The Qin family.
In the study, the Qin siblings had been silently confronting each other for over ten minutes. Qin Jiao’s face was frosty. “Brother, I won’t help you cover this up. Either you confess to Dad yourself, or I’ll do it for you.”
Qin Yi looked up. “Jiaojiao, give me a little more time. Just one month… no, at most half a month. In half a month, I’ll return the money to the company accounts. No one will ever know what happened.”
The siblings had always been close. As children, they often covered for each other.
Qin Jiao had never had much concept of money from a young age. The Qin family spoiled their daughter, giving her more pocket money than Qin Yi. Whenever Qin Yi overspent his allowance and needed cash, Qin Jiao would unhesitatingly hand over her own.
This time, however, Qin Jiao shook her head gently, her attitude unusually firm. “I’ve already found out. I can’t agree with what you’re doing. ‘Prawn King’ belongs to everyone.”
Qin Yi studied Qin Jiao carefully.
Her appearance had not changed much, but her personality had become far more resolute than before, even somewhat assertive. Once she decided something, she would not budge!
“I’ll confess to Dad myself.”
Qin Yi bowed his head with a bitter smile.
A few minutes later, Qin Xianming was summoned to the study by Qin Yi and heard the confession from his son’s own mouth.
“You used money from ‘Prawn King’ accounts to speculate in stocks?”
Qin Xianming looked at Qin Yi with an unfamiliar gaze. “I never thought you would do something like this.”
The reason the shareholder dividends for ‘Prawn King’ had gone quiet was because Qin Jiao had discovered there was no working capital left in the company accounts!
Upon investigation, it turned out Qin Yi had diverted funds from ‘Prawn King’ to trade stocks.
Last year, the stock market had boomed. Qin Yi first made a profit with his own money. Somehow, in a moment of folly, he secretly dipped into ‘Prawn King’ funds and plunged back in.
Qin Yi had planned to return the money before the Spring Festival. No one would notice. Unexpectedly, just two weeks after New Year’s Day 2008, the market began to plummet, dropping from its October 2007 peak of 6100 points to the current 4200.
Qin Yi’s invested funds instantly shrank by a third.
He could not repay ‘Prawn King’ on schedule. Qin Jiao spotted the anomaly and immediately pressed Qin Yi for answers.
Qin Yi confessed to his sister and begged her for more time.
One month, or half a month. Once he unstuck his stocks, no one would know!
Qin Jiao was deeply disappointed in her brother and refused to cover for him, insisting on telling Qin Xianming.
Qin Xianming reacted just as Qin Jiao had.
In that moment, he felt his son was a stranger.
The family had never shortchanged Qin Yi. Why take such a risk?
Qin Yi’s actions were not those of a businessman but of a gambler!
The usually refined Qin Xianming grew angrier the more he thought about it. “Your Uncle Wang and I both pulled our money out of the market. Do you think you’re smarter than us? Qin Yi, you lack judgment and self-control. Misjudging the market is fine. Few people get it right anyway. So if you lost a few million, or ten or twenty million trading stocks, I could understand. But you absolutely should not have misappropriated company funds… This is a crime!”
‘Prawn King’ was not Qin Yi’s company alone!
Though he and Qin Jiao together held 75% of the shares, making them the largest shareholders, there were still other shareholders.
Using company funds without their consent was illegal!
Qin Xianming berated Qin Yi thoroughly.
Qin Yi kept his head down, offering no defence.
In the study, Qin Xianming gradually calmed his breathing. “First, return the money you took from ‘Prawn King’ accounts.”
Qin Yi no longer dared suggest waiting half a month. He nodded immediately.
To repay the company, he would have to sell the stocks, taking a definite loss. He might not even recover the principal.
“The lost money will be covered by the family.”
Qin Xianming had already planned the way out for his son. Qin Yi’s face showed shame.
Qin Xianming glanced up at his son. “The family covering the losses doesn’t mean this matter is over. You will personally confess to the other shareholders about misappropriating company funds for stock trading.”
Qin Yi’s head snapped up. “Dad!”
If he confessed, how could anyone trust him again?
Qin Xianming sneered. “After something like this, do you still expect people to trust you? Your sister didn’t report you to the police immediately, which was already protecting you. As for the other shareholders, it’s up to them whether they forgive you!”
Besides the Qin siblings, ‘Prawn King’ had five minority shareholders: Wen Ying, Xie Qian, Wang Shuang, Geng Xiao, and Tang Yifeng.
Wang Shuang, Geng Xiao, and Tang Yifeng had known Qin Yi since childhood. They would not end friendships over this. They would certainly forgive him.
That left only Wen Ying and Xie Qian.
Xie Qian had always disliked Qin Yi somewhat… But Wen Ying was extremely close to Qin Jiao and tied closely to the Qin family. If Wen Ying said nothing, Xie Qian would likely follow suit.
Qin Yi felt numb all over.
This was precisely why he had thought misappropriating ‘Prawn King’ funds was no big deal.
He was only borrowing temporarily. He would repay soon. He did not intend to keep the company’s money for himself.
