Chapter 337 — Two Paths to Choose

Jin Gubang returned to his office in a black fury. Never in his life had he known such a sense of defeat—and today, at last, he had tasted it. All along, Jin Gubang had nursed the ambition of supplanting Gu Pengzhan, and once Xie Guangbo's support was behind him he had been like a tiger with wings.

But the scene at today's shareholders' meeting had told Jin Gubang plainly that all of it was clouds and mist, illusions without substance. He had nothing left.

He had believed that with Xie Guangbo backing him, the chairman's seat was already his beyond doubt, and so he had torn every last shred of courtesy away in his dealings with Gu Pengzhan, until there was no going back. Jin Gubang did not believe Gu Pengzhan would let him off now; he would surely seize this chance to grind him into the dust.

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Gubang dialed Li Cihua's number anyway. There was no longer any use in talking to Zhang Yuzhou about this; he could only consult Li Cihua.

"Hello? Deputy Chairman Jin? How did it go? Little Yuzhou tells me you're about to take control of the company?" Li Cihua said. "Young Master Bing is coming to Songshan City in a few days for a visit. Your gift has arrived just in time—you won't be shortchanged."

"I'm sorry... Brother Cihua..." Jin Gubang said cautiously. "There has been a small complication..."

"A complication?" Li Cihua was taken aback, and then his voice turned dark. "What complication?"

"That director who was working with me—I don't know what came over him, but he suddenly transferred his shares to Wei Zhao..." Jin Gubang said. "Wei Zhao and that old fox Gu Pengzhan are in it together. I no longer have any hold on the board, and they may be sharpening their knives for me at this very moment..."

"So what you're telling me is that the real-estate company you promised Young Master Bing is down the drain?" Li Cihua's voice turned colder still.

"That... I'm afraid that is how it is..." Jin Gubang said with a helpless, fawning smile.

"Damn you, are you playing me? I did so many things for you before, and I lost two Yellow-rank adepts over it—and now you want to tell me it's over and done with?" Li Cihua gave a cold snort. "Jin Gubang, do you have a death wish?"

"Brother Cihua... forgive me, please don't be angry..." Jin Gubang was badly startled. If anyone else had asked him whether he had a death wish, Jin Gubang would have scoffed. But if Li Cihua wanted him dead, that was a very easy thing. It was no joke; Li Cihua was entirely capable of it, and once he was dead, no one would step forward on his behalf.

"Not angry? ***didn't you think about how furious Young Master Bing will be?" Li Cihua cursed. "When Young Master Bing is angry, I'm finished too. I'm telling you now, Jin Gubang: that real-estate company—you'll hand it over whether you like it or not. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences yourself!"

"Brother Cihua..." Unfortunately, before Jin Gubang could finish, the line went bang and the call was cut off.

In a rage, Jin Gubang shoved hard at his desk, and the telephone crashed to the floor... He was seething inside, but he dared not vent it on Li Cihua. For what sort of man was Li Cihua? A figure in Songshan City who straddled the underworld and the world above, with connections that reached to heaven—and behind him stood a boss who could blot out the sky with one hand. A man like that was not someone Jin Gubang could afford to provoke.

"Gu Pengzhan, you're driving me to the end of the road! Push me too far and I'll take you down with me—I'll grab hold of a bomb and blow you to pieces!" Jin Gubang said through his teeth.

But these were only words. The truth was that Jin Gubang was terrified of dying. If Gu Pengzhan uncovered the *** he had embezzled from the company, the worst he faced was prison. But if Li Cihua was angered, his life would be forfeit.

Jin Gubang had to come up with a countermeasure quickly, or his life would truly end in tragedy...

Of course, his nightmare had only just begun. Before he could devise any countermeasure, he was summoned to a talk with Gu Pengzhan.

Jin Gubang knew that Gu Pengzhan had not called him in for anything good. He did not want to go, but he had no choice. For now he was a man under another's roof and had to bow his head; Jin Gubang could only sigh and make his way to Gu Pengzhan's office.

Qing Bo stood smiling at the office door. Seeing Jin Gubang approach, his smile widened. "Deputy Chairman Jin, Mr. Gu is waiting for you inside."

"I know..." Jin Gubang waved a hand weakly and walked into Gu Pengzhan's office.

He had counted on Li Cihua's help to turn things around, but now it seemed Li Cihua would be doing him a favor if he did not finish him off. Help? In his dreams.

"Deputy Chairman Jin, please, sit," Gu Pengzhan said, gesturing to the sofa beside his desk.

Jin Gubang seemed to have aged a dozen years at a stroke. He gave Gu Pengzhan a listless look, then dropped heavily onto the sofa. "Gu Pengzhan, just say what you have to say. No need to beat around the bush!"

Jin Gubang could not be bothered to fence with Gu Pengzhan now, because it was pointless. Even after he dealt with Gu Pengzhan here, he still had Li Cihua to deal with on the other side.

Besides, he was no match for Gu Pengzhan anymore. Why keep up the standoff? Better to say exactly what was on his mind and see what Gu Pengzhan actually intended.

"Very well, since you put it that way, Deputy Chairman Jin, I'll be direct." Gu Pengzhan nodded. "I'll give you two paths to choose from. The first: I will audit exactly how much money you have skimmed from this company over the years, and then I will send you to court."

"Heh... Gu Pengzhan, tell me the second one." Jin Gubang was no fool; hearing this, he knew at once that it was not the path he would choose, since it benefited no one.

"The second path: give me the shares in your hands, and what happened before will be forgotten," Gu Pengzhan said mildly.

"Gu Pengzhan, don't go too far! The shares in my hands are worth hundreds of millions! And you want them just like that?" Jin Gubang sprang to his feet and glared at Gu Pengzhan.

"The money you have skimmed from the company all these years comes to about that much, doesn't it? Even if it isn't several hundred million, one or two hundred million at the very least." Gu Pengzhan smiled. "How many years in prison does two hundred million buy? Weigh it against the shares and choose for yourself."

"Give me another hundred million!" Jin Gubang hesitated, then named his terms.

Gu Pengzhan had been asking for the sky only so as to settle on the ground. Hearing this, he gave a snort. "Fifty million."

"Eighty million!" Jin Gubang said.

"Fine. Done." Gu Pengzhan's own psychological price had been roughly a hundred million in compensation, so by comparison eighty million was already a rather low figure.

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