Chapter 24

Gu Yuetong felt out of sorts today, from morning till night. As closing time approached and the sky outside began to darken, she was still at her desk, engrossed in her work.

Occasionally, when she looked out at the city view, Gu Yuetong would feel a sense of loss.

Taking out her phone, she opened her chat with Qi Baizi and sent a greeting. A long time passed with no response.

She’s probably still resting.

Gu Yuetong let out a breath, leaned back in her executive chair, and spun around a couple of times. Then, she opened Qi Baizi’s Weibo.

Yesterday, Qi Baizi had posted: “Got recognized—so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole. She must think I’m a scoundrel!!!” The ‘she’ must have been referring to Gu Yuetong. The three large exclamation marks were very conspicuous.

Gu Yuetong had seen this post yesterday and found it rather amusing. She had no intention of holding it against her at all, but just asking one question had scared the girl so much she couldn’t even drive properly.

Sigh, what a little brat.

There was another new post from last night, “Hope my uncle’s family is safe and sound.” Gu Yuetong connected this to what Qi Baizi had said about someone in her family being sick, and combined with the mention of her aunt in previous posts, she figured this was what she was talking about.

Qi Baizi had said she was short on money recently.

Her aunt was sick. Did that mean she had to bear the medical expenses?

Leaning her head back against the chair, Gu Yuetong idly spun herself around by pushing off the floor with her feet.

On her phone, Wang Lin, using a new number, was pestering her with texts, urging her to quickly deliver the five hundred thousand yuan she had promised on Saturday.

Originally, Gu Yuetong had wanted to keep things simple, but after Qi Baizi’s reminder, she realized she had once again become a patsy.

There were several suspicious points about Wang Lin constantly trying to borrow money from her. Firstly, based on Gu Yuetong’s understanding of her, Wang Lin was not someone who was greedy for money. She had a proud personality and had always been disdainful of so-called material possessions. Secondly, Wang Lin’s own family was quite well-off. Her mother, Wang Yun, had been running guesthouses on the outskirts of Jingzhou for many years, essentially monopolizing all the scenic spots in the Jingzhou suburbs. While not fabulously wealthy, she was certainly well-to-do; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to afford to send Wang Lin to study abroad.

When they first met, Wang Lin was a legendary figure in the art department, completely devoted to her creations. In her very first semester, she held a solo exhibition of her paintings and sculptures.

Gu Yuetong saw her for the first time at the exhibition. She was dressed in designer clothes, but it wasn’t until they got together that Gu Yuetong discovered she had no idea what those brands were. Even if she was out of touch with worldly affairs, to be so focused on art to that extent was enough to earn Gu Yuetong’s admiration.

But now… Gu Yuetong looked at the way Wang Lin was wheedling, threatening, and fawning in the text messages, and felt bewildered.

It had been several years since the two had cut off contact. From Gu Yuetong’s return to the country and joining Gu Corporation to their breakup, only a few short months had passed.

At the time of the breakup, Gu Yuetong had begged and pleaded. She couldn’t understand why Wang Lin would break up with her over a few words from Gu Hezhu. They had promised to be together forever… until Gu Hezhu told her that Wang Lin had chosen money over her.

It dawned on Gu Yuetong then that a cliché soap opera plot had played out in her life.

Their years of affection abroad were worth less than that bit of cash…

Fortunately, she had now come to terms with it and gradually accepted that people change. But she was still stumped by the screen in front of her.

With a personality as proud as Wang Lin’s, why would she suddenly reappear and grovel like this just for a few hundred thousand yuan? At least for Wang Lin, it was a complete reversal of her past self.

If she had run into some kind of trouble, why didn’t she just tell her directly? Instead, she resorted to weaving a bunch of flimsy lies that would fall apart at the slightest scrutiny…

A new message demanding payment popped up again. This time, Gu Yuetong didn’t hesitate and replied bluntly: Not lending.

Wang Lin’s side paused, then sent a question mark: Why are you going back on your word?

Gu Yuetong replied: I’m very sorry, but I told you before that we shouldn’t contact each other again. I kept my word. You’re the one who went back on yours.

Wang Lin: But I never agreed to that!

Gu Yuetong fell silent.

Why had she suddenly started pestering her relentlessly?

Who was the one who said “let’s part on good terms”?

Tired of arguing with her, Gu Yuetong blocked her again, finally getting a moment of peace.

A few seconds later, her phone chimed. It was a reply from Qi Baizi.

She seemed to be in much better spirits than in the morning.

Gu Yuetong didn’t even realize she was smiling at the screen. When she saw the emoji at the end, her smile deepened.

***

The next day was filled with meetings, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Qi Baizi was in the conference room the entire time, standing behind Gu Yuetong and listening.

The thought of her having to stand for so long made Gu Yuetong feel a pang of sympathy, so she specifically added a ten-minute break in the middle of the afternoon meeting.

However, during that ten-minute break, someone still expressed their dissatisfaction with Qi Baizi.

“She’s neither an employee of Gu Corporation nor involved in the project discussion. Why is she here listening to the meeting content?”

