Bian Yiqiu rarely stayed in the office after working hours, but today, he had to. An emergency meeting had been called, and all department heads and subsidiary leaders had gathered to discuss the recent series of major events. The meeting went late into the night before finally dispersing. As he looked at his subordinates, each with bloodshot eyes from staying up, Bian Yiqiu, for the first time, felt a twinge of guilt.

The trouble between Huarui and Jiu’an started because of Ruan Chengjie’s personal grudge against him. Since Huarui is such a powerful company, Ruan Chengjie could easily use its resources to target Jiu’an and destroy it quickly. With all its money, people, and resources, Huarui had a huge advantage, and their rise to power likely meant they also had political support, making them even more dangerous.

Although Jiu’an had some government connections, these ties were mostly built on money. Bribery as a form of collaboration could be both the strongest and the weakest, especially when danger loomed, as no one would put money above their own safety. Bian Yiqiu had come to fully understand this when Ke Mingxuan had previously targeted Jiu’an.

Thinking about Ke Mingxuan only worsened Bian Yiqiu’s already foul mood. What kind of bad luck was this, constantly crossing paths with these spoiled second-generation heirs and privileged officials with nothing better to do than stir up trouble?

Admit defeat? That word didn’t exist in Bian Yiqiu’s vocabulary. Since Ruan Chengjie wanted to play, Boss Bian was more than happy to play to the very end.

By the time Bian Yiqiu returned to Yuelu Villa, it was already dawn. Too exhausted to change, he collapsed onto the bed fully clothed and fell asleep instantly. Zuo Cheng, not wanting to disturb him, gently pulled the covers over him and quietly left the room.

Bian Yiqiu slept deeply, without dreams, utterly at peace. While most people would be too troubled to eat or sleep when faced with so many issues at once, he was the opposite. The bigger the problem, the better he ate and slept. Gathering his strength to fight against the world was a principle he had learned since childhood.

What Bian Yiqiu didn’t expect was that when he opened his eyes that morning, he was faced with a situation even worse than the day before. The mainstream media outlets, which had earlier promised to hold off on reporting, had gone back on their word. They released major headlines stating, “Structural wall collapse at Jiu’an’s new Huayue Hotel project due to substandard construction materials, resulting in multiple worker casualties.”

The report hit like a stone thrown into a still pond, stirring up waves of turmoil. Online, people quickly jumped in to add fuel to the fire. Some claimed Jiu’an had bribed officials with large sums to secure the 7-15 land plot, while others alleged that Huayue Hotel’s building materials were unsafe. There were even accusations that Ruiyi Financial was involved in high-interest loan sharking, charging rates well above legal limits, with rumors of debt collectors using violent tactics against defaulters. To make matters worse, the incident two years ago, where someone had jumped from the Ruide Center, was now twisted to suggest that it had been a Jiu’an employee coerced by management. In short, every possible accusation was thrown their way.

But the public was more interested in the spectacle than the truth behind the reports. As soon as the stock market opened, Jiu’an’s shares plummeted, with shareholders scrambling to sell. In the midst of the chaos, someone was aggressively buying up shares.

Bian Yiqiu called Ye Zhen, instructing her to find the man with the surname Qu and bring him before him no matter what, but Ye Zhen informed him it wasn’t Jinsheng.

“What?”

“I said the one buying up Jiu’an’s stocks isn’t Jinsheng; it’s another investment company called Haotian.”

“Haotian Investment? What’s their background?”

“We don’t know yet. I checked all the company’s registration records, as well as the upper and lower levels of shareholders and board members, but found no connection to Huarui or Ruan Chengjie.”

Bian Yiqiu frowned. “No moves from Jinsheng?”

“No,” Ye Zhen said, equally puzzled by this, “Not only has Jinsheng made no move, but even the man with the surname Qu has vanished into thin air.”

Logically speaking, Ruan Chengjie was practically being bold and open in his attempts to destroy Jiu’an. Since he used Jinsheng, he wouldn’t have been afraid of Jiu’an discovering his connection to them. So why would he suddenly switch companies to operate at this point?

“Let’s put aside Jinsheng and Haotian for now. Immediately activate the anti-takeover plan. Notify all shareholders holding preferred stocks to be prepared. If Haotian acquires more than 20% of the shares, we must issue new stocks right away to dilute their equity and minimize Jiu’an’s losses.”

“I’ll have people handle it right away.” Ye Zhen said before hanging up the phone.

Bian Yiqiu listened to the beeping sound from the phone, his brows furrowing in frustration. Why would an investment company with no connections to Huarui suddenly turn its attention to Jiu’an and act so quickly? Was it Ruan Chengjie trying to play the game in a different way, or was it the Qian family taking advantage of the situation?

No matter which possibility, Jiu’an was in for a tough battle this time.

The mysterious Haotian Investment suddenly halted its acquisition of Jiu’an at 2:30 p.m., with its stake reaching exactly 19%, not exceeding 20%. This only deepened Bian Yiqiu’s confusion about Haotian’s strategy. The market hadn’t closed yet, and they could have continued. So why stop abruptly? And why settle on this odd figure, 19%, leaving him unsure whether they were an enemy or an ally?

No matter the reason, the fact that the other party had stopped the acquisition was good news for Jiu’an. The immediate priority now was to minimize the negative impact caused by the damaging news.

The PR department urgently held a press conference, revealing the bidding documents for the 7-15 plot and all the construction material inspection certificates for Huayue Hotel. They stated that the cause of the collapse of the load-bearing wall was under investigation by the relevant authorities. Until the results were out, any unverified and slanderous news reports were defamation against Jiu’an Group, and Jiu’an reserve the right to pursue legal action.

