“Damn it! This young lady has definitely set her sights on this fat piece of meat!” Chu Hai couldn’t help but rant inwardly.
Lei Yun’s mind was also flooded with a herd of grass-mud horses galloping through at that moment.
The Meizu project was something he’d been following for so long, and this woman wanted to cut in just as she arrived, even blocking him from investing—how domineering was that?
Huang Zhangming’s face didn’t look too good either.
He detested nothing more than having others meddle in his affairs, and he detested even more being treated like prey.
Earlier, when Chu Hai had said this woman was treacherous and ruthless, he had listened with only half a belief. But now, seeing her in action, it seemed to ring true.
Her first sentence had declared that Meizu would receive no investment—what exactly was that supposed to mean? Was she trying to spoil his investment?
Lei Yun, being someone with an easygoing temperament and calm demeanor, quickly pulled his emotions together.
“Miss Liu, you’re joking. We were just chatting casually—there’s no talk of investing or not. Besides, this company is built by President Huang himself. Whether to invest or not is entirely up to him, right, President Huang?”
He kicked the ball right over to Huang Zhangming.
Huang Zhangming nodded. “Miss Liu, Meizu was founded by me, and I hold absolute controlling shares. Messrs. Lei and Chu just came over for a friendly chat to exchange ideas and insights—we haven’t even reached the investment stage.”
Translated, that meant: The affairs of Meizu are none of an outsider’s business.
Seeing their reaction, Liu Yutong realized they had misunderstood. “President Huang, do you mind if I speak directly?”
Huang Zhangming showed no fear. “Go ahead.”
But Liu Yutong didn’t follow the usual script. She dropped a bombshell right from the start. “President Huang, you never intended to accept investment from the beginning, did you?”
Huang Zhangming’s face instantly changed.
She continued, “Or to put it another way, you simply can’t stomach the dilution of your equity. You want to turn Meizu into a family-run business, keeping full control in your own hands. The money, resources, and networks Mr. Lei brings—you really do want them, but you’d probably give at most a tiny share of equity, without letting go of much.”
Then she turned her gaze to Lin Bing, who was standing nearby.
“As for you, Engineer Lin, I’d guess Mr. Lei invited you to join Meizu. I think someone with your ability deserves no less than a 5% equity incentive, or even more. But I’d bet my money that President Huang won’t give it to you—because he’s too stingy to part with it.”
“Am I right, President Huang?” She asked him again.
Huang Zhangming opened his mouth to argue but found himself utterly at a loss for words. His heart was even tinged with alarm.
Did this woman have mind-reading abilities? How could she know exactly what he was thinking?
They’d only just met for the first time!
Seeing Huang Zhangming left speechless, Lei Yun knew that Liu Yutong had probably hit the mark.
He had invited Lin Bing precisely to introduce him to Huang Zhangming. A talent like that joining Meizu would be a powerful boost to the company, and offering some equity as incentive seemed only reasonable.
But now it was clear—that man had never planned to restructure the company into a more corporatized equity system.
No wonder every time equity came up, Huang Zhangming always been evasive and dragged his feet.
In his previous life, Lei Yun and Huang Zhangming had gone through a long negotiation period, only for Lei Yun to eventually launch Big Rice with Lin Bing. Huang Zhangming could only watch as Big Rice grew step by step, while he, short on funds and resources, backed the wrong horse, and stumbled relentlessly in the mobile phone market.
In the end, he ended up being acquired by others.
A former shining star of domestic phones was ruined by his own controlling nature and miserly ways.
“President Huang, do you know what that mindset of yours will lead to in the end?”
Looking him straight in the eyes, she said each word distinctly, “You will run Meizu into the ground!”
“Honestly, I feel sorry for you.”
“At least I think Mr. Lei came to you with capital, resources, and connections—this is a chance for you and Meizu alike. In my opinion, if you accept his investment now and bring him and Engineer Lin on board as top management, Meizu could become a super power in the future, capable of competing even with world-class famous brands.”
“But, President Huang, you don’t have the vision or the generosity for it.”
“It’s no wonder that Meizu is headed for decline under your leadership.”
Her words gave Huang Zhangming absolutely no face, practically belittling him as worthless.
Chu Hai looked at Huang Zhangming’s dark, furious expression and thought: Is this young lady here to pick a fight today? Will Huang die from sheer anger?
As expected.
Huang Zhangming finally exploded.
“Miss Liu, what gives you the right to judge me like that? Do you really think you know me?”
“And besides—Meizu is mine! How I run it is my own business! Aren’t you meddling too much?”
Liu Yutong, as if knowing he’d react that way, didn’t get angry. On the contrary, she nodded. “President Huang is right—Meizu is yours, and your way of handling it is your own business.”
“But still, I’d like to ask one more thing: Will you sell Meizu? If you do, just name your price. I won’t bargain.”
???
The sudden shift had everyone thrown off yet again.
What?
Acquisition?
Wait—she’d gone through all that just to reveal that her real goal was to buy out Meizu?
Lei Yun couldn’t help stealing glances at several men wearing black suits who hovered nearby like something out of a crime thriller. They got a chill thinking: Could this woman actually be planning to force President Huang to sign under duress?
This whole scene looked like something straight out of a gangster hostage drama.
Once again, their impression of this girl was being rewritten from the ground up.
No wonder Chairman Chu kept saying this young lady was a prankster running wild from start to finish. They had come to invest—she had come to ruin the whole show.
Huang Zhangming’s face flushed with steel-like fury.
After all Chu Hai had ranted earlier, his mind naturally guessed along the same lines as Lei Yun—this woman had ill intentions and likely planned to strong-arm him into selling, relying on shady connections behind her.
But he was a stubborn man, deeply headstrong about his independence. And besides, Meizu was his own “flesh and blood”—how could he ever just let it go?
Though he did have a very real fear of this woman’s presence, he clenched his teeth and refused.
“Miss Liu, Meizu is a company carved out by the hands that built it, my own life’s work. I will never yield it easily, no matter if you pulled a blade and put it to my throat—I wouldn’t give in!”
As he spoke, he actually stretched his neck out, putting on a dramatic face of certain-defiance.
Liu Yutong was flummoxed: “? ? ? ”
Wait, was this man crazy?
She only asked off-handedly; if he wasn’t selling, just say no—now he was stretching his neck out like he expected beheading?
And she couldn’t figure out why, from the moment she entered the room, several of these big men had looked at her with such a strange expression.
As if, in their eyes, she was some lawless female merciless brat.
And she had only just met them for the first time! Was her reputation really that fallen already?
