Chapter 705 - Speckless
“What happened? Weren’t the stocks just dumped at low prices moments ago?”
“It appears that we have an anonymous buyer.”
On the display was the rapid purchase of Yu Lei’s stocks. Stocks were bought in bulk and separately, instantly after they were dumped.
This rapid fire of acquisition caught everyone present off-guard. Who in the right mind would splurge on a failing business?
Liu Mingyu meanwhile seemed to have noticed something as she turned to Lin Ruoxi before asking, “Is this the result of your phone call?”
The board was intrigued as everyone turned towards her, awaiting an explanation. Even if it was her who had ordered the purchase, what good would that do for the company?
Lin Ruoxi went straight to the point. “I made the Athena team acquire all the stocks on the market as fast as possible”
“But Boss Lin, even if you are willing to spend billions to purchase all the available stocks, it’s not going to make any difference given the rapid depreciation of their value,” a high-ranked employee distraughtly explained. The others were still in silent contemplation of a possible explanation for her actions.
Yang Chen who was still lying on a row of chairs, opened one eye to check up on the situation before resuming his nap.
Lin Ruoxi, however, did not explicitly explain the reasoning behind her actions. Instead, she reached towards an envelope by her side and withdrew a thin document copy. She then tossed it towards the center of the conference table.
Liu Mingyu noticed something peculiar about the document. “Is that a notice for successful bidding?”
“A successful bid? For which segment?” A few executives gathered around the document as they flipped through its contents, which prompted faces of astonishment among them.
One of them stared the notice, unwilling to believe his eyes. “Boss Lin, did we win the bids for the three plots of land over at Zhangzhou today?!”
“Are you illiterate? Read it!” another executive yelled, unable to hold back his excitement.
“Am I seeing it right? Is this real? Is that actually the notice from today?”
“Can’t you differentiate legitimate documents from a fake? You’ve got to be joking.”
“But the brutal truth was that our bidding strategies were already out there. There’s no way our competitors would’ve given up on such an opportunity.”
The executives were more confused than ever by the revelation.
Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu stared towards the stone-cold Lin Ruoxi, equally in doubt as they shared a gaze before seemingly understanding the reason nearly in unison.
Yang Chen opened his eyelids as he silently gazed at the cool and calm woman by the opposite side of the room. The expression in his eyes was unreadable.
Lin Ruoxi eventually broke her silence as she gave an order to Liu Mingyu. “Mingyu, I need you to publicize the news of our successful bid on every network. After doing so, retrieve all the documents from my safe. The code is exactly the same as yours. Go now.”
Liu Mingyu remained silent as she instantly stood up and went straight to fulfill the orders.
… …
Ten minutes later, Li Minghe allowed Wu Yue to come downstairs only after Luo Cuishan left. Currently, Wu Yue was filled with rage and hatred but she ultimately sat down with him as they focused upon the breaking news.
Li Minghe held onto his wine glass as he taunted, “Look at Lin Ruoxi. She’s desperately trying to salvage the situation by purchasing back her stocks. Tsk, how pathetic.”
Wu Yue was anxious the whole time this was going on. She wanted to believe in Lin Ruoxi and her capabilities to rebound. But it would seem like all hope was lost this time around.
Right at that moment, the financial news host was seen receiving breaking news. Yu Lei International won the biddings of three mega locations at Zhangzhou.
Attached on the display were the details of the notice regarding the winning bid. With confirmation from the auction organizer, it appeared that Yu Lei International had indeed won the final biddings for all three plots.
The news left Li Minghe in shock. He was aware of the significance of the auction to Yu Lei’s plans. But the real puzzle for him was figuring out how Yu Lei had managed to win the auction despite their plans being out in the open.
A glimpse of hope appeared on Wu Yue’s face. It was the first good news Yu Lei International had had in two days!
Before the tides were settled, another wave of breaking news quickly followed through. Yu Lei International would hold an emergency press conference with the aim of clarifying that the leak was, in fact, fake news!
After the news was released, it came as a shock to Zhonghai and the rest of the world watching.
Fake news? That evidently genuine information that was leaked all this while turned out to be fake? How was that possible?
The wine glass slipped from Li Minghe’s hands as it fell straight on the carpet. His facial expressions went stiff as he failed to utter a single word.