Qin Xianming forced Qin Yi to confess to the shareholders. Even if they did not pursue him, Qin Yi would no longer have the face to stay at ‘Prawn King’.
Once trust was destroyed, it was hard to rebuild.
After a long silence, Qin Yi looked up. “I will apologise to everyone. After apologising, I’ll transfer my ‘Prawn King’ shares to Jiaojiao. From now on, she will be the largest shareholder.”
At that moment, Qin Jiao was not in the study.
When Qin Xianming first learned of Qin Yi’s misappropriation, his heart had nearly gone cold. He was not only furious at his son’s audacity but questioned his own upbringing.
Hearing Qin Yi say he would transfer all his ‘Prawn King’ shares to his sister, Qin Xianming’s expression softened slightly.
“It’s best if you’ve thought it through yourself. ‘Prawn King’ wasn’t founded by you anyway. You and it lack that connection. I hope you remember this lesson and one day create your own Prawn King.”
Qin Yi felt immense pain inside.
Though he had not founded ‘Prawn King’, he had poured tremendous effort into it after taking over.
During his time there, he had thrived. The imprint of Wen Ying and the others faded, and Qin Yi saw himself as ‘Prawn King”s true owner. That was why his audacity grew, leading him to think misappropriating company funds for stocks was nothing!
…
Wen Ying was about to call Qin Jiao to ask about the ‘Prawn King’ dividends when her phone failed to connect. Then Qin Yi notified everyone of a meeting.
Except for Xie Qian, who was absent, all shareholders, including Wen Ying, attended without exception.
Everyone assumed it was for distributing dividends. Wang Shuang especially was beaming.
“To be honest, I’ve already paid the deposit for the gift!”
“Just waiting on the ‘Prawn King’ dividends?”
“Yeah, waiting on those. You know Tianjiao is co-producing a film with Liansheng. Teacher Yuan might not distribute dividends this year.”
Wang Shuang was whispering to Wen Ying when Qin Yi strode into the office, followed by Qin Jiao.
After brief pleasantries, Qin Yi openly confessed to misappropriating company funds for stock trading.
Except for Qin Jiao, who already knew, even Wen Ying was surprised.
Wang Shuang exclaimed on the spot. “Brother Qin Yi, how could you…”
How could Qin Yi do such a thing?
Wang Shuang looked bewildered, as if meeting Qin Yi for the first time today.
Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao were stunned too.
Qin Yi had joined ‘Prawn King’ later, just like them.
Though they held only 5% as minority shareholders, unlike veterans like Wen Ying and Wang Shuang who could coast, the two had helped Qin Jiao immensely with operations while studying in the capital.
Precisely because Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao were involved in daily management, they knew how much effort the Qin siblings had invested in ‘Prawn King”s growth.
Yet Qin Yi had misappropriated company funds!
Only Wen Ying, with shallower personal ties to Qin Yi, could set aside emotions and accept the fact quickest.
No wonder the planned shareholder dividends had been delayed a few days.
The money in ‘Prawn King’ accounts was likely trapped in the stock market.
This year’s market was no repeat of last year’s story. From 6000 points down to 4000 looked steep, but it was only the beginning!
Wang Shuang and the others struggled to believe Qin Yi could misappropriate funds for stocks. Wen Ying, after thinking, was not too surprised.
When dealing with Yu Wenhao, Wen Ying had gone to a casino with the Qins.
Back then, Wen Ying, Xie Qian, and Qin Jiao each exchanged 2000 yuan in chips. None were interested in gambling. They just wanted to lose quickly. Wen Ying bet randomly, Xie Qian and Qin Jiao followed. The three uninterested players ended up winning quite a bit.
Qin Yi, however, genuinely wanted to play and lost tens of thousands.
At the time, Qin Xianming had commented that his son lacked self-control. Now it had come true!
Wen Ying glanced at Wang Shuang and the others, then voiced her question. “Brother Qin Yi, we’re all close friends. We won’t pursue the misappropriation. But forgive my bluntness. As one of ‘Prawn King”s shareholders, I can no longer trust you.”
Qin Yi gave a bitter smile. “I know. I’ve let everyone down. I’ll transfer my shares to Qin Jiao. From now on, I’ll completely withdraw from ‘Prawn King’ management.”
Though it was a decision already made, announcing it publicly still brought reluctance.
Wen Ying nodded in satisfaction. “That’s for the best.”
Wang Shuang and the other two wanted to speak but did not know what to say.
Qin Jiao had remained silent throughout. Gaining Qin Yi’s shares brought her no joy. Instead, she publicly announced her plan. “The shares my brother is giving up, you five divide equally.”
Even Wen Ying was shocked. “We divide them equally?”
Qin Jiao nodded. “Yes, equally. ‘Prawn King’ was always everyone’s to begin with. Now my brother and I hold 75%. With him relinquishing his half, if you five split it, each will have 12.5%.”
Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao refused. Wang Shuang shared their stance.
Only Wen Ying pondered. “Sister Jiao, are you afraid something like this could happen again, so you’re deliberately letting us balance you?”
