Murong Wan has her own reasons?
Murong Wan stood where she was, staring at the closed door, the smile on her face completely vanishing.
She walked back to her seat and sat down dejectedly.
She picked up her phone and dialed a number.
It rang three times before it was picked up.
"How did it go?"
Lin Tianhao's voice came through the receiver, filled with obvious expectation.
Murong Wan remained silent for a few seconds.
"They've left."
There was a pause on Lin Tianhao's end.
"Left?"
His voice was tinged with dissatisfaction.
"You didn't do as I said?"
Murong Wan closed her eyes.
"I did as you said."
She paused.
"But Yang Yun's boyfriend isn't simple; he saw through it at a glance."
Silence fell on Lin Tianhao's end.
It was a good while before he spoke again.
"He saw through it?"
His voice was full of suspicion.
"How did he see through it?"
Murong Wan opened her eyes.
"He said directly for me to tell you that such petty tricks are useless."
The sound of things being smashed came from Lin Tianhao's end.
"Useless trash!"
He cursed.
"You can't even act out a simple scene properly!"
Murong Wan gripped her phone tightly.
"Lin Tianhao."
Her voice was very cold.
"I'm warning you, this is the last time."
Lin Tianhao was stunned for a moment.
"What did you say?"
Murong Wan stood up.
"I said, this is the last time I'll help you with something like this."
She paused.
"Don't ever use my father's affairs to threaten me again."
Lin Tianhao sneered.
"Threaten you?"
He paused.
"Murong Wan, get this straight: even you belong to me, the Murong Clan belongs to me, and the entire Lin Group belongs to me. I don't need to threaten you."
Murong Wan bit her lip.
"That was left to me by my father."
Lin Tianhao laughed.
"You still have the nerve to mention that old fogey of a father?"
He paused.
"You might be thinking of that old guy, but he didn't leave you anything when he died."
Murong Wan's face turned pale.
"You..."
Lin Tianhao interrupted her.
"Fine, stop wasting my time. Remember your place as a canary."
He paused.
"As for Li Wei, I'll handle him. You don't need to worry about it anymore."
With that, he hung up the phone.
Murong Wan held the phone, her whole body trembling.
She sat back in her chair, tears falling.
She must have been blind back then to fall for this man.
Thinking about it now, it was truly ironic... In the parking lot.
Li Wei and Yang Yun were sitting in the car.
He hadn't started the engine yet.
Yang Yun turned her head and shook his arm.
"Li Wei, are we just going to let it go like this?"
She paused.
"Shouldn't we try a bit harder?"
Li Wei leaned back against the seat.
"There's no need."
He paused.
"Wasting more breath won't help."
Yang Yun bit her lip.
"But this deal is really important..."
Li Wei didn't answer and turned his head.
"Yun Yun, how much do you know about Lin Tianhao and his wife?"
Yang Yun was taken aback.
"Why are you asking that?"
Li Wei smiled.
"Just asking."
Yang Yun thought for a moment.
"I've had a few interactions with Murong Wan. She's actually quite a nice person."
She paused.
"It's just... how should I put it? It feels a bit like a melodramatic wealthy-family drama."
Li Wei raised an eyebrow.
"A melodramatic wealthy-family drama?"
Yang Yun nodded.
"Yes, when she got married, it was the talk of the town."
She paused.
"After all, they weren't exactly a social match."
Li Wei said nothing, just listened quietly.
Yang Yun continued.
"When Lin Tianhao was young, he was part of the underworld. It's said he even went to prison."
She paused.
"Later, he met Murong Wan at a bar, and the two of them announced their relationship very quickly."
Li Wei frowned.
"Very quickly?"
Yang Yun nodded.
"Yes, unnaturally fast."
She paused.
"At the time, many people were guessing if Murong Wan was pregnant or if Lin Tianhao had some kind of leverage over her."
Li Wei's expression shifted slightly.
Yang Yun continued.
"Later, Murong Wan was probably blinded by love. Despite her parents' opposition, she planted Lin Tianhao in the family company."
She paused.
"That company used to be called the Murong Group; it was founded by Murong Wan's father."
Li Wei gave a hum of acknowledgment.
Yang Yun went on.
"Although Lin Tianhao came from the underworld, he did have some ability."
She paused.
"He started as a low-level clerk and rose to department manager in less than two years."
Li Wei smiled.
"Two years?"
He paused.
"With a woman by his side, promotions naturally happen at god-like speed."
Yang Yun rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't interrupt."
She continued.
"Old Master Murong probably saw that he was capable, so he gradually accepted him."
She paused.
"Later, the two of them got married, and within a year, Old Master Murong passed away."
Li Wei's gaze turned cold.
"And then?"
Yang Yun sighed.
"Then Murong Wan voluntarily gave up the 20% stake that Old Master Murong had given her after the wedding, gifting it to Lin Tianhao, and only kept 15% of the Murong Group's original shares."
She paused.
"After becoming the Murong Family's son-in-law and acquiring that 15% plus 20%, Lin Tianhao aggressively bought out small shareholders and retail shares until he had fully taken over the company's assets."
"Finally, he even renamed the company the Lin Group, completely erasing the Murong Family's mark."
Li Wei leaned back against the seat.
"Voluntarily gave it up?"
He sneered.
"Who in this world would voluntarily give up a fortune worth billions?"
Yang Yun was stunned.
"You mean..."
Li Wei didn't answer, only asked.
"What is the Lin Group's current scope of business?"
Yang Yun thought for a moment.
"Real estate, shopping malls."
She paused.
"They used to do mobile phones too, but they lost money, so they went into car manufacturing."
Li Wei closed his eyes.
His mind quickly organized the information.
"Real estate, malls, mobile phones, car manufacturing."
This layout looked grand.
But in reality, they were all pitfalls.
"What was the state of the real estate market now?"
A nationwide downturn—how many real estate companies had gone bankrupt?
"And the malls?"
Under the impact of e-commerce, physical malls were barely hanging on.
Not to mention mobile phones and car manufacturing.
Those were bottomless pits for burning money.
Li Wei opened his eyes.
"If I'm not mistaken."
He paused.
"The Lin Group's business layout in recent years should be a total collapse across the board."
A trace of suspicion appeared on Yang Yun's face.
"How... how do you know?"
Li Wei smiled.
"Just a guess."
He paused.
"You should be clear about the state of the real estate industry over the past two years."
Yang Yun nodded.
"It really hasn't been great."
Li Wei continued.
"The same goes for malls. Under the impact of e-commerce, not many physical malls can survive unless they have high-end brands."
He paused.
"As for mobile phones and car manufacturing, those are games for giants. Small players entering are just seeking death."
Yang Yun bit her lip.
"You're right."
She paused.
"Aside from the malls still struggling to hold on, the only things of value the Lin Group has left are a few plots of land."
Li Wei raised an eyebrow.
"A few plots of land?"
Yang Yun nodded.
"Yes, they were all acquired long ago, but because of policy reasons, they've never been developed."
Li Wei smiled.
"Then those are dead assets."
He paused.
"Sitting in their hands, they're depreciating every day."
Yang Yun fell silent.
She suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right."
She turned her head.
"The Lin Group used to sponsor a welfare home."
Li Wei was taken aback.
"A welfare home?"
Yang Yun nodded.
"Yes, the largest welfare home in South China."
She paused.
"It was built by Old Master Murong before he died, specifically to take in orphans and children with disabilities."
Li Wei's eyes flickered slightly.
"And then?"
Yang Yun sighed.
"Later, after Lin Tianhao took over, he thought it was bad luck and cut off the sponsorship."