187: Chapter 186 Composure Beneath the Stockings: Gu Qianqian's Desperate Counterattack

Gu Qianqian glanced at the document; the cover was printed with "Hanhang Heavy Industry Asset Restructuring New Proposal."

Fang Zhiyuan sat with his legs crossed, leaning forward.

"President Gu, didn't think we'd meet again so soon, did you?"

Gu Qianqian eyed him coldly, adjusting her posture beneath the table.

The hem of her dark gray pencil skirt slid up her thigh by half an inch, the taut fabric accentuating a rounded curve.

Her calves, encased in black silk stockings, were pressed together, the heels of her pointed pumps digging firmly into the carpet.

The new stockings she had put on that morning possessed a translucent shimmer, standing out starkly under the lights.

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Fang Zhiyuan tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair.

"When you were fighting on the Qinsheng Group board of directors, you, Gu Qianqian, were quite the formidable force."

"You swept me and several old shareholders from the Wang family out the door; your methods were ruthless enough."

Fang Zhiyuan tugged at his tie, his tone sharp and caustic.

"Since you won't let me have an easy time, nobody else should expect one either."

"I am now an Independent Director of Hanhang Heavy Industry."

"Qinsheng Group has been expanding too quickly lately; I know exactly how stretched your capital chain is."

Gu Qianqian's brows furrowed.

"Fang Zhiyuan, you signed a non-disclosure agreement."

Fang Zhiyuan spread his hands, sporting an expression that said, 'What are you going to do about it?'

"My joining Hanhang is a normal professional duty; that's not something you can control."

If her trump cards were exposed to the other side, this negotiation would already be half lost from the start.

Li Haibo let out a laugh and stood up from his chair.

He reached out and picked up the 2.5 billion acquisition letter of intent originally drafted by Qinsheng.

This letter of intent had been finalized just two days ago as their absolute bottom line.

Li Haibo gripped the top and bottom of the letter of intent with both hands.

The harsh sound of tearing paper echoed through the conference room.

Li Haibo stacked the torn halves of the letter of intent and ripped them apart again with force.

He tossed the white scraps of paper, scattering them across the deep red conference table.

The paper scraps drifted down, with a few landing on Gu Qianqian's folder.

The two assistants in black suits standing behind Li Haibo straightened their backs, casting contemptuous glances at the other side.

"President Gu, that crappy little proposal of yours from Qinsheng is void."

Li Haibo pressed his hands onto the tabletop, staring down at Gu Qianqian.

"Let me make this clear."

Li Haibo pointed to the tall, thin man on his right, Zhou Ming.

"Asia-Pacific Capital has already promised to provide Hanhang with ample bridge financing."

Zhou Ming pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and stood up.

"President Gu, CEO Qin, the first tranche of one billion in funds from Asia-Pacific Capital will hit Hanhang's corporate account this afternoon."

"Hanhang will have no trouble getting through the current crisis."

Zhou Ming smoothed the hem of his suit jacket with both hands.

"The thing our hedge fund lacks the least is cash flow."

"CEO Li now has ample funds and has no need to sell assets at a discount just to appease others."

The blue-eyed, blond-haired foreigner sitting to Li Haibo's left spoke in stiff Chinese.

"You Qinsheng, a local enterprise."

"You can't handle a project this big; bite off more than you can chew and you'll choke."

After the foreigner finished, he spread his hands and shrugged, and several people from Hanhang nearby laughed aloud.

The contemptuous laughter echoed in the spacious conference room.

The rise and fall of Gu Qianqian's chest quickened.

The collar of her dark gray professional suit rose and fell with her breathing.

She placed the carbon pen in her hand onto the table.

"CEO Li, since you have obtained the bridge financing, why bother sitting here today?"

Li Haibo pulled back his chair and sat down again.

"When doing business, one must always strive for decency."

He raised three fingers and waved them in the air.

"Three billion."

"If Qinsheng wants to take over, you must re-sign the contract at this price."

"Even if you know Hanhang has a high debt ratio, you have to swallow it at this premium."

Gu Qianqian sneered.

"Three billion? CEO Li must be joking."

Fang Zhiyuan chimed in from the side with cold words.

"President Gu, this isn't a joke; this is the current market price."

"Qinsheng has already spent tens of millions on due diligence for this deal."

