manynovel Who really won in Chapter 63?
Who really won in Chapter 63?
Birkin can't break through the gilded exterior, but the empty pockets reveal the cards he holds for winning or losing.
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On the other end of the phone, Yu Li held her phone, which had already gone black, like a plaster statue that had been gnawed in half by the wind, and didn't move for a long time.
She never imagined that the first person to say she "finds it tough no matter what she does" would be her own son, who had crawled out of her womb. That tearful cry, "It hurts here," was like a chipped box cutter slowly and deliberately cutting a wound in her heart. What surprised her even more was that standing beside her son's bed, who was covered in bruises and whom she avoided looking at, were Wang Haowen and Zeng Jia.
These two are quite interesting. They have no money or power, they're dirt poor, but their backbone is as hard as the bricks of the Forbidden City wall. They'd rather break themselves than bend over.
However, looking at it now, it's a blessing that they escaped early; otherwise, they would have sunk to the bottom along with Tianyi's broken ship and become food for turtles. But with the two of them around, Yu Li inexplicably felt less worried about her son's safety and could deal with FOX and Zhang Zhishan with peace of mind. Thinking about it carefully, it's quite ironic.
Her phone vibrated again; it was a call from her lawyer.
Yu Li answered the phone, her voice cold and impatient, "Stop arguing, there's no way we can reconcile. Please help me, we can't give that bastard Zhang Zhishan a single penny!"
"Mr. Yu," the lawyer's voice was unusually grave and urgent, "Now... it's probably not a question of whether you choose to settle or not. The tax authorities, the economic crime investigation department, and the surveillance department are all paying close attention to Tianyi. Moreover... FOX just held an emergency press conference... the cooperation is suspended."
"What?!" Yu Li was shocked, as if struck by lightning. Her fingers trembled as she clicked on the video link that the lawyer had sent her.
On the screen, the FOX spokesperson, dressed in a suit and tie, looked as solemn as if attending a funeral.
"FOX is deeply shocked and concerned about the serious corporate governance crisis recently exposed at Tianyi Group. Based on our contractual rights and our responsibility to investors and partners, FOX has decided to immediately suspend investment payments and launch a full and independent investigation into Tianyi Group. All cooperative projects will be suspended indefinitely until the investigation results are fully clear and Tianyi Group's corporate governance returns to stability and meets our cooperation standards."
"Pause..." Yu Li murmured, repeating the two words over and over. What was the difference between this and a death sentence? Everything she had painstakingly built, all the bargaining chips she used to crush Zhang Zhishan, had vanished in an instant?
"Zhang Zhishan!!!" A piercing, distorted scream tore through the deathly silence of the mansion. "You've ruined me and Tianyi!!! I'm going to kill you!!! I'm going to kill you!!!"
She grabbed the expensive Birkin bag next to her and slammed it against the wall with all her might!
With a loud "bang," the sound was unusually muffled.
The bag was so sturdy that there wasn't a single scratch, but the bottles, jars, documents, and credit cards inside scattered all over the floor like a shower of petals.
Yu Li suddenly felt dizzy and everything went black, as if she had fallen from a towering building into thin air. An uncontrollable metallic taste rose in her throat, overwhelming her last bit of willpower, and she fell straight backward!
Countdown to the bet: 0 days.
Zhang Zhishan met with his lawyer again.
The lawyer, with a stern face, recited sutras: tax evasion, embezzlement... the charges piled up three feet higher than the prison wall. If they were all proven true, he could spend the rest of his life squatting here, sprouting bean sprouts.
Zhang Zhishan had lost his initial hysteria. After a long silence, he uttered, "This place is quite nice, quiet!"
He seemed to have let go of the shell that had been suffocating him, and even his breathing was no longer suppressed.
After all, here, there are no creditors blocking the door to collect debts, and those money-grubbing relatives back home can't reach him. His own mother can no longer forcefully put the label of "the face of the Zhang family and the man of responsibility" on his head, and he no longer has to look at Yu Li's hypocritical and mean face.
He subconsciously tried to appear nonchalant and carefree, flicking his wrist and casually reaching into his pocket, only to find empty fabric beneath his fingertips, without even the slightest touch of hard material.
Without the company seal to command, without decent shares to exchange, without the capital to hold his head high in front of others, and even the slightest bit of confidence to stand up straight and barely be a person, he had completely lost everything.
The emptiness in his pocket was like a cold black hole, instantly sucking away all his pretense.
It was only in that instant when his fingertips missed their mark that he suddenly realized that those self-comforting "letting go" and "putting it down" were nothing but a fig leaf for self-deception, a respectable facade he had tailored for himself when he was desperate and powerless to turn back.
He lost in the end, utterly and completely. All that self-deceiving confidence, all that forced dignity, all that unwillingness to admit his humiliation, were crushed to dust by his empty pockets, leaving not a trace.
