Jiang Fuyue’s eyes narrowed. She took out her phone and called Ling Qingzhou: “Wrap it up and withdraw, Lou Mingshen is here.”
“How would he know?”
“Not clear.” She hung up right after.
Less than half a minute after Lou Mingshen went in, Ling Qingzhou and Yi Hansheng slipped out the back door.
The three of them regrouped at a café.
Jiang Fuyue asked, “What’ll you drink?”
“Americano,” both men said at the same time.
Ling Qingzhou curled his lip, Yi Hansheng gave a cold snort—still looking at each other with distaste.
Jiang Fuyue acted as if she hadn’t noticed. “How did it go?”
Ling Qingzhou: “All smooth.”
Yi Hansheng leaned back against the chair, a cold sneer flickering in his eyes: “That Fang fellow is finished this time!”
But…
“How did Lou Mingshen show up? What’s he trying to do?”
Yi Hansheng glared: “Why’re you looking at me? I don’t know either!”
Ling Qingzhou: “…” Idiot.
Jiang Fuyue took a sip of coffee, lifted her gaze toward the teahouse across the street. The flashy Bentley still sat at the entrance, its owner already inside with his assistant, only the driver left in the car.
“What for?” She mused a moment, then gave a soft laugh. “At best it’s to kill the chicken to warn the monkey. As for how exactly he’ll ‘kill’—that depends on Lou Mingshen’s methods…”
Who would’ve thought—her words became prophecy!
The very next day, Lou Mingshen convened an emergency board meeting, on the spot proposing the dismissal of Fang Ye as general manager.
The charges: embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of company funds, lack of personal morals, incompetence.
Each count backed by ironclad evidence. The few directors who wanted to shield him didn’t dare utter a word, only shrank their heads like quails.
By rights, things should’ve stopped here—Lou Mingshen’s purpose of establishing authority already achieved. From this day on, in the Lou Corporation, board included, no one would dare underestimate him.
Yet facts proved his ambition reached far beyond this, and his nerve was no ordinary kind.
He actually called the police!
“Fang Ye has harmed company interests, involving massive sums, not to be tolerated! I have already filed for criminal prosecution with the court, to pursue all of his responsibilities.”
Only then did everyone realize—Lou Mingshen wasn’t after the general manager’s seat, but Fang Ye’s life!
Once the authorities intervened, Fang Ye’s money laundering and embezzlement would no longer stay hidden—that meant prison!
Many directors had tangled dealings with him, and instantly, everyone was in danger.
“Lou Mingshen, that mad dog! Bites whoever he catches!”
“Shouldn’t have let him come back to take over Lou Corp!”
“Too late for regrets now. Fang Ye is unsalvageable.”
“What matters most is erasing every trace of dealings with him, lest we get dragged in.”
“I think no need to panic—we can still wait and see.”
“Wait and see? It’s already burning to our eyebrows! Lou Mingshen is dead set on sending Fang Ye in, can’t you tell?”
“He wants to send him in just like that? Hmph! Don’t forget, Fang Ye has Liu Yuande behind him. You know how he rose to power?”
Everyone fell silent, their expressions turning complicated.
At the same time, in the president’s office—
The name “Liu Yuande” was also being mentioned.
“…He only has the one daughter, married to Fang Ye. If he really fights to the death, that old fox won’t be easy to deal with.”
Lou Mingshen stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, tall silhouette, profile cold and sharp.
At these words, he barely reacted, only stared fixedly into the distance.
As though thinking… or just dazing out.
The assistant glanced at him twice in confusion: “President Lou? President Lou?!”
“…I’m listening.”
“What about Liu Yuande?”
Lou Mingshen didn’t pick up that thread. Instead he asked, “You said yesterday, before we met Fang Ye, there was someone else who saw him. Who could that have been?”
The assistant hesitated two seconds, shook his head. “Don’t know. But the teacup was still warm—they can’t have gone far.”
Only… what did that have to do with dealing with Liu Yuande?
If Liu Yuande didn’t fall, Fang Ye’s roots wouldn’t be severed. Spring winds would bring him back to life again.
The assistant was turning this over in his mind, and finally couldn’t help but ask aloud.
Lou Mingshen gave a low chuckle: “Maybe it does have to do with it?”
The assistant blinked, baffled. Alright, didn’t understand a word.
…
While the board and Lou Mingshen both, out of fear of Liu Yuande, chose to bide their time and quietly watch—
A piece of “Anti-Organized Crime” news hit the front page of the Imperial Capital Morning News.
“…Upon receiving the report, our bureau immediately convened a meeting, deployed carefully, combed thoroughly, struck quickly. With joint action from SWAT and financial crime units, we wiped out in one fell swoop the gang led by Liu Yuande at 3 a.m. yesterday…”
Lou Corporation.
Inside the conference room, a director’s hand trembled as he flung down the paper, collapsing into his chair: “That’s it—Fang Ye is finished for good…”
“Who did this? Lou Mingshen?”
