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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nA long time later, when Lin Qian recalled those days filled with fire and fury, she realized that everything was happening exactly as Li Zhicheng had expected. For instance, when DG promoted their second and third-tier brands after it set foot in China, or how DG brought ZAMON to the front line of the battlefield after Li Zhicheng used the “fish in troubled waters” tactic. Or how the market was in a stalemate.

nZAMON was like a delicately beautiful crystal ball and was hung at the apex of the market. However, without even realizing it, DG had shown all its cards — funds, personnel, brand reputation and all the channels and resources **Q had. Besides, DG tied the top-tier brands and the ordinary brands together.

nIf someone pushed them from the back, ZAMON and the whole of DG China, would fall to the ground and be smashed. Lin Qian thought that it was time to do that.

nThen an unexpected event occurred. DG had become the controlling shareholder of Old Aida. There was more than one thing following the misfortune.

nLin Qian was lying in the bed of her apartment and was talking with Li Zhicheng on the phone. “I’m so glad that Mr. Li is okay,” she said tenderly, “I was startled by the news.”

nLi Zhicheng was walking hurriedly to the gate for his flight to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and was dressed in business attire. The light was dimming in the night outside. He watched the plane arrive on the tarmac, and answered in a husky voice, “No need to be worried. I just got off the phone with him in the afternoon and he’s fine.”

n“Um. Should I fly to visit him today?”

nLi Zhicheng stayed silent for a few seconds and said, “No need. Stay in Changsha for the time being.” Lin Qian acquiesced.

nShe was upset not because of Li Zhicheng’s response. She knew perfectly what he meant. Old Aida was in the hands of DG now and the news stunned China’s corporations and its media. Although Old Aida only made up an insignificant part of Aida Corporation, it still meant more to them than a business, but was a family business to the Li’s. And for all the staff of Aida, especially the long-time staff, it symbolized Aida.

nAida Corporation, as the leader of the resistance against the acquisitions, now lost its family business. How could the public not talk about it? They would certainly have divergent opinions on it. Some said the board of Aida had been compromised under the pressure of ZAMON and had reached a secret buyout contract with DG, and some said unity in Aida was gone and it was divided into two sides. Of course, it was likely that some people were spreading rumors and exaggerating the situation.

nLi Zhicheng didn’t want her in Lin City to keep her away from all the trouble.

nAs for Lin Qian, she was disappointed both because Aida had been stabbed in its back, and because of her incapability to prevent it from happening. “Who sold the shares? Have you figured out yet?” she asked.

n“Yes,” Li Zhicheng looked up at the scene outside and became grave, “Apart from Gu Yanzhi, Xu Chengyan and my sister-in law also.”

nAt the same time, Mr. Gu Yanzhi, vice-chairman of Aida and universally considered the right hand of Li Zhicheng, was visiting the flagship store of ZAMON in New York while wearing a casual outfit with sunglasses, together with staff from MK Investment Management Corporation and DG Corporation.

nBefore he went to America, he took a month’s vacation, leaving behind his resignation at the same time. And now, with all these people clustered around him, he looked extra vigorous and leisurely. “Mr. Gu,” a manager from DG Corporation asked with a smile, “are you satisfied with this trip?”

nGu Yanzhi took off his glasses and smiled at him faintly, “Highly. Thanks for your warm welcome. I guess I’ve fulfilled my dreams by earning enough money now. I’ll start traveling around the world, starting with America.” People around him burst into laughter. There was another Chinese manager who had flown to America with Gu Yanzhi. He smiled and stated, “Mr. Gu’s willingness to sell shares of Aida left shocked. We’re all wondering why.”

nWhat he said was a little ambiguous. It was MK Corporation that negotiated the acquisition with Gu Yanzhi, and executives in DG only focused on the outcome. That manager, who’d been a competitor of Gu Yanzhi, was a bit suspicious. Why did Gu Yanzhi sell the shares, leading to DG’s becoming the controlling shareholder of Old Aida? He was fraught with doubts.

nGu Yanzhi only smiled obscurely to all these questions. Seeing several people besides that man gazing at him, he answered briefly, “Personal reasons. Forgive me if I can’t tell more.” But nothing could be kept a secret forever. Why did Gu Yanzhi choose to exit Aida? People from MK Corporation would of course illustrate it to DG.

