When sending Gu Shiyun away, Gu Jingxu didn't think much of it at first. He figured after she spent a few years abroad, people back home would forget about the incident, and she could return to directly join the company.
Previously, when Gu Shiyun pretended to be naive in front of him, Gu Jingxu had worried how such a personality could survive in the business world.
But after this incident, although furious at her for harming Xue Jiao, a subtle thought arose in Gu Jingxu's mind—his second daughter resembled him the most.
To be precise, she was even more ruthless than him.
When had she first started telling Li Wei that Gu Xue Jiao was wealthy and generous?
At just eleven or twelve years old!
Even when meeting Li Wei and handing over money, she left evidence but also kept crucial leverage.
When exposed, she still had the presence of mind to strategize how to extricate herself—this level of cunning was something he hadn't possessed in his teens.
The business world was a battlefield, and Gu Jingxu never considered it an easy place.
Since Gu Shiyun had such shrewdness, with proper guidance, she might achieve great things in the future.
So when he sent her away earlier, he still held some expectations in his heart.
Yet Xue Jiao's face would occasionally surface in his mind. Xue Jiao was more beautiful than Gu Shiyun, appearing equally sweet and endearing, but she wasn't close to him...
Gu Jingxu shook his head, dispelling Xue Jiao's image from his thoughts.
Having made his choice, he couldn't afford regrets!
Gu Shiyun... had more potential than Gu Xue Jiao!
Upon returning to the company...
"Say that again?!" Gu Jingxu could hardly believe his ears.
The secretary stammered, his face turning pale: "Th-the st-stock... plummeted..."
Gu Jingxu couldn't help but grab the secretary by the collar: "Call a meeting! Everyone, now!!"
—
The meeting dragged on until past one in the afternoon. No one in the company had eaten lunch, and the board members rushed over as well.
This directly concerned their interests!
"This is deliberate market manipulation! Absolutely deliberate!" Gu Jingxu's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, his temples throbbing as if something was about to explode in his brain.
Immediately, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
Only one major shareholder frowned and asked Gu Jingxu, "Who's targeting us?"
Already seething with rage, his fingers trembling, Gu Jingxu roared—
"How the hell should I know?! Wang Gui! What the hell are you doing?! Who's behind this?!"
Wang Gui, who had been sitting with his head bowed, shuddered. After a long pause, he stammered, "I... I d-don't know... no leads... probably a major financial group... I've been asking around... but no information..."
"Bang—" Gu Jingxu hurled the documents in his hand, hitting Wang Gui in the face.
He paid no attention to the resentment flashing in Wang Gui's eyes, only venting his fury: "Of course it's a major player! Who else could buy and dump so much stock this fast?! I'm asking who it is! Which group is behind this?! Speak!"
Wang Gui didn't dare lift his head. If he knew who was responsible, he wouldn't be sitting here helplessly.
Gu Jingxu's rage showed no signs of abating when another shareholder suddenly demanded—"President Gu, have you offended someone? A major capital like this wouldn’t do something so thankless. Even if they profit from crushing us, it wouldn’t be enough to fill their teeth. So why would anyone target us?"
"Offend someone? How could that be?! When have I, Gu Jingxu, ever interacted with those big capitals? And how could I be foolish enough to provoke them?" Gu Jingxu grew even angrier. How could anyone suspect him of this?
But clearly, others agreed with the theory. Another shareholder frowned and said, "I also don’t think a major conglomerate would act without reason. To buy up so many of our shares this quickly requires enormous liquid capital. Why would a company like that bother with small fry like us? Clearly, this is premeditated!"
The shareholder beside him nodded. "President Gu, now isn’t the time to shift blame. The priority is figuring out which major capital we’ve offended and who’s behind this, so we can mediate in time. Otherwise, given the opponent’s financial power, our company... is in grave danger!"
How could Gu Jingxu not know the company was in danger?
But he couldn’t recall offending anyone, so he glared at the other shareholders—
"Did any of you directors offend someone?!"
"Who are you accusing?!" One already furious shareholder argued back.
At that moment, the project manager, staring at his computer, suddenly turned pale.
After a long pause, he swallowed hard and said, "President Gu... Pengcheng has snatched two of our projects... and declared they’ll fight us to the death..."
"What?!" The shareholders were stunned.
