Something Went Wrong

Hearing Zhou's father's words, Zhou Qiao'er was startled:

"Dad, what's wrong?"

Tang Ao looked at Zhou Qiao'er in confusion. Since she hadn't put the call on speaker, he didn't hear Zhou's father's apology. However, from the way she called her father, Tang Ao could guess what was happening.

[A new plot point must have arrived!]

[It seems that Ye Chen has finally made his move against Da Zhou Pharmaceuticals!]

"Qiao'er, I regret it... I regret letting my prejudice against Tang Ao cloud my judgment and not listening to you. Zhou Special Spirit's stock price has collapsed, and ten billion yuan has been injected with no effect!"

Zhou Qiao'er's brows furrowed tightly. "What? Ten billion had no effect? How much liquid capital can our Zhou family mobilize now?"

On the other end, Zhou's father had the call on speaker, and all the general managers began reporting their figures, understanding that Zhou Qiao'er's position in the company had surpassed even Zhou's father:

"We can mobilize two billion from the Eagle branch!"

The Bear branch's general manager gritted his teeth and said, clutching his chest, "We can mobilize 2.1 billion from the Bear branch!"

"We can contribute one billion from the Sakura Nation branch!"

...

Soon, the assistant summarized the totals: "Miss Zhou Qiao'er, we can currently mobilize a total of 4.6 billion!"

This number shocked Zhou's father, who silently praised his daughter's competence. As chairman, if he had made the request, the general managers would likely have made excuses and only scraped together 2 billion at best.

But with Zhou Qiao'er, they quickly gathered 4.6 billion!

Instead of feeling upset, Zhou's father was pleased. When the day came for his daughter to fully take over Da Zhou Pharmaceuticals, the company's cohesion and competitiveness would only grow stronger!

"4.6 billion? Hold on!"

Zhou Qiao'er put down the phone and turned to Tang Ao with a serious expression. "Tang Ao, Da Zhou Pharmaceuticals' Zhou Special Spirit is being targeted, and the stock price is plummeting. We've already injected ten billion to no effect, and now we can raise 4.6 billion. I want to know your opinion."

Tang Ao's eyes widened in shock. "Heavens! I'm just a carefree playboy—how would I know about this kind of thing?"

Though he said this, Tang Ao couldn't help but think:

[Ye Chen is about to make a big profit off Zhou Special Spirit. This plan is flawless, and he even secured the backing of almost every major business in Longquan City, except for the Tang family. Even if they double the amount to 10 billion, it won't make a difference. Ye Chen is just waiting for them to throw more money into the pit!]

[I wonder how much the stock has dropped. If I knew, I could have my dad quietly buy in and make a profit.]

On the other end, since Zhou's father had the call on speaker, all the general managers heard Tang Ao's words clearly.

Instantly, they exploded with indignation: "See? I told you! Even Tang Ao himself admits there's no point in asking him!"

"Miss Zhou Qiao'er, just give the order—we trust your judgment!"

"Stop asking him—he doesn't understand anything. Miss Zhou Qiao'er, at a critical moment like this, we need your decision and leadership!"

Hearing Tang Ao's thoughts and the general managers' complaints, Zhou Qiao'er's expression darkened as she asked, "Tell me, how much has Zhou Special Spirit's stock dropped?"

The head of Zhou Special Spirit quickly replied, "It's fallen 15% from the opening price, and it's still dropping! Because of the special listing status, it won't hit the limit until it falls 40%!"

"Fallen 15%... Tang Ao, in your opinion, how low do you think the stock will go?"

Tang Ao was even more bewildered. "Zhou Qiao'er, are you serious? You're asking me?"

Zhou Qiao'er nodded seriously. "Yes, I want to know what you think."

[What is going on?]

[Why is Zhou Qiao'er asking me this?]

[Does she know I've reset the plot? No, if she knew, she wouldn't be chasing after me like this. Maybe... Zhou Qiao'er is just out of options and hoping for a stroke of luck?]

[It's only dropped 15%—there's still a long way to go before Ye Chen's target...]

With that thought, Tang Ao decided to bluff and deliberately said the opposite of what he knew. "I think... it's time for it to start rising."

On the other end, the general managers were furious upon hearing Tang Ao's response:

"Nonsense! With my ten years of experience, I'd say it'll drop at least another 10% without more cash!"

"If it doesn't drop further, that's already a miracle. Rising? That's a fool's dream—he doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"Miss Zhou Qiao'er, stop consulting Tang Ao—he has no place in these discussions!"

"Enough arguing!" Amidst the clamor, the head of Zhou Special Spirit suddenly exclaimed, "It's rising! It's rising!! It just went up by a full point!"

Instantly, the dozens of general managers stared at the stock ticker in disbelief, rubbing their eyes.

"This... this is too coincidental!"

"Did he really hit the nail on the head by chance?"

The Eagle branch's general manager clutched his hair in excitement. "My God, how did this happen? Is the other side starting to cash in? Miss Zhou Qiao'er, I suggest we deploy all our funds immediately—we have a great chance to make a fortune! We can increase our contribution to five billion!"

"We can raise the Bear branch's contribution to 5.1 billion!"

"The Sakura Nation branch... will contribute three billion!"

...

In an instant, the same general managers who had been crying poor moments ago were now eager to throw money into the game, sensing a profit.

Zhou's father's gaze deepened.

The bigger the company, the more likely...

Something had gone wrong with these branches!

Zhou Qiao'er, too, was stunned as she looked at Tang Ao. "It rose by one point, just now."

"What the heck, I was just guessing!"

Tang Ao was almost in tears. "Zhou Qiao'er, I really don't understand any of this!"

Zhou Qiao'er nodded seriously, her eyes full of skepticism. "I believe you—I completely believe you don't know anything about this."

As she spoke, Zhou Qiao'er moved closer and closer to Tang Ao, so much so that Tang Ao could feel the warmth of her breath on his skin.

Suddenly, Tang Ao's whole body tensed up.