This was a marked difference from their disinterested demeanor just a week ago.

So Chen Yan had no hesitation whatsoever and directly sent He Mengxue, the president of the group's investment business, to lead the negotiations.

After years of honing her skills, He Mengxue's capabilities had improved significantly, and soon she had negotiated a reasonably priced share acquisition agreement...

Everything just waited for both parties to finalize the agreement and announce it publicly to be satisfactorily completed.

Meanwhile... back in the domestic market.

Because of Zhao Qingtian's all-out blockade against Chen Yan, many tycoons who knew both of them or were aware of the situation started to entertain other ideas...

As the fastest-growing tycoon in Qindong over the past two years, Chen Yan's moves had already caught the attention of the observant across the nation.

Every step Chen Yan took, every decision he made, was closely watched, emulated and pondered by many.

Of course, among these were not only people who were curious to see how far he could go but also those who were waiting to see when he would stumble.

After all, Chen Yan's rise had been too smooth. So smooth that it resembled the trajectory of a male protagonist in a TV drama.

Moreover, he seemed to have encountered little adversity, with each step and each decision being the best possible choice.

Such extraordinary luck not only stirred envy and jealousy but also intense covetousness and bitterness in many.

Upon analyzing Chen Yan's development history, they identified that despite his strong abilities and fortune, there was consistently one weakness: official relationships.

Especially domestically, where capital isn't the strongest force, all capital, once it reaches a certain level, will gradually seek out official forces that are cooperative or interdependent.

This had nearly become an iron law.

After all, that is the distinctive socio-economic environment of the country...

And yet, Chen Yan was not like that.

Aside from some effort to build official relations locally in Qin Island in the last two years, he had not been involved with any official powers.

As a result, many were aware that this could be Chen Yan's Achilles' heel.

Once this weakness was accurately targeted, Chen Yan could potentially be swiftly crushed.

At that time, everyone could then swoop in to feast upon Chen Yan's "corpse" and the market vacuum left behind.

Of course, while many lusted after Chen Yan's downfall, no one had yet dared to take action.

Because everyone was aware that Chen Yan still had the towering support of both the Zhao and He families.

But then... no one had expected Chen Yan's reliance on the Zhao Family to suddenly collapse, and the head of the family, Zhao Qingtian, to "turn his blade," attacking Chen Yan directly.

And the subsequent developments shocked everyone even more.

Chen Yan seemingly collapsed in the face of Zhao Qingtian!

The relentless power displayed in public was so overwhelming that it left everyone in awe.

Furthermore, although Chen Yan's counteractions seemed flawless and his companies were shaping into behemoth enterprises, they were virtually powerless against such formidable might.

From start to finish, Zhao Qingtian had dominated with absolute superiority, steamrolling over everything.

Chen Yan's most substantial traffic sources, Douyin and Toutiao, were mandated to undergo rectification; games were ordered off the shelves, variety shows were slashed, and all sorts of restrictions nearly toppled Chen Yan's entertainment empire.

Even Lu Man, the "spokesperson" for the Chen Group, had been less visible recently. She hardly seemed like a top-tier Celebrity.

Honestly, at that moment, many were tempted and contemplated joining Zhao Qingtian to eradicate Chen Yan utterly and share the spoils.

But still, no one dared to make a move.

After all, Chen Yan was best known for turning the tides against adversity.

However, as time gradually passed, Chen Yan's decline became more apparent, prompting more and more people to consider the possibility.

Many started making connections and forming alliances.

Even many tycoons within Qindong were hesitating.

And when the wealthy circles of Qindong Peninsula privately discussed Chen Yan, they no longer spoke with their former pride and envy but instead with preachy criticism.

For instance...

"In domestic development, one must cultivate official powers. Otherwise, you'll end up like Chen Yan."

"It's actually better to struggle in the early stages of development, lest a minor setback causes a complete collapse."

"To think such a large group could be so close to failure so soon. Indeed, while meteors come every generation, true stars are exceedingly rare."

