Ye Zhi was genuinely worried.
The magazine article she was reading was about the 'love-hate entanglements' during Ou Minghan's founding of Qianbai Company.
At that time, Ou Minghan founded the company with his university classmate Chen Wei.
Chen Wei was a genius; the programs he wrote in university were already selected for university textbooks.
It was precisely because of this that Ou Minghan sought him out as a partner. Ou Minghan provided the capital, while Chen Wei contributed his technical expertise. Subsequently, Chen Wei was responsible for writing the programs, and Ou Minghan handled the management.
However, as Qianbai Company developed steadily, Ou Minghan, through a series of maneuvers such as capital increases, continuously diluted Chen Wei's shares. Coupled with their differing philosophies, Ou Minghan directly sidelined him with underhanded tactics. Chen Wei, unable to accept this, fell out with him.
After their falling out, Chen Wei was very resentful. He went and secured investment himself to establish a new company and compete with Ou Minghan. But later, as soon as Chen Wei's new website launched, it became embroiled in a controversy of plagying Qianbai's new website. Ou Minghan immediately sued Chen Wei, not only ruining his reputation but also burdening him with exorbitant debt.
Since then, Chen Wei had been unable to recover and completely disappeared from public view. This complete disappearance made it difficult for Ye Zhi not to overthink.
"You're worried that Chen Wei might be silenced by Ou Minghan?" Qi Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly. "While Ou Minghan is indeed ruthless, why would he bother with someone who poses no threat?"
"That makes sense," Ye Zhi agreed, nodding.
Indeed, for those who no longer posed a threat, Ou Minghan preferred to keep them around, watching their pathetic struggles for survival before him.
After the Ye family went bankrupt in the original novel, Ou Minghan had people secretly film the miserable plight of the Ye family members, replaying scenes of their humiliation and torment for his amusement, and often forcing Ye Qinya to watch them with him.
If he treated the Ye family like that, he would likely spare his former partner, Chen Wei. After all, the more desperate Chen Wei became, the more it would highlight how correct and successful Ou Minghan was.
"Are you thinking of recruiting him?" Qi Xuan asked indifferently.
"Of course!" Ye Zhi's eyes lit up. "It would be a shame to miss out on such a genius!"
"It's a good idea, but convincing him won't be easy."
"I understand," Ye Zhi said with a sigh. "He's been deceived so many times, he certainly won't trust anyone easily. I'll have to make several visits to move him. However…"
Ye Zhi frowned and asked, "What's the deal with that plagiarism incident? The article says Chen Wei had weak legal awareness and directly used the program he wrote while at Qianbai Company for his new company. How come I feel like things aren't that simple? Did Ou Minghan set a trap for him?"
"Chen Wei had invested all his savings in the new company at the time, and his brother Chen Hong was preparing to get married and needed money to buy a house," Qi Xuan said calmly.
"This…" Ye Zhi was dumbfounded. "What does his brother buying a house have to do with him?"
"Chen Wei thought the same, so when Chen Hong came to ask for money, he refused. Chen Hong was very angry, believing Chen Wei had forgotten his own brother now that he was wealthy. Later, his brother suddenly changed his attitude, saying he wanted to work at Chen Wei's company. Chen Wei couldn't refuse, so he agreed," Qi Xuan continued. "But bizarrely, after Chen Wei's reputation was ruined, Chen Hong suddenly came into a large sum of money."
"So…" Ye Zhi's eyes deepened. She said coldly, "Ou Minghan found Chen Hong, bribed him, had him steal Chen Wei's company's data, and then framed him? Truly something he would do!"
"There's no evidence, so it's hard to say for sure," Qi Xuan said lightly.
Ye Zhi hummed, and as the store assistant brought over new dresses, they stopped their conversation.
Qi Xuan helped her pick out a black dress, simple yet elegant, which Ye Zhi liked very much. She bought it on the spot.
Afterwards, Ye Zhi received a call from Ye Yongxian, so she bid farewell to Qi Xuan and headed directly to the Ye family home.
Upon arriving at the Ye residence, Ye Zhi once again witnessed Ye Yongxian scolding Ye Yuzhe. The entire Ye household was in chaos, which finally concluded with Ye Yuzhe being confined to his room for reflection.
Ye Yongxian couldn't help but complain to Ye Zhi, and Ye Zhi inevitably offered him some words of comfort.
"Xiao Zhi, tell me, when will your brother ever grow up?" Ye Yongxian sighed.
"He's still young and hasn't found his own path," Ye Zhi said with a light smile. "You don't need to be too anxious; he'll grow up eventually. Besides… I actually think my brother has some backbone."
"You mustn't let him hear you say that," Ye Yongxian's expression darkened. "Otherwise, he'll think you're praising his recent disobedience!"
Ye Zhi smiled faintly and remained silent, but a touch of sadness welled up in her heart.
In her original world, after experiencing many setbacks, Ye Yuzhe had also matured, sobered up, and grown. When he learned that Ou Minghan had ruined the Ye family, he planned his revenge, and he also wanted to rescue Ye Qinya from Ou Minghan's captivity.
But he trusted his sister too much. He told Ye Qinya his entire plan, and in return, Ye Qinya, to protect Ou Minghan, betrayed him. Ou Minghan was not a soft-hearted person. In front of Ye Qinya, he directly crippled Ye Yuzhe's legs.
Thinking of this, Ye Zhi's fingers trembled with anger. Ye Yuzhe was indeed a bit mischievous and rebellious, but he was only seventeen years old, just an underage boy. If Ye Qinya hadn't been so consumed by love, why would he have suffered such hardship?
"Xiao Zhi, what are you thinking about?" Ye Yongxian said. "Why aren't you responding when I'm talking to you?"
"I was thinking about brother," Ye Zhi said. "Dad, summer vacation is almost here. Do you think brother should go to the company for some experience?"
"He's a high school student, why would he go to the company?" Ye Yongxian frowned. "Wouldn't that just cause trouble? Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let me tell you about who will be at the banquet tonight."
Seeing that he had changed the subject, Ye Zhi couldn't say anything more.
Afterward, Ye Yongxian introduced some of the important guests who would be attending the banquet that evening, along with their personalities and preferences. Ye Zhi had actually done some research beforehand, but she didn't know as much detail as Ye Yongxian, so she listened attentively.
In the evening, Ye Yongxian and Ye Zhi arrived at the banquet hall of the Chenxi Hotel.
There were many old acquaintances of Ye Yongxian at the reception. They were somewhat surprised when they saw Ye Zhi beside him. When they learned she was Ye Yongxian's eldest daughter, they all showed expressions of realization.
Although Ye Zhi had only returned to the country for a short time, her reputation was already considerable.
She was a formidable person!