Chapter 38: Liu Tianci's Trouble

While the employee went out to buy the newspaper, Xia Yu was contemplating the possible impact of the incident, preparing himself mentally to avoid being flustered by any sudden developments.

At this moment, Xia Yu noticed a glaring reflection and instinctively looked out the window. Upon seeing the scene outside, his expression tightened as he noticed the numerous reporters surrounding the area. He guessed that other newspapers must have received the news and were now setting up to interview him.

Xia Yu felt a bit frustrated. Due to the rise of *Jiuding Daily* and his own rapid ascent to fame, he had encountered some reporters recently, but he had managed to avoid them. The reason he could avoid them was that there were only a few reporters and they hadn't been this numerous.

Now, however, there were many reporters around, and they were focusing on the owner of another newspaper, which was quite inconvenient for Xia Yu.

"Looks like going out for a while will be affected," Xia Yu muttered, feeling somewhat troubled by the situation.

The employee returned with the newspaper, handing it to Xia Yu. Xia Yu noticed that the employee's gaze was flickering with shock, clearly because he had read the newspaper's content on the way back.

Xia Yu was too preoccupied to care about the employee's reaction and sent him away before opening the third-rate newspaper.

After reading it, Xia Yu frowned.

As expected of a third-rate paper, aside from a headline that had some value, the rest of the article was just repetitive and rambling, devoid of useful information.

From the article, Xia Yu learned that the news did indeed come from an HSBC employee, but the specific person was not mentioned, and the writer of the article insisted that the information was true.

Xia Yu sighed with relief after finishing the article. At least the HSBC employee had only reported a small amount of his earnings—one million Hong Kong dollars—while in reality, Xia Yu's funds had grown to over six million, nearing seven million, far exceeding the reported amount.

Moreover, the article did not detail Xia Yu's specific trading activities, which was another relief.

From this, Xia Yu inferred that the HSBC employee who leaked the information might have done so inadvertently or was not involved in his financial operations, which eased his worries.

However, Xia Yu had signed a confidentiality agreement with HSBC Securities, which covered not just the trading process but also post-trading confidentiality unless Xia Yu voluntarily disclosed information.

Since the leak came from HSBC personnel, Xia Yu felt he needed to get an explanation from Liu Tianci. Regardless of the impact, Xia Yu needed to make his stance clear to avoid similar issues in the future, especially if it caused significant trouble next time.

Thus, Liu Tianci needed to provide an explanation, maintaining at least the basic spirit of the contract.

Given Xia Yu's impression of Liu Tianci, he believed that Liu Tianci would definitely provide a response once he knew about the situation. After all, the newspaper had exposed the issue, and it was their responsibility.

Even if the report were inaccurate, the exposure had already caused a stir, and it was essential for Liu Tianci to address the issue properly to reassure other clients and potential clients about HSBC's reliability.

Xia Yu decided not to rush to the Kowloon Stock Exchange, as the priority should be on HSBC Securities, which was dealing with credibility and management issues. Xia Yu assumed that HSBC would inform Liu Tianci as quickly as possible.

With so many reporters outside, Xia Yu stayed in the company, waiting for Liu Tianci's call.

As Xia Yu expected, Liu Tianci, upon arriving at the HSBC Securities branch near the Kowloon Stock Exchange, received a report about the newspaper's news. He realized the issue was quite serious.

However, he hoped the leak was not from his subordinate, which would make it easier to handle.

After a detailed investigation, Liu Tianci found out that the leak indeed came from one of his employees, but not from those directly involved in Xia Yu's financial operations. This was somewhat reassuring.

The employee involved had not leaked the information intentionally but had drunkenly spoken out the previous night, inadvertently causing trouble for the company.

Seeing his subordinates around, Liu Tianci could only inwardly regret the situation. He told the anxious employee, "Go to the HR department and submit your resignation."

"Manager, it wasn't intentional. Please give me another chance. I beg you…" the involved subordinate pleaded with a pitiful expression, deeply regretting his actions and feeling betrayed by his friends.

Seeing his subordinate's plea, Liu Tianci sighed internally but did not relent. Mistakes had consequences, and even if there was a reason, it was crucial to hold people accountable. With so many subordinates watching, if he didn't handle this strictly, similar issues might occur again, affecting departmental management and leaving no room for leniency.

He then addressed the rest of the staff, "Learn from this. Mistakes that shouldn't be made must be avoided, and you must keep your mouth shut. Understood?"

"Understood!" the other staff members straightened up and responded, feeling the gravity of the lesson. They were sorry for their colleague but understood that the colleague's actions were the cause of the issue.

"Alright, continue with your work." Liu Tianci, with a resolute demeanor, turned away from the dismissed employee and went back to his office to consider how to address the situation with Xia Yu.

Given that he had only met Xia Yu a few times and knew him to be talented, Liu Tianci found it challenging to gauge how to apologize and seek Xia Yu's forgiveness. Xia Yu was not just an ordinary wealthy individual; with nearly seven million in HSBC and being the influential owner of *Jiuding Daily*, Xia Yu had significant power and could cause substantial damage.

Liu Tianci was unsure about the extent of the impact on Xia Yu and how to manage the apology effectively. The situation, having been exposed by the newspaper, had spread and might affect other clients' perceptions of HSBC's ability to maintain confidentiality.

Thus, Liu Tianci was worried about handling the matter correctly to avoid further complications, as any mishandling could lead HSBC Securities, especially its Kowloon branch, into deeper trouble.

If Xia Yu chose to criticize HSBC in *Jiuding Daily*, the repercussions could be severe.

Despite Liu Tianci's belief that Xia Yu might avoid such a move to not antagonize HSBC, he couldn't rely on that assumption and had to ensure a satisfactory resolution to prevent further damage.

He needed to act swiftly to address the situation and provide a solution to Xia Yu without unnecessary delay.

"This is a tough situation!" Liu Tianci rubbed his temples, reflecting on the problem.