Upon hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming almost thought he had other cousins for a moment.

But then he realized, the only cousin he had who was acquainted with Chen Yan was He Mengxue.

So, he was confused again.

He had been discussing with Chen Yan how to enhance the company's competitiveness and how to deal with the increasingly strong blockade from Tencent Group—how had the topic shifted to his cousin?

His cousin was not a solution.

Why suddenly bring her up?

Luckily, Chen Yan didn't let him speculate for too long and explained naturally, "It's like this. Your company needs to ramp up publicity and increase investment, which means you'll definitely need to spend more money."

"This money can't just appear out of thin air, and I can't just give it to you casually, it has to go through the financing process."

"What I mean is, no matter how much money you plan to raise, this fund has to come through your sister's investment company."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming was still a bit puzzled.

He didn't understand why the financing had to go through his cousin.

However, he felt that Chen Yan wouldn't do something pointless, so his brain quickly spun, pondering Chen Yan's purpose.

After a moment, a flash of "spirit light" sparked in his mind, and he felt like he understood.

He thought that the source of the financing money wasn't the key issue—the key was who would receive the shares from the financing.

If it went through Chen Yan's personal accounts, then the shares would go to Chen Yan.

If it were from the parent company, then the shares would go to the parent company.

And now, Chen Yan was asking for the funds to go through He Mengxue, so the purpose was obvious—it was to give He Mengxue a portion of the shares.

Thinking of this, Qin Ming was speechless.

To be honest, as a playboy, Qin Ming didn't really understand Chen Yan's actions.

He had known Chen Yan from an early time when Chen Yan had not yet fully made his fortune, but he already had two women by his side.

Later, several more women were added; although Qin Ming did not specifically investigate, he knew roughly who they were because Chen Yan didn't hide it from him.

He always thought he and Chen Yan were of the same kind: that business was what truly mattered, and women were just sprinkles on life.

Even Chen Yan's previous support for his women, Qin Ming merely saw it as a charming man with conscience, giving his women some compensation.

However, it wasn't until this moment that Qin Ming realized he was wrong.

He felt that Chen Yan might really be a man of deep emotions, the kind that places every relationship first in his heart.

Other company bosses were all scheming to take more shares of the company, to bring more benefits back into their own hands.

Let alone partners, even their own sons and daughters were watched like thieves.

But Chen Yan turned around and generously gave He Mengxue the incredibly valuable shares.

You should know that recently, Qin Ming had examined Headline Technology thoroughly. Before, he had only heard that Headline Technology had the potential of a trillion-level internet giant.

But during his investigation, he realized it wasn't just potential...

Although Zhang Yonghao's character was not up to snuff, his abilities were genuinely outstanding. He had built an entire corporate system, with management, subsidiaries, and overseas companies, which had set up the framework of this giant.

Qin Ming only needed to develop step by step in this direction and then fill in the gaps.

Qin Ming felt he could see the potential of this enterprise, so Chen Yan must have seen it too.

Yet, just like that, Chen Yan was still willing to give shares of this company to his woman.

Qin Ming thought... if this wasn't true love, then probably nothing was.

While Qin Ming was thinking this, on the other end of the phone, Chen Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait. Hold on a moment with that. Let's not go through the investment company first."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming's first reaction was: Brother! Have you finally realized that women are disposable?

But before he could come up with another flirtatious remark, Chen Yan said, "I plan to establish an investment fund and then bring in your sister, Yu Qiao Qiao, Lu Man, Zhao Ying, and Yang Rou. Later, when we go through financing, we'll use this fund."

Chen Yan and Qin Ming's relationship meant there was nothing he hadn't already disclosed, "After all, I can't always favor one side over another. If I'm going to give, then I'll give to everyone."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming: ...

Brother Chen is truly affectionate.

Qin Ming felt that if he were a woman, he would definitely chase after Chen Yan.

After all, he had worked hard for half his life to get just that bit of shares, just to have this opportunity.

Yet, by becoming Chen Yan's woman, they could have in minutes...

Then, the two of them talked about financing and increasing advertising efforts.

According to Qin Ming, even if Tencent didn't make a move, he planned to ramp up advertising after the new year.

Douyin had already topped the market in over fifty countries, but domestically, the traffic was only half of their competitor Slow Hand, which was beginning to drag down Douyin's development and the capital market's evaluation of it.

Now that the international battle was nearly settled, he felt it was time to compete domestically.

Qin Ming already had a plan for how to conquer the domestic market.

After discussing with Chen Yan and confirming the plan was solid, Chen Yan also nodded in agreement.

Maybe because he had the money, a plan, and a goal, the anxiety about going to war with Tencent gradually dissipated quite a bit...

So, after finishing the serious conversation, Qin Ming finally had the mood to chat leisurely with Chen Yan.

He opened his mouth and said, "Brother Chen, I just heard today that Zhang Yonghao seems to be suing you again, asking the court to rule that your transaction was illegal."

Hearing Qin Ming's words, Chen Yan "hmm"ed and said, "Right. He seems to have found a new backer, so he dares to make a move again."

Qin Ming said with a bit of worry, "If he keeps making trouble like this, it feels like it will have a lot of negative impact on the company."

"And your situation with him was previously confined within a small circle, not widely known outside."

"Once it blows up, everyone will know."

"By then, having the founder driven away and seizing control of the company, many startup founders might get cold feet and be hesitant to accept investments from investment firms."

Qin Ming's words were precisely what Chen Yan was worried about.

So he pondered for a moment, firmly making up his mind, "Don't worry. He won't be able to talk much longer."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming was confused for a moment and misunderstood.

He hastily advised, "Brother Chen. Brother Chen. Let it be. Don't get worked up."

"Although what Zhang Yonghao did is really over the line, you can't break the law..."

