The richest man's parents were kidnapped, and his adorable son captivated the entire family.

Inside the enormous boardroom, the air seemed to solidify into an invisible iron plate, pressing heavily on everyone's shoulders. The bright, cold light from the circular table lamps illuminated the diverse expressions on each face, revealing everyone's emotions.

Gu Yinshen sat firmly in the main seat, his dark gray suit impeccably tailored, his long fingers folded on his knees, his face as cold and stern as a rugged mountain rock. His eyes were deep and narrow, his lips taut, and he remained silent, but his slightly furrowed brows and pale knuckles revealed a turbulent inner world.

The meeting was nearing the end of its routine agenda. The chairperson had just begun, "Anything else you'd like to propose...?"

"Yes!" A sudden and loud male voice shattered the last bit of peace in the conference room.

Gu Chengji stood up almost immediately, raising his right hand high, with barely suppressed excitement on his lips.

He strode confidently to the front of the conference table, pressed a button on his tablet, and the projection screen instantly lit up. A well-formatted document with a cold, hard tone appeared prominently.

Proposal to Remove Mr. Gu Yinshen from the Position of Chairman and CEO

Below the title of the proposal, several lines of clear and eye-catching signatures come into view.

Gu Mingyu, the three elders of the Gu family, Chairman Zhang, and Chairman Li were all prominently listed, their handwriting vigorous and powerful, as if the evidence were irrefutable!

The entire room fell silent instantly, as if even the lights had frozen for a moment. Several neutral directors instinctively gasped, their eyes filled with shock, suspicion, and even a hint of anticipation.

Gu Chengji's gaze swept across the entire room, like an ambitious new general standing on the front line of the coup.

He cleared his throat, speaking rapidly, his voice clear and persuasive: "Fellow directors! Mr. Gu Yinshen has recently caused a huge uproar due to his serious mishandling of personal family matters!"

"While the press conference was moving, it cannot conceal the truth: the group's reputation has plummeted, its stock price continues to crash, and market confidence has almost collapsed! Core partners are wavering, and business channels have suffered a severe blow! This is not a minor issue; it is a fundamental crisis!"

He pointed to the scrolling news screenshots and stock charts on the large screen, the red downward arrows looking like bloodstains against the white background: "The root of all this is the leader's emotionality and lack of strategic judgment! Gu's is not a small family workshop, it is a multinational group with a market value of hundreds of billions, and it cannot continue to be led by a 'father' instead of a 'president' who is driven by personal emotions!"

Changing his tone abruptly, he gestured with his hand: "I hereby formally propose that we immediately initiate emergency board proceedings to remove Gu Yinshen from his positions as Chairman and CEO! And that Mr. Gu Hongtao, an experienced, steady, and decisive Vice Director, temporarily assume the position of President to stabilize the situation and restore market confidence!"

Gu Hongtao also stood up at this moment, wearing a dark blue suit and a dark patterned tie. His smile was restrained, and his hands were slightly clasped in front of him, showing just the right amount of "humility".

He bowed slightly and said gently, “Fellow directors, Chengji spoke a bit hastily. I have no intention of vying for power, but if you trust me, I am willing to do my part during this special period to protect the foundation of the group. Yinshen is my nephew and a pillar of the Gu family, but when one is involved, it is sometimes inevitable to be biased. I... am only willing to be a temporary helmsman to steer this ship.”

This well-chosen and measured statement caused many wavering directors to tremble, whispering among themselves and glancing back and forth between Gu Hongtao and Gu Yinshen.

Gu Mingyu sat on one side of the long table, her face always cold, a hint of sarcasm playing on her lips. When the "joint proposal" was displayed on the large screen, she snorted and her gaze, sharp as a knife, shot towards Gu Yinshen on the other side of the conference table, looking utterly disdainful of him.

Just then, a roar broke the deadlock.

"Nonsense!" Chairman Wang slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his old eyes wide with rage, his voice like a bronze bell that made the entire conference room tremble slightly.

"You're taking advantage of the chaos! What do you mean by 'being responsible for the group'? This is clearly a coup d'état under the guise of trouble! This is a blatant power struggle!"

His fingers trembled slightly as he pointed at Gu Chengji and Gu Hongtao, his tone resolute, "Gu Yinshen has led us to conquer countless cities along the way. And now you just want to replace him? Did you even ask for the opinions of us old directors?"

Gu Chengji was about to retort when he was stopped by a gesture.

Gu Yinshen slowly raised his right hand, his movements unhurried yet as steady as a mountain.

He said in a low voice, "Chairman Wang, please calm down."

Chairman Wang was still furious. He braced his hands on the table, his breathing rapid, but he gritted his teeth, nodded, and slumped back into his chair.

The room fell silent again, and everyone turned their attention to the man at the head of the conference table, Gu Yinshen.

He didn't speak immediately, but slowly stood up, his tall and slender figure appearing particularly aloof under the conference lights.

He then pushed his chair back a step to the table, put his hands behind his back, and looked around the room.

His gaze swept over Chairman Zhang, Chairman Li, and Gu Mingyu, finally settling on Gu Hongtao's calm and gentle face. He looked at him for a few seconds without saying anything.

Then, his eyes slowly moved toward Gu Chengji.

At that moment, his gaze was like ice suddenly appearing after a night rain, devoid of any emotion, yet sending shivers down one's spine.

Gu Chengji froze slightly under the stare, and the smile on his lips also froze.

He straightened his back, trying to meet his gaze, but the silent sharpness hidden in that gaze seemed ready to pierce through the ambition and hypocrisy behind him at any moment.

The air was deathly still, as if time itself had stopped for half a second for those eyes.

Meanwhile, in the VIP meeting room, the lights were dim, and a security camera was flashing in the corner.

Separated by a thick layer of bulletproof glass, the telephone receiver, like a cold chain, connects two worlds.

On one side are prisoners in their prison uniforms with crazed eyes, and on the other side are lawyers in suits with cold, stern gazes.

Ruolan's face was deathly pale, so haggard that she had almost lost her former radiance, but her eyes were still sharp, with a kind of almost tearing viciousness.

She gripped the receiver tightly, her knuckles taut, veins bulging, her eyes fixed on the news footage playing on her tablet.

At the press conference, Gu Yinshen sat upright and spoke with a firm voice, while Xie Yumin stood beside him, her head slightly raised, as if she were the rightful "Mrs. Gu".

The image freezes on the moment they stand side by side, and Ruolan suddenly screams and slams the tablet hard against the glass partition!

"boom!!"

A loud bang shook the glass slightly, and the guards immediately turned their heads to look at them warily, but Ruolan showed no restraint, her eyes bloodshot and her face twisted with resentment.

Her voice was almost a scream as she yelled into the phone, "Did you see that?! Zhao Lei! Did you see that?! They've teamed up! That bitch actually dared to stand up! Gu Yinshen, that hypocrite, they all ruined me! And now they want to use me to clear their name? They're dreaming!"