Chapter 314: Chapter 314: Seizing the Initiative_1

Xu Yixue hung up the phone and quickly regained her composure.

Although she did not know where Lisa had obtained her information, Xu Yixue chose to trust Lisa’s intelligence.

Firstly, Xu Yixue had indeed gotten along very well with Lisa during her time in America, and Lisa would definitely not deceive her in such matters.

Secondly, although Xu Yixue did not know what kind of prominent American family Lisa came from, Lisa’s family was undoubtedly a powerful American force, as one could infer from the fact that someone from her family held a high position at Heishui Corporation.

Thirdly, Xu Yixue was currently completely in the dark; the investigation against Xinghai Media and the stock market assault planned by the financial predators were all hanging over Xu Yixue’s head like a knife. Although Xu Yixue knew that the knife would fall soon, she did not know whose hand it was in or when it would drop.

Now, Lisa’s information was the only intelligence Xu Yixue could get her hands on. She had to decide to take this gamble no matter what and allow Xinghai Media to fight to the death.

After sorting out her thoughts, Xu Yixue summoned Ye Xiaoning and began to arrange the next steps.

The current time was 7:20 AM, about two and a half hours before ten o’clock. In these two and a half hours, Xu Yixue had to try her best to tear a hole in the large net cast by Heishui Corporation over them. Only through that could Xinghai Media catch a breath through this gap.

“Xiao Ning, I’ve just received accurate information that Heishui Corporation plans to target Xinghai Media at ten o’clock this morning with issues mainly concerning financial fraud, artist defection, and involvement in unfair competition. We need to minimize the impact of these issues on the company’s stock in the next couple of hours, understand?”

“Sister Yixue, are you sure about the information you’ve received?” Ye Xiaoning asked, somewhat uncertainly.

Heishui Corporation was not a mere private detective agency; it was a formidable global entity that had toppled several businesses in the world top 500. For such a behemoth to have set its sights on Xinghai Media was unusual—their security measures were supposed to be very strict, and the decision-making circle was based in America, making it difficult for ordinary people to obtain any information from Heishui Corporation. One would only realize they had been hunted in the darkness after Heishui commenced its attack.

Ye Xiaoning’s skepticism was certainly justified, but under the current circumstances, Xu Yixue could no longer afford the luxury of careful deliberation. All she could do was trust Lisa’s words and fight hard with the little over two hours they had.

“The information is highly reliable. If it isn’t, I’ll take all the responsibility,” Xu Yixue said firmly, her teeth gritted.

“But Sister Yixue, Xinghai Media is the family’s test for you. If you lose Xinghai Media, then the Xu Family heir status might…” Ye Xiaoning said with some concern.

“Don’t worry, Xiao Ning. We’ve been backed into a corner; the only option is to fight desperately. There are plenty in the family who would love to see me fail right now. Only by proving our strength will they reach out to help. Otherwise, they will definitely prefer to see Xinghai Media collapse.”

“Alright, then let’s make our plan based on the information you’ve got,” Ye Xiaoning nodded in agreement.

“As for the financial fraud, I’ve actually been investigating it in secret recently. Since it was an internal issue, I didn’t want to stir up trouble internally as the new president, so I haven’t taken any action yet. But now that the news has reached Heishui Corporation, instead of letting them use it as a weapon to malign us, it’s better for us to cut off our own wrist—Cutting off one’s wrist like a valiant—to at least salvage Xinghai Media’s image,” Xu Yixue stated solemnly.

“Sister Yixue, you mean…?” Ye Xiaoning was a bit uncertain.

“Yes! I was hesitant before, but now, there’s no room for hesitation. We must sign the lawsuit immediately, and as soon as the court opens at eight, directly sue the former management and former finance director for embezzlement. Since they chose to harm the public to benefit themselves, they must face the legal consequences. We at Xinghai Media won’t take the fall for them!” Xu Yixue’s face exuded a cold aura, and the Xu Yixue of now had completely shed her demeanor as a delicate young woman, exhibiting the dominance and decision that only a true imperious CEO possesses.

“Understood, our legal team will make the arrangements!” Ye Xiaoning nodded.

“Suing them is just the first step. Have the PR department rush out a press release and issue it the moment the lawsuit is filed. I want everyone to know that Xinghai Media not only has the courage to clean up old ills but also the determination to ‘Cut off one’s wrist like a valiant’.”

“Okay, with this arrangement, we will have seized the initiative. Even if Heishui Corporation releases the financial fraud issues, it will be deemed by the public as a move to ride on our news, and while it will certainly cause some turbulence to our stock price, it will not shake the foundation of our stock’s value,” Ye Xiaoning nodded, greatly admiring Xu Yixue’s decision.

Although it was just a decision, as long as it was released before Heishui Corporation’s, it would successfully dissociate the company from the financial fraud issue.

Heishui Corporation often attacks companies by exploiting investors’ sensitivity to risk. If a company has a strong manager willing to face up to errors, many investors will not lose confidence in Xinghai Media just because of Heishui’s information.

Many pieces of information rely on primacy, and once a person accepts a piece of information, subsequent news will only serve as a supplement in their mind. As long as Xinghai Media shows the resolve to ‘Cut off one’s wrist like a valiant,’ the investigatory materials from Heishui Corporation will not cause significant fluctuations.

After all, it’s not easy to be shocked by the same news twice; the second time, it’s hard to achieve the same impact. Most people will just think, “I figured it would be like this.”

This subtly lets many investors avoid panic-selling their shares, instead opting to wait and see.

As long as Ye Xiaoning’s trading keeps up and prevents a major drop in the stock price, then this crisis will not develop into a disaster for the company.