Li Tan stammered, "No, President Fang. I work under Mr. Bai, and this whole thing went a little too smoothly. I’m afraid Mr. Bai might have another move planned."
President Fang scoffed. "You’re still too young. You have too much faith in these people who think they’re God’s gift to the world. Bai Chen only pulled out so quickly because he’s in a rush to raise money. He’s trying to get in with the government—he’d better watch out or he’ll be the one who gets burned."
"These young people are just too reckless. I, for one, am very interested to see how long the Bai Group can last in his hands."
President Fang wasn’t wrong. Bai Chen was essentially pulling the rug out from under his own company, giving no thought to the Bai Group’s long-term development. If this continued, it was bound to collapse.
But what he couldn’t have imagined was that Bai Chen already knew the script for the apocalypse. He was ruthless and capable enough to dig a pit for his opponent, even while overwhelmed himself.
Meanwhile, President Fang just thought it was a normal cold snap. He assumed that as summer arrived, the temperatures would gradually return to normal.
「Two days later」
President Fang successfully secured the project. But just as he was about to go all out, he suddenly discovered that he couldn’t get approval from the higher-ups.
He reviewed the contract again. Seeing the term "agency rights," he had a sudden realization: the Bai Group didn’t own the copyright at all! They had transferred the agency rights, but Fangwu Group was still beholden to the actual copyright holder.
And when he checked the details of that small company, he found it had been funded by Bai Jiao and transferred into Fang Meiqing’s name!
Fangwu Group had lost hundreds of millions for nothing, only gaining participation rights in the project. By law, control was still in the hands of the Bai family.
Fangwu Group was in the middle of expanding. While those hundreds of millions might have paid off in the future, right now they would drag the company down and cause it to miss its window for growth.
President Fang made a snap decision. He cut back on spending for supplies and invested a portion of his own money into the company.
At the same time, Li Tan became Bai Chen’s official assistant, having successfully passed his probationary period. His name was now listed on the official website.
Li Tan nervously sounded Bai Chen out and discovered that he didn’t seem to have noticed his betrayal.
He called his parents, who confirmed the Bai family’s attitude toward them hadn’t changed. They just weren’t using all the servants lately, but salaries were still being paid as usual.
Once Li Tan’s worries were put to rest, he couldn’t help but become arrogant again. ’Even a bona fide genius, a business prodigy like Bai Chen, couldn’t detect my betrayal,’ he thought. ’Guess he’s not all that. But me? I’m the real deal!’
He didn’t even have time to celebrate before a call came from President Fang.
"Li Tan, did you conspire with Bai Chen to set me up?"
Sweat poured down Li Tan’s face. "President Fang, of course not!" he said obsequiously. "It’s just that idiot Bai Chen. He’s so blind he didn’t notice the moves I made. I can still be of service to you next time."
"Don’t even think about trying to fool me again," President Fang said in a low voice. "And don’t forget, I still have plenty of dirt on you."
In the end, the matter was settled by Li Tan giving a "gift" to President Fang, which nearly wiped out his family’s savings.
But the evidence President Fang had on him was enough to send Li Tan to prison, so the Li family had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill. Fortunately, all three of them still had their jobs. It was like they had to start over from scratch.
Aunt Zhang was troubled. "But now we only have a few hundred thousand left. We still have to pay Li Tan’s mortgage and car loan for this month, and we should set aside money for next month’s payment too. That only leaves a few tens of thousands to buy food."
Li said, "How much can stockpiling food cost? We just need to buy a year’s supply of rice. As for water, we can just fill up the washbasins and the bathtub. We can just buy a little bit of everything else. When I was young, I went through thick and thin. I even survived a famine that lasted for years. Now we have air conditioning, what’s there to be afraid of?"
"It’s just that the economy will probably be in a slump for a while."
Aunt Zhang fell silent, counting the family’s bankbooks.
Her only hope was that the Bai family would let her return to her post soon. Then, she could sell off a few pieces of their jewelry to get through this predicament.
While a dark cloud of gloom hung over the Li family, the Bai family was already popping champagne.
「Five days before the apocalypse」
Bai Chen disbanded the rescue team and returned to the warmth of his home, where he took on the role of butler.
Fang Meiqing served as the nanny, Mr. Bai as the gardener, Bai Jiao was in charge of the three children’s education, and Bai Xi was responsible for childcare.
The former wonton shop owner, Aunt Xiao, became the intern chef. Because the Bai family advocated a light and healthy diet with low sugar and salt, Bai Xi was currently teaching her.
Mrs. Bai was the designated floater, pitching in wherever she was needed most.
To celebrate everyone being together and to break the ice, Mrs. Bai made a three-tiered, eight-inch fresh cream cake. It was drizzled with flavors loved by the three children: the top layer was chocolate popping boba for Ye Yunyun, the second was strawberry-vanilla for Hong Xue, and Wu Chen had voluntarily given up his choice of flavor, since he would eat anything.
In the end, Mrs. Bai decided on a Ruby Roman grape filling for his part.
The cake was decorated with all sorts of fruits and snacks. The moment it was brought out, Ye Yunyun’s eyes were glued to it.
’Wow! Wow! Wow! I live to eat this!’
’I was born for this cake!’
Though she was still sitting on the sofa, her head was already craning toward the table.
Wu Chen propped up her chin worriedly, afraid the little one might fall off the sofa.
"Bao Bao, do you want me to carry you over there?"
Ye Yunyun shook her head.
’I can barely control myself on the sofa! If I sit next to the table, I’ll definitely sneak a bite!’
’Good babies don’t sneak food... QAQ’
Seeing Ye Yunyun’s refusal, Wu Chen grabbed a soft tissue and wiped her glistening mouth. He fastened a bib around her neck, then cleaned her little hands with a wet wipe, getting her ready to eat.
Bai Jiao was in charge of cutting the cake. There was no particular reason for this division of labor; she was just eager to do it.
Each slice of cake was placed on the table for everyone to take as they pleased.
Bai Xi carried Ye Yunyun over and asked, "Which one does Xiao Yunduo want?"
’The third one from the left!’
Ye Yunyun’s eyes were fixed on the biggest slice of chocolate cake. Then Bai Xi picked up... the piece right next to it.
’Mommy grabbed the wrong one! Waaah.’
Ye Yunyun shook her head and kept staring at the cake, trying to signal for her mommy to get that one.
But Bai Xi ended up picking up almost every other piece without getting the right one.
Finally, she said, frustrated, "I’m sorry, Bao Bao. Mommy doesn’t know which piece you want."
Ye Yunyun was so anxious she finally stretched out a finger and pointed directly at the slice.
She still felt that she shouldn’t be expressing her desires so obviously. In her previous life, her entire arm would have been chopped off for this.
But now, her subconscious told her that her family would only pamper and spoil her.
’Mommy is so silly!’
Ye Yunyun’s eyes were wide and round, her little cheeks puffing up unconsciously.
"Oh, so it was this piece! How about Bao Bao eats it all by herself?" Bai Xi said, bringing it over.
She placed Ye Yunyun in her high chair and set the cake down on the tray.
Shi Tou trotted over, but Aunt Xiao quickly scooped the dog up. "Good doggies can’t eat this."
Bai Jiao hurriedly stopped her. "Aunt Xiao, it’s fine! My Shi Tou can eat it. He’s... he’s a, uh, bio... a biologically hybridized experimental dog!"