A vein throbbed on Gu Jingxu’s forehead, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, his eyes bulging as if about to pop out.
His gaze locked onto the project manager, his lips quivering as he gritted his teeth and spat out two words—
"Cheng Shuo!"
That bastard who kicks a man when he’s down!!
How dare he! How dare he!
The shareholders didn’t know which major capital was behind this or why. But judging by Gu Jingxu’s reaction, it was clear Cheng Peng was acting out of personal vendetta!
Furious, the shareholders couldn’t help but demand answers—
"President Gu, what exactly did you do to provoke these people?"
"Leaving aside the major capital, Pengcheng’s attack must be related to you, right?"
"What’s this all about?"
"President Gu, how many people have you offended?"
"President Gu, we need a solution, don’t we?"
...
Gu Jingxu’s lips trembled even more violently. He clutched his chest, his vision flickering between black and white as if on the verge of collapse.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to focus.
"Cheng Shuo intercepting a few orders won’t kill us. The priority now is stabilizing the remaining projects and seeking help from companies we’ve collaborated with. Also, reassure the shareholders—use all the funds in our accounts to stabilize the stock market! We must survive this crisis! Wang Gui, I order you to find out which company is behind this within two days. The project department and..."
Having been president for so many years, Gu Jingxu methodically laid out plans to stabilize the situation and find a way to save themselves.
"Right, the key now is identifying the attacking company and solving the problem at its source," the shareholders agreed.
They had all invested heavily in the company and naturally didn’t want it to go bankrupt—otherwise, they’d lose everything.Gu Jingxu nodded: "Right, we must find the company behind this as soon as possible. Everyone, keep an eye out for any information! Also, the project department should ignore Pengcheng. His company has little to do with our industry and can’t do much to us. Cheng Shuo is just a petty man who kicks others when they’re down. We’ll settle the score with him after we get through this crisis!"
His harsh words drew some silent resentment from the shareholders for offending Pengcheng and causing trouble for the company, but no one spoke up.
After all, the company still needed Gu Jingxu at the helm to survive this crisis.
Just then, the panicked voice of the project department manager suddenly rang out—
"Dafa Real Estate is also suppressing us!!"
Gu Jingxu’s vision darkened, and he collapsed backward.
The shocking news had caused him to faint on the spot, falling to the ground in front of everyone.
"President Gu—"
—
Chaos engulfed Gu Jingxu’s company. With the boss hospitalized, the stock market manipulated by big capital, and the company on the verge of collapse, the situation was dire.
Pengcheng and Yifa Real Estate’s interference only made things worse.
Add to that all the companies friendly with Pengcheng and Yifa Real Estate, all taking the opportunity to kick them while they were down.
Gu Jingxu’s company had no hope of turning things around.
And to this day, no one knew who was behind it all.
Many small companies couldn’t help but sigh at how quickly Gu Jingxu had fallen, leaving them all uneasy.
Still, it served as a warning—business is business, but one must still act with integrity.
The rumor spreading throughout the business world was that Gu Jingxu had brought this upon himself by being unscrupulous and offending people. Otherwise...
Gu Jingxu had been too calculating, always scheming against others, and this was his just deserts.
The companies he had schemed against all clapped in delight.
Served him right!
Meanwhile, at the Chu family residence in W City.
"Sitong, as long as Jiao Jiao is fine, that’s what matters. Your ex-husband is no good—Jiao Jiao shouldn’t acknowledge him anymore!" Madam Qin, Chu Sheng’s mother, said sympathetically.
On the other end of the phone, Li Sitong felt somewhat better after venting to someone.
It was truly fate that she had met Madam Qin at a parent-teacher meeting. The two had hit it off immediately and become close friends in private.
"Talking to you has made me feel much better. I really was..." Li Sitong sighed, filled with regret for her past actions.
She had tried many times to change before, but she had never truly understood where she had gone wrong. Only now, after learning what her daughter had endured, did it feel like a wake-up call, revealing just how terribly she had erred.
Madam Qin comforted her, "Who in this world hasn’t made mistakes? What matters is that we change. Jiao Jiao has suffered so much—just shower her with love from now on, let her live in sweetness! Gu Jingxu is a fool, mistaking glass for pearls. How could he prioritize that scheming woman over a girl like Jiao Jiao?"
