Song Yixuan was completely dumbfounded, with none of the arrogant, second-generation heir demeanor he had displayed earlier while crossing his legs and signing contracts with Manager Li.
All that remained was him covering his head, howling and begging for mercy.
“Brother, brother, I was wrong! I—I was just trying to save money for the group…”
Even after being caught red-handed, he still dared to stubbornly deny it.
Song Guanting was never one for idle talk. With a cold snort, he unfastened a cufflink, removed the wristwatch from his left hand, and casually tossed it to Assistant Zhou.
A fist landed squarely on Song Yixuan’s mouth!
The punch carried such force that it sent Song Yixuan, who had already halfway scrambled up, tumbling back to the ground.
Song Guanting flexed his joints again, his fist already raised.
“While you still have the strength to speak, you can tell a few more lies.”
Song Yixuan had no ability to fight back whatsoever, being single-handedly pinned to the ground and thoroughly beaten by Song Guanting.
“I won’t dare anymore! I’ll never dare again! I took kickbacks, it was a moment of weakness, I’ll never do it again! Brother, please spare me this time!”
“Ow ow ow! If you keep hitting me, I’ll die! I’m your brother, brother, ow ow ow!”
Everyone at the dinner stood up, keeping their distance. No one dared to make a sound, and not a single person stepped in to intervene.
Everyone in the business circle knew that the young president of the Baishi Group was ruthless and merciless. Anyone who crossed him ended up with a terrible fate.
This applied to outsiders and insiders alike.
Until the sound of police sirens echoed from downstairs.
Assistant Zhou stepped forward. “President Song, the police are here.”
As he spoke, he handed over a custom-made, high-end handkerchief.
Song Yixuan, beaten black and blue, thought someone had finally shown a conscience and called the police, believing they were here to rescue him.
Song Guanting stopped, took the handkerchief, and leisurely wiped his slender knuckles.
“Taking kickbacks, breaching contracts, substituting inferior materials, and engaging in bribery—that’s enough for a sentence of ten years or more, right?”
At this, everyone else at the dinner was stunned.
Especially Manager Li, who, upon hearing the mention of a prison sentence, immediately dropped to his knees in fear.
“President Song, I was wrong, I—I won’t dare anymore. I’ll build the tower to the highest standards, I beg you, please give me another chance to redeem myself?”
“I—I have elderly parents and young children. If I go to prison, my entire company will be ruined. Please, give me another chance…”
Manager Li lay prostrate at Song Guanting’s feet, pleading desperately.
But before his hand could even touch the hem of Song Guanting’s trousers, a black custom-made leather shoe stepped on the back of his hand, mercilessly grinding it down.
“If apologies were enough, what would we need the police for?”
Song Guanting looked down from above, like a cold, unfeeling emperor holding the power of life and death, disdainfully eyeing the man begging at his feet.
“Besides, whether your family or your company lives or dies—what does that have to do with me?”
Manager Li collapsed to the ground in despair.
After the police arrived, Assistant Zhou handed over all the prepared evidence to them. Manager Li, as the ringleader, would not be getting out for at least ten years.
As for Song Yixuan, who had hoped to seek help from the police, he never expected he would be arrested too.
“Officers, I was just beaten up! It was him, he’s the one who hit me! Look at how he beat me black and blue. Why are you arresting me and not him?”
Song Yixuan, his hands cuffed, angrily pointed at Song Guanting, embodying the spirit of “if I’m going down, I’m taking everyone with me.”Yet Song Guantang didn’t even lift an eyelid, merely lowering his gaze unhurriedly as he refastened the wristwatch onto his wrist.
“Evidence that I laid a hand on him?”
There were no surveillance cameras in the private room. Song Yixuan immediately pointed at the others, but they all lowered their heads, indicating they knew nothing and had seen nothing.
Song Yixuan was dumbfounded: “He really hit me! This face full of injuries couldn’t possibly be from me bumping into something myself, could it?”
Assistant Zhou smiled gently. “Second Young Master, you must have been dazed from the fall. You just tumbled off the chair—the injuries on your face are from your own fall and have absolutely nothing to do with President Song.”
“Second Young Master should think more about how to explain to the police the matter of you taking kickbacks from contractors behind the group’s back.”
Only then did Song Yixuan realize. “Song Guantang, you did this on purpose! You knew from the start—this was a trap you set for me! You treacherous villain, not even sparing your own family. Grandfather and Father won’t let you get away with this!”
“Dad! Mom! Come save me, Song Guantang is trying to kill me, help—”
No one came to save Song Yixuan despite his shouts tearing his throat; instead, he was escorted away by the police to the station.
Assistant Zhou had another secretary handle the remaining matters.
“President Song, there’s one hour until boarding.”
The timing was just right.
Song Guantang glanced at his wristwatch and gave a faint hum.
“If Song Yuanshan calls, tell him if he wants his youngest son’s life, he’ll have to trade it with shares.”
He had been setting up this trap for two months, waiting for Song Yuanshan and the others to jump in. Now was the time to reap the rewards.
Although Meng Tang was on vacation these days, she still maintained a strong sense of professionalism. Even while having fun, she was thinking about scouting locations along the way.
Meng Tang’s job was director. In reality, she had worked her way up from script supervisor to director through sheer perseverance.
Despite her usually sweet smile and seemingly easygoing demeanor, her demands were exceptionally high when it came to the camera.
For a film or TV drama to stand out, the director, script, and actors are all indispensable.
And she had always disliked shooting against green screens, finding it too artificial. The results differed greatly from on-location shooting; no matter how skilled the post-production editing, it could never match the awe-inspiring grandeur of real landscapes.
Although she had transmigrated into a book, it so happened that the original host’s job was also director. However, the original host’s approach to directing was utterly careless, practically perfunctory.
The original host had become a director purely on a whim, to make the male lead famous.
The funding for her first drama had even been shamelessly solicited as sponsorship from the Meng family.
Red Guest Film Industry only reluctantly agreed to let her be the director because of the funds she brought in.
It was also due to the male lead’s protagonist halo that, even under such circumstances, he managed to gain some popularity through this drama.
Red Guest Film Industry mistakenly thought the original host had a talent for directing and let her continue.
Until Meng Tang transmigrated over.
A couple of days later, Meng Tang brought Li Su mountain climbing, actually to scout a little-known temple for filming.
Red bricks and green tiles, shaded by lush trees, with the lingering sound of temple bells—it was full of ancient charm and style.
Meng Tang took photos with her camera while Li Su followed behind, skillfully carrying her bag.
“Where did you find this temple? I remember your drama also has temple scenes, right?”Meng Tang nodded, “I stumbled upon this while browsing online a couple of days ago—it was taken by a backpacker. Look at the architecture of this temple. It has an ancient charm that even spending tens of millions on set design couldn’t achieve. How amazing!”
Just as she was strolling with Li Su, her phone rang.
Meng Tang glanced at the caller ID and couldn’t help but frown.
Gao Yali.
Song Guantang’s stepmother.
This woman was a formidable character, described in the original story as a smiling tiger.
In the book, Song Guantang’s eventual downfall was partly due to Gao Yali’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Of course, if he hadn’t turned into a lovesick fool whenever he encountered the female lead, losing all rationality, even ten Gao Yalis wouldn’t have been a match for the ruthless Song Guantang.
“Auntie Gao, is there something you need?”