“Exactly, President Gu. What if she leaks our project content? She’s already heard a lot of confidential information just now, and I even saw her go out to make a phone call, talking about some meeting. Can we trust this person?”

The two people complaining were the project manager and the acting Deputy Director of Human Resources who was temporarily filling in for Han Zhiyu, Chen Hao and Xu Li.

Gu Yuetong crossed her legs and glanced at them. She knew these two. They had known each other for a long time and had worked together at the same company before.

Later, Xu Li was headhunted to be an HR manager here and referred Chen Hao. Chen Hao was a capable worker, and with his previous experience in a related field, he successfully joined Gu Corporation.

Gu Yuetong had once accidentally run into them at an old classmate’s exhibition. The two were acting intimately, looking like they were in a deep relationship.

Now that these two were presenting a united front to impeach Qi Baizi, Gu Yuetong knew without even thinking that it must have been pre-planned.

However, they had no connection whatsoever to Qi Baizi. How had a general manager’s assistant suddenly become an eyesore to them?

Gu Yuetong thought of that troublemaking old acquaintance, Gu Hezhu, but on second thought, it didn’t seem right. Gu Hezhu had been in poor health recently, busy treating her ‘three highs’. When she went home a few days ago, Gu Hezhu had even specially booked a famous old traditional Chinese medicine doctor online for physical therapy. According to the housekeeper, she had to do it six days a week.

There was nothing major happening at the company recently, and Han Zhiyu had been given a long leave of absence by Gu Yuetong under the pretext of visiting family. Logically, everything should be seamless. Why would Gu Hezhu suddenly think of tormenting Qi Baizi again?

Xu Li spoke up again, “President Gu? President Gu?”

She called out twice in a row. Gu Yuetong felt a little annoyed. Taking advantage of the fact that there weren’t many people in the conference room, she asked Chen Hao to step out first, saying she had something to ask Xu Li.

The two exchanged a glance, and for some reason, they both smiled. It was brief, but it was still caught by the sharp-eyed Gu Yuetong.

After Chen Hao left, Xu Li sat down in a chair diagonally in front of her with a fawning expression and asked, “President Gu, what did you want to ask me?”

Gu Yuetong stared at her, laughing inwardly, but she still played along. “I wanted to ask you about your future career plans.”

Sure enough, Xu Li’s eyes lit up at these words.

“I’ve been in HR for so many years, always working diligently and conscientiously, and I’ve finally reached the position of Deputy Director. If I have the opportunity to be recognized by you, President Gu, naturally I’d… climb as high as…”

Towards the end, Xu Li even feigned a bit of coyness. Gu Yuetong let out an “oh” and interrupted, “Then what if you had to choose between your job and Chen Hao?”

Xu Li froze, the smile on her face instantly vanishing and turning into a daze.

Her mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say.

Gu Yuetong smiled faintly and answered for her, “You’d definitely choose Chen Hao, right?”

Xu Li was still in shock. She subconsciously shook her head, but her heart didn’t feel the same way. For a moment, her tongue was tied, and she was at a loss for words again.

Gu Yuetong feigned regret. “It’s a pity Chen Hao doesn’t think the same way.”

This time, Xu Li couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Gu Yuetong lowered her eyelids and said nothing.

Xu Li grew anxious and pressed, “President Gu, do you know something?”

Gu Yuetong suddenly shot her a sharp glare. “I’m sorry, you didn’t pass my test.”

Xu Li was stunned, having no idea when Gu Yuetong had tested her. Just as she was about to ask, Gu Yuetong said, “Han Zhiyu promised me that she wouldn’t get married or have children for the next ten years. Your stance is so wavering, what makes you think you can replace her?”

“I…” Xu Li fell silent.

It was nothing new for Gu Corporation to be impersonal. It was common for female colleagues to be marginalized after returning from maternity leave. She had personally sent away no fewer than ten female colleagues, and these things didn’t even need to be said explicitly. A single look from any department head and she knew what it meant. Now, she was getting a taste of her own medicine.

“But there’s one thing, Xu Li.” Gu Yuetong feigned a deep tone. “I originally had high hopes for you.”

“What?”

“I’ve seen you when you’re laying people off. Aggressive, your words watertight, even I couldn’t keep them if I intervened.” Gu Yuetong smiled slightly. “You’ve probably forgotten, haven’t you? My classmate’s younger sister was laid off by you personally after she got pregnant.”

Xu Li was dumbfounded. Who? What? Did that happen? Why didn’t she have any impression of it at all?

“President Gu, I… could you remind me? I really don’t remember… No, wait, I definitely didn’t know she was your classmate’s sister. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have laid her off. President Gu, please forgive me this once. President Gu, I’ll definitely ask around in advance in the future.”

Seeing how quickly Xu Li changed her tune, Gu Yuetong sneered inwardly. This person was so stupid she was practically oozing it. She surrendered at the slightest provocation, utterly spineless.

“You say that, but just now you came to complain to me regardless of anything. How do I know if you can change in the future?”

Xu Li paused, then slowly said, “You’re talking about… Qi Baizi?”

“Is Qi Baizi your person?”

That’s not what the rumors in the company said!

Xu Li’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Isn’t she a spy sent by the Chairman to monitor you?”