Chapter 9: The Dominant and Dignified Pei Wenyu

Pei Wenyu sat with his back straight, exuding a composed aura from head to toe.

The study was dim, curtains drawn, and the lights were off. Pei Wenyu sat at his desk, face cold and expression grim, eyes fixed on the computer screen. The faint green light of the monitor reflected across his face.

Following his gaze, Xue Huiyu saw he was staring at the Pei Group’s stock chart—an ocean of plunging green prices. In a single day, hundreds of millions in market value had evaporated!

It had dropped that badly!

Xue Huiyu was shocked—something really had happened to the Pei Group, and it was serious!

She wanted to investigate further when suddenly, Pei Wenyu slammed the laptop shut.

He had shares in one of the Group’s subsidiaries and held 10% equity—no wonder he looked so grim; he must have lost a fortune.

With no way of knowing what was going on inside the house, Xue Huiyu, desperate for answers, floated outside. The villa’s front yard seemed calm, but the area outside the upscale community was surrounded by reporters.

The neighborhood’s security was top-notch, so the journalists, though eager to get an interview, couldn’t get in. All they could do was camp outside, hoping Pei Wenyu would eventually step out. Some, after waiting fruitlessly, had even begun reporting live from outside the community gate.

“Dear viewers, behind me is the upscale villa community where Pei Wenyu resides. It has now been two full days since the Pei Group was exposed for using dual contracts and transforming the top floor of the Peizheng Hotel into a secret venue for illicit dealings among the elite. During this time, while Pei Yongyu is under investigation, Pei Wenyu has not left the premises or answered any calls, appearing indifferent to the entire incident.”

“Three years ago, after a car accident, Pei Wenyu’s lack of engagement led to his removal as chairman of a Pei Group subsidiary. Since then, he has only served as a nominal board member and managed the company left behind by his late wife, Xue Huiyu. Not long ago, facing liquidity issues, he sold off his 10% stake in the Pei Group. With the upcoming shareholder meeting, he is very likely to be officially removed from the board. However, now that Pei Group stocks have plummeted and shareholders are dumping shares, Pei Wenyu seems to be the least affected member of the Pei family… So the question is, did Pei Wenyu know about the Pei Group’s situation all along…”

Hearing the full story from the reporters, Xue Huiyu was stunned.

She hadn’t expected that not only had Pei Wenyu been removed from the company, but he had also already sold off his shares at a high price. The collapse of the stock had no effect on him whatsoever—but he still watched the prices obsessively…

He was planning to buy the dip! The so-called “exposé” was probably reported by him!

Xue Huiyu knew all too well how cutthroat wealthy families could be when it came to inheritance—siblings turning against each other wasn’t uncommon. Pei Wenyu had once been a rightful heir to the Pei Group. His removal had to be orchestrated by Pei Yongyu. After being disabled by the car accident, if Pei Wenyu wanted to reclaim power, he’d need to strike at Pei Yongyu’s Achilles’ heel.

He must have spent the last three years enduring humiliation, quietly gathering evidence while waiting for the perfect time to strike back.

But… to expose his own cousin and damage the Pei Group’s reputation so severely was a huge gamble! If the rumors about a powerful elite prostitution ring turned out to be true, those involved wouldn’t go down quietly either.

Pei Wenyu had to know all that—and yet, he still took the risk. He even ignored his own child for over three years… Was money really that important to him?

Thinking about how Xia Lanzhi had done everything to seize control of the Xue Group—even going so far as to harm a newborn child—Xue Huiyu, who had always considered money meaningless, just couldn’t understand.

She continued to care for Pei Yuqi while silently watching Pei Wenyu’s every move… and glared at Zheng Huiwen with growing suspicion.

Finally, on the third day after the scandal broke, Pei Wenyu left the house early in the morning.

He was dressed in a sharp, all-black suit. His hair was neatly combed, his handsome face grim, brows furrowed and lips pressed in a straight line. He looked every bit like a man heading into a tough battle—clearly on his way to the Pei Group.

Feeling a sense of unease, Xue Huiyu suddenly felt she should follow him to see what was going on.

