Gu Ru's condition was not serious, and after staying with her for two days, Gu Zhan was practically chased back to Beijing amid his mother's constant urging.

After his unpleasant confrontation with Gu Zhan that day, Fu Yan had already returned to Beijing.

Gu Zhan had planned to talk to Fu Yan after he got back, but as soon as his plane landed, Richard urgently summoned him to the office. The Japanese brand's shipment problem still hadn't been resolved. On top of that, people from Chenglang had come to demand payment for the investment in Feifan Select's new skincare line.

The moment Richard saw the situation, he knew he couldn't handle it himself and needed to get the boss back.

Gu Zhan stood by the office window, frowning. “What's going on? How could the Japanese brand's shipment still not have gone out?”

Before leaving for Suzhou, he had specifically met with Chen Lang. Chen Lang had promised that he would properly handle the shipping issue. Yet three days had passed, and it was still unresolved.

Richard lowered his head dejectedly.

“While you were away, I kept pressing Chenglang to ship the goods, but they kept dodging the issue and giving us vague answers. So I managed to get in touch with someone in charge at the Japanese brand and learned some things internally.”

“Apparently, it's not that they refuse to ship. One of the fixed suppliers for the chips used in this laptop went bankrupt and stopped production in the first half of the year. So they switched to a new chip manufacturer. The data shows that the new chip's performance is actually better across the board. But Chenglang is refusing to accept the new batch, claiming that the product's chip doesn't match what was agreed upon.”

A sharp glint flashed through Gu Zhan's eyes.

“Chenglang has deliberately kept us in the dark about the shortage. They're buying time.”

“President Gu, you think President Chen did this intentionally too?”

“By holding up the Japanese brand's shipment, we can't collect the outstanding balance from the pre-orders. That amount is enormous. Without it, it'll be difficult to fund the next stage of Feifan Select's skincare-line development.

“And that project happens to be a joint venture with Chenglang. If we can't come up with the money by the deadline, we'll be in breach of contract, and Chenglang can sue us.”

“Attacking us from both sides—Chen Lang has dug a hole and is waiting for me to jump into it!”

Gu Zhan slammed his fist onto the desk in anger.

“President Chen is too despicable.” Richard gritted his teeth. “I've always heard that he's ruthless, but I never thought he'd treat us like this after we've worked together for so long. His character is absolutely rotten!”

“Before I left for Suzhou, I asked you to take stock of all our current projects. I remember there was a project that was about to receive funding. Hurry and put that project on hold. We'll use the money to plug this hole first.”

Richard looked at his boss apologetically.

“It's… already too late.”

“What? That project wasn't supposed to begin production until next week. Why did it start early?”

“The project manager, Chang Jian, was pushing things along smoothly. We hadn't anticipated this problem at the time. Manager Chang said we needed to contact the bank in advance to make the payment. We reported it to you, but you were in Suzhou…”

Richard glanced at him somewhat timidly.

“You didn't object, so we went ahead and transferred the money to get the project started.”

Gu Zhan rubbed his forehead helplessly. His attention had been focused on Gu Ru lately, and he really hadn't been paying enough attention to the company.

“This Manager Chang… I don't remember him very well. Hasn't he only been with the company for a short time?”

“About a year. You didn't hire him personally, so you probably haven't seen him much.”

“How old is he? This isn't a small project. If he's only been here for a year, why was he put in charge?”

“Under forty. He used to work at Fu Corporation, so he has quite a bit of experience. We've been short-staffed in the product department lately—two key employees are on maternity leave—so Manager Chang stepped in.”

Gu Zhan frowned thoughtfully for a moment.

“Go get Manager Chang.”

“Okay.”

Richard hurried downstairs, but soon came rushing back.

It turned out that the project manager, Chang Jian, had resigned the previous day and fled, apparently feeling guilty.

Richard said nervously, “His phone has been disconnected. I'm guessing he's deliberately hiding from us.”

Gu Zhan rubbed his brow and leaned back in his chair.

