You lied to me.

Lanbiao Factory ultimately adopted Lin Yuan’s suggestion and issued a supplementary financial report before the New Year.

Normally, it was already 2025, and most companies’ financial reports for the previous year had already been released. Lanbiao Factory’s financial report had also already been released.

However, a supplementary financial report was suddenly released just before the Lunar New Year.

In this supplementary financial report, Lanbiao Factory indirectly admitted its failure in the food delivery market and explicitly pointed out that Good Group engaged in unfair competition.

Most importantly, the data in this financial report would lead professional investment analysis institutions to one conclusion—Good Group had pulled far ahead.

The Hong Kong stock market would only close on the afternoon of Lunar New Year’s Eve, so the release time of this financial report gave the stock market ample time to react.

Good Group’s stock price immediately went out of control.

Because currently, there were only two major giants in the domestic food delivery market. With Lanbiao Factory’s defeat, Good Group would naturally dominate. The resulting market increase would immediately be reflected in the stock price.

Good Group’s stock price was instantly driven sky-high.

Good Group’s head boss, General Manager Wang, was in a frenzy for the first time because of the food delivery business.

Originally, Good Group’s food delivery business had been making great strides since the second half of the year, showing a thriving trend in terms of stock price, performance, and public opinion.

But unexpectedly, Good Group’s stock price suddenly went out of control.

General Manager Wang never expected that this was orchestrated by an inconspicuous young man who had been fired by his company.

A high stock price is a good thing, but a stock price that suddenly skyrockets is not.

Significant stock price fluctuations would inevitably lead to regulatory scrutiny, and Good Group clearly could not withstand close inspection. At the same time, scrutiny would feed this volatility back into the domestic food delivery market, as everyone feared that Good Group was maliciously subsidizing merchants and delivery riderss, thereby fabricating financial report data.

This was like being full is good, but stuffing oneself to death could lead to choking.

Good Group’s General Manager Wang was originally waiting to crush Lanbiao Factory next year and reach a new level, but he never expected Lanbiao Factory to self-destruct prematurely.

Although he didn’t expect Lanbiao Factory to have such audacity, he also didn’t believe that Lanbiao Factory alone could stir up such a storm in the stock market.

Having been immersed in the internet venture capital field for a long time, he quickly mobilized various connections to find out which capital was so tactless as to target him so aggressively.

Upon deeper investigation, he discovered that the most hidden capital came from overseas.

In other words, there was an overseas capital force cooperating with Lanbiao Factory’s momentum.

Good Group’s General Manager Wang’s first thought was that Alibaba was behind it, and he even reported Alibaba’s alleged irregular operations through some channels. However, the results of the top-level investigation were: this time, it was not Alibaba at all.

Alibaba had been fined several times by the authorities in recent years, so how could they dare to engage in such illegal operations? Even their founders had become reclusive.

Good Group’s General Manager Wang couldn’t understand it no matter how hard he tried; he could only watch helplessly as his company’s stock soared.

What bothered him even more was that his executives were still very excited, each wanting to quickly unload their shares.

Under such immense profits, Good Group could not remain a monolithic entity.

—

In a flash, there were only a few days left until the 2025 Lunar New Year.

On the night of Xiaonian, Zhang Yan reluctantly packed a few clothes and left. She wouldn’t really spend the New Year with Lin Yuan, otherwise her father would definitely send people to bring her back.

Before leaving, she joked with Xia Ye and Song Xiaoxiao, “Lin Yuan is yours to play with for two days.”

Xia Ye was already used to Zhang Yan’s jokes. Other than issues concerning Lin Yuan, she and Zhang Yan usually got along very well.

Zhang Yan never bullied others, and Xia Ye regarded Zhang Yan as an older sister.

“Xiao Xia, while I’m away, you and my brother should quickly consummate your marriage. Otherwise, I’ll be back in a few days, and you two will have even less of a chance.”

Xia Ye felt a headache coming on, not expecting that even such private matters between her and Lin Yuan hadn’t escaped the other’s notice. She just smiled, truly not knowing what to say.

Today’s Xia Ye was always gentle, like a cup of warm water, or a piece of modeling clay. She seemed to be indifferent to worldly affairs.

