Chapter 48: I Am Here to Apologize

The calm night felt like the quiet before a storm. The very next day, Dragon City's entertainment circle was completely detonated!

"Shocking! The Lin Family of Dragon City Actually Did This!"
"Husband Missing, The Eldest Daughter-in-law of the Lin Family Plays Wild!"
"Members of the Lin Family Kneel and Apologize, The Lin Group Nears Collapse!"

As the news fermented, the shares of the Lin Group plummeted in response. Lin Junqiang suffered three consecutive strokes, throwing the entire Lin Family into utter chaos!

"Chen Shuting, you must take responsibility for the drop in the Lin Group's stock!"

Early in the morning, Lin Jiahe led a group of people to the villa and directly had the doors kicked open. Following right behind him was a large mob of Lin Family relatives!

"You little vixen, you're going to bankrupt my Lin Family!"
"We cannot spare her today!"

Ye Fan was sitting cross-legged on the artificial rockery practicing his martial arts. Positioned high above, he had a bird's-eye view as Lin Jiahe and a crowd of men, women, and children from the Lin Family rushed into the courtyard.

"What game are they playing?"

Ye Fan stood up and leaped down from the rockery. His bare upper body was drenched in sweat, reflecting a well-built, athletic physique in the sunlight.

Blocked by Ye Fan, Lin Jiahe instantly grew even angrier: "You punk are actually still living together with Chen Shuting!"

"Look at this, everyone! This is the kept toy boy Chen Shuting raised! Cohabitating so blatantly, this is wearing a green hat for Zhenqian and slapping my Lin Family right in the face!"

Provoked by Lin Jiahe, the Lin Family members were instantly filled with righteous indignation and surged forward, preparing to tear into them.

At that exact moment, Chen Shuting appeared at the doorway wearing casual homewear, escorted by Old Luan.

"Ye Fan! Come back!"

Fearing that Ye Fan might get hurt, Chen Shuting hurriedly called out to him. Then, her willow-leaf eyebrows sharply arched as she interrogated, "Lin Jiahe, Jiang Haihai framed me last night. Not only did you fail to speak up for me, but you actively surrendered, begged him for mercy, and even joined him in framing me for having an affair. What on earth is your intention?"

"Falsifying black and white!" Lin Jiahe let out a cold snort and said, "Jiang Haihai is backed by the Golden Dragon Group, someone we simply cannot afford to provoke. You caused a scene and started a fight on their territory, so of course I had to ask them to show mercy! It's because you refused to admit your mistakes last night that you forced them to call the reporters!"

Before his voice even faded, several Lin Family members behind him started making a racket again.

"That's right! It's all this bitch's fault..."
"My Lin Family must have been blind to marry a disaster like you..."

Ye Fan laughed out of sheer anger: "Lin Jiahe, we are not here to argue about those things with you. What on earth do you want by coming here today?"

"What I want is not for a kept toy boy like you to ask!" Lin Jiahe sneered coldly, then turned his gaze to Chen Shuting: "Through my efforts last night, Mr. Jiang has decided to show leniency to the Lin Family, on the condition that he acquires thirty percent of the Lin Group's shares!"

"I remember when you first married into my family, the head of the family gave you five percent of the shares, right? Hand them over obediently today, and I'll pretend nothing ever happened!"

"Are you joking? Sell the shares you own yourself!" Chen Shuting laughed out of anger: "The shares in my hands were obtained through an exchange between your Lin Family and my maiden family. Why should I give them to you?"

"If you don't give them to me today, we'll smash this villa to pieces!"

With that, he waved his hand, and several bodyguards immediately stepped forward.

"Grab this punk and beat him to a pulp!"

These bodyguards were genuine martial artists. Ye Fan turned serious as well, preparing for a real fight.

Just then, Old Luan stepped forward.

"I'm in top form today, let me handle this. You protect Miss Chen! It's a good chance to test out my moves."

"Old Luan, you..."

Ye Fan thought for a moment and decided not to stop him. Old Luan could certainly handle these thugs, and there was no need to bruise his ego.

With a whoosh, Old Luan rushed toward the bodyguards. His plump body seemed to transform into a noodle, infinitely flexible. He effortlessly evaded their attacks and then struck their vital points at tricky angles!

A few minutes later, Lin Jiahe's men were all sprawled across the ground. Old Luan was panting slightly as he straightened his disheveled Mediterranean-style hairline.

Lin Jiahe looked at the scene before him with an ugly expression, while the clan members behind him shrank back, no longer daring to act arrogant.

"A bitch only learns when fists do the talking~"

Ye Fan sighed with emotion and casually kicked one of the fallen Lin family members: "All of you, get lost!"

