Futile Devices Scans

Wang Ning’an was someone with strong convictions, but his ability to endure was clearly even stronger—especially his ability to control himself when facing his enemies. The fact that neither his family and friends nor his enemies had noticed anything at all was absolutely inhuman self-control. And now, it was finally time for him to reap the fruits of his patience.

Wang Ning’an had once estimated how long it would take him to exact his revenge. Shenghui was a massive corporation, and climbing upward step by step would likely require at least two or three years. However, after the identities of his younger brother and father were successively exposed, those revelations undoubtedly became bargaining chips for him, so he accelerated the pace of his revenge.

From the very beginning, Wang Ning’an had already known Yu Hongzhi’s intentions in sending him to negotiate with Chen Zhong. Originally, he could have refused, but he did not, because he needed an opportunity to make a legitimate move against Yu Hongzhi. The purpose was to avoid making Yu Hongming develop too much hostility toward him.

Wang Ning’an never told Wang Cheng about these matters simply because he did not want his younger brother to become consumed by hatred the way he himself had. However, Chu Yifeng seemed to have guessed his intentions. Later on, he even conveniently gave him a push along the way, and because of that assistance, everything that followed progressed far more smoothly.

Yu Hongming believed that forcing Wang Ning’an onto leave would allow him to reclaim the company, yet he had no idea that the company had long since ceased to truly belong to him.

On the second day after Wang Ning’an left the company, Yu Hongming convened an emergency executive meeting and announced to everyone that all responsibilities previously handled by Wang Ning’an would now be personally managed by him. He also promoted one of his trusted confidants to assist him. Meanwhile, Peng Yang was effectively demoted in disguise; the work assigned to him afterward consisted only of trivial matters, completely cut off from the company’s core operations.

During the meeting, one executive asked whether Wang Ning’an had truly leaked the company’s confidential information. Yu Hongming did not directly deny it. Instead, he deliberately said many ambiguous things that invited endless speculation.

That very afternoon, Gu Shouzhuo learned about what had happened to Wang Ning’an. Immediately, he called his grandson and asked whether he needed help.

To outsiders, it seemed as though he maintained a distant relationship with this grandson, but in reality, he monitored his grandson’s situation every single day. He knew about the grudge between Wang Ning’an and Shenghui. In the past, he had even proactively asked his grandson whether he wanted help, but Wang Ning’an had refused. He wanted to take revenge personally, so Gu Shouzhuo merely provided some minor assistance behind the scenes.

With Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng already helping him, Wang Ning’an did not wish to trouble his grandfather further. Besides, dealing with a mere Shenghui did not require mobilizing so many powerful forces. Yu Hongming was not important enough for that.

Meanwhile, because Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng had intervened, the police did not dare handle the case carelessly and immediately launched a serious investigation. At last, they achieved a breakthrough.

By tracing the address from which the documents had been mailed, the police located a post office. Later, they also discovered several public phone booths nearby. Suspecting the anonymous tip had been made from one of those phones, they retrieved surveillance footage covering the surrounding area. After reviewing the recordings, they successfully identified the person who had anonymously reported the case.

However, the individual had been extremely cautious. The police showed his photograph to nearby residents, yet not a single person recognized him. Later, based on the direction he traveled after leaving, they tracked surveillance footage all the way until they discovered he had boarded a high-speed train out of Shanhai City. After retrieving his identity information, they learned he was actually from another city.

The police quickly arrested him, but when questioned about the report, he knew nothing substantial. It turned out someone had hired him to do it, meaning his claim of being an employee at the company that purchased the confidential files had been completely fabricated.

There was also another piece of good news. Experts had already verified the evidence the man submitted. The signature on the documents was fake. Although the handwriting did indeed belong to Wang Ning’an, the signature itself had been traced and transferred onto the document. Even though the mastermind behind the scheme still could not be identified, Wang Ning’an’s suspicions had already been completely cleared away.

However, just two days earlier, Yu Hongming had suddenly convened a shareholders’ meeting and selected a new president. They had not notified Wang Ning’an at all, despite him also holding company shares. By the time he learned about it, the meeting had already ended.

“Sorry, President Wang. I didn’t know about the chairman convening the shareholders’ meeting either. I only found out after the announcement of the new president was made. The chairman probably knew I would inform you,” Peng Yang said guiltily, upset that he had failed to help Wang Ning’an.

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s normal for Yu Hongming to be wary of you. Just continue going to work as usual and ignore everything else. This situation will be resolved very soon,” Wang Ning’an replied calmly. In truth, he had already known about the matter long ago—Peng Yang simply did not know that.

“Yes, President Wang.”

After hanging up, Wang Ning’an called Yu Hongming directly. However, the call was answered by his secretary. Knowing who it was, the secretary stalled him for a few moments before finally transferring the call to Yu Hongming’s office line. Wang Ning’an did not bother with pleasantries and directly questioned him about the matter of the newly appointed president.

