Chapter 50

The purpose of teasing had been achieved. Lin Yushu stood up and added, “Can’t I call my husband’s son ‘baby’?”

The German guy didn’t immediately understand the meaning of his words, but when he realized that Lin Yushu was referring to his husband, he quickly changed his expression and carried Lin Yushu into the house, leaving Wowo and the luggage outside.

Of course, upon hearing Wowo’s protesting cries, he opened the door again and brought the child and the luggage inside.

Song Qiming was indeed skilled at handling Lin Yushu, but on the other hand, he was also skilled at dealing with him.

With just a “baby” and an additional “husband,” he could always make Song Qiming surrender.

The day before the board meeting was Thursday, not the usual day for Lin Yushu to go to Jingxin Villa.

However, his appearance did not surprise Shao Zhenbang. It was likely that several groups of people had already been here for the board meeting.

Recently, Shao Zhenbang’s health had been deteriorating. The weather outside was cold, and he hadn’t been out to get fresh air for a long time. Most of the time, he lay on the nursing bed.

Lin Yushu approached the bedside and greeted softly, “Grandfather.”

Shao Zhenbang slowly lifted his eyelids, despite the effort it took, and moved his lips, “You’re here.”

Although his movements were laborious, his eyes were as sharp as ever, as if he could see through anyone’s thoughts.

Lin Yushu steadied himself and said, “Yes, there are some matters I need to consult with you.”

“The board meeting, right?” Shao Zhenbang said indifferently. “They have already come to me.”

Lin Yushu knew that Song Qiming had visited Jingxin Villa the previous day and obtained Shao Zhenbang’s promise not to interfere.

This was within their expectations. After all, Shao Guangjie had a better chance of winning, and there was no need for Shao Zhenbang to intervene.

But what Lin Yushu wanted was for Shao Zhenbang not to interfere in the future.

He straightforwardly said, “Based on the current situation, there are seven directors supporting the removal of President Shao from his position and the construction of the racetrack on the depressed land in the Economic Development Zone.”

“I know,” Shao Zhenbang said in a calm tone. “That group of people has long held grievances against Guangjie.”

Lin Yushu appropriately fell silent, as if he had something to say but hesitated to speak.

Shao Zhenbang shifted his gaze towards him and asked, “Do you have any thoughts?”

“In fact, the source of this disagreement lies in whether that piece of land should be used for cooperation with the Nan Jie Group or for building the racetrack,” Lin Yushu began, “I support building the racetrack.”

“You agree with building the racetrack,” Shao Zhenbang said without hesitation.

Lin Yushu’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t even finished his preamble, and Shao Zhenbang had already seen through his thoughts. It seemed that Shao Guangjie had already complained to his grandfather.

“Guangjie said that you’ve been getting close to Qiming recently,” Shao Zhenbang’s tone remained unchanged, and his stance was unclear, “Do you also favor Qiming more?”

“…Yes,” Lin Yushu’s original intention was to speak well of Song Qiming, but Shao Zhenbang spared him the need to beat around the bush.

“The idea of building the racetrack is good; it will help enhance Yong Xing’s influence,” Shao Zhenbang’s words relieved Lin Yushu, but then he continued, “Cooperating with the Nan Jie Group is also good, after all, they are powerful.”

This was a statement, but it was equivalent to not taking a side.

“I have also been paying attention to the recent stock price of the company,” Shao Zhenbang continued, “Qiming’s performance has indeed been excellent.”

Since the acquisition of S-power, Yong Xing’s stock price had been steadily rising, and after the press conference, it had even returned to the level of early last year.

In the end, this was the market’s confidence in Song Qiming, and Shao Zhenbang couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.

“But,” Shao Zhenbang suddenly changed his tone, “this doesn’t affect the two brothers’ efforts to develop and grow the company together.”

… This meant that Song Qiming was to assist Shao Guangjie.

