Chapter 256 – Report to the CEO: Madam Has Run Away Again – A Difficult Proposal (20)
Under Gu Yan’s leadership, the Gu Corporation continued to operate smoothly. In fact, due to the counterattack at the press conference, not only did Gu Yan clear his name, but he also gained public support. With a growing number of online fans—self-proclaimed “Tang-fans”—the company’s stock prices didn’t drop but rose instead.
The Liu Corporation was furious but could do nothing.
The scandal had already been exposed, and Gu Corporation’s legal team had prepared the necessary documents to file a lawsuit. No one knew how much evidence Gu Yan had gathered. Perhaps the Liu Corporation had found it too easy to suppress Gu Corporation in the beginning, never anticipating the consequences of being exposed. Now, they had just received a notice from FY.
After regaining his senses at the press conference, Reporter Li realized he had been caught in a compromising position with a middle-aged man, both stripped down to only their underwear—he was utterly disgusted.
When he dragged his exhausted body home, what awaited him was the contempt of his wife and daughter.
Assistant Jin had sent the photos and video of Reporter Li’s “stellar performance” at the press conference to his family.
“My Li family has never produced such a disgraceful son,” his father exploded in anger and kicked him out of the house.
His wife also demanded a divorce. He was barely ever home to begin with, and now he had become the center of such a humiliating scandal. How could she and their daughter face anyone again? No, she had to divorce him.
To make matters worse, the magazine company found out that Reporter Li had been secretly taking money from the Liu Corporation. In truth, such behavior isn’t uncommon in various industries—as long as it doesn’t go too far, it’s often overlooked.
But this time, the incident had caused too much trouble. In order to protect the magazine, the company had no choice but to sacrifice him—to abandon the car to save the general. Reporter Li was thrown under the bus to face Gu Corporation’s wrath alone.
What followed was Gu Corporation’s lawsuit against Reporter Li for defamation and malicious rumors targeting Gu Yan and Bai Tang. He now faced hefty compensation and possibly even jail time.
Meanwhile, the Bai family wasn’t faring any better. Just as a tree needs its bark, people need their dignity. Even if they were shameless, they couldn’t withstand the public’s finger-pointing. Whenever Aunt Bai tried to argue back, others weren’t afraid to retaliate—boldly exposing the Bai family’s scandals and humiliating them. Aunt Bai was so furious she trembled all over, and her health deteriorated further.
Broke and addicted to gambling, the Bai family soon found themselves hounded by creditors. In the end, the whole family had to go into hiding to escape their debts, quickly vanishing from the public eye.
…
Gu Corporation.
With the internal purge underway, the mole who had been leaking company secrets was finally exposed.
Everyone stood in front of Siyuan, spitting curses at him.
“President Gu treated you well, didn’t he? So why would you betray the company?”
“You even secretly installed a camera in President Gu’s private lounge—did a dog eat your conscience?!”
Facing the accusations from Meili and Wu Yi, Siyuan didn’t try to defend himself. He simply lowered his head, silently waiting for Gu Yan to arrive at the office and deliver the final judgment.
Sha Yao looked at Siyuan’s half-dead, defeated posture, and her anger boiled over.
Smack! A crisp sound echoed through the office.
Zhao Lou and the others stared in shock at what had just happened.
Jiang Hongzhe stepped forward, gently took Sha Yao’s hand, and brought it to his lips, blowing on it.
“Is your hand okay? Did it hurt?”
Sha Yao hadn’t spent that much time with Bai Tang, but she sincerely treated him like a younger brother and looked after him with affection.
“You bastard…”
Siyuan felt a sharp, almost unbearable pain in his heart. His nails were digging into the flesh of his palms.
He had been the one who pushed Sha Yao away. The moment he made his choice—accepting money from Manager Niu of the Liu Corporation—he had already lost the right to pursue her.
Looking at how tenderly Jiang Hongzhe cared for Sha Yao, Siyuan thought to himself, Maybe this is for the best. He had lost everything and could no longer give her happiness.
