As they spoke,

Pang Jun's gritted teeth and furious expression even made Ye Chen shudder slightly.

His preconceived notion was firm—Pang Jun was convinced that Ding Chengjun had to be involved in this matter.

Otherwise, how could Lin Mengxi know him so well?

In the end, it had to be Ding Chengjun working with her.

After all, over the years, Ding Chengjun had learned everything about him in great detail.

However, Ye Chen shook his head.

"No, the honey trap likely has nothing to do with him."

"What? How could it have nothing to do with him?" Pang Jun exclaimed.

"He didn't know Lin Mengxi before. It was Lin Mengxi who sought him out, handed over my dark history, and had him launch a public opinion attack against me! At the same time, Lin Mengxi asked him to provide information about your preferences, interests, and personality. She planned to use that to get close to you and obtain the formula for the Immaculate Ointment. Lin Mengxi promised to sell the formula to him for 200 million once she got it, along with 5% of the product's profits. Ding Chengjun agreed and gave her the information she needed about you. However, Ding Chengjun was curious about how exactly she planned to get close to you and extract the formula, but Lin Mengxi dodged the question. In the end, since Ding Chengjun only had eyes for the formula, he let it go."

Ye Chen relayed everything he had learned from lawyer Zheng Cheng.

He continued, "Later, Ding Chengjun used your friends to set up a meeting with you. While he hoped to win you back to Yundai, he thought the chances were slim. His other motive for inviting you was to give Lin Mengxi an opportunity to approach you. After that, he claimed he knew nothing more. This was all part of his statement to the police."

After a brief pause, Ye Chen added, "This should all be true."

"So he didn't commit any crimes?" Pang Jun asked angrily.

"No, and he even provided the police with recordings of his calls with Lin Mengxi, which helped accelerate her arrest. Because of that, the police released him," Ye Chen explained.

"Damn it! Even if he didn't set me up with that honey trap, he still conspired with Lin Mengxi. He orchestrated the public smear campaign against you, Ye. And he won't stop coveting the Immaculate Ointment formula. I'm not letting him off! Ye, I'm going to develop a few new products to go head-to-head with Yundai. I want Ding Chengjun to know—if I could help him build Yundai's empire, I can destroy it just the same!" Pang Jun growled, his hatred for Ding Chengjun now absolute.

"Do whatever you want," Ye Chen laughed.

He knew creating products specifically to rival Yundai wouldn't yield much profit. At least not enough to attract interest from their company, Yi Ren Ru Xue.

But if Pang Jun wanted revenge, so be it.

Even if Pang Jun didn't retaliate, Ye Chen would find his own way to settle the score.

"Fine. Although I signed an agreement with Yundai not to use their formulas, with the research experience and ideas from developing the Immaculate Ointment, creating a rival product isn't hard. I already have a plan. I'll have it ready within a week and outsource production to another factory," Pang Jun declared.

"Suit yourself. For now, leave the lab. Let me take you out for a meal, and then go home to rest. Deal with the rest once you're recharged," Ye Chen suggested.

"I'll eat, but I'm not going home. If I go back to my room, I'll just think about that woman. I'm planning to move out," Pang Jun said seriously.

Ye Chen sighed but relented.

"Then book a hotel for now. Think about what kind of place you like, and I'll buy you a house as a bonus," Ye Chen offered.

"No need for you to buy. I have money," Pang Jun replied confidently.

He had little interest in wealth and didn't want to take advantage of Ye Chen.

Ye Chen shook his head with a smile and said no more.

He led Pang Jun out of Yi Ren Ru Xue.

After a long meal filled with heartfelt advice, Pang Jun started to feel tired.

Ye Chen dropped him off at the five-star Royal View International Hotel, which Zhao Qian, the coal magnate, had recently acquired. Then Ye Chen returned to his villa.

By then, night had fallen.

Elsewhere,

In the luxury residence of Li Changfeng,

Lights blazed brightly.

Li Changfeng, Zhang Jingshan, and Zhao Jiwei—three giants—gathered in the spacious living room.

High-end computers were set up, waiting for the US stock market to open.

"Changfeng, are the 50x leverage routes set up?" Zhao Jiwei asked solemnly.

"Yes, everything is ready. We're just waiting to invest this 2 billion," Li Changfeng nodded seriously.

But he frowned slightly. "Brother Ye wants to short Stella. It's not impossible, but at this point, it's confusing. The Shanghai Auto Show opened today, and Stella stole the spotlight. Even though Stella's market share in China is just over 10%, with their new Asia-Pacific restructuring and local super factory, China will soon be their largest market. Under these circumstances, Stella's performance at the auto show will undoubtedly boost their stock. Shorting them now seems baffling."

"If you could understand, you'd be Ye," Zhang Jingshan laughed. "No point overthinking it. Could you predict the last time we shorted Sihai and bought Stella? Just follow Ye's lead!"

Li Changfeng rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"Changfeng, when do you plan to act?" Zhao Jiwei asked.

"I can't make that call. We'll wait for the US market to open and let Ye decide based on Stella's performance," Li Changfeng replied.

Time passed.

At 9:30 PM, the US market opened for the day.

The high-end computers in Li Changfeng's living room immediately displayed the market and Stella's details.

Just as Li Changfeng predicted, Stella's stock price rose as soon as trading began.

Though the increase was modest, it was still a bullish trend.

Shorting Stella in this situation—could that really be the right move?

The room grew silent.

Even Zhang Jingshan stopped joking.

Two hours later, Stella's stock had risen by 3%.

That 3% could wipe out their margin if they shorted it.

"Do you think Brother Ye is keeping an eye on Stella's price? Should we call him and ask when to enter?" Li Changfeng mused with a heavy expression.

"Good idea," Zhang Jingshan agreed, visibly nervous about the rising curve.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his phone and called Ye Chen.