“Having too much ambition is not a good thing. You should advise him.”

It was said to advise Song Qiming, but wasn’t it also a reprimand for Lin Yushu?
After getting Shao Zhenbang’s approval, Lin Yushu felt relieved. He finally brought up the main issue: “Old master, for tomorrow’s board meeting, should I handle it officially?”

Shao Zhenbang didn’t quite understand Lin Yushu’s meaning. “Handle it officially?”

“Yes,” Lin Yushu replied, trying to stay calm despite feeling nervous. “Director Chen Ping’s wife is an executive at the Nan Jie Group. Logically speaking, he should recuse himself from voting this time.”

Chen Ping was a close friend of Shao Guangjie’s father and the only person Lin Yushu could target.

This board meeting resolution involved cooperation with the Nan Jie Group, and as a vested interest, Chen Ping should recuse himself.

“Is his wife an executive?” Shao Zhenbang pondered for a moment. “I remember she was just a regular finance employee.”

“She has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer,” Lin Yushu said.

“Alright, let him recuse himself then,” Shao Zhenbang said nonchalantly. “It won’t have much impact on the outcome anyway.”

Song Qiming needed the support of eight directors to pass the resolution to remove Shao Guangjie from his position. Even if all four directors on Shao Hedong’s side abstained, he would only have seven votes, unable to reach the required two-thirds majority.

So Shao Zhenbang had no reason to worry because whether one more person abstained or one fewer person abstained from Shao Hedong’s side, it wouldn’t affect the outcome.

However…

He probably didn’t expect that Lin Yushu had a contingency plan.

After getting Shao Zhenbang’s approval, Lin Yushu finally let go of the worry that had been hanging over him for days.

Song Qiming had already started looking for round-trip tickets between Germany and China during the Spring Festival, while Lin Yushu had a sleepless night, fearing that something might go wrong at tomorrow’s board meeting.

At ten o’clock on Friday morning, the Yong Xing Group’s ad hoc board meeting began on time.

In addition to Shao Hedong, Shao Guangjie, Song Qiming, and Lin Yushu, who were non-directors, also attended.

“Isn’t this a waste of time?”

In the one or two minutes before the meeting started, Shao Guangjie turned his swivel chair left and right and said to Lin Yushu beside him.

Lin Yushu uncapped his pen, opened his notebook, and calmly replied, “But we still need to go through the formalities.”

In fact, many board meetings and even shareholder meetings were a waste of time. The resolutions had already been approved by all members, but they still needed to go through the motions to officially enact the decisions.

“Why did he come to attend?” Shao Guangjie gestured with his chin towards Song Qiming on the other side of Lin Yushu. “Is it because he hasn’t attended before and wants to broaden his horizons?”

Song Qiming seemed to have heard Shao Guangjie talking about him, but he remained expressionless, glancing at Shao Guangjie and then returning his gaze to his phone screen.

“Alright, everyone is here, let’s begin.”

Shao Hedong sat at one end of the conference table, and he announced the official start of the meeting. However, as the Chairman and presiding officer, Shao Hedong had a similar look to Shao Guangjie, both appearing eager to finish early.

He looked at Lin Yushu and said, “CEO Lin, please read the declaration of validity first.”

The declaration of validity was not very long, but obviously, Shao Hedong were too lazy to read it themselves.

“This meeting is convened in accordance with the company’s articles of association. All directors were duly notified of the meeting in advance in accordance with the company’s articles of association…”

After Lin Yushu finished reading, he instinctively looked at Shao Hedong, expecting them to continue presiding. However, Shao Hedong said, “Continue.”

…Alright.

Lin Yushu closed his notebook and took on the role of the moderator.

He looked at the directors sitting around the conference table and calmly said, “This meeting will revolve around the vote on the removal of CEO Shao Guangjie. Since Director Chen Ping is not present, I will confirm with him through a phone call.”

At this point, Lin Yushu took out his phone and dialed Chen Ping’s number, putting it on speakerphone.