"All sorts of travel expenses, legal fees, and audit fees."

Fang Zhiyuan tapped the table heavily with his knuckles.

"If we can't reach an agreement today, all your initial investments will go down the drain."

"With these sunk costs, how are you, the newly appointed CEO, going to explain it to the board?"

Li Haibo leaned back against the chair and crossed his legs.

"I'll give you five minutes to consider."

"Sign this new three-billion acquisition deal, and we're still friends."

"If you can't sign, once you walk out that door, don't even think about touching the shipbuilding business in the Yangtze River Delta again."

The few people from Hanhang Heavy Industry were all staring straight at Gu Qianqian.

They were certain that Qinsheng wouldn't dare to give up this lucrative piece of meat.

The group on the other side had come prepared; they had even calculated their bottom line to a tee.

The bridge financing from Asia-Pacific Capital was the leverage they used to make such exorbitant demands.

If not for the two overseas pledges that Qin Feng had pointed out in the office last night.

If Qin Feng hadn't provided the plan yesterday.

She would be completely helpless in the face of Li Haibo's power play today.

She would not only force the company to cough up three billion to take over a mess, but she would also be ridiculed by people like Fang Zhiyuan.

The tens of millions in due diligence fees were nothing compared to a loss of three billion.

Once led around by the nose by these people, Qinsheng Group's capital chain would completely break within three months.

Gu Qianqian looked out of the corner of her eye at the man sitting beside her.

Qin Feng was completely ignoring the clamor from Li Haibo and Fang Zhiyuan.

It was as if he were watching a monkey show at a circus.

His gaze casually swept across the conference table, glancing at the smug faces opposite him.

The act this group was putting on for themselves was truly spectacular.

Fang Zhiyuan, that remnant of the Wang family, was jumping the highest.

Qin Feng was in no rush to reveal his trump cards.

Let this group hop around a little longer; the higher they climb, the louder they will crash when they fall.

Qin Feng's gaze shifted down two inches, landing on Gu Qianqian.

The waistline wrapped by the dark gray suit was extremely tight.

The legs beneath the table were pressed tightly together.

Through the gap where the stockings and the skirt hem met, a snow-white, creamy skin tone was visible.

Qin Feng muttered "upright gentleman" to himself and withdrew his gaze.

He placed the coffee cup in his hand onto the solid wood tabletop.

The sound of the porcelain hitting the wood wasn't loud, but it made everyone around look over.

Zhou Ming frowned as he watched Qin Feng's indifferent demeanor.

"CEO Qin, it seems you have an opinion on the three-billion quote."

Qin Feng raised his eyelids and glanced at Zhou Ming.

"Asia-Pacific Capital is going to give you one billion in bridge financing?"

Zhou Ming lifted his chin.

"It arrives this afternoon."

Qin Feng nodded, tapping his fingers on the table twice.

"One billion is not enough."

Everyone in the conference room was stunned.

Li Haibo thought he had misheard and leaned forward.

"Qin Feng, stop playing games here; are you going to sign the three billion or not?"

Qin Feng leaned back against the large chair back, adjusting to a more comfortable posture.

He turned his head to look at Gu Qianqian.

"President Gu, take out the materials I asked you to organize yesterday."

Gu Qianqian took a deep breath and loosened her hand, which was gripping the hem of her skirt.

She opened the folder beside her and pulled out a dozen sheets of reports printed with dense data.

She pushed the black-and-white reports to the center of the conference table.

Gu Qianqian's voice returned to its usual coldness.

"CEO Li, since you have one billion in bridge financing."

"Then please think about how to fill the hole in that shell company in the Cayman Islands first."

The smile on Li Haibo's face froze instantly.

Fang Zhiyuan's fingers, which were tapping the table, also stopped in mid-air.

The smugness on Zhou Ming's face faded by half.

Gu Qianqian's fingers tapped heavily on the report twice.

"Seahawk Holdings Limited."

"Within three months, two overseas asset pledges."

"One was the usage rights for a shipyard in Da Nang, Vietnam."

"The other was forty-seven percent of Hanhang Heavy Industry's core patent licensing."

Gu Qianqian stared into Li Haibo's eyes, spitting out the words one by one.

"Did you disclose these items to Asia-Pacific Capital in your bridge financing application?"