nA few days later, word spread in DG, and to the entire industry. “Get rid of someone as soon as he has finished his work”. This was a habit of all the Chinese who reigned. Gu Yanzhi might have been a prominent and indispensable shareholder of Aida, but since Li Zhicheng had taken charge, he introduced brands like Vinda and Aito one by one. Also, assets of the corporation went through a series of restructuring and stripping, with shares held by Gu Yanzhi severely diluted. His vital status was threatened by all these moves, alongside the rise of people like Xue Mingtao and Lin Qian.

nHe was resentful of this. And when DG offered a generous buyout, he decided to go along with it.

nOpinions were divided among people in the industry. Some said Gu Yanzhi was a traitor who stabbed his former employer in the back, while others thought Gu Yanzhi would do a much better job at starting a business of his own thanks to his extraordinary talents and he was just choosing another path to live.

nRegardless, the consensus was that Gu Yanzhi had departed from Aida and cut all ties with his former employer. In the subsequent months, nobody knew where he was, what he was doing; it was as if he had never existed.

nAs for Lin Qian, she got a call from the secretary of Xu Yong the day after she talked with Li Zhicheng. “Ms. Lin,” the secretary was courteous, “the chairman just gave an instruction and he would like you to come to Lin City to visit him.”

n“What is it about?”

nThe secretary halted.

nAlthough he was the secretary of the chairman, everybody in Aida knew that Li Zhicheng was the man in charge. He, as the person closest to the chairman, knew that the CEO attached great importance to his fiancee

n.

nHe answered inexplicitly, “A new shareholder visited the chairman this morning and mentioned what happened lately, including you. The chairman hasn’t been in good mood ever since.” Lin Qian missed a heartbeat.

nWhether she should go to Lin City to visit Xu Yong or not was of no question to Lin Qian. She would look suspicious if she didn’t.

nXu Yong was a man of reason and he asked her there to clarify things. It would be better to go, as she didn’t want any mistrust between her future father-in-law and herself. However, she couldn’t go there unprepared.

nAfter hanging up the phone, she sat on her bed with her jaw on one question “Why did someone reveal the relation between her and Lin Mochen? Why did it occur right after shares of Old Aida were purchased, and Xu Yong was hospitalized for it?”

nIt might be a coincidence. Or someone did it on purpose. But who? DG? Chen Zheng? Or people in the industry, even within Aida; people who wanted to join DG?

nEveryone had their choices when it came to benefits. It wouldn’t be surprising that such kind of people existed. But because of Lin Mochen, it wouldn’t be someone from MK Corporation.

nWhat did they want to accomplish by using this scheme? To estrange Xu Yong from her? No. That would not be enough to crush Aida.

nLin Qian’s heart sunk. If Xu Yong knew this, it wouldn’t be long before the public knew as well.

nShe and Li Zhicheng had tried to keep it a secret, but they were too discreet about it. Aida was extremely stable, and she and Lin Mochen had refrained from being involved in the acquisition of Aida. Even if it became public, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. There was no reason for her to be afraid.

nBut now, everything had changed. Not only had the acquisition of Old Aida sensitized the public and the media, but cohesion in Aida was imperiled as well. If someone wanted to take advantage of the relation between her and Lin Mochen, she might not be able to defend herself whatsoever.

nDarn it!

nLin Qian hit her bed with her hands angrily. Li Zhicheng was right that it would better for her not to go back to Lin City. She picked up her phone and called Li Zhicheng.

n“Sorry, the phone you’re trying to reach is unavailable, please call back later,” he was still on the flight back to China.

nAt the same time, a call came from Xu Yong’s secretary again, “Mr. Lin, the chairman brought it up again. He is an old man and cannot hold things in his heart. The doctor also said he couldn’t be stressed again. Could you come here today? For his health’s sake?”

n“Sure…” she replied. After hanging up the phone, Lin Qian analyzed the situation carefully. No matter where she stayed, Changsha or Lin City, she would be found if her opposition had made up their mind to give her a hard time. What risks would there be if she went to Lin City? The first thing that came to her mind was that Xu Yong hadn’t fully recovered yet. If he got emotional when talking to her and his situation got worse, she wouldn’t be able to handle it, so she decided to book a late ticket and would go there with Li Zhicheng after he arrived at Lin City. It would be better if he was there.

