Chapter 687 - The Decision Is Mine
The Decision Is Mine
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Li Zhidong had never felt so stressed about being in the same room and sitting at the same table as Huo Yichen.
The fragrance of the tea that he was used to in the past had also become a silent torture at this moment, stirring his nerves bit by bit.
“President Huo.” Li Zhidong closed his eyes and took the initiative to speak as if he was about to die.
“You didn’t ask me to come here… because of that suggestion, right?”
His words were mixed with a hint of probing. Together with the panic in the depths of Li Zhidong’s eyes, they appeared in front of Huo Yichen.
Huo Yichen put down the teacup in his hand. The crisp sound of the cup being placed on the table became the source of Li Zhidong’s nervousness.
He seemed to have become a frightened bird. Just the slightest movement could make him think that he was being ambushed from all sides.
Huo Yichen placed a folder in front of Li Zhidong, as if silently urging him to open it.
Li Zhidong had no choice but to reach out and take it. Then, he untied the rope around the seal. However, his heart seemed to have jumped into his throat, causing his hands to tremble.
The folder was not thick. In the end, Li Zhidong only found two contracts and a dozen photos.
In the photo, Li Zhidong was meeting and eating with all kinds of people. The people ranged from Xu Dong to the Huo Corporation’s competitors, and the venues ranged from dining table hotels to various clubhouses.
There was everything he could think of.
“These two contracts were signed by you and the other party behind the Huo Corporation’s back. You even used them to benefit your personal company and sold the Huo Corporation’s company secrets.”
Huo Yichen’s every word pierced Li Zhidong’s heart like a nail.
As he listened to Huo Yichen tell him all the dirty things he had done, cold sweat almost instantly engulfed Li Zhidong’s entire body. His heart even palpitated until his hands and feet turned cold.
“I…” Li Zhidong opened his mouth.
Huo Yichen continued, “To be honest, I’ve investigated clearly how much you and Xu Dong had planned, done, and benefited from your meetings here.”
The reason for arranging to meet Li Zhidong here is twofold: firstly, to mimic Xu Dong’s method of calling him out without him being on guard, and secondly, it’s a deliberate move by Huo Yichen to exert psychological pressure on Li Zhidong.
Not to mention anything else, just the two contracts in the folder were enough to crush Li Zhidong to death.
After signing two contracts that touched the gray area and even used the company to seek personal benefits, Huo Yichen could hire a good lawyer to completely make Li Zhidong disappear from the Huo Corporation.
But not now.
Seeing that Li Zhidong was silent after he finished speaking, Huo Yichen simply poked him again.
He changed to another photo and brought it to Li Zhidong. In the photo was a small sea of flowers formed by beautiful daisies, and in the middle of the sea was an innocent little girl with a beautiful and cute smile.
On closer inspection, the little girl’s face was 70 to 80% similar to Li Zhidong’s, but her pupils were clear and clean.
That was his daughter.
It was also Li Zhidong’s weakness.
Huo Yichen said slowly, “What if your daughter finds out that her father is such a person? You’ll still have to go to jail for an unknown number of years…”
“You, what do you want?” Li Zhidong’s voice trembled as he sat on the chair almost dispiritedly.
“Simple.” Huo Yichen crossed his legs and rested his hands on his knees leisurely. “Tell me about Xu Dong.”
Li Zhidong was just a small fry. Huo Yichen knew very well that the person who had caused trouble for him last time was Xu Dong.
However, the other party was very careful. All Huo Yichen could catch was evidence of small things. It was not enough to completely eliminate Xu Dong.
However, if he could obtain something from Li Zhidong, that might not be the case.
“If I speak, can… can we write it off?” Li Zhidong looked at him.
Huo Yichen’s eyebrows were raised, as if he was thinking. Then, he revealed a wicked smile, but the light in his eyes became even colder.
“The decision is mine.”
The prey was never qualified to decide their outcome.
This conversation in the Evergreen Pavilion lasted for nearly an hour.
Ye Zhen stayed in the black car at the entrance of Evergreen Pavilion, his eyes fixed on the time on his wristwatch. After seeing Li Zhidong go over for a long time, he followed the President’s instructions and sent the photo he had specially taken of Li Zhidong entering to Xu Dong’s phone.
Be it the Evergreen Pavilion or Li Zhidong, Xu Dong was very familiar with them.
After sending the photos, Ye Zhen heaved a sigh of relief and looked outside. It was almost dusk in the afternoon.
When Xu Dong received the photo, he was still at home.
He had never looked at messages from unfamiliar numbers much, but unfortunately, the notification popped up and the photo appeared in front of him.
Therefore, Xu Dong, who was attracted by the vibration of his cell phone, saw the person and location clearly. His eyebrows twitched and his hands trembled as he knocked over the teacup beside him.
The tea was poured onto the table and soaked the document in front of Xu Dong. The originally black and white words became blurry.
However, Xu Dong had no time to care about this.
He suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and called the number he had received the message from, but the system notified him that the number was invalid.
Xu Dong raised his eyebrows and changed to Li Zhidong’s number solemnly.
This time, there was a dial tone.
However, the other party seemed to want to torture him, so he let the ringing sound continue until the call failed.
The first time he couldn’t get through, Xu Dong called again.
He felt anxious and irritable because of this passiveness, but he had no choice but to take action.
Who did Li Zhidong go to eat with? Why the Evergreen Pavilion?
Previously, Li Zhidong’s every action was under his instructions, but this time, there was no warning.
Questions popped up in Xu Dong’s heart, but he didn’t get an answer.
Panic spread from the piece of flesh in his heart like a contagious source, making him unable to stop being suspicious. In the end, when the call failed again, Xu Dong finally couldn’t help but throw his phone to the ground.
“Damn it!” he cursed.
Seeing that Xu Dong was calling non-stop, the other party simply turned off the phone.
Only that photo was still lying in the gallery, as if it was constantly reminding Xu Dong that something was no longer under his control.
It was not until the next board meeting that the answer he wanted finally arrived.
In the familiar meeting room, Xu Dong slowly sat down in a plain white and simple shirt.
As time approached, the seats reserved for each member of the board of directors gradually filled up. However, only Li Zhidong’s chair didn’t welcome its owner.
It was not only Xu Dong. The others also noticed this.
Everyone exchanged glances and whispered softly. From time to time, they would look at the empty chair.
Xu Dong was also watched and sized up by those gazes. It was as if he was placed on a chopping board roasted by a huge fire. He couldn’t escape even if he turned around. The smile on his face was the last bit of force.
Finally, in this strange atmosphere, Ye Zhen pushed open the door of the conference room and Huo Yichen walked in.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” Huo Yichen greeted.
Perhaps it was because he was too sensitive, but Xu Dong felt that Huo Yichen’s gaze was filled with anticipation and scrutiny when it swept across him. He was like an eagle that had bared its sharp claws and was staring at its prey.
Huo Yichen walked to his seat in the middle and naturally saw Li Zhidong’s empty seat. However, he was not surprised at all. Then, he announced that Li Zhidong was sick and resting..