Instantly, all the major corporations in Qingcheng felt a chill, and no one dared to claim their first fortune was absolutely clean.
What made the Gu Corporation most terrifying was that three days was far too short a time to investigate matters so far back.
The fact that Gu Qichen could bring it up so quickly indicated one thing.
This evidence and dirt were already in the Gu Corporation's possession; he simply had never intended to use it.
Even though the chairman of this small company had a past grievance with him, he did not take revenge for personal grudges.
Yet, even for such a small company, the Gu Corporation had investigated its background with such meticulous detail!
News about this matter had already spread throughout Qingcheng.
The most frightening rumor was that the Gu Corporation already possessed the secrets of all companies.
They knew about the mistakes and illegal activities that even the companies themselves had forgotten.
This was what truly unsettled everyone.
The Gu Corporation and the Qin Corporation had always been the two pillars of Qingcheng.
Financial reports had analyzed that the Gu Corporation was like a benevolent ruler; even though it dominated Qingcheng's economy, it had never suppressed the growth of other corporations.
It simply observed the weeds grow and plucked the one that dared to provoke it.
The Fang Corporation had previously ranked third in Qingcheng, but the gap between third place and the top two was more than just a few times.
All the corporate chairmen were also relieved that they had not taken sides back then, as choosing the wrong side could have led to their companies facing the same fate as that small company in the blink of an eye.
Everyone also knew that the incident's cause was Zhang Caiyu, and Fang Yaozu's investment in Zhang Caiyu was also well-known.
This was Fang Yaozu causing trouble for the Qin Corporation. Everyone in Qingcheng knew that Fang Yaozu was dissatisfied with the two old established families of Gu and Qin in Qingcheng.
All eyes, intentionally or unintentionally, flickered over.
After Qin He finished speaking, she turned and left.
Song Nuan wanted to stop her but had no time; Qin He's martial arts were too skilled, and she had already vanished in a flash.
She could only hand the gifts she had brought to the maid.
Turning back to Fang Yaozu's side, Song Nuan heard him cursing in a low voice: "You are a complete waste, how can you not even handle such a small matter?"
Song Nuan gritted her teeth, suppressing the anger in her heart, but Fang Yaozu beside her was still fuming.
Although he wore a faint smile on his face, as if he were chatting with her, his words were utterly offensive.
"You and that Zhang Caiyu are a pair of idiots, why didn't you apologize more humbly? Do you know? You two are going to get me killed!"
"Tell me, can you not be humble? If you can, why didn't you disappear when you saw me and Zhang Caiyu having fun a few days ago?"
"Any woman with a shred of self-respect or backbone would have left. Since you don't have that much backbone, why couldn't you be more humble towards Qin He!"
Fang Yaozu's words, one after another, pierced Song Nuan's heart like knives. She had never liked this man.
However, she still needed to use this old pervert to get her new identity and return to Qingcheng.
Song Nuan's gaze turned sinister. The person she hated most in her life was Qin He.
If she had to kowtow a thousand times to a stranger to make Qin He die, she would be willing!
But in front of Qin He, the hypocritical apology she had just offered was already the limit of what she could do!
Fang Yaozu's scolding continued.
"Look at yourself, in what way are you better than Qin He? You hate Qin He, you hate Qin He, do you even deserve to hate her?"
"She is, after all, the eldest daughter of the Qin family, raised in a prominent household. You are completely different from her, do you understand? Stop pretending to be so aloof in front of me!"
Song Nuan bit her lower lip.
"Fang Yaozu, have you said enough? You didn't say this when you were pursuing me back then."
Fang Yaozu let out a cold laugh.
"You didn't say you were going to harm me back then either."
Now that the Fang Corporation was being squeezed by several companies, its assets had shrunk by a third. He needed Gu Qichen and Qin He to show leniency and let him off the hook.
Otherwise, while his fate might not be as dire as that small company's, he would have to withdraw from the three tier-one cities and return to the capital to guard his corner of the world.
Fang Yaozu was unwilling; the branch companies in these cities were the culmination of his over ten years of effort.
"Lin Xiaoya, I'm warning you, if Qin He doesn't accept your apology today, you will go to the Qin family and apologize again tomorrow!
I don't care if you kowtow, kneel, or lick the soles of her shoes. As long as she forgives you, I can continue to tolerate you. Otherwise, you can get out of here and go back where you came from, and I will expose your identity. "
Song Nuan suddenly looked up at Fang Yaozu in disbelief.
She had followed this man partly for this new identity, and now, for such a small matter, Fang Yaozu actually intended to expose her identity?
Back then, she had done quite a few things under the identity of Song Nuan, and Qin He still had evidence!
If Fang Yaozu truly revealed to the public that she was Song Nuan, there was no doubt that Gu Qichen and Qin He would send her to prison.
Song Nuan gritted her teeth, her voice trembling, "Fang Yaozu, you are pushing me too far."
Fang Yaozu let out a cold laugh: "What? Are you going to kill me?"
After saying that, he turned and left.
Song Nuan stood in place, people occasionally glancing over.
Fang Yaozu's voice had not been loud earlier, so they couldn't hear what he was saying, but Fang Yaozu's expression had always been gentle, so everyone assumed it was just a conversation between husband and wife.
Song Nuan pursed her lips tightly. Her reputation in Qingcheng had been good lately, and soon a bold lady came up to greet her.
"Xiaoya, where did your husband go?"
Song Nuan smiled: "He's probably gone to talk to someone."
The lady gently pulled Song Nuan aside and whispered in her ear, "Your husband has offended the Gu and Qin corporations now, so it's normal for Qin He not to give you face just now.
Alas, there's nothing that can be done. What Zhang Caiyu did was indeed unscrupulous; who wouldn't be angry? You just have to bear with it. If you can appease Qin He, the losses your family's company faces can be reduced a bit."
Song Nuan nodded and smiled gently, "Thank you."
She had a look of helpless sorrow: "Actually, this matter has nothing to do with me. I just made a bad choice of friends. Alas."
Seeing Lin Xiaoya's pitiful appearance, the lady felt some sympathy.
"If you ask me, your personality is truly good. Why would you be friends with someone like Zhang Caiyu? Her mica case before was enough to show how poor her character is."
Song Nuan listened to the lady constantly scolding Zhang Caiyu.
She lowered her gaze, her mind on something else.
If Fang Yaozu really intended to reveal her identity, what was the difference between that and a mutual destruction?
Fang Yaozu's words earlier suddenly enlightened her. Fang Yaozu had said: "Are you going to kill me?"
Song Nuan's gaze turned cold.
Why couldn't she?