Three years ago, Qin Xiao had mortgaged the only home he owned.
Then he had scraped together over three million in loans by every means he could, raising five million to start a company.
Its main business was claw machines for cinemas, KTV lounges, and other entertainment venues in third- and fourth-tier cities.
It provided the machines, plush toys, and services such as repairs.
The entertainment venues provided the space, electricity, equipment cleaning, routine maintenance, and so on.
Working alone at the time, Qin Xiao had brought in his girlfriend, Qu Fang, to handle the finances, while his childhood friend Guo Xinliang handled calls, customer relations, and other work at the office.
Qin Xiao put up the money and did the work, holding a 60% stake himself, while Guo Xinliang and Qu Fang each held 20%!
Things had been fine at first. The company was small, but Qin Xiao worked himself to the bone without a thought for his own life.
He made a point of visiting three county towns every day, targeting local malls, cinemas, KTV lounges, and other places with heavy foot traffic.
Guo Xinliang and Qu Fang managed the company's internal affairs every day, handled incoming and outgoing stock, actively communicated with clients, and improved the plush toy designs. Whenever a machine broke down or ran out of toys, they immediately arranged supplies and personnel.
Revenue grew increasingly steady, and they expanded into seventy or eighty county towns in one push.
Out in the wind and sun every day, Qin Xiao had never imagined that Qu Fang and Guo Xinliang, who spent their days facing each other in the office, would do this.
Not only had they started an affair, they also intended to join forces and take over his company.
Sitting in the office answering calls every day and acting every inch the boss, Guo Xinliang had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the 20% stake Qin Xiao had given him.
And as their income grew, Qu Fang had also become dissatisfied with Qin Xiao's insistence on keeping the company's money tied up and not paying dividends for the time being.
Qin Xiao was focused entirely on growing the company first, while Qu Fang wanted nothing more than to enjoy life first.
So the two, who had long since started their affair, slipped an equity transfer agreement beneath a regular contract and coaxed Qin Xiao, who trusted them completely, into stamping and signing it without further ado.
Just like that, they drove Qin Xiao out of his own company.
Not only was he left penniless, he was also up to his neck in debt.
Qin Xiao spent an entire year hiring people to fight the case in court.
But the two of them had prepared in advance, while Qin Xiao was now penniless and could not even afford a better lawyer.
In the end, he still lost the lawsuit.
Left with no other choice, he had chosen to take his own life by drinking pesticide.
He had never expected that over the past year, after a second round of financing, the company would grow larger and larger until it was on the verge of going public.
Poor Qin Xiao had worked himself to death every day in the early stages, capturing the market and laying the company's foundations, only to have someone else reap the rewards.
Guo Xinliang was different from Qu Fang. With their market coverage so extensive, he understood the company's value very well.
If he kept a firm grip on the company, its enormous customer base would let him branch naturally into all sorts of other businesses in the future.
Never mind anything else-with so many cinemas in his network, he could even set up a small factory to make some new kind of popcorn. As long as the price and taste were right, and he gave the cinema managers a small kickback, it would work.
Those were all sure-fire businesses. After all, the customer base was right there.
Qu Fang was different. Once the company went public, she could sell off some of her shares while the market was good, cash out a large sum, then keep a small stake and collect dividends every year without lifting a finger.
That would already be enough for her.
That was also why Guo Xinliang felt so helpless whenever Qu Fang mentioned transferring her shares to someone else in the future.
Financing and going public could both help a company develop rapidly, but one wrong move could easily hand the company over to someone else.
Once you lost management control, no matter how many shares you held, the other side had ways to gradually dilute your stake and then kick you out.
That was also why the two of them had stuck so closely together from the start, even going so far as to bind their interests through marriage: to stand against capital.
They wanted to keep control of the company in their own hands.
You born slut. Once my position in the company is secure, once I get my hands on your shares, I'll kick you out sooner or later!
Guo Xinliang bit down on his cigarette butt so hard with hatred that it squeaked.