Li Sitong sneered, "Thankfully, heaven has eyes—Gu Jingxu is bankrupt now!"
"Bankrupt?" Madam Qin was startled. She had heard from her husband yesterday that Gu Jingxu’s company wasn’t doing well, but it had collapsed this quickly?
"Yes! Karma!"
"That really is karma..."
After hanging up, Madam Qin smiled, then noticed Chu Sheng beside her.
"Hmm? You’re not upstairs reading?"
"Gu Jingxu is bankrupt?" Chu Sheng took a sip of water, puzzled.Madam Qin nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's karma! Serves him right for shielding his daughter, whose heart is as black as they come!"
Parents also kept an eye on the school forum. When the first post appeared, Madam Qin was shocked, never imagining that the well-behaved Xue Jiao could be such a person.
Sure enough, the second post left people both furious and indignant.
No mother with children could fail to feel outrage over such a matter. Not only did she interfere in someone else's marriage, but the mistress's daughter also tormented the original wife's child?
Truly! Karma has come for them!
Chu Sheng was also taken aback for a moment before saying, "Since they've already gone bankrupt, the assets should be liquidated soon, right?"
Madam Qin paused, then laughed. "You bookworm, you actually thought of that? Right, right! I'll go call your father and urge him to speed up the liquidation!"
With that, she left cheerfully.
Chu Sheng also set down his cup, picked up his book, and returned to his room.
Given how hard Gu Xue Jiao had been working lately and the blow she had suffered, would she still perform well in the final exams?
He hoped she would. Otherwise, even if he won, it wouldn't feel like a fair victory.
——
Lin Corporation.
"Boss, Gu Jingxu has no hope of turning things around. Cheng Shuo and Yi Dafa have also joined in," Chen Yan reported respectfully.
At the mention of the latter name, Lin Zhihua's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Hmm, let them be."
"And next..."
Lin Zhihua raised an eyebrow. "Withdraw the funds and redirect them to the Lakeside project."
"Yes!"
After acknowledging the order, Chen Yan hesitated slightly before asking, "Boss, our move against Gu Jingxu was..."
As a secretary, it was his job to understand his boss's intentions. But this time, the boss's motives were truly baffling.
Why the sudden suppression of Gu Jingxu? Was it for that young girl?
Lin Zhihua looked up, indifferent. "He deserved it."
Chen Yan: "..."
——
"Jingxu, what are we going to do? This happened so fast—how could we go bankrupt already? The liquidators are already here! I just tried to withdraw money for the medical bills, but the account was frozen! How dare they freeze our cards?" Wu Wanjun was still fuming, her words laced with anger.
"Get out—!" Gu Jingxu swept all the items off the bedside table, glaring at Wu Wanjun in rage.
Bankrupt?
No! Impossible!
He refused to believe a word of it!
Wu Wanjun was startled by his outburst and stood up anxiously. "Jingxu, are you okay? Jingxu!"
"Cough—cough— Get out—!" Gu Jingxu's eyes rolled back, and Wu Wanjun froze in fear, not daring to move.
Just then, the doctor rushed in, administering emergency care while ordering, "Non-essential personnel, please leave! Do not agitate the patient!"
Wu Wanjun was numbly ushered out by the nurse, standing dumbfounded outside the door.
After a while, the doctor emerged, frowning. "Family members must not stress the patient. His condition is unstable, and his health is fragile. You must not provoke him under any circumstances."
"Okay..."
Wu Wanjun responded mechanically. At that moment, a strange realization dawned on her—her life might undergo earth-shattering changes from now on.
Just then, her phone rang, and she answered it."Mom, Dad actually went bankrupt?!" Even someone as composed as Gu Shiyun panicked. All her arrangements and plans were based on returning to China in the future to inherit Gu Jingxu's company! How could the company go bankrupt right after she left?
Wu Wanjun snapped back to reality upon hearing her words, utterly distraught: "Yes, yes! I don’t know how it suddenly happened! How is this possible? Wasn’t everything fine before? Now the bank cards are frozen, everything’s been seized! Shiyun, does our Gu family really have nothing left?"
The voice on the phone roared: "Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Why wait until everything was confiscated before letting me know?!"