"In fact, the best thing Chen Yan could do now is to seek reconciliation with Zhao Qingtian. Although he might lose some shares, at least he can ensure a carefree life for the rest of his days."

And just when everyone thought Chen Yan was about to fail and yield...

At the end of March, unexpected news exploded around the world and caused an uproar domestically.

Chen Group's overseas investment company intended to acquire 30% of V Corporation, the world's largest independent game platform STM's parent company, with a mix of technology shares and 17 billion RMB in cash, becoming the second largest shareholder of V Corporation.

V Corporation is one of the world's largest game developers and has produced a raft of quality games such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, and Dota 2.

The STM platform is also the world's largest independent game platform, with an annual profit of 21 billion RMB.

This news was like a bombshell to everyone.

Those who were closely monitoring Chen Yan had only two thoughts in mind at this moment.

The first thought was: after hitting a wall in China, Chen Yan had ventured overseas for development?

And moreover, with such a significant investment from the get-go?

And the second thought was... where the hell did Chen Yan get all this money from!

Everyone knew Chen Yan could make money.

But how much had he made from games and movies?

Where did the rest of the money come from?

Was it all earned through financial maneuvers?

Although everyone had heard about Chen Yan stirring up a storm in Hong Kong and making a clean sweep of the global markets, he had never disclosed how much money he had made.

So, everyone was merely guessing he had earned a few billion.

But now, we're talking billions!

With this revelation, Chen Yan once again loomed large in people's eyes.

To those familiar with the gaming industry, Chen Yan's stature was even more monumental.

After all, everyone knew that V Corporation wasn't short on cash and had a notoriously tough stance, having rebuffed many large corporations' investment attempts.

But now, Chen Yan had succeeded?

What magic did he possess to be able to persuade V Corporation?

And considering Chen Yan's history of accomplishing improbable acquisitions and investments, this only fueled further envy.

Particularly among large venture capital firms, who were practically gnashing their teeth with the desire to "poach" Chen Yan for themselves.

After all, being able to "convince" a prestigious company to accept investment is a skill in itself – and a mighty one at that.

While everyone was shocked by Chen Yan's tactics, another piece of international news followed.

Netflix, the world's largest streaming platform and one of Hollywood's big five, reached an investment agreement with the Chen Group's overseas investment company.

To boost the group's film and television company's competitive edge overseas, the Chen Group's overseas investment company planned to invest 10 billion RMB for an 8% stake in Netflix.

Following that, the two sides announced a series of collaborative initiatives.

For example, Netflix's platform would engage in deep collaboration with the international version of Douyin, carrying out related advertising and promotion.

For example, the Chen Group would license the overseas streaming rights of their variety shows, films, and TV series to Netflix, who would be responsible for the distribution and sales of the series on international streaming platforms.

And beyond these two pieces of news, as if the Chen Group intended to flex its muscles to the world, it disclosed its overseas user numbers and revenues for the first time.

Among them, the international version of Douyin had topped the Android and Apple stores in over fifty countries worldwide. After several years of growth, it boasted 210 million daily active users and had become the world's largest short video platform.

These results were highly gratifying.

In addition to Douyin's international version, the Chen Group's overseas financial company's annual net profit reached over 40 billion.

That was the net profit, not revenue or fund size.

In his public announcement, Chen Yan even projected that for the new year, the daily active user count for the international version of Douyin would break 500 million, the financial company's fund size would reach a trillion, and the profits would surpass 300 billion.

These figures were truly explosive, rendering the domestic scene stunned into silence.

Those who had said Chen Yan was almost done were now feeling the burning shame on their faces.

And those who had been conspiring to topple Chen Yan and feast on his "corpse" now looked as though their faces had been stamped with several footprints.

After all, how many domestic companies could match the scale and earnings of the Chen Group overseas?

Falling short of that, they didn't even have the credentials to challenge Chen Yan.

Additionally, it is not known whether it was intentional or not, but the Chen Group deliberately excluded domestic user and income data when publicly disclosing their report.

Even though everyone knew the Chen Group had significant revenue and users domestically, the company simply did not disclose it.

