novelraw Chapter 865: Hidden Agendas
Chapter 865: Hidden Agendas
Mengyao, Qiu Wen, and Du Xueqi returned to the suite, and Ye Fan had already dealt with his problems.They shared some of the packed food they had brought back.
"I saw the Butcher," Mengyao stated bluntly.
"Oh?" Ye Fan was slightly taken aback, but then he accepted it. Though he didn’t understand why the Butcher would show up at this moment or what he wanted, since Mengyao had already met him, it wasn’t a big deal.
"If you’ve met him, you’ve met him. That guy is unpredictable, so it’s understandable for him to act unexpectedly. Coming all the way just to see you but not daring to show up in front of me is really petty." Ye Fan said calmly. He knew the Butcher well and wasn’t surprised. Curious, he asked, "Did you suffer any losses?"
"No, on the contrary, the Butcher got the short end of the stick," Mengyao boasted for once.
"Just guessing the Butcher’s identity is a seismic blow for him," Ye Fan analyzed objectively, knowing the Butcher well.
He glanced at Qiu Wen and Du Xueqi, understanding that there was clearly a battle of wits between Mengyao and the Butcher, with Mengyao coming out on top, as evidenced by the triumphant looks on the women’s faces.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Ye Fan asked curiously.
Mengyao explained briefly, naturally holding back some details. She didn’t mention what she agreed with the Butcher or why he feared Ye Fan so much, nor did she report the Butcher’s attempts to flirt with her.
Qiu Wen, grinning, said, "Master, you wouldn’t know what happened then. When Mengyao said she would tell her man about the Butcher’s behavior, it scared him so much his legs went weak."
"Exactly, he even ended up calling Mengyao ’sister-in-law,’ which made Mengyao show mercy," Du Xueqi added, chuckling.
Ye Fan immediately understood. The Butcher, whose identity was revealed, had to call Mengyao ’sister-in-law,’ suggesting a lot happened. Given the Butcher’s reckless nature, he must have done some outrageous things, otherwise, he wouldn’t so easily accept calling Mengyao that.
"This rogue, he’s really crossing the line, disrespecting my woman. Just wait until I see him next time." Ye Fan said dismissively.
The dominance in his words warmed Mengyao’s heart. The phrase "my woman" was incredibly powerful, more romantic than anything.
Qiu Wen and the others stifled their laughter, finding it completely justified yet mischievous.
"Achoo!" In a corner of the hotel, the Butcher, who hadn’t left yet, sneezed violently, followed by a convulsion of his behind. Sensing something, he nervously glanced around. Not seeing any trace of Ye Fan, he relaxed a bit, smacking his lips and saying, "It must be Ye Fan, that guy is unhappy with me and cursing me. My behind is tense; that’s proof enough that my mind is shadowed by his abuse. Damn him."
The Butcher, recognizing his body’s reaction, immediately guessed it was Ye Fan’s hostility.
"Before I leave, I must give Ye Fan and Mengyao a big gift," the Butcher suddenly smiled wickedly, his malicious gaze narrowing. Clearly, this ’gift’ was not a good thing.
...
In no time, it was evening, and the charity event’s time had come.
In a large hall, journalists were mixed in, busy with their gear. This economic forum was a spectacular event occurring every few years, attracting renowned journalists from various channels.
Even days before the charity event began, the economic forum had already caught the attention and coverage of the media.
And now, the coverage would peak, dominating headlines everywhere.
In the hall, many business elites were already seated. Naturally, the bigwigs would arrive last.
"This time, we must ruin the Chu Group’s reputation, to cleanse our past shame."
"Exactly, we’re ready. Just waiting for the right moment."
"In front of all the media, delivering a thunderous blow to the Chu Group would indeed be satisfying."
Tang Jian’an, Song Tianba, and seven other bigwigs arrived together, chatting and laughing, exuding confidence. However, the content of their conversation contrasted starkly with their smiling faces. Hard to imagine, these nine smiling and seemingly gentlemanly bigwigs harbored such sordid thoughts.
In a high-stakes gamble, the nine bigwigs lost completely, losing face. Bullying President Chu despite their senior status was shameless enough, but losing too was utterly disgraceful.
This time, at the charity event, the nine bigwigs had thoroughly planned how to make the Chu Group face universal condemnation.
Song Meimei had been grounded by Song Tianba for the past few days, not venturing a step outside her room, missing any chance to meet Ye Fan and the others, making it impossible for her to assist the Chu Group at the charity auction.
Among the nine bigwigs’ faction, apart from the unexpected change with Song Meimei, everyone else was aligned with them, naturally not inclined to help the Chu Group, eager to watch them fail rather than lend a hand.
So, by the charity event’s rules, where everyone can bid on the items presented but the contributor themselves can’t bid, the Chu Group was surely poised to face public criticism and media scrutiny.
This time, the Chu Group’s auction item was an antique, worth millions.
For collectors, it was worth over a hundred million.
If given special favor, the auction price could skyrocket.
However, given the current circumstances, the Chu Group’s item was expected to go unsold or be snapped up at a ridiculously low price, which would be a public humiliation.
Even Tang Jian’an and the nine bigwigs didn’t realize that the Chu Group’s valuable antique had been swapped for a cheap fake, pushing the Chu Group further into the abyss.
The person behind this was, of course, Wu Tingyun.
Having suffered great humiliation at the hands of the Chu Group, Wu Tingyun naturally sought a harsh revenge.
He purposely did this to push the Chu Group into the limelight. With fabricated accusations, the Chu Group would find it impossible to argue their innocence amidst a media storm and attacks from Tang Jian’an and others. How could the Chu Group possibly have any positive news left?