WBSGVS Chapter 44

Lin Hengzhi didn’t tell Qingli about his busy matters, and Qingli couldn’t be bothered to find out.

Neither the original Qingli nor the current one could ever truly form a loving grandfather-granddaughter bond with Lin Hengzhi. Aside from the daily medicinal meals, she barely spoke to him.

Once Lin Hengzhi finished eating, she would leave immediately.

She was busy herself. Her senior brother and sister’s research was nearing completion, and while there wasn’t much more she could contribute, she still didn’t have any free time.

By the time the research finally wrapped up, it was already June.

The college entrance exams had ended, and the admission letters had been sent out.

Qingli went back to school to collect hers. She had planned to leave right after but ended up running into Pei Xiyue at the school gate.

She silently tried to avoid him, but every time she moved to the left, he would move to the left as well, until they were face-to-face at the entrance.

“Move,” Qingli said coldly.

Pei Xiyue’s face reddened slightly as if he was ashamed of himself, but he didn’t budge. He looked at her seriously and said, “Fu Qingli, is there no chance for us?”

Qingli stared at him, feeling a bit strange. Had this person lost his mind?

Had he forgotten how much he despised the original Qingli back then?

Where did he get the audacity to think they could ever be together again?

Pei Xiyue nervously tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “You used to like me so much. There’s no way you don’t have any feelings left, right? I know I was wrong before, but I’ve changed…”

Suddenly, Qingli smiled—a beautiful, pure smile that lit up her eyes and curved her lips.

That one smile made Pei Xiyue lose his words, staring at her, entranced.

Without speaking, Qingli opened the admission letter she had just received from her teacher. Then she said, “See this? I’m very busy. Please step aside.”

She didn’t offer any extra words, nor did she humiliate him the way Pei Xiyue had treated the original Fu Qingli.

She simply opened the letter, revealing the words “National Defense University.”

At that moment, Pei Xiyue felt as if he had been stripped naked and humiliated in front of everyone. His whole body burned with shame.

That’s right.

He was no longer worthy of her.

Once, he had looked down on the pitiful, shabby Fu Qingli, a destitute girl who came to the Pei family, eating their food and using their resources, and even had to be his fiancée, which he considered the ultimate insult.

But now, with just one action, she had returned all of that humiliation to him.

Pei Xiyue could no longer justify the notion that the Pei family had adopted her out of pity and that she owed them gratitude. Faced with her indifferent attitude and her overpowering presence, all he could do was clench his teeth, forcing himself to maintain a shred of dignity. “I understand. Goodbye.”

He turned and left, expecting her to show at least a little emotion.

Instead, she swiftly walked past him to a taxi waiting by the roadside, where a familiar-looking boy was standing. The two exchanged smiles, got into the car, and closed the door. From that moment, they no longer existed in the same world.

“Brother Yue…” A friend approached, unable to bear the sight, and patted his shoulder to comfort him. “Let it go. You didn’t even like her that much back then. Just keep that same mindset.”

Pei Xiyue rubbed his face and forced an awkward smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”

His friend let out a sigh of relief, draped an arm around his shoulder, and said cheerfully, “Ding Yuanzhao booked a clubhouse for everyone to celebrate! We’re finally free and will never have to go through high school again!”

“Sounds good,” Pei Xiyue replied with a smile.

He thought he could remain carefree like this. After all, it was just a girl he used to like. Even if he remembered her deeply, it wouldn’t affect him too much.

But before he could even go abroad, trouble struck at home.

The patent Pei Rong had painstakingly purchased faced significant issues in practical application. The first batch of self-driving cars had not even been sold; during testing, they experienced problems such as overheating chips causing data errors after just two hours of driving, and most importantly, the costs were spiraling out of control.

The Pei family had invested heavily to acquire this patent in one go, but they were now worried about offending Lin Hengzhi, which led to problems with related chips and other technology patents. Consequently, they had to free up some funds to purchase more chips and other key technology patents.

