The atmosphere in the private room froze instantly, thick with the smell of gunpowder.
The mahogany long table in the middle now seemed like an insurmountable divide, splitting the two sides apart.
Zhou Zhao stood on what he believed to be the moral high ground, confidently arguing for the rights of their probationary members.
After all, every one of these thirteen probationary members had brought massive funds with them—at least ten billion in cash each. Together, their total capital exceeded fifteen billion.
Such a huge sum was undoubtedly a weighty bargaining chip.
Zhou Zhao didn’t trust the Cloud Mountain Society, nor did he believe Liu Yutong would remain indifferent to such a large amount of money.
Money—no one ever had too much of it.
So, he was certain Liu Yutong wouldn’t simply reject their demands.
Even if Liu Yutong took a strong personal stance, what about the other members of the Cloud Mountain Society?
It wasn’t as if Liu Yutong ruled the society alone. Would the other members just let her do whatever she wanted?
Once he had applied enough pressure, Chu Junlin could step in and play the good cop, securing himself a founding member position, or even the role of president.
If Chu Junlin succeeded, Zhou Zhao would be the chief contributor—not only earning his own membership but also getting a chance to spite Liu Yutong, settling the score for the embarrassment she had caused the Zhou family earlier.
Chu Junlin had been thinking the same thing.
In truth, from the very beginning, he had never intended to be some mere probationary member of the Cloud Mountain Society.
What was his status?
A man commanding thirty billion in assets, a scion of the Chu family in the imperial capital—his identity was nothing short of noble.
Even if the backgrounds of the Cloud Mountain Society’s members weren’t shabby, did they really deserve to have him as their subordinate?
If it weren’t for the society’s tens of billions in capital, he wouldn’t have even considered joining.
In Chu Junlin’s view, the Cloud Mountain Society’s rapid growth to over sixty billion in assets within a single year was merely the result of pooling their respective resources to achieve such eye-catching performance.
If he could take control of the society, leveraging the Chu family’s influence and his own business acumen, he could definitely take things even further.
So, he wanted not just a founding member position, but also the presidency itself.
Only that title was worthy of him, Chu Junlin.
The more Zhou Zhao stirred up trouble, the more leverage he gained.
This group of probationary members was his trump card for forcing a confrontation, and the more than fifteen billion in capital was his hard bargaining chip in negotiations with the Cloud Mountain Society.
He didn’t believe anyone would turn away such a massive sum.
“Miss Liu, you’re a founding member of the Cloud Mountain Society, so you must have some say around here. How about you answer our questions?” Zhou Zhao shifted his focus onto Liu Yutong.
At that, nearly everyone turned to look at the woman who had humiliated the Zhou family just days ago.
They all understood why Zhou Zhao was doing this—it was simply an attempt to reclaim some of the lost face for the Zhou family.
Chu Junlin, too, wanted to see whether this woman, who had caused such a stir at the Jiang family banquet, would yield.
Finally, Liu Yutong reacted.
Not with anger, not with accusation—just a calm expression. Yet the oppressive aura she exuded made Zhou Zhao’s heart tighten for no reason.
“Anything else?”
Zhou Zhao felt a chill under her gaze, but with Chu Junlin backing him and that fifteen billion worth of leverage, he refused to back down.
“No… nothing else.”
Liu Yutong nodded, then crooked her finger at him. “Bring me your contract.”
Zhou Zhao was briefly stunned, but a wave of joy quickly washed over him.
Sure enough—she was giving in, ready to revise the agreement.
The Eldest Miss of the Wanlong Association, the new socialite of the imperial capital—even she had to bow before his silver tongue.
He hurriedly handed the contract over to Liu Yutong.
“Miss Liu, I knew you were a reasonable person. The terms in this contract were simply unfair—”
Before he could finish, a tearing sound rang out.
Rip!
Rip!
Liu Yutong grabbed his contract without hesitation, and right in front of everyone, tore it in two right before their eyes.
Zhou Zhao’s smile froze instantly.
What—what was she doing?
Had she gone mad?!
That was a contract worth over a billion!
Chu Junlin paused his lighter and narrowed his eyes at Liu Yutong.
Looks like this woman wasn’t going to give an inch.
After several seconds of shock, Zhou Zhao finally came to his senses and pointed a finger at Liu Yutong.
“Liu Yutong! Are you insane?! Do you even know what you just tore up? That’s a contract worth a billion! Are you trying to pick a fight with all of us? Believe me, we can pull our funding right now and collapse your Cloud Mountain Society! Then let’s see how you answer to the other members!”
Liu Yutong couldn’t be bothered to waste words on him. She simply called out, “Send someone in.”
A group of men in black suits from the Wanlong Association poured into the room.
Seeing this, Zhou Zhao panicked. “You—what do you think you’re doing?! I’m just fighting for my reasonable rights! You wouldn’t resort to violence, would you? Is this how you do business?”
Liu Yutong waved her hand. “Pin him down.”
On her command, the men in black moved in, seizing Zhou Zhao and pressing him onto the mahogany table.
“Let me go! Young Master Chu, save me!” Zhou Zhao screamed desperately.
But hands were already resting on Chu Junlin’s and the others’ shoulders. Any slightest move would land them in the same predicament as Zhou Zhao.
None of them dared to move. None dared to plead for leniency.
Liu Yutong stood up, walked around the table, and came face to face with Zhou Zhao.
Bending down, she looked at him. “Zhou Zhao, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
“You know what? What I hate most is someone going back on their word—and even more, I hate being threatened.” As she said this, she deliberately glanced at Chu Junlin, who remained expressionless.
Zhou Zhao was about to beg for mercy when Liu Yutong simply said to Yun Cheng, “Since that contract is so valuable, make him eat it. Don’t waste it.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Without hesitation, Yun Cheng grabbed the torn halves of the contract and shoved them directly into Zhou Zhao’s mouth.
“Mmph… mmph…”
Zhou Zhao struggled furiously, but to no avail.
Soon, shredded paper filled his puffed-out cheeks, making him look as though he had gained several pounds.
Watching this horrifying scene, the thirteen reserve members all fell silent.
They had only heard rumors about Liu Yutong’s ruthlessness before. Now, they were witnessing it firsthand.
Truly merciless.
Once the entire contract had been forced down Zhou Zhao’s throat, Yun Cheng and his men finally let him go.
As soon as he was freed, the man collapsed to the ground, vomiting uncontrollably—a horrific sight.
Liu Yutong pointed at Zhou Zhao, who was still coughing and retching on the floor, and addressed the remaining probationary members. “Now, apart from him, does anyone else want to withdraw? Step forward!”
The entire room fell dead silent.
Every single one of them was intimidated by Liu Yutong’s ruthless methods.
All except for one person—Chu Junlin.
