Chapter 7

Cheng Yu ignored Zhao Jinchui's joking and continued, "For now, the domestic economy has indeed not been greatly affected, especially in the jewelry and luxury goods sector. With the Olympics about to be held, the entire industry is flourishing, and C&C Jewelry's sales last quarter rose by seven percentage points as a result. But that is not a reason for you to casually approve an eighty-million bridge loan."

With both hands in his pockets, Cheng Yu walked into the living room and casually took a seat in an armchair, his gaze fixed on Chen Lingyun. "Don't think that just because there's no pressure right now, everything is fine. Don't forget what the Subprime Mortgage Crisis did to Fragrant City. So many companies went bankrupt, so many people jumped from buildings, and local purchasing power was so weak. Do you think those jewelers from Fragrant City and Bay Island will shift their focus to the mainland? And what about those foreign luxury brands? If they follow suit and expand into the domestic market, stepping up their promotion in the mainland, do you think C&C Jewelry, a local brand that has only existed for a little over a decade, can compete with those international luxury brands?"

"And the Labor Contract Law has just been introduced. Once it is fully implemented, labor costs on factory assembly lines will inevitably rise. If we're unlucky enough to run into a hike in raw material prices as well..."

Cheng Yu gave a soft laugh and bluntly questioned Chen Lingyun, "If you approve C&C Jewelry's eighty-million bridge loan to Zhao Light Textiles without authorization, have you considered how you'll explain yourself to the shareholders' meeting if the circumstances I described occur and create a strain on the cash flow? Will Feng Guangxu seize the opportunity at the board meeting to attack you again, questioning whether your decision harmed the company and all its shareholders' interests, and whether you are unfit to serve as chairman of C&C Jewelry?"

Cheng Yu's words were razor-sharp and cut straight to the point. He laid out every advantage, disadvantage, and hidden danger in the open. Zhao Jinchui's face flushed red as he listened, and he even snapped at Cheng Kaiyun and his wife in anger, "Brother Cheng, Sister-in-law, if you have difficulties, you could have just said so. Why use a child's mouth to shut me down?"

"Old Zhao, don't misunderstand. We truly didn't mean that." Cheng Kaiyun repeatedly waved his hands, soothing Zhao Jinchui while signaling Cheng Yu to go upstairs. "The adults are discussing serious matters. What's a kid like you butting in for?"

"Was I wrong?" Cheng Yu tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

Everything he had said had unquestionably happened in his previous life. Chen Lingyun had softened for a moment and agreed to lend Zhao Light Textiles eighty million to tide it over. But then Pei Mining tore up the contract and abruptly changed raw material suppliers, causing raw material prices to skyrocket. Meanwhile, international luxury brands and jewelry brands from Fragrant City and Bay Island entered the mainland market, and C&C Jewelry's market share plummeted. The company's profits fell sharply, and its cash flow nearly broke. Other shareholders held Chen Lingyun accountable for it, and Feng Guangxu nearly joined forces with them to remove her as chairman on the grounds that she had let personal feelings override the shareholders' interests.

—Although Cheng Yu also bore considerable responsibility for Pei Mining unilaterally tearing up the contract, times had changed. There was no way he would let Chen Lingyun fall into the same pit twice, even in a dream.

"C&C Jewelry is in business, not running a charity. Since the economy is in a slump, everyone should mind their own business and leave others to theirs. After all, when you kindly help someone else clear the frost from their roof, you never know whether a falling tile might smash you to death."

At that, Cheng Yu cast Zhao Jinchui a casual glance. He remembered that when Feng Guangxu joined forces with the other shareholders to challenge Chen Lingyun at the shareholders' meeting, Zhao Jinchui's wife, who held three percent of C&C Jewelry's shares, had secretly handed her proxy voting rights to Feng Guangxu. When asked, she claimed that they were relatives, that Feng Guangxu had tricked her by accident, and that she had not deliberately stabbed Chen Lingyun in the back.

Cheng Yu gave a derisive laugh. After Chen Lingyun and Cheng Kaiyun died, when he returned to the country to fight Cheng Shao for the family inheritance, he had also driven Zhao Light Textiles into bankruptcy and kicked Zhao Jinchui's wife and Feng Guangxu out of the boardroom. But that had all happened after Chen Lingyun's death. He had already suffered through it once in reality; there was no need to endure it again in a dream.

Zhao Jinchui could not keep a straight face after Cheng Yu's barbs and mockery. Rising to his feet in humiliation and fury, he said, "Fine, fine. I really... I'll just pretend I never made friends with you two in this life. This really is a tiger brought low on the plains. After all these years of brotherhood between us, now that something has happened, I finally see it clearly. You never saw me as a brother! If you had something to say, why couldn't you say it to my face? Why use a child to fool me?"

"Old Zhao, that's too harsh." Cheng Kaiyun was so anxious that sweat beaded across his forehead. He kept trying to calm Zhao Jinchui. "Don't get worked up. If there's something to say, sit down and say it slowly. Say it properly. We've been brothers for decades. How could I stand by and watch you suffer without helping?"

Sitting on the sofa, Cheng Yu watched the scene with great interest and lazily chimed in, "Exactly. We're all adults. Why get carried away in the heat of the moment? Isn't Zhao Light Textiles' cash flow broken, with the bank pressing for repayment, and bankruptcy just around the corner? In such a crisis, if you simply storm out of the Cheng Family home without a care, how will you explain it to your thousand-plus employees afterward? How will you explain it to your wife and children?"

"That's enough. You say less too." Chen Lingyun shot Cheng Yu an irritated glare. The sight of the boy acting so smug made her furious. "Is that any way to speak to Uncle Zhao? He's your elder, after all. Is that the attitude you should have? If word gets out, people will say I failed to raise you properly!"

"They won't." Cheng Yu shifted position and sprawled even more lazily into the sofa. "After all, you never raised me from childhood to adulthood. Everyone knows that. So however poor my manners may be, you really can't pin that on yourself."

Chapter 7

"You little bastard—" Chen Lingyun instinctively raised her right hand, only to force herself to stop mid-swing.

Cheng Yu tilted his head, originally intending to dodge Chen Lingyun's slap. Seeing that she had stopped on her own, he smiled. "That's more like it. Two slaps make things symmetrical. One more, and my face won't be even anymore."

Chen Lingyun looked at the faint slap marks still visible on Cheng Yu's face and lowered her arm resentfully. "I must have owed you in my previous life. I gave birth to you in this one to repay the debt."

Cheng Yu merely raised an eyebrow and called out to Cheng Kaiyun, who was holding Zhao Jinchui back from leaving. "You don't need to stop him. This Uncle Zhao is far too shrewd and clear-headed. He won't leave easily until he gets what he wants."