Chapter 569: A Stab in the Back

Just as Lan Guangming was preparing to gather resources to fight Xu Shaochen to the death, he suddenly received news of an emergency board meeting at the company.

He had a bad premonition.

But despite this, he had no choice but to attend.

Inside the Lan Corporation’s conference room.

“Big Brother, now that you’re here, please take a seat. Everyone’s been waiting just for you.”

Seeing Lan Guangming enter, Lan Guanghui greeted him with a beaming smile.

“Who initiated this board meeting? What do you all mean by this?”

Lan Guangming asked darkly as he walked to his seat and sat down.

“It was initiated by all the board members, Big Brother. We understand you want to avenge Cheng’er, but you can’t drag us down with you.”

Lan Guanghui looked at Lan Guangming with a helpless expression.

“Yes, Guangming, we’re all family. You have to consider us too. We allowed you to lead the family so you could take us to greater heights, not drag us into a pit of fire.”

“Big Brother, as your younger brother, let me offer you some advice. You can’t go smashing eggs against a rock. If you must do it, we won’t stop you, but don’t expect us to follow.”

“Guangming…”

Everyone chimed in one after another. Although they hadn’t said it directly, Lan Guangming could already guess what they were planning.

They were planning to join forces to remove him as Chairman and elect a new leader.

“So what now? You’re just going to ignore all the contributions I’ve made to the family over the years?”

Lan Guangming let out a cold laugh. His heart was filled with both shock and anger, and a trace of sorrow.

He thought that after all these years of hard work, he had earned considerable respect within the family.

But looking at the situation now, all he felt was endless irony.

When things were going well, they all called him Big Brother, keeping gratitude and familial love on the tip of their tongues.

But now that things were heading south, they unceremoniously cast him aside for the sake of their own interests.

You can’t say they’re wrong. Their decision is a rational one, but it’s precisely because they’re so rational that he finds it so pitiful.

Can these really be called the relatives of a family? “Big Brother, no one is ignoring your contributions to the family, but you’re too emotionally unstable right now. You’re no longer fit to continue leading the Lan family.”

Lan Guanghui said with a heavy heart. He then looked at everyone else: “Everyone knows what’s at stake, so let’s skip the formalities. Let’s raise our hands to vote on the motion to remove Big Brother as Chairman.”

“I agree.”

“I agree too. Guangming has worked tirelessly for the family these past years. It’s time for him to step back and rest.”

“Yes, I think so too. I approve.”

Not a single person voted against the motion, nor did anyone abstain. Everyone approved.

From start to finish, Lan Guangming’s opinion had never mattered.

Looking at the voting results, Lan Guanghui suppressed the excitement in his heart and said in the calmest tone he could muster, “Big Brother, as you can see, the results are final. It’s time for you to take a good rest.”

“Alright, alright, very good. You’ve all been very good. These years, I’ve been working myself to the bone for a bunch of ungrateful wretches!”

Lan Guangming let out an angry laugh, eyes bloodshot. The stabbing from his own family left him utterly devastated.

Was all his hard work over the years meant for just these kinds of people?

The conference room fell silent. Everyone simply looked on expressionlessly as Lan Guangming vented his anger.

“Big Brother, the fact that we didn’t hand you over to Xu Shaochen to quench his anger is already the greatest compassion we could offer,” Lan Guanghui said coldly.

Lan Guangming sneered, “I see, so that was your plan. You just didn’t think Xu Shaochen would accept it.”

“You…”

Being exposed by his older brother, Lan Guanghui’s face turned alternating shades of blue and white, overwhelmed with embarrassment.

Seeing Lan Guanghui’s expression, Lan Guangming knew he had guessed correctly.

He had only said it casually to mock Lan Guanghui, but it turned out they truly intended to hand him over to Xu Shaochen.

He felt as if his heart was bleeding. Even Xu Shaochen hadn’t planned to kill him, yet this so-called family of his was already preparing to do so.

His resentment and anger toward these people now far surpassed that toward Xu Shaochen.

“Bang!”

Lan Guangming kicked the conference table fiercely, gritting his teeth as he said, “I can’t believe I’ve lived half my life and still didn’t see what kind of trash you all are. It’s my bad luck. If you’re heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

With those words, Lan Guangming stormed out of the conference room, fuming.

“What… What did he mean by that last sentence?”

A middle-aged man asked uneasily.

Lan Guanghui rolled his eyes dismissively, “He’s just having a powerless outburst. Without the Lan family, all he has is some shares. He can’t make any waves.”

“Sigh, Guangming is too unreasonable. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have come to this point. After all, we’re still family.”

The person who said this earned a few contemptuous glances from everyone else. Typical of someone who cries crocodile tears while playing both sides.

“Alright, the country can’t go a day without a leader, and neither can the company. Now that Big Brother has stepped down, the Chairman position can’t remain vacant. Let’s discuss who should take over.”

Lan Guanghui coughed twice to quiet everyone down, then put on a show of seriousness.

“You’re right. I suggest that Guangrong take over as Chairman. After all, everyone has acknowledged his competence in the company over the past few years.”

“I agree. Let Guangrong take over as Chairman.”

“Agreed…”

At that moment, the smile on Lan Guanghui’s face instantly froze. He whipped his head around, staring in disbelief at the middle-aged man to his left.

It was his third brother, Lan Guangrong.

Noticing Lan Guanghui’s incredulous gaze, Lan Guangrong gave him a slight smile and then stood up, saying:

“Since everyone has such confidence in me, I won’t refuse the honor. If there’s anything I don’t do well in the future, please feel free to point it out.”

“How… how could this happen? How could this happen?”

Lan Guanghui muttered to himself, repeating the same words over and over, his mind completely blank.

He had thought the Chairman position was already in his grasp. Why else would he have run around so eagerly—was it just to pave the way for someone else?

“Second Brother, you’re the elder. If I don’t understand something in the future, I’ll need to consult you more.”

Lan Guangrong flashed a bright smile at Lan Guangming, patting him on the shoulder.

Fool.

While you were running around doing all that work…

I had already handed out a bunch of benefits to buy everyone off.