Chapter 86: Chen Yansen

Yanjing, Shennan Network Headquarters.

Upon learning that the CEO of FoxTao had been taken away by the Shanghai Police Inspector for questioning, Market Director Liu Zhicheng panicked—this incident, if exposed, would kill Shennan Network.

A vertical e-commerce platform selling alcohol—how could anyone dare place an order if it sold counterfeit liquor?

“Mao Tai liquor is sourced through official channels; it shouldn’t have fakes. Either the warehouse is cursed, or the problem lies in the courier chain.”

Liu Zhicheng frowned, thought for a moment, then rushed into the boss’s office and reported everything.

“Call the police! First, distance ourselves from responsibility. Post the procurement list on the official website and make our stance clear to users.” The boss immediately decided.

“What about FoxTao?” Liu Zhicheng asked quietly—he meant Chen Yansen.

“Hire a local lawyer to get Chen Zong out first. If he’s in trouble, who will dare cooperate with us again?”

The boss gave the order without hesitation.

“Got it, I’ll handle it right away.” Liu Zhicheng nodded, then simultaneously filed a police report and contacted the company’s legal team to secure Chen’s release.

At 2:44 PM, someone Baoliao on Weibo that the CEO of FoxTao had been arrested in Shanghai for selling counterfeit liquor.

The news quickly topped trending topics, and Shennan Network followed suit—both became targets of online abuse.

But soon after, Shennan Network posted its procurement list on its official website and announced it had filed a police report in Yanjing, vowing to cooperate fully with the investigation.

The trending term “FoxTao Counterfeit Liquor” sat at the top of search results, drawing tens of thousands of clicks per second; FoxTao’s daily orders plummeted by half.

“Sen-ge has been arrested!”

On the second floor of the startup park, someone suddenly cried out.

A Weibo link was immediately posted in the project group, detailing the full story of FoxTao’s counterfeit liquor sales—including screenshots of buyers accusing the platform of inaction.

In an instant, the second floor descended into chaos.

Some worried Chen Yansen might go to jail; others feared FoxTao might collapse; still others worried whether they’d even get their monthly commissions.

Everyone chattered loudly, making Wang Zihao increasingly agitated.

“Shut up! Sen-ge is only cooperating with the investigation—they invited him, they didn’t arrest him! If you believe these media rumors, you can quit right now—I’ll approve it immediately!”

Wang Zihao leapt to his feet and slammed his fist on the desk, shouting.

The group exchanged uneasy glances, faces filled with anxiety.

After all, most of them were still third- or fourth-year university students—panicking under pressure was understandable.

“Front-end team, get back to your desks and work!” Zhang Wenbo snapped to his senses and helped Wang Zihao stabilize the situation.

“Back-end guys, I trust Sen-ge and I trust FoxTao. If you feel the same, get back to your seats!” Xiang Pengfei stood on his chair and shouted.

“All customer service, listen to me—first, calm the users. We’re on the front line; we absolutely cannot panic.”

Meng Xibo clapped his hands, signaling customer service staff to return to their desks and resume serving visitors.

“You in business development—what are you still standing there for? Get to work!” Zhang Yifeng glared at the nearby group.

He came from category operations and had co-planned FoxTao’s first brand group with Chen Yansen, generating over 40 million in sales and making a name for himself in the e-commerce circle.

Other business developers respected him and dared not defy him, silently returning to their seats.

Seeing this, Wang Zihao breathed a quiet sigh of relief—but he knew deep down, no one was truly focused on work; they were just pretending calm.

And so was he.

He wanted to rush to Shanghai immediately, but he forced himself to stay—his duty was to guard the project for Chen Yansen.

…

…

In Shanghai, the sky outside the window darkened; a cold northern wind howled.

“Clang!”

The door opened, and the young inspector stood at the threshold: “Chen Yansen, you’re free to go.”

“Fucking hell—if I find out who’s behind this, I’ll kill them.”

Chen Yansen’s eyes burned with fury as he cursed inwardly.

Since his rebirth, the person he hated most was Zhang Hanhua of Amazon. Whether or not he was behind this, Chen Yansen would destroy him.

Leaving the interrogation room and stepping into the lobby, Chen Yansen saw Meng Jie standing with three middle-aged men.

One wore an inspector’s uniform, eyeing him curiously.

The other two were dressed in suits, calm and composed, smiling politely.

“Chen Yansen, are you okay?” Meng Jie rushed into his arms upon seeing him, gripping his arm.

“Fine. Just drank too much tea—I’m bursting.” Chen Yansen teased her.

“Pfft,” Meng Jie burst out laughing, a bubble forming at her nostrils—she instinctively reached to wipe it.

“Your makeup’s all smudged,” Chen Yansen said, lifting his hand to gently wipe away the tear tracks and smudges near her nose.

“Dirty,” Meng Jie turned her face aside, slightly embarrassed.

Chen Yansen smiled, leaned down, and kissed her forehead: “Not dirty.”

“Don’t play around—my dad’s classmate is here. This is Uncle Wei Zhe. Thanks to him, you got out.”

Meng Jie pulled away from Chen Yansen’s arms and pointed to Wei Zhe behind her.

“Uncle Wei, thank you for coming all this way—I’m grateful. Tonight, let me treat you to dinner: one, to thank you; two, to learn from an elder.” Chen Yansen stepped forward, smiling.

