Chapter 336 — Hope Shattered in an Instant

Moreover, by any normal reckoning, Gu Pengzhan would never have resorted to forgery in this way, for it would have been utterly pointless. Even if it won him the upper hand at one shareholders' meeting, the moment Xie Guangbo appeared the plot would collapse of its own accord, and Gu Pengzhan would be branded dishonest, a man who defrauded his fellow shareholders. The loss would far outweigh the gain.

But in Jin Gubang's eyes, the notion that Xie Guangbo would give his shares to Wei Zhao for nothing was even more impossible. Had Xie Guangbo lost his mind? His son was still in the hands of a foreign gang, owing an enormous high-interest debt, and failure to repay meant certain death.

Xie Guangbo's only way out was therefore to hold fast to his shares so he could cooperate with Jin Gubang. That was his sole path to survival. If he gave his shares to Wei Zhao now, what would he have left to bargain with?

He dialed Xie Guangbo's cell phone, only to find it switched off. Jin Gubang thought nothing of it, however, since Xie Guangbo had been sick at home these past two days and his phone had stayed off all along. Jin Gubang then dialed the landline at Xie Guangbo's villa.

After a wait, the call was answered, but not by Xie Guangbo. A strange man's voice said: "Hello, who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for Mr. Xie Guangbo. Is he in?" Jin Gubang asked.

"Oh, you're looking for my dad? Hold on a moment, I'll go get him..." It was Xie Jinbiao who had picked up. Xie Guangbo was very happy today now that his son was back, and he was about to cook himself several dishes his son had loved as a boy.

In fact, although Xie Guangbo had given all his shares to Wei Zhao, he still held other fixed assets, more than a dozen residences in Songshan City alone, plus antiques and jewelry. Once sold off, they could bring back tens of millions in funds, more than enough to start a small business, so he had nothing to worry about. With the shares handed to Wei Zhao, he felt relieved instead. The days to come, building a new venture together with his son, would be the happiest of all.

"Wait... wait a minute, Xie Guangbo is your dad? You... who are you?" Horror instantly spread across Jin Gubang's face.

"I'm his son Xie Jinbiao. What's wrong? Who are you?" Xie Jinbiao thought to himself, is this man an idiot? I call him Dad, who else could I be?

"You... weren't you seized by a foreign gang? How are you at home?" Jin Gubang asked in disbelief.

"Who are you? How do you know about my being captured?" Xie Jinbiao frowned. "Are you calling just to make trouble?"

"No... I'm a colleague of your dad's..." Jin Gubang felt more and more that something was amiss. Why were there so many strange happenings today? Xie Guangbo's son had actually returned safe and sound, while Xie Guangbo's shares had fallen into Wei Zhao's hands.

"My dad is here, you can talk to him yourself." Hearing that the caller was his father's colleague, Xie Jinbiao held back from swearing. How rude could this fellow be? Just because he had been captured, did that mean he could never come back?

After a moment Xie Guangbo's voice came over the line: "Hello? This is Xie Guangbo."

"Old Xie, it's Old Jin." Jin Gubang forced a laugh. "The one who just answered was your son? He's back?"

"He's back. What do you want?" All the warmth Xie Guangbo had once shown him was now gone without a trace, leaving only coldness and perfunctory indifference. "If there's nothing else I'll hang up. I'm cooking for my son."

"Wait, Gu Pengzhan is holding a shareholders' meeting. Did you know about that?" How could Jin Gubang let Xie Guangbo hang up? He hurried to ask.

"What does that have to do with me? I've already given my shares to someone else." Xie Guangbo said impatiently. "All right, if there's nothing else I'm hanging up. Goodbye."

"Beep, beep, beep..." A few tones sounded in Jin Gubang's receiver, and then the display read "Call Ended"...

Jin Gubang was stunned, utterly stunned. He gasped for breath, at a loss for what to do. Only minutes before he had believed he was about to become chairman, yet this phone call was like a bolt from a clear sky, striking him until his soul scattered.

It was over, everything was over... Jin Gubang knew he now had absolutely no chance of becoming chairman. What a joke. The company's largest shareholder and third-largest shareholder were now one family. What game was left for him to play?

Even those small shareholders who had sided with him before would surely no longer stand by him now that they saw how things stood. At future shareholders' meetings, Gu Pengzhan and Wei Zhao would clearly hold overwhelming strength. What could he possibly use to compete with them?

Hope, in an instant, was shattered.

How Wei Zhao had obtained Xie Guangbo's shares no longer mattered to Jin Gubang. It was utterly meaningless now. The only thing he could do was find a way to protect himself.

Jin Gubang was certain that when Gu Pengzhan moved against him next, he would show no mercy. So whether he could become chairman was now secondary. Whether he could even remain safely in the company was another matter entirely.

With a crash, Jin Gubang hurled the phone in his hand hard onto the floor, smashing it to pieces on impact.

After smashing the phone, Jin Gubang stood straight up and walked out of the conference room without looking back, his face dark with gloom.

Gu Pengzhan did not mind. Such a reaction from Jin Gubang was only natural, and Gu Pengzhan took no offense at all. On the contrary, he felt thoroughly delighted, for back when Jin Gubang and Xie Guangbo had sung in duet against him, he had long wanted to smash a phone himself.

"The purpose of this extraordinary shareholders' meeting is to introduce to you our new shareholder, Mr. Wei Zhao." Gu Pengzhan smiled as he presented Wei Zhao to the other shareholders present.

Warm applause at once broke out in the conference room. No one there was a fool. This man was the company's third-largest shareholder and shared an "intimate" relationship with Gu Pengzhan's daughter. Would any of them dare offend such a man?

Moreover, no one now doubted Wei Zhao for having earlier cursed Jin Gubang as a fox borrowing a tiger's might, for Wei Zhao had every right to be arrogant. He was the company's third-largest shareholder.

"Please look after me." Wei Zhao stood up and nodded to everyone.

"Next I propose Wei Zhao as a member of the company's board of directors. Please cast your votes." Gu Pengzhan proposed.

With Jin Gubang gone, who would offend Gu Pengzhan for his sake? Thus, without any suspense, Wei Zhao became the company's new director. Whether Jin Gubang's vote existed or not no longer mattered at all.

"Heh... Although I am a shareholder and director of the company, I authorize Uncle Chu to fully represent me. His decision is my decision." Wei Zhao had no desire to keep coming to board meetings and shareholders' meetings for nothing, so he directly handed his authority over to Gu Pengzhan.