Chapter 68 — In The Eye Of The Storm

He continued, "It should also be able to send out warning signals in case of emergencies and depending on the situation, automatically put a call through to the relevant departments."

"Not just that, let's look at the aspect of voice therapy. It would help the lonely elderlies who are often left on their own, as well as provide therapy for those who are laid up due to sickness. We could include a personalized voice option."

"And that's just the beginning. For further versions, we can incorporate other areas as well, especially in the area of business and problem solving for basic needs. So, what do you think?"

Jiang Philip kept jotting down points and ideas while repeatedly praising his friend. "Love love love it. Great ideas all round, Mo. I'm pumped up, let's begin!"

Pei Yueran also looked at him with admiration. It was obvious he had put a lot of thought into it, and this sounded a hundred times better than the original.

Li Chuanmo and Jiang Philip worked well into the night without a break. They didn't even eat dinner. Pei Yueran stayed with them for most of it, but Li Chuanmo persuaded her to go and rest after a few hours.

They had already gone to remove the stitches at the hospital more than a week ago, but no one brought up the issue of her going back home.

She had been living there for more than a month already.

Returning to her room, she could not fall asleep. After tossing for a while, she got up, opened her laptop and started to do research based on the points Li Chuanmo shared.

She did not finish until her alarm rang at seven in the morning. She then saved her work before sending the document to Li Chuanmo and falling back into bed.

By the time Li Chuanmo came upstairs to talk to her about the document she sent, she was dead asleep, her door unlocked.

He spent a few minutes just drinking in the sight of her sprawled on the bed. She looked perfect. She was beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful and caring.

He felt he did not deserve her, but he was grateful for her presence in his life. He eventually whispered, "have a good rest", before letting himself out a few minutes later.

He sighed as he got into bed. The day ahead was going to be as long as yesterday.

*****

Watching the nightly news, the man roared in laughter. His happiness was thick with schadenfreude. He picked his phone and dialed a number. When the receiver picked up, he spoke in a hearty voice.

"Congratulations sir. I just watched the news. That little boy is in trouble already. It's just a matter of time before your dream is fulfilled. Congratulations again sir, or should I say Chairman Fen?"

The man on the other end —Fen Wucai— laughed just as boisterously. "Yes yes yes. We're a step closer to achieving our goal. It's all for the good of the company, and our livelihood as well. We can't sit back and watch a boy with no experience head the chain of companies we have poured decades of our lives into."

"Exactly, exactly. I was so sceptical when the Retired Chairman announced him as the successor. And it's not as if we don't know his origins. How can we trust a child from the orphanage with our hard-earned money? It was the most ridiculous decision the Retired Chairman has ever made!"

On his end, Fen Wucai smiled widely. " On to serious matters, you know that this is only the beginning. We still have a long battle ahead of us."

"That's true, but this is a good start already. With this, we can make sure the probation doesn't end this half a year, and probably even extend it past the one year duration." This was from Bu Luwei.

"Better still, we have to make sure we let the rest of the board see reasons why we need to make the chairman position one of election and not inheritance. Maybe by the end of the year, we would have another, more competent leader."

"Yes, yes. You're right. I'll keep monitoring the news. By the way, should we call an emergency shareholders meeting?"

"Not yet, let's watch a bit more. The situation is not yet that serious. The company has not been affected yet."

'Though not for long', Fen Wucai added silently.

"Alright then." Bu Luwei said, before ending the call.

Fen Wucai watched the news till the end, then sent a message to an unsaved number. "Do it. And leave no traces."

*****

Li Chuanmo woke up to knocks on his door. It was some minutes after noon, which meant he had slept for less than four hours. He ran a hand through his hair. 'This had better be important', he thought.

He stood up to open the door. The redness of his eyes, though alarming, did not detract from his aristocratic looks.

At least, that was what Pei Yueran thought when he finally opened the door. She had to remind herself to not be distracted.

She herself had not gotten enough sleep, but she was woken up by a call from the company. It seemed they had been trying to reach Li Chuanmo without success.

"Did something happen?" Li Chuanmo asked. She would not have come to him for something trivial.

"Chuanmo, Secretary Min and Assistant Gong have been trying to reach you. Where's your phone?"

When he looked back and did not see it on the headboard, he said, "I must have left it in the study." He stood aside to let her come in.

She walked in and switched on the television. Every major news station was reporting news about the leaked software. The TV hosts were talking about the new software in great detail, what it was like and its range of functions.

Some stations had even brought experts to the show, to further analyze the piece of the software that was released online.

They also sent reporters to the headquarters of the Li Conglomerate to see Li Chuanmo and get more information, but they were denied access. That was why Gong Anwei had been trying to reach him.

Even the Li Family Villa was being besieged. It was a good thing that the Li couple were still at Li Chuanmo's house. There were no reporters there because the place was under tight security and —for the most part— unexposed to the public.

It was pure pandemonium, and Li Chuanmo was in the eye of the storm.