Jiang Hongzhe shot Siyuan a cold glance and led Sha Yao away from the office area.
Say he was petty if they wanted, he didn’t care. He knew that guy liked Sha Yao—but he had no intention of giving Siyuan a chance. Siyuan had been hired by Gu Yan himself; he could wait for Gu Yan to deal with him. Jiang Hongzhe would not allow Siyuan any opportunity to win Sha Yao’s sympathy.
When Gu Yan returned to the office with Bai Tang, Siyuan stood before them and apologized. Gu Yan couldn’t quite describe what he was feeling.
Zhao Lou… and Siyuan were among the first people to follow him. Anyone who made it into his investment team had earned his absolute trust.
He had only suspected that the mole was someone close to him. He never thought his worst fears would come true.
“Your reason?” Gu Yan’s face was emotionless, unreadable.
Zhao Lou and the others thought this expressionless version of Gu Yan was terrifying—like the calm before a storm.
“It was my fault. I was greedy… I took money from the Liu Corporation,” Siyuan said, head bowed, voice muffled.
“Host, Siyuan’s father suffers from a severe kidney condition. The Liu Corporation provided a matching donor and covered medical expenses,” said Xiao A honestly. But that still didn’t justify Siyuan’s betrayal of the host—he had nearly gotten the host killed. It was unforgivable.
Bai Tang wasn’t overflowing with sympathy. Everyone needed a bottom line.
He didn’t know exactly where Siyuan’s line was—but whatever it was, Siyuan had already crossed Bai Tang’s. While the situation was pitiful, it wasn’t something that could be forgiven.
Ayan had treated him so well. If he had shared his troubles with Ayan, it’s not like Ayan wouldn’t have helped. But Siyuan had chosen a different path.
Bai Tang pressed his lips together and said nothing. When he saw Gu Yan decide to move forward with a lawsuit against Siyuan, he noticed an expression on Siyuan’s face—he couldn’t tell whether it was relief or heaviness.
He tugged on Gu Yan’s sleeve.
“Ah Yan, I need to talk to you.”
He told Gu Yan about Siyuan’s father—not out of blind kindness, but because now that the incident was exposed, Siyuan would inevitably face punishment. But what would happen to his father, recovering from surgery, and his frail, aging mother?
Gu Yan thought in silence for a moment, then called Siyuan into his office.
Not long after, people outside heard the sound of furniture being moved and someone crying.
When the door to the CEO’s office opened again, Siyuan came out with reddened eyes. His steps trembled slightly as he walked.
Shortly after, the police arrived to take Siyuan away. Before he left, he turned to Gu Yan and Bai Tang and said sincerely,
“Thank you.”
Siyuan had made a mistake and had to bear the consequences. However, given the circumstances, Gu Yan decided not to press charges. Even so, Siyuan had still broken the law and would have to face the punishment he deserved.
The elderly were innocent in all this—Siyuan’s father and mother. Gu Yan would help look after them where he could.
The conflict between the Liu Corporation and the Gu Corporation soon came to an end. The evidence was conclusive. The Liu Corporation had to pay such heavy compensation that it nearly bankrupted the company. They were squeezed out of the industry’s top ten rankings, and those involved in the scandal faced the consequences they deserved.
Once the dust settled, everything returned to peace.
The only difference was that Bai Tang now had a fan support group. Netizens had formed a “Bai Tang Support Club,” urging him to seek justice and sue the Bai family.
“That couple isn’t even human,” many of them said.
Bai Tang learned from Xiao A that the couple’s current situation was terrible—they were constantly on the run, scorned by everyone, and living in utter misery.
To calm his outraged supporters, Bai Tang had to step forward and urge everyone to let it go and focus on living well.
He opened a Weibo account and occasionally posted photos of the food he made. His dishes inspired many fans to imitate him, though none could quite replicate the results in his photos.
