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Chapter 60 A Desperate Struggle

In the adult world, there is no innocence, no purity, only greed, resentment, and shattered dignity, which can turn former companionship into a fight to the death.

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Zhang Zhishan was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The weariness he felt was not the mild fatigue from staying up for several nights, but a kind of weariness that seeped out from the very marrow of his bones. It was as if all the tendons in his body had been forcibly pulled out, leaving him feeling weak and lightheaded. Even lifting his eyelids felt like a struggle.

With Zeng Jia gone, Zhang Zhishan was completely left without anyone to keep an eye on the trivial matters or provide information. How carefree he used to be! A wave of his hand on the big picture, a signature on the key points, and his subordinates would fawn over him. He only needed to sit back and command, and he could orchestrate everything. But now, even the most mundane regional coordination issues, every tiny detail of the connection with Hong Kong, required his personal attention. He had to run around like a headless chicken, gritting his teeth as he made the final decisions, leaving him no time to even catch his breath.

For the past two weeks, he has put in his utmost effort, working tirelessly to coordinate business lines in several core areas, gritting his teeth and sticking to the initial plan, and managing to straighten out the tangled cross-border route in Hong Kong.

He walked on eggshells, each step like a knife's edge, treading on thin ice, afraid of making the slightest mistake. Even with bloodshot eyes and a churning stomach, he dared not relax for a moment. Victory in the bet was within reach, just one last step away from the celebratory champagne, when that old hag Yu Li suddenly dropped a bombshell! Damn it!

Where the hell did she get involved with FOX?!

That's not some shady investment company that sets up a stall on the street to recruit people; it's FOX, standing at the very top of the global capital pyramid, revered by the entire industry! Countless multinational giants and industry leaders, bowing their heads and begging for cooperation, can't even find a temple to open the door to.

The key is that the investment research guys at FOX have eyes that are so sharp they're practically poisoned. Once they make a move, they become the industry's trendsetter, setting the tone for the sector. They're guaranteed to lose money, never making a profit, and have never failed!

However, Yu Li managed to bring in this golden Buddha statue, and she spent a whopping 10 billion yuan on it. In the e-commerce industry, this kind of investment is like a bolt from the blue, shaking the entire sector, let alone the niche luxury goods market.

This punch was like a direct hit to his heart, meant to kill him. Zhang Zhishan grew increasingly terrified, a chill running down his spine. Had he been blinded by greed or something? Such a commotion, and he hadn't heard a thing, completely oblivious like a fool!

If Zeng Jia were still here… He shook his head, unwilling to think further. If that girl were still here, this top-secret information would have been exposed to him ages ago. How could he be in this passive, helpless situation, with no room for resistance?

The phone screen on the table was so bright it was blinding, and the missed calls and text messages were piling up like locusts, thousands of them.

The shareholders' questions, the partners' cries for help, the executives' helplessness, and the "warm greetings" from relatives back home... one after another poured in, like sheets of waterlogged kraft paper, tightly wrapping his limbs and making it hard for him to breathe.

How the hell did I end up like this? It's like a dream.

Zhang Zhishan recalled his youth, when he was ambitious and full of vigor, determined to achieve great things and bring honor to his ancestors. From childhood to adulthood, being number one in exams was practically a given for him, without exception. When he studied abroad, he received scholarships year after year, making him a star student in the eyes of his teachers.

He was determined to settle down abroad, with a bright future and great potential, but he was bewitched by Yu Li, who kept whispering in his ear and nagging him, saying that the domestic e-commerce environment was a blue ocean, and insisted on dragging him back to start a business, wanting to conquer the world together and get rich together.

In fact, in the first few years after returning to China, the two of them squeezed into pigeonhole-like offices, ate cold bread that could be used as bricks, and stayed up countless nights in a row. They really worked hand in hand, sharing joys and sorrows, and gradually built up "Tianyi".

He originally thought that with the couple working together, barren land could turn into gold.

But I don't know when it started, everything changed.

Yu Li began to interfere wildly in the core business. She would oppose every proposal he put forward without any regard for the facts, as if she were on fire. Not to mention his personal life, she found fault with everything about him, from his hair to his toes, and she would make sarcastic remarks. There was never a moment when she could find him pleasing.

She said she sold her smiles and emptied her family's pockets for the company? But what about his contributions? To secure projects, he drank until he had a stomach hemorrhage, bowing and scraping before clients, his dignity trampled on countless times. What was he after? Wasn't it all for fate, for their family? To give her and their children a better future?

