The appearance of this scene truly caught everyone off guard.
No one had ever imagined they would see Gu Zhaoping in such a setting.
Just earlier, after seeing the news about the broken record, they were still searching everywhere for her, hoping someone might run into her and show everyone what she looks like now.
After all, this person's experiences are far too legendary!
But who would have thought the next time they'd see news of her would be in a place like this, under the focused gaze of countless elites, with the camera zooming in and everyone watching the stage intently.
And there she stood, becoming the absolute visual center, steering the entire discussion.
Such a scene, under such a spotlight, was truly something that made people stare dumbfounded, their hearts trembling.
Even though they had seen Gu Zhaoping speak many times before, and even her tone wasn't that different from when she was on the show.
Yet it wasn't until this moment, seeing her and hearing these sentences flow fluently from her mouth, that a profound sense of unreality fiercely struck everyone's hearts.
Who is this? What kind of scene is this?
Gu Zhaoping at an industry leaders' summit??
— This is, this is just too terrifying!!
Damn, so the previous business game wasn't a coincidence!
Who said Gu Zhaoye was still the domineering CEO after leaving the show? Who said Gu Zhaoping was just lucky??
Step forward!
Of course, compared to the netizens, those who received an even stronger impact were the relevant industry insiders, major financial bloggers, and various entrepreneurs and experts domestically following this development.
It's quite normal for someone they don't recognize at all to give a speech at such a summit; gender or age isn't the most shocking reason for them.
If anything could shock them, it was that after seeing the huge discussion this person sparked, someone finally went to look into her background and past—
And then was astonished to find that she had no prior relevant experience and no industry under her own name.
Her representative work was even this recently aired variety show... well, in which she beat up several people, including her younger brother, Gu Zhaoye, the CEO of Yuanqi Tech.
Alright, for these industry insiders, perhaps her beating up Gu Zhaoye was the most shocking "achievement" of all.
But Sister Li went the whole way, seeing things through to the end. She clearly broadcasted the entire speech, including the content she delivered later. Although Sister Li herself didn't understand it, she very thoughtfully added subtitles, striving to ensure all who should understand could understand.
On stage, Gu Zhaoping controlled the scene with composure, and the content she spoke about also made many people involuntarily start to ponder seriously, as if it truly held great promise.
The more they listened, the more amazed they felt; the more they listened, the more impressive it seemed, as if this person had foresight over a decade ahead of the entire industry.
Completely unlike a newcomer to the business world!
Later in this video, just as everyone was watching in a daze, a figure suddenly appeared.
This was the more familiar Gu Zhaoye!
This potential heir of the Gu family's eldest line, the domineering CEO always active in the public eye.
He stood opposite Gu Zhaoping with an almost broken demeanor, his eyes wide with fury.
It's unknown which reporter captured this angle, but they were truly sharp and adept at spotting hot topics. Upon noticing this young man who had rushed to the entrance, they immediately turned the camera towards him, constantly switching between his face and Gu Zhaoping's!
And Gu Zhaoye, due to his extreme anger, didn't even notice the camera that had long since switched to his face.
The montage of this camera switching was so rich in subtext, making people feel oddly intrigued.
So it wasn't just in those earlier videos from the snowy mountains that the siblings showed such a huge difference in their approach—one harming people, the other saving them.
It was in this current scene that more people discovered the vast gap between them, like a chasm!
One was wide-eyed with fury, brokenly glaring at the stage, nearly bursting with anger.
The other was calm and composed, handling everything with ease, without a single stumble.
Ah, it's strange, how come no one ever noticed before that Gu Zhaoye was so unreliable, lacking responsibility, accountability, and character?
Why did so many people before harbor so much admiration and longing for this face that now appears so broken and twisted?
If it was just about liking the qualities he possessed, then clearly Gu Zhaoping now seems to possess more of them.
But before, his domineering CEO halo was enough to cover all shortcomings, effortlessly placing him on a pedestal.
