In the conference room, Zhao Pingchuan announced Hengtu's revenue figures for the month and gave a summary. The numbers weren't pretty, but no one was discouraged.
Lin Zhou patted the colleagues on either side of him on the shoulder and said calmly, "Hang in there a little longer. President Zhao said a turnaround is coming soon."
The colleague sitting to his left got up and stretched, evidently unconcerned. "Of course I believe in our company. This is all temporary."
Another colleague leaned forward and asked, "Don't you think we're actually pretty impressive? We're up against the entire Gu Group, and somehow we've survived their attempts to crush us."
Although they had lost some customers, the company's operations were largely unaffected.
"Yeah," Lin Zhou said. "Revenge is a dish best served cold. Sooner or later, we'll turn the tables on them."
Chen Qi was relieved to see everyone so energetic and united against a common enemy. She had been ready to give them a pep talk, but it turned out they didn't need one.
Even so, they didn't dare slow down. It would take real skill to compete with the Gu Group's product, and the system needed further optimization.
Chen Mo was the first to get up. "I'm not done with my work yet, so I'd better get back to it."
The others followed suit. "Come on, let's go. I can't be the one holding everyone back."
In an instant, only two people were left in the conference room.
Seeing that Zhao Pingchuan was still in his seat, Chen Qi asked curiously, "Old Zhao, aren't you leaving?"
Zhao Pingchuan was looking at his phone. Whatever he saw brought a faint smile to his face. At her question, he waved her on. "Go ahead. I'm replying to a message."
Chen Qi gave him a knowing look and left.
On his screen was a chat with Ji Ran, who had sent him a message: "Bro, I got promoted!"
It was accompanied by a sticker of a happy cat spinning in circles.
Zhao Pingchuan stared at the sticker for a long while, then smiled and typed, "Ranran, you're amazing. How do you want to celebrate?"
Ji Ran replied, "Hehe, let me think about it."
Ji Ran had been the last person to join his team, but their team leader had been promoted, leaving the position open. To his surprise, the team leader had recommended him to their superior. The superior had been impressed by the young man who had offered suggestions on multiple occasions and, after evaluating him, agreed.
This was fantastic news.
Li Chang let out a whoop. "Well, well, well. Ji Ran's going to be our boss now. Didn't we promise not to forget each other if one of us made it big?"
Ji Ran laughed. "I might forget anyone else, but I could never forget you."
Lin Lin gave Ji Ran a thumbs-up. "I always knew you were something special. You were bound to go further than the rest of us."
"Hehe," Ji Ran chuckled. "Not at all. Everyone's really capable. I was just lucky."
"Don't be modest!" Zhou Jianghua slung an arm around his shoulders like they were the best of buddies. "Why put on an act with us?"
Li Xuan stood nearby with his arms folded, watching them with a mischievous grin. "I won't say anything else. I'm just waiting to make you treat me to a feast!"
It was their tradition: whoever had good news treated everyone to a meal.
Ji Ran readily agreed. "No problem. Pick whatever you want to eat."
The others exchanged glances, then suggested, "We should invite Brother Chuan this time, right?"
They treasured every chance they got to see Zhao Pingchuan, and it had been a long time since they last saw him.
"Of course," Ji Ran said. He knew exactly what they were thinking and agreed without hesitation. "I'll invite my brother, but he's been pretty busy lately, so he might not have time."
They all worked in the same industry, and they were shareholders too, so they knew something about Hengtu's recent situation. They immediately said, "That's fine. We'll work around Brother Chuan's schedule when he's free."
The others nodded, and it was settled.
After work, Ji Ran couldn't wait to get home and share his joy with his brother.
As soon as he came out of the subway station, he spotted Zhao Pingchuan standing among the people coming and going, holding a bouquet of flowers.
His striking looks drew plenty of attention, and with the flowers in his arms, it was obvious he was waiting for someone. Many passersby wore mysterious smiles.
Ji Ran's heart began to pound.
He walked over, his steps a little awkward, and asked, "Bro, why did you buy flowers too?"
Zhao Pingchuan handed him the bouquet with a smile. "It's such wonderful news. Of course we have to celebrate."
