Chapter 169 - 155: Anti-Money Laundering Scrutiny

Chapter 169: Chapter 155: Anti-Money Laundering Scrutiny

The breakfast spread was lavish, with a full range of both Chinese and Western options.

Cruising the Huangpu River at night had its own beauty, just as cruising it during the day had its own charm.

While Wang Yan had little appetite, Gu Heng and the girls, including Bingbing, were eating heartily. After all, they had gotten quite a bit of exercise last night.

"Chairman Gu..."

Just as the historic International Architecture along The Bund and the skyscrapers of Lujiazui appeared in the distance, Xinxin, who was sitting beside Gu Heng, called out to him while looking at her phone.

Her voice, which had been cute and squeaky just yesterday, was now a bit hoarse. Gu Heng loved hearing it, so she had been the target of his special attention last night.

"What’s wrong?"

Gu Heng turned his head, his expression gentle.

"My boss just sent me a message. He said he’s at Sixteen Piers Wharf waiting for us right now."

Xinxin showed Gu Heng the message from her boss. "On one hand, he wants to thank you in person for your tremendous support of Wuyou Media. On the other hand, your huge donations last night triggered an anti-money laundering review over in Hang City. The economic investigation division came to see him this morning, so my boss was hoping you could help explain the situation."

"Anti-money laundering?"

"All that for such a small amount of money?"

Gu Heng was taken aback, a hint of surprise on his face.

’Such a small amount of money?’

Hearing Gu Heng’s words, the others were all at a loss for what to say.

To them, it was a sum that could make them rich overnight, yet from Gu Heng’s mouth, it was just "a small amount of money."

"Chairman Gu..."

Xinxin replied timidly, "Well, there were quite a few people from Wuyou Media on the yacht last night."

"Besides you, who else is there?"

Gu Heng looked up at the other girls.

"I am."

Yangyang raised her hand.

"Me too."

Yaya also raised her hand.

"Us too."

The twin sisters followed suit.

Seeing this, Gu Heng’s eyes widened slightly.

’Well, I’ll be. No wonder they say, "Of all the online beauties, Wuyou Media has half."’

It turned out that out of the seven girls who participated in last night’s "group battle," five of them were influencers from Wuyou Media.

’Considering that, it’s not so surprising that Wuyou Media triggered an anti-money laundering review.’

Xinxin and Yangyang had competed in two of the three most intense PK battles last night.

On average, the donations received by those two girls approached twenty million per battle.

If you added in the amounts for Yaya and the twin sisters, the grand total would be heading straight for fifty million.

"Huh?"

"By that logic, shouldn’t the Hang City investigators be coming for me?"

"I’m the source of the money, after all. Why would they go after your boss?"

Gu Heng asked quizzically, the realization dawning on him a little late.

"Of course, they’re starting with the low-hanging fruit."

Wang Yan chimed in with a smile, "The authorities might follow the rules, but that doesn’t mean they don’t understand how the world works."

"They know perfectly well who’s easy to mess with and who isn’t."

"Take a guess. Why do you think their boss, who was still in Hang City this morning, is already waiting at Sixteen Piers Wharf by noon? Whose idea do you think that was?"

At this, Wang Yan’s smile became a bit meaningful.

"I get it."

Gu Heng nodded slightly, a flash of understanding in his eyes. "So, I’m the one who really triggered the review. Their boss is just a stepping stone the Hang City investigators are using to get to me."

"It’s not entirely accurate to call him a stepping stone."

"As the biggest beneficiary among the media companies last night, it’s perfectly reasonable for him to cooperate with an investigation. At most, it’s a case that they could choose to investigate or not, entirely depending on their mood."

Wang Yan smiled. "Honestly, the economic investigation system knows better than anyone whether last night’s huge donations were actually money laundering. Today is just a formality."

"If they had really found a problem, all of your accounts would have been frozen instantly. We wouldn’t have been able to spend a carefree night on the Huangpu River; a coast guard vessel would have been out looking for us long ago."

Wang Yan came from a powerful family and was a graduate of a prestigious university.

Now, he was gradually taking over his family’s business as the Executive Vice President of the publicly listed Ruyi Airlines. His insight was naturally extraordinary, and he had seen to the heart of the matter from just a few words from the girls.

"This is very easy to resolve. Do you need my help?"

Wang Yan asked Gu Heng.

"It’s a small matter."

"I won’t trouble you, Brother Yan."

Gu Heng smiled and shook his head. Then, while dialing a number on his phone, he said to Xinxin, "Alright, tell your boss to bring the comrades from the Hang City economic investigation division. We’ll see them at Sixteen Piers Wharf."

"Okay."

Xinxin had just been listening to Gu Heng and Wang Yan’s conversation. Although she was a bit lost in the fog, she had more or less understood what they meant.

So it turned out that the high-and-mighty big boss, in their eyes, was just a stepping stone for the Hang City investigators to communicate with Gu Heng—nothing more than a "soft persimmon" to be squeezed at will.

This reality sent endless ripples through their hearts.

Terminating their contracts to go solo—this was a necessary path that every major online influencer had to walk.

No one wanted to be tied down, and no one wanted half the money they earned to be taken by someone else forever. So, when their contracts expired, going solo was the inevitable choice for the vast majority.

However, this was easier said than done. Turning the idea into a reality was fraught with difficulties.

For an MCN agency, every major influencer was a cash cow.

’Want to leave?’

’Fine. Leave the account behind!’

Trying to leave and take the account with you was practically a hell-level difficulty.

As streamers on the "appearance track," most of them didn’t have the courage to abandon their accounts and start all over again.