Chen Yan: ??

Chen Yan was perplexed.

He took several seconds to react before realizing Qin Ming had misunderstood.

So, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Where did your mind go? I mean I have a way to stop him from making trouble."

"I didn't plan to kill him."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Qin Ming "tsk"ed and said, "I was thinking Brother Chen became so domineering. Haha."

Chen Yan rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone, then continued to arrange, "Besides my side, you should hurry up with the financing."

"As long as our financing is legal and compliant, we can legally dilute his shares."

"Once things are final and his shares are diluted, he won't be able to make trouble anymore."

"After all, by then, even if he takes back his shares, there won't be much left."

Hearing Chen Yan's plan, Qin Ming quickly agreed, "Okay. I'll push this forward in the next few days."

Chen Yan acknowledged and then hung up the phone...

After hanging up, Chen Yan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in his office, looking at the distant blue sea, his thoughts drifting for a while.

Tencent's sudden attack made him even more urgent.

Zhang Yonghao, those big shots, Zhao Qingtian, and now Tencent...

The bigger the company grew, the more and stronger enemies seemed to emerge.

Every time he learned about these enemies, the pressure in Chen Yan's heart grew.

He felt he was too weak.

He really hoped that time was on his side, that he had more time to develop.

Not much longer, another five years, no, three years, maybe everything would be different by then...

Thinking this, Chen Yan clenched his fists, psyching himself up.

He knew that time was on his side.

The victor would definitely be him...

.......

Obviously, it wasn't just Chen Yan who knew time was on his side.

Chen Yan's enemies knew this as well.

So, on the third day after Chen Yan had a phone call with Qin Ming.

When the new round of financing for Headline Technology hadn't even reached halfway, Tencent took the lead in making a move.

Close to the new year, Tencent suddenly and silently banned all traffic entrances to Douyin.

In WeChat and QQ, two enormous social media apps, sharing from Douyin was forcibly removed.

Links to Douyin sent to WeChat became "dangerous links," unable to be opened.

Shares posted to WeChat were directly blocked.

For a moment, Douyin was caught off guard.

Regarding this matter, Tencent made no explanation to the public. It was as if they had enacted the most trivial of restrictions.

However, inside the industry, it quickly became known that Tencent internally believed that Headline Technology and Chen Group were growing too fast and had started to compete with them, so they wanted to impose restrictions.

And soon after, that very evening, rumors spread that Tencent's internal short video product was back on the agenda, planning a restart.

Moreover, the strategic investment department flew to Tiandu today, intending to negotiate an investment with Slow Hand.

As an absolute behemoth in the internet industry, Tencent's every move at this year-end stirred waves silently.

And it wasn't just Tencent.

The day after Tencent made its move, Zhang Yonghao officially filed a lawsuit against Chen Yan at Tiandu Court, calling for the agreement between him and Chen Yan to be nullified and requesting the return of the shares and control of Headline Technology that had been taken from him.

Tiandu Court, clearly tipped off by someone, processed in half a day what normally took ten to fifteen days, and officially sent Chen Yan a summons.

This speed made it very easy for those who followed the case to know that someone was exerting influence from behind—and they were not lightweights.

And that could have been all.

But on the day after the summons was delivered, the Tiandu Information Management Department called a meeting with Headline Technology and Microblog about improper information.

Three major blows in a row suddenly made the booming Chen Group seem somewhat shaky.

Many eyes were turning towards Tiandu and Qin Island, waiting to see how Chen Yan, Chen Group, and Headline Technology would respond to this crisis.

A company aiming to grow always faces various difficulties.

Chen Yan had successfully managed a few crises before, but those were not significant and did not prove his capability.

Yet, this crisis was potentially fatal. Therefore, many people wanted to use this "touchstone" to test Chen Yan's true strength, to see if he had the ability to manage a giant-level enterprise and then decide on their stance in advance.

In times when a storm seemed imminent, Chen Yan was not panicked.

Having received a series of intelligence in advance, everything happening now was within Chen Yan's expectations.

Thus, facing so many questions, he calmly advanced the countermeasures from Qin Island.

The most urgent and critical issue was the lawsuit in Tiandu.

So, Chen Yan directly followed the plan and used the "dragging" tactic.

He assembled a luxurious team of lawyers in Qin Island, then had them fly to Tiandu, initiating a tug-of-war with Tiandu Court over "jurisdictional objections."

Jurisdiction objections refer to when a party claims that the court seized for a case has no jurisdiction over it. It's the most common way to delay a lawsuit.

Normally, since both Headline Company and Zhang Yonghao were in Tiandu, it would raise no issue for Tiandu Court to adjudicate the dispute.

But Chen Yan's party argued, "This matter is unrelated to Headline Company; it is essentially about contract performance and breach. The contract was signed in Qin Island, so jurisdiction should belong there." They filed the objection.

These matters were inherently a process of haggling, so even if Tiandu Court wanted to dismiss their argument, it would take some time to process and review.

After holding Zhang Yonghao in check, Chen Yan and Qin Ming quickly advanced Headline Technology's current round of financing.

This time, Headline Technology proceeded with a new round of financing at a valuation of 300 billion.

The financiers were the new fund established by Chen Yan, Yu Qiao Qiao, Lu Man, He Mengxue, Zhao Ying, and Yang Rou.

The financing amount was 30 billion, accounting for 10% of the shares.

Chen Yan took 5%, and the other five women, each 1%.

According to the system's valuation of Headline Technology, this 1% share could be worth 40-80 billion in the future.

It was Chen Yan's pocket money for them.

Through this round of financing, the shares of others, like He Ruifeng, were further diluted.

Chen Yan's control was further strengthened.

Then, equipped with these 50 billion, Headline Technology patiently and meticulously underwent the scrutiny of the information management department...

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