From time to time, Bai Tang would even send his homemade desserts to fans for tasting. As more people supported and adored him, he opened a dessert shop. Together with Gu Yan, he also founded a charitable foundation to help underprivileged children. The dessert shop’s profits were funneled into the foundation, and all income and expenses were made fully transparent. Customers could even use their receipts to check exactly where their money had gone.
Bai Tang had become a sensation—a beloved national food blogger.
His foundation, in partnership with the Gu Corporation, complemented each other perfectly, pushing Gu Corporation to new heights and leaving other companies far behind.
Three years passed, and netizens remained curious about Bai Tang’s love life. Though Gu Yan had already “turned over a new leaf,” many wondered: why hadn’t he proposed yet?
Fans began urging them to get married online. What started off as playful teasing among fans turned serious when, unexpectedly, Gu Yan himself responded.
“Tang Tang is always busy making desserts—I can’t even find time to propose. It’s so hard for me.”
Even through the screen, fans could feel Gu Yan’s frustration. They burst into laughter, delighting in the drama, and egged him on:
[If President Gu doesn’t propose soon, I’m going to chase after our adorable Tang Tang myself!]
This comment sparked a trend, with more people chiming in. Provoked, Gu Yan finally snapped. He grabbed Bai Tang, who was about to stay up late to prepare desserts for delivery.
“Tang Tang, you haven’t talked to me properly in forever,” Gu Yan said, his handsome face full of grievance, tugging on Bai Tang’s sleeve, refusing to let him go.
“Be good, okay? If you’re tired, go to bed first. You don’t have to wait up for me,” Bai Tang replied, brushing his hand away.
Just as he was about to turn around, his sleeve was grabbed again.
Gu Yan’s exaggerated “grievance-husband face” loomed in front of him.
“No. You haven’t spent time with me in so long. Tonight, you’re mine.”
Before Bai Tang could react, Gu Yan scooped him up in his arms and carried him off.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Gu and the butler, who had already prepared ingredients and had been waiting in the kitchen for a while, went upstairs to find them. As they passed by Gu Yan and Bai Tang’s bedroom door, they heard… certain harmonious sounds. Both elderly men blushed deeply.
“Ah, what a nice night. Youth really is a beautiful thing… truly wonderful…”
In this lifetime, the male lead’s path to proposing was unusually difficult. After being stood up several times, Gu Yan finally gave up on orchestrating the perfect romantic atmosphere. One evening, during a tender moment between husbands, he simply opened the drawer, pulled out the ring, and slid it onto Bai Tang’s finger—sealing the deal, just like that.
Bai Tang knew he had been neglecting Gu Yan for quite some time, but when he saw those bullied orphans, he couldn’t bear it. He wanted to do more for them—at the very least, ensure they wouldn’t be exploited and discarded like the original Bai Tang had been.
After Gu Yan’s successful proposal, Bai Tang was temporarily put on vacation—dragged off on a honeymoon by his devoted husband.
He was even “forced” to post daily life updates so that the netizens waiting for a breakup could finally give up their fantasies.
He and Tang Tang were living happily ever after.
“Childish,” Bai Tang said with a smile full of bliss.
“Yes, I’m your childish fool, and I don’t care. They all want to steal my wife,” Gu Yan declared, hugging him tightly. This was the husband he’d worked so hard to win—there was no way he’d let anyone take him away.
“If you don’t want me to run off, then behave yourself~”
“I’m super well-behaved.”
“Then let me go. I need to make dessert.”
“Nope. I won’t. This is our honeymoon, remember…”
“And you said you’d listen… mmph—”
“I listen very well. Whatever Tang Tang says, I’ll do…”
⋯
The two of them spent a lifetime working for the welfare of underprivileged children, earning the respect of countless people. More and more joined their cause. The children they helped grew up and, in turn, showed the deepest gratitude and admiration toward Bai Tang, Gu Yan, and all the kind people who had supported them.
When the couple passed away in each other’s arms, the world mourned their loss.
Their names were etched into people’s hearts, and their foundation continued to thrive—expanding beyond helping children to include many other initiatives that supported those in need.
Author’s Note:
This world has come to an end.
See you in the next one~ (><)