But after so many days, how could there still be any call records?
He grew anxious again, only then remembering that he had blacklisted the number. He hurriedly opened the blacklist and started searching.
At last, his gaze stopped on a string of digits. He let out a pale smile of relief, quickly removed the number from the blacklist, and dialed it.
"The number you have dialed is powered off. Please try again later, sorry..."
A mechanical voice sounded from the phone.
The smile on Lin Qingying's face froze again.
"It's already dawn..."
"It must be because it's too late..."
"I'll call again tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning..."
His hand clutching the phone trembled violently as he tried to comfort himself...
Early in the morning.
Tang Chen got out of bed.
He pulled open the curtains. The sky outside was gray and overcast.
It was getting closer and closer to the depths of winter.
Even in Magic City, the weather had grown increasingly cold.
And it was not only the weather that was cold.
Some people's hearts were as cold as ice...
He wondered whether Shen Group's shareholders had slept well after hearing the news of the withdrawal of funds last night.
Tang Chen had deliberately turned on airplane mode on his phone last night and left Shen Qingyan a message.
If anything came up, she could contact him through WeChat.
He had expected that some shareholders would definitely call him last night.
And having his phone switched off all night was the final step in crushing their psychological defenses!
Just as Tang Chen had expected.
The moment he turned on his phone, it immediately showed over ninety-nine missed calls.
Then another call came in.
It was an unfamiliar number.
It was the same number as all of Tang Chen's missed calls.
When Tang Chen saw those digits, he smiled.
His memory was exceptional.
Although he had only called it once, he clearly remembered that the number belonged to one of Shen Group's major shareholders, Lin Qingying!
His long thumb slid across the screen as he answered the call.
After lying down for a while, Lin Qingying resumed calling. He had been dialing almost the entire night.
At last, the call went through, and the other party even answered.
For a moment, he nearly cried tears of joy. He hurriedly said, "Hello, hello, you... hello. I'm Lin Qingying, a shareholder of Shen Group. You called me some time ago. Do you remember?"
"Manager Lin from Shen Corporation... Why are you calling?" Tang Chen asked in an indifferent tone.
"Well..."
Lin Qingying forced a smile. "It's like this. Didn't you say you wanted to acquire my shares for five million? I agree to sell them now. We can sign the contract immediately..."
His tone was utterly humble.
It was worlds apart from the arrogant attitude he had shown during their previous call and when facing Shen Qingyan.
Tang Chen laughed. "Acquire them for five million? Sign the contract now? Heh! Manager Lin, I think you may have forgotten what I said back then."
"You said..."
Lin Qingying thought back, and the other party's words from their last phone call surfaced in his mind.
"I hope you'll consider it carefully..."
"If you refuse now, the next price won't be as high as five million..."
He swallowed and forced more firmness into his voice. "Then... then four million. Four million, not a cent less!"
"Manager Lin, I don't think you should be working at Shen Corporation."
"You should become a comedian instead."
"Because you really have a talent for making people laugh."
Tang Chen sneered. "Please get one thing straight first. You're the one begging me to acquire your shares now, not me asking to buy them."
"You should understand Shen Group's current situation better than anyone, right?"
"What shares? They're nothing but a pile of debts now!"
"If you had come to me a few days earlier, I might really have accepted that price. But now..."
"I can offer fifty thousand at most, not a cent more!"
Fifty thousand!
Upon hearing that number, Lin Qingying reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Fifty thousand?! Over the past few days, I've poured several million into maintaining the company's projects, inside and out, and you want to acquire my shares for fifty thousand?! Are you kidding me?"
Fifty thousand was the price just now! The delighted shareholders!
"Then just treat it as a joke. With such a huge risk, there's a very good chance I'll even lose that fifty thousand."
"And fifty thousand is a minor matter. The most important thing is that I'd also have to take on your bankruptcy debts."
"So at this point, I no longer have the intention or need to acquire Shen Corporation."
With that, Tang Chen hung up directly.
Lin Qingying had flown into a rage over the figure of fifty thousand, but when he heard the busy tone, he panicked again.
He clutched his phone tightly and thought it over.
The company was indeed a limited liability company.
But even with limited liability, it was impossible to avoid taking responsibility for the company's bank loans in the event of bankruptcy...
Therefore.
Even selling for fifty thousand was far better than being saddled with countless bank debts and having the rest of his life ruined...
He clenched his teeth so hard his gums ached. His regret was so intense his intestines seemed to turn green. He slapped himself twice, cursing himself for investing all his savings and for not agreeing to sell his shares for five million back then...
With trembling fingers, he called Tang Chen's number again.
"Hello, what is it?"
"Can you raise the price a little?"
"No."
"..."
Lin Qingying fell silent for a moment before saying, "All right, I agree. I'll sell all my shares for fifty thousand."
Tang Chen walked to the window and looked down over half of Magic City. He sneered. "Fifty thousand was the price just now."
On the other end of the call.
Lin Qingying's expression changed drastically again. A deep sense of humiliation rose in his heart, and he punched the mattress.
He wanted to roar and curse Tang Chen for being shameless.
But even after opening his mouth, he did not dare utter a single word.
He knew.
Other than Tang Chen.
Forget fifty thousand.
Even if he paid someone one hundred thousand to take them, no one would buy his shares.
"What exactly... do you want..."
Suppressing his fury, Lin Qingying asked through gritted teeth.
"I'll acquire your shares for fifty thousand. The price remains unchanged, but there is one condition."
"What condition?"
"Very simple."
Before you continue