“Since you’re dating Xiao Jie, you’re practically my nephew. Don’t hide it—you got out because Principal Tang called in a favor. No dinner needed. We handle our own generation’s debts—I’ll treat Old Meng to a meal later, and that clears the favor.”

Wei Zhe waved him off, refusing outright.

Now he understood why Meng Zhenguó looked down on Chen Yansen—this kid was only eighteen, faced with a massive crisis, yet still thought of inviting him to dinner to build a relationship. Most people would’ve been paralyzed with fear.

The son-in-law is sharper than the father-in-law. Interesting.

Chen Yansen urged a few more times, but seeing Wei Zhe’s firm refusal, he let it go.

Wei Zhe greeted the two, stepped out, got into the inspector’s car, and vanished into the evening traffic.

“Mr. Chen, I’m the attorney representing Shennan Network. Here’s my card. Shennan Network will follow up on this matter. Director Liu asked me to convey his apologies. When you next visit Yanjing, he’ll apologize to you in person.”

One of the well-dressed middle-aged men explained earnestly.

Chen Yansen said nothing, nodded to him, then turned his gaze to the last man.

“I’m Sun Tongbo, a classmate of Wang Jing, currently working at Tiancheng Law Firm, specializing in commercial disputes. I’ve just coordinated with Attorney Zhou. We’ll handle your case together.”

Sun Tongbo adjusted his glasses, extended his hand, and shook Chen Yansen’s firmly, speaking calmly.

The Attorney Zhou he mentioned was Shennan Network’s legal advisor.

“Thank you. I’ll pay according to your firm’s standard fees,” Chen Yansen replied.

Sun Tongbo left his card and contact details, then rose to take his leave.

Chen Yansen took Meng Jie’s hand and strode toward the exit.

Gazing at the evening streetscape, Chen Yansen exhaled deeply, pulled out his phone to check group messages and texts, gave Wang Zihao a brief reply, then added a few specific instructions.

At that moment, seven or eight people dressed as reporters surrounded him with microphones. One asked: “Mr. Chen, I’m from E-Commerce Daily. Could I take two minutes for an interview?”

“Sure,” Chen Yansen did not refuse.

“Users bought counterfeit liquor on FoxTao—the root cause lies with Shennan Network. As a guide platform, what solutions does your company have for such situations?”

The reporter turned on his camera and held out the microphone.

“First, FoxTao will not shirk responsibility. User experience is our bottom line. For these 23 users who received counterfeit liquor, we will honor our service standard: one fake, tenfold compensation.” Chen Yansen paused, then continued.

“Second, all FoxTao partner merchants pay a full security deposit before listing. So, if a user receives counterfeit goods and contacts customer service, once verified, we guarantee one fake, tenfold compensation.”

This scandal had grown too large—Chen Yansen had to show sincere sincerity to earn user understanding and trust.

Even though FoxTao was itself a victim, the world doesn’t spare the innocent from collateral damage.

“Finally, on behalf of FoxTao, I promise all users who purchased this batch of Mao Tai liquor: if you have doubts about authenticity, you may have it tested by the China Inspection Institute or Mao Tai’s Anti-Counterfeit Office. If confirmed fake, FoxTao will cover all testing fees and pay tenfold compensation.”

Chen Yansen spoke slowly and deliberately.

The usual careless, reckless demeanor vanished—he now looked like a pure, innocent college boy, wrongfully framed.

Acting came naturally to Chen Yansen—it was a mandatory skill for any boss.

After dealing with the reporters, he pulled Meng Jie into a taxi. Once inside, she asked: “Dinner first, or back to the hotel?”

“It’s still early. Driver, head to Binjiang Avenue,” Chen Yansen said casually.

“You still have the energy to go to a concert?” Meng Jie stared in shock—she knew the concert venue was near Binjiang Avenue.

“It starts at 7:30 PM. We have an hour—plenty of time,” Chen Yansen smiled.

Meng Jie fell silent, then burst into laughter, shaking with mirth. The boy she liked was truly extraordinary—he’d spent half a day in the inspector’s office and emerged as if nothing had happened.

Chen Yansen smiled faintly, ruffled her hair.

Wang Zihao had told Chen Yansen about the team’s situation—Wang Jing and Cao Dahua were both helping, and on behalf of FoxTao, they had filed a police report with the Shanghai Inspectorate.

A three-city joint investigation would soon uncover the mastermind.

Shennan Network was even more anxious than he was—the investors had spent half a year preparing; they didn’t want their capital to vanish.

The two ate dinner at a nearby mall. Meng Jie washed her face, went makeup-free, and accompanied Chen Yansen into the Mercedes Cultural Center.

Nearly twenty thousand seats were filled—proof of Wang Fei’s immense popularity in 2010.

On stage, Wang Fei stood at the center, singing softly into the mic:

“Whose heart shall I use to feel, truly and clearly, the world around me?”

“Even if it’s pain, even if it’s tears, these are my own sorrows.”

The crowd sang along, and Meng Jie calmed instantly, waving her glow stick and belting out the lyrics with cathartic release.

“Buzzzz—”

Chen Yansen pulled out his phone, opened a text: Where are you?

He glanced at Meng Jie—she hadn’t noticed—then quickly typed a reply and tapped send.

(End of chapter)