Chapter 102: The Sun and Gao Families Turn Against Each Other

"Why were you in such a hurry to call me over? Is something wrong?"

At the school gate, Ye Fei asked with a smile as he looked at Li Yueyao. She had changed into a long dress and looked no different from a well-behaved, innocent girl.

Looking tense, Li Yueyao walked up to him, glanced around nervously, and whispered, "Sun... Sun Shiyun is in trouble."

"Sun Shiyun?" Ye Fei narrowed his eyes and sneered. "What does her being in trouble have to do with me? I don't recall us being on particularly good terms."

"No, please, just listen to me first," Li Yueyao urged, her voice laced with anxiety. "Ye Fei, I know there is bad blood between you and Shiyun, but she had no choice back then. This time, she is in real trouble—huge trouble!"

"I'm listening," Ye Fei said, his interest piqued.

"You probably know that the Gao family, Gao Yangwei's family, has always wanted to form an alliance with the Sun family through marriage to expand their influence, right?" Li Yueyao's eyes tightened with deep worry. "A few days ago, Gao Yangwei proposed to the Sun family again. But for some reason, his demands became incredibly outrageous. Not only did he demand a dowry double the value of the bride price, but he also wanted forty percent of the Sun family's business shares!"

"And the worst part is, that bastard Gao Yangwei actually..."

"He actually said Shiyun could only be his concubine! He has no intention of marrying her as his lawful wife!"

"Oh?" Ye Fei raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

What had brought about such a sudden change in Gao Yangwei's attitude?

Forty percent of the family business, and not even a proper status as a wife.

When these two demands were combined... It seemed the Gao family did not view the Sun family as equals at all.

"Such demands—forget about the Sun family, even I have never heard of anything so absurd!" Li Yueyao said, her voice burning with indignation. "Gao Yangwei doesn't view Shiyun as a human being at all. He just wants to turn her into his plaything. Bah, as if we'd let that happen!"

"What did the Sun family say?" Ye Fei asked unhurriedly.

"They refused, of course." Li Yueyao shook her head and sighed. "Although the Sun family is only a minor, second- or third-rate clan that can't compare to the Gaos, Shiyun could never agree to such humiliating conditions."

"And the consequences?" Ye Fei asked flatly.

"The Gao family targeted all of the Sun family's businesses. Their physical properties and enterprises are either going bankrupt or facing major crises." A flicker of pain crossed Li Yueyao's eyes as she gritted her teeth. "Gao Yangwei even personally delivered an ultimatum to the Sun family: Shiyun must make a choice within seven days. Either she accepts his terms, or..."

"He will make the Sun family vanish forever."

Hearing this, Ye Fei laughed. Gao Yangwei truly was a bully who feared the strong but preyed on the weak. "As I recall, Gao Yangwei always treated Sun Shiyun like his dream goddess. Why the sudden fallout?"

He remembered clearly that not long ago at the auction, Gao Yangwei and Sun Shiyun had joined forces to mock him.

The two of them should have been two peas in a pod.

Why had things turned out this way?

"I don't know either. As soon as I heard the news, I came straight to you, Ye Fei." Li Yueyao looked at him expectantly. "I know you are highly capable. If you refuse to help, Shiyun's family will definitely force her to marry Gao Yangwei!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Ye Fei crossed his arms and sneered. "I have no interest in getting involved in the squabbles of these clans."

"Ye Fei, you and Sun Shiyun had a marriage contract first!" Li Yueyao gritted her teeth. "No one can help her now except you!"

"Except me?" Ye Fei chuckled. "You think too highly of me, Miss Li. Sun Shiyun and I have only met once. As for that so-called marriage contract, I made my stance perfectly clear in front of the Sun family back then."

"Don't come to me for things like this."

"I don't have the ability, nor do I have the patience."

"That's all."

With that, Ye Fei turned and walked away without a second thought.

Li Yueyao watched his retreating figure. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and swallowed her words.

She remembered clearly what had transpired between Ye Fei and Sun Shiyun. Back at the Sun family residence, if Ye Fei's senior sister, Lin Qiqing, hadn't stepped in, Ye Fei would have been the most humiliated person in the room.

"Sigh."

With a sigh, Li Yueyao pulled out her phone and dialed Sun Shiyun's number.

After two rings, the call went through.

"Hello, Yueyao?" Sun Shiyun's anxious voice came through the line. "How did it go? Did he... did he agree to help me?"

Li Yueyao shook her head and sighed softly. "No, Shiyun. He doesn't seem to care at all. I... I did my best..."

On the other end of the line, Sun Shiyun fell silent for a couple of seconds before letting out a soft hum. "I suppose that makes sense," she murmured. "There was never any affection between us, and I even offended him before. Expecting him to help me was nothing but wishful thinking."

"Don't panic, Shiyun. We'll think of something else," Li Yueyao comforted her quickly, hearing the disappointment in her friend's voice. "I... I'll try to find another way to convince Ye Fei. Wait for my news."

She then hung up the phone.

***

After parting ways with Li Yueyao, Ye Fei arrived at the company. However, the moment he stepped inside, he sensed an unusual atmosphere.

Everyone in the office seemed to be walking on eggshells.

Whistling casually, Ye Fei stepped into the elevator.

"Have you heard? Wang Xue, the manager of the finance department, absconded with all the company's funds last night!"

"Yeah, I heard. All the executives are in a meeting right now. Word is she took a massive amount of money!"

"They're estimating it's close to five hundred million! That money is crucial for our company!"

"The money being stolen is actually the lesser problem. The key issue is that we are at a critical stage right now. If this news is confirmed to be true, the impact on the company will be catastrophic. We might even go bankrupt!"

"I wonder how Chairman Lin will handle this. What a mess!"

Ye Fei stood in the elevator, listening to the people beside him gossip.

*Ding.*

The elevator doors opened, and Ye Fei stepped out. He glanced at the closed door of the conference room not far away, from which faint voices could be heard.

Ye Fei walked into his own office, turned on his computer, and sat on the sofa. He opened the security monitoring system, and the live feeds from the cameras throughout the entire building filled his screen.

Checking the surveillance footage was part of Ye Fei's daily routine. Of course, besides monitoring the cameras, flirting with the girls in the company's WeChat groups was also an essential part of his day.

Although his senior sister had recently told him that a new security captain would be taking over, Ye Fei had not received any notice from the HR department. He simply dismissed it as his senior sister venting her anger and paid it no mind.