Storm Eye Episode 25 Recap
> Storm Eye Recap
Ma Shang found his mother in tears, having had another argument with his father. She worried that the incident at Dinghua would affect him. Ma Shang reassured her that it was a company matter unrelated to his department and wouldn't impact him. His mother then confessed that she had secretly invested all their savings in Dinghua shares.
She had done so after hearing Ma Shang mention a new product launch that she believed would make Dinghua's stock skyrocket, intending it as a short-term investment. Now, with the incident, the shares were plummeting, and his father was furious. Ma Shang tried to calm her, insisting that money could be earned back and everything would be alright. He mentioned that Dinghua was actively seeking solutions and wouldn't simply collapse.
Despite his efforts, his parents continued to bicker, with his mother tearfully promising to repay the money. At Dinghua, Director Wei of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) arrived to address the accident. Before meeting him, Lin Xiaolan, Miao Fei, and Pang Yishan discussed their strategy. Meanwhile, Ma Shang instructed Cheng Lei to focus on the accounting work. Yu Haoran, anxious about the investigation, approached Ma Shang to inquire about the results, fearing he would be implicated.
Separately, An Jing met with Song Ju, expressing her frustration that despite their long investigation, the adversary always seemed a step ahead. Song Ju, in turn, offered encouragement, suggesting An Jing consider the possibility that even if Yu Haoran wasn't the culprit, his investigation helped eliminate a wrong lead. Miao Fei presented a preliminary report to Director Wei, who seemed impatient with its length and the absence of Yu Haoran, the directly responsible person, and a technical department representative.
Miao Fei explained that Dinghua's projects were under strict monitoring and that Yu Haoran was only responsible for the final data collection after multiple engineers had proofread it. She highlighted Dinghua's stringent confidentiality, which involved private keys for every data access, suggesting the complexity of the situation and even raising the possibility of malicious tampering designed to suppress Dinghua.
Director Wei, emphasizing patient safety, decided that all other medical projects at Dinghua must be suspended until the current matter was thoroughly investigated. He demanded a concise report within three days. Miao Fei informed Ma Shang that the temporary delay and project suspension was the best outcome they could hope for. She noted that despite this, the stock market would certainly react negatively.
Miao Fei tasked Ma Shang with stabilizing the major shareholders to prevent them from withdrawing their investments, which could lead to Dinghua's collapse. Ma Shang confirmed he had been monitoring the stock market, observing a slowdown in the fall, which suggested their efforts were having some effect. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolan approached Pang Yishan, suggesting they consider an offer from a state-owned enterprise that had expressed interest six months prior, seeing it as the only potential way to save Dinghua.
Pang Yishan vehemently opposed this, despite admitting to past selfish actions aimed at undermining Miao Huanyang's legacy. He argued that Miao Huanyang's rule against state-owned enterprise intervention was crucial for Dinghua's core advantages of flexibility and autonomy. He assured Lin Xiaolan that he was actively negotiating with other capital providers and expected a positive outcome soon. In another development, Qiao Xichuan, disguised as President He, met with Yang Xun.
He instructed Yang Xun to follow his plan step-by-step to secure Fu Dayong's cooperation. President He then excused himself to "see a friend," but instead changed his disguise and secretly entered a room to collect fingerprints from a cup. He later returned to Yang Xun with a bottle of collectible liquor, reiterating that everything would go smoothly if Yang Xun adhered to his instructions.
Back at Dinghua, during the data audit, Miao Lu and Cheng Lei discovered a set of invalid codes. Cheng Lei confronted Yu Haoran, who furiously denied responsibility, accusing Cheng Lei of framing him with a "crude mistake." Pang Yishan intervened, ordering Yu Haoran to stay put and await the company's final decision, assuring him that Dinghua would not wrong anyone. Lin Xiaolan then announced to the executives that the data provided to manufacturers indeed had problems.
Pang Yishan agreed with the findings but expressed concern about the repercussions of admitting fault. Miao Fei proposed a strategy to buy time: find a new partner willing to inject capital before publicly announcing the accident, thereby releasing positive news. Lin Xiaolan again brought up the idea of a state-owned enterprise intervention, but Pang Yishan firmly rejected it, reiterating his ongoing talks with capital partners and promising imminent results. Ma Shang later discussed the invalid codes with Cheng Lei.
Cheng Lei explained that these were meaningless, patchwork codes. He doubted Yu Haoran, a senior engineer, would make such a basic mistake, suggesting the codes might have been deliberately inserted. However, Cheng Lei couldn't understand Yu Haoran's motive, given his recent promotion to Professor Zou's assistant, a position that offered access to cutting-edge technology. Cheng Lei stated that despite their differences, he and Yu Haoran shared basic professional ethics.
Yang Xun informed Fu Dayong that his daughter Mengyao's overseas study arrangements were settled. To verify, Yang Xun arranged a call with Qiao Xichuan (or his associate), who, posing as an academic contact, convincingly confirmed a rare opening at a public school, citing Yang Xun's recommendation. He assured Fu Dayong about Mengyao's English by suggesting a preparatory language class, which Fu Dayong readily accepted despite the increased cost. Relieved, Fu Dayong profusely thanked Yang Xun.
Yang Xun then cautiously brought up the subject of ore procurement. Fu Dayong, while grateful, expressed reluctance, citing Dinghua's current troubles and the extensive government approvals required for mining and sales. Yang Xun confidently declared that his new company, Xingchuang Science and Technology, had a strong background, and the necessary approvals were already being processed, promising a swift trade once complete. An Jing, Ma Shang, and Song Ju discussed the investigation.
Ma Shang shared the discovery of the meaningless code in Yu Haoran's data, finding it peculiar for an engineer of his caliber to make such a basic error if his intent was sabotage. An Jing recalled her previous discussion with Song Ju about the possibility of Yu Haoran being framed. Ma Shang mentioned Lin Xiaolan's push for state-owned enterprise intervention and Pang Yishan's strong opposition, which seemed rooted in Dinghua's long-standing strategy of maintaining autonomy.
An Jing suggested focusing the investigation on the accident itself. He Zixuan hypothesized that Yu Haoran's original data might have been fine, but someone could have tampered with it remotely. Song Ju, having anticipated this, produced a key and instructed He Zixuan to promptly investigate this possibility. Ma Shang later arrived home to find his parents arguing again about stocks, with his mother wishing to buy more despite their previous losses.