He only needed to show his face a couple of times, have a few iconic photos, and some ambiguous, hearsay rumors that hardly anyone witnessed firsthand, to be wildly worshipped and adored by so many.
Yet for Gu Zhaoping to reach this camera frame, it seems she needed much more evidence to prove herself.
...That's just too unfair.
Suddenly, many people had a moment of clarity, and this thought flashed through their minds.
And in that very moment, countless people suddenly realized that Gu Zhaoping had never actually done anything substantively bad; even the earlier rumors about her bullying Ruan Nian had already been clarified.
When she bore those accusations, she didn't break down at all. Instead, she later found ways to seek evidence for herself and stop being smeared.
Nor was she affected by it.
Even during her self-introduction, every skill she mentioned she proved she truly possessed, and had mastered to the highest level.
Excelling in everything, achieving the extreme in everything.
Why is it that such an outstanding person, one so remarkable it leaves people speechless, is only now having her astonishing brilliance recognized?
It seems it wasn't until seeing Gu Zhaoping at this moment that a thin film shattered with a "pop" in many people's minds, and everything before their eyes became clearer amidst the blur.
Gu Zhaoping's image became more concrete. All her deeds over these days finally coalesced into a complete entity, firmly established in everyone's minds.
—This is an unbelievably awesome, all-around genius! An outstanding figure among people!! A formidable person who might only appear once in many years!!
Before, with that variety show, they thought she just wanted to improve her image on the program and clear her name. But now it seems she was merely lowering herself to that level!
Her real stage isn't in some so-called variety show, but in a place like this?
In that very moment, what flashed through many people's minds wasn't questioning why the Gu family chose to have Gu Zhaoping appear instead of Gu Zhaoye.
The answer to that question required no thought at all. Between Gu Zhaoye, who had made such a colossal mistake before, and Gu Zhaoping, who had always been so reliable, was there really any choice to make?
None!
It was terrifying!
The volume of this wave of public opinion was utterly terrifying, arguably unprecedented in the history of the internet!
Almost immediately, everyone spontaneously began to condemn Gu Zhaoye and voice their support for Gu Zhaoping!
They even became Gu Zhaoping's soldiers without needing any organization.
Although the situation was serious, many couldn't help but exclaim—Sister Zhaoping, you are so cool!!!
Much cooler than all those other famous entrepreneurs!
How could there be someone so reliable and capable?! How could she be so multi-talented? And have such a charismatic personality?
This is the true image of a CEO that everyone imagined!
In just a short time, Gu Zhaoye hadn't yet realized how severe the consequences would be—so severe that he would have to bear the cost for the rest of his life, a burden he could no longer shoulder.
When the PR team saw this video, they looked at each other in silence for a moment, their hands slowly releasing the mouse, seemingly already aware of something deep down.
The fallout from this incident was too great; Gu Zhaoye simply had no way to recover.
In fact, relatively speaking, what they should understand more clearly by now was who seemed more likely to replace Gu Zhaoye and ascend to a higher position in his stead.
Once this thought emerged, the hands of everyone busy clearing his name suddenly slowed down considerably.
It was a disingenuous task to begin with, and upon realizing Gu Zhaoye's status was 99% likely never to be the same, that pent-up feeling in their hearts just... dissipated.
He brought this on himself. You're the domineering CEO, right? One person's actions, one person's responsibility!
That's what being domineering is all about!
Public opinion fermented with a roar.
Outside the venue, Gu Zhaoye watched Ruan Nian's face instantly turn pale, still not fully grasping what was about to happen. He just took several deep, harsh breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Then, without another glance at Ruan Nian, he strode away. By the time Ruan Nian snapped out of it and tried to catch up to say a few words to him, Gu Zhaoye had already vanished without a trace.
She stood there, trembling all over with fear, no longer daring to think about the consequences. She could barely save herself now.
