My stepmother forced me to donate bone marrow, so I retaliated by slapping my scumbag father in the

Zhou Xuan's face was frighteningly ugly; he had been pursuing Yu Binglan for eight whole years.

Sending flowers, jewelry, and traveling thousands of kilometers to Shanghai to see her—I don't know how much time and effort he put in.

But Yu Binglan never took his hand, nor did she ever give him that gentle smile she had just given him.

What gives that man the right?

Zhou Xuan abruptly pulled open the car door and said coldly to the driver, "Investigate!"

"Find out everything about that man: his identity, his business, his family background!"

The driver didn't dare ask any more questions: "Yes, Young Master Zhou."

Back at the hotel, Zhou Xuan didn't rest at all, and sat in the living room waiting for news.

At 10 p.m., a set of organized documents was finally sent to his phone.

"Shen Ze, in his twenties, is a local from Shanghai."

"He owns multiple businesses, including Caesars Hotels, Fengsheng Group, Shue Yan Private Hospital, and Mingzhu Private Bank."

"Recently, we acquired Douxin for 200 million yuan and invested an additional 1.5 billion yuan in the platform."

As Zhou Xuan saw the first few industries listed, his expression grew increasingly grim.

A young man who can land deals with private banks and large corporations certainly deserves to drive that custom-made Rolls-Royce.

But when he saw the last investment, he suddenly stopped: "Shaking my heart?"

Zhou Xuan immediately opened the relevant information.

Although the platform's daily active users have exceeded 25 million, it has always been operating at a loss.

The acquisition cost 200 million yuan, plus an additional investment of 1.5 billion yuan.

In a short period of time, 1.7 billion yuan has already been poured in.

Aside from its explosive growth in user numbers, Douyin has no mature way to generate revenue.

The business community in Shanghai is almost unanimously pessimistic about this investment.

Many financial institutions even predict that, given Douyin's current rate of cash burn, 1.5 billion yuan will only last for one to two years at most.

Once GG advertising stops, user growth will slow down rapidly.

By then, the platform's high server, bandwidth, and review costs will become a bottomless pit.

Zhou Xuan's expression finally softened as he looked at the contents.

"Turns out he's just a fool who made a few bucks by luck and then lost all sense of who he is."

He continued scrolling down and soon saw the relationship between Shen Ze and Shen Jianjun.

The two are father and son, but they have long been at odds.

Shen Jianjun is a veteran figure in Shanghai's business circle. Although Jianjun Group has recently encountered a crisis, the network of connections he has built up over the years is still there.

Zhou Xuan leaned back on the sofa, and an idea quickly came to her mind.

Going to cause trouble for Shen Ze alone would only make him seem petty.

However, if you were to invite all the prominent figures in Shanghai's business world together to publicly analyze the investment drawbacks of Douxin and predict that Douxin would inevitably go bankrupt, then the situation would be completely different.

He can step on Shen Ze to prove his business acumen.

Yu Binglan will also see with her own eyes that Shen Ze's so-called success was just luck.

As for himself, he comes from a family with hundreds of billions in assets and received top-notch business training from a young age.

Comparing the two, it's clear which one is the better choice.

More importantly, he could use this banquet to get to know the wealthiest people in Shanghai.

The Zhou family's businesses are mainly concentrated in Longdu (Dongdu), and if they want to further enter the Shanghai market, they need just such an opportunity.

Zhou Xuan picked up her phone and dialed her assistant's number: "Book me the largest banquet hall at the Tianning Hotel."

"Invite prominent entrepreneurs and investors from Shanghai."

"Shen Jianjun, Yu Yehua, Yu Binglan, and Shen Ze, not one can be missing."

The assistant hesitated, then asked, "Young Master Zhou, under what pretext?"

"Business networking banquet".

Zhou Xuan said coldly, "Tell them that I represent the Zhou family of Longdu and hope to establish long-term cooperation with major enterprises in Shanghai."

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xuan looked at the information on her phone, and a smile finally appeared on her lips.

"Shen Ze, I want to see if you can keep up the act when the entire Shanghai business district believes that your Douxin is bound to go bankrupt."

