Most of the small- and medium-scale investors had already sold their shares when the news broke yesterday. The information they'd received had been too concrete to doubt, and since Ren Development Group wasn't a key part of their portfolio anyways, they had no reason to hold onto an increasingly risky asset. Naturally, Chen Yu had generously picked up these stocks, raising Ren Yijun's 8% ownership to 12%.
Thus, the people waiting in the meeting room were influential shareholders. They could be divided into the majority, who felt secure in keeping the stocks because they were colluding with Ren Anjing, and the minority, who believed that Ren Development Group was stable enough to recoup their losses.
Chen Yu had tapped into Ren Anjing's phone a while ago, so he could easily differentiate between the two factions by who'd called to congratulate the old man yesterday. He didn't really mind those who'd divested as soon as they heard about the scandal—as a former investor himself, he knew that making money was far more important than fidelity to a project. But for Ren Anjing's minions who were hoping to get rich off of Ren Yijun's fall, he'd decided to give them the company they wanted so much, just with a slight modification.
Well, that was for the future. Today was Secretary Xi's day, he wouldn't take away the limelight.
The instant Ren Yijun walked in, he noticed Secretary Xi fidgeting and adjusting his glasses nervously next to Ren Anjing instead of behind the CEO's seat. Seeing with his own eyes that his assistant was betraying him, he briefly exposed a mix of bewilderment, shock, and disappointment. Soon, however, he recovered and sat down in the head position without commenting.
The preliminaries were rushed through, then Ren Yijun spoke. "Good morning. I'm sure everyone knows why we're here. Let's have the accusations against me recorded first, shall we?"
Ren Anjing stood up shakily, looking grief-stricken but resolute. "Yijun, we've all inspected the documents we received, it's undeniable that you've done something unforgivable. The only thing you can do to is apologize, resign, and give back the shares you have to cover the money you've stolen. Perhaps the shareholders will be lenient with the prosecution and clear Ren Jia of any involvement." A chorus of angry agreement followed Ren Anjing's words, along with some praise for his impartiality.
Although Ren Yijun's expression remained tranquil from beginning to end, those who sat close to him noticed his clenched, shaking hands. They shook their heads in pity, but there was nothing they could do to help. The evidence was irrefutable.
Ren Yijun hummed as if he was considering what his uncle had said, then he insisted, "What are these records you've mentioned? Who sent them?"
Watching the last struggles of Ren Daquan's son, Ren Anjing smirked. That seat, those shares, everything would be his soon. He pulled Secretary Xi up and whispered, "Describe everything that's happened."
Secretary Xi bravely swallowed and admitted that he'd been the one who'd previously disclosed confidential documents in order to protect Ren Development Group. He reported the various ways CEO Ren had violated company policy from the beginning, listing how he'd demanded secret pay raises, unjustified transfers to a private bank account, and so on.
Ren Yijun listened composedly to his recitation, mentally encouraging, 'Jump, little clown, jump!'
Once Secretary Xi wound down, he simply asked the others, "And you trust the words of a traitor?"
Xi Heng faltered, but Ren Anjing immediately rebutted, "Yijun, even if we don't approve of his disloyalty, we can't absolve you of guilt unless you provide some proof."
Chen Yu nodded thoughtfully.
Not a bad opening act, it probably wouldn't get much more interesting. Time to do his part then.
After a minute of silence during which the whole room stared at his every move, he signaled an assistant to cut the lights and click the projector on. "I wanted to at least leave him some dignity, but...it seems that's not an option anymore. You all can decide after you see this."
On the screen, the scenes of Secretary Xi using Ren Yijun's signature on his own to authorize pay raises, bonuses, and other benefits appeared, followed by artificial footage of Ren Yijun asking his secretary why certain documents he'd never seen had been approved under his name, only to receive evasive assurances.
The shareholders began to murmur.
"What, so Xi Heng did everything then pushed it off onto his boss?"
"Idiot, you really believe that a lowly secretary would act on his own? What benefit would he even get for raising his boss's pay?"
"You're the idiot! Didn't you notice that he gave himself and Mr. Ren Anjing a higher salary first? He probably got nervous that CEO Ren would punish him, so he wanted to rope him in as well."
