7 – Sale of Equity
New City Villa District.
This was a newly developed upscale villa area launched by the municipal government just two years ago. Located within the Third Ring Road, it offered convenient transportation, spacious layouts, and first-class landscaping—every inch of land here was worth its weight in gold. Only those with substantial influence could reside here; even having money didn’t guarantee securing a spot in this neighborhood.
The fact that Yu Zhenguo managed to live here was likely due to Yu Leyang pulling some strings elsewhere.
The residents in this area were either wealthy or powerful, and living here provided quicker access to higher social connections.
Ye Jin recalled that Fu Yihao seemed to live in this area as well.
As soon as she arrived at the villa’s entrance, Yu Ruanruan immediately rushed out from inside to greet her.
It was obvious she had been waiting specifically for Ye Jin—her eagerness was far too transparent.
The moment Yu Ruanruan saw Ye Jin at the door, her smile stiffened slightly. It hadn’t been long since they last met, yet Ye Jin had become even more beautiful. Her skin was fair and flawless, without a visible pore, and though her hair was shorter now, her facial features carried a sharper, more striking allure.
Suppressing her discomfort, Yu Ruanruan forced a smile and said, “Ye Jin, come in quickly. The meal is all ready.”
She reached out to take Ye Jin’s hand, but Ye Jin deftly avoided the gesture.
Ye Jin knew exactly what was going through Yu Ruanruan’s mind. After drinking the Spirit Spring Water, her skin and features had become even more radiant.
The female lead of this novel was rather unremarkable—Yu Ruanruan was a typical, clichéd Mary Sue protagonist. Her face could only be described as plain and cute, far from stunning. Her most notable asset was her curvaceous, delicate figure that seemed easy to overpower, yet she was quite the actress, skilled at playing the weak and vulnerable.
After all, this was a Mary Sue Novel. No matter how strong or intelligent the male characters were, they would all fall for the female lead and despise supporting female characters like Ye Jin, who were glamorous and striking—all to highlight the female lead’s image as a pure, innocent little white flower.
But this little white flower hid the heart of a man-eating plant. She used the men around her to gather resources and wished every woman more beautiful than her would turn ugly.
A flicker of killing intent passed through Ye Jin’s eyes—she would definitely settle the score from her past life.
Ignoring Yu Ruanruan, Ye Jin walked straight into the living room and saw Yu Zhenguo sitting on the sofa. Yu Leyang wasn’t in sight, but Lin Xiuxiu was there.
This family was truly laughable. Yu Ruanruan was Yu Zhenguo’s illegitimate daughter from an affair, and Lin Xiuxiu was the mistress who had schemed her way into the family. Like mother, like daughter.
After reading the general plot of the novel, Ye Jin later discovered that the female lead even had something going on with Yu Leyang—he was one of her harem members.
No wonder Yu Leyang could tolerate Lin Xiuxiu, the mistress, living in his home, even driving his own sister, Yu Lejia, so furious that she moved into the school dormitory. They had put on quite the act in their previous life.
At least she had never noticed anything amiss back then. To juggle so many men without getting caught, Yu Ruanruan was truly a master angler.
Yu Zhenguo stood up and greeted Ye Jin with a smile, “Xiao Jin, you’re here. Come, have a seat. Let’s eat right away.”
Ye Jin paid him no mind and walked directly to the dining table in the living room, taking a seat.
Even though Ye Jin treated him coldly, Yu Zhenguo didn’t comment. He simply asked the housemaid to bring Ye Jin a bowl of rice.
As he served food onto Ye Jin’s plate, he said, “Xiao Jin, try this dish. Look, you used to love carp the most, didn’t you?”Ye Jin stared at the fish in her bowl without any desire to pick up her chopsticks. She hated bony fish more than anything.
This was Yu Ruanruan’s favorite dish. Back when she was on good terms with Yu Ruanruan, she’d force herself to eat even the dishes she disliked.
Now, just looking at the food on the table made her nauseous. This family was so disgusting she didn’t want to touch a single bite.
But she still had to maintain appearances: “Thank you, Uncle. My stomach hasn’t been well these past few days. The doctor advised me to do a cleanse and avoid all solid foods. I just came today to visit you all.”
Hearing this, Yu Zhenguo felt relieved. He’d briefly thought Ye Jin’s attitude seemed different from before, but she was still just a child after all. What schemes could she possibly have? She’d still be easily manipulated by him.
Yu Zhenguo glanced at Lin Xiuxiu beside him, giving her a meaningful look.
Lin Xiuxiu immediately spoke up: “Zhenguo, it’s rare for Xiao Jin to visit. How come Leyang is still working overtime instead of joining us for dinner?”
Yu Ruanruan, sitting next to Ye Jin, quickly chimed in: “Mom, brother has been busy with company matters these days. He just took over recently, and the board members are watching his every move. He doesn’t dare slack off even for a moment.”
“No matter how busy he is, he shouldn’t work himself to death like this every day! Health is the most important asset!”
After speaking, Lin Xiuxiu glanced at Ye Jin’s expression before continuing: “Zhenguo, you really shouldn’t put all the pressure on Leyang alone. He’s still young.”
