Chapter 33

There was no salvaging the situation now.
No amount of excuses could cover up the facts already laid bare.

Shang Yuchen turned desperate eyes toward his father, silently begging him to step in—to protect him.
He didn’t want to leave Shangshi.
He definitely didn’t want to go to prison.

But Shang Guozhang never even looked his way.

Yuchen slumped into his chair, like someone whose soul had just been sucked out.
He was completely drained.

Lin Changqing, facing the ultimatum Shang Yushang had given, felt for the first time in his life… lost.
He—Lin Changqing—had been a titan of business for decades.
He’d seen it all. Met everyone worth meeting.
He’d never been cornered into choosing like this before.
And now a junior—still wet behind the ears—wanted to dictate terms?

How could he not fight back?

Suddenly, Lin Changqing burst into laughter.

“Haha! Hahaha! Shang Yushang, you think I’m someone you can just push around? Your little tricks mean nothing to me.”

Shang Yushang raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh? Then what exactly does Director Lin plan to do?”

Lin’s face turned dark.
“I don’t care where you got your so-called ‘evidence.’ All this infighting between you brothers, dragging the rest of us down with you—it’s pathetic. Laughable, even. I’ve devoted my life to Shangshi. I won’t be cast aside just because some overconfident brat thinks he can.”

His eyes swept across the boardroom.
“We’ve all been here for years. We built Shangshi with our own hands.
And now look at what we’ve come to: the Shangs fighting to the death, dragging the company into chaos, just to eliminate someone like me. Is this how they repay loyalty? How they treat those who served them?
Ask yourselves—is this still worth it?”

The old saying “the cunning hare is killed when it’s no longer needed; the hunting dog is cooked” echoed in everyone’s minds.
Whether that fate applied depended entirely on who held the reins.
If the ruler was wise, loyalty would be rewarded.
But if suspicion took over, even the most promising careers could be destroyed.

And many in this room understood that.

Lin Changqing’s influence was still enough to stir up a few allies.

“President Shang,” one of them began, “Director Lin has done more than his fair share for this company. You shouldn’t dismiss him so easily.”

Another chimed in, “That’s right. His contributions are undeniable. To treat him like this over some questionable accusations—it’s just not right.”

Shang Yushang’s eyes narrowed, a steely glint flashing in them.

“Not fair?” he said coldly. “If it’s fairness you want, I’ll give you *fairness.”

He turned and took a thick stack of documents from his assistant, slamming them down onto the table with a sharp thwack.

“This,” he said, eyes locking on Lin Changqing, “is the full dossier of your off-the-books business activity—using Shangshi’s funds to set up your own private company.”

He paused.

“Pengyu Trade. You really lived up to your reputation, Director Lin. Your experience is… truly disturbing.”

His words were ice-cold.
His gaze sharp enough to slice skin.

“In 2013, under your relentless insistence, Shangshi partnered with Pengyu to develop the Liwan project. You moved funds from one pocket to another—Shangshi’s money straight into your own. You even pocketed the intermediary fees.
Impressive, really. Textbook embezzlement.”

Yushang’s voice dripped with sarcasm and contempt.

“In 2014, Shangshi launched the Huanghai resort project. You somehow managed to win your own company nearly half the contracts. Raking in profits again, weren’t you?”

His voice rose slightly. “Is that your idea of fairness, Director Lin? While others were working themselves to the bone for Shangshi, you were hollowing it out from the inside.”

The room went still.

“And then,” Yushang continued, “at the end of 2014, during Shangshi’s 50th anniversary jewelry exhibition—remember the plagiarism scandal?
If we hadn’t prepared a backup plan, that scandal could have crippled our jewelry brand. The company would’ve taken years to recover public trust.
You all remember the employee who leaked those designs, right?”

Everyone nodded, vaguely recalling the incident.

“He was punished, yes. But guess where he is now? Living free and easy in Europe.”
He let that sink in. “Want to know why?”