She turned and softly coaxed the just-awakened Pei Yuqi, who was rubbing his sleepy eyes, “Sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy need to go out for a bit. You stay home and be a good boy, okay?”

Staring into her child’s wide, innocent eyes, she quickly added with a smile, “Don’t worry! We’ll be back very soon!”

After bidding farewell to her son, Xue Huiyu quickly floated after Pei Wenyu and got into his car.

As soon as they got in the car, Xue Huiyu sat next to Pei Wenyu. Perhaps due to the car accident three years ago, he still wore a seatbelt even in the back seat. Throughout the ride, he stared silently out the window, saying nothing.

Seeing that he neither read through any documents nor made phone calls, Xue Huiyu was unsure whether he had fully prepared… What’s so interesting outside anyway? The emperor wasn’t anxious, but she, the eunuch, was about to die of worry.

Just then, the driver hesitantly spoke up: “President Pei, there’s some congestion on the Min Overpass. Should we take the Shiyu Bridge instead?”

The Shiyu Bridge was the very bridge where Pei Wenyu and Xue Huiyu had their car accident three years ago.

Pei Wenyu paused for a moment, then softly responded, “Mm.”

The car soon got onto Shiyu Bridge. There weren’t many cars on it, and since they were in a rush, the driver was going fast. Feeling a bit bored, Xue Huiyu noticed Pei Wenyu, who had been staring out the window the entire time, suddenly turn his head sharply back inside.

He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and his pale fingers clenched tightly. Xue Huiyu saw the digital numbers on his smart wristband spike again…

87, 103, 121, 135, 151…

Anxiously, he took out a small plastic pill bottle from his pocket, quickly poured out a white tablet, and swallowed it in one gulp.

140, 131, 114, 99, 83…

Only after the car had left the Shiyu Bridge for over ten minutes did his heart rate slowly return to normal.

During the past few days secretly observing Pei Wenyu’s daily life, Xue Huiyu had seen him take medication several times. But since the bottle had no label, she assumed it was for his leg…

But now, it seemed more likely that it was for treating post-traumatic stress disorder…

So even after three years… Pei Wenyu still had a deep psychological shadow.

With a heart this fragile, could he really take over Pei Group?

Xue Huiyu felt even more worried. She was starting to feel like a worried mother.

Pei Yongyu had been taken by the police for three days straight, during which Pei Group’s stock price had hit the limit-down for several sessions, casting a dark cloud over the company.

Seeing the situation worsening, the major shareholders decided to call an emergency shareholders’ meeting to discuss countermeasures.

While they were in the top-floor conference room at headquarters, debating whether to suspend trading or buy back shares to stabilize the stock price, a secretary outside called, “President Pei.”

The shareholders instantly lit up, thinking Pei Yongyu had finally returned from the police station—only to see the doors open and Pei Wenyu, leaning on a cane, step into the room!

Since being removed from his position as subsidiary chairman, Pei Wenyu hadn’t attended a single board or shareholders’ meeting…

His three-year term was up, and he had recently sold his 10% stake. Everyone was certain he’d be removed as a director, so no one had even notified him about the meeting. They had already written him off as a discarded pawn of Pei Group due to his disability.

So when he suddenly appeared at the meeting, everyone looked utterly stunned.

Sweeping his gaze over the major shareholders with calm eyes, Pei Wenyu smiled slightly. “Long time no see, everyone. Apologies—I was held up for a few minutes by the crowd of reporters outside my house.”

“President Pei, what brings you here today…”

Everyone looked at each other in awkward confusion, guessing at his sudden appearance and intentions.

“Such a major incident has happened at Pei Group, and an emergency shareholders’ meeting has been called. How could I not come? After all, right now, I am Pei Group’s largest shareholder.”

Ignoring the murmurs around him, Pei Wenyu walked into the conference room with the help of his cane.

His back was straight, his pace steady, and his natural air of authority made people overlook the slight limp in his left leg. Calmly, he sat in the main seat and laid out copies of documents proving his shares.

The shareholders’ expressions instantly changed, especially those aligned with Pei Yongyu, whose face turned ghostly pale. They could hardly believe Pei Wenyu had taken advantage of the plummeting stock prices to buy in—amassing a full 33% of the company’s shares!

