At four o’clock in the early morning of the second day, all fifteen main business lines of the Han family were showing red.
The crisis alert was so severe that two personal phones had to be charged at all times, departments within the company were working overtime all night, and a few employees involved with core secrets had suddenly disappeared.
At this time, it was daytime overseas but should have been when everyone in the country was in their deepest sleep.
Han Gaozhi was getting older and had some high blood pressure; now, he could only curse a few times before getting up to deal with the mess.
The storm had already been brewing in the previous days, and now it struck again, clear to anyone with eyes that they were aiming to completely dismantle Eshan Venture Capital.
The company was already busy with complicated business dealings that had grown too large; when problems arose, it was impossible to coordinate among twenty mouths all clamoring for attention.
Directors were urging, partners were urging, and his phone was constantly vibrating during meetings.
What on earth was going on?
Had I offended someone, or had Han Qu offended someone?
Han Gaozhi borrowed a phone to call Pei Ruye and tried to reach a few acquaintances in the Long family, but all calls were redirected to secretaries and assistants.
His business empire was collapsing like a snow disaster, building by building, and with time the losses only intensified.
The news had spread both domestically and internationally, and more people sensed an opportunity to profit from the chaos, eager to grab a piece of the action.
From four in the morning until nine, from the dead of night till dawn, the collapsing industries surged one after another, like a series of explosions finally triggered.
Han Gaozhi, bearing a headache, barely managed through the morning, thinking there was no sense or reason to the severity of the situation.
At that critical moment, a secretary, pale-faced, rushed in, not even bothering to knock on the door.
“Mr. Han, you need to hear this, it’s about young Mr. Han.”
Han Gaozhi roared back.
“What time do you think it is to still bring up his troubles? Have all his men died out? Can’t you see the chaos here and you’re still talking to me about him?”
The secretary, scolded, shrank back, trembling as he placed the laptop on the desk.
“Please… listen to this.”
He accidentally hit the play button, and a recording that was already half-played started emitting.
“Murder?”
“He received the parcel himself, jumped from the building himself, what does that have to do with me?”
“Just because he was provoked a bit, he couldn’t take it… I had prepared a dozen more packages like that.”
“I should also thank this sissy for helping me dismantle Corona, without his own demise, I wouldn’t have been able to expand my business to this scale.”
“Ah, you care so much about him, maybe when you die, I’ll burn you both some extra paper money?”
When Han Gaozhi heard the first sentence, his breath instantly tightened, then he signaled the other secretaries to leave and sternly listened to the entire recording.
It was a duplicate recording; the original file was well protected and could be released at any moment.
The recording had been sent directly to his email, the implication clear.
He might only have one last chance to make a decision.
Han Gaozhi had never thought that at his age, after achieving so much, he would have to face such an ordeal.
He paced back and forth repeatedly, then grabbed his keys and rushed home.
As he took the elevator down, executives came running to ask for strategies, but the assistants and secretaries didn’t dare to stop him.
A real disaster had struck.
Indeed, a real disaster.
As Han Gaozhi drove home, all he could think about was the decades of his life spent fighting for his achievements.
All his victories, all the assets he had amassed for his retirement, might all be lost in this ordeal.
As soon as the door opened, without waiting for the servant to help with his coat and keys, he strode straight to the third floor.
Han Qu was sprawled on the sofa bed flipping through “Men’s Wear,” next to him, the elderly lady was waiting with a glass of fruit and vegetable juice.
Han Gaozhi, with a stern face, kicked the door open, still clutching the keys, and slapped him across the face.
“Beast!!!”
“What are you doing, Gaozhi?! What has my grandson done to provoke you?!” The old lady panicked, supporting Han Qu with one hand and holding the juice with the other: “Sister Su, call the master, has the world turned upside down?!”
Han Gaozhi had no patience to explain anymore, he kicked Han Qu in the chest, his hatred almost palpable: “Innocent? Set up? Didn’t I give you a chance yesterday? Motherfucker, you do dirty deeds and don’t dare admit it??”
“Murder?? Carrying your father’s flag to commit murder??? You want the whole family dead, is that it???”
With a swipe of the keys, Han Qu’s nose, cheeks, and chin were all marked with blood, frightening the old lady into sitting on the floor, wailing loudly.
“That’s your own son, the heir of our Han family—”
“Why can’t you speak properly, stop hitting him, stop it—”
Old Master Han hurried upstairs with his cane, shouting angrily: “What are you doing? Unhappy with the company so you take it out on your son??”
“What am I doing?” Han Gaozhi kicked again, now almost laughing with fury: “Still protecting him?”
“When I used to come home only every two or three years, whenever I said a word against this scoundrel, didn’t you two always protect him?!”
