The Master Descends the Mountain: My Destined CEO

Li Mao nodded and proactively opened the car door. "Understood. I'll be counting on you, then, new assistant."

Xin Cheng held out the stock ownership documents, but just as Li Mao reached for them, he pulled his hand back.

A flash of displeasure crossed Li Mao's eyes, but he didn't dare to let it show.

All the while, Xin Cheng was watching his expression closely.

"New assistant, didn't you say..."

"I just remembered something. I can't give you the stock documents. This is to prevent them from being stolen. They're safer with me."

"When we get to the Ouyang Company, you just need to follow my lead. No matter what anyone asks you, your answers need to be consistent with my decisions."

Li Mao smiled and agreed, as if he had truly accepted the arrangement.

The Ouyang Family's head office was located on the most prosperous commercial street in all of Capital City.

A skyscraper stood here, with the massive word "Ouyang" on it, so bright in the sunlight it could practically blind anyone who looked.

The two entered the main gate. Li Mao took out his employee ID and successfully swiped it to enter the elevator.

DING!

They arrived on the seventeenth floor.

This was the executive floor, where the management was based.

No one besides members of the Ouyang Family had clearance for the seventeenth floor.

Li Mao and Xin Cheng entered the conference room, one after the other.

The rest of the Ouyang Clan members had all arrived.

One of them looked at Li Mao with displeasure. "Hey, what right do you have to call a shareholders' meeting?"

"Don't forget, you're just an illegitimate son of the Ouyang Clan! You don't even have the Ouyang surname!"

Although Li Mao had managed to get into the company, many people still resented him.

Mostly, they looked down on him, especially because of his background.

Li Mao's expression didn't change, but his hand clenched into a fist.

Assistant Xin Cheng glanced at him, then smiled and spoke. "Shareholder, please don't be so hasty."

"The conditions to call a shareholders' meeting are, first, to own more than two percent of the Ouyang Family's shares."

The Ouyang Clan is large, and aside from the main family line and a few key figures, most members only hold about one percent of the shares.

The number may seem small, but the profits it generates are enormous.

"Second, one must prove that the source of this two percent of shares is legal. We have already proven both these points, which is why we can call a shareholders' meeting."

The man was still not convinced. "So what if an illegitimate son actually has shares?"

Xin Cheng adjusted his glasses. "According to the law, even illegitimate children have rights. If there are no further issues, let the shareholders' meeting begin."

After speaking, he glanced at Li Mao.

Li Mao took the cue, pulled out a chair, and sat down. "Then let's begin."

The others remained silent, curious to see what sort of trick Li Mao was trying to pull.

Although the Ouyang Clan was plagued by severe internal strife and Li Mao had now officially joined them, no one believed he was aiming for the Patriarch's position.

Xin Cheng opened the stock documents. "We currently possess five percent of the original stock."

Everyone was stunned.

"Five percent? How did you get your hands on that?"

"My apologies, that can be explained later. For now, allow me to state the main purpose of this meeting." Xin Cheng then laid out the points one by one.

In essence, they were being told to fall in line: either give up their shares or do as Li Mao commanded.

"Li Mao, you're just an illegitimate son! What right do you have to demand this of us? You want to take our original stock? In your dreams!"

"No wonder it's just us minority shareholders here today. So you had such vicious ambitions all along!"

"You'll never get our shares! And even if you could, you're still worlds apart from the true, direct line of the Ouyang Family!"

"Whether it's a dream or not, you'll know soon enough!" Li Mao said, then looked at Xin Cheng.

This was exactly the kind of bravado Xin Cheng wanted from him. He gave a slight smile.

He then took out his phone. "You can begin."

The next second, a chorus of notification chimes filled the room.

All the minority shareholders immediately took out their phones.

Upon seeing the text messages, their faces all changed at practically the same instant.

They gripped their phones in disbelief. "You... How do you know about this?!"

Xin Cheng adjusted his glasses. "It's simple. The only way to keep something secret is to not have done it in the first place."

"Now that you've done such things, don't expect to take them to your graves without them ever seeing the light of day."

"However, whether or not it gets exposed today depends on the choice you make."

"So, will you sell your shares, or will you fall in line? If you choose to fall in line, you'd better stay in line. Otherwise... this information could leak at any moment."

Xin Cheng was all smiles. "Some of you will get off easy, just a ruined reputation, complete social death. But others... well, you'll be rotting in prison for a long, long time!"

The entire conference room fell deathly silent.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Finally, someone managed to speak. "I am willing to follow President Li's instructions!"

"I'm willing as well."

No one chose to sell their original stock, as it was a continuous source of income.

This was all within Xin Cheng's expectations. In fact, their goal from the start was simply to make these people fall in line.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

Xin Cheng produced several contracts. "Gentlemen, sign these, and we'll all be in the same boat. There's another shareholders' meeting this afternoon."

"I expect you'll know how to act then. And one more thing: Li Mao has officially changed his name to Ouyang Mao. Make sure you don't get it wrong."

Ouyang Mao trembled with excitement. 'Finally! I'm finally an Ouyang!'

'This is an honor, something I've always dreamed of!'

'Now I can finally declare, openly and proudly, that I'm part of the Ouyang Clan!'

'Even if people mock me for being an illegitimate son, they'll have to do it behind my back. At least to my face, no one will dare to say a thing.'

The shareholders' meeting concluded successfully.

However, the afternoon meeting was the *real* shareholders' meeting—it would be a tough battle.

「In the break room.」

Ouyang Mao was trying on a new suit.

After all, he was an Ouyang now. He couldn't dress as casually as before; it was crucial to project an image of class and status.

He had no idea that his every move was already captured by surveillance.

「In front of the screen.」

Xiao Ye watched Ouyang Mao fix his hair. 'Someone so preoccupied with their appearance,' he thought, 'is clearly insecure and lacks confidence about what's next.'

'Truly powerful people don't need to use their looks to intimidate others; they use their presence.'

Xiao Ye looked at Zhu Chen beside him. "You can have him put on the earpiece now."

On the screen, Xin Cheng walked over to Ouyang Mao and took out a miniature earpiece. "Mr. Ouyang, please put this on."

"For the next shareholders' meeting, besides me, there will be another person assisting you remotely."

"Please follow the instructions from the earpiece to the letter. If you deviate in any way..."

"We will deduct ten million from your payment."