The boardroom fell silent.
Even Shang Guozhang looked shaken.

Zhang Nian finally spoke, almost robotically, “Why?”

“Because,” Shang Yushang said slowly, “Lin Changqing was the one who orchestrated the leak.”

The room was stunned.
Gasps. Slack jaws. Utter disbelief.

Lin Changqing’s mask finally cracked.
His righteous indignation crumbled.

“Shang Yushang! You lying little bastard! This is a setup! You’re framing me!”

Yushang’s voice was eerily calm.
“No need to yell. Oh, and I forgot to mention—your little fall guy? He’s been extradited back. He’s currently in police custody. Shouldn’t be long now before everything comes to light.”

He added with a sneer, “And just a tip? Don’t even think about running. That ship’s already sailed.”

As if on cue, the aluminum conference room doors opened again—this time, to admit uniformed police officers.

“Lin Changqing,” the lead officer announced, “you are under arrest for corporate fraud, leaking trade secrets, and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say may be used as evidence against you. Please come with us.”

The cold click of handcuffs snapped onto Lin’s wrists.
Only then did he finally realize it was really happening.

“No! What are you doing?! Let me go! Do you even know who I am?! Let me—LET ME GO!”

The officers remained stone-faced.

“If you resist,” one warned, “we’ll add obstruction of justice to your charges.”

Realizing resistance was pointless, Lin turned on Shang Yuchen.

“It was him! He ordered the hit—he’s the one who wanted that man dead! This wasn’t me! Why aren’t you arresting him?!”

As soon as the police entered, the utterly spineless Shang Yuchen had already hidden behind his younger sister, too terrified to even show his face.
Now, hearing Lin Changqing turn around and accuse him, he trembled as he stammered,
“I didn’t—I didn’t do anything! I don’t know anything!”

But Lin Changqing was gripping the edge of the table for dear life, struggling desperately as he shouted,
“Officers! Officers, listen to me! It was him—Shang Yuchen!
He ordered that doctor to tamper with the medication—he wanted that patient dead, so he could frame Shangshi Group! It was him! He did it all, not me!
And that diamond ring sent for testing—he told Yin Hao to find someone to tamper with that too!
He wanted to destroy his brother so he could take over. I was just manipulated by him!
I didn’t do anything—I swear! You have to believe me! He’s the one you should be arresting!”

The lead officer frowned.
What the hell is going on here?
They hadn’t even begun interrogating anyone, and these people were already tearing each other apart.

Given the messy circumstances, they had no choice but to bring in all potential suspects for questioning.
At the captain’s signal, several other officers stepped toward Shang Yuchen, preparing to take him in as well.

Seeing the police closing in, Yuchen panicked and clung tightly to his sister’s clothes, shrieking hysterically:
“Yuhe! Yuhe, stop them! Don’t let them take me! Don’t come any closer!
He’s lying! He’s making it all up! I didn’t do anything!”

Realizing his sister couldn’t help him, he turned to their father.
“Dad! Dad, please help me! I swear I didn’t do it! Please—Dad!
I didn’t do anything wrong! Dad, please—help me!”

The scene turned chaotic.
Lin Changqing and Shang Yuchen were both yelling at each other, blaming each other, desperately trying to deflect responsibility.
Whatever arrogance they’d shown earlier was long gone.
They now looked like two market women fighting over a discounted cucumber—completely unhinged and absurd.

Shang Guozhang almost stepped in.
But when he saw the looks on the shareholders’ faces, he hesitated.
He couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
All he could do was look steadily at Shang Yushang—not even sure what he hoped his son would do.
He simply… looked at him.

Meanwhile, Yuchen was still screaming—completely lacking the dignity a Shang family heir was expected to carry.

Shang Yushang frowned in irritation.
This noise is unbearable, he thought.

Longning would never act like this.