No matter how far apart their hearts had drifted, or how badly they wished each other dead, that did not change things.
They still had to put on a good show at today's wedding.
After contacting the event planning company and makeup team, a completely spruced-up Guo Xinliang set out from his newly renovated home to pick Qu Fang up at the hotel.
Neither of them was from Magic City. Although they had bought a home here, they still had to follow the wedding proceedings.
Qu Fang would get her makeup done and change at a hotel, while Guo Xinliang would leave home, pick her up, take her home, and then head to the hotel hosting the wedding banquet.
The company was about to go public, and Guo Xinliang was also quite skilled at socializing.
In just one short year in Magic City, he had made quite a few friends.
An Aston Martin coupe led the procession, followed by more than a dozen BMW 5 Series cars.
Though the motorcade could hardly be called luxurious, it looked youthful and lively, and was quite respectable.
Amid the lively clamor of gongs and drums, they traveled from home to the hotel.
A red carpet, an inflatable arch, and other decorations had already been set up outside the hotel.
Exquisite European-style flower baskets lined the ground on both sides.
Friends and relatives held confetti cannons and streamers, waiting for the motorcade to approach slowly and the bride and groom to make their entrance.
Just as the motorcade came within fifty meters of the hotel, something happened.
Another motorcade suddenly charged out from the road beside the hotel.
A Rolls-Royce Phantom led the way, followed entirely by red Ferrari sports cars.
There were a full thirty or forty of them.
As ill luck would have it, just before Guo Xinliang's motorcade could enter, they stopped across the road outside the hotel.
"What's going on?"
Sitting in the lead car, Guo Xinliang's heart lurched.
Having the wedding cars blocked at the entrance was hardly an auspicious sign.
No one got out of the other motorcade to say anything. They simply sat there outside the hotel in eerie silence.
People from Guo Xinliang's party hurried to check with the hotel staff whether another couple was getting married that day.
The hotel staff were equally bewildered. They checked several times, but there was only one wedding banquet booked for today!
After several minutes of stalemate, with no other choice, one of Guo Xinliang's relatives walked over to the Rolls-Royce with a hotel staff member to ask what exactly was going on.
"Excuse me, we're holding a wedding here. Would you mind moving aside?"
The hotel staff member knocked on the window and spoke when it opened, while Guo Xinliang's relative hurriedly took out a red envelope.
That was the custom in China. On such a joyous day, whatever came up, you let a red envelope smooth the way, kept things auspicious, and avoided trouble.
"I came for the wedding. The bride and groom are both old friends of mine. I'm here to attend."
Qin Xiao lowered the window and gave the two a faint smile.
Then he opened the door and got straight out.
Qin Xiao had certainly made a deliberate effort with his appearance today, wearing a pair of custom-made British-style leather shoes.
He wore a designer casual suit by a European designer, complemented by his upright figure and the confident smile on his lips.
The moment he stepped out, he drew everyone's attention. The Qin Xiao of today was completely different from before.
Not only did he have a different soul, but he also dealt with Tony Stark every day in the Marvel Universe and had accompanied him to countless upscale cocktail parties and gatherings.
With his strength and money to back him up as well, his bearing and confidence were certainly not something an ordinary person could imitate.
"Sir, if you're here for the wedding, could you move your cars aside first? You're blocking the bride and groom's motorcade."
The hotel staff member spoke politely to Qin Xiao.
Qin Xiao gave a faint smile toward the lead car opposite him.
"I'll move them right away. Just wait for my gifts to arrive first."
No sooner had he spoken than more than a dozen large pickup trucks charged out from who knew where.
Every truck bed was filled with stark white funeral wreaths, with photographs of the bride and groom printed in their centers.
The dozen or so pickups parked illegally right in the middle of the road.
Countless burly men in black suits, who looked like trouble at a glance, poured out in front of the vehicles.
Each carrying two funeral wreaths, they surged menacingly toward the hotel entrance.