It was as if they were declaring to the outside world: We've decided to abandon the domestic market. But without it, we will still thrive.

Such a stance truly left many feeling a mixed array of emotions.

After all, it's challenging for a company and individual as outstanding as these to emerge domestically.

Especially a Chen Yan who can fight domestic battles as well as international ones. Most importantly, he is still young...

Absent any accidents, here lies one of the country's core competitive forces in the global capital market for the future.

And now, he was being driven away by this situation.

Frankly, it was a great pity.

And Chen Yan's stance wasn't just about showing off.

He had two aims.

One was to exert internal pressure, to make any conscientious official look at what Zhao Qingtian had done.

The other was to throw a smokescreen at Zhao Qingtian, leading him to believe that Chen Yan had truly decided to give up and was planning to move abroad.

This way, Chen Yan's overseas actions would be interpreted as standard business behavior by Zhao Qingtian and not treated with caution.

And indeed, Chen Yan's two aims were indeed achieved.

Upon thinking that Chen Yan really shifted his development focus overseas, Zhao Qingtian significantly relaxed his guard, and then... continued to advance his plans, aiming to completely seal off Chen Yan's domestic development.

Meanwhile, some well-meaning officials domestically took notice of this affair due to Chen Yan's moves...

Tiandu.

In that somewhat dilapidated conference room.

Lao Du, the one who had previously taken the phone call, was reporting to an authoritative elderly man, "Li Lao, have you paid attention to the recent happenings with the Chen Group?"

The authoritative old man expressed interest with a grunt, "What Chen Group? A private enterprise?"

"Lao Du, since when have you taken an interest in an enterprise? It's not really part of our field, is it?"

Lao Du responded truthfully, "It's because there are some deeper issues involved in this matter."

Saying so, he handed over a folder to the elderly man with both hands, "These are some pieces of information I've gathered over the last six months."

"I have a feeling there's a lot of shady business going on inside."

The elderly man did not take the documents but looked at Lao Du sternly, "Lao Du, you know that our line of work has its discipline. We can't get swayed by personal feelings."

Lao Du spoke earnestly, "Li Lao, I have not let my personal feelings interfere. I wouldn't go out of my way to fabricate or pursue an investigation without cause."

"It's only after I discovered numerous issues within this affair that I decided to look into it."

"Moreover, I always keep our principles in mind, to not overlook tigers, but also not to spare any flies."

"Alright." Li Lao couldn't help but admire Lao Du's heartfelt words, then took the documents and said, "Fine then, let's see what you've prepared."

"Let's see what's really going on here."...

As Chen Yan blossomed overseas and things progressed smoothly in Tiandu,

At this very moment, in Qin Island, a small-scale meeting was underway in Lu Man's villa...

Honestly, Zhao Ying didn't even know why she came to Lu Man's house; she just did because Yu Qiao Qiao called her.

What puzzled her even more was... why did she come whenever called without question? And why did several others just show up at the call too?

Like Yang Rou and He Mengxue—though Zhao Ying didn't interact with them much, she knew that the group had been hit with numerous issues and the entire strategy was shifting externally, leaving them incredibly busy.

As for Lu Man, she was rather idle. But a first-line female Celebrity coming whenever summoned, didn't that lack prestige?

Moreover, to readily offer her house for the gathering.

Did that mean she, Zhao Ying, could summon her anytime to satiate her curiosity about any gossip? And maybe, just maybe... have some fun and prank around at her place.

While Lu Si let her thoughts run wild, Zhao Ying glanced around at the other attendees with a bit of bemusement.

Then she "surprisingly" discovered: Hey, aren't the people gathering this time the same as the last small group gathering?

Except... Yu Qiao Qiao had been added.

——————

The ultrasound showed the baby's weight was a bit heavy, so I went to the hospital today. Tomorrow morning I'll have a cesarean section.

Busy all day today. I originally thought I could finish the book before the baby comes, but now it seems impossible.

I'll likely be very busy during this time but will try my best to ensure regular updates.

Anyway, here's hoping for a safe and smooth delivery, blessings....

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