Chapter 21: Is He the Chairman?

Amidst the incredulous gazes of everyone present, Ye Chen slowly stood up.

All eyes in the banquet hall instantly focused on him.

“Ye Chen, what are you doing! Sit down quickly!” Ma Lan exclaimed in fright.

He should consider the occasion! With so many big shots present, not a single one dared to stand up. What was Ye Chen, a useless son-in-law, trying to show off at this moment?

Wang Yunkai and Wang Yunfei exchanged glances, both thinking, “No way, the chairman of the Dihao Group can’t really be him, right?”

But then they shook their heads again.

Impossible. If he were really the chairman of Dihao, how could he be scolded so mercilessly by Ma Lan?

“What are you doing, you useless waste! Hurry up and sit down!” Xiao Hailong shouted from the stage, his face dark.

Ye Chen shot him a cold glance, then walked straight to Wang Dongxue’s side, completely ignoring the astonished looks from everyone, and whispered a few words in her ear.

Wang Dongxue nodded slightly as she listened.

This scene made everyone’s hearts tighten in an instant.

Wang Dongxue! Vice Chairman of the Dihao Group, a renowned beauty in Jinling! How could Ye Chen, a useless son-in-law, know her? And judging by their interaction, their relationship seemed quite good.

After speaking, Ye Chen disregarded the gazes of the crowd and stepped out of the hall to chase after Xiao Churan.

Wang Dongxue, however, stood up, walked onto the stage, took the microphone, and said to the bewildered audience, “Hello everyone, I am Wang Dongxue. Mr. Ye Chen encountered our chairman outside, and the chairman asked him to convey a message to me.”

Upon hearing that Ye Chen was not the chairman of Dihao, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Yunkai let out a breath and disdainfully muttered, “It’s just a chance encounter. To go to such lengths to curry favor with someone’s assistant is just pathetic.”

Wang Yunfei shrugged and laughed, “That’s how small fry are.”

At this moment, Wang Dongxue glanced at Old Lady Xiao, her expression turning cold: “The chairman has asked me to inform everyone…”

“From now on, the Dihao Group will terminate its cooperation with the Xiao family, and the signed contracts are declared void!”

“Boom!”

The crowd erupted in chaos, as no one expected Wang Dongxue to say such a thing.

This sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.

Old Lady Xiao’s face turned pale in an instant, and she anxiously asked, “Vice Chairman Wang, what is the reason for this? Has the Xiao family done something wrong?”

She had invited all the prominent figures in Jinling today, hoping to use this opportunity to make a name for the Xiao family.

If the cooperation fell through in front of everyone, the Xiao family would likely be trampled underfoot by all.

Wang Dongxue replied, “This project was originally a collaboration due to our chairman’s recognition of Ms. Xiao Churan, but you insisted on having a mysterious person take charge of it. I’m sorry, but we cannot accept that!”

After finishing her words, Wang Dongxue put down the microphone and left without looking back.

Old Lady Xiao’s face turned ashen, and she slumped onto the stage.

She never imagined that her momentary cleverness would ruin this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Had she known it would turn out like this, she would never have allowed Xiao Hailong to replace Xiao Churan as the director.

Xiao Hailong was equally confused. What was going on? It seemed Wang Dongxue was intentionally targeting him, but he hadn’t offended her at all!

Xiao Hailong couldn’t help but ask Old Lady Xiao, “Grandma, the director’s appointment has already been announced. You won’t go back on your word, will you?”

Old Lady Xiao struggled to stand up, raised her hand, and slapped him, angrily scolding, “You brat, and you still want to think about the director position at a time like this! Hurry up and go plead with Churan!”

…

After Ye Chen chased outside, he found that Xiao Churan hadn’t gone far; she was just squatting in a secluded corner by the hotel, crying pitifully.

He slowly approached, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her shoulders, saying, “Wife, don’t be sad. The director position of the Xiao family isn’t a treasure; it’s no big deal if you don’t get it…”

“You don’t understand. If I become the director, my parents can hold their heads high in the Xiao family. How could Grandma go back on her word…” Xiao Churan sobbed, unable to articulate her feelings.

Ye Chen continued to comfort her, “Maybe they’ll come to ask you to be the director soon. If you keep crying like this, you won’t look good when you go on stage later…”

Xiao Churan choked, “How is that possible? Grandma has already said it; there won’t be another chance. You should go back in and leave me alone for a bit…”

Just then, Old Lady Xiao and Xiao Hailong rushed out of the banquet hall.

The elderly lady was out of breath from running, and behind her was a large crowd of people who had come out to watch the commotion.

Once Xiao Hailong emerged, he spotted Ye Chen and Xiao Churan.

He quickly ran over, looking down at the tearful Xiao Churan, and blurted out, “Churan, hurry and chase after Vice Chairman Wang! Tell her not to terminate our cooperation!”

Xiao Churan looked confused. “Terminate cooperation? Why?”

Xiao Hailong angrily replied, “You’re still pretending to be innocent! You must have instructed Vice Chairman Wang to embarrass me in public. If you don’t fix this, I won’t let you off the hook!”

Slap!

Old Lady Xiao angrily slapped Xiao Hailong again, scolding, “You brat, how can you talk to your sister like that? She is the director of our Xiao Group!”

Xiao Hailong panicked, “Grandma… didn’t you say I would be the director?”

Old Lady Xiao retorted, “If it weren’t for you drugging me, would I have changed my mind at the last minute? If you keep being unreasonable, get out of the Xiao family!”

Having been slapped twice by the old lady, Xiao Hailong felt extreme anger but dared not express it, so he could only swallow his frustration.

Old Lady Xiao then turned to Xiao Churan and said, “Churan, I’m begging you. You are now the director of the Xiao family. Quickly go and explain to Vice Chairman Wang. Otherwise, our Xiao family will be finished!”

Xiao Churan looked at Ye Chen in confusion.

Ye Chen shrugged and said, “I told you they would come to ask you to be the director. You didn’t believe me, and now look, your face is all smeared with tears…”

Xiao Churan’s face flushed with embarrassment as she wiped her tears and said, “Then I’ll contact Dihao and see what happens.”

After saying that, she dialed Wang Dongxue’s number.

All eyes were on her.

Moments later, the call connected, and Xiao Churan said, “Hello, Vice Chairman Wang. Grandma asked me to explain that I should be promoted to the director of the Xiao family, responsible for the cooperation with Dihao. Could you give us another chance…?”

Wang Dongxue chuckled and said, “If you are the director and can take charge, then there’s no problem. The cooperation can continue. But if it’s someone else, then it’s all off the table…”

“Vice Chairman Wang… thank you so much…”

Xiao Churan had been puzzled about this matter all along. It seemed that the Dihao Group had come solely to help her, which was too unusual.

Wang Dongxue smiled and said, “This is all the chairman’s intention. If there’s a chance in the future, the chairman will personally explain everything to you…”

Xiao Churan felt even more confused. Who exactly was the chairman? She had never met him, so why was he helping her at every turn?

“Then, could you please return to the banquet hall?” Xiao Churan asked nervously.

The other party had left in anger, clearly provoked by the Xiao family. Asking her to return now seemed a bit unreasonable.

But to her surprise, Wang Dongxue readily agreed.

Soon, everyone saw Wang Dongxue’s car returning to the hotel entrance.

At this moment, the gazes of everyone looking at Xiao Churan were filled with shock and awe.