nBesides, her rivals might tell the media, or spread rumors within Aida. If it was Chen Zheng, based on his track record, he might start a rampage again, so she would be extra careful to avoid any uncertainties.

nBut there was a silver lining after all. No matter what their rivals were thinking, they could only make groundless accusations. Lin Mochen and Li Zhicheng were both capable enough to distance her from it and deal with any public backlash. She didn’t need to worry too much.

nAfter comforting herself, she picked up her phone and asked her secretary to book the ticket, after which she called Gao Lang to tell him to bring some guards to pick her up at the airport. Only after such a careful arrangement did she feel relieved.

nThough there wasn’t much to be afraid of, she was going into the mountains knowing that there were tigers there.

nIt was at dusk when Li Zhicheng arrived at the airport of Lin City. He saw three missed calls and one message from Lin Qian when he turned on his phone on the car. “Your father wants me to meet him at Lin City and I’ve arrived,” he heard as her voicemail played.

nLi Zhicheng called her immediately, but she’d already turned off her phone. Li Zhicheng thought silently for a while and said to Jiang Yuan, “Stay here and pick up Lin Qian. I’ll go to the hospital first.”

nWhy would Li Zhicheng go to the hospital first? First of all, he was worried about his father’s health. Also, he wanted to solve the issue with his father before Lin Qian arrived. He didn’t want Lin Qian to face his father’s questions and have to defend herself alone.

nIt was already nightfall when he arrived at the ICU. Li Zhicheng saw his father lying on the bed when he walked in. He looked much more emaciated than he’d been several days ago when Li Zhicheng had just went abroad. His eyes that used to be sophisticated but clear now seemed a little turbid. Li Zhicheng frowned and sat down beside him.

n“I was told that you are stable now,” he whispered and held his father’s hands.

n“I was furious at Chengyan,” Xu Yong answered in a hoarse voice, “I can understand that your sister-in-law want to sell her shares, but how could he?”

nXu Chengyan, was Xu Yong’s son born out of wedlock after he was divorced.

n“It won’t affect the whole picture,” Li Zhicheng said gradually, “and you don’t need to be angry about it.” Xu Yong didn’t agree with his son. He was both sick and old, and no matter how open-minded he was, he had his own stubbornness.

n“The old Aida, what you all call Old Aida now,” he said slowly, “that was my precious. I built it step by step.” He looked at his son with his dim eyes, “Will you get it back for me?”

n“I will.”

nXu Yong nodded his head.

nAfter a while, he asked, “Lin Qian’s brother is leading this acquisition?”

nLi Zhicheng answered with a straight face, “Yes, but he’s just following his company’s instructions, and he avoided Aida. As for Lin Qian, she went to Mind. There won’t be any impacts.”

nHe explained everything with a few sentences. Xu Yong looked at him with a fixed stare. “Did you choose not to tell me because you knew that I wouldn’t be comfortable with it?” he asked.

n“After all, Lin Qian is my daughter-in-law-to-be, but her brother’s trying to buy the entire bag industry in China. Are you sure he’s not using you to achieve his goal?”

nLi Zhicheng looked up at him and said, “He won’t be able to do that, and he can’t use me.”

nThey both stayed silent for a while before Xu Yong went on, asking, “Must you marry Lin Qian? Have you thought it through? Because I don’t think you two will be compatible.”

n“No need to think, I must marry her.”

nXu Yong didn’t say anything.

nThey stayed silent for a while and Xu Yong said, “If I know, everyone else will know. Protect her at all costs and you’d better take her out of spotlight. Marry her only after this is over. Don’t let a woman face this.”

n“I know,” said Li Zhicheng.

nHe looked at his watch, got up and started to walk out. Just as he reached the door, he turned around and said, “Dad, you’re overthinking this. Only the strongest can have a voice. If I can banish DG from China, who dares to say another word?”

nWhat he said showed his high spirits and fortitude as a young man. Xu Yong smiled and nodded. Li Zhicheng walked out the door. It was quiet in the hallway and the light was giving a soft glow. He raised his head and saw Lin Qian sitting on the bench at the entrance.

nLi Zhicheng was perturbed.

nLin Qian also stood up, gazing at him with a complicated look.

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