“I’m leaving,” Zhang Yan said, casually slinging her backpack over her shoulders. She didn’t even bring a suitcase. “Lin Yuan, see me off.”

“Huh? Aren’t you driving yourself?”

“Just because I’m driving myself doesn’t mean you can’t see me off.”

Lin Yuan had no choice but to oblige.

The two sat in Zhang Yan’s car downstairs for a while.

Zhang Yan wouldn’t actually drive Lin Yuan out and then make him take a taxi back.

“Senior Brother, Good Group’s stock price has soared this time. You must have invested.”

“Of course, why would I miss such a good opportunity to make money? I’d ambush it in advance.”

“Then the question is, my dear brother, how did you know the inside story again?”

Lin Yuan didn’t hide it from her and told her about how he tricked Lanbiao Factory into self-destructing its financial report.

“Why would such a large company listen to your terrible idea?” Zhang Yan naturally sensed the trickery involved.

“Well, mainly because I provided Lanbiao Factory with a detailed future analysis report. With my food delivery algorithm, Lanbiao Factory will definitely have a place in the future. But due to their terrible financial situation, a large number of their executives will have to leave.

The first to go would be General Manager Zhang, the head of their Purple Gold branch.”

Lin Yuan had indeed provided Lanbiao Factory with a detailed analysis report, which was naturally calculated by the computing system.

For an analysis report, data extrapolation is key.

“For those executives, rather than their company being half-dead and themselves being fired later, it’s better to go all out. If they fail, the worst is still getting fired, but if they take a gamble, there’s at least a glimmer of hope. Most importantly, I suggested to them…” Lin Yuan leaned closer to Zhang Yan’s ear and whispered, “I suggested they could buy some shares of Good Group in advance, so no matter what, even if Lanbiao Factory collapses, they can still make a fortune in the stock market.”

Zhang Yan was instantly stunned, “What kind of operation is this? Encouraging the entire company to self-destruct, and then buying the opponent’s stock in advance?”

Lin Yuan looked innocent, “Is there a problem? I even told them very subtly, so even if they recorded it, they couldn’t use it as evidence.”

Zhang Yan shook her head speechlessly, “My dear brother, I always thought you were an upright good person, but how did you learn such villainous tactics so quickly?”

“What can I do? I’m just a product of being beaten and educated by society.”

Zhang Yan thought for a moment, “But… just with these, Good Group’s stock price went sky-high? I don’t think that’s possible, otherwise stock manipulation would be too simple.”

Lin Yuan kept her in suspense, “That’s a long story; how about I tell you in detail after you come back?”

“No, if you don’t tell me, I’ll feel uncomfortable and won’t have a peaceful New Year.”

“If I tell you this, it’s like entrusting my life and fortune to your hands.”

Zhang Yan said anxiously, “Haven’t we reached the point where we can entrust our lives to each other?” Saying that, she pulled Lin Yuan over and kissed him, “First kiss.”

“Huh?” Lin Yuan hadn’t reacted yet.

“Do we have to have a child and sign a contract before you can tell me your secret?” Zhang Yan teased.

“Uh, well, let’s make a note of that for now, after all, having children depends on the timing. Do you remember when we went to Shanghai to catch someone? Last time when I went to my mentor’s house, my two mentors called me aside privately, and one of the things was to resolve that matter.”

Zhang Yan frowned, “Does that matter still need to be resolved? Didn’t you say you got the MAC address by sending the other party some small software?”

Lin Yuan said awkwardly, “I lied to you.”

Zhang Yan was angry, “You bastard. I remember you said it so seriously, but it turns out you were lying to me. Then how many other things have you lied to me about? Do you really like me? You keep using Xia Ye as an excuse not to touch me; is that intentional? We’re going to a hotel right now.”

“Oh, come on, don’t make trouble.” Lin Yuan pressed down on Zhang Yan’s shoulders, “Don’t just jump to conclusions. Our relationship has also grown step by step, right? You can’t expect me to bare my heart to you right away.

Besides, there are many things I haven’t told Xiao Xia either, but that doesn’t stop me from treating her like family.

And there are many things I’ve hidden from my mentor, and my mentor knows I’m hiding things from him, but he hasn’t disowned me as his apprentice because of it.”

After Lin Yuan’s explanation, Zhang Yan’s expression finally improved significantly.