Gu Shiyun was furious. After learning about Gu Jingxu’s bankruptcy, she quickly verified the news and confirmed the company had indeed gone under.
Her first thought at that moment was to transfer their remaining assets!
She was abroad at the time—if they could move the money out, their family wouldn’t be left with nothing!
But now Wu Wanjun was telling her everything had already been seized and frozen?
How could it happen so fast?!
Ironically, Gu Jingxu would never know that the daughter he chose was calling home solely about money, without a single word about his health.
"Shiyun, Shiyun, what should we do?" Wu Wanjun was still panicking.
"How should I know?!" Gu Shiyun yelled, her anger no less than anyone else’s. "Our family is bankrupt! We have nothing left now!"
After her outburst, Gu Shiyun slammed the phone down with a "click."
"Beep—beep—" Wu Wanjun listened to the dial tone, her eyes blankly staring ahead.
The Gu family was bankrupt? So Gu Jingxu had no money now?
Then what had she stayed with him for all this time?
Admittedly, Gu Jingxu was handsome, but his domineering temper was unbearable. If not for the affluent lifestyle, why would Wu Wanjun have stayed with him?
She felt dazed. Glancing back at the hospital room, she suddenly burst into tears.
It felt like the sky was falling. Was she, Wu Wanjun, doomed to suffer hardships again?
Just then, a nurse approached.
"Family of Gu Jingxu, go to the inpatient department and pay the fees immediately!"
Wu Wanjun’s vision darkened slightly.
——
While Gu Jingxu was hospitalized and the Gu family was in turmoil, Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong took Jiao Jiao and Cheng Mingze to the stadium.
Today was the provincial high school basketball championship finals!
With Gu Jingxu bankrupt, Gu Shiyun abroad, and all the troublesome matters resolved, even Xue Jiao couldn’t help feeling lighter.
After all, it was the finals—the first time in years that Seventh High had made it to the provincial championship. Combined with some players and parents vying for national athlete qualifications, the game was nothing short of electrifying.
Xue Jiao and her family arrived early, but without the reserved seats for the players' families, they wouldn’t have found good spots.
That’s how packed the stadium was.
The three had just sat down when Cheng Mingze was called away.
As a player, he had to change, warm up, and listen to the coach’s instructions.
After the forum incident, Xue Jiao’s status at home had risen dramatically, and Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong were careful to tend to her emotions.
Even now, they sat on either side of her, gazing at her affectionately.
"Jiao Jiao, do you want some water?" Li Sitong asked.
"Jiao Jiao, are you hungry? Here’s some bread," Cheng Shuo offered.
Xue Jiao: "...No, no, I’m fine."After a moment of silence, Cheng Shuo casually remarked, "I heard Jiao Jiao has a mentor she was grateful to during the math competition. I wonder if he'd be available to visit our home?"
This was Cheng Shuo probing.
After much deliberation, he still felt uneasy about an unknown figure remaining close to Xue Jiao.
Especially since this person... seemed extraordinarily unusual!
Gu Jingxu's downfall had been too swift, with no one detecting who was behind it!
Given such circumstances, how could Cheng Shuo not worry?
Though there seemed no harm to Xue Jiao now, who knew about the future?
Xue Jiao was taken aback—Lin Zhihua?
She glanced up at Cheng Shuo, noticing his seemingly offhand comment, and shook her head.
She wasn't sure whether to reveal Lin Zhihua's identity...
"Gu Xue Jiao!!" A delighted voice called out.
Xue Jiao sighed in relief and looked up with a smile. "Uncle Yi, Aunt Yi."
"Ah!" Yi Dafa and Yi's Mother responded in unison, beaming at her.
Noticing empty seats nearby in the front row, Yi Dafa sat beside Cheng Shuo, while Yi's Mother took a seat next to Li Sitong.
"President Cheng, here to watch your son compete?" Yi Dafa asked cheerfully.
Cheng Shuo quickly replied, "Yes, and President Yi is here for your son's game too?"
"You know my son?"
"Of course..."
The two men launched into an animated conversation. Yi Dafa had assisted in suppressing Gu Jingxu, earning Cheng Shuo's gratitude.
Both being businessmen in the same city, they knew how to exchange pleasantries.
Meanwhile, Yi's Mother and Li Sitong also struck up a conversation.