“Director Chen, hello, we are currently holding an ad hoc board meeting. We need to confirm with you whether you will recuse yourself from voting this time.”

Chen Ping had already received notification and this phone call was merely a procedural formality.

“Yes,” Chen Ping replied.

“Let me confirm with you again, will you recuse yourself?”

Lin Yushu emphasized the word “recuse” heavily, but no one found anything amiss.

“Confirmed,” Chen Ping said again.

“Okay, thank you.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yushu turned to the other directors and said, “We will now officially begin the vote. Directors who support the removal of President Shao Guangjie, please raise your hands.”

Shao Hexu was the first to raise his hands, followed by Fang Lan, the other director from Fang Tian Real Estate, and the four external directors, as planned.

As expected, a total of seven directors voted in favor.

Shao Guangjie spun his chair around, making a subtle movement that couldn’t hide his satisfaction.

“Alright,” Shao Hedong regained their role as the presiding officers. “As everyone can see, only seven people voted in favor, which does not reach the required two-thirds majority. I declare this resolution…”

“Wait!”

Lin Yushu suddenly spoke up, interrupting Shao Hedong’s words.

Everyone looked over, some surprised and others curious. The two sides of the camp were clearly divided.

“CEO Lin, is there something wrong?” Shao Hedong asked. Their faces still carried a friendly smile, indicating that they were unaware of any issues.

“Because Director Chen chose to recuse himself,” Lin Yushu said word by word, “the number of voters should be ten. With seven votes in favor, it reaches the two-thirds majority. Therefore, this resolution should be considered passed.”

There was a brief moment of silence in the meeting room, and Fang Lan let out a light laugh, as if she had witnessed a good show. Shao Hexu also nodded with sudden realization. “So that’s how it is.”

“What do you mean, ‘passed’?” Shao Guangjie stopped spinning his chair and frowned, sitting up straight. He looked at Lin Yushu and said, “Director Chen abstained, so why doesn’t his abstention count as a vote?”

“Abstentions count, but recusals don’t,” Lin Yushu said. “Abstention means having the right to vote but choosing not to, while recusal means not participating in the vote at all. Therefore, recusals are not counted as votes. I confirmed with Director Chen just now, and he did recuse himself. Moreover, I consulted with the Old master beforehand, and he also intended for Director Chen to recuse himself.”

In fact, Shao Zhenbang didn’t have any particular intention; he simply followed Lin Yushu’s plan and didn’t interfere.

Many people were unclear about the difference between recusal and abstention, and Lin Yushu took a gamble here.

If Shao Zhenbang had seen through his plan and insisted on categorizing Chen Ping’s recusal as an abstention, it wouldn’t have been impossible. After all, company laws could be interpreted in various ways.

The result was that Lin Yushu played a game with words, and no one noticed, successfully bringing the proportion of votes in favor to two-thirds.

—Since the numerator couldn’t be increased, then reduce the denominator.

“Lin Yushu, are you setting a trap for us?” The benevolent expression on Shao Hedong’s faces disappeared completely, replaced by a furious appearance. “Do you think you can remove Guangjie from his position by playing these tricks? I declare this vote invalid!”

Lin Yushu was facing such an intense rebuke from Shao Hedong for the first time, and he felt a bit weak in the face of it, unable to meet their gaze directly.

But at this moment, Song Qiming beside him spoke up, “Uncle, CEO Lin has already read the declaration of validity. All the procedures in this meeting are legal and compliant. It’s not up to you to decide it’s invalid.”

“That’s right,” Shao Hexu chimed in, “Is the board of directors just a child’s play for you? Are we all playing house with you? If you lose, you lose. Acting like this when you’re grown up, throwing a tantrum.”

The external directors also began to whisper, saying things like “making a mess of things” and “can’t face defeat.”

