Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Ye Mingzhao was not the only one with doubts; even the rest of the Ye family couldn't understand why Chu Hengyi made this decision.

During dinner that evening, when they heard that Chu Hengyi had no intention of attending the temporary shareholders' meeting of Zhou Corporation, the previously lively atmosphere in the private dining room suddenly fell silent. The impatient Ye Mingxi was the first to speak up, "Why aren't you going? You're the one who should be there the most."

Without Chu Hengyi’s timely transfer of 4.99% of the shares to the Ye family business at a critical moment, the acquisition of Zhou Corporation would not have gone so smoothly.

If Ye Mingzhao was the biggest hero in this acquisition, Chu Hengyi was the second. Given his feud with the Zhou family father and son, the Ye family unanimously believed that he should attend the shareholders' meeting.

"What’s up with you two? Don’t you want to show off and get your revenge right there in front of everyone?" Ye Mingxi asked Chu Hengyi and Ye Mingzhao with confusion.

The other members of the Ye family, though not as blunt as Ye Mingxi, shared similar sentiments.

Ye Mingchen looked at Chu Hengyi and slowly said, "You’ve been back for a while now, but you still haven’t met the senior members of our board. This is a perfect chance."

This was because all the board members of the Ye family business would be attending the shareholders' meeting held by Zhou Corporation.

This was personally requested by Ye Linyuan.

He wanted everyone to see what happens to those who cross the Ye family, starting with Zhou Heting. Anyone who dared to oppose the Ye family or harbor malicious intentions to harm them, even if they were "old family friends," would not be spared.

Chu Hengyi understood the thoughts of the Ye family father and son, but he didn’t see the need to attend.

"If needed, we can meet at a more suitable time," he replied.

For Chu Hengyi, short-selling Zhou's film company and buying Zhou Corporation stock were simply opportunistic plays. His main goal was to make money. If it weren’t for the offer Ye Mingzhao made aligning with his interests, he wouldn’t have transferred the shares to the Ye family business.

It’s a business transaction, so everything should be kept straightforward and separate. He would take the money and leave, with no intention of using this to further engage with the board of the Ye family business.

"What do you plan to do with Zhou's film company?" the usually quiet Chairman Ye suddenly looked at Ye Mingzhao and asked slowly.

"Once the Ye family acquires Zhou Corporation, I plan to propose a formal motion at the board meeting to divest from Zhou's film company!" Ye Mingzhao said directly.

"Zhou Corporation is the largest shareholder of Zhou's film company. Now, due to the scandal that broke out, its stock price has fallen below one yuan, and most of the films and TV shows it invested in have been stalled. If, at this time, the largest shareholder, Zhou Corporation, withdraws its investment, Zhou's film company will inevitably go into bankruptcy liquidation."

Chairman Ye gave Ye Mingzhao a surprised look. "Aren’t you planning to take over Zhou's film company?"

Ye Mingzhao smiled slightly. "I can take over Zhou's film company’s resources through other means, but Zhou's film company must be liquidated."

A few days later, at the *Prince of Beggars* premiere, Ye Mingzhao appeared in a black suit. The rest of the cast had already arrived. When Ye Mingzhao walked into the venue, everyone instinctively rose to greet him. Each person’s expression was humble and respectful, their words and actions exuding an indescribable sense of deference and restraint.

*

But it wasn’t surprising that they were so cautious. A few months ago, during filming, Ye Mingzhao was just a pure novice with no acting experience. Because of his status as the adopted son of the Ye family, everyone had been very enthusiastic during the shoot.

In hindsight, they were lucky not to have said anything they shouldn’t have. Otherwise, their fate might have been worse than that of the Zhou family father and son!

Who could have imagined that in just a few months, the once dominant Zhou's film company in the entertainment industry would almost be liquidated, and even the capital-rich Zhou Corporation would be forced to change hands? All of this happened because the Zhou family had offended Ye Mingzhao.

Onlookers in the industry were baffled. Why would someone as formidable as Ye Mingzhao, who could be a domineering CEO at home, want to plunge headfirst into the entertainment industry? Was playing a 霸道总裁 on screen more fulfilling than being one in real life?

While a group of people privately gossiped, they didn’t dare let on in front of Ye Mingzhao.

Only Yu Mingze, oblivious to the subtle thoughts of the other actors and staff, ran excitedly to Ye Mingzhao. "I have good news to tell you!"

Yu Mingze winked at Ye Mingzhao and whispered, "My parents are already considering breaking off the engagement with the Zhou family."

The Yu family was frightened because of the change in ownership of the Zhou family business and Ye Linyuan's decision to invite all board members to attend an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.

The Yu family had wanted to maintain this engagement because they valued the Zhou family as a strong backer. They hadn’t expected Zhou Heting to be so useless that, within just a few months, the Ye family would seize the absolute controlling stake in the Zhou family business.

Without control of the Zhou family business, Zhou Heting was just an ordinary wealthy man, and the Yu family no longer needed him. Furthermore, the intention behind Ye Linyuan's notification for all board members to attend the extraordinary shareholders' meeting was clearly to make an example out of someone.