Gu Zhaoye walked a few steps outside, found a secluded spot, and only then dialed his father's number:
"Dad, do you and Mom know about Gu Zhaoping's situation?"
Gu Zhaoye forcibly suppressed his anger. He refused to believe his parents were in on this with Gu Zhaoping to hide it from him. He had upset the old master before, but he hadn't done anything wrong in front of his parents. It wasn't like they were crazy or had nothing better to do than help Gu Zhaoping humiliate him like this.
Old Mr. Gu on the other end was also bewildered, asking, "What situation?"
Gu Zhaoye was speechless. Suppressing his temper, he asked, "You don't know either? Then how did Gu Zhaoping get to Los Angeles without anyone knowing?"
Old Mr. Gu was even more stunned for a moment: "What Los Angeles?"
He was still on vacation. It took him two full seconds to process the information before his expression shifted to one of astonishment: "Wait, Zhaoye, are you saying Zhaoping is in Los Angeles now? With the old master in Los Angeles? At the summit venue?"
This was partly because the old master's confidentiality work had been done too well.
The old man had been cautious. Although he usually seemed jovial, he understood perfectly well that his eldest son and daughter-in-law were inevitably more biased toward Gu Zhaoye, having cultivated him for so many years.
Coupled with the information he had imagined about Zhaoping hiding her talents all these years, he decided to keep even his eldest son and daughter-in-law completely in the dark until it was a done deal.
So Old Mr. Gu was immediately thrown off balance.
However, he still didn't know the specifics and asked optimistically, "What's she doing in Los Angeles? Did she go with the old master to relax as well?"
Old Mr. Gu muttered to himself. He knew Gu Zhaoye had acted inappropriately on that variety show before, which caused a trending topic, and the old master had been very angry about it, hence not taking him to the summit this time. He felt it was a pity but didn't dare go against the old master's wishes.
He figured Gu Zhaoye was probably upset that he wasn't invited this time, yet Zhaoping went to Los Angeles with the old master.
So he offered a few words of comfort, trying to mediate between the siblings: "Zhaoye, don't overthink it. Your sister, well, she just likes to have fun. This trip to Los Angeles is probably just for her to enjoy herself. Didn't she study around there before? She might be meeting up with classmates and friends. It's nothing major."
"Nothing major?!" Gu Zhaoye felt blood rushing to his head, nearly bursting with anger. Anyone unaware would think his father was deliberately mocking him!
"Dad, you still don't know what Gu Zhaoping is doing? She already gave a speech at the summit! Who let her go?!"
Old Mr. Gu was dumbfounded, not immediately comprehending the meaning. This time, it took him a full minute to figure it out.
Instantly, he thought he had reached the age where his hearing was failing. He immediately turned to Ms. Hua beside him and said, "Wait, wait, quick, check if there's any news from the old master. See what's going on with Zhaoping?"
Ms. Hua, who had just opened her eyes, was urged to check. Her heart skipped a beat, thinking something had happened to Zhaoping again?
Upon opening her phone, she discovered, to her astonishment, that Zhaoping had accompanied the old master to the summit and delivered a speech that many professionals were rating exceptionally highly!
The Zhaoping in the video was indeed still her daughter, but her manner of speaking, her overall demeanor, were completely different from before, leaving Ms. Hua staring in a daze for a long time.
After a long while, the stunned Ms. Hua suddenly resolutely closed her phone, looked up, and said, "What difference does it make who goes to the summit? Isn't it just the old master wanting to take Zhaoping? Whichever child from the eldest branch goes, it's fine. It's not like Gu Kaichang or Gu Yingjie went!"
Old Mr. Gu's eyebrow twitched. He processed what Ms. Hua had said, and then he also realized—Ah, right! Whether it's Zhaoping or Zhaoye, aren't they both our children? The old master valuing the eldest branch is a good thing!