Actually, he had already anticipated this.

Chang Jian was most likely someone Chenglang had planted inside the company. He had pushed the project forward so aggressively and arranged for the payment to be made early precisely to help Chen Lang set this trap and create a cash-flow crisis for Slungshot.

Richard suggested, “President Gu, what do we do now? Should we try to raise financing?”

“It happened way too suddenly. We probably don't have time to raise financing. Besides, Chen Lang went to all this trouble to trap us. He'll certainly have ways to make sure we can't raise the money.”

Gu Zhan gritted his teeth.

“Find a few smart people and send them to Chang Jian's house. If you find him, don't alert him. Contact me first. If he really worked for Chen Lang, he could be our breakthrough in dealing with him.”

“Yes.”

Richard nodded and was about to leave, but then turned around.

“Wait, President Gu. Is keeping an eye on Chang Jian really enough? What about our project? Are we just going to sit around and wait until everything falls apart?”

“Don't panic.”

A sharp light flashed in Gu Zhan's narrowed eyes.

“Chen Lang is holding a strong hand right now and wants to crush us. Then we'll wait for him to make his move. We'll deal with whatever comes our way.”

Sure enough, within a few hours, Chen Lang personally called and invited Gu Zhan out for tea.

The meeting was set at the teahouse Chen Lang frequented.

Gu Zhan walked in calmly.

Seeing how composed he looked, Chen Lang smiled and poured him a cup of tea.

“President Gu looks like he's doing pretty well. Is your mother feeling better?”

“Yes.”

At this point, Gu Zhan had no patience for playing games with him.

“President Chen, let's get straight to business.”

Chen Lang laughed twice.

“President Gu is a straightforward man. I like doing business with straightforward people. I assume you understand your current situation quite clearly?”

Gu Zhan gave a mocking smile.

“Experience really does count, President Chen. Just tell me what you want.”

“Hahaha. How can you call it a demand? Look at your situation. Your company's cash flow has run into trouble, while you've spread Feifan Select's skincare business so widely. The factories are all waiting to start production.”

“If Slungshot can't come up with the money, all the investment you've already made will go down the drain. And the penalty for breaching the contract isn't a small amount either.”

“I'm not making demands of you, brother. I'm trying to help you.”

“Oh? And how exactly do you plan to help?”

Gu Zhan thought bitterly to himself: Chen Lang really has no shame. He's already pushed me into this situation, yet he still has the nerve to claim he's helping me.

Chen Lang's face was beaming.

“Brother Gu, since Slungshot can't swallow the entire Feifan Select project, let me help you. Sell me a share of Feifan Select, and I'll fill the remaining funding gap for you.”

“Haha.”

Gu Zhan laughed twice.

“President Chen has quite the scheme. You want controlling interest in Feifan Select?”

“Yes.”

Chen Lang looked completely confident.

“President Gu, you don't have any other choice now. If you agree, the two of us can continue working together. When I'm making money, I'll still throw you a bone.”

“But if you refuse to sell Feifan Select, not only will you fail to get the Feifan brand off the ground, I won't let you get the Japanese brand's goods either.”

“Do you understand how badly that will damage Slungshot's reputation? You should know better than I do.”

“Do you really think you have the ability to go up against me?”

Chen Lang gave a disdainful laugh, took a sip of tea, and looked at Gu Zhan leisurely.

Gu Zhan held his teacup, his eyes lowered as he stared at the clear tea.

He really couldn't fight Chenglang head-on.

It had taken him more than a decade of hard work to build Slungshot, yet in front of a commercial giant like Chenglang, he could still be manipulated at will.

The independent brand Feifan Select, which he had built from the ground up with his own abilities—Chen Lang could simply demand it and take it away.

He was unwilling to accept that.

But what could he do?

He couldn't gamble on Slungshot's reputation.

“He has the ability to go up against you.”

A deep male voice came from outside the door.

It wasn't loud, but it was powerful.

