Zhou Zhao was twenty-six this year, the second son of the main branch of the Zhou family, and among the younger generation of the Zhou family, he was considered relatively steady.
Compared to his cousins Zhou Heng and Zhou Yun—those two fools—he was far superior.
The recent disgrace the Zhou family had suffered was entirely due to those two worthless members who had squandered their reputation.
Now that he, someone who still had some promise, wanted to join the Cloud Mountain Society, he had to run into this woman who had made their family lose all face.
What a small world, and what an unfortunate encounter!
Zhou Zhao glanced at Chu Junlin, who was not far from him.
Chu Junlin was twenty-nine, the leading figure in the Chu family's business direction for this generation.
When it came to the Chu family, their background was immense. Tracing back, they stood among those who could enter the core decision-making circle.
Although the Chu family had kept a low profile in recent years, their influence was far stronger than that of anyone present, including the Zhou family.
Chu Junlin himself was formidable—he founded Shining Star Media at twenty-three, took it public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in four years, and later acquired several well-known companies, including Origin Real Estate and Color Light Paper. He owned three listed companies, with a total market value exceeding thirty billion.
His network was also extensive, making him stand out even among the elite younger generation in the capital.
Given Chu Junlin's standing, he would never stoop to becoming just a preparatory member—he surely aimed to be at least a founding member, or even the chairman.
If it weren't for Liu Yutong blocking the way, Chu Junlin might have held back and settled for a regular membership slot.
But now that he knew Liu Yutong was a founding member of the Cloud Mountain Society, he had to find a way to stir things up. Otherwise, slinking away would only bring more shame.
Better to take a gamble and let Young Master Chu confront Liu Yutong directly.
As for him, he was only creating an opportunity to probe Liu Yutong for Young Master Chu, thereby not only getting under Liu Yutong's skin, but also indirectly showing loyalty to Young Master Chu.
As for whether he would permanently offend Liu Yutong...
It no longer seemed to matter, did it?
Having thought all this through, Zhou Zhao made up his mind.
Then he quietly leaned over and whispered a few words into Chu Junlin's ear.
Chu Junlin leaned back in his chair, toying with a silver lighter. After listening to Zhou Zhao, he gave a slight nod.
"Alright."
Hearing Chu Junlin's reply, Zhou Zhao felt greatly reassured.
Just then, Zhu Silin had finished introducing the founding members and began getting down to business.
"We've all reviewed everyone's background materials, and you all meet the entry requirements for the Cloud Mountain Society. Today, we invited everyone mainly to get acquainted and go through the formalities of signing the membership agreement."
She then took over a dozen documents from her briefcase and handed one to each person.
"This is the membership agreement. Please take a look, and if there are no issues, sign it."
In truth, everyone had already familiarized themselves with the contents of these agreements beforehand and understood the rules of the Cloud Mountain Society.
So, they simply skimmed through and were about to sign with their pens raised.
But just as they were about to sign, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Hold on!"
Everyone paused and turned to look—it was Zhou Zhao.
What was he up to?
Zhou Zhao placed the agreement on the table and looked at Zhu Silin. "President Zhu, I have a question I'd like to ask."
Zhu Silin: "Feel free to speak, Young Master Zhou."
Zhou Zhao: "President Zhu, the thirteen of us are here today with sincere intentions. We've met the entry threshold of one billion in cash, and we've accepted the one-year probation period. The fact that we've agreed to such stringent conditions shows something—it shows we truly believe in the Cloud Mountain Society and genuinely want to work alongside all of you."
"But..."
He shifted his tone, and his voice suddenly turned forceful.
"Since we're working together, there are some things that need to be clarified."
"For instance, how exactly does the Cloud Mountain Society's investment decision-making process work? Where does our invested money go? How is the return rate guaranteed? And how is risk controlled?"
"According to the agreement, regular members only have dividend rights, not decision-making power. I can understand that—founding members contribute more and deserve greater authority."
"But if an investment loses money someday, do we have the right to be informed? Do we have oversight or supervision rights? We can't just sink our money in and not be allowed to ask a single question, can we?"
"After all, one billion is no small amount. We put our trust in the Cloud Mountain Society and handed over the money, but trust has to go both ways."
As soon as these words were spoken.
Muttering broke out among the preparatory members.
Truth be told, they had been given some warnings before, but back then, their position was different—they had been the ones begging to join, so it was hard to ask too many questions, and they had to suppress their doubts.
Now that someone had stepped forward to raise these concerns, they naturally wanted to see how the Cloud Mountain Society would respond.
"Young Master Zhou is right—one billion is no small sum; there should be some explanation."
"Yeah, we may not want decision-making power, but we at least deserve the right to be informed."
"What if it does go wrong? We can't just get nothing in return—that would be a huge loss for us..."
Voices gradually grew louder, and the atmosphere in the private room began to shift in a subtle and delicate way.
A smug smile spread across Zhou Zhao's face as he heard the murmurs of discussion.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
The role he had set for himself now was to represent all the provisional members, fight for their interests, and make them feel that he had their backs.
Even if Liu Yutong had a problem with him, she wouldn't dare call him out in front of so many people, would she?
After all, these people were all sons and daughters of noble families from the imperial capital. Offending one or two was one thing, but offending all of them was something she would have to think twice about.
Especially Young Master Chu, Chu Junlin.
Even if Liu Yutong had won the favor of the matriarch of the family, this guy probably wouldn't bat an eye.
As long as he could push Young Master Chu into the core circle, Liu Yutong's objections would be useless.
Both were founding members, and in a one-on-one vote, things would end in a tie.
After listening to Zhou Zhao's words, Gu Yebai was the first to speak.
"Zhou Zhao, what are you trying to say? You don't trust us? If you don't, then pack your bags and get out!"
Zhou Zhao immediately waved his hand, putting on an innocent expression. "Young Master Gu, don't misunderstand. It's not that I don't trust you. I just want to get things straight. We're all businessmen, and it's better to lay all the cards on the table upfront than to haggle over things later, right?"
Lu Hong let out a cold laugh. "Haggle? Who's haggling with you? The agreement clearly states that regular members only have profit-sharing rights, no decision-making or oversight powers. Didn't you read that clearly before signing? And now you're asking!"
Zhou Zhao replied, "Young Master Lu, agreements are written in stone, but people are flexible. I just wanted to hear the thoughts of the founding members. Since we're going to be working together from now on, it can't be that we're not even allowed to speak, right?"
Shen Hao, who had been listening all along, also had an unpleasant look on his face.
Zhou Zhao was his recommendation, and now this guy was stirring up trouble, making him look bad.
He couldn't hold back any longer and stood up. "Zhou Zhao, are you here today to join the organization or to pick a fight?"
Zhou Zhao said, "President Shen, I'm here to join, and I come with full sincerity."
"But as for this Yunshan Society of yours, I only asked a few perfectly reasonable questions, and you've already turned hostile. That makes it hard for me not to wonder if you're feeling guilty or if you're deliberately setting up a trap to fleece us new members."
After this exchange, the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense.
The probationary members looked at one another, unsure which side to take.
Still, Zhou Zhao's words had struck a chord with them.
A billion dollars was no small sum, and none of them had money that grew on trees.
While they were all eager to join the Yunshan Society, it was only right to clear up any uncertainties.
Liu Yutong hadn't said a single word throughout the whole discussion. She simply watched the expressions on everyone's faces quietly.
Zhou Zhao's true intentions had become clear to her, or so it seemed.