One shouldn't underestimate Yi's Mother's lack of formal education—she had climbed from the bottom with Yi Dafa and had her own way with words.
Both sides were deliberately fostering goodwill, resulting in lively chatter around Xue Jiao, who sat in the middle feeling helpless.
Soon, the basketball game began.
At this point, even Yi Dafa and the others quieted down, their eyes fixed on the court.
Overall, Seventh High seemed weaker than Sports High, the latter being long-standing champions.
At best, Seventh High was the dark horse. Apart from the players' families, few spectators held much hope for them.
The finals commenced.
Sports High lived up to their reputation, while Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu stood out as Seventh High's brightest stars—skilled players with striking looks.
Every time Yi Tianyu scored, Yi Dafa and Yi's Mother cheered wildly.
Li Sitong, her ears nearly shattered by Yi's Mother's screams, stared in bewilderment.
When Cheng Mingze scored, Li Sitong and Cheng Shuo applauded politely.
At most, Cheng Shuo uttered a single word—"Nice!"
Soon, Yi Tianyu scored again, and Yi Dafa and Yi's Mother erupted.
Cheng Mingze scored, and Cheng Shuo and Li Sitong cheered.
Later, Yi Tianyu scored, and all four cheered together.
Cheng Mingze scored, and all four cheered together.
Eventually, whenever Seventh High scored, all four cheered in unison.
Xue Jiao: "..."
She raised a hand to rub her ears—this time, both sides were truly at risk of being shattered.
Though Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu were strong, Sports High's prowess kept them in the lead.
The match was intense, demanding high energy.
Seventh High's weakness compared to Sports High became evident—their stamina fell short.Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu couldn't carry the entire game no matter how skilled they were, especially when the opposing team kept substituting fresh players from their bench. Their speed visibly slowed under the pressure.
Qizhong High had no choice but to make substitutions too, but each substitution cost them several points.
By the second half, Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu were practically glued to the court, tightly marked by their opponents.
Not just Cheng Shuo, Li Sitong, and Yi Tianyu's parents—even Xue Jiao was completely absorbed, watching with her heart in her throat.
A game doesn't seem too long when watched intently, and soon, this match was drawing to a close.
The score was neck and neck, with only a one-point difference.
Both Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu looked utterly exhausted, but the coach didn't dare substitute them. Previous attempts had shown that against the energetic players from the sports high school, the other team members couldn't match up to even the worn-out Cheng Mingze and Yi Tianyu.
Finally, the countdown began, and the entire crowd joined in counting down.
Xue Jiao still didn't understand basketball very well, but she knew there were only five seconds left, and the ball was still on the opponent's side of the court. It seemed hopeless...
"Go for it—" Yi's Mother and Li Sitong had already lost their minds, competing to see who could shout louder.
Unable to resist, Xue Jiao also yelled, "Go for it—"
As if catching her voice in the air, Yi Tianyu glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then exchanged a look with Cheng Mingze.
"Roar—" Yi Tianyu let out a loud shout and hurled the basketball from their half of the court straight toward the opponent's hoop.
There is someone who can bring you boundless joy and endless motivation.
In the youthful days of adolescence, for the sake of one person, you can be filled with strength and courage.
Those simple, beautiful moments may fade into obscurity over time or be worn away by life.
Life may smooth out your edges, but it can also erode the purity and innocence of those beautiful times.
Yet having experienced them once makes them the most extraordinary memories in an otherwise ordinary life.
The basketball fell short of the hoop.
But—
A hand caught it mid-air and slammed it in.
"Roar roar roar!"
"Ahhh—"
"We won—"
...
Not just the audience in the back rows, but even the parents sitting beside Xue Jiao screamed and jumped to their feet.
Yi Tianyu collapsed to the ground after throwing the ball but was quickly lifted up and tossed into the air by his teammates.
In this game, he and Cheng Mingze were the true victors.
One scored 22 points, the other 20.
What Yi Tianyu had hoped for was likely to come true.
The players, laughing and joking, made their way over. Most of their parents had been sitting in the front rows watching the game, and this exhilarating moment was meant to be shared with those closest to them.
Yi Tianyu and Cheng Mingze approached, arms slung over each other's shoulders, grinning—perhaps too excited, their minds momentarily short-circuiting.
Yi Tianyu did something that left everyone stunned—
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