Ji Ran looked down at the bouquet in his arms. It was a bunch of sunflowers wrapped in green paper, their huge golden blossoms in brilliant bloom.
Ji Ran's eyes sparkled. He was even happier than when he'd learned of his promotion, and he couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you, Bro. I love them."
Zhao Pingchuan loved Ji Ran's smiling face more than anything. It shone brighter than the most beautiful sunflower in bloom.
He couldn't resist reaching out to pinch Ji Ran's cheek, a smile tugging at his own lips.
In the car, Ji Ran mentioned treating his colleagues to a meal, and Zhao Pingchuan readily agreed. "No problem. I'll make time. It'll be a good chance to thank them for looking after you at work."
Ji Ran also asked how things were going at the company. Zhao Pingchuan didn't hide it from him. "We lost forty percent of our customers this month, but we're still holding steady."
Hengtu might have been small, but it was no longer at the point where a little trouble could bring it down.
Ji Ran wasn't particularly surprised by the outcome.
Thinking of the person who had started it all, he felt deeply exasperated. Someone with Gu Xingye's personality was a typical domineering CEO novel protagonist. He might be entertaining in a novel, but if you met someone like that in real life, all you'd want to say was, "Bro, are you a supermale or what?"
He looked at Zhao Pingchuan as he drove and thought, I really do have a good eye. My brother and Gu Xingye are worlds apart. Besides being handsome, he's smart, gentle and considerate, and his values are sound.
Zhao Pingchuan felt his gaze and couldn't help asking, "What are you looking at?"
Ji Ran smiled. "Admiring my brother's breathtaking beauty."
Zhao Pingchuan sighed helplessly. "Nonsense."
Zhao Pingchuan's prediction proved accurate. In less than two months, many of the customers they had lost ordered their product again, saying that although it cost a little more, the experience of using it was completely different.
This was within Zhao Pingchuan's expectations.
How could a product Hengtu had spent three years painstakingly refining lose to something Gu Xingye had hastily thrown together?
All the employees cheered. Getting the better of the Gu Group was even more exciting than making money from the product.
Things were very different over at the Gu Group.
The secretary stood two steps away from the desk, his head lowered as he studied the floor as though he could make flowers bloom on it by staring.
The CEO's office was spacious and had excellent natural light, but at that moment, the atmosphere was unbearably stifling.
Gu Xingye looked at the report his secretary had brought him and let out an eerie laugh.
The secretary shuddered.
When Gu Xingye stopped laughing, his expression darkened. He swept everything off the desk, sending it crashing to the floor and smashing to pieces. "This is the result you're giving me? Gu invested so much money, and now you're telling me we can't even beat one lousy little company?"
The secretary explained fearfully, "Little President Gu, there wasn't enough time. The people below worked overtime for days on end just to produce a product like this."
Gu Xingye looked at him, making his skin crawl. "Heh. Is that so?"
The secretary watched his expression and ventured a nod.
"Are you saying," Gu Xingye asked, the corners of his mouth curling up, "that there was something wrong with my decision?"
The secretary wouldn't dare say that. He hurriedly lowered his head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Little President Gu. That's not what I meant. We failed to do our jobs properly."
Gu Xingye's nails dug deep into his flesh. He had gone to such lengths, only to make a laughingstock of himself. Not only had he failed to bring down Hengtu Technology, he had given them a wave of free publicity. Now Hengtu's product had an even better reputation in the industry.
How could he stand it?
Zhao Pingchuan. It was always Zhao Pingchuan!
Gu Xingye felt the anger in his chest swelling until he could hardly bear it. Everything had gone smoothly for him since birth. When had he ever failed to get what he wanted? Ever since he met Zhao Pingchuan, everything had changed. Even Jiang Jinyue no longer went along with him.
The secretary asked quietly, "Little President Gu, what should we do next?"
He was terrified of drawing his boss's anger onto himself.
Gu Xingye flew into a rage. "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Get out!"
The secretary rolled his eyes inwardly and got out at once. Why stay and wait to be yelled at? If not for the high salary, who would want to work for someone so unpredictable?