Chapter 103: Board meeting (3)

Ling Qingyu's cruel smile frightened all the directors here, pausing their hands from reaching the papers handed over by Zhao Xiurong.

Their hands felt like a knife hanging over their skin, just a little before cutting them over.

Sharpness and stress conflicted in their consciousness.

Ling Qingyu folded her arms and leaned back, stretching her spine in the process. She was calmly smiling at the panicking directors.

All the board members had worried faces, especially when the paper landed on the desk before them.

No one dared to have a look to the point that Ling Qingyu became bored.

"The reason why I said your votes are ineffective is written on the paper." Ling Qingyu spoke unceremoniously. "I've recently acquired a substantial portion of the company's shares enough to give me a majority stake in both board and general meetings."

Gasps of surprises rippled through the room, and the directors exchanged incredulous looks. Ling Qingyu had subtly shifted the balance of power without their knowledge.

No, every director thought, if what Ling Qingyu said was the truth, they were doomed to fail from the beginning.

This meeting was the test of their loyalty, not a coup drama they expected. Unwilling to believe the result, the directors all grasped the papers and scrutinized everything, trying to find faults, at least, to comfort themselves the paper was forged.

Reading the sentences over and over again until everyone swallowed the bitter pill. The arrow was on the loose and there wasn't any remedy to save themselves.

"Chairman Ling," Li Wei spoke, attempting to regain control of the situation, "we believe that a change in leadership structure—"

"—is precisely what I have in mind," Ling Qingyu interjected, a subtle smile playing at the corner of her lips. "Come to think of the entire problem, it's true we have a leadership problem and I intend to address this issue in today's meeting."

Chill ran through every director's spine and their face frozen from fear. Li Wei, Zhang Hao, and Gu Ling had their fingers trembling.

Huang Mei, despite knowing the bad ends, rarely smiled in relief, her eyes gentle and soft as if watching her child already grow up and soar into the sky.

Tears welled in her eyes and felt satisfied at Ling Qingyu's response.

Su Ruomei and Zhao Xiurong felt their bodies relax, after clearly seeing Ling Qingyu's victory on sight.

"As a result," Ling Qingyu continued, "I believe it's in our best interest to undergo a change in directorship. I will be appointing new directors who align with our company's vision in the future."

Li Wei, Zhang Hao and Gu Ling exchanged glances from shock to disbelief. Their coup had failed miserably before it even fully materialized.

Some of the directors were beginning to suspect if Ling Qingyu's accident was true. After all, Ling Qingyu's image of an old fox who played people like puppets attached to the strings was spread around the circle.

Gu Ling's voice stammered in desperation. "Chairman Ling, we were only trying to ensure the company's stability in your absence."

Ling Qingyu snorted and gazed at Gu Ling, whose expression appeared grim. "Stability cannot be achieved through a power struggle. It requires unity and a shared commitment to our goals."

Li Wei's group sighed in regret at their unsuccessful attempt. The worst situation for them was to lose the membership of the board and earn money behind the scenes.

Maybe sometime later, they could make a comeback although the possibility was very slim since Ling Qingyu owned 65 percent of the company's shares.

She must even admit her skills were inferior to Ling Qingyu's of displaying righteousness.

Li Wei's voice trembled with a mixture of anger and resignation. "This is a hostile move, Chairman Ling."

Ling Qingyu leaned forward, her eyes intense, glaring at each member of the board. "My decision is final; your refusals have no effects and will not be accepted."

Li Wei stood up, losing his composure, and yelled. "This move is outrageous. There is no way we're gonna accept this. It's a blatant dictatorship. No organization going through such autocratic ways last long."

Su Ruomei's eyes narrowed at the old man's behavior but wasn't surprised by the way Ling Qingyu had acted throughout the meeting.

If she were to replace him, she might be worse, completely resorting to violence.

"Nothing lasts," Ling Qingyu retorted. "In this world, nothing lasts forever. And I have to disagree with your accusation, Mr. Li. I detest autocracy and wouldn't practice this school of thought. In fact, my move is to centralize so that the company strengthens its unity and efficiency."

Ling Qingyu also craved to lash out like Li Wei did but must prevent herself from following suit.

Her reputation and prestige would be attacked if the rumors spread across the circle. This was also the reason why she still acted and shouted slogans like 'righteousness'.

Her every move felt like being monitored despite no recording tools available in the room. But words spread out of the mouth.

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Li Wei couldn't listen any longer and pointed his finger at Ling Qingyu. "You're misusing the company's authorities for your own good. This is a blatant exploitation from the seat of the chairman and abhorred by the entire circle. If not for the face of your grandpa, where would we support your company in its infancy."

Ling Qingyu's eyes chilled the onlookers as she spoke with emphasis. "Don't bring the senior culture to press over me, Mr. Li. It is the respect I held for my grandfather that I tolerated your various acts until now. Even then I'm still merciful. If you don't toast my wine, I'll move on to my next step."

The room quieted down after Ling Qingyu and Li Wei clashed. Both fought with each other's momentum until Ling Qingyu slid the folders in her hand to Li Wei.

"If not for Grandpa's face, you would have no time to jump like a clown in front of me," Ling Qingyu's words were merciless. "Including you and you."

Zhang Hao and Gu Ling were included out of nowhere. Huang Mei's corner of the mouth twitched.

Li Wei looked down but didn't open the folder and asked. "What's inside?"

"You'll regret it if you don't take a look at it. You too." Ling Qingyu replied. The latter part of her sentence was meant for Zhang Hao and Gu Ling.

While these men stood up and read the paper inside the folder together, Ling Qingyu declared. "By the decision of the board, I represent the majority's wish—Removing the directors in the case of abusing power, disregarding the company's life and death for selfish reasons, exploiting loopholes, and being irresponsible for the duty the board member must adhere to.

I, as Chairman, will temporarily take charge of the board until the election of shareholders resumes. Any objections?"

Of course, there were! Too many—the directors had the same thought in their minds. For the first time, their vibrations rang at the same frequency.

But rejection was useless since Ling Qingyu declared the percentage of her shares. And everyone decided to stay back to avoid Ling Qingyu's barrel.

Although liquidation hurt them, no one complained at Ling Qingyu.

What if there was another guillotine on their necks? They could swear to Heaven—if Ling Qingyu always didn't have a way, let there be thunder upon them.