Starting Check-in Reward: Tomson Riviera

Ye Ling didn’t force Ning Ruoxi to have any more congee. For one, this was about as much as she normally ate. Besides, her fever had just broken, so it was best not to overeat.

"Let’s watch some TV."

Ye Ling glanced at the time—it was almost seven-thirty. He casually turned on the TV, fluffed the pillow behind Ning Ruoxi’s head, and lay down beside her.

As for the show... of course, it was the fan-favorite *Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf*.

Ning Ruoxi watched the plump little sheep on the TV, finding them rather uninteresting. She even felt a little drowsy. If not for Ye Ling bursting into laughter beside her from time to time, she probably would have actually fallen asleep.

"Is this cartoon really that good?"

Ning Ruoxi finally couldn’t help but ask. She was starting to wonder if her boyfriend was a bit too immature for his age.

’How can he laugh like that just from watching a few plump little sheep?’

"Of course it’s good."

Ye Ling, however, wrapped his arm around Ning Ruoxi and pointed at Lazy Goat on the screen. "Look at this plump sheep. So cute, just like you."

"What did you just say?!"

Ning Ruoxi immediately reached out and pinched Ye Ling’s waist, glaring at him in irritation.

’What the heck!’

’He could have compared me to anything, but he chose the laziest, fattest sheep?’

’And it has a poop-swirl on its head!’

"HISS..."

Feeling the pain in his side, Ye Ling’s laughter stopped for a moment. He looked at Ning Ruoxi with a slightly wronged expression. "But this little plump sheep really is cute! She’s the darling of the Green Green Grassland, you know?"

"Hmph. Whatever. I still feel like you’re making fun of me."

Ning Ruoxi huffed, but her gaze shifted back to the TV screen. As she watched, she found herself getting drawn in without realizing it.

’Maybe... this plump little sheep is actually pretty cute?’

And so, Ye Ling held Ning Ruoxi, two adults well over the age of eighteen, occasionally laughing like a pair of idiots.

...

「Three days passed in a flash.」 Time always slips by so unexpectedly, making you realize in a daze that the year is almost over.

Modu University, in particular, was filled with a thick atmosphere of studying. It couldn’t be helped; the final exams were just around the corner. Even those who usually slacked off couldn’t help but start burning the midnight oil.

Waiting for Ning Ruoxi to finish her class, Ye Ling sat in the library, quietly studying on his own.

Although he possessed god-tier computer skills, his major wasn’t solely about computer-related knowledge, so he still needed to review properly.

He hadn’t been reading for long when the phone beside him vibrated lightly.

Ye Ling picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Zhu Yun.

*Zhu Yun: The news has been released.*

Since they were communicating directly on WeChat, Zhu Yun’s message was extremely brief. Ye Ling just replied with "Got it," and then opened his phone’s browser.

...

At 9:30 this morning, an article suddenly went viral across the entire internet, sending shockwaves everywhere.

"New Energy Giant Bauhinia Energy Suspected of Colluding with Shenzhou Company to Defraud National Subsidies. Where Does Xia Country’s New Energy Sector Go From Here?"

The article detailed the methods Bauhinia Energy and Shenzhou Company used to collude and defraud subsidies. It even included account ledgers, matching the new energy vehicles sold by Bauhinia Energy to Shenzhou Company with the "recycled" new energy vehicles.

The models and quantities were identical. In other words, they hadn’t even bothered to cover their tracks!

At the same time, the end of the article subtly hinted that both companies belonged to the same power, pointing the finger directly at the Jiang Family operating behind the scenes!

Once this kind of news appeared online, it was bound to attract the attention of countless netizens. Even if some people tried to suppress it from the shadows, it was futile.

The original article was gone within half an hour of being posted, but all sorts of screenshots and reposts quickly appeared on major entertainment websites.

But that didn’t last very long either. Soon, just like the initial article, they were all banned and blocked.

However.

This was not the end.

You have to understand, this is the internet age, the age of public opinion. No one can overpower the tide of public opinion.

The netizens’ posts were suppressed, but about half an hour later, a host of media outlets and public accounts began publishing articles one after another.

"The Shady Dealings of New Energy Giant Bauhinia Energy!"

"Article Exposing Loopholes in the New Energy Sector Deleted in Half an Hour. What Happened to Freedom of Speech?"

...

Countless articles were published on major media websites.

This kind of story was a huge traffic driver, so the marketing accounts went crazy and started spreading it like wildfire.

"So these are the legendary capitalists, huh? Heh!"

"Suppress the news? You think you can? We’ll dig up all your dirt!"

"I work in the new energy sector. To be honest, there are a lot of problems in the country right now, especially with subsidies. The subsidies go to the car manufacturers and operating companies, but the money never goes directly to us battery manufacturers."

"The person above is right. Just think about it. Our Xia Country has spent tens of billions, yet we can’t produce a single pure electric vehicle on par with a Tesla. Isn’t that something worth thinking about?"

"Breaking news, breaking news! The largest shareholder of both Bauhinia Energy and Shenzhou Group has been exposed! It’s the Jiang Family from the capital!"

"The Jiang Family? Wasn’t that Net Entertainment Group also owned by this Jiang Family?"

...

In an instant, besides "Bauhinia Energy" and "Shenzhou Company," a new term, "Jiang Family," became a trending topic across the entire web.

The moment the public outcry exploded online, the stock market, being the most sensitive, was the first to react. A massive number of sell orders for Bauhinia Energy’s stock were placed.

And Bauhinia Energy’s stock price instantly plummeted by seven percentage points.

Some people might think that seven percentage points isn’t much, but you have to understand, Bauhinia Energy’s stock price had been on a constant rise. It had never been in the red!

But now, it had suddenly turned red, and dropped by seven percentage points at that. What did this mean?

To put it this way, Bauhinia Energy’s total market capitalization was over 800 billion, and in that instant, over 50 billion of it evaporated!

You have to remember, back when Shengding Group had just merged with the Yu Group, its market capitalization had only just broken the 100 billion mark.

That was half a Shengding Group gone in a flash!

*Zhu Yun: Chairman Ye, should we move in?*

*Ye Ling: Wait a little longer.*

Ye Ling watched the constantly falling stock price, but he remained perfectly calm.

He knew that the market’s reaction hadn’t fully played out yet. If he moved in rashly now, there was a high probability they’d be caught halfway down the fall.