Shao Hedong seemed to realize that they were in the wrong, so they could only put on a dark expression and threaten, “Don’t celebrate too soon! I’m going to see father now!”

On the other side, Shao Guangjie, who had been waiting for his father to give him justice, finally seemed to realize that he had been removed from his position as CEO due to the outcome of this meeting.

“Lin Yushu!” He suddenly stood up and grabbed Lin Yushu’s collar. “So you’ve slept with Song Qiming, haven’t you?”

In front of so many people, Lin Yushu was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, Song Qiming had already thrown a punch at Shao Guangjie’s face. “Watch your mouth!”

Shao Guangjie lost his balance and fell backward, knocking over two office chairs. He immediately stood up, ready to strike back, but he was stopped by the directors next to him.

“Let’s talk things out. No need for violence!”

“We’re all family. What are you doing?”

The elders present intervened to stop the fight between the younger generation, and eventually, Shao Guangjie was escorted out of the meeting room by his supporters, bringing an end to the commotion.

Fang Lan approached Song Qiming with her platinum bag and said, “I didn’t expect you guys to actually succeed. Congratulations, I believe in you.”

The other external directors gathered around as well, ignoring the previous indecorous scene. They silently acknowledged Song Qiming and said, “Congratulations, the future of Yong Xing Motors is in your hands.”

Shao Hexu also came over and patted Song Qiming’s shoulder. “You’ve done well, young man. Coming up with such tactics, it really got to Shao Hedong.”

In reality, it was Lin Yushu who had devised the strategy, but he didn’t want to take the credit for it.

Song Qiming expressed his gratitude one by one, and the directors gradually left the meeting room. After a while, only the two of them remained in the spacious room.

Lin Yushu threw his phone onto the desk, relaxing his tense nerves. He let out a sigh and leaned back in his office chair, saying, “It’s done.”

“How much did the stock rise?” Song Qiming asked, glancing at his own phone.

“It hit the limit,” Lin Yushu replied.

“Song Qiming to Replace Shao Guangjie as CEO of Yong Xing Motors.”

Lin Yushu had already contacted familiar media outlets and released the news at the right time.

By now, the result of the board of directors had been made public, and the market’s response was direct—the stock of Yong Xing Motors hit the limit.

When Shao Hedong mentioned that they were going to see Grandfather, there might have been a chance to turn the situation around.

But now that the stock market trend was revealed, Song Qiming’s appointment as CEO was a certainty, and even Shao Zhenbang had no way to counter it.

—Unless he wanted to let Yong Xing’s stock price plummet and become a laughingstock.

Playing schemes was indeed exhausting. Lin Yushu stared at the ceiling with an empty mind, not thinking about anything. Sensing his exhaustion, Song Qiming reached out and held his dangling hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you, my wife.”

“Mm,” Lin Yushu lazily responded.

They were still in the company, so they couldn’t be too intimate. Song Qiming let go of Lin Yushu’s hand and said, “After helping me so much, don’t you want to ‘extort’ me?”

Lin Yushu was always one to nitpick, so how could he not try to extort something? He thought for a moment and said, “Let me take a week off.”

“Rest?”

“At night. Separate rooms.”

Song Qiming understood Lin Yushu’s meaning. Despite just saying, “after helping me so much,” he began bargaining, “One day.”

Lin Yushu replied, “One week.”

Song Qiming countered, “Three days.”

Lin Yushu insisted, “One week.”

Song Qiming compromised, “Five days.”

Lin Yushu suddenly lifted his head and frowned at Song Qiming. “If you keep this up, I’ll change it to two weeks.”

“Two weeks without touching, are you trying to kill me?” Song Qiming finally gave in. “Alright, one week it is.”

As the exhaustion gradually subsided, the joy of a job well done began to seep in.

To personally elevate someone he believed in to a high position, the sense of accomplishment was truly remarkable.

Although it was a little late, Lin Yushu sincerely said, “Congratulations, my dear.”

 

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