The phone rang right at that instant. The dumbfounded man went ahead to pick it up, only to be greeted with rants and curses from Luo Cuishan.
“What’s happening, you bloody idiot?!”
Li Minghe clenched on his chest as his breathing became irregularly hasty. “Please calm down Ma’am. I am convinced that Lin Ruoxi is just putting on a show for the public. All the documents were accumulated month after month. It is not possible for everything to have been faked.”
“You better be right. I’m still here in Zhonghai, you better make sure I’m in a decent mood before I return to Beijing.”
Luo Cuishan furiously hung up on Li Minghe. His hands trembled uncontrollably before letting the phone slip through the cracks of his fingers.
Minutes before that, Liu Mingyu, accompanied by a few assistants, came back to the conference room with a heap of documents and brought them to the conference table.
Liu Mingyu’s face was covered with excitement as she nodded at Lin Ruoxi. “Boss Lin, everything you requested for is here.”
“Good.” Lin Ruoxi took her time as she stood up and declared to everyone present, “Here are all the original documents of the allegedly stolen information. Please, take a look.”
The executives glanced at one another, unsure if they misheard her words. The original documents? Does that mean… the stolen ones were all fake?
Some of them brought themselves towards the files and started having a look. It did not take long before they were all left stupefied.
“These are the real blueprints of the material purchases. When was this signed?”
“Over here are the same documents, but these are the budget estimation for the next month. It is slightly different than the ones leaked…”
“The European and American regional headquarters too. They contrast with the one that we discussed the last meeting.”
As they filtered through the files one by one, it was certain that the documents exhibited were the actual blueprints and strategies for the second half of the year. Even though certain parts of the document were actually leaked, most of the private and confidential ones were still wholly intact. Any immediate improvisation might be less secure, but nonetheless could be mended and utilized with minimal repercussions.
Lin Ruoxi, however, contrasted starkly with the rest in the room as she stoically gave a set of instructions to Mo Qianni. ”Qianni, go inform the mass media that we will hold a press conference later today to clarify that our core confidential business information for the second half of the year is still largely intact.”
Mo Qianni eventually recovered from the astonishment she felt. She was certain that this time they were up for an ultimate rebound despite her feelings for the past two days.
“I’m not too convinced with my ability to handle the media so I need you to go in my place. As the company’s representative and vice president, you are more than worthy to stand in my place.” Lin Ruoxi gave her clear orders.
“Understood.” Mo Qianni instantly hopped on her feet and rushed out of the room.
Lin Ruoxi subsequently faced Liu Mingyu and the remaining executives. “I know all of you must be burning with questions in regards to how I pulled it off. It will all be explained in due time. I will need all of you to return to your departments and update your employees on our current situation. When proceeding with your operations, refer to the proposals here and act accordingly. Mingyu, take note. Pay extra attention to our international branches, major business partners, and significant collaborators. Make sure that we explain to them well. If required, give them some benefits to calm them down.”
The masses were wholeheartedly impressed with the woman on the reins as she solemnly distributed their individual roles. Even those in the business for decades were left amazed by her leadership prowess.
They might not have connected the dots on when and how Lin Ruoxi had formulated these strategies, but under current circumstances, it was a conversation best saved for later.
As the executives gradually left the conference room with their departmental documents, the noise progressively faded away.
At that moment, Yang Chen who had largely been ignored finally got up from the chairs and leisurely made his way towards Lin Ruoxi. He then climbed onto the conference table and sat right on it before he asked, “When did it start?”
Lin Ruoxi avoided his gaze as she kept her silence for a while. She then cleared her throat. “That’s not important. What’s crucial is that we’ve made it through safe and sound.”
“Of course it is, I ought to know. You tricked everyone, even me.”
Lin Ruoxi lifted her head with a tinge of frustration. “Do not talk to me with that tone. I never planned to fool anyone. I’ve only been doing my job.”
“Oopsy. I am truly amazed at your acting Ms Lin. You should’ve been nominated for the Oscars. Anyway, when was this speckless setup put into position? I just want to fulfill my curiosity, that’s all. Is that fine, my magnificent wife?” Yang Chen drawled.