317: Chapter 317 Rolling Out

Shen Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said:

"Regardless of how little we care for him, he's still our investor. Alright, hurry up and catch your subway, don't worry about me."

Chen Guangke glanced at the time.

"Fine... then tell me tomorrow what he actually came to talk to you about. I'm heading to the subway now."

Shen Yan nodded perfunctorily.

After parting ways with Chen Guangke, he walked toward the lounge next to his office.

"CEO Gu?"

Hearing the voice, Gu Mingming looked up from his phone screen.

"President Shen, your meeting is over."

Shen Yan nodded and said to Gu Mingming, "Sorry, I didn't realize the meeting would last so long. Come on, let's go to the office to talk."

Gu Mingming had no objections and stood up to follow Shen Yan into the adjacent office.

Once inside, Shen Yan brewed tea for Gu Mingming while asking, "Did you come to see me today to talk about the Artificial Intelligence project?"

Hearing Shen Yan's question, Gu Mingming replied with a pale face, "No... well, sort of."

Shen Yan found it a bit strange.

He placed the freshly brewed black tea in front of Gu Mingming and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Gu Mingming curled his lips into a bleak smile.

"Something did happen indeed. I... I'm leaving."

As his voice trailed off,

Shen Yan was stunned for a moment and asked:

"You're leaving? Where are you going?"

Gu Mingming pursed his lips and replied, "I don't know either. Supposedly, it's some remote wilderness."

Some remote wilderness?

Could it be that he was being reassigned?

Thinking this, Shen Yan voiced his suspicion.

"That's right, I have indeed been reassigned."

"They say it's to have me look for projects elsewhere, but in reality, everyone knows he's exiling me."

Gu Mingming's voice trembled slightly; it was clear he was unhappy with this outcome.

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Yan asked, "Who is 'he'?"

Gu Mingming picked up the scalding black tea, blew on it twice, and said, "Who else but my grandfather could have me reassigned to such a place?"

Hearing this, Shen Yan nodded and asked again, "Do you want to go?"

Gu Mingming suddenly burst out laughing as if he had heard a joke.

"Looking at me in this half-dead state, do I look like I want to go to a place like that?"

With that, he wiped the smile from his face, took a sip of tea, and said, "I didn't come here for any other reason than to tell you that the follow-up investment we discussed before probably isn't going to happen."

"By reassigning me to such a remote wilderness, he's simply telling me that I've been kicked out of the line of succession."

After he finished speaking, Shen Yan walked over to brew some tea for himself.

While brewing, he asked Gu Mingming, "So you came here just to tell me that you can't continue investing in our company's project?"

Gu Mingming didn't answer.

Only after Shen Yan finished brewing his tea and sat back down on the sofa did he say, "I heard you've been getting very close to my grandfather lately, visiting him time and again."

Shen Yan admitted it quite readily.

"That's right. I have indeed been quite close to your grandfather lately, and I even reached a cooperation agreement with him."

Hearing this, Gu Mingming hesitated to speak.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Shen Yan told him, "Just say what's on your mind, don't worry so much."

Gu Mingming: "...Could you help me talk to my grandfather and ask him not to reassign me?"

"Don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing. If you're willing to help me, I will definitely repay you in any way I can."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yan couldn't help but laugh.

"You truly are Gu Hui's grandson; what the two of you say is practically identical."

Gu Mingming was taken aback, not quite understanding Shen Yan's meaning.

"What do you mean, practically identical?"

Shen Yan shrugged and replied, "A couple of days ago, he said the exact same thing to me. He said that if I helped him, he would be willing to assist me in any way he could."

Gu Mingming was inwardly shocked to hear this.

He knew Shen Yan had been close to Gu Hui recently, but he hadn't expected that the relationship wasn't Shen Yan begging Gu Hui for cooperation, but rather Gu Hui begging Shen Yan.

However, if things were really as Shen Yan said—that Gu Hui was the one seeking cooperation—then his chances of staying at the company were much higher.

With that in mind, Gu Mingming suppressed his surprise and pleaded with Shen Yan, "President Shen, I know my request is very presumptuous, but I really hope you can put in a word with my grandfather for me."

"I'm not asking for anything else, just ask my grandfather to let me stay in the company."

"If I can stay, I'll take responsibility for the project's follow-up investment, regardless of whether my grandfather gives me more funds!"

After he finished, Shen Yan looked up at Gu Mingming and asked, "Why do you want to stay in the Gu Corporation?"

Gu Mingming answered without hesitation, "Because I am also one of the heirs, and I don't want to be kicked out so soon."

Seeing Gu Mingming's honesty, Shen Yan smiled.

"I like honest people. Since you say you want to inherit the Gu Corporation, tell me about your strategy."

Gu Mingming was a bit dumbfounded by Shen Yan's question.

He hadn't expected Shen Yan to ask such a deep question, and he didn't actually have a so-called strategy.

With Gu Xuantian around, it was practically impossible for him to make any moves in the company.

Never mind a strategy; just not being kicked out of the Gu Corporation would already be a significant achievement.

Seeing that he couldn't come up with a plan for a long time, Shen Yan began to lose patience. He asked Gu Mingming, "Don't tell me you've been at the Gu Corporation for so long and don't even have your own people?"

At those words, Gu Mingming fell even more silent.

Although he didn't want to admit it, that was indeed the reality.

Everyone in the company knew he was an illegitimate son and had no power of his own, so no one would choose to side with him.

Shen Yan: "...Alright then, so what are your plans for the future?"

Finally, there was a question Gu Mingming could answer. He cleared his throat and replied, "As long as I can stay in the Gu Corporation, I'll have the capital to take a gamble against Gu Xuantian!"

He finished speaking.

Shen Yan fell into an eerie silence.

He knew Gu Mingming was ambitious, but he didn't realize he was someone who had ambition but no actual strength.

Gu Mingming was about to be kicked out of the Gu Corporation, yet he was still talking about having the capital to gamble against Gu Xuantian.

This was no different from saying, "I don't have any money right now, but I have the capital to sit at the gambling table"—in short, a total blowhard.

Massaging his temples, Shen Yan took a deep breath and said to Gu Mingming, "Forget it, I don't expect you to have any plan that would impress me."