Chapter 393

Chapter 393 The One and Only Genuine Smith

At that moment, people finally started to remember who Su Rui actually was.

Word had been spreading throughout the circle that some man had latched onto Bikang’s president Lin Aoxue, and it turned out to be him!

But looking at him now, he didn’t seem like a kept man at all. If anything, he looked like the real power behind Bikang, with unlimited decision-making authority!

The financial elites present were all doing their own calculations, wondering whether to continue participating in Bikang’s financing.

Gaoqi Bank had already made its position clear, so surely the other investment banks would come rushing over too!

Bai Wangchuan stared at Smith’s figure, his expression shifting, as if he were thinking something over.

A minute later, he finally made up his mind and leaned over to whisper a few words to the man beside him.

That man’s name was Wei Dongyang, the head of a foreign venture capital firm’s China region, and his operations in China depended heavily on the Bai family in many ways.

Upon hearing Bai Wangchuan’s words, a look of sudden understanding crossed his face, and he nodded. “Please don’t worry, Young Master Bai. I’ll make sure this gets done properly.”

Bai Wangchuan gave a slight nod and said, “Then let’s see what you can do.”

Wei Dongyang was itching to get started. He had been more than a little envious when President Li had connected with the Bai family earlier, and now that Bai Wangchuan had come to him for help, there was no way he was going to back down!

He cleared his throat, stepped forward, and began to clap.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The sharp, crisp sound of applause rang out jarringly through the hall.

Everyone looked at him, wondering what this guy was trying to do.

“Bravo, bravo, absolutely brilliant.”

Wei Dongyang clapped and exclaimed, “The little act you two just put on could make it onto the Spring Festival Gala.”

“An act? What do you mean by that?”

Su Rui turned to look at him. Wave after wave of people had been jumping out to cause trouble, and he found it hard to believe there wasn’t someone pulling the strings behind all this.

“I’m saying you’re putting on a show, working together to fool everyone here!”

Wei Dongyang’s face was full of mockery. “I have to say, your methods are really quite clever. You almost had me fooled too.”

Su Rui nearly burst out laughing in exasperation. Smith had clearly flown over from across the ocean to apologize, so how had that turned into putting on a show?

“Go ahead then, let’s hear your take.”

Faced with this kind of clown jumping around, Su Rui wasn’t the least bit flustered. He crossed his arms and said with a smile.

“Keep playing it cool, go ahead.” Seeing how composed Su Rui was, Wei Dongyang said dismissively, “Since you want to hear it, I’ll break it down for you. Just don’t come crying to me later.”

Su Rui’s expression carried equal mockery. “Say it or don’t, I don’t care either way.”

“First, Bikang Group was already in the middle of a trust crisis, and then suddenly Gaoqi Bank’s CEO Smith shows up here from halfway around the world to clarify the situation for everyone and bow to you in apology.” Wei Dongyang said with a smirk. “Who is Smith? He’s the CEO of Gaoqi Bank. Why on earth would he bow and apologize to you?”

At those words, people around the room gave subtle nods. This was exactly the question that had been nagging at them too.

“Second, as CEO, why would Smith publicly overturn what Mr. Jeremy did and forcibly fire him in violation of proper HR procedures? That’s completely against the rules. Gaoqi is the most reputable investment bank around, so how could they make such an amateur mistake as airing their internal conflicts in front of outsiders?”

Hearing this, Xu Wenjie’s eyes lit up as well, no longer as vacant as they had been before!

“Third, the exchange between you and Smith, or whoever we’re calling Smith for now, seemed to suggest that Gaoqi’s stock drop yesterday was some great achievement by Bikang. Is that a joke, or do you think we’re all idiots? Do you have any idea how much capital it would take to drag Gaoqi’s stock down from its peak? Even a coalition of several major financial conglomerates might not be able to pull it off! And if Bikang did this, then why does such a wealthy company still need to raise funds? The money spent shorting Gaoqi’s stock alone would be enough to fund several new projects!”

At those words, people around the room were quietly nodding to themselves!

If Bikang had that kind of money, why would they go to such lengths to short Gaoqi Bank? Just to vent some frustration? That was an absolutely brainless move!

The elites present had initially been so impressed by Smith’s name that they hadn’t thought too deeply about it, but once Wei Dongyang pointed it out, they immediately caught on. This was the biggest red flag of all!

“Fourth, after Gaoqi Bank took such a serious hit, why would CEO Smith, instead of staying in the US on Wall Street to manage the crisis, choose to come to China right when Bikang was struggling? Does that even make sense?”

It had to be said, Wei Dongyang’s mind was actually quite sharp. Bai Wangchuan had only given him a simple hint, and this guy had run with it and come up with all of this on his own, and it all sounded remarkably coherent too.

Hearing all this, Su Rui was genuinely in awe of Wei Dongyang’s imagination. How could someone’s mind work like that? It would be a real waste of talent if this guy didn’t go write detective novels!

“Speechless now, are you?” Wei Dongyang took in the expressions of those around him and said with a cold laugh. “Speechless is exactly right. Did you really think bringing in a fake Smith would be enough to fool me?”

After hearing his analysis, the vast majority of people at the scene were now convinced that Smith was an impostor.