Even though he was angry with Zhaoye this time, he didn't take people from the second or third branches; he took Zhaoping. Doesn't that mean both our children are capable?
Old Mr. Gu immediately turned and began criticizing Gu Zhaoye: "Zhaoye, that's the wrong attitude. This is your sister. She and you are one entity, both the glory of our main branch of the family. What's wrong with her going? Look at how much face your sister brings us. Look at her bearing, her choice of words—what isn't done well?"
"She is your sister; you should support each other. How can you be unhappy when something good happens to your sister? Wasn't it you who angered the old master this time?"
Gu Zhaoye's eyes flickered, listening in disbelief. He looked at his phone again. Is this really how his parents thought?
He felt isolated by the whole world, a rush of blood surging to his head, his ears ringing.
Right. In the past, it was he who performed outstandingly, and between him and Gu Zhaoping, he had the natural advantage of being the eldest grandson. Naturally, his parents would choose to favor and nurture him more.
But it wasn't that they couldn't bear to see Gu Zhaoping gain importance.
They had subconscious biases and ideas shaped by societal conventions, but that didn't mean they didn't acknowledge Gu Zhaoping as their daughter.
A daughter's success is their glory too!
Before, they were just afraid Gu Zhaoping would cause trouble. But now, even though they didn't know how she had improved so dramatically and rapidly, with such a promising child, could they possibly disown her?
On the other end of the phone, his own father and mother took turns telling him his attitude was wrong, that he should resolve conflicts with his sister, get along well, and not hold grudges over the previous times his sister had taught him a lesson—it was all for the sake of the Gu family's reputation...
After just this one instance of her shining, the family members had so nimbly changed their tune, starting to whitewash all of Gu Zhaoping's actions.
Gu Zhaoye felt as if dozens of sharp slaps had landed on his face. So, his parents hadn't been firmly supporting him either?!
This was also something Gu Zhaoping had never worried about.
Ms. Hua and Old Mr. Gu were biased and prejudiced, but they weren't utterly clueless, terrible parents.
They just had a scale in their hearts weighing the value between their two children. When conflicts arose, they relied on this subconscious to decide whom to favor slightly.
Gu Zhaoye had always carried an extra weight on the scale called "eldest grandson," making him heavier than Gu Zhaoping from the start.
Plus, he was younger, so they took it for granted that the older sister should give way to the younger brother.
Power and force are two words. The original meaning of 'power' (quan) is the sliding weight of a steelyard, used to weigh and measure others' worth by its movement.
She had once explained the meaning of this character to Theodore.
Now, step by step, Gu Zhaoping had added weight to her own side.
The steelyard's weight shifted, leaning towards her.
She began to press down, and Gu Zhaoye was lifted up.
Right now, the couple still didn't know about what happened to Gu Zhaoye on the snow mountain. If they found out, the relative weight difference would be even greater, and this balance would tilt again and again towards Gu Zhaoping's side.
Sometimes a clever person racking their brains is no match for a fool's sudden flash of inspiration.
Gu Zhaoye had delivered himself to this point with his own hands.
He took a deep breath, clenched his fists hard, and stiffly hung up the phone, not wanting to listen anymore—not a single word.
Now, neither his parents nor his grandfather would listen to him, and Gu Zhaosi wouldn't either. Within the entire Gu family, he found himself isolated and without support.
Now he could only seek support and help from outside.
Gu Zhaoping had really thrown him off balance this time, made him panic.
By staying close to the old master like this, she would undoubtedly spare no effort to poison the old master's mind against him, tarnish his image, and prevent him from getting close to the old master.
If he couldn't obtain the old master's forgiveness, others would follow suit, and his status in the Gu family would become lighter and lighter. The mere thought of that possible future sent a sudden chill down Gu Zhaoye's spine. He couldn't imagine the consequences of no longer being the most valued person in the Gu family.
Yuanqi Tech—only Yuanqi Tech now. This enterprise, built entirely by his own hands, was completely under his command.
