Chapter 114: The Power of Intimidation

"Mr. Ye, I invited you here to help me solely out of my own personal volition."

"Furthermore, I am the principal party here, not you."

"So, I hope Mr. Ye can see the reality of the situation and refrain from overstepping your bounds."

Qin Guoyu shot a cold glance at Ye Aotian, his words laced with a hint of menace. If it weren't for Ye Aotian, they never would have made such a decision; a large part of the predicament the Qin family members found themselves in was directly tied to him.

Ye Aotian felt like clutching his backside and weeping. Is this any way to treat someone? I went out of my way to help you, and in the end, I’m looked down upon by your entire family. If people didn't know better, they'd think I was the one desperate for your favor. At the thought of this, Ye Aotian’s anger flared.

"Qin Guoyu, I came here to assist you because I know what needs to be done."

"But to see you cave in just because of a few words from someone else—it's laughable. Who do you think you are? Even if Lin Li actually ordered his men to attack you, do you really think he would dare to kill you?"

The more Ye Aotian spoke, the more agitated he became. They say you don't fear a god-like opponent, but you fear a pig-like teammate. In this case, Qin Guoyu was truly an idiot. He clearly hadn't grasped the reality of the situation yet.

"Hey, hey, Ye Aotian, enough with your nonsense. I am a law-abiding citizen; I would never do anything as violent as that."

"Don't try to pin labels on me. Fang Tai, wouldn't you agree?"

Fang Tai nodded with extreme seriousness, his expression so earnest that Ye Aotian almost believed him. You wouldn't do anything violent? Then what are these thugs around you for? Are they just standing here to eat for free?

After speaking, Lin Li walked straight up to Ye Aotian, produced a board from somewhere, and struck him across the backside.

"I heard you were injured and spent all of yesterday crawling around in the hospital. What’s the matter? Did you recover so quickly?"

Ye Aotian said nothing. He didn't know if Lin Li had done it on purpose, but he had realized that something bad would happen the moment he knew Lin Li was coming to the Qin household today. That was why he had taken some medication to temporarily stabilize his injuries. The internal conflict within the Qin family had been Ye Aotian's golden opportunity.

Everything should have gone smoothly, but who could have predicted that Qin Guoyu and his cohorts would be so easily intimidated by Lin Li? Even more unexpected was Lin Li’s uncharacteristically firm stance. This was all wrong. You're just an underling in the Qin family; where did you get such courage? Not to mention, this strike from Lin Li had caused his wounds to reopen. Now, let alone standing, he could barely even sit down without excruciating pain.

As Ye Aotian suffered, Qin Guoyu didn't dare to resist. Lin Li was truly someone not to be trifled with; he was a man of action.

"Lin Li, I know you must be in a difficult position right now. Since we are all part of the Qin family, we should certainly stand on the same side."

"How about this? We are willing to hand over our shares. What do you think?"

A wise man submits to circumstances. Lin Li might not dare to kill him, but he certainly dared to have his men beat him to a pulp. Qin Guoyu was not only afraid of death; he was afraid of pain. After Qin Guosheng’s death, many dissenting voices had emerged within the Qin family, primarily led by Qin Guoyu. But now, it was different. Since Qin Guoyu had conceded, the others were unlikely to pursue the matter further. They weren't fools; if even Qin Guoyu didn't dare to speak up, what was left for them to say?

Ye Aotian was furious. "Stupid! Absolutely, utterly stupid!"

"A golden opportunity was laid out before you, and you just gave it up! It’s no wonder Qin Guosheng didn't let you participate in the management of the Qin Group. You are all a bunch of idiots!"

Ye Aotian wanted to vent all the resentment in his heart. Seeing him so angry, Fang Tai stepped up and kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Hiss..."

Ye Aotian gasped, his finger trembling as he pointed at Fang Tai. "Fine, you’re very good."

"I’ll remember you, Fang Tai. Don't you dare let me..."

Fang Tai, a ruthless man, bared his teeth with a menacing look. "What? Are you going to touch me?"

Ye Aotian swallowed his words back down. Hmph, a wise man doesn't fight with a dog. This fellow was bad news, and it wasn't worth it for Ye Aotian to get into a conflict with someone like him.

Su Lan placed a contract on the table. "Everyone, look at the contents. If there are no issues, you can sign your names."

"I, Su Lan, will not treat you any worse than Qin Guosheng did. Although these shares will no longer be in your hands, as long as the company continues to pay dividends, your share will not be short-changed."

Qin Guoyu smiled. "What is my sister-in-law saying? We are all one family; we can always discuss things."

The old man was clever enough to know that since he couldn't solve the problem with his own strength, he had to find another way to settle it. Su Lan hadn't expected to handle the board meeting so easily, though she knew it was closely linked to Lin Li.

Ye Aotian glared at Lin Li from the sidelines, but there was nothing he could do. Lin Li had already blocked every possible avenue. And so, Qin Guoyu and the rest of the Qin family obediently signed the contract.

The "plague god" was finally sent away. Ye Aotian could only slink away as well. What else could he do? He had tried every method, but he had to admit that he had no way to interfere with the final outcome.

"Second Brother, are we really just going to let it end like this?" Qin Yuru asked in a low voice. "The Qin Group is such a massive enterprise—are we just going to hand it over to them like this?"

Qin Guoyu sighed. "What else can we do? You saw it yourself; Lin Li’s words carry more weight than our sister-in-law’s."

"If it had only been our sister-in-law, it would have been easy to handle. What could a mere woman have done?"

"But now that this brat named Lin Li is involved, I suspect they are definitely in league with each other."

Qin Yuru asked, "If that’s the case, why did you..."

Qin Guoyu sneered. "Don't you know what they are doing right now? Investing in the Tianxin District project."