Although Yu Li didn't go in, she wasn't as relaxed as Zhang Zhishan. After fainting that day, she refused to listen to the doctor and go to the hospital for recuperation, fearing that she would be embarrassed if she was photographed by tabloid reporters. She only had her private doctor come to her home to help her with intravenous glucose for two days.
She stayed cooped up in the villa, even sending the nanny away. Her only companion was her constantly shedding ragdoll cat. If it weren't for its occasional meow, Yu Li would have felt like she was living in the deepest abyss.
Even worse, on the day the betting agreement ended, FOX's lawyer called relentlessly: "Mr. Yu, it's very regrettable to bother you at this time. There's serious negative news involving your personal and company image. This incident has caused incalculable damage to the reputation of the FOX Group and has seriously violated the key clause in our cooperation agreement regarding 'the core management of the partner must maintain a good public image and business reputation.'"
"Based on this, in accordance with Clause 7.3 'Significant Reputational Risks' and Clause 12.1 'Breach and Termination' of the Agreement, FOX Group hereby formally notifies you that FOX is terminating all cooperation with Tianyi Group."
"At the same time... according to Clause 12.4 'Breach of Contract Compensation' of the agreement, due to your personal conduct causing a unilateral serious breach of contract, Tianyi Group shall pay FOX Group a penalty of three times the total contract amount within thirty days of receiving this notice. Our lawyers will serve the relevant legal documents and invoices as soon as possible."
Three times the penalty for breach of contract, that's 30 billion. Yu Li laughed out loud when she heard this number. She suddenly calmed down and just wanted to take a look at her son to see how his injuries were healing.
As soon as the Bentley stopped at the hospital entrance, Yu Li emerged wearing sunglasses that covered half her face, as if afraid of being recognized.
But Zeng Jia has a sharp eye; she spotted Yu Li as soon as she got out of the car.
Zeng Jia has been staying at a small budget hotel near the hospital for the past two days, with Zhang Zihao paying for the room. Wang Haowen has become a full-time bedside companion in Zhang Zihao's ward. It's not that they can't afford a caregiver, but this young master absolutely refuses to have strangers near him, so they have to put Old Wang to the test.
"Mr. Yu, you have time to grace us with your presence today? Don't worry, the young master has recovered wonderfully and has a great appetite, like a duck being force-fed." Zeng Jia was carrying a bulging bag full of potato chips, cola, and spicy strips, a bunch of junk food that Yu Li would find disgusting to even glance at.
Yu Li glanced at him disdainfully, gritted her teeth and endured it, but ultimately remained silent.
As she walked inside, she casually asked Zeng Jia, "After leaving Tianyi, have you found a job? You have time to take care of Zihao, thank you for your hard work."
Zeng Jia replied with a forced smile, "I'm not working, so I'm living quite comfortably. After all, I took tens of thousands of yuan from you before I left, which is enough for me to live a life of ease for a while."
Yu Li felt a pang of pain in her chest from those words and couldn't utter another word. Instead, she quickened her pace, wishing she could fly to the ward immediately.
Zeng Jia looked at her and wondered why Yu Li seemed a little nervous.
Tense? This was the first time Zeng Jia had associated the word with "Iron Lady." Come to think of it, it makes sense. With overseas investors turning against her, the 30 billion yuan compensation claim was like a knife hanging over her throat. Gossip about her as a "femme fatale" and a "heartless capitalist" was flying everywhere, and the media was stirring things up.
And then there are those old foxes in the company, all eyeing her with predatory intent, waiting to see when she can give in so they can grab a slice of the pie for the least amount of money… This mess is such a disaster, even a god would tremble in fear. Perhaps only Zhang Zihao, her precious darling, can still offer her some warmth.
Pushing open the ward door, Wang Haowen was sitting on the bed playing a game with Zhang Zihao, both engrossed in their phones, the game's sound effects deafening. They assumed Zeng Jia had returned and didn't even look up. But the room was eerily quiet; after a long silence, without hearing Zeng Jia's signature "grumbling," Wang Haowen looked up—whoa! Yu Li had arrived.
He quickly nudged Zhang Zihao, but the young master remained as steady as a stone lion at the entrance of the Forbidden City, his eyes glued to the screen. He had clearly spotted his mother long ago and was doing it on purpose.
Wang Haowen and Zeng Jia exchanged a glance, then silently slipped to the stairwell, leaving only the mother and son talking in the ward.
For the first time ever, Yu Li didn't put on airs and sat on the edge of the bed watching her son play games, until Zhang Zihao couldn't keep up the act anymore and glanced at her, his eyes already wet with tears.
Yu Li affectionately patted his head, forcing out a faint smile: "Son, the bet between your father and me is over. Mom didn't win this time either. Mom lost everything."