No matter what happened, Longning always stayed calm, steady, like a little old soul in a young man’s body—so composed at just twenty.
Even just thinking about him brought a bit of lightness to Yushang’s heart.

If Dazhou knew his boss was still thinking about his sweet little spouse in a moment like this, he’d probably lose it.
He’d jump up and scream, “You shameless bastard!”
(Of course, that’s just something Dazhou might imagine himself saying.)

Back to the chaos at hand, Yushang knew this wasn’t the time to act on personal impulse.
As much as he wanted both of them gone, he noticed the pleading look in his father’s eyes, his sister on the verge of tears, and the shareholders’ expressions—some supportive, others unsure.

With a sigh, he knew: some things just couldn’t be handled his way.

He stepped forward and raised a hand to stop the officers.

“Officers,” he said calmly, “please trust me—Shang Yuchen will fully cooperate with your investigation.
I personally guarantee that he won’t leave the city while this is being sorted out.
So until the facts are clear, I ask that he be allowed to remain at home.”

The lead officer glanced at his superior.

The captain nodded.
“All right. There’s currently no conclusive evidence tying Shang Yuchen to the crimes.
We trust President Shang’s guarantee.
As long as he cooperates when needed, that’ll be enough for now.”

“You have my word,” said Yushang, steady as ever.
“I’ll make sure of it.”

And with that, the police led away a furious, struggling Lin Changqing, still yelling and kicking, out of the boardroom.

The remaining shareholders exchanged looks.
This mess of a board meeting—this full-blown farce—was finally over.
But the shock still lingered.

The damage done by just a few people’s ambition was immeasurable.
Everyone felt it.

Especially with Shang Yuchen still in the room.

Jiang Fangzheng didn’t hold back anymore.
His anger exploded.

“Manager Shang, you still have the gall to sit there? What do you take Shangshi for—some kind of toy to play with in your spare time?
All of us have poured years—decades—of blood, sweat, and tears into this company.
And you? You didn’t lift a finger to help.
Instead, you tried to burn the whole thing down! What the hell is wrong with you?
A parasite like you has no place in Shangshi!”

Others jumped in.

“He shouldn’t stay a second longer! While we’ve been busting our asses for Shangshi’s future, what has he done? Nothing but party, waste money, and squander our hard work!”

“All he has is cheap tricks—he thinks that’s enough to run a corporation?
If the day ever came where Shangshi was handed over to him, I’d jump off the top floor myself.
I’d rather die than watch everything we’ve built destroyed by someone like him!”

Zhang Nian’s chest was heaving with rage.
He hadn’t felt this furious in years.

What happened today had shaken everyone.
The betrayal, the backstabbing—from people they had once fought alongside.
How had it come to this?
What kind of person could throw away brotherhood, loyalty, and legacy… all for power?

Yushang finally tapped the table.

“Everyone, the immediate crisis has been dealt with.
But there’s still work to do.
Let’s stay focused.”

He looked at his father for a long moment, then turned back to the group.

“As of this moment, Manager Shang is terminated.
Although he still holds shares in Shangshi, and will continue to receive dividends according to his stake, he is stripped of all authority and barred from any further involvement in company affairs.
Hand over your materials and leave.”

Shang Yuchen suddenly lifted his head, staring at Shang Yushang.
He searched his brother’s face, desperately trying to find even a flicker of triumph or satisfaction.
But there was nothing.

No pride, no scorn, no anger.
Not even pity.

Just… indifference.

To Yushang, he was no longer a brother.
Just another irrelevant person.

And suddenly, Yuchen understood:
He had been foolish—delusional, even—to expect love or protection from this man.
That he would clean up his messes, cover for his failures… love him like a true older brother.

But that had never been possible.
His very existence was a stain—a painful reminder of the shameful tactics his mother had used to steal a piece of happiness that was never meant for her.
His presence had cost Yushang the love and warmth of his own mother.

The only reason Yushang had tolerated him at all… was because he carried half the Shang family blood in his veins.

And nothing more.