Sylvia Ran seemed to have anticipated Director Brooks' question. She immediately replied in a sweet tone, "Oh Brooks, you know I wouldn't try to buy your shares if I didn't have the money, right? Acting is just a hobby for me—I really want to do something serious. My parents have always been good friends with the elders of the Yin family. Even though their business failed, they still left me some money. I just don't want to waste it, so I want to do something proper with it."
Director Brooks was not so easily fooled by Sylvia Ran and said, "Out of all the listed companies, why are you so fixated on Yin Enterprises? Even if your parents were close to the Yin family, that's hardly a good enough reason for you to be so eager to buy Yin shares, is it?"
Sylvia Ran rolled her eyes and said, "Come on, Brooks, do you really think I have any bad intentions? Sure, there are plenty of companies out there, but none of them are as strong as Yin Enterprises! Besides, I trust their foundation. Buying their shares is like buying a protective charm—I can just relax and enjoy life."
Director Brooks gave Sylvia Ran a suspicious look, as if trying to decide if she was lying.
Sylvia Ran's acting skills were on full display, gradually lowering Director Brooks' guard.
"What an idiot," Charles Yin sneered.
Cecilia Gu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why is Sylvia Ran so obsessed with buying shares in Yin Enterprises?"
"There are a lot of secrets about Yin Enterprises that you still don't know. Only directors who hold a certain number of shares are qualified to know them." Charles Yin glanced at Cecilia Gu. "You don't have enough shares yet to know those secrets."
Cecilia knew it was true, but she couldn't help feeling a bit upset.
It felt like she was being left out.
"Sylvia Ran's real target might be Yin Enterprises' black market trading rights overseas," Charles Yin quickly added. "But that's just speculation for now. We can't be certain yet."
"Black market?" Cecilia Gu looked at Charles Yin in confusion.
Charles Yin looked at Cecilia seriously. "Yes. Overseas, a lot of things that are banned here are actually allowed. For example, organ transplants..."
Cecilia shivered involuntarily, suddenly not wanting to hear any more.
Charles didn't continue. He just kept his eyes glued to the surveillance feed.
If what Joe Qi said was true, then Sylvia Ran was definitely after Yin Enterprises' black market trading rights overseas!
Cecilia's mind raced with a jumble of thoughts. She only snapped back to reality when she heard Charles Yin making a phone call.
"It's time to close the net," Charles said coolly. "Save all the footage from today. Director Brooks will want to see it for himself."
After saying that, Charles hung up and drove off with Cecilia.
"We're just leaving like this?" Cecilia stared at Charles in surprise. "You know Sylvia Ran is after Yin Enterprises' stock, and you're still letting her go?"
Seeing Cecilia's strange expression, Charles quickly clarified, "Sylvia Ran is a useful pawn. Since she's so desperate for Yin Enterprises' shares, I'll use her to test each of the directors. If any of them act suspiciously, I won't have to investigate myself. Two birds with one stone, right?"
Cecilia was speechless.
Charles's mind was so deep and complex—she really couldn't figure him out.
Maybe he's right.
They drove away from The Retreat, Charles taking his time on the way back.
She didn't know why, but after doing all this together, Cecilia suddenly felt like the cold war was over...
They'd gotten along so well for hours—how could they still be fighting?
Ugh, when did she lose control of her own rhythm again?
Cecilia was at her wit's end.
Charles, on the other hand, was in a fantastic mood. He said to Cecilia, "I had the house make you some soup. You haven't been home in days—Mrs. Zhang's asked about you several times."
Cecilia replied awkwardly, "Rona Muir's been in a bad mood lately, so I've been keeping her company. Besides, weren't you the one not coming home? How do you know Mrs. Zhang's been asking about me?"
Hmph, it was him who left home and refused to come back, wasn't it?
Now he's blaming her for not coming home, using that tone!
So unfair!
Charles didn't answer, just changed the subject: "What do you want for dinner tonight?"
Cecilia was left speechless.
"Forget it, I'll go find Rona..." Cecilia replied, a bit sulky.
"Rona Muir's busy tonight, and you're not even bringing your assistant. Planning to starve?" Charles said blandly. "If you think Xiao Wang isn't attentive enough, I'll just fire her! She gets a high salary from Yin Enterprises every month but doesn't work—what does she think this place is?"
Cecilia finally replied, sounding frustrated, "I just wanted some time alone with Rona. What's the point of Xiao Wang tagging along?"
"You've been taking a break for a whole week," Charles continued to complain.
"Alright, alright, I get it. I'll come home tonight." Cecilia didn't want Xiao Wang to lose her job, and thinking about it, she'd really been away for a week.
Whatever, I'll just go back.
Anyway, this fight somehow got resolved out of nowhere.
As for the future, we'll deal with that when it comes!
A satisfied smile crept onto Charles's face. He told A to bring the soup home—it'd be there soon.
A immediately followed Charles's instructions. By the time Charles and Cecilia got home, dinner was perfectly set out on the table.
The soup was just the right temperature.
After being away for days, coming back home, Cecilia felt like things had changed.
It had only been a week, but the Yun Family was finished.
The money she'd given her parents wasn't enough to help the Yun Family make a comeback—it could only keep the research institute running a little longer.