Song Keran was clearly becoming more flustered.
Yet she didn’t resist or struggle. Her breathing just grew unsteady as she said, “There’s one more thing. After everything that happened today, I realized I might have seriously misunderstood Young Master Cao before—”
“Now, I suddenly want to get to know you better.”
“I see,” Cao Chuan didn’t expose her.
Seeing that she didn’t resist his forceful actions, he smiled faintly once more and then let her go.
“Director Qian and Assistant Shen both belong to Lin Wanrong. If I’m not mistaken, they were probably scheming behind closed doors to trip me up.”
When Song Keran saw Cao Chuan actually release her, for some reason she felt a faint sense of loss.
But then she remembered they were standing at the entrance of Baichuan Investment Co., Ltd., with people constantly passing by. Her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly dismissed that strange feeling.
“No wonder you kicked Director Qian so decisively, Young Master Cao.”
Without waiting for him to respond, she continued, “Next, should we do something about Shen Mengying too?”
“After all, she’s also one of Lin Wanrong’s people, and she’s likely involved in what happened with Director Qian today.”
“No need,” a trace of depth flickered in Cao Chuan’s eyes. “I already have plans for Shen Mengying.”
“For now, let’s just focus on the investment matter.”
As for that woman, he remembered clearly—there was a storyline about her coming soon in the original novel.
By then, with today’s fear planted in her heart, he would definitely be able to take her down in one move and ensure she never escaped his control again.
Song Keran didn’t think too deeply. She simply responded, “That’s true.”
“The one-month investment duel is the real key to deciding who inherits the Cao Family.”
“I’ll get to work compiling all the investment project materials the company’s gathered.”
“…”
“No need for all that.”
Cao Chuan stopped her directly.
“Go check whether the 1 billion yuan has been deposited. If it has, buy international gold with all of it.”
“You mean… you’re investing in gold?” Song Keran widened her eyes.
Cao Chuan didn’t answer and instead headed straight to his office.
Song Keran quickly caught up, speaking rapidly, “Young Master Cao, please reconsider.”
“Gold is a reserve asset used by investors to hedge against economic uncertainty, geopolitical risks, or inflation.”
“Compared to currency, gold holds relatively stable value, but it’s extremely difficult to make high returns from it.”
“Right now, with global stability and the Lighthouse Nation’s currency value rising, gold’s hedging role is weakened. Its price hardly fluctuates. Investing in it now is likely to trap your funds.”
“Young Master Cao!” Song Keran still tried to reason, “Investing in gold right now is truly unwise.”
“There are still many promising projects in the company waiting to be discovered. Investing in them would definitely be better than throwing it into the uncertain future of gold.”
“Please just listen—”
Before she could finish, Cao Chuan suddenly stopped and spoke in a tone that brooked no refusal.
“Secretary Song, don’t forget your position.”
“I’m the boss!”
The rest of her words stopped at her lips.
“Do not question any of my orders.” Cao Chuan gently patted her fragrant shoulder. “Now go carry it out.”
“…Yes!”
Though she still didn’t quite understand, Song Keran knew that Cao Chuan was no longer the overly cautious pushover who once pampered her endlessly.
If she kept pushing, what awaited her might be a slap or a size 42 shoe.
After obediently replying, she hurried to check the company’s account.
Once she confirmed the 1 billion yuan had arrived and Cao Chuan had entered his private office, she immediately conveyed his instructions to all employees.
As she expected, once she relayed the order, the office exploded.
“What? Young Master Cao wants to invest in international gold? And invest the entire 1 billion yuan all at once? That’s insane!”
“The gold market has shown no positive signals lately. In the long run, this is definitely a high-risk, low-return move!”
“Is Young Master Cao serious? Secretary Song, shouldn’t you double-check with him? If we get stuck in this trade, it’ll be too late to regret it!”
“…”
The employees at Baichuan Investment Co., Ltd. were all elite white-collar investors, and they all voiced their concerns about the decision.
But recalling Cao Chuan’s overbearing attitude, Song Keran replied coldly, “Young Master Cao has his own reasons. It’s not for you to question.”
“Now, as instructed, begin buying international gold immediately!”
The employees seemed to snap back to reality.
Even though they had serious doubts about the decision, they still got to work, swiftly and skillfully buying up batch after batch of international gold.
Meanwhile, Song Keran remained on the floor, supervising everyone’s operations.
Only after the task was completed and all 1 billion yuan had been successfully invested in gold did she return to her office, open her laptop, and anxiously stare at the international gold price trends.
Truthfully, even now, she couldn’t understand why Cao Chuan chose to invest in this.
There didn’t seem to be anything worth investing in here.
Most importantly, this wasn’t some small-time gamble—it was the entire 1 billion yuan fund he planned to use to compete with Cao Hai for the Cao Family Heir title.
“Could I have missed some detail or information… is there actually a chance for international gold prices to surge soon?”
After everything that had happened today, Song Keran no longer believed that Cao Chuan would act recklessly in such a crucial investment battle.
When anxiety and confusion overwhelmed her, she couldn’t help but wonder if everyone had misread Cao Chuan’s true intentions—perhaps he wasn’t being reckless at all.
Meanwhile, on the 88th floor of the Cao Group, inside the CEO assistant’s office…
Director Qian, who had just arrived at Shen Mengying’s office, burst into hearty laughter.
“Assistant Shen, you’ll never guess what that genius Young Master Cao did after getting the 1 billion yuan.”
“What did he do?” Shen Mengying looked curious.
“He… he invested all 1 billion in international gold! Hahahaha!” Director Qian laughed until tears streamed down his face. “Genius-level investing!”
“Gold investment?” Shen Mengying was also surprised.
As Lin Wanrong’s assistant, she was well-versed in investment business.
From a certain perspective, international gold was merely a hedge tool against the Lighthouse Nation’s currency.
When the global situation is stable and the dollar rises, gold falls. When the situation is unstable and the dollar drops, gold rises.
Right now, the world was striving for peace, and the dollar was continuously appreciating—there were practically zero opportunities in gold.
Cao Chuan had kicked Director Qian and pressured her to rush the fund transfer… only to invest in this?
How was this any different from a showy move that dealt 250 points of damage?
Director Qian continued to laugh, “No wonder CEO Lin wasn’t worried at all that Young Master Cao got the 1 billion ahead of Young Master Hai.”
“This guy’s just hopeless—give him a chance and he still blows it!”
“Out of thousands of investment options, he always manages to spot the pigs—he picks the worst every time!”
Shen Mengying had long heard of Cao Chuan’s legendary nine failures out of ten investments, and she knew that although he was overbearing and volatile, he was also… not too bright.
Even so, she didn’t follow up with mockery. Instead, she simply shook her head and said, “Director Qian, mind your words.”
“If Young Master Cao really lacks investment sense, you can relax and just keep monitoring him for now.”
“When results come in, I’ll report to CEO Lin immediately.”
“Understood.”
Director Qian, feeling greatly satisfied, responded with a nod and prepared to leave with his phone in hand.
But just then, a breaking news notification popped up—
[Breaking! International News! War suddenly erupts between Major Bear Nation and Second Bear Nation!]