Chapter 20
The pilot, clearly losing his appetite, left alone.
Not long after, Du Yufei arrived, albeit late, with an apologetic expression on his face but a confident stride. “Sorry, there was traffic on the road.”
Perhaps all the anger was absorbed by Song Qiming, as Lin Yushu had waited for so long without feeling angry. He simply said, “Senior, I have a meeting later.”
“Okay,” Du Yufei sat down across from Lin Yushu, “I won’t delay your time.”
The dishes were served again, and they tasted even more delicious after being reheated.
There was a reason why Lin Yushu recommended this restaurant to Song Qiming. Even the flavor of the ordinary home-style dishes was exceptional.
“Have you seen the stock price of Yong Xing today?” Du Yufei asked, “It has been rising since the acquisition news was released.”
More than rising, it was like riding a rocket.
The impact of the major shareholder’s divorce seemed non-existent, as Yong Xing successfully acquired S-power, causing the previously declining stock prices to skyrocket back up.
Shao Guangjie was on the verge of opening champagne in his office, and everyone in the company breathed a sigh of relief.
“The ones who bought at the bottom must have made a fortune,” Lin Yushu said.
“Yes,” Du Yufei paused, deliberately teasing, and slowed down his speech, “I heard there’s some movement in Singapore.”
Lin Yushu’s chopsticks froze in mid-air. “Singapore?”
Du Yufei continued, “Hedge funds are raising a large amount of capital.”
Lin Yushu’s heart sank as he mentioned the name of a hedge fund founder and asked, “Could it be him?”
Du Yufei was slightly surprised, “You also heard the rumors?”
Lin Yushu let out a heavy sigh, suddenly finding the food in his mouth tasteless.
He didn’t hear any rumors; he was just making a reasonable guess.
“However,” Du Yufei continued, “I don’t know why they would want to get involved.”
“Maybe they’re drawn by the smell of money,” Lin Yushu casually agreed.
Du Yufei started to talk enthusiastically, analyzing international situations, predicting fund movements, and finally concluded that the domestic investment market was thriving. But Lin Yushu remained disinterested, only occasionally chiming in.
“By the way, have you considered joining me at work?” Du Yufei seemed to be getting carried away and mentioned poaching again. “We used to participate in simulated investment competitions, and we were so in sync.”
“I’m doing well at Yong Xing now,” Lin Yushu politely declined.
“I can introduce you to my circle,” Du Yufei persisted, “You know you can keep moving up.”
With the connections Lin Yushu had now, he didn’t necessarily need Du Yufei to introduce him to a “circle.”
Besides, he didn’t believe that the circle Du Yufei was mingling in was necessarily more sophisticated than the one he was in.
If this had been during their college days, he might have eagerly attached himself to it, but after working for so many years, his perspective had already become high enough. He didn’t need to eagerly wait for others to bring him into play.
“No need, Senior,” he smiled politely, “Perhaps I can introduce my circle to you instead.”
“Sorry for offending you,” Du Yufei replied, his eyes showing a hint of surprise. But he quickly resolved the awkwardness and said, “No worries. We can communicate more in the future.”
Despite it being his birthday today, Lin Yushu had been in a bad mood all afternoon. When he arrived at the private bar reserved by Lu Zibo, he couldn’t muster any interest in the various games. In the end, as the birthday boy, he found a quiet corner and drank alone.
“You don’t seem right, Lao Lin,” Lu Zibo approached Lin Yushu with a glass of wine, putting his arm around his shoulder. He said, “I’ve brought so many beautiful women for you today. Why aren’t you having fun? Are you not giving your bro face?”
“I’m giving you face just by being here,” Lin Yushu took a sip of whiskey. The atmosphere in the bar was stuffy, and he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt in irritation.
“Feeling down?” Lu Zibo, with some perceptiveness, sat beside Lin Yushu and asked, “Who’s been bullying you? Tell your bro.”
Lin Yushu had no intention of confiding in him. He took another sip of the strong drink and was about to suggest that Lu Zibo enjoy himself, but at that moment, he caught a faint scent of agarwood in the midst of the overwhelming smell of smoke and alcohol.
In such a noisy environment, the scent was quite unique.
Setting down his glass, Lin Yushu was about to turn around when someone placed their hand on his back and circled around to his side, leaning in close to his ear and whispering, “I heard it’s your birthday today.”