This meant that the Pei family had no liquid assets left; they were just waiting for the returns from the self-driving technology to cover their bank debts.

The technology wouldn’t succeed overnight, but as long as they released some good news, the stock prices that had previously plummeted would surely rise again. At that point, the Pei family could sell their stocks, and investors would buy in.

If they could just get through this moment, everything would be easier to resolve.

Unfortunately, right at the start, the technology ran into problems. While everyone was scrambling to remedy the situation, the self-driving technology patent, facilitated by Lin Hengzhi, was bought by a rival company of the Pei family!

It wasn’t a full purchase but rather a profit-sharing arrangement.

The rival was willing to pay only half the cost, with the remainder to be treated as a share of the profits.

This meant that as long as the rival’s patent functioned properly, they had ample funds to seize the current market share held by the Pei family.

As soon as the rival company released good news, Pei family stocks plummeted even further before they could even begin to rise. Pei Rong found himself unable to sell the stocks he held!

Larger companies struggled more with a rupture in cash flow.

This was because they had always mortgaged a lot of assets to secure large loans from the bank, and this loan amounted to hundreds of millions—not something that could be easily repaid.

To make matters worse, in addition to repaying the loan each month, there were substantial ongoing expenses, such as wages.

If one part of this system broke down, it could lead to a major crisis.

Now the Pei family was working hard to release positive news, such as Pei Mingjiang being in good health and still able to take walks in the park, and that the Pei family had acquired another self-driving technology.

But with the current situation, who would believe them?

To make things worse, someone leaked the Pei family’s current situation, causing their stocks to hit a new low. If they couldn’t recover any funds in the next two months, the Pei family would likely face bankruptcy.

Naturally, Pei Xiyue could no longer go abroad; if he did, he would have to return immediately.

With the family in crisis, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.

However, the amount of money involved was too large. Even if they sold all their current assets, including properties and stocks, it wouldn’t cover the gap.

After struggling for a month and a half, they still couldn’t repay their debts.

People could see that the Pei family had been tricked, but this didn’t violate any laws; both parties in the transaction were willing, and Pei Xiyue himself had seen the results. The decision-making power rested with the Pei family, and lending that money was just a drop in the bucket. Even if they helped repay it all, the family’s financial chain could face issues.

So, by the time Qingli found out, the Pei family had already declared bankruptcy.

It all happened in less than six months.

The Pei family declared bankruptcy, and the court came for liquidation. The Pei family members were left with nothing. Qingli had come to deliver medicinal food to Lin Hengzhi, intending to leave after the delivery, but she heard the news.

By this time, she had already enrolled in school and changed her major. Due to her excellent performance, her senior classmates recruited her to participate in research, and she also brought Xu Nianhan along.

They weren’t yet qualified to research weapons or explosives.

Currently, they are working on a study related to 5G communication.

In her busy schedule, she hadn’t kept up with other matters. It wasn’t until Dong Qing mentioned it to her that she finally realized what was happening.

Wow! She hadn’t even had a chance to say anything yet. Every time Lin Hengzhi looked at her with that guilty expression, it made her skin crawl.

Moreover, she knew that this time, Lin Hengzhi wouldn’t help Pei Mingjiang, so she hadn’t given it much thought.

The self-driving technology was supposed to be a matter for the original owner after turning nineteen. At that point, it was a critical moment for the Pei family, and Pei Mingjiang had taken the initiative to mention the engagement between the original owner and Pei Xiyue.

After acquiring the technology, Pei Mingjiang fell silent again, allowing the original owner to struggle on her own.

Unexpectedly, things had progressed faster than she had imagined, leading to their bankruptcy.

Dong Qing explained, “Your grandfather came up with a good idea, but Pei Rong was too clever for his good, and his cunning backfired.”

After acknowledging their relationship, Lin Hengzhi was filled with resentment. But ultimately, he was a principled person who wouldn’t do anything unethical. He knew that the Pei family would surely feel guilty.

