Shattering the Male Lead's Aura as the Ultimate Villain

Chapter 9: The Wager

The meeting to discuss Efood’s future direction, which had only been held a few days ago, was convened once again.

Facing the predator-like gazes from below, Ethan announced his decision without the slightest hesitation.

“I will participate in The Culinary Crown.”

The moment Ethan finished speaking, an uproar immediately broke out in the room.

Many people opposed this decision, especially since just the day before they had already agreed to Ethan’s proposed solution.

“You change your decisions like a weather vane, Ethan. There’s not a shred of steadfastness in you. Perhaps you should reconsider the position you’re sitting in.”

One of the board members spoke up. He was from the same generation as Ethan’s father and had always been eager to nitpick every minor mistake Ethan made.

Previously, for the sake of the company’s development, Ethan had not paid much attention to it. But parasites like these were precisely what caused Efood to rot from the inside.

He chuckled lightly and said indifferently, “It seems Mr. Tony here thinks he can do a better job than I can.”

The crowd clearly had not expected Ethan to speak so bluntly. Frank also frowned.

Sure enough, right after Ethan finished speaking, Tony immediately said, “I personally oppose your participation in The Culinary Crown. The plan you proposed last time was already optimal. You know very well which side benefits and which side loses. Suddenly changing your mind to take part in The Culinary Crown will only cause losses for us.”

“But didn’t everyone want me to participate before?” Ethan replied.

That was, of course, before Ethan had proposed the plan to rectify everything. But now…

Tony said, “That’s right. But at present, we don’t have confidence that you will win. Choosing the method with the least damage is the best option.”

Several others nodded, clearly showing a tendency to take Tony as their leader.

Frank frowned. However, he did not rush to speak and merely watched Ethan. He felt that Ethan was about to do something.

However, Ethan’s next words nearly gave Frank a heart attack.

“But I believe I will win.”

Ethan stood up and spoke with confidence.

“And if you lose, what will you use to compensate for the damage to our reputation—”

Tony hadn’t finished his sentence when Ethan cut in, “If I lose, I will relinquish this position to you.”

Ethan’s words almost instantly left Tony speechless.

Frank slammed the table and stood up. “Ethan!”

Ethan didn’t listen to him. “But if you lose, you will transfer all of your shares to me.”

It was a perfect exchange, one that even favored Tony, since Ethan held many times more shares than Tony did.

Tony’s mouth fell open, and for a moment he couldn’t suppress his excitement.

He didn’t know whether Ethan would win or lose, but the terms laid out before him were truly tempting.

He had also looked into Ethan’s opponents this time.

Among them was a young man… Tony would swear that Ethan’s hands could never produce a dish as delicious as that person’s.

So now, he agreed, unable to wait even a second to do so.

“Words alone don’t count. We should sign an agreement right now,” Tony said.

“That’s exactly what I was about to suggest,” Ethan replied without hesitation.

And just like that, a major decision was made.

Frank was so furious he was on the verge of a heart attack. “Ethan, do you have any idea what you’re gambling with? This is the career your father and so many others built together. You’re its successor. Your duty is to make it shine, not turn it into a gambling table!”

The others who sided with Frank were also filled with disappointment toward Ethan and hoped he would change his decision. The papers hadn’t been signed yet; there was still time to turn back.

Within Efood, there were people like Tony—but there were also many like Frank.

Ethan understood Frank’s feelings. He simply looked at him and said firmly, “I will win.”

Facing Ethan’s gaze, Frank seemed to see an old friend from long ago. Back in their youth, that person had once looked at him with the very same eyes, leading him onto this path, walking forward together all the way to today. When they first began, all they had were a pair of hands and a heart burning with youthful passion.

Frank closed his eyes tightly and, in the end, said nothing more.

The documents were signed just like that. Tony felt as if he had struck it rich. Even so, on the surface he still wore an expression that claimed Efood’s interests came above all else.

Only when the meeting room was left with Ethan alone did Robert, who had remained silent from start to finish, finally speak up.

“Since when did you become this irrational, Ethan? Is it still possible to assassinate Tony right now? The old man is already up there in years. If he suddenly had a heart attack and died, that wouldn’t be a problem, would it?”

In any case, Tony should not even dream of truly getting anything from Ethan.

Ethan could not help glancing at Robert. “Well now, where did that fake smile of yours go? Talking like this all of a sudden is actually pretty scary.” Yet the smile at the corner of his lips clearly did not suggest he was afraid at all.

Robert frowned at Ethan and said nothing.

Ethan could not help asking, “You don’t believe I’ll win either?”

Robert replied, “What do you think?”

Ethan did not deny it. “If it were before, it might indeed have been very difficult to win. But now… I’m truly very confident.”

The protagonist had a golden finger, but he had one too, and his golden finger was a big one.

Robert saw Ethan seeming to think of something, then suddenly breaking into a smile. He felt a chill run down his spine.

Still, faced with Ethan’s unwavering confidence, Robert ultimately chose to believe in him. Because if he could not do it, Ethan would never make such a firm declaration.

From that day on, the news that Efood’s chairman would be participating in a prestigious culinary competition began to spread everywhere. Especially in this era of rapidly developing mass information, all it took was a phone in one’s hand to know everything under the sun.

As for this, countless speculations about the outcome arose.

Yet even more people were eagerly anticipating Ethan’s performance.

After all, even if it had shown signs of decline in recent years, Efood was still a towering tree.

And thanks to his status, Ethan would not need to participate from the preliminary rounds. He only needed to enter once the top ten were selected. Of course, he was not the only one with this privilege. Many others enjoyed it as well, such as the top ten contestants from the past two years.

Lily also had not expected Ethan to suddenly change his approach. Benjamin hurriedly asked whether anything around Ethan had changed, but everything was still the same as usual.

Benjamin sneered. “Looks like he still can’t rein in his arrogance. He thinks he’s going to win. But it’s fine, Lily. I will definitely bring the victory back for us.”

Lily nodded. She suddenly felt that Benjamin like this was actually quite arrogant.

No, that was wrong. This should be confidence. It had always been how she viewed Benjamin. How could she think like that?

She smiled, hung up the phone, and just as she turned around to leave, she bumped into a figure standing right in front of her.

The smile on Lily’s lips nearly vanished at once. Startled, she leaned back slightly and lost her balance.

The only thought in her mind right now was not whether falling would be embarrassing or painful, but pure fear.

How long had Ethan been standing here? How much had he heard? And why did Ethan walk without making any sound at all?!

Lily shut her eyes tightly, but the pain and embarrassment she expected never came, because Ethan moved at the fastest speed to grab her hand. With a slight pull, Lily was immediately steadied, falling straight into Ethan’s broad chest.

Because of the sudden incident and the fear of being discovered, Lily’s heart pounded wildly, her face flushing slightly.

At that moment, Ethan’s low voice sounded above her. “Are you alright, Lily?”

Lily startled and hurriedly stepped back. “I… I’m fine…” Yet because she was too flustered, she nearly fell again.

Ethan could not help supporting her and laughed. “I don’t really think you’re fine, haha.”

Looking at Ethan’s smile, Lily suddenly felt that her racing heartbeat might not be solely due to fear.

She quickly lowered her gaze, shaking away the foolish thoughts in her head.

What nonsense was this? The one she loved was Benjamin, only Benjamin!

Ethan… an arrogant man… a despicable man… there was no way she would ever be moved just because of a few smiles and a few actions.

Lily, it’s just acting. Don’t fool even yourself like this.