“Sigh, you know how things are at the company right now. Everything has to go through those old foxes on the board. What say do I really have?” Yu Zhenguo put on a troubled expression.
“Dad, I heard our company might be going under soon?”
Yu Zhenguo rubbed his temples, pretending to have lost his appetite. “Let’s not discuss such matters during dinner. Xiao Jin is here – let’s talk about something happier.”
Ye Jin watched the three of them with internal scorn. What a performance – their acting deserved an Oscar. Just looking at how Yu Zhenguo’s belly had grown noticeably larger showed he’d been living quite comfortably. The company had long been firmly controlled by his son Yu Leyang – what board of directors was he even talking about?
But since they’d set the stage, how could she not play her part?
Ye Jin feigned concern: “Uncle, is something troubling you? Are you short on money?”
Just as he’d hoped. Yu Zhenguo secretly rejoiced but said: “Just some company matters. Xiao Jin, don’t worry – no matter how the company performs, I’ll never shortchange you and Xiao Chen.”
His words sounded sweeter than any song. No wonder she’d been deceived in her past life – blind and foolish. But this trick wouldn’t work on her anymore.
“Uncle, don’t worry. If you’re having difficulties, you can tell me directly. I’m not short on money right now!”
“Not short on money?” The children’s living expenses came from company stock dividends. How much could those dividends possibly be? He knew exactly how little they amounted to. How could she not need money?
“That’s right. I sold the shares my father left me. I’m quite wealthy now! If you need money, just ask me.”
“Sold them?” Yu Zhenguo shot up from his seat upon hearing this, shouting at Ye Jin: “How could you sell them? Do you even know how much those shares are worth?”
Seeing the situation turning sour, Yu Ruanruan immediately intervened: “Dad, calm down. We haven’t gotten the full story yet.”She then turned to Ye Jin and asked, “Ye Jin, what’s going on here? Why didn’t you mention this to us earlier?”
“I originally had no intention of selling the shares. After all, this company is Dad’s life’s work, and I didn’t want to ruin it. But back then, you kept insisting that I should sell while they were still valuable, to avoid them becoming worthless if the company went bankrupt. I thought it made sense, so I just sold them!”
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhenguo nearly had a heart attack. He had initially tried to trick her into selling at a low price, never expecting she would actually go through with it.
Ye Jin tilted her head with a puzzled expression. “Uncle, did I do something wrong?”
Who said only the female lead could play the innocent fool? Turning their own tactics against them was the best way to shut them up.
Yu Zhenguo felt dizzy and flushed with anger upon hearing this—he had dug his own grave. Lin Xiuxiu, sitting beside him, was equally frustrated by his incompetence.
Only Yu Ruanruan quickly grasped the key point and asked, “We were just worried you might be deceived. Have you signed the sales contract yet?”
Yes! The contract—as long as it wasn’t signed, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
Seeing Ye Jin shake her head, Yu Zhenguo finally calmed down a little and sat back in his chair.
“Xiao Jin, why do you always act on your own like this? There are so many scammers out there—we only have your best interests at heart! Since you haven’t signed the contract, that’s good. Leyang needs shares to secure his position in the company and keep those stubborn old-timers in check. Why don’t you just sell the shares you and Xiao Chen hold to us? We’re family—your uncle won’t shortchange you.”
Scammers? Looks like the biggest scammer here is you!
Ye Jin pouted and said, “Uncle, if only you’d said so earlier! I haven’t signed the transfer contract, but I’ve already received the money. If I back out now, I’ll have to pay two billion in breach penalties, or else face a lawsuit.”
Two billion? Yu Zhenguo’s pupils dilated. She had even signed a purchase agreement? This was going to be difficult. Yu Leyang had just secured a new group of investors and was pushing for the company to pivot urgently—losing those shares was not an option.
Yu Ruanruan glanced at her phone and said to Ye Jin, “Ye Jin, we can arrange a meeting with them. I’m sure you don’t want to see the company your father built fall into the hands of strangers, do you?”
A meeting? There was no one to meet—it was all a setup to trap them.
“When I received the payment, I only met them once. They made it clear that their identity must remain confidential and that we would never meet again.”
Could it be that some company, aware of their recent moves, had specifically targeted them?
Yu Ruanruan was at a loss and could only ask, “How much did you sell the shares for in total?”
“About 1.6 billion!”
All three people in the room were stunned. The shares Ye Jin currently held had been heavily diluted, and their market value happened to be exactly around that amount.
Was someone really trying to sabotage Yu Leyang’s financing plans?
Satisfied that she had successfully steered their suspicions toward corporate rivalry, Ye Jin was pleased. After all, given Yu Leyang’s shady business tactics and numerous enemies in the industry, it would take him a while to investigate—time he likely didn’t have.
A shadow crossed Ye Jin’s eyes as she glanced toward the corner on the second floor before quickly looking away.Collecting supplies required the use of mental power. Through deliberate training, her mental power had now nearly reached the level of a first-tier mental ability. The moment she entered, she knew Yu Leyang was hiding at the staircase corner eavesdropping.
She had made herself perfectly clear: if they wanted the shares, they must pay for them, plus an additional 200 million in penalty fees.
As for what they thought about it, once Yu Leyang made his decision, he would naturally have Yu Ruanruan contact her.