The scent of agarwood suddenly intensified, accompanied by a familiar deep voice, the very person who had put him in a bad mood.
He turned his head, furrowed his brow, and looked at Song Qiming, asking, “How did you know?”
“I heard it in our group chat,” Song Qiming took a slight step back. “Happy birthday.”
Although it was an additional greeting, it didn’t improve Lin Yushu’s mood. He asked, “Have you been drinking?”
“No,” Song Qiming replied.
“Then take me out,” Lin Yushu finished the whiskey in his glass in one gulp. “I have something to tell you.”
“Where are we going?” Lu Zibo, who seemed oblivious to the situation, enthusiastically stood up and asked, “Where are you guys going? I want to come too.”
“You go your own way,” Lin Yushu pushed Lu Zibo aside. As if afraid that Song Qiming would run away, he tightly grabbed his wrist and led him to the parking lot outside the bar.
In the parking lot, a red Civic and a blue GTR were parked side by side, as if waiting for their owners’ favor.
Song Qiming slowed his pace and asked, “Whose car is this?”
Without saying a word, Lin Yushu threw the Civic’s key to Song Qiming, considering it as his response.
The Civic gradually left the city center and entered the expressway, finally arriving at a viewpoint on the mountaintop.
After dark, the city below presented a different bustling scene. The brightly lit city seemed to have flipped a switch, losing the calm and solemnity of the daytime.
Few cars passed by in the surrounding area, and the streetlights quietly illuminated the viewpoint. The mountaintop and the city below seemed like two separate worlds. Only the occasional mountain breeze carried a hint of urban heat.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Song Qiming closed the car door and followed Lin Yushu to the edge of the viewpoint. They stood by the railing.
Silent throughout the journey, Lin Yushu finally found the courage to speak. He let his gaze wander, looking at the city below, and said, “It’s you.”
“What do you mean, it’s me?” Song Qiming asked.
“The person who leaked the divorce news, the one who bought Yong Xing’s stocks at the bottom,” Lin Yushu paused, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Song Qiming beside him. “It’s you.”
Although he didn’t directly admit it, Song Qiming’s calm reaction indirectly confirmed Lin Yushu’s speculation.
“Because it was most advantageous for you,” Lin Yushu said. “If I’m not mistaken, you have been intentionally controlling the pace of negotiations. You spread news of the negotiations going poorly, not to raise the acquisition price, but to suppress the rising stock price in preparation for releasing the news of the divorce.”
“If that’s the case,” Song Qiming crossed his arms and spoke calmly, “why didn’t I release the news of their divorce earlier? The stock price would have plummeted, and I wouldn’t have had to go through the trouble of controlling the negotiations.”
That was the initial point that Lin Yushu couldn’t understand, but when combined with the information from Du Yufei, everything fell into place.
“Because it takes time to raise funds, and you need to create a time difference,” Lin Yushu explained. “Several billion dollars is not a small amount. If news of the divorce leaked before your funds were in place, Yong Xing would definitely try to stabilize the market, which would increase your cost of buying at the bottom. So, while you had Singapore helping you raise funds, you were also controlling the pace of negotiations here. Once the funds were available, you immediately released the news and bought as many stocks as possible at the lowest cost.”
“From that perspective,” Song Qiming maintained his relaxed pace of speech, “it seems like there was no need to control the negotiations. You could have just waited for the funds and bought at the bottom.”
“It’s necessary,” Lin Yushu furrowed his brow. “When you borrow billions of dollars to buy stocks at the bottom, if the stock price doesn’t rebound immediately, your financing costs will greatly increase.”
The whole situation was interconnected.
Song Qiming had to ensure that the divorce news would come out, and the acquisition would be settled as quickly as possible so that the stocks in his hands would continue to appreciate, and he wouldn’t have to provide more margin.
On the other hand, if the stock price kept plummeting, all the borrowed money would go down the drain, and he would face personal bankruptcy.
That’s why he always controlled the pace of negotiations, to ensure that after buying at the bottom, the stock price would quickly rebound, preventing him from facing enormous debt.
As Lin Yushu explained, the situation became clear, and Song Qiming no longer needed to pretend.
He turned around, leaned against the railing, and looked at Lin Yushu. “How did you figure out it was me?”
“Many pieces of information pointed to you,” Lin Yushu said with some regret. “But what confirmed it for me was when I suddenly remembered the day we signed the contract, and you intentionally arrived late.”
