CHAPTER 250: CHAPTER 235 MU SHUOQIAN IS SO RELIABLE

Gu Qili sat down beside her, casually handing her a banana, and together they watched the TV.

"According to the latest news report, Qi Technology was exposed this morning for highly replicating the shell design of an obscure mobile phone vendor MC with their latest release of the new generation smartphones. The vendor has filed a lawsuit with the relevant authorities, and the verdict today ordered Qi Technology to halt sales of this new product, with an urgent recall of already sold products implicated in infringement. Qi Technology was affected and their stocks were once halted from trading. It is reported that Qi Technology is actively appealing the decision."

Suddenly realizing the implication, she said, "Isn’t Qi Technology the company of Luan Yi’s grandfather, the prestigious Qi Family?"

"Yes, it is," Gu Qili nodded, Qi Technology is indeed Qi Meihui’s maiden family.

"You were bitten by a snake yesterday, and today Qi Technology was exposed. Do you think there’s a connection between the two?" Mickey stared at the TV, took a fierce bite of a banana, and after biting, realized something was amiss, as she tasted the astringency in her mouth—the banana peel was unpeeled.

What Mickey said was exactly what Gu Qili was thinking too. She absolutely did not believe these two incidents were coincidental. Moreover, for a big company like Qi Technology, it would not be possible to not engage in PR after the lawsuit result, but the media reported it immediately causing Qi Technology’s stocks to fall. It was feared that there’s already chaos within Qi Technology.

Although there was no conclusive information from the authorities yet, and who had released the snake could not be determined, the only person she had conflicts with at the restaurant was Luan Yi.

All she lacked now was solid evidence.

Not feeling surprised in the slightest, Gu Qili took a bite of the banana and said, "Mu Shuoqian has never been a magnanimous person."

"But it’s the Qi Family we’re talking about, while not comparable to the six major families, they’re still a noble and prosperous clan. Most importantly, the Qi Family and the Mu Family are related by marriage." Mickey shook her head repeatedly, yet her eyes shone brightly, "Mu Shuoqian is really good to you; he’s not even afraid of offending the Qi Family for you."

"If it wasn’t for Luan Yi’s own doing, Mu Shuoqian wouldn’t bother with them. Aren’t you going to watch that variety show? You’d better change the channel quickly."

"Oh right, I almost forgot, ’Couple’s Challenge’." Mickey pressed for the channel she wanted, but her mouth kept rambling, "I think Mu Shuoqian is just too MAN and reliable. Does he have a younger brother? Introduce him to me."

Gu Qili almost choked on her banana, looking at her with a mix of laughter and tears, "Now that you mention it, he does have a younger brother who’s about to take the college entrance exam. How about it? Do you want me to introduce you?"

"Better spare me, I’m not interested in someone so young."

"As if you’re that old, you’re only twenty-two, just four years older than him," Gu Qili watched the TV, thinking of Mu Fan’s annoying demeanor, she couldn’t stop mocking, "Compared to his brother, he’s too green, definitely not your type."

"Oh right, my dad heard you were injured, and specifically made a soup for you. He kept reminding me to let you drink it while it’s hot before he left."

Although Gu Qili had just finished breakfast, she didn’t want to disappoint Mickey’s dad’s kindness and fetched the thermos with two soup bowls. They watched TV while sipping the hot soup together.

The issue of Qi Technology’s infringement rapidly escalated throughout the day. Not only did Qi Technology’s stocks plummet, but their mobile phone retail stores nationwide also faced a wave of returns. A large batch of orders were sent back, resulting in a massive inventory backlog in their warehouses. Moreover, as the infringement was solely Qi Technology’s fault, they also had to bear the responsibility for compensation.

In the office of Qi Technology, Qi Yexin hurriedly pushed open the door, followed by his executive assistant Han Hao and his eldest son Qi Chuan.

"Dad, if you don’t come back to take charge, Qi Technology won’t be able to hold on," Qi Chuan said with a furrowed brow, running a couple of steps to the desk to pull out a chair for Qi Yexin.

Qi Yexin, well into his fifties, was still full of vigor, "Didn’t we have PR handle this news? Didn’t MC agree to settle this privately? How could the news have leaked out all of a sudden?"

"I confirmed with MC first thing this morning, they didn’t leak the news. Aside from MC, only a few high-level executives at Qi Technology knew about it."

Qi Yexin rubbed his temples, stretched out a big hand: "Han Hao, show me the documents."

"Yes, Chairman." Han Hao handed the well-organized documents to Qi Yexin. The documents were thick, and he succinctly briefed him, "Qi Technology now faces a huge gap in its cash flow. All the new products are stuck in the warehouse, unsaleable, meaning there isn’t enough working capital for other production lines. If this gap can’t be filled, the other production lines will also shut down eventually, and by that time, the impact on Qi Technology will be the greatest."

"Have we reached out to the banks?" Qi Yexin flipped through the documents, adding, "Chairman Li of the China Merchants Bank is an old friend of mine. Did you ask him?"