So he deliberately leaked information about Qingli and Lin Hengzhi’s involvement at the National Defense University. Currently, Pei Rong was not a mature leader, and after this incident, he was feeling increasingly guilty.

Lin Hengzhi then casually mentioned that a friend had developed a very mature self-driving technology, but the price was a bit high and needed to be paid in full upfront, asking if Pei Rong wanted to buy it.

Although Lin Hengzhi appeared to be doing nothing, he might not even know about the hardships his granddaughter had endured. But Pei Rong didn’t dare to believe him.

Thus, after Lin Hengzhi’s inquiry, Pei Rong’s first reaction was that this was a trap, especially given the high price, which was far above the estimated cost.

Pei Rong believed this was a deliberate scheme targeting him, forcing him to pay a substantial sum of cash. When the company’s cash flow was cut off, the technology would undoubtedly have issues.

At the same time, someone inadvertently introduced another research institute also working on self-driving technology.

With Lin Hengzhi’s trap in place, Pei Rong became more interested in the results from this research institute, and coincidentally, he heard that Lin Hengzhi was trying to contact the owner of this institute.

He grew even more anxious and guilty. During this time, he inadvertently discovered that Fu Qingli had been visiting the hospital where Lin Hengzhi was admitted.

With both pieces of information, Pei Rong was sure the first was a trap, and if the second didn’t hurry, it would soon become a trap as well.

After conducting thorough research, he and the shareholders finalized their decision.

They would buy this patent while also acquiring other necessary technology patents related to it, aiming to produce, experiment, and market as quickly as possible.

As long as everything was completed according to plan, the bank and investors would cover the costs.

But unexpectedly—the most crucial technology patent encountered problems!

Lin Hengzhi had calculated all of this so precisely, not only because he was smart but also due to the connections he had built over the years that were willing to play along.

After all, who would ignore money?

In reality, the true owner of the self-driving technology patent had thoroughly researched this technology over six months ago and had been working on finalizing it recently, waiting for the right price.

It’s common for research to lack funding. This professor happened to be in desperate need of funds for the next project and didn’t want to sell the patent cheaply, but he would be willing to offer a discount if Lin Hengzhi stepped in.

To help the Pei family quickly seize the market, Lin Hengzhi sacrificed his pride and requested the professor to split the costs into three parts.

The company would cover 50%, Lin Hengzhi would pay 30%, and the remaining 20% would be treated as profit sharing.

This meant that Lin Hengzhi was effectively co-purchasing with the company, so his 30% would turn into a share of the profits from future car sales, benefiting Fu Qingli.

Given the significant disparity between the Pei family and their rivals, even if they released false good news, they couldn’t fool investors. A large number of stocks remained unsold, leaving the Pei family on the brink of bankruptcy.

After hearing Dong Qing’s explanation, Qingli opened her phone to search for more details. Sure enough, she was bombarded with various notifications. It was shocking for many that a once-prominent player in the automotive industry, along with other well-performing enterprises, had gone bankrupt.

However, behind all this news, there was no sign of Pei Mingjiang. It seemed he still hadn’t realized their family was bankrupt.

Lin Hengzhi brushed off the dust from his white sleeve, seemingly picking up on Qingli’s thoughts. He took out his phone and squinted his eyes, saying, “Since last year, I haven’t contacted Old Pei. I should call and check now.”

He hadn’t reached out before to avoid alarming them.

Now, he could finally vent the resentment building up inside him.

The call was quickly connected, and unsurprisingly, the person who answered wasn’t Pei Mingjiang but a young man’s voice: “Hello, who is this?”

“I am Lin Hengzhi!”

This powerful reply pierced through the phone, causing Pei Mingjiang, who was nearby, to tremble. His already pale lips began to turn a dark shade, and the monitors beside his hospital bed emitted urgent beeping sounds.