Song Qiming chuckled softly. “I really hate being late.”
“You could have arrived earlier, but you deliberately came after the stock market closed because you wanted to create a time difference and take the opportunity to buy Yong Xing’s stock,” Lin Yushu explained.
“Yes,” Song Qiming casually admitted. “Today, with the rebound in stock prices, I earned another car modification shop.”
Lin Yushu felt more and more infuriated. “How much Yong Xing stock did you buy?”
Song Qiming lightly smirked. “Guess.”
If he held more than 5% of the stock, he would have to make a disclosure, and Lin Yushu estimated that the number was between 4% and 5%.
In other words, it would be at least $3 billion.
“You have such audacity?” Lin Yushu once again had his perception of Song Qiming shattered. “You now owe tens of billions of dollars. Aren’t you afraid of being unable to repay?”
Song Qiming shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s why I’m hoping Yong Xing’s stock price doesn’t fall. As long as the stock price holds, I don’t have to worry about repayment.”
As long as the stock price of Yong Xing remained stable, Song Qiming wouldn’t have to worry about being unable to repay his debts.
“Did you have your sights set on the divorce from the beginning?” Lin Yushu furrowed his brow, a new speculation forming in his mind. “The acquisition was just a cover, and your initial goal was to become a shareholder of Yong Xing.”
“Yes, it’s more interesting that way,” Song Qiming said. “Once their divorce was settled, there were movements in the Cayman Islands. I knew about this news a long time ago.”
The Cayman Islands are a tax haven for the wealthy, and it wasn’t surprising that Song Qiming, who frequently operated in Europe, could hear such information.
“You seized this opportunity,” Lin Yushu continued guessing, “and it just so happened that Shao Guangjie approached you about the acquisition, so you came up with this plan.”
Although it’s a plan that kills three birds with one stone, not everyone dares to play like this.
“Luck was on my side, and nothing went wrong,” Song Qiming said.
“Is that luck?” Lin Yushu couldn’t contain his anger. “You clearly know how to manipulate things.”
“Do I?” Song Qiming blinked innocently.
“You approached me to ensure the smooth completion of the acquisition,” Lin Yushu said. “Although you didn’t need to profit from the acquisition, you also didn’t want to lose out. So, you made me persuade Shao Guangjie, and in the end, you obtained the most favorable conditions for the acquisition.”
“Thank you,” Song Qiming said sincerely.
This infuriated Lin Yushu even more.
He thought he and Song Qiming shared the same interests and that their relationship was more than just work. There should have been something special between them.
But now it seemed that their shared interests were just part of Song Qiming’s manipulation.
One couldn’t deny that Shao Guangjie was wise to be cautious and guard against Song Qiming.
Wasn’t this inviting a wolf into the house?
Lin Yushu didn’t want to say anything more. He walked towards the Civic with a dark expression, and Song Qiming quickly caught up, grabbing his wrist. “Are you angry?”
“Don’t touch me.” Lin Yushu shook off Song Qiming’s hand and opened the door of the passenger seat.
But Song Qiming took a few steps forward and slammed the car door shut.
“Don’t be in a hurry,” Song Qiming held onto Lin Yushu’s arm. “I have something to say to you.”
Was there still something to say?
The contract hadn’t been signed yet, but he sent a message asking him to go to the mountains. Today was his birthday, and he specifically found a bar, all because he still had some value to exploit?
“My acquisition of Yong Xing’s stocks wasn’t an impulsive decision,” Song Qiming said. “You also know that I currently have debts amounting to tens of billions. I care about Yong Xing’s development more than anyone else.”
“Don’t tell me,” Lin Yushu said, “you want to develop Yong Xing properly and have me assist you?”
“Yes, I am more suitable than Shao Guangjie to take over this company.”
“Your ambitions can’t be hidden anymore, can they?” Lin Yushu laughed bitterly. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Grandfather?”
“Up to you,” Song Qiming said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I want.”
At this point, he paused and added, “That includes you.”
Lin Yushu’s heart skipped a beat.
“So, don’t be mad at me,” Song Qiming softened his tone. “It’s your birthday today. Why hold a grudge against me?”
Lin Yushu remained standing, motionless, without responding. His expression still wasn’t pleasant.
“Or tell me,” Song Qiming seemed unfamiliar with coaxing people. Despite being a wild wolf, he clumsily wagged his tail. “What do I need to do for you to calm down?”
I knew it!