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*****
{Chapter: 331 President Yan's boyfriend II !}
Pursuing legal action seemed like the only route left—but that too was a trap. The court system was notoriously slow in such business disputes. A commercial lawsuit of this nature could drag on for two to three years, if not longer. Even if Yanyue Company eventually won, the damages awarded might be limited to breach-of-contract severance—an amount the Chen family could easily afford to cover on Feng Dahai's behalf. In short, a court victory would be symbolic at best, with no guarantee of a timely or effective resolution.
In the meantime, the damage would already be done. Their production would stall, their market credibility would suffer, and financial losses would snowball. Legal proceedings offered no relief in the immediate crisis. They needed a solution now—something fast, decisive, and outside the rulebook.
She bit her lip.
How could Lin Yuan possibly get through to him?
What method did he have up his sleeve?
While Yan Ruyue stood there, deep in thought, Lin Yuan had already taken her phone and was navigating through the contacts.
Then, without hesitation, he tapped on the number labeled "Feng Dahai" and initiated a call.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hello? President Yan?" came a voice from the other end. It was deep and laced with smugness, obviously recognizing the caller ID. The middle-aged man continued, "It's good that President Yan decided to cooperate. We should sit down sometime and relax—"
"I'm not President Yan," Lin Yuan said, cutting him off abruptly.
There was a sudden silence on the line.
It was only a second, but the hesitation was obvious.
"…Then who are you?" Feng Dahai's voice returned, this time more guarded. "How are you related to President Yan?"
Clearly, he hadn't expected to hear a man's voice when he picked up Yan Ruyue's call.
Lin Yuan's tone remained calm, but a faint trace of dominance began to seep into his words.
Lin Yuan responded without missing a beat, his tone casual yet deliberate. "President Yan's boyfriend."
The simple words echoed in the room, and Yan Ruyue's reaction was immediate. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink, and a faint glimmer appeared in her beautiful eyes.
Although the two had once been engaged—and their relationship had grown considerably closer in recent days—she had never actually heard Lin Yuan refer to himself that way before. Not directly. Not so casually.
For a moment, her heart fluttered unexpectedly. The title "boyfriend," spoken so confidently, felt far more intimate than she anticipated.
Even though she understood that Lin Yuan was likely just using the label to simplify the situation for the sake of the conversation with Feng Dahai, she couldn't help but feel a subtle joy bubble up inside her. Just hearing it from his lips brought her a quiet sense of delight.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Feng Dahai fell silent for a few seconds. The pause in the conversation was thick with surprise.
He was well aware of President Yan's well-known cold and distant demeanor. A woman like her—renowned in both business and social circles for her cool-headedness—having a boyfriend? That was definitely unexpected.
But upon further consideration, it did start to make some sense. Lin Yuan's voice carried both poise and confidence. And if Yan Ruyue had indeed asked someone to step in on her behalf, it would most likely be someone she trusted deeply… perhaps even someone she cared about.
After a short delay, Feng Dahai's voice returned, this time more guarded and slightly impatient. "Oh, so it's President Yan's boyfriend. What do you want then? My company's situation isn't great right now. I'm really busy, and there are some topics I'd rather not get into. Honestly, there's not much you can do, so I'll be hanging up if there's nothing important."
Lin Yuan had turned on the speaker function, so Yan Ruyue heard every word loud and clear. Her expression darkened slightly as she listened. Her jaw tensed, and she looked down, clearly displeased.
She could sense from the tone that Feng Dahai's words weren't casual—they were rehearsed. It was like he had prepared this entire script in advance, simply to shut down any further attempts at negotiation.
What he meant, really, was: "You're wasting my time. I've already made my decision, and nothing you say will change it."
Yan Ruyue understood that since severing ties with Yanyue Company, Feng Dahai had likely found another buyer or partner to take their place. From a business perspective, it was logical—maybe even expected—but she couldn't accept the lack of professionalism or respect. Cutting off a long-term partner when they're most vulnerable… that kind of opportunistic behavior disgusted her.
Still, despite the dismissive and rude tone from the other side of the line, Lin Yuan remained calm. His expression didn't change in the slightest. Instead, he smiled lightly and asked,
"Did you recently increase the price of the facial mask sheets you supply to Yanyue Company?"
There was a short pause again before Feng Dahai responded. "I didn't have a choice," he said with a sigh that sounded manufactured. "My company's been going through some tough times lately—major setbacks, unexpected expenses. If I don't raise prices, we'll be on the verge of bankruptcy."