Fu Yan walked in with calm, measured steps, stopped beside Gu Zhan, and rested one hand on the back of his chair. Looking down at Chen Lang, he said,

“Slungshot plus Fu Corporation—don't you think that's enough to go up against President Chen?”

“President Fu, why do you show up everywhere?” Chen Lang sneered. “Are you planning to fill the funding hole in Feifan Select for President Gu? Are you going to lend him a hand again, just like a year ago? Hahaha—”

When he said a year ago, his eyes were full of mockery as he glanced at Gu Zhan, as though trusting Fu Yan again would be the most foolish thing in the world.

Seeing the embarrassment on Gu Zhan's face, Fu Yan couldn't help blaming himself.

He glared at Chen Lang through gritted teeth.

“President Chen has quite the imagination. I don't mind putting money into Gu Zhan's company, but why should I let you profit from it?”

“Feifan Select is an excellent project. You're not worthy of having a part in it. I'm not as magnanimous as you, President Chen. When I'm eating meat, I won't even let you have the soup. I'll kick you out of this game and make you pay the price for everything you've done.”

Perhaps Fu Yan's imposing presence was particularly intense as he said this. Even an old man like Chen Lang was intimidated into silence for a few seconds.

But he quickly recovered his smile.

“It's normal for young people to be ignorant of the limits of their own abilities. Just don't come crying to your father when you get in over your head.”

Fu Yan clenched his fists and glared at him, forcing himself not to throw a punch.

There was no point in wasting time with this man.

He extended his hand toward Gu Zhan.

“Let's go.”

Gu Zhan looked at Fu Yan.

The man was smiling at him warmly.

Then Gu Zhan looked down at that broad, steady hand.

“President Gu, think carefully,” Chen Lang warned. “If you walk out with him today, then from now on, you and I are completely finished.

“You've helped me with quite a few things in the past. Do you really think Fu Hongping will tolerate you? And what about all the projects you have with Chenglang? Are you really going to let all of those fall apart…”

Chen Lang continued trying to frighten him, but Gu Zhan had already taken Fu Yan's hand.

The two men walked out of the teahouse side by side.

━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━

Gu Zhan sat in the passenger seat, frowning deeply, apparently lost in thought.

Fu Yan didn't rush to start the car. Instead, he turned his head and watched him.

“What are you thinking about? Don't tell me you're regretting leaving with me.”

“No.”

Gu Zhan continued thinking, while Fu Yan continued watching him intently.

After a while, Gu Zhan noticed his intense gaze.

“What are you thinking about? Don't tell me you're laughing at me for making a deal with the devil and finally getting bitten by the tiger.”

“No.”

A gentle smile spread across Fu Yan's lips.

“I'm just really happy that you held my hand just now.”

“Idiot.”

Gu Zhan shot him a sideways glare.

“Don't get too pleased with yourself. I just think you said something right.”

“What?”

“‘Feifan Select’ is a brand I built from the ground up. Someone like Chen Lang doesn't deserve to lay a finger on it.”

A ruthless glint flashed through Gu Zhan's eyes.

Just then, his phone rang.

It was Richard.

“President Gu, we went to Chang Jian's home using the address registered in the company's employee records, but he'd already moved out. According to the neighbors, his wife was pregnant recently. Chang Jian apparently moved away overnight with his heavily pregnant wife. He must have done something wrong and fled because he was afraid of being caught. Should we report him to the police?”

“We can't. We don't have any evidence that he's committed a crime.”

“Then what should we do?”

“First, find out whether he has any relatives or friends nearby. His wife is pregnant, so they probably couldn't have gone very far.”

“Okay.”

Richard hung up.

Gu Zhan held his phone, his brows tightly furrowed.

Fu Yan looked at him.

“Are you looking for Chang Jian?”

Something shifted in Gu Zhan's expression.

“How do you know about him?”

“He used to work at Fu Corporation.”

A sharp look suddenly appeared in Fu Yan's eyes.

“And I found out that what happened at Fu Corporation's factory a year ago was connected to him.”