48. You didn't think wrong; it was me who misinterpreted it.

Chen Che was truly exhausted.

Of course, it was mainly his body and mind that were weary; his spirit remained strong.

At this moment, the campaign in Jinmen was yielding abundant results.

Excluding the losses from stock devaluation, the economic damage from the Gong Yaowu incident was under 100 million yuan.

Chen Tianhong hadn’t stamped the documents, meaning the 1.2 billion yuan of bank-regulated funds were still intact, sufficient to sustain the project.

Because the documents remained unstamped, the Banghe Residence had yet to officially launch and no down payments had been collected from buyers.

Since the project began in 2017, Gong Yaowu had embezzled 2.6 billion yuan from Banghe and 1.3 billion yuan from Bangyuan, among other unit funds. These were reserve funds, investment capital, and loans secured by mortgaged land and projects.

In total, 5.32 billion yuan.

However, only a small portion of this money ended up in Gong Yaowu’s pockets; 99% was involved in related-party transactions with Bangyuan Group, which left clear traces and was why no one suspected anything.

Just like Wu Zongliang and others from the group—surely some knew about Gong Yaowu’s misappropriation.

This was an unspoken rule within the industry: the common people bore the harm, Gong Yaowu took the risks, and everyone preferred to turn a blind eye.

Over the past two years, Gong Yaowu used this money to purchase five plots of land and develop three projects to varying degrees.

Three of these plots were enclaves—one in Yanjing and two in Pengcheng.

Based on this information, Chen Che was even more certain that Bangyuan Group truly carried debts amounting to hundreds of billions.

Nanyang’s capital was not foolish.

Why else would they lend to Gong Yaowu?

Perhaps it was because of the land.

In other words, in his previous life, Gong Yaowu had embezzled far more than just 5 billion yuan; it was only because of the enormous social impact and the fact that overseas capital suffered the most losses that the full extent was never publicly revealed.

Chen Che, as Xiao Kalami in his past life, had no right to access police or deeper information.

That one oversight had slipped through despite all precautions.

More importantly, he never imagined Gong Yaowu would be so reckless as to leverage so heavily in a Ponzi scheme.

The current situation still greatly impacted Chen Che and the group.

But it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Now, after Bangyuan Group had been penalized and compensated, only 110 million yuan remained on the books, yet it bore debts of 14 billion yuan—a heavy burden indeed.

If you include overseas loans...

Still, there was no cause for panic.

With Banghe Residence, he could fully revitalize Huakai Group and manage nearly 20 billion yuan of debt on his own shoulders.

As for the other debts, Chen Che refused to acknowledge them.

Wasn’t it just a matter of litigation?

Moreover, Gong Yaowu had been arrested, and the money clearly hadn’t been squandered yet—there was still hope for recovery.

A real estate group valued at 92 billion yuan, and Gong Yaowu had managed to get half the shares through empty-handed manipulation.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself.

What more could he want?

Now the group had Yang Qinghua and others; with his arrangements, it was only a matter of time before everything was back on track.

With Gong Yaowu detained, Chen Che had complete control over the group, effectively taking over Banghe Real Estate and other companies.

Banghe Real Estate’s accounts were empty; now they could only wait for the court to issue compensation orders against Bangyuan Group.

Once the documents arrived, the group could transfer funds to Banghe Real Estate, which in turn could pay Hongye Construction.

Currently, everyone inside and outside Hongye Construction was on edge, and his family was in a panic.

Chen Che hadn’t told his father much, only mentioning that he was busy securing investments and loans these days.

His father was too preoccupied to care.

His mother was powerless against him.

Wait a few days, he thought.

Once the group successfully changed its name and announced the arrival of new capital, then brought in banks and government officials for support, a batch of documents and funds would arrive.

Panic would naturally subside.

These days would also give his father a chance to see the true hearts of people, to feel the fickleness of the world, and to temper his spirit.

In these days, Chen Che had met many leaders and helpers, drank a lot, and stayed up countless nights.

Only youth could sustain him; otherwise, his body truly couldn’t endure.

Since the plan’s full-scale launch, he hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep.

Now that he was in Yanjing to handle matters, there was no need to rush so much—it was better to wait until tomorrow.

This was why Chen Che avoided going to the company; naturally, he didn’t explain all this in detail to Qin Yanan.

Regarding the resolution of Bangyuan Group, those leaders merely thought he was too clever or too ambitious.

But there were many things about him they couldn’t explain, much like the incredulity surrounding Gong Yaowu.

Gong Yaowu himself might be wondering this lifetime:

Why was that person Chen Che? Why did he lose to Chen Che, and lose so completely?

Grateful for the opportunity to study abroad, Chen Che had much room to maneuver when explaining matters to his family.

