Velvet Chains of a Tycoon

It was exactly noon, twelve o'clock.

Sheng Lu had just arrived at the company when Yue Su came to report the information he had gathered from the previous night and that morning.

"The fat man is named Cheng Yang. He's the landlord of the two storefronts leased by Ren'an Clinic. The woman who beat him up last night is Ran Qin, one of the shareholders of Ren'an Clinic."

Yue Su recounted what he had learned.

"Ran Qin came to negotiate the lease renewal with Cheng Yang last night, but he called eight of his rowdy friends to humiliate her. Unwilling to endure such treatment, she refused and tried to leave, only for Cheng Yang and his gang to chase after her, leading to the brawl in the lobby."

After finishing his account, Yue Su couldn't resist adding his own commentary.

"To be honest, that girl Ran Qin has some serious skills. If you hadn't intervened last night, President Lu, Cheng Yang and his crew might all have ended up on the floor."

Sheng Lu, annoyed by Yue Su's chatter, shot him an impatient glance. "What about the reputation of Ren'an Clinic?"

"Ren'an Clinic has a great reputation. I sent someone to interview local residents this morning, and about ninety percent of them praised the clinic for selling affordable and trustworthy medicine. Dr. Liu, their physician, is highly skilled and never prescribes unnecessary drugs. They've only been open for a year, yet their business already surpasses another clinic that's been around for three or four years."

"Isn't it a shame if such a good clinic has to close down?" Sheng Lu asked, looking at Yue Su.

Yue Su, as Sheng Lu's personal assistant, quickly caught the hint. "Yes, it's a pity. But the property isn't ours—what can we do about it?"

If it were theirs, they wouldn't drive away such a reputable clinic just for a small rent increase. The Yang family only cared about money, Yue Su thought bitterly.

"Do our employees need a pharmacy with a clinic like this?"

Yue Su smiled wryly. "We already have small hospitals in our industrial park, and there's an oversupply of clinics and pharmacies in the area."

Sheng Lu said, "Find someone to expose the Yang family's greedy rent hike."

Yue Su immediately understood. "Got it."

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Ran Qin and her colleagues were packing boxes at Ren'an Clinic when someone holding a microphone walked in.

"We're from the nearby community investigation team. Over the past two days, many residents have complained that you're moving out against public opinion. What's going on here?"

Lin Zhao quickly defended herself. "It's not that we're ignoring public opinion. Our landlord wants to raise the rent by fifty percent and change the payment method from monthly to annual. We can't afford the new terms, so we have no choice but to move."

Ren'an Clinic had built an excellent reputation in the community over the past year, thanks to Dr. Liu's exceptional medical skills and Ran Qin's acupuncture treatments, which were particularly popular among the elderly.

Upon learning that the clinic was moving, the elderly residents reported the issue to the community activity center. Normally, the community wouldn't get involved, but when higher-ups inquired, the community leaders took action and sent the market investigation team to investigate.

Ran Qin and her colleagues thought it was just a routine visit and didn't take it too seriously. They answered the questions truthfully.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the news program *Binhai First Scene* aired a segment exposing Cheng Yang, the landlord of Ren'an Clinic, for maliciously hiking rents, breaching the lease agreement, and bullying tenants.

The Yang family rarely watched "Binhai First Scene", as they were more interested in real estate news and paid little attention to public welfare issues.

Ting Yang's friend called her to inform her about the broadcast.

"Ting Yang, isn't your mother Hong Zhang and your brother Cheng Yang?"

Ting Yang was puzzled. "Yes, you knew that. Why are you asking now?"

"Then it must be true. Your mother and brother are on TV. Check *Binhai First Scene* right away."

Ting Yang rushed downstairs. "Mom, Brother, my friend just called and said you're on TV, on *Binhai First Scene*. You should check it out."

Cheng Yang, who had left the hospital without waiting for Ran Qin's apology, was lying on the sofa. "On TV? We didn't give any interviews or participate in any shows. Must be a mistake, same name and surname, right?"

"My friend said it's *Binhai First Scene.* The broadcast is over, but I can search for it on my iPad."

Ting Yang quickly found the video. It showed the market investigation team entering Ren'an Clinic, interviewing Ran Qin and others about the Yang family's rent hike and breach of the previous contract.

The team also obtained footage from the clinic's security cameras, showing Hong Zhang's aggressive behavior and her words earlier that day. They interviewed other shop owners on the street, who confirmed that their rents had not increased, and even those who did saw only a five percent rise, nothing close to ten percent.

The comments section under the video, filled with live commentary (a feature known as 'bullet screen' in Chinese streaming platforms), was full of criticism, calling the Yang family heartless landlords with no empathy. People were calling for a thorough investigation and urging everyone to boycott the Yang family's properties.

Cheng Yang and the others were utterly stunned. How could this happen? It was their property, and they had the right to refuse to lease it. Why were they being exposed?

Exposure was one thing, but the involvement of the market investigation team was another matter entirely.

Ting Yang frowned. "Mom, this is quite troublesome, isn't it?"

"Trouble? We'll just keep the property and use it ourselves!"

Cheng Yang threw the iPad aside, fuming. "All those online complaints come from jealous nobodies. Don't take their nonsense seriously. This will blow over in a few days."

"It must be that little troublemaker Ran Qin who filed the complaint. She mentioned something about the one-month notice clause in the contract today."

Hong Zhang, seething, grabbed her phone. "I'll call your uncle and have him fire Ran Qin's brother."

"Nobodies like them can't outsmart us!"

At eight o'clock in the evening, Ran Qin also saw the *Binhai First Scene* broadcast. After watching the news, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.

With the community market investigation team involved, even if the Yang family still refused to renew the lease, they wouldn't be forced to move out immediately. The market supervision team would likely give them at least a week or ten days to find a new location.

Not needing to rush the move, Ran Qin left the clinic at half past eight.