There was silence on the other end of the line.
Yu Shangmei snapped, “I sent you to Linhuai to bring down Jiang Ji, not to make a fool out of yourself!”
“Auntie, I…”
“Do you know that old b*stard Wu is already moving in to force me out? Three days! If I can’t fix this crisis in three days, he’ll rally the other board members and remove me as president!”
“I’m sorry… I didn’t expect—”
“Sorry? What good is sorry?! The entire internet is flooded with hate for Cao Ji. Even long-time customers are calling in saying they’re disappointed. Fans are jumping ship and bashing us all over Weibo!”
Liu Shanhua fell silent.
But Yu Shangmei had no intention of letting him off easy. “I know you agreed to go to Linhuai, but deep down you were never on board. Still, did you really have to sabotage me like this?!”
“Auntie, what are you implying?” Liu Shanhua’s voice tightened. “You think I did this on purpose?”
“Shouldn’t I?” Yu Shangmei blurted out.
That moment shattered something inside Liu Shanhua.
So this was how she saw him—after all the years of loyalty, all the hard work?
Yu Shangmei realized instantly that she’d said too much in anger. She tried to backpedal. “Shanhua, that’s not what I—”
“No need to explain!” he cut her off, raising his voice. “Honestly, I should’ve seen it long ago. From beginning to end, you never treated me like family.”
To her, he wasn’t even a real nephew—just a pawn, a dependable workhorse for Cao Ji.
Yu Shangmei grew furious at his “ingratitude.” “Enough with the emotional nonsense! We’re talking about your screw-up right now!”
“Auntie, are you sure it was me who screwed up?” He let out a quiet scoff. “If you’d listened to me back then, none of this would’ve happened. Linhuai was never a suitable location for a new branch. And Tianxing Plaza? Worst choice possible. You had a grudge against Jiang Da, and you let it cloud your judgment. Now things went sideways, and it’s all my fault?”
“Sure, I executed those plans, but without your orders, would I have made those dumb decisions?”
This was the first time he had ever pushed back against her.
“So it’s all my fault now?!” Yu Shangmei barked.
“You bear at least fifty percent of the responsibility,” Liu Shanhua replied flatly.
“Do you hear yourself?! You messed up, and now you’re trying to pin it on me? And you call yourself my nephew?!”
He laughed. “Come on, I know exactly why you called me.”
Yu Shangmei’s eyes narrowed.
“You want me to take the fall—to calm public outrage and salvage Cao Ji’s image. I’ve worked by your side long enough to recognize your playbook.”
He was calm, emotionless. But Yu Shangmei was shaken. “You—”
“I’ll do it.”
“…What?”
“I agree to take the fall. But—” his tone changed, “—I’m not doing it for free.”
“What do you want? If it’s the Asia-Pacific CEO position, I…” can’t promise that.
Before she could finish, he chuckled, “Auntie, after this mess, do you really think I’d stay in Cao Ji and keep being your workhorse?”
Yu Shangmei’s heart sank. “You’re resigning?!”
“Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Fine, I’ll leave. But I’m not going quietly and unpaid.”
Her voice turned cold. “What do you want?”
“Eight million. Cash or bank transfer, either is fine. Once I get the money, I’ll release a statement.”
“Eight million?! Are you insane?!”
“Auntie, I’ve never been clearer.”
“This is blackmail! Extortion! Highway robbery!”
“After everything I’ve done for Cao Ji, all the running around, working inside and out—don’t you think it’s worth eight million?”
Yu Shangmei was speechless. “…Those are separate matters. You can’t calculate it like that.”
Liu Shanhua understood. She wasn’t willing to part with the money.
How blind had he been all these years?
He couldn’t help but wonder.
A mocking smile tugged at his lips. “Fine then. Let’s wait it out. I’m hanging up.”
“Wait—”
He paused, still on the line.
Yu Shangmei finally faced the inevitable. No telling whether it took her a second or ten minutes, but eventually, she gritted her teeth and said, “Fine!”
He wasn’t surprised. Calmly, he said, “Once the money’s in my account, the statement will go live. It’s your move.”
And with that, he hung up.
Yu Shangmei never thought the obedient nephew she once relied on would turn and bite her back.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her rage, then called the bank and ordered the transfer.
Two hours later, once the eight million had been received, a simple statement quietly appeared on Weibo.
Since it was directly from the involved party, it quickly drew attention from curious onlookers.
The content was short—less than three lines, but it covered two key points:
1.The smear campaign against Jiang Ji was solely Liu Shanhua’s personal action, unrelated to Cao Ji.
- He apologized to Jiang Ji for the damage caused and advised his former employer to “take care of itself.”
That last phrase—“take care of itself”—was particularly loaded.
And with that, the incident came to an end.
Liu Shanhua was verbally destroyed online, while Cao Ji, though distancing itself, couldn’t reverse the brand damage.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ji emerged as the biggest winner—its reputation skyrocketed, and the family of four behind it became internet-famous.
—
In the Han residence, Imperial Capital—
The old man looked at a photo in his hand, his fingers trembling, lips murmuring softly:
“Is it… Little Ru?”
