129 The Zhong family is saved.

The next day, Zhong Yun went to school as usual. At noon, as he was wondering whom to have lunch with, someone approached him.

"Manager Ou, how do you have the time to come here?"

Zhong Yun was truly surprised to run into Ou Feng, a man with a thousand things to attend to, at Moon Lake Academy. Considering the heavy foot traffic at the Pearl Building, how could he possibly get away?

"Don't tell me your daughter or son goes to school here? Introduce me sometime."

"I came here specifically to find you," Ou Feng said.

"Find me?" Zhong Yun wondered. Then, he remembered something and realized why he had come.

"There is someone you might want to meet."

Ou Feng’s tone was strange, sounding both like a request and an attempt to make it impossible for him to refuse.

"Meet whom?" Zhong Yun asked, finding this different from what he had expected.

"The owner of that Jialan Harp," Ou Feng replied. "She wants to thank you in person."

"Oh?" Zhong Yun was quite interested in the powerful figure capable of acquiring a Jialan Harp. After seeing the instrument, he had specifically looked it up and discovered that there was only one such harp in all of Davor.

The Jialan database indicated that the main material for this type of harp was the trunk of a World Tree, and only a master luthier at the third rank or higher could craft one. This meant that such instruments were no longer being produced.

Five thousand years after the fall of the Jialan civilization, it was truly remarkable that a complete Jialan Harp still existed. Moreover, even within Jialan, such a harp was worth a fortune, far beyond the reach of an ordinary person, let alone in a mid-level civilized nation.

Therefore, he was very curious to see who this person was, possessing such immense power to obtain something like a Jialan Harp.

"Now?" Zhong Yun asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.

"You haven't had lunch yet, have you? She would like to invite you to dine with her."

Once again, he arrived at the nine-hundredth floor of the Pearl Building. It was his second time here, but Ou Feng did not linger. He took a few turns and entered another elevator.

Stepping out of the elevator, Zhong Yun realized there was an additional floor above. To his surprise, the decor was minimalist; the stark white walls made the spacious area feel even emptier.

There were no ornaments on the walls, only a few hanging paintings. Although Zhong Yun lacked an eye for art, he could tell these were not the work of any famous masters. Yet, he felt a strange sense of familiarity from these amateurish pieces.

Ou Feng led Zhong Yun through the vast, empty hall to a door made of opaque crystal. "Young Miss, the person has been brought here."

The door opened slowly. Looking past Ou Feng’s back, Zhong Yun saw hair like a black waterfall, and a strong sense of familiarity surged in his heart.

***

"Manager Hong of Zheng Biao Bank has rejected our loan request."

In the office of the president of Zhong’s Machinery, a sharp and capable-looking man in his thirties was reporting to Zhong Pingjiang.

Zhong Pingjiang sat in his chair, his brows furrowed. He said nothing, simply waving the man away. After the assistant left, Zhong Pingjiang slammed his fist onto the table in frustration.

Zhong’s Machinery had fallen into unprecedented trouble, and there was a mastermind behind it all.

A while ago, believing he had lost his beloved son, his wife had fallen into deep grief. With the company running smoothly, he had spent more time accompanying her, leaving the daily management to his trusted managers.

Little did he know that during this time, while he was oblivious, a shocking trap had been laid.

A large company had sought to cooperate with Zhong’s Machinery, wanting to purchase a large quantity of "Zhong’s Stabilizers." This should have been negotiated with the joint venture between Zhong’s and the Giant Machinery Group, as their finances were separate.

However, the joint venture had just been established, and its production capacity could not meet current market demand; its orders were already backed up for a year.

The large company was in urgent need of a batch of "Zhong’s Stabilizers" and was willing to pay ten percent above market price. Coincidentally, Zhong’s Machinery held an order for a batch of stabilizers for which a deposit had already been paid, with delivery due in one month.

After receiving his subordinate’s report, Zhong Pingjiang agreed to the deal, thinking it was a lucrative move—a simple matter of flipping an order would net him over a billion.

He personally went to sign the contract, but who could have imagined that the contract he saw with his own eyes would be switched unnoticed, right there on the spot in front of a notary?

It was only on the day Zhong Yun returned that his legal advisor discovered the issue: the price, which was supposed to be ten percent above market value, had been changed to one-tenth of the market value.

With just a few words changed, Zhong’s Machinery had lost over ten billion. The legal advisor immediately contacted Zhong Pingjiang.

