For three consecutive days, Zhiyuan Group’s stocks hit the limit down at market open. It wasn’t until the closing bell on Friday that the company finally caught a breather.
If it had just been retail investors selling off, Zhiyuan Group wouldn’t have plummeted so dramatically. The real blow came from their business partners—those who knew a thing or two about Zhiyuan’s background and assumed the company was done for, rushing to dump their shares.
Zhiyuan Group’s transition from underworld ties to legitimacy would have been impossible without protection from higher-ups. Yet now, even those protectors dared not intervene.
First, the chairman’s brother-in-law got into a brawl with Bian Group’s general manager, landing them both in the police station. What started as juicy gossip soon unearthed a slew of Wang Jianzhu’s past misdeeds.
Netizens followed the trail straight to Zhiyuan Group, quickly uncovering its shady origins. Numerous former victims came forward online with their accusations.
Amid this turmoil, news broke that Zhiyuan Group was under official investigation, pushing the scandal to the forefront of public outrage.
With celebrity tax evasion scandals making headlines year after year, the public had grown reflexively sensitive to such issues. This case struck a nerve.
As prices soared and wages stagnated, ordinary people already struggling under financial pressure watched corporations and celebrities rake in fortunes—only to cheat on taxes. The resentment was palpable.
The tax bureau, as if divinely guided, launched a targeted investigation with such intensity that even Ning Zhiyuan and his associates broke into a cold sweat.
There was no way the tax bureau could have acted so swiftly—or left them no room to hide evidence—unless someone had tipped them off!
Seeing the situation spiral, Wang Jianzhu, still hospitalized, avoided Ning Zhiyuan entirely. He had a sinking feeling: Bian You was behind this.
Wang Jianzhu gritted his teeth.
Well played. For someone so young, her tactics were ruthless—this was a death sentence for them.
With multiple projects halted yet expenses bleeding like an open wound, even their deepest pockets wouldn’t last long.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all remained unfazed, her focus lately on the basic functions the system had left for her.
The system included a character customization feature, similar to dress-up games on the market, where facial features were entirely user-designed.
This meant the result depended entirely on one’s skill.
Fortunately, Bian You had a steady hand and an artist’s eye. The face she crafted was a perfect match for her persona.
Using this avatar, she met Qi Zhi’e as a network technician—and even received an invitation from her.
If Qi Zhi’e wanted to break free from Qi Group and grow independently, she needed her own team. A strong one, capable of keeping pace with her ambitions.
After leaving Bian You, Qi Zhi’e in the book returned to the Qi Group and swiftly seized control with thunderous methods, transforming the company into an internet e-commerce giant.
But in reality, after careful observation, Bian You discovered that Qi Zhi’e seemed to have no intention of steering the Qi Group into the internet industry at all.
Instead, the team she assembled served only her alone.
In such circumstances, even if Bian You wanted to help, Qi Zhi’e would likely harbor immense hostility toward her.
Left with no choice, Bian You could only resort to this last resort—joining Qi Zhi’e’s team under a different identity to assist her as much as possible.
However, since she still had her own primary job to attend to, she had made it clear to Qi Zhi’e upon meeting that she wouldn’t work regular office hours. As a result, apart from Qi Zhi’e, no one in the team had ever seen her face.
Her main task was to infiltrate the websites built by other technicians in various ways, identifying and fixing bugs.
Bian You found her job simple—after all, this was her forte, and she was happy to be able to help Qi Zhi’e.
She wanted to witness up close how the business empire Qi Zhi’e had created in the book would rise.
While Qi Zhi’e was mostly focused on her career, the investigation results of Zhiyuan Group were released.
The total amount of tax evasion reached a staggering 630 million yuan. On top of repaying the taxes, late fees and penalties amounted to 567 million yuan. The news sent shockwaves across the nation.
Now at the center of the storm, Zhiyuan Group was like a drifting boat on the ocean, tossed by the waves.
Over a billion yuan in total—even under normal circumstances, Zhiyuan Group wouldn’t have been able to produce such a sum at once, let alone in this situation.
Multiple companies canceled collaborations with them, and numerous projects ground to a halt. Ning Zhiyuan was so agitated he nearly beat Wang Jianzhu to death.
To gather the required funds within the deadline, they had no choice but to sell off some assets—including Project P14.
When Zhiyuan Group approached her, Qi Zhi’e found herself momentarily lost in thought.
Initially, when she had handed this project to Bian You, she hadn’t truly expected her to secure it. After all, she knew exactly how capable Bian You was.
Yet, the project had ended up in her hands in such a manner.
While Zhiyuan Group’s representatives waited in the meeting room, Qi Zhi’e, still in her office, received a message from Bian You.
[Bian You]: Zhiyuan must have approached you by now, right? Since they’re desperate to offload it, you can push for a lower price. But remember our deal—after securing the project, I get 40% of the shares. I’ve already told the board I’m investing in this. You wouldn’t make me break my word, would you?
The message was followed by a pitiful-looking sticker.
Qi Zhi’e read Bian You’s words, her brows gradually knitting together.
She could understand Bian You wanting a stake in the project, but she couldn’t comprehend how Bian You was so certain Zhiyuan would sell it.
Had Bian You known of Qi Zhi’e’s confusion, she would’ve been brimming with pride.
Her confidence that the project would land in Qi Zhi’e’s hands was the result of meticulous calculation.
Many of Zhiyuan Group’s other projects were already halfway through development with significant investments. Selling those projects now would mean throwing all that money down the drain.
To both cover the tax arrears and ensure the ongoing development of these projects, the only option was to sell off the undeveloped projects as liquid assets.
Coincidentally, there were very few companies capable of taking on Project P14, so it was only a matter of time before it landed in Qi Group’s hands.
In the end, Qi Zhi’e acquired P14 at 10% below market price, with the condition that the full payment be transferred to Zhiyuan Group’s account within three days.
While signing the contract with Bian You, Qi Zhi’e studied the woman before her—her relaxed brows and faint smile—and an inexplicable feeling grew stronger in her chest.
She was finding Bian You more and more inscrutable.
If the Bian You of the past had been a burning black flame, the current Bian You was like a clear mountain stream—refreshing yet impossible to grasp.
Two extremes—could one person really embody both at once?
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the scent-blocking patch on Bian You’s neck. Even now, if she focused, she could still catch a faint trace of the pheromones she had left during the marking.
And Bian You seemed entirely unbothered by the mark—so much so that Qi Zhi’e suspected she didn’t even consider it a significant event.
“Bian You,” Qi Zhi’e suddenly spoke.
“Hmm? What is it?” Bian You turned to her with a pleasantly surprised look. It couldn’t be her imagination, could it? She felt that the cold hostility in Qi Zhi’e’s tone had lessened considerably this time!
Meeting those sparkling eyes head-on, Qi Zhi’e momentarily lost her words.
Was it just her, or did Bian You look like an excited puppy seeing its owner?
Practically wagging its tail and ready to pounce.
Qi Zhi’e quickly rubbed her temples to dispel the thought, blaming her sleep deprivation for conjuring such an absurd comparison.
“You don’t hate me?”
This was something Qi Zhi’e truly couldn’t understand. No matter how she looked at it, Bian You’s downfall had been because of her.
But Bian You assumed she was referring to the marking. She touched the scent-blocking patch on her neck and beamed at Qi Zhi’e.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Doesn’t this give us another bond?”
“I couldn’t be happier about it.”