Nevertheless, the online storm wouldn’t simply vanish because of a statement. Once someone stoked the flames, a new round of fierce attacks would follow.

But the development of events was always unexpected. Just when everyone at Jiu’an was trying everything to turn the tide with little success, the largest mainstream media outlet in Z City suddenly published an article. It apologized for the previous false reports about the collapse of the wall at Jiu’an and attributed the blame to an “inexperienced” yet “eager for quick results” intern journalist. The intern had been dismissed, and the media outlet stated that they would continue to monitor the progress and results of the accident investigation. Several other media outlets reprinted the apology, and many websites quickly deleted previous baseless rumors and posts.

The PR department head, Du Chen, who had been running around nonstop for the past few days, was completely stunned. He sat there, holding the newspaper, staring at the computer, with his mouth wide open, unable to close it for a long time.

He Xu patted his shoulder. “Thank you for your hard work.”

Du Chen smiled wryly. “What hard work? Do you think I have that much influence?”

He Xu answered honestly, “No. It’s already impressive if you can stop them from making things worse. As for getting them to apologize and delete the posts… well, not likely, unless you sell yourself.”

Du Chen rolled his eyes. “I’d love to sell, but who would want to buy?”

He Xu thoughtfully turned to look at Bian Yiqiu, who had been silent on the sofa. He wanted to ask something, but seeing the furrowed brows of the other man, he thought better of it and held back his question.

This situation was suspicious. As He Xu had said, Du Chen didn’t have that kind of influence, and if Ruan Chengjie wanted to destroy Jiu’an, it was impossible for him to suddenly make the media apologize and delete their posts. Such a self-inflicted blow would not happen unless there was a force behind the scenes that was more powerful than Ruan Chengjie. Without that kind of backing, no media outlet would do such a thing.

From the mysterious appearance of Haotian Investment, which had suddenly halted its acquisition, to the current situation where all the media outlets were obediently backing off, if Bian Yiqiu still couldn’t see that someone was helping him, then he really shouldn’t be in this line of work anymore. And as for who was helping him, he didn’t think it was that hard to guess.

In Z City, who else had the guts and ability to go head-to-head with the Ruan family? There were only a few who could be counted.

Bian Yiqiu held his phone in his hand, the screen displaying Ke Mingxuan’s contact information. His thumb hovered over the eleven-digit number, but he didn’t press it.

A knock on the office door interrupted him, and Meng Jianyu appeared in the doorway. “Boss, it’s almost time for the meeting with the Anti-Smuggling Department.”

“Let’s go.” In the end, Bian Yiqiu didn’t make the call. He simply turned off the screen, stuffed the phone into his pocket, and stood up to walk out.

He didn’t expect to run into Li Ze outside the Anti-Smuggling Department building. One was going up the stairs, the other coming down. They both paused, a few steps apart, at the same moment.

Li Ze greeted him first, smiling in a manner that was neither overly warm nor distant, a polite formality that suited their relationship.

“Mr. Bian,” Li Ze addressed him, extending his hand. “Long time no see.”

“Is there really any need to meet?” Bian Yiqiu replied indifferently, hands stuffed in his coat pockets, showing no intention of shaking hands. He hadn’t forgotten the connection between Li Ze and Ruan Chengjie. The Ruan family wasn’t good news, and neither was the Li family. These wealthy, idle second-generation heirs all seemed the same in his eyes, including Li Ze, who had initially left a good impression on him.

Li Ze didn’t mind, withdrawing his hand with the same smile. “It seems like Mr. Bian might have some hostility toward me?”

“Really?” Bian Yiqiu returned his smile with an unusually gentle expression. “Your perception isn’t wrong.”

Boss Bian was straightforward in everything he did, including sex. If he had hostility toward someone, he’d just say it. What’s the problem?

Li Ze raised an eyebrow. “Mr. Bian, do you know who calls the shots at customs?”

“Yeah, your father,” Bian Yiqiu replied dismissively, casting a quick glance at him. He wasn’t planning on wasting any more words. As he walked past Li Ze, he added, “But what does that have to do with me?”

After saying this, Bian Yiqiu entered the Customs building with Meng Jianyu, missing the flash of admiration in Li Ze’s eyes.

Meng Jianyu asked, “The person just now… is he Li Jinsong’s son?”

“Yes.” Bian Yiqiu knew what he was about to say and directly interrupted his thoughts. “But he’s also Ruan Chengjie’s close ally.”

“…Damn.” Meng Jianyu silently groaned in his mind. “Boss, have you offended all the second-generation elites in Z City? How will Jiu’an still be able to do business smoothly in the future?”

Li Ze walked down the stairs and made a call. “As expected, the person you’re interested in is something else. This favor was totally worth it.”

Ke Mingxuan’s voice, a bit tired, came through the phone. “Did you run into him?”

“Yeah, he’s here as the boss of Hongyuan, coming in for questioning.” Li Ze said as he walked toward the parking lot. “From the sound of your voice, it seems like you haven’t slept in a few days?”

“Four or five days.” Ke Mingxuan slouched in the large boss chair behind his desk, closing his eyes and massaging his brow.

“Ruan Chengjie won’t just give up like this. Are you really willing to fall out with him over Bian Yiqiu?”

“You should ask him that. He’s the one who made the first move against me.”

Li Ze sighed, not saying anything more, and started the car. Half an hour later, he was standing in front of Ruan Chengjie’s private villa in Yunhu District.