"Then hurry up and speak!"

Confused by Zhang Jingshan's anxious tone, Ye Chen replied.

"Brother Ye, is Zhang Xingguo... does he really have a crisis?"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Jingshan gritted his teeth and asked the question.

Even though he had long placed great trust in Ye Chen, he still needed a definitive answer when it came to this matter.

"Oh? Weren't you the one who loathed him so much you could barely contain your anger?"

Hearing this, Ye Chen teased with a playful tone.

"Hate is one thing, but I'm also worried he might drag me down, drag the old man down. We're all in the same boat—if one prospers, we all prosper; if one suffers, we all suffer. With the reputation and image the old man built over the years, if something truly happens, it'll blow up. People will magnify the issue and link it back to his former position as a secretary!"

"That's why I've always been cautious in my dealings outside. If I'm in the right, I'll fight tooth and nail, but if I'm not, I won't dare cross the line even an inch, for fear someone will use it to attack the old man. Though he's been retired for years, the old man's personality hasn't changed. He was stern in office, and he's just as stern now. If something agitates him enough to affect his health, I'll never forgive myself."

"It's the same with Zhang Xingguo, that old bastard. I don't care about his life or death, but if the kind of thing you mentioned really happens and blows up, I'm afraid the old man won't be able to bear it!"

Zhang Jingshan spoke earnestly, his voice filled with emotion.

Ye Chen fell silent. He didn't deny Zhang Jingshan's concerns.

After all, in his previous life, Zhang Weimin had, in a sense, been angered to death.

"I've said all I can. Whether it's a crisis or not depends on whether your father takes it seriously. If he does, he'll get through it fine. If not, well, that'll be up to fate," Ye Chen replied.

"Got it. Thanks, Brother Ye!"

After a brief silence, Zhang Jingshan had his answer. Taking a deep breath, he changed the subject.

"Brother Ye, are you free tonight? Let's meet up. I really need to thank you properly for the Blue Ocean Brewery matter!"

"No need for thanks, and I'm not free. I've got to figure out what to cook for my wife and kids. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up."

As he prepared to end the call, Ye Chen added, "Oh, by the way, get ready and let Changfeng know. If all goes well, we'll be able to sell the land and houses in Jinzhong Village within the next couple of days. The price has been negotiated—it's going up tenfold. Each of you at Changfeng should be able to pocket a billion!"

"What?! That soon? And at ten times the price?"

Zhang Jingshan, still brooding over Zhang Xingguo's crisis, was stunned into disbelief by Ye Chen's words.

"Don't make such a fuss. I wouldn't involve you in anything uncertain," Ye Chen said calmly, a faint smile on his face.

A gulp echoed over the line.

In just a few days, ten million was turning into a billion.

After the success with Jinlin Mansion and the short-selling of Sihai Group, this latest development felt like a surreal dream to Zhang Jingshan.

"Is it Hengda Group?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah, Xu Jia approved it. There shouldn't be any surprises. I'm just giving you a heads-up—don't spread this around. Keep quiet and make your money," Ye Chen replied casually.

"Got it, Brother Ye, I understand!"

For a moment, Zhang Jingshan considered disbanding his Yunshan Network company altogether.

All his hard work paled in comparison to the gains from simply following Ye Chen's lead.

"Alright, I'll leave it at that. Wait for my call."

Ending the call, Ye Chen headed toward the market. There wasn't a flicker of excitement or joy in his demeanor, despite the impending four-hundred-million-plus windfall.

Meanwhile, in Jiangzhou's CBD, not far from Hengda Group's building, in the headquarters of a domestic top-tier cosmetics brand, a meeting was taking place.

In the reception room, a man in his early thirties, dressed in a suit but with a haggard face and unshaven stubble, was staring with a conflicted expression at the middle-aged man across from him.

"President Huang, won't you reconsider my proposal for Scarless Cream? I promise you, if you provide me with a lab and funding, I can create a product that will take the world by storm!"

The middle-aged man, however, shook his head mockingly.

"Sigh, Pang Jun, Pang Jun. Have you lost your mind? This is, what, your seventeenth pitch now? From North China to East China, and now South China—you've been to so many companies you're practically a plague in the industry. Don't you know why you were kicked out? Wasn't it because you insisted on developing that ridiculous Scarless Cream?"

As he spoke, the man sneered.

"I just don't get it. With your wild imagination, you'd be better off as a painter. If a product like that—truly capable of removing scars—were possible, wouldn't the Europeans and Americans have created it already? They've been leading our industry by decades, even a century, yet they've got nothing. And you're still obsessed with it?"

"Let's be real. You used to have a good reputation in the field. Don't you understand that scar removal is just a marketing slogan? Where's the product with real, significant results?"

After a pause, President Huang added, "You're insane. Absolutely insane!"

"I believe in myself! I can do it!" Pang Jun said, gritting his teeth.

"Believe in you? So I should give you a dedicated lab and throw three to five million at developing your so-called revolutionary product? Do you think that's possible? If you're serious about finding a job, I can offer you one. While I can't restore your former VP position, I can make you the second-in-command of the R&D department—on the condition that you drop your ridiculous idea for Scarless Cream!"

"Goodbye!" Pang Jun suppressed his anger and stood up abruptly.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Huang jeered.

As Pang Jun left the reception room, Huang picked up his cup and muttered under his breath, "What an idiot."

Outside the building, the once-glorious R&D genius squinted up at the blazing sun, his expression filled with desolation. Yet amidst his dejection, a stubborn determination reemerged.

"Why can't Chinese people achieve what Westerners couldn't? I refuse to believe this. I'll find someone who believes in me and is willing to take a chance!"

Clenching his teeth, he muttered to himself and resumed his search.

What he didn't know, however, was that in his original fate, this search would last seven years. His stubbornness and persistence would reduce him from a high-flying VP to struggling to make ends meet—until, finally, he met Ye Chen, his benefactor and mentor.

But in this lifetime, he wouldn't have to endure such a tragic journey.

Because on the other side, Ye Chen had already started counting down the days.

Once Pang Jun finished hitting these obstacles, Ye Chen would find him.

Three days to go.