But now, if they win, all the credit and glory go to her; if they lose, he's kicked out and condemned by everyone? Good heavens!

He refused to accept it, he would rather die than accept it!

Why did Yu Li treat him like this? Why did she take away the fruits of his hard work and then trample him underfoot, condemning him to eternal damnation?!

Before Zhang Zhishan could quell his anger, his phone started vibrating wildly again, like a death knell, shaking the tabletop.

He glanced at the caller ID—Mom.

This phone call was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. He knew that once he answered, he would be met with endless accusations, complaints of poverty, and attempts to shift blame from his relatives back home. Their sharp and sarcastic words could leave him riddled with wounds, but he dared not refuse to answer.

"Mom..." His voice was so dry it sounded like sandpaper rubbing against each other, and even speaking was a struggle.

Sure enough, the other end of the phone erupted instantly; his relatives' spittle practically sprayed all over his face through the receiver.

"Zhishan, are you even capable? I've invested my entire life savings in you, and it's all gone! If you can't handle it, just give the money back to us. We can't afford your messing around!"

"Is there still hope for the bet? Don't drag us all down with you! Yu Li is so powerful now, why don't you humble yourself and beg her? It's not shameful to back down!"

"She's Zihau's biological mother. For the sake of the child, she can't be so ruthless! Ask Zihau to talk to her. After all, even if they're divorced, they shouldn't make it a fight to the death. Can't they leave him a way out?"

……

Every word was like an icicle, stabbing relentlessly into Zhang Zhishan's heart. He had once been their pride and joy, the glory of the entire family, the source of their pride that they boasted about to everyone. And now? The news had barely broken, and he had become a spendthrift jinx, a burden that everyone could criticize and discard, and they wouldn't even offer him a word of comfort.

Zhang Zhishan couldn't utter a single word; his throat felt blocked, and he could only listen blankly, letting those harsh words bombard his ears.

He hung up the phone with his mother, and then several core shareholders pulled him into a video conference. On the screen, the old faces that used to be so respectful to him were no longer smiling; their eyes were filled with the thought, "Better to die for your friends than for me."

"Zhishan, don't force yourself. If it really comes down to it, go to Yu Li and apologize. Sell your shares, take the money and leave. That's the safest option."

"Exactly, exactly. FOX is throwing around 10 billion dollars. How can we compete? If we try to hold on, we'll all lose everything. It's not worth it."

"They're signing the contract tomorrow, so there's still a chance to talk to her now. If we wait any longer, we'll really miss our chance."

Is it a safe bet? Do I need money? Is it negotiable?

Zhang Zhishan forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

These people underestimated Yu Li's ruthlessness, and they didn't understand his feelings for Tianyi. This wasn't a business deal, something he could just throw away. It was the empire he had painstakingly built with his life on the line; it was his lifeblood!

"The bet isn't up yet, there are still seven days." His voice was terribly hoarse, but it carried a desperate, resolute tone. "I won't lose, and I can't possibly lose! Yu Li wants to force me to my death? It won't be that easy!"

He abruptly ended the video call, like a cornered beast with nowhere to retreat. He stood up abruptly, tugged at his wrinkled shirt, grabbed his phone, and dialed driver Lao Liu's number. "Come pick me up, to the company... now! Immediately! Right now!"

Yu Li was currently nestled in the large leather sofa in the villa's living room, her meticulously manicured nails gleaming, her fingertips casually swiping across her phone screen as she scrolled through the Tianyi Company's internal group chat.

The group chat was flooded with messages more frantically than during Chinese New Year when people were grabbing red envelopes. It was filled with shock and praise about FOX's 10 billion dollar investment, and there was a bunch of sycophants praising her to the skies.

"Zhang Zhishan, are you out of your mind? Do you really think this is all your doing? Have I been putting up with this for nothing all these years?!"

Yu Li muttered something to herself, then let out a long, long sigh.

She had been holding this in for far too long, like a boulder weighing on her heart for years, finally able to let it out. From crammed into cramped dorm rooms with Zhang Zhishan and eating cold bread, to their fierce battle behind closed doors, to silently swallowing all her grievances and enduring it all with pills, she had waited for this day for countless years.

Over the years, she played the role of a loving couple with him in public, appearing harmonious and loving, but behind closed doors they fought like roosters. Zhang Zhishan was always so arrogant, taking all the credit for his success as if she were just a decoration dependent on him, dispensable.