“Saying this child lost his mother so young, saying I don’t care for him, not letting me scold or hit him, and when he impregnated his classmate at a teenager, you two helped cover it up, then sent her abroad.”
“He murdered someone, do you understand he’s committed murder???”
By now, Han Qu’s eyes were swollen, his vision blurry, and his chest ached as he struggled on the carpet like a worm.
The old lady tremblingly withdrew her hand meant to help, now unsure what to do, clutching her chest: “You, are you sure? Are the police coming?”
“Police?” Han Gaozhi was so disgusted he could hardly speak, forcefully lifting Han Qu by one hand, not caring about the throbbing pain in his temples: “Speak, just fucking clarify everything yourself!”
Han Qu, in pain, screamed and with the last of his strength, pulled free from his grip, cursing back from the corner.
“Who the fuck said I murdered? Do you have evidence? Did you see me kill anyone with a knife or poison??”
Han Gaozhi nodded, played the recording transferred to his phone right in front of the elders.
Both old people turned deathly pale upon hearing it.
“Finally, it’s clear.”
Han Gaozhi slammed his phone down on the table, his next words chilling to the bone.
“The things you did abroad, pushing people into water, I’ve covered for you.”
“Now this, the Han family can’t cover. Even if you turn yourself in, it won’t be enough.”
Han Qu had never heard such a tone from him, only now realizing something was terribly wrong.
“Eshan Venture Capital was at a critical point of raising its value, all in on a big project agreement.”
“If the company collapses now, just the contract penalties and financial losses would drain all our family’s money.”
Han Gaozhi turned to the two elders, his face collapsing into a desperate smile.
“Forget about nursing homes, we won’t even be able to leave the area, we’ll be put on a list of untrustworthy people under close surveillance, understand?”
“Cars, houses, planes, everything, even the coats in the wardrobe on the fifth floor must be sold.”
“At this crucial moment, do you think it’s serious? I don’t even know if I can keep money for my own coffin.”
“It’s all over, all of it.”
“What are you joking about—” Han Qu rasped: “That Chi is just an adopted orphan—”
“You’ve offended the Long and Pei families, do you even understand?!” Han Gaozhi slapped him, his voice nearly bursting: “You’ve attracted too many enemies with your recklessness, I should never have had you, beast!”
Han Qu staggered, panicked: “They have nothing to do with that Chi… how could it…”
“What exactly have you done? What have you been doing behind my back all these years??”
The old master’s face had turned wooden as he leaned against the wall, listening for a while before speaking: “Is it all gone?”
“We can’t protect it, not at all,” Han Gaozhi was already shaking his head. “Forget the stock market crash back then, with the current situation, they won’t stop until they’ve taken us down with them—not to mention there are countless others waiting on the sidelines.”
Doing business and investing always involves competitors. Over the years, Eshan had managed to balance and grow by keeping a delicate balance with various relationships.
Now, someone was covertly rallying forces to topple them, and the building was about to collapse, making stopping the losses nothing more than a vain hope.
The old master began to tremble, turning to look at the magnificent house that epitomized their status.
If the family business was destroyed, it would cost him his life.
After finishing his rant, Han Gaozhi had to return to the company to apologize to clients. He glanced scornfully at Han Qu and strode off.
Murder was a matter that, if brought to trial in public, might still be salvageable.
But in cases of private vendettas and blood debts, one side wouldn’t stop until the other was driven utterly insane.
When he twisted the car key again, his wrist trembled so badly that it took a long time to align the key, and it dropped onto the floor mat.
The middle-aged man sat in the car for a long time, collapsing to the point of hitting his head against the steering wheel.
On the other side, at the television station building.
Huo Ren tilted his head to make it easier for the makeup artist to apply powder, just as Pei Ruye also pushed the door open.
He took an extra moment to observe his expression.
Today, in the entertainment industry, was nearly a grand event, with many platforms predicting record-breaking viewership ratings for the finale, and advertisers ready to pop champagne and enjoy a massive celebration.
On the same day, both the financial and venture capital sectors were swept by a storm, no one able to ignore the extremely bloody multi-sided purge.
And the initiator of both these events was now standing beside him, smiling quietly.
The makeup artist tactfully packed up his things and left, quietly closing the door behind him.
Huo Ren withdrew his gaze, looking back at the reflection of the two men in the mirror.
“Doesn’t it feel dangerous to be embroiled in such peril?”
He had led him step by step to this day.
He had also been the one to lead him here from the start.
He was originally just a dropout.
He was also just a carefree dance director.
The man leaned down to kiss his forehead, his smile tender.
“For you, it’s worth it.”
Author’s Note:
The update time is uncertain tomorrow… I’ve been a bit sleepy lately, might be jet-lagged again.
Why have I set so many flags recently and kept shooting myself in the foot, ouch, my face hurts so much.
Thanks for the update 🙏🏻