With Gaoqi’s stock in such bad shape, why wouldn’t he stay at headquarters figuring out how to fight back, instead of coming to China to join in the excitement?

This Bikang company really was bold and imaginative, bringing in a fake Smith and playing all kinds of tricks. They had actually almost managed to turn things around!

Regardless of whether the plan would eventually be exposed, you had to admire anyone capable of coming up with something so wildly creative.

Little did they know, they were all overthinking it. The Smith standing there was the real CEO of Gaoqi Bank, the genuine article.

Xu Wenjie was also somewhat doubtful. He agreed with every point Wei Dongyang had made, and when you thought it through carefully, there were too many suspicious elements. It really did seem unlikely that Smith would be here.

However, unlike the other Chinese people present, Xu Wenjie had had the opportunity to meet Smith on multiple occasions. In his view, the “Smith” standing before him, though looking somewhat disheveled and worse for wear, matched the real Smith exactly in both appearance and voice!

In fact, as far as he was concerned, he had already concluded that this Smith was not an impostor. But that conclusion made the situation even harder for him to accept.

If that were the case, it meant Gaoqi’s stock drop had indeed been caused by Bikang. But how was that even possible?

Looking at the resignation agreements scattered on the floor, Xu Wenjie’s gaze sharpened once again. It seemed Gaoqi Bank was truly about to say goodbye to him.

Xu Wenjie’s eyelids were twitching furiously. He genuinely had no idea what to do.

Su Rui was completely at a loss for words. He pointed at Smith and said, “Hey, did you hear that? These people are saying you’re an impostor pretending to be Gaoqi Bank’s CEO.”

Smith had clearly understood as well. He didn’t find this remotely funny. His mood had already been at rock bottom, and now these Chinese people were saying he was an impostor?

That said, as far as Smith was concerned, other people could say whatever they wanted. Whether or not he was Gaoqi Bank’s CEO had absolutely nothing to do with them.

But Su Rui didn’t see it that way at all.

“Smith, you need to prove right now that you are the real Smith.” Su Rui narrowed his eyes. “That’s what I’m asking of you.”

Only then did Smith realize the consequences of this misunderstanding. If people believed he was an impostor, then everything would have been for nothing! He had flown all the way from the US to apologize, and not only had it failed, it had backfired entirely!

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Smith’s eyes instantly turned cold and sharp!

“These idiots!”

This whole situation was just too absurd. In all his life, this was literally the first time Smith had ever been put in a position where he had to prove that he was himself. What the hell kind of situation was this!

He walked step by step over to Wei Dongyang and said, “Who are you?”

“I’m Wei Dongyang, China regional director of Boyi Venture Capital.” Wei Dongyang said cheerfully. “I’m not sure whether this gentleman here graduated from the China Drama Academy or the Capital Film and Television Institute?”

Smith kept a cold expression, completely ignoring the mockery, and said flatly, “Someone from Boyi Ventures? A small company like that, what gives you the nerve to act so arrogant?”

“What did you say?” Hearing such blatant contempt directed at him, Wei Dongyang’s expression instantly changed, and his voice turned cold!

But Smith paid him no attention and simply took out his phone and called his secretary.

It was still before dawn on the other side of the ocean. Smith’s secretary was fast asleep in bed, and the ringtone had clearly shattered his peaceful dreams. He was muttering curses until he saw it was his boss calling, at which point he snapped to full attention immediately.

Smith had a habit of working late into the night, and his secretary was very used to it by now.

Once the call connected, Smith got straight to the point. “Three things. First, pull up all the transactions between Gaoqi and Boyi Venture Capital this year. If I recall correctly, they borrowed roughly 1 billion from Gaoqi. The loan isn’t due yet, but invoke the mandatory repayment clause and demand immediate repayment. If they fail to pay on time, seize all their collateral assets.”

Boyi was just a “small company” in Smith’s eyes, yet he could recall their debt figures with precision, which showed just how much work he put in on a daily basis.

“Second, notify the securities director that after the market opens in the morning, sell off all of Gaoqi’s holdings in Boyi. Use the proceeds to counter the offensive from Huasheng, Damo, and the other investment banks. It’s not a huge amount, but it’ll buy us some time.”

The multi-tasking Smith was truly impressive, managing to simultaneously prepare for the next day’s battle even in the middle of all this.

“Third, contact Boyi’s owner immediately and ask whether they have a China regional director named Wei Dongyang. If they do, have him resign immediately. Otherwise, I guarantee Boyi Venture Capital will be shut down within a month!”

“Once you’ve got all of that, handle the third one first!”

Smith said it all cleanly and decisively, then hung up the phone.

In that moment, he demonstrated every quality a top-tier CEO possesses, decisive judgment, clear thinking, and razor-sharp analysis, leaving everyone present in awe.

Of course, that awe was contingent on Smith actually being Smith.

What Smith seemed to have forgotten in that moment, however, was that all of his decisions bore a striking resemblance to the way Su Rui had once gone after Gaoqi. The third point in particular, forcing someone out of their job, was almost a direct copy of Su Rui’s playbook!

It seemed Smith had been subtly influenced by Su Rui without even realizing it!

Looking at this outstanding professional manager, Su Rui said with a calm smile, “Smith, if Gaoqi ever lets you go someday, you’re welcome to come work for me.”