Han Hao hesitated, sneaking a look at Qi Chuan. Qi Chuan had no such reservations and directly said, "Chairman Li switched off his phone, we’ve been unable to contact him. Other banks, as soon as they hear our company is currently in the eye of the storm, they all avoid us like the plague, fearing they’ll get involved, and what’s more, the banks that lent us money before are taking advantage of this situation to press for repayment."

When it came to these fair-weather banks, Qi Chuan was fuming with anger.

When the wall falls, everyone pushes it over; relying on the bank is now unlikely.

"Where’s Meihui? Call Meihui, at this point only the Mu Family can help." Qi Yexin naturally wouldn’t forget his wealthy and powerful in-laws. The marriage alliance with the Mu Family was now showing its importance.

"Meihui has returned, and has been here for quite a while already."

"Returned?" Qi Yexin snapped the file shut with a noise, furrowing his brows deeply, "What is she doing back here for, instead of fostering good relations with the Mu Family?"

"It seems she had a quarrel with her brother-in-law, and then she came back."

"Nonsense, even when angry and quarreling there should be limits. Tell her to go back immediately, and then seek help from Mu Haotian. As long as Mu Haotian is willing to invest, Qi Family will have no fear of not getting through this tough time."

"I understand, Dad." Qi Chuan was about to head out but suddenly thought of something, "Dad, I suspect this crisis has been engineered by someone intent on bringing down our Qi Family. Otherwise, how could such tightly sealed information leak so easily? And those media outlets that we had already greeted have also reneged on their promises, surely someone has offered them a bigger benefit."

Qi Yexin had of course considered this possibility as well, his fingers tapping on the desk as he fell into deep thought.

No matter who this person is, he must find and expose them as quickly as possible.

Over the years, the Qi Family had offended few, and even fewer had the capability to bring down the Qi Family; he really couldn’t figure out who would have such power and audacity.

Just as Qi Yexin was unable to make head or tail of it, his secretary suddenly knocked on the door in a hurry, "Chairman, Young Master Qian is here."

"Young Master Qian?" Qi Yexin had not yet reacted when the secretary stepped aside, bowing respectfully to the man who was stepping in.

"Mu Shuoqian?" Qi Yexin exchanged a glance with Qi Chuan, puzzled as to why Mu Shuoqian would suddenly visit their company. The Qi Family and he were not related and had no business dealings at all.

Despite the surprise, Qi Yexin still got up with a smile, "Shuoqian, why have you come over? You didn’t even give your Uncle Qi a heads-up?"

Mu Shuoqian walked straight up to his desk without glancing to the sides, pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his long legs naturally, casually straightening his suit jacket and smiling faintly, "You were looking for me, so of course I came."

Qi Yexin was confused, when had he ever summoned him?

"Han Hao, what are you standing around for? Hurry up and make a cup of coffee for Young Master Qian." Qi Chuan immediately gave Han Hao a meaningful look; this was the second son of the Mu Family, the future head of the Mu Family. If they could take good care of him, perhaps he could help the Qi Family through this crisis.

Han Hao hesitated for a moment, quickly said "Okay," and was about to turn away when he heard Mu Shuoqian say indifferently, "No need, I’ll say a few words and then leave."

His gaze casually swept over the file that Qi Yexin had thrown on the desk; even though it was just a cover, he seemed to grasp its contents, his clear and magnetic voice slowly reading, "Qi Family’s stock plummets, facing a massive shortfall of funds, in urgent need of a large amount of cash to tide over, banks are afraid of getting into trouble and steer clear, the Qi Family can only turn to their in-laws, the Mu Family, for help, and to ask for aid from the Mu Family naturally involves sending the second daughter, Qi Meihui."

After saying these words, Mu Shuoqian tossed the file onto the desk without caring about the sullen faces of everyone in the room.

His arm bent to rest on the chair’s armrest, his long fingers stroking his perfectly shaped chin, "Am I right, Mr. Qi Senior?"

After the initial shock, Qi Yexin suddenly stood up furiously, his old face turning red with anger, pointing at Mu Shuoqian he loudly demanded, "Mu Shuoqian, why are you doing this? The Qi Family and your family have always kept to ourselves, we’ve lived in peace, and besides, we are relatives. What good does this do for you?"

He was so astute, immediately seeing the clues in Mu Shuoqian’s words. Just a second before he was still wondering why Mu Shuoqian would visit them for no apparent reason, and the next second, he was like a lit fuse, utterly unable to control the fire that exploded in an instant.

More than that, he couldn’t figure it out, really couldn’t understand; in this short time, he had already carefully searched his memory, he did not recall ever offending this man.

"Right, Young Master Qian, why would you do this? My second sister is your sister-in-law after all." Qi Chuan also spoke up from the side. He couldn’t flare up directly like Qi Yexin did, but his tone wasn’t much better, "Aren’t you causing infighting?"

Mu Shuoqian seemed indifferent, his gaze briefly shifting to the door. Xiao Ran, who had been standing there without entering, immediately walked over. He spread a piece of paper in front of Qi Yexin.

Qi Yexin saw three words at the top of the paper: Confession Letter.