His words sounded reasonable on the surface, but the arrogance in his tone told a different story. He wasn't pleading—he was posturing.
Yan Ruyue could only shake her head slightly. His words made it sound like his company was barely surviving, yet he carried himself like he was in complete control, unwilling to compromise even an inch.
Feng Dahai continued, his tone growing sharper. "If this is about the facial mask sheets again, then let's not waste each other's time. If you can't accept the price hike, then that's the end of it. Our partnership is over. That's final. No more discussions."
He sounded like he was already reaching to end the call.
But just as he was about to hang up, Lin Yuan chuckled softly and said: "Actually, I didn't call to talk about the facial mask sheets at all. That's not what I wanted to discuss."
The sudden shift in the topic caught Feng Dahai off guard. His impatient demeanor gave way to curiosity. "Oh? Then what is it?" he asked, a trace of interest slipping into his voice.
Without giving him the chance to speculate further, Lin Yuan continued in a composed tone, "I don't know how familiar you are with the name, but have you ever heard of the Shengli Factory?"
On the other end of the line, silence fell again.
This time, the pause wasn't one of surprise—it was tension. A deliberate, telling silence.
Lin Yuan's smile deepened.
Yan Ruyue, standing quietly beside him, tilted her head slightly. Even she wasn't sure what he was referring to, but she could feel the shift in the air. Lin Yuan had said it with such confidence, it was clear—he was no longer negotiating.
He was laying down a card… a very powerful one.
---
Feng Dahai paused for a moment after hearing Lin Yuan mention the name "Shengli Factory."
"Shengli Factory?" he repeated, feigning confusion. "I've never heard of it. I don't know what you're talking about. What about this factory?"
His voice was calm, but the brief silence before his reply gave away a flicker of unease.
Lin Yuan chuckled lightly and said, "Boss Feng, are you sure you don't remember? If you think about it carefully, didn't you once open a company by that exact name in Jiangbei? If I recall correctly, it was later renamed to what's now called the Dahai Factory. That was your doing, wasn't it?"
There was another momentary silence from the other end of the line before Feng Dahai replied, "…Yes, I think you're right. The factory did have a different name before. I named it after a nephew of mine, but the name didn't sound quite right, so I changed it. What's your point? What does this have to do with you?"
He quickly grew irritated, his tone sharpening. "If that's all you have to say, I'm hanging up now."
Lin Yuan's tone, in contrast, remained calm and unwavering. "A nephew, huh? Are you sure about that? Wasn't the name change actually an attempt to escape from the lingering controversies tied to the old Shengli Factory? The one in Hexi? If memory serves, there was a tragic accident at that site… an accident caused by your own negligence. Three workers were buried alive when the structure collapsed. Do you really not remember?"
He didn't wait for a response before continuing, his voice slow and deliberate. "And what about your old business partner, Hou Shengli? You remember him, don't you? The man you left to die in that very factory? He visits you in your dreams, doesn't he? That's why you couldn't bear to keep the old name. That's why you changed it."
Lin Yuan's words cut deep, spoken swiftly and with precision like arrows hitting a target.
On the other end of the call, Feng Dahai's breathing grew audibly heavier. Even without seeing him, Lin Yuan could clearly sense the storm brewing inside the man. There was no need for guesswork—his silence, his uneven breath, said it all.
After a few tense seconds, Feng Dahai's voice exploded with anger, layered over barely-contained panic. "What the hell are you talking about?! I don't know anything about any accident! Are you insane? You're making things up!"
He was unraveling. His words were fast and defensive, his control slipping. "I'm hanging up!"
But just as he was about to end the call, Lin Yuan's calm voice echoed once more through the speaker, sharper than before.
"Go ahead, hang up. In about five minutes, the police will be knocking on your door. Feng Dahai, your hands are stained with blood. And soon, the world will know. You can keep pretending ignorance, but you'll be defending yourself from behind bars."
On the other end, silence returned. Not a single word. Only the low, uneven sound of breath filtered through the speaker. The same man who was yelling moments ago now couldn't even find the strength to speak.
He didn't hang up. He couldn't.
Yan Ruyue, standing nearby, watched Lin Yuan with wide eyes, utterly shocked. The way he calmly cornered Feng Dahai—step by step, word by word—left her at a loss for words. She hadn't expected this at all.
But what truly caught her off guard was what Lin Yuan had said about the Shengli Factory. Three people killed? What on earth was going on?