At last, someone asked, "Hold on...wasn't Secretary Xi...brought into the company by Mr. Ren Anjing?" People glanced at each other with knowing looks. It seemed poor CEO Ren had been caught up in some internal trouble, but he was really too kind, even holding off on presenting his proof in case it implicated his uncle.
Ren Anjing tried to stay calm, but when he heard the suspicious tone of these questions, he exploded, "Ren Yijun! What are you intending? Secretary Xi isn't someone who'd do that kind of thing!"
He nudged Secretary Xi to speak up, but there was no response. As soon as the video began playing, Xi Heng had frozen. Hadn't all the surveillance cameras been removed? Where had these recordings come from? And that last conversation had never happened at all!
Without Secretary Xi's cooperation, Ren Anjing had to grit his teeth and chance losing his cordial image. "Yijun, where have these videos come from? The first day you came, you had Secretary Xi bring in people to check for any monitoring devices, right? Are you sure these aren't fake?"
The rapt audience wavered a bit. It was rather dangerous for any of the executive offices to be monitored, why would CEO Ren have taken the risk?
Ren Yijun coolly used his trump card. "Father advised me to secretly keep some cameras running in case I'm framed for anything, which I now see was clearly not an unfounded concern. As for whether I've tampered with the videos, I'll be submitting them as evidence to court, so you'll see the authentication report then." What could anyone say? Ren Daquan was dead and couldn't talk, but CEO Ren wasn't afraid to be publicly scrutinized. Anyone could tell who was innocent and who was guilty.
Ren Anjing couldn't give up yet. "As your uncle, I want to believe you. It's just that even if what you've shown us is true, what about how you transferred so many assets to your bank account?"
Ren Yijun simply flipped to the next screen, which showed that large transfers had indeed taken place. The shareholders lost control again. Ren Anjing's supporters triumphantly pointed to this admission of guilt, while the rest hesitated. Even if CEO Ren had done this, if he didn't have a defense, he wouldn't have presented it to everyone.
Indeed, when the emotions in the room seemed to level off, Chen Yu highlighted the account number and revealed that it was registered not to any individual but to an average-sized Ren Development Group subsidiary. "I didn't realize Secretary Xi couldn't connect the account number to the company records without my clarification."
The genteel barb set off a round of contemptuous stares at Xi Heng. This incompetent man had tried to pass off his crimes, abandoned any professional ethics on confidentiality, and, worst of all, caused so much loss to the company!
Ren Anjing slumped. This round was a complete defeat. This brat was trickier to catch than he'd thought.
Washed clean, Ren Yijun wrapped up the meeting with an announcement that Xi Heng would be prosecuted for embezzling and defamation. When he opened the conference room doors, the detectives were already waiting to take Xi Heng in for questioning.
Except for Ren Anjing's supporters, everyone who watched the straight back striding away exclaimed, "Too cool!"
---
Feng Kuo had been waiting for Ren Yijun's call, but before he could rush in to save him, the shareholders meeting was over and the results well-known. That afternoon, he was unable to wait any longer and phoned, pacing around his office.
A lazy voice picked up. "Hello?"
Feng Kuo's tone unconsciously softened, and he asked, "Pet, were you sleeping?"
"Mm, I was a bit busy last night preparing for the meeting." The sound of clothes rustling came from across the line, along with a small moan as Chen Yu stretched. At the noise, Feng Kuo pressed on the reaction between his legs and bit his lip. This naughty child...When the silence lasted for some time, Jun interrupted his fantasies, "Hello? Uncle Kuo?"
"Yes, I'm here. So, everything went as you planned?"
Reminded of the play earlier, Chen Yu laughed. He hadn't gotten to mention that he controlled 49% of the shares, but the rest of the act had been quite satisfying. Since he was in a good mood, Chen Yu decided to indulge a bit.
In a husky voice, he answered, "Well, not too bad. I've been keeping a bottle of Macallan Imperiale, do you want to celebrate with me?"
The erection that had barely subsided heated up again. Feng Kuo was eager to accept Jun's first invitation, but he still choked out, "You want it at your office?"
Chen Yu smirked. "Or we can go somewhere else?"
Feng Kuo didn't care if Jun was out of his mind from fatigue or relief, he spit out, "I'll pick you up in five minutes" and clicked off.