiet now. Don’t worry,” she said to Gu Yuetong.
Gu Yuetong, however, didn’t react, only holding Qi Baizi’s hand through the blanket.
“You…” Duan Ying wanted to say more, but Auntie Qin, from across, gave her a look.
Duan Ying had no choice but to close her mouth and continue mentally calculating the sufficiency of the evidence.
At the hospital, after Qi Baizi came out of the emergency room, Gu Yuetong arranged a single VIP ward for her. Qi Baizi had just woken up, so Auntie Qin and Duan Ying tactfully stood in the hallway, not wanting to disturb them.
Auntie Qin looked over Qi Baizi’s test report and couldn’t help but click her tongue a few times. “So ruthless. How much force did she use? A severe concussion…”
Duan Ying took the report and looked at it for a while. “We can gather evidence and file a lawsuit.”
“It still depends on whether that child, Little Bai, is willing. She may be straightforward and stubborn, but she’s not the type to push someone to their death. She might just have a soft heart…”
“Auntie Qin, your judgment of her is flawed.”
Auntie Qin was not convinced. “Have you even met her? You talk as if you know her so well.”
Duan Ying smiled and said no more.