But he forgot that, for the sake of fate, she had exhausted all her family's resources, begged and pleaded, endured the wrath of others, swallowed countless grievances and suffered immense humiliation to stabilize the company. Even when she was sleepless and on the verge of collapse from anxiety, she could only rely on handfuls of pills to keep her spirits up. He saw none of these sacrifices, taking everything she did for granted, believing she couldn't live without him!

What's even more infuriating is that he keeps flaunting his shady relationships in front of her, openly and secretly provoking her, treating her like she's blind, a pushover to be manipulated at will. She's never been one to be bullied; forbearance isn't weakness, and yielding isn't admitting defeat. She wants Zhang Zhishan to see with his own eyes that she can do even better without him, and that without her help, he, Zhang Zhishan, is nothing!

Yu Li reached for the exquisite velvet medicine box at her feet, opened it with a click, and inside were neatly arranged bottles and jars—anti-anxiety pills, sleep aids, hormone regulators, tension relievers… a dazzling array. These pills were her most loyal companions over the years, accompanying her through countless sleepless nights, helping her persevere through this silent war until now. She took out two sleeping pills and swallowed them with a gulp of warm water. Tomorrow was the big day of officially signing with FOX, the key to her turnaround. She needed to rest well and couldn't afford any mistakes!

Thinking of this, she felt a strange sense of relief. Thank goodness Wang Haowen had stopped her from acting impulsively and resorting to those underhanded tactics against Zhang Zhishan. Top investment banks like FOX value a company's image and management style above all else; they can't tolerate the slightest imperfection or the stench of internal strife. If things had turned out this way, with everyone tearing each other apart and exposing their dirty laundry in public, forget about the billions in investment; Tianyi would likely have been abandoned by capital long ago, facing utter ruin.

In fact, Wang Haowen deserves credit for this. After bringing in thirty high-end brands from Shanghai, he worked tirelessly to create a massive marketing campaign, making their high-end luxury line a resounding success, which finally caught the eye of the FOX investment research team.

Right now, not only are the fickle shareholders in the company fawning over her, but even Mrs. Song, who is usually arrogant and never pays attention to others, was extremely polite on the phone just now, her tone full of flattery, saying that she would personally attend tomorrow's signing ceremony to "congratulate" her.

It's a pity that kid had such low standards; he resigned and broke ties with a woman for her sake. Otherwise, he would be enjoying the credit he has now...

Yu Li picked up the warm water on the table, took the pills, and then got up and went back to her bedroom to rest and recharge for tomorrow's signing.

She had just lain down, her eyelids not yet closed, when the piercing, high-pitched ringtone of her cell phone blared out like a death knell!

The voice startled her, making her heart clench. Yu Li suppressed her anger and answered the phone with extreme impatience, "Don't bother me today. Tomorrow's contract signing is a big deal. We can talk about it later..."

On the other end of the phone, the administrative director's voice was trembling and cracking: "Mr. Yu! Something terrible has happened! Mr. Zhang just led a bunch of people and stormed into the company. They went straight to the administration department and snatched all the company seals, financial seals, and contract seals! We couldn't stop them!"

"Has he gone mad?!" Yu Li sprang from the bed as if struck by lightning, her body trembling uncontrollably, her face deathly pale. "That's the company seal! It's something we absolutely need to sign the contract with FOX tomorrow! How dare he steal it? That's illegal! Does he even respect the law?!"

"Mr. Yu, he brought several burly men who came up and started prying open the safe. They even managed to break the lock. Director Wang tried to stop them and got slapped. Mr. Zhang also threatened that anyone who dared to stop him would be crippled."

"A madman! He's a complete and utter madman!"

Yu Li screamed into the phone, a surge of overwhelming panic and rage rushing to her head!

She never imagined that Zhang Zhishan would be so despicable and extreme, resorting to such bandit-like methods, tearing off the last shred of pretense, and going for a fight to the death!

Without the official seal, tomorrow's multi-billion dollar contract will be a huge joke, all her efforts will be in vain, and her years of forbearance and dedication will vanish in an instant.

What is Zhang Zhishan trying to do? If he can't accept defeat, is he going to drag her and the entire destiny of heaven down with him?!

She gripped her phone tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, almost digging into the screen. Her voice, forced out through clenched teeth, was filled with chilling hatred: "Immediately! Right now! Call 110! Tell them the company seal has been maliciously stolen, suspected of embezzling company property. Make sure the police recover the seal tonight! No one is allowed to disrupt tomorrow's signing ceremony, not a single one! Not even Zhang Zhishan!"