They were even ready to woo her with shares in Huo’s, indicative of how dangerous Huo Company’s situation had become.
Jiang Ning felt that she used to be quite kind-hearted.
After binding with the System, she had only stormed back to the Huo Family, kicking the Huo family members who were throwing a celebration for Huo Miao into the pool.
It was just a minor hit to their dignity, without any substantial retaliation.
Later, when she attended Shen Zha’s variety show, she wasn’t out for revenge against Huo Miao; on the contrary, it was Huo Miao and Mu Mingxuan who kept leaping into her orbit, only to stumble and see their facades crumble... leading to a series of chain reactions afterward.
It could be said that the Huo family members got what they deserved every step of the way to this day.
Including Huo Li, he wasn’t innocent either.
Looking at the unfinished task on her System screen, Jiang Ning had an idea.
The Huo Family’s previous misfortunes had nothing to do with her, but she could certainly contribute to their future woes.
Huo Li was scheming right under her eyelids; how could she not strike back?
Jiang Ning feigned interest, "What you’re saying is true?"
"Of course." Huo Li did not seem surprised by Jiang Ning’s reaction. He knew that no member of society could resist the lure of interests.
He promised earnestly, "Jiang Ning, I wouldn’t deceive you."
The two of them, who had almost come to blows just moments ago, were now earnestly discussing how to quell the online outrage among netizens due to their aligned superficial interests.
To untie the bell, one must use the bell ringer, and Huo Li knew that the key to the situation lay with Jiang Ning. He was eager for Jiang Ning to immediately clarify her statement from the afternoon. After all, every minute Jiang Ning delayed in clarifying, the negative public opinion towards Huo Company would ferment online for another minute, and the number of netizens who despised Huo’s would only increase.
"No hurry, is there? Since it’s already been said, it won’t matter that little bit longer." Jiang Ning suddenly became the one in no rush, and as Huo Li listened to the casual tone on her phone, just when he started doubting if Jiang Ning deliberately wanted to kick Huo’s while they were down, he heard Jiang Ning’s cover-up question, "When will you transfer the shares to me?"
A hint of mockery flickered in Huo Li’s cold eyes.
So Jiang Ning didn’t want to clarify because she wanted to secure that five percent of shares first.
At that moment, Huo Li truly doubted the authenticity of all the heroic deeds Jiang Ning had been credited with in the news recently. Could someone so easily swayed by interests truly perform so many selfless acts?
But now was clearly not the time for such considerations.
Huo Li’s slender fingers rested on the cold, smooth surface of the desk, motioning silently, "How about this afternoon? Holding a press conference."
It probably would be too late to have Jiang Ning livestream again now. Instead, it would be better to make a bigger splash, inviting more media for interviews.
Huo Li believed that with Jiang Ning’s involvement and coverage by multiple official media outlets, not only could the stains on Huo Company be washed clean, but they could also attract all of Jiang Ning’s popularity and take the company to the next level.
Moreover, Jiang Ning had so many fans on the internet, and once she became a shareholder, of course she couldn’t just lay back and collect dividends. She should make full use of it, promoting Huo’s products more on the internet.
Internet-based sales are becoming more and more popular, and since Jiang Ning doesn’t work... the company’s sales increase, and the dividends she receives each year would only get bigger.
Merchants chase profits, and Huo Li was no exception.
In that brief moment, he had already analyzed and assessed all the values associated with Jiang Ning.
At last, Huo Li stated that using five percent of the company shares to bring about a spokesperson with such immense traffic did not put Huo’s at a loss.
Jiang Ning was not foolish; she quickly understood the reason behind Huo Li’s desire to hold a press conference.
Jiang Ning responded, "Okay, but remember to prepare the share transfer agreement."
If she cooperated unconditionally, Huo Li might still harbor some distrust towards Jiang Ning, suspecting her of deceit and fearing that, like previous times, she might suddenly betray Huo’s in the midst of good cooperation.
However, her repeated mentions of share-related matters somewhat dispelled the caution in Huo Li’s heart.
"I’ll have the lawyer draft the contract right away," Huo Li’s voice was steady, "As soon as the press conference is over and the netizens’ misunderstandings about Huo’s are clarified, we will sign the contract immediately."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning almost couldn’t suppress a laugh inside her.
She had just tricked Huo’s during the live stream, and Huo Li certainly wouldn’t trust her so easily. The fact that he said the contract would only be signed after the press conference indicated that there were conditions to Jiang Ning acquiring that five percent of the shares.
If Jiang Ning wanted those shares, she would certainly do her utmost to speak well of Huo’s and dispel the netizens’ previous negative impressions of the company.
But what Huo Li did not realize was that his approach played right into Jiang Ning’s hands!
Because Jiang Ning didn’t want his shares at all!
The company wasn’t bankrupt yet, and it could still temporarily maintain a facade of glory. However, once the company encountered other mistakes and applied for bankruptcy to liquidate and restructure its assets, these shares would immediately become hot potatoes. Shareholders wouldn’t receive dividends, and worse, they might end up as debtors.
Jiang Ning remained silent for a moment before reluctantly responding, "Alright."
"Good, I will send you the time for the press conference later," Huo Li paused, then asked, "Do you need me to send a driver to pick you up?"
Jiang Ning declined, "No need, I can drive myself there."
Huo Li didn’t say much upon hearing this and quickly hung up the call.
Jiang Ning didn’t avoid Qi Xingzhou while on the phone with Huo Li. Once the call had ended, Jiang Ning realized that Qi Xingzhou, who had been sitting on the single-person sofa next to her, had been watching her the whole time.
Jiang Ning was puzzled, "Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?"
"No," Qi Xingzhou shook his head, then lowered his gaze to his smartphone.
Jiang Ning found his puzzled behavior unsurprising, considering that Qi Xingzhou wasn’t particularly talkative even on normal days.
What Jiang Ning hadn’t noticed was that, after Qi Xingzhou lowered his head, his usually innocent and harmless expression was now slightly furrowed, his dark pupils intelligent, as he seriously contemplated something.
He unlocked his smartphone, seriously calculating the value of his own shares.
Although Jiang Ning hadn’t been on speakerphone, Qi Xingzhou could roughly guess from her one-sided conversation that someone was about to give her shares, then ask her to do something in return.
After a long silence, Qi Xingzhou suddenly got up and walked over to Jiang Ning.
Under Jiang Ning’s puzzled gaze, he half-knelt down, his usually tall and straight figure suddenly became much shorter. Qi Xingzhou placed his hand on the side of the sofa, looked up at Jiang Ning earnestly, and with a deep and pleasant tone, he said, "Jiang Ning, don’t accept his shares. I also have shares, I’ll give you all of my Changzhou Technology shares under my name."