He had already prepared an excuse about how his father suddenly became chairman of Huakai Group.

But in the eyes of the obviously highly educated Qin Yanan, many different doubts could be discerned.

Moreover, Chen Che’s methods were not entirely clean; trying to show off in front of Sister Nan might cause him to lose something valuable while gaining little.

After shocking Sister Nan enough times and building some buffer, it wouldn’t be too late to introduce Huakai Group.

During a meal, the two got to know each other better and exchanged much, including details about Jianyou Apex, a company.

...

“Are you really capable of this?”

After dinner, as they left the restaurant, Qin Yanan had just learned about the roles of the other two companies.

Of course, Chen Che hadn’t elaborated on Gravity Era; he only briefly explained Jianyou Apex’s plans.

He was confident about making games.

Though he couldn’t program or do art, he had an eye for aesthetics and gameplay.

More importantly, he understood marketing logic.

For large-scale games, that was a given; for smaller games, marketing often outweighed everything—even gameplay.

However, Qin Yanan didn’t know the source of his confidence and, still doubtful, suggested:

“Perhaps wait until the company achieves some results. If you’re confident then, you can consider it.”

Qin Yanan was an investor.

She had invested in New Joy Coffee.

She certainly didn’t want Chen Che to run a game company, especially two companies simultaneously.

Games weren’t like coffee.

Perhaps because Chen Che was holding something back from her, she had no intention of investing.

Although the gaming market was never lacking, was entering at this time too risky?

Take "Honor of Kings," for example—now every game had to avoid its shadow.

More importantly, Chen Che was starting from scratch, far behind giants like Tencent and NetEase.

As for coffee, combined with Chen Che’s plans, it had a market and innovation.

Qin Yanan genuinely believed in coffee.

That was one reason she was sincerely helping.

“I have confidence. Don’t worry.”

Before the project’s launch, Chen Che didn’t need to explain much to others.

Developing small games wasn’t costly, and he didn’t need to recruit Qin Yanan’s support; he would just create it first.

“All right.”

Qin Yanan nodded without further comment.

Perhaps influenced by DST’s hands-off investment culture, she lacked any commanding attitude.

The conversation soon fell silent.

Chen Che glanced at the white Continental GT and then at Sister Nan.

The new Continental GT, 6.0 TW12 version.

On average, it cost 5 million yuan on the market.

Sister Nan was truly wealthy.

Indeed, she had gifted a Panamera worth over 3 million yuan to her woman; driving a Continental GT was modest by comparison.

With a slight inward sigh, Chen Che voluntarily slid into the passenger seat with red and white interior and gently asked:

“Where to?”

“Hmm...”

Qin Yanan, having started the engine, pondered briefly before turning her head calmly and saying:

“Since you’re tired, rest well. I’ll take you to a hotel so you can sleep soundly tonight.”

“I haven’t booked a hotel yet.”

Chen Che answered truthfully; without an assistant, such matters were trivial to him.

After his words, a brief silence filled the car.

Qin Yanan blinked and looked at the motionless man, saying:

“Then book one.”

Chen Che, hesitating, was reminded and responded with a strange look.

Their eyes met, and sensing something amiss, Qin Yanan hastily raised her hand and added urgently:

“I mean, book a room for yourself.”

“I know. I wasn’t thinking anything weird.”

Hearing Chen Che’s mild explanation, Qin Yanan couldn’t help but look out the window, raising her hand as if to speak but falling silent.

Ha, he wasn’t thinking anything weird.

That must mean I was overthinking.

Seeing Sister Nan’s embarrassed expression, Chen Che smiled softly and then asked:

“It’s still early. Are your uncle and aunt home? Should I bring some gifts to visit?”

That bow from Gao Qiqiang.

It brought half of Jinghai to its knees.

Chen Che wanted to kneel as well.

This time, resolving Bangyuan Group was an undeserved victory; there would be few such chances in the future.

He needed new backing.

At the same time, he wanted to test Qin Yanan’s reaction to this suggestion.

“You want to come to my home?”

Perhaps because Chen Che sounded serious, Qin Yanan instantly flushed and turned her head in surprise.

“Mm.”

Chen Che nodded, about to explain...

“All right.”

Qin Yanan’s face was calm and expressionless, only her tone lifted slightly as she smiled gently and said:

“No need to bring any gifts; we don’t lack anything at home.”

That simple?

Qin Yanan’s reply was unexpected.

A flicker of surprise passed through Chen Che’s eyes, and with a pleased smile, he said:

“Of course, of course. Our family tradition doesn’t allow visiting elders empty-handed. I don’t have many friends in Yanjing, and you’ve helped me so much this time—I definitely need to bring something.”