"You..." Lin Jiahe glared with venomous hatred at Chen Shuting and Ye Fan, snapping, "Just you wait. We'll hold a board meeting tomorrow, and then you'll see what's coming!"

Watching Lin Jiahe and his group scurry away in disgrace, a solemn expression appeared on Chen Shuting's face.

"Ye Fan, tomorrow's board meeting..."

"Jiang Haihai is probably coming to acquire the shares, right?" Ye Fan pondered for a moment and said, "The timing is just about right. We'll go attend too! Go notify the media, tell them we have an important announcement to make tomorrow, and have them wait!"

"Okay!" Chen Shuting nodded and turned to leave, but Ye Fan grabbed her back.

"Wait a minute!"

"What is it?"

Chen Shuting asked in confusion, only to hear Ye Fan say with a smile, "There's an even more important matter!"

With that, he leaned close to Chen Shuting's ear and whispered a few words.

Chen Shuting's expression shifted from confusion to sudden realization. Finally, she covered her mouth and burst into laughter, unable to resist giving him a playful, sidelong glare.

Ye Fan returned to his room, collapsed onto the bed, and stretched lazily.

Early this morning, Li Yaoyao had already set off with Yang Haiyan and her two children. They would be on a twenty-four-hour train ride back to the provincial capital, so it wouldn't be convenient to contact Ye Fan.

With nothing to do, Ye Fan picked up the manual Li Yaoyao had given him. Earlier, she had mentioned teaching him the first stance, but they hadn't gotten around to it. Now was the perfect time to study it.

Inside the conference room of the Lin Group, Jiang Haihai was dressed in a formal suit, leaning back comfortably in his chair. Fiddling with a pencil in his hand, he said to the assembled crowd, "The Lin Group's stock price has hit limit-down for consecutive sessions, and I can see you're about to collapse. Out of consideration for our past cooperation, I plan to invest 200 million to acquire thirty percent of the Lin Family's shares. Who is in favor, and who is against?"

No one spoke. They all turned their gazes uniformly toward Lin Junqiang.

Lin Junqiang sat in a wheelchair, his mouth twisted and eyes skewed—his condition had clearly worsened significantly. Beside him, Lin Jiahe anxiously persuaded, "It's all that Chen Shuting's fault. She lacks morals and dragged down the Lin Group's share price. Fortunately, Mr. Jiang is benevolent and willing to acquire the shares at a twenty percent premium over the market price. Should we agree? At least we'll get a cash flow injection to save our Lin Group!"

Hearing Lin Jiahe's words, a trace of disappointment flashed in Lin Junqiang's eyes.

The Lin Group was a commercial empire he had built with his own hands. For Jiang Haihai to take thirty percent of the shares at such a low price—how was that any different from getting them for free? Yet, the Lin Family was indeed facing bankruptcy; they truly seemed to have no other choice.

Just as he was about to give his consent, a shout of "I object!" interrupted his thoughts.

It was Chen Shuting and Ye Fan!

"You still dare to show up!" Not only Lin Jiahe, but all the Lin family members who had gone to cause a scene at Chen Shuting's villa yesterday angrily stood up. "Because of you, the Lin Family's stock price plummeted! You must compensate us!"

"Compensation?" Chen Shuting showed no anger at all. Instead, she said with utter sincerity, "Sure! I'll compensate you right now!"

"Huh?" Everyone present stared in unison, not a single one of them believing it.

"I'm being serious!" Chen Shuting asked directly, "How much did Mr. Jiang say he was offering for the shares?"

"A twenty percent premium!" someone muttered softly.

Ye Fan was already standing nearby with his phone. He glanced at the Lin Group's stock, which had already hit the floor price, and said, "It's currently at ten yuan, so that means twelve yuan per share?"

Finishing his sentence, Ye Fan looked at Jiang Haihai: "Mr. Jiang, lacks vision, don't you think? We'll buy them at fifteen yuan! We'll take as many as are available!"

"Fifteen yuan?"

Everyone in the room looked at each other in dismay, hardly daring to believe their ears.

Chen Shuting loudly emphasized: "That's right! We will buy the shares in everyone's hands at fifteen yuan each as compensation! We'll take as many as you have!"

"Hahaha!" Jiang Haihai's laughter interrupted Chen Shuting: "Are you joking? Do you know how much money I need to acquire thirty percent of the shares at twelve yuan? 200 million! You claim you'll take as many as there are—do you even have that kind of money?"

"I do!" Hearing this, Chen Shuting suddenly sniffled, tears welling up in her eyes: "Grandfather scolded me last night. I know I was wrong. Grandfather loves me; he took out his private savings to let me make amends to everyone..."

"Your grandfather?"
"Old Master Chen?"
"I'll sell! I'm selling all my shares to you!"