“Chairman Yu, if I remember correctly, I’m also a shareholder of Shenghui. Why was I not informed when the shareholders’ meeting was held two days ago?”

On Yu Hongming’s side, a silent sneer appeared on his face, though the words he spoke sounded completely different from his expression. “How could no one have informed you? Before the meeting, I instructed my secretary to notify each person individually. I asked her afterward, and she told me everyone had been informed. Could it be that you simply didn’t hear it at the time?”

“Chairman Yu, are you joking with me? Even if I didn’t hear the phone ring, there would still be a missed-call notification.”

Yu Hongming slapped his forehead dramatically. “Ah, this old brain of mine! I really am getting more useless with age. At the time, I thought perhaps you were in a bad mood and chose not to come. She probably overlooked it by mistake. Don’t worry—I’ll definitely punish her severely. To make such a careless mistake over something this important is simply unacceptable.”

Wang Ning’an had already known this old fox would find an excuse. As expected, Yu Hongming pushed all the blame onto his secretary. “Chairman Yu, how could you possibly be useless? The fact that you managed to come up with a method to remove me proves you’re far from old. I know exactly what you’re planning. But have you considered the consequences of offending me? Since I was capable of bringing Shenghui back from the brink of collapse, naturally I’m also capable of plunging Shenghui into crisis once again.”

The smile on Yu Hongming’s face instantly froze. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand a word. Did you hear some rumors and misunderstand something? Is this about selecting a new president? You’ve misunderstood. There were reasons for that decision. Because you weren’t around, I alone couldn’t handle so many matters, and the other shareholders were all eyeing that position as well. The proposal for the shareholders’ meeting was jointly raised by several directors. I was under enormous pressure too. The company’s problems had only just been resolved, and I didn’t want any more trouble. So I temporarily agreed to their demands. If I had known your suspicions would be cleared so quickly, I would have done everything possible to delay the meeting for another two days.”

“In that case, then let’s simply convene another shareholders’ meeting.”

“You—”

Before Yu Hongming could finish speaking, the call abruptly ended with a string of beeps. Wang Ning’an had hung up on him.

Yu Hongming stared at the phone for two seconds before his face darkened immediately. Wang Ning’an had never hung up on him like this before. He could not determine whether Wang Ning’an had discovered something, so for the moment he could only assume Wang Ning’an was angry because his position had been replaced by someone else. Still, the final words Wang Ning’an left behind bothered him greatly.

Convening another shareholders’ meeting?

Only shareholders holding more than ten percent of the company’s shares had the authority to request a shareholders’ meeting. Wang Ning’an only possessed five percent—he simply did not qualify. However, it could not be ruled out that he might collude with other shareholders. After much thought, Yu Hongming decided to wait and observe the situation carefully.

The next day, the secretary informed Yu Hongming that several shareholders had formally requested another shareholders’ meeting. After verification, they indeed collectively held more than ten percent of the company’s shares. One of them was Wang Ning’an himself. Among the other shareholders, only one had attended the previous shareholders’ meeting—a shareholder surnamed Li.

Originally, Yu Hongming wanted to postpone the matter for several more days. However, another shareholder also raised the issue. This was a completely new shareholder who had never attended a shareholders’ meeting before, yet he alone held more than five percent of Shenghui’s shares. Feeling wary, Yu Hongming had no choice but to provide a definite date, scheduling the next shareholders’ meeting for three days later.

At the same time, Wang Cheng received a phone call that greatly surprised him.

Chu Yifeng walked over carrying the watermelon Wang Cheng had asked him to cut. Seeing Wang Cheng staring blankly at his phone while only the disconnected beeping remained on the line, he casually asked a question.

“President Feng just called me. Guess what he said?” Wang Cheng put away his phone and sat down beside him. Picking up a slice of watermelon from the plate, he devoured it in two or three bites before wiping his mouth.

“He asked you to return to the Zhou Corporation?”

Wang Cheng froze mid-motion. “You guessed it way too accurately. He asked me to return to the Zhou Corporation because there’s a vacant position in the company with no suitable replacement. He said he thinks I’m the most suitable candidate and wants me to come back to work. Do you think Grandpa is finally preparing to relent?”

“Without instructions or at least hints from your grandfather, Feng Yifan would never make that call. Your grandfather probably just can’t bring himself to lower his pride, so he’s using Feng Yifan to contact you instead. And with everything that happened recently, your grandfather is probably preparing to make his move,” Chu Yifeng said as he picked up another slice of watermelon and held it to Wang Cheng’s mouth. Wang Cheng did not take it with his hands and instead leaned over to bite into it directly, juice splashing from the corner of his lips.

As long as the traitor within remained unremoved, Zhou Shichang would never truly feel at ease.

The moment Chu Yifeng reminded him, Wang Cheng immediately understood. The current Zhou Corporation resembled a pool of stagnant, motionless water. Most people within the company already knew that turbulent undercurrents lurked beneath the surface, and no one knew when they might suddenly erupt.

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