While ten billion was a significant sum for the current Zhong Group, it was not an unrecoverable loss, especially since the joint venture producing the stabilizers was controlled by Zhong’s—he could simply owe it to them.

Though the loss caused Zhong Pingjiang to grit his teeth, he had no evidence and could only swallow his pride, treating it as a lesson learned. The company’s foundation remained intact.

However, he soon realized things were not so simple. During an audit, he discovered an extra several billion in the company’s accounts. He sensed something suspicious.

After reviewing all recent transactions, he discovered to his shock that these billions had been accumulated through thousands of small transactions.

Because Zhong Pingjiang had authorized the general manager to handle transactions up to five million, the manager could act on his own for anything below that amount. None of these thousands of transactions exceeded five million.

A sense of dread washed over him. When he checked the details, he found they were all related to that same order for "Zhong’s Stabilizers" sold to the large company.

At that moment, Zhong Pingjiang felt a chill run down his spine. A conspiracy—this was a massive conspiracy.

His general manager had resigned the very day the contract was signed. Since this manager had handled all these transactions, the scent of a plot became unmistakable.

Selling the same goods twice was commercial fraud. Had he remained ignorant, both buyers would have shown up on the delivery date, with catastrophic consequences.

Fortunately, he had discovered it in time. Otherwise, he would have been sued into bankruptcy and potentially faced prison.

Now, he had no choice but to break the contract. He had to discuss the specifics with his legal advisor, but one thing was certain: Zhong’s would have to pay a massive penalty.

According to the terms, the party breaking the contract had to pay ten times the contract amount—a standard practice in the industry.

What he couldn’t understand was why the mastermind would use such a convoluted scheme if they had this "killer move" all along. If the original price had been maintained, Zhong’s would have been liable for over a hundred billion; now, it was only about ten billion.

If this was all directed by a mastermind, such a blunder seemed out of character.

Puzzled, Zhong Pingjiang called all his lawyers to discuss a counter-strategy. It was actually simple: before the contract expired, either party had the right to cancel, provided they bore the responsibility for damages. By acting first, he could avoid being sued for double-dealing later.

The next day, Zhong Pingjiang notified the large company that the contract was canceled for certain reasons. Zhong’s would have to pay a penalty of over ten billion within a set timeframe.

The current Zhong’s could not scrape together that much cash. Zhong Pingjiang chose to apply for a bank loan. Given Zhong’s potential and his own connections, this shouldn’t have been difficult.

Yet, he was met with closed doors at every bank and investment firm. He couldn't borrow a single cent, which was unimaginable.

Having been in the banking world for over a decade, Zhong Pingjiang knew the ropes. Zhong’s Machinery had limitless potential; there was no reason for any bank to refuse them.

Unless, all the banks had colluded to finish him off. It sounded ridiculous, but it was the only possibility. In the financial industry, there was indeed one entity capable of this.

Zhong Pingjiang now knew who the mastermind was.

If Zhong’s could not repay its debts, it would have to declare bankruptcy or sell its shares. Neither was an option he was willing to entertain.

Zhong’s Machinery was his life’s work. He would never hand it over.

Money, money... his hair was practically turning white with worry. Did he really have to sell his shares?

He slumped in his chair, looking at his cluttered desk. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a bank card partially hidden by documents.

After a moment, he remembered: his son had given him this card last night. He had absentmindedly left it on the desk that morning.

Thinking of his son, he felt a warmth in his heart and picked up the card. It was a gesture of his son’s love. As he looked at the crystal bank card, he noticed a butterfly-shaped mark on the back.

This was...

Zhong Pingjiang was stunned. He recognized the mark—it was the star-rated card for the National Grand Bank, reserved for users with over a billion in funds.

A billion?

Recalling his son’s solemn words, "Don't ask me where this money came from," and looking at the butterfly mark, Zhong Pingjiang felt his throat go dry.

How much money was actually in there?

He logged into the National Grand Bank’s website, his hands trembling as he entered the card number and password. Seeing the balance that popped up, Zhong Pingjiang jumped to his feet, a look of wild joy on his face. "Zhong’s... is saved!"

***

On the 901st floor of the Pearl Building, Zhong Yun was wondering where he had seen this woman before when she turned around. As if struck by lightning, Zhong Yun froze, his eyes widening to their limit. His expression was exactly like the one Elder Huang had worn when they first met—as if he had seen a ghost.

So he really knew the Young Miss? But the Young Miss had left Davor nearly a decade ago. Where had they met? Seeing the expression on Zhong Yun’s face, Ou Feng left, filled with great bewilderment.