First confrontation

Shen Xingyue took two deep breaths, her chest heaving with emotion, which made Chen Dong look at her twice more.

She urgently wanted to leave this place now; although she wasn't particularly concerned about her appearance, she was, in any case, a top-tier beauty, and it was the first time she had been told by a man that she had no appeal!

I can not care, but you must think I am beautiful! This is a common ailment of beautiful women, and Shen Xingyue clearly had not transcended this human level; she was still a bit far from being an immortal.

"Mr. Chen, I sincerely want to cooperate with you. The Shen Family is an empire built by our ancestors, and I cannot let it fall into the hands of outsiders, but I have a premonition that even if my father and brother join forces, they won't be able to defeat you."

"Oh, you think so highly of me?"

Chen Dong was skeptical. Just because you're a beauty, do you think a few compliments will make me lose my head? Chen Dong remained vigilant, guarding against these sugar-coated bullets.

After all, Zhang Wuji's mother said: the prettier the woman, the more she will deceive people. At this moment, Shen Xingyue belonged to this type in Chen Dong's eyes.

How long had they known each other? How long had he been building his group? And she was so sure he would win and her brother and father would lose?

Although Chen Dong had confidence in himself, it was mainly confidence in the system. With the system's blessing, his funds could be said to be endless.

Currently, the funds rewarded by the system each day were around one billion. As long as he took over the two clothing factories of Anren Group and immediately expanded into the fashion women's wear market, and with one factory doing OEM for Adidas, Nike, Li-Ning, and other brands, the daily turnover would definitely skyrocket, and the rewards from the system would exceed one billion every day!

What kind of concept was this? The pure system rewards alone would result in a net profit of over thirty billion per month.

In 2012, which company could achieve a profit of over thirty billion in a month? What was the total asset of the Shen Family's Anren Group? It was only eighty to ninety billion, which was already a top-tier financial conglomerate in Jinghai.

Of course, the top financial groups in Dragon Nation were concentrated in the Capital and Magic City, but Jinghai followed closely behind.

In other words, even if his turnover didn't increase further, in two months, the money in his bank account would be enough to buy the Shen Family's Anren Group. How could they possibly fight against that?

"You have one last chance. If you don't tell the truth, please leave."

Chen Dong had not experienced too many business battles in his past and present lives, so he wasn't particularly clear about the intrigues, but he was definitely not a fool.

The reason Shen Xingyue gave was too clumsy and lacked any credibility—Chen Dong always believed that when a person wants to do something, it must involve their own vested interests.

Especially a decision like Shen Xingyue's—to unite with outsiders to oppose her father and brother! Could a simple "I don't want the Shen Family to fall into the hands of outsiders" explain it? Moreover, he had never even revealed the idea of annexing the Shen Family.

"Mr. Chen, I don't feel wronged at all to be defeated by you. I really didn't expect your thoughts to be so meticulous."

Thousands of waves surged in Shen Xingyue's heart; the calm lake could no longer be still, as if the sea had been hit by a typhoon, but her face remained serene, always showing no joy or sorrow.

This was the first person to cause such a huge emotional fluctuation in her, and he was a young, handsome man of the opposite sex. Shen Xingyue, who had always disdained men, felt a moment of trance.

Even just now, when she considered giving herself to Chen Dong, she always treated it as a transaction, like being bitten by a dog. Although this dog looked cleaner and more upscale than those stray dogs, it was still a dog.

But now, she realized she seemed to be wrong, and quite absurdly so—it turned out that not all men in this world were despicable.

The man in front of her, whether in terms of appearance, charm, meticulousness, or personal wealth, all made her feel surprised and curious.

"That's right, I want to cooperate with you. My purpose is not simply to gain control of the Shen Family. I don't want to be sold as a high-end commodity to the Gong Family!"

"The Gong Family? Where did that come from?" Chen Dong frowned slightly, as if he had heard of it somewhere but had no strong impression.

"This is an aristocratic family from the Capital. The Gong Family has traditionally been involved in politics for generations.

But in the last twenty years, with the continuous economic development, they saw the huge profits involved and also wanted a piece of the pie.

However, they had no commercial foundation and could only provide certain protection to some financial groups in exchange for certain benefits.

During this time, they also selected some outstanding young talents within the family and trained them in the business direction.

Now, the Gong Family is a force that integrates both the official system and the business world."

Shen Xingyue calmly elaborated,

"The Gong Family is not top-tier in a place like the Capital, where big shots are everywhere, but it is a force not to be underestimated.

For Jinghai, their economic volume is not large, perhaps far less than the Xiao Family, but they have abundant political resources."

So that's how it was. Wasn't this a typical case of mutual exploitation! To put it more bluntly, it was similar to collusion between officials and businessmen.

Of course, they would certainly not do anything overtly illegal; they would merely provide conveniences to each other to achieve a win-win or even multi-win situation.

The Shen Family wanted a powerful backer, as the saying goes, 'it's easier to do things when you have someone in power'; the Gong Family, after years of operation, had descendants in political circles across various regions, and they wanted to monetize these resources.

They would definitely hit it off immediately, and if they could have a perfect marriage alliance, it would naturally be a case of 'adding intimacy to intimacy' and 'adding beauty to beauty'.

"Miss Shen, I think you think too highly of me." Chen Dong shook his head gently,

"I, Chen Dong, am just an ordinary commoner. Since ancient times, the common people do not contend with officials, let alone officials in the capital."

Shen Xingyue's eyes instantly dimmed. Shen Xingyue, who had always been calm and unruffled, swayed slightly, as if all her strength had been drained.

She gently held the armrest of the sofa, her face turning a little pale.

In Shen Xingyue's view, there must be a big shot or a huge force behind Chen Dong. His refusal to help her now was merely because he looked down on her, or rather, looked down on the meager resources she offered.

"Mr. Chen, won't you reconsider?" Shen Xingyue still wanted to struggle a bit longer,

"As long as you help me successfully take control of the Shen Family, I will not only willingly become the woman behind you but also offer all of the Shen Family's shares. How does that sound?"

"Miss Shen, it's not that I don't want to help you, nor is it that you're not beautiful. It's truly a matter of being willing but unable."

Chen Dong leaned back and spread his hands,

"Besides, being the woman behind me versus marrying the eldest young master of the Gong Family, the latter looks much better.

Following me, you'll have no name or status, and you'll drag your brother and father down. Marrying the eldest young master of the Gong Family, you'll be glorious and a legitimate young madam. Why would you resist such a good thing?"

Chen Dong knew that after integrating a series of buffs from the system, his personal charm had become immense, and his attractiveness to women was very high.

But Shen Xingyue didn't seem like a looks-obsessed person at all; it was impossible for her to make such a huge sacrifice just because he was a bit handsome.

Moreover, she had only seen his photo at most before, and she could make such a big decision? Preferring to follow him without name or status rather than gloriously marrying into an aristocratic official family in the Capital?