“He has that kind of reach?”
The whole room fell silent, fear rising.
…
President’s office.
“President Lou! Liu Yuande’s been arrested!” The assistant rushed in with the paper.
Next second, he saw a copy already spread open on Lou Mingshen’s desk—front page showing exactly that piece of news.
The assistant rubbed his nose: “So you already knew…”
Lou Mingshen showed no joy. Instead his brows were slightly furrowed, as though tangled by some problem.
“Fang Ye’s last trump card uprooted, now he can never turn over again. You… aren’t you happy?”
“Happy. But I’m more curious—whose handiwork was this?”
The assistant gaped: “N-not you?”
Lou Mingshen paused, then gave a soft laugh: “You think it was me?”
“W-wasn’t it? Outside rumors are flying—several directors have been probing me, wanting to know, but I kept my mouth tight, didn’t say a word.”
“Is that so?” Lou Mingshen’s smile was ambiguous, meaningful.
For a moment, the assistant himself couldn’t tell. “Then President Lou, what next?”
“Prepare the car.”
“Where to?”
“To see someone.”
…
Northern City Detention Center.
“Fang Ye—out! Someone’s here to see you!”
Visiting room.
Fang Ye thought the first person he’d see after getting locked in would be his wife or his lawyer.
Never expected—it was Lou Mingshen!
“I’m not seeing him.” His voice was cold as he turned to leave.
“You don’t want to know what’s happening outside, or whether you can walk out of here alive?”
Fang Ye froze mid-step.
Lou Mingshen lifted his chin slightly: “Sit.”
Fang Ye gritted his teeth, then rushed forward, half leaning across the table, glaring at Lou Mingshen, spitting out each word: “What the h*ll do you want?!”
“No rush. Sit down, I’ll tell you slowly.”
“I won’t fall for your tricks again!” He spun around to leave.
“Your father-in-law is dead.”
The room fell silent in an instant. Fang Ye whipped back around: “What did you say?! Say it again!”
Lou Mingshen: “I said—Liu Yuande, your biggest, and also the backer you looked down on, has collapsed.”
“No. Impossible! You’re lying!”
Lou Mingshen unfolded the newspaper, spread it on the table, tapped his knuckle against it. “See for yourself.”
The further Fang Ye read, the wider his eyes stretched, until bloodshot veins burst across them, filling the whites.
“No…” He shook his head, “I don’t believe it! It’s you—you’re trying a mind game! I’m not scared!”
How could Liu Yuande, who’d built his empire for so many years, be pulled out root and branch in just two days?
Fang Ye snatched the newspaper and tore it to shreds, flinging the scraps at Lou Mingshen’s face—but they fluttered weakly, without weight.
“No matter what you say today, I won’t believe it.” After venting, he seemed to calm down, reason seeping back in.
Lou Mingshen’s gaze toward him held mockery, and a trace of pity. “Remote control, please.”
The guard had been told from above to accommodate Lou Mingshen’s requests within reason.
He handed over the TV remote and even switched it on.
The screen lit up with the news channel.
The Liu Yuande case was the biggest “anti-gang” operation in years, making waves everywhere. Morning, noon, and evening news all looped the story.
The words “Anti-Organized Crime” were bolded, enlarged, across the public screen.
Fang Ye’s pupils shrank, teeth chattering: “…You did this?! Was it you?!”
Lou Mingshen only smiled, silent.
In Fang Ye’s eyes, that silence was an admission—and a show of pride. “Why?!”
In agitation, he lunged forward to grab Lou Mingshen’s collar, but the guards pressed him flat onto the table, face squashed out of shape, madness burning in his eyes.
Lou Mingshen rose, braced his hands on the table edge, leaning in slightly. “Let me ask you—at the teahouse that day, before I arrived, who else did you meet?”
“Hahaha… why should I tell you?”
“Don’t say it, that’s fine too. Either way, you’re not escaping prison food. And I doubt you’d mind if your wife and daughter came in to join you…”
“Lou Mingshen! You despicable b*stard!”
“I’ll ask one more time, and it’s the last time—who did you meet? What did you talk about? Think carefully before answering, because it concerns your wife and daughter’s future.”
No one knew how long before Fang Ye’s frenzy faded, replaced by gray despair. “…Ling Qingzhou and Yi Hansheng.”
Those two names—
Suddenly, Lou Mingshen’s pupils constricted.
“Hahaha… remembered, did you? That’s right, it was them!”
Five minutes later, Lou Mingshen had everything he wanted. He straightened his sleeves, ready to leave.
Fang Ye stopped him: “Why? I’ve no feud with you. If it was only for company power, you didn’t need to wipe me out completely.”
Lou Mingshen: “From the moment you betrayed her, you should’ve expected a day like this.”
Fang Ye froze, then suddenly understood, bursting into wild laughter: “Hahaha… it was for her?! Lou Mingshen, you’re ridiculous! Hahahaha…”
The man walked away without looking back.