It had taken Pei Yongyu nearly three years, working with allies, to accumulate just 32%!

“What’s wrong? Surprised that I’m Pei Group’s largest shareholder?”

Pei Wenyu’s smile faded, his tone turning colder: “As the company’s largest shareholder, the first agenda item I’m raising is to remove Pei Yongyu from all his positions: Director and General Manager of the company, as well as Chairman and GM of Pei Zheng Hotels.”

“Right now, Pei Group is mired in scandal, with stock prices repeatedly plummeting. Pei Yongyu’s actions have seriously impacted company operations and harmed shareholder interests. To stop the damage, we must immediately remove all his positions and publicly announce the results of an internal review and overhaul—to show the world where Pei Group stands.”

Pei Wenyu straightened his back even more, exuding calm authority. But as soon as his righteous words landed, the room erupted in shock.

“President Pei, this might be a bit hasty… If we remove Director Pei Yongyu before the police have concluded their investigation, the public might misunderstand our intentions…”

“If anyone disagrees with the motion, let’s proceed to a vote.”

Shareholders’ meetings do have the authority to remove directors. And unlike board meetings, voting at a shareholders’ meeting is not one person, one vote—it’s based on shareholding percentage.

At that moment, all the shares held by the attending shareholders combined didn’t exceed Pei Wenyu’s 33%, because the remaining major shares were held by Pei Guoli and Pei Yongyu. Pei Guoli was gravely ill and couldn’t attend, and Pei Yongyu was still under investigation by the police!

No matter how the others voted, they couldn’t outvote Pei Wenyu alone.

Pei Wenyu’s motion was practically bulldozing the process—but there was nothing they could do. After all, the largest shareholder is the de facto controller of the company.

Although the general manager is typically appointed or dismissed by the company’s board of directors, in reality, it’s quite common for a major shareholder to directly remove the general manager without going through the board—or to do it first and go through the formalities afterward!

Sure enough, after the vote passed to dismiss Pei Yongyu from his director position, Pei Wenyu immediately brought up the second agenda item: re-election of the board members.

The three-year term for the current board had expired, making this the most important topic of this shareholders’ meeting. And for the faction loyal to Pei Yongyu—who had been preparing for this day for three years—the announcement was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Their faces turned pale with panic.

They had gone to great lengths to buy off most of the current board members, ensuring that their own people would have a higher chance of being elected. And now, right after Pei Yongyu’s dismissal, the re-election of the board was already starting!?

Pei Wenyu, as the largest shareholder, held absolute voting power—so the new board members would clearly be his own people! And the next step would undoubtedly be to convene a board meeting to remove Pei Yongyu from all his positions, clearing the way for Pei Wenyu to rise to power!

At this point, anyone who still didn’t realize that Pei Wenyu came with a clear purpose must be a fool…

There was no doubt—it was Pei Wenyu who reported Pei Yongyu to the authorities!

And his goal wasn’t just to bring him down and strip him of his roles—it was to send him straight to prison!

What’s more, there was no way Pei Wenyu could have become the largest shareholder in Pei Group all on his own.

Before the car accident, he already had his own faction within the company, secretly contending with Pei Yongyu—and in many respects, he even slightly outperformed him. That’s why, at the time, there were rumors that Pei Wenyu was actually more likely to inherit Pei Group.

But at the most crucial moment, Pei Wenyu got into an accident, was removed from his positions, and was completely sidelined.

In the past three years, with Pei Wenyu disabled and stripped of his roles, his faction within the company fell apart. Their morale collapsed, and they were demoted, reassigned, or marginalized. Some even defected to Pei Yongyu.

But what no one expected was that today would reveal that Pei Wenyu’s faction hadn’t been completely crushed three years ago. Instead, some insiders had been biding their time in secret, waiting for his return—cooperating from within and without to help him buy in during the lowest point of the stock market crash. Without anyone noticing, they had helped Pei Wenyu quietly become the largest shareholder in Pei Group!

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Author’s note:

A day without my precious baby—I miss him!