At three in the afternoon,
Xu Mo returned to the company with An Youyi.
The atmosphere inside felt a little off.
He noticed several senior executives looking at him, hesitating to speak.
They seemed to want to say something,
but didn’t dare to voice it.
Xu Mo was completely puzzled.
“If there’s something to say, just say it,” he urged.
He glanced around again.
Good grief!
Not a single one of them dared to step forward.
They were all acting like timid quails.
Xu Mo’s eyelid twitched, and he tentatively asked,
“Did something happen at the company today?”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Finally, Li Ming hurried over.
His face was filled with awkwardness.
“Ahem… President Xu, you’re truly prescient.”
Xu Mo’s eyes widened, and he froze for a moment.
Seeing Xu Mo’s dramatic reaction,
Li Ming and the other executives lowered their heads.
“President Xu, this is indeed bad news. The price of crude oil has plummeted, and the futures investment we made last time has gone bust.”
Li Ming had secretly purchased five million yuan worth of crude oil futures,
then resold them to Zhou Qiaoqiao for ten million.
He wasn’t supposed to bring this up,
but he felt responsible to Xu Corporation.
Even if it meant offending Zhou Qiaoqiao,
he was willing to take the risk.
Xu Mo stood there dumbfounded, not saying a word.
The others also looked uneasy.
Xu Mo must be really upset…
The atmosphere grew eerily quiet.
If they could hear Xu Mo’s thoughts like An Youyi could,
they would have been utterly shocked.
[Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…]
[I’ve been waiting for this good news like waiting for stars and the moon!]
[Li Ming, can you use your brain for once? How did you turn good news into bad news? What’s wrong with you?]
[Last time, that devil woman secretly used company funds to invest, and now she’s lost it all. Sigh… I’ll have to step in and use my family’s money to clean up this mess.]
[Hmm… the corporation lost money, my family lost money, and now I have to help repay the Zhou Family. Hehe… triple the fun!]
If it weren’t for all the people watching,
Xu Mo would have burst out laughing with glee.
Xu Mo composed himself and patted Li Ming’s shoulder, confirming again, “So that investment really went bust?”
Li Ming was stunned.
Why wasn’t the president angry at all?
Not only that,
Li Ming noticed a faint smile on Xu Mo’s lips.
He hesitated, then nodded.
“It’s gone bust.”
Xu Mo struggled to hold back his laughter.
Thankfully, the acting skills the system had given him were top-notch.
Otherwise, he would have laughed out loud on the spot.
“If it’s gone bust, then so be it. It’s not a big deal.”
Outwardly, Xu Mo seemed calm, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
He offered a few more words of comfort,
easing the tension in the room.
“Oh, by the way, what’s the follow-up on the crude oil futures?” Xu Mo suddenly asked.
In his past life, these guys had sold them off,
not fully realizing the losses.
To prevent a similar situation from happening again,
Xu Mo decided to ask.
But as soon as he finished speaking,
everyone’s expressions turned strange,
as if they were constipated.
Xu Mo raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask further,
Li Ming spoke up with a look of shock.
“President Xu, didn’t President Zhou tell you about this?”
Xu Mo was even more confused. “Tell me what?”
“Well…” Li Ming swallowed hard, pausing mid-sentence.
He was unsure whether to continue.
Seeing Xu Mo wave his hand impatiently,
and assure him that whatever it was, he’d handle it,
Li Ming finally relaxed.
He explained how Zhou Qiaoqiao had forbidden them from selling the crude oil futures,
and how she had personally bought the futures from them,
detailing everything without holding back.
The room fell silent again.
But this silence didn’t last long.
Xu Mo burst into laughter.
This time, he couldn’t hold it in.
That devil woman was truly a gem.
She knew his heart.
Under the bewildered gazes of everyone,
Xu Mo spoke up.
“How could you guys do this? Why go to President Zhou for reimbursement? You should’ve come to me directly. She probably didn’t have time to tell me because she was busy.”
“What she did was absolutely right!”
“Also, if any of you still have the futures, come to me. I’ll buy them from you at five times the price!”
At first, everyone’s tension eased.
So their President Zhou hadn’t intended to screw over the Xu Family.
But as they heard the rest,
they were dumbfounded.
After the initial shock, they wanted to slap themselves!
Why had they sold the futures earlier?
If they had just waited a bit longer, they could’ve sold them to Xu Mo at five times the price!
Regret washed over them.
They no longer had any futures left.
They had sold them all.
Xu Mo overheard their murmurs of regret.
He roughly understood the situation now.
He would visit Zhou Qiaoqiao later.
This was his own mess to clean up.
It wasn’t right to let the devil woman bear the losses.
If it weren’t for Zhou Qiaoqiao’s visit to his office last time,
he wouldn’t have thought of using the Zhou Family’s money to invest in crude oil.
So, in the end, it was his fault.
Hmm…
Xu Mo believed in owning up to his mistakes. He would visit Zhou Qiaoqiao later
and reimburse her for the losses.
As for today’s incredibly good news,
Xu Mo wasn’t stingy.
He announced to everyone,
“The company will treat everyone to dinner today. When you return to your offices, have the secretaries relay the message to the department heads, who will then share it in the work group chats.”
“The banquet will be held at the same standard as our annual gala.”
“Of course, as always, attendance is not mandatory.”
“Those who want to come are welcome, and those who can’t or have prior commitments are free to do as they please.”
Xu Corporation’s annual galas and banquets were different from those of many other companies.
While many companies made attendance mandatory to boost morale,
Xu Corporation took a more relaxed approach.
Everyone’s circumstances were different,
and Xu Corporation took that into consideration.
According to surveys,
whenever Xu Corporation held its annual gala or other important banquets,
the attendance rate was nearly perfect.
Unless it was absolutely unavoidable,
everyone who could attend would do so.
Even those who initially couldn’t make it would find ways to attend.
After all, Xu Corporation’s galas were always held at internationally renowned luxury hotels,
with the most extravagant setups.
A single meal could cost thousands, if not tens of thousands of yuan.
They weren’t fools.
Why would they pass up such an opportunity?
“Wow… President Xu, I must say, you’re looking particularly handsome today.”
“Manager Liu, are you blind? I noticed it ages ago. President Xu is the most handsome man in the universe, okay?”
“Exactly, Manager Liu, if you don’t know how to speak, just keep your mouth shut. Better yet, seal it with tape.”
“President Xu, you’re the best!!!!”
A barrage of compliments followed.
Most of them were genuine, though.
Xu Mo’s current looks certainly deserved the praise.
Perhaps because he was a villain,
Xu Mo didn’t mind the flattery.
After listening for a while,
he finally left.
If he stayed any longer,
they might have started praising him to the heavens,
so he made a quick exit…
This time, as he headed to Zhou Qiaoqiao’s office,
Xu Mo had a tail following him.
Well, a dragon tail.
The dragon lady wouldn’t leave his side.
Even though Xu Mo told her to wait in the president’s office and not follow,
she didn’t listen.
What could Xu Mo do?
If she wanted to follow, so be it.
But An Youyi’s presence wasn’t entirely bad.
This was Xu Mo’s first time visiting Zhou Qiaoqiao’s office,
and having a bodyguard along was a good precaution.
Knock, knock, knock—
“What is it?”
Zhou Qiaoqiao’s pleasant voice came from inside the office.
Xu Mo steadied himself. “It’s me, Xu Mo.”
Moments later, hurried footsteps approached,
followed by the sound of the door swinging open.
“You’re here!”
The devil woman’s delighted voice rang out,
filled with surprise and joy.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