After much consideration, the Yu family also believed that smart people should avoid harm and seek benefit, so they all agreed with the idea of breaking off the engagement.

With great enthusiasm, Yu Mingze said, "By the end of the extraordinary shareholders' meeting, tonight, my parents should go to the Zhou family to break off the engagement."

"Congratulations," Ye Mingzhao said with a smile. "Finally free."

"This is what I deserve," Yu Mingze waved his hand and said excitedly. "You have no idea how suffocated I’ve been feeling recently. Zhou Yueze, that cheating bastard, actually dared to cheat on me. Just wait, after I'm done with my current work, I'll deal with him."

Before, Yu Mingze didn’t mention the cheating because he feared the Zhou family's power. But after today, Zhou Heting and his son would be expelled from the board by the Ye family. Without the massive backing of the Zhou family, Zhou Yueze was just a fool with money in the entertainment industry. Yu Mingze could easily take him down.

Hearing Yu Mingze's words, Ye Mingzhao smiled slightly and revealed some good news as well. "Zhou's film company will go into liquidation."

Yu Mingze's eyes lit up. "Is that true?"

Before Ye Mingzhao could answer, Yu Mingze immediately said, "Look at me, I'm so happy I'm acting foolish. Of course, what you say is true. How could you possibly lie to me?"

Feeling extremely pleased with himself, Yu Mingze said, "His biggest reliance in the industry was the Zhou family and Zhou's film company. Now that both of these backers are gone, let's see how he can still compete with me."

There's more!

Ye Mingzhao smiled without saying a word. Zhou's film company had exposed so many scandals. Among them, although Jujunjie's drug use had nothing to do with Zhou Yueze, the forced drinking by artists under Zhou's film company was solid evidence.

However, this case involved too many people, spanned a wide range, and lasted a long time, so the police needed time to sort out the details and gather evidence.

Once everything was clear, as the direct person in charge of Zhou's film company, Zhou Yueze would not be able to escape legal consequences.

As for whether he would end up in prison, that would depend on the competence of the Zhou family's legal team!

Thinking of this, Ye Mingzhao suddenly saw a production assistant approaching with a strained expression. "...Jiang Shangyun is here."

The production assistant carefully glanced at Ye Mingzhao and continued, "He wants to see you, Mr. Ye. I was afraid his presence might attract the attention of the media reporters, so I took him to the backstage rest area."

Yu Mingze's face immediately fell. "What does he want? To cause trouble?"

The production assistant didn’t dare to respond and could only look helplessly at Ye Mingzhao.

Yu Mingze was about to say something more when Ye Mingzhao patted his shoulder. "You go and entertain the reporters for now. I'll go see him."

Yu Mingze huffed and said to the production assistant, "Take Zhaozhao there. Don't attract the reporters' attention."

The production assistant nodded and immediately led Ye Mingzhao to the backstage rest area.

As Ye Mingzhao pushed open the door, he saw Jiang Shangyun spring up from his chair like he had springs under his seat.

"Ye..." Jiang Shangyun began but awkwardly stopped.

Ye Mingzhao looked at him calmly and kindly. After not seeing him for several months, Jiang Shangyun had changed significantly.

If during their first meeting, Jiang Shangyun had been a bright, cheerful, and innocent young man, the thin youth standing before him now looked haggard and cowered, even his once straight back had quietly bent. It seemed like something inside him had broken.

Ye Mingzhao, with his eyes curved in a smile, asked, "I heard you were looking for me?"

"Yes," Jiang Shangyun answered instinctively.

He looked at Ye Mingzhao, who seemed like nothing was wrong, still smiling. After a long pause, he finally spoke up. "The first trial verdict has come down. My mom got sentenced to a year and a half for abandoning me."

Jiang Shangyun's eyes suddenly turned red, and tears started streaming down his face uncontrollably. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and choked back, "My father and I have discussed it, and we don't plan to appeal. But we can't just sit back and watch her go to jail."

His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Ye Mingzhao, then dropped to his knees in front of him.

At that moment, the young man's back arched, and his spine bent under the weight. "My mother has realized her mistake. She hasn't been having an easy time lately. She spends all day reading those hateful comments online. She doesn't dare to go out and often throws things around the house, pulling out her hair and screaming. My father thought she was just venting her emotions, but we only found out recently that she's actually sick. The doctor said that if this continues, my mother might go insane."

Jiang Shangyun lowered his head, his face flushed with shame, his eyes fixed on Ye Mingzhao's shoes, his mind blank.

After what had happened, he had left home because he couldn't accept his mother's past. But he never imagined so much would happen to his family while he was away.

Jiang Shangyun fought back the tears that kept welling up and looked up at Ye Mingzhao, humbly pleading, "We admit our mistake and are willing to accept the legal punishment. It's just that the situation is special. Could you help me get medical parole for my mom?"

Jiang Shangyun's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, struggling to say, "Please, I’m begging you."