He had to quickly figure out a way to fight Gu Zhaoping!
How absurd. That there would really come a day when Gu Zhaoping would stand squarely as his opponent. For over twenty years, Gu Zhaoye had never imagined that the last person standing before him would be this sister.
However, also because of the call with his parents, his phone, which he had kept off, suddenly started ringing violently. Only then did he discover so many unread messages. He frowned, momentarily stunned.
What's going on?
Opening it, he found it was a barrage of messages from a friend who worked as a news editor-in-chief. There were even messages from the PR team that always handled things for him, asking for verification, which by the end had turned into pleas for help!
After reading everything, Gu Zhaoye's breath caught in his throat, his entire body frozen.
What? Someone had filmed everything that happened on the snow mountain and posted it online? It had already spread widely and spawned rumors far beyond the actual events??
Who filmed it??
How dare someone film it?
The rumors were even more outrageous!
Some said he and Ruan Nian were evil cultivators practicing dual cultivation to drain Liang Zhiwei's primordial spirit??
That he was using Liang Zhiwei as a cauldron, deliberately sacrificing her? Damn it, are these people crazy? Is there anything they can't make up?!
Gu Zhaoye's pupils shook with shock!
He hurriedly contacted these people, trying to control the situation. He no longer had the leisure to confront Gu Zhaoping and could only rush back to the country immediately to deal with these issues.
But at this moment, even more terrifying news arrived.
Right on his flight back to the country.
Subordinates frantically reported to him, almost driven mad themselves. Their products were facing unprecedented, fierce boycotts. Orders just signed were seeing massive returns. Now everyone in the entire company was overwhelmed and frantic!
Previous investors were also desperately trying to contact them, asking if they could handle this massive public opinion crisis. If it continued, they might reconsider their partnership.
Even more terrifying, the incident had made it onto official news!
And it used a very negative tone to criticize Gu Zhaoye's behavior, calling him extremely arrogant and lacking a sense of responsibility befitting an entrepreneur. Once this came out, the whole of Yuanqi Tech was on the verge of collapse!
Since its founding, Yuanqi Tech, riding on the halo of its domineering CEO, had developed incredibly smoothly, never encountering such a major crisis.
Now, the company was filled with panic.
If cohesion had been strong enough and the leader capable of making resolute decisions, perhaps they could have quickly devised a solution in a short time.
Unfortunately, their boss now was Gu Zhaoye.
The subordinate had been trying desperately to contact him for a long time. On Gu Zhaoye's end, there was only silence, followed by the sound of a phone being slammed down violently. He provided them with no actionable solution they could implement.
The already overworked and utterly desperate employees, wanting a moment's respite, turned their heads to look outside only to find a crowd of passersby gathered below the company building, pointing and loudly commenting, "That's the company of the CEO who almost got someone killed!"
They were even saying something about practicing dark arts and sacrifices!
Everyone saw their futures go dark.
They were truly unlucky. Now, they didn't even dare to step out of the company's main entrance, genuinely afraid they'd be pelted with rotten vegetables!
Employees who had once deeply admired Gu Zhaoye and regarded him as a spiritual leader were now filled with intense resentment. If Gu Zhaoye were standing right in front of them at that moment, they would have wanted to personally give him a good beating!
What were they supposed to do now? The vast Yuanqi Technology, so many ongoing projects, the jobs of all the employees from top to bottom, so many families to support—what were they to do?
This CEO not only failed utterly to solve problems, he only created more of them!
At that moment, the Vice President, clutching his head in frustration, was in his office roughly scrubbing his own scalp when he suddenly paused, stopping mid-motion.
He thought of someone.
This was the person who, during the previous crisis when financing failed and Yuanqi Technology was in peril, had stayed behind to meticulously sort out the financial issues.
She seemed reliable enough and knew Yuanqi Technology well enough.
But...
Was this right?
Her?