The next morning, Yu Yehua received an invitation from Tianning Hotel.

After reading the contents, he casually placed the invitation on the table: "The Zhou family of Longdu?"

Shen Ze sat opposite him: "Was this delivered by Zhou Xuan?"

"Um."

Yu Yehua glanced at him: "Was that the young man who waited for Binglan at the entrance of Xingchen Group last night?"

"It's him."

Yu Binglan put down her coffee, her tone indifferent: "I've clearly refused many times, but he still won't give up."

"That kid has some connections."

Yu Yehua said, "The Zhou family has been operating businesses for many years, with total assets exceeding 100 billion yuan, and they have considerable influence in the Longdu business district."

"He hosted a banquet under the guise of business exchange and invited many wealthy people from Shanghai."

At this point, he looked at his daughter and asked, "Are you going or not?"

"I don't want to see him."

"Then I won't go."

Yu Yehua did not insist: "It's just a banquet. No matter how powerful the Zhou family is, they can't control us."

Shen Ze picked up the invitation and glanced at it twice: "Go."

Yu Binglan looked at him: "You want to go?"

"He specifically invited the three of us, which clearly wasn't just for business discussions."

Shen Ze said calmly, "Since we've prepared so much, we should give him a chance to show off."

Yu Yehua understood the implication and couldn't help but laugh, "Xiao Shen is right."

"They came all the way from Longdu, booked a hotel, and invited wealthy people. We didn't even go to see them; it's really disrespectful of us."

"Then let's go together."

Seeing that Shen Ze had decided to attend, Yu Binglan did not refuse again: "I'll listen to you."

Yu Yehua chuckled immediately: "Binglan, you're becoming more and more indecisive these days."

"I used to invite you to banquets, and you refused nine times out of ten."

"Now, you'll agree to anything Xiao Shen says."

Yu Binglan blushed for a moment, then regained her composure: "Dad, what are you saying? He's my husband. What's wrong with me listening to him?"

"no problem."

Yu Yehua smiled even more broadly: "This marriage certificate was definitely worth it."

Shen Ze grasped Yu Binglan's hand: "Binglan isn't indecisive; she's just willing to respect my ideas."

"Alright, you two don't need to defend each other in front of me."

Yu Yehua waved his hand: "When is the banquet?"

"The night after tomorrow."

"Then let's go together."

At the same time, Shen Jianjun's family also received a gold-embossed invitation.

Sun Mei opened the envelope, saw the name at the top, and immediately perked up.

"The Zhou family of Longdu!"

"Jianjun, look! Young Master Zhou is holding a business banquet at the Tianning Hotel, and he personally invited us!"

Shen Jianjun accepted the invitation and, after reading its contents, his expression became more serious.

The Zhou family's total assets exceed 100 billion yuan, which is significantly less than that of the Jianjun Group at its peak.

Moreover, they are currently in a crisis.

As long as they can get in touch with Zhou Jia, it will be of great help to Jianjun Group, whether it is to introduce funds or to establish new business channels.

"I must attend this banquet."

Shen Jianjun immediately said, "Not only do we have to go, but we also need to prepare in advance."

"The Zhou family operates established businesses, which is perfect for forming a partnership with Jianjun Group."

"If Zhou Xuan is willing to endorse us, those who are watching from the sidelines will reconsider their relationship with us."

Sun Mei nodded repeatedly: "I heard that Zhou Xuan is not even thirty years old yet, but she has already begun to participate in the management of the Zhou family's core industries."

"The Zhou family is wealthy, and he is the heir of the younger generation."

"Once we establish a relationship with him, how many people in Shanghai will dare to look down on us?"

The couple became more and more emotional as they talked.

These days, they've been subjected to a lot of cold shoulders in Shanghai's business district.

Now that the young master of the Zhou family in Longdu has taken the initiative to send an invitation, it undoubtedly gives them a chance to re-enter the top circle.

Sun Mei picked up her phone: "I'll have someone prepare a gift right now. This time, we must make sure Young Master Zhou remembers us!"