"Wanqi, you’ve been in a foul mood lately." In a noisy bar, within a VIP booth that required a reservation, men and women dressed in luxury brands were drinking and making merry.
Wanqi Aotian, who was usually the leader of this group, sat in a corner drinking gloomily by herself. A friend, unable to watch any longer, spoke up out of concern.
"It’s because Lan Mi broke up with her. That’s why Young Master Wanqi is so despondent." A woman to the side lit a cigarette with a half-mocking smile. She was one of Wanqi’s bed partners; she knew Wanqi Aotian had many women but didn't mind, as they were all just playing around. "I don't know who it was that never took Lan Mi seriously before, but now that she’s actually had enough and called it quits, someone’s gone all gloomy."
"Shut up." Wanqi Aotian angrily slammed her bottle onto the table. The booth suddenly fell silent. She stood up and left without a word.
She walked to the bar, sat down, and ordered a Depth Charge. While waiting for her drink, her eyes swept over the other seats, and her pupils suddenly dilated. The ugly assistant?
She took the Depth Charge from the bartender and sat down next to Que Tang. Just as she was about to speak, the other woman suddenly blurted out, "Go away, this lady doesn't need you to buy her a drink."
Wanqi Aotian raised an eyebrow at this and carefully sized up today's Que Tang. Although she was still wearing a dull suit, it was well-tailored. Moreover, without the previous horrifyingly thick makeup, she was actually somewhat presentable. She reached out, grabbed Que Tang’s chin, and pulled it toward her. "Look closely at who I am."
Que Tang, already half-drunk, struggled to open her eyes and focus. After the double vision finally merged, she stammered the other's name. "W-Wanqi... Young Master Wanqi?"
"Hmph." Wanqi Aotian let out a cold snort. "Why are you here by yourself? Where’s Lan Mi?"
"Lan... Lan Mi?" Que Tang repeated the name with slurred speech, then gave a foolish, realization-filled smile. "Oh~ the General Manager... Don't mention her to me! That... that piece of trash." She suddenly flared up in anger and slammed her glass down.
"Piece of trash?" The corners of Wanqi Aotian’s mouth curled up in interest. "Last time, weren't you acting all heroic and loyal, protecting her? Why are you calling her trash now?" She signaled a waiter to order a fruit platter.
Que Tang lifted her glass, watching the golden liquid swirl inside. "You... you don't know, Young Master Wanqi. The company... a serious fraud case was discovered a while ago. It involved many high-level executives. In the end, Lan Mi... to protect those people, she wants me to take the fall for everything." She tilted her head back and drained the glass in one gulp before slamming it back onto the table. "I'm just an assistant. Isn't it ridiculous to say I leaked company secrets? If I take the blame for such a serious crime, what future will I have left?"
"Fraud...?" Wanqi Aotian’s brow furrowed, and then, thinking of something, her eyes narrowed.
Among all her women, she indeed liked Lan Mi the most, but her pride would not allow someone to treat her this way. Furthermore, no one had ever dumped Wanqi Aotian before. But if she could use this incident to get leverage over Lan Mi, she could possess her again and swallow her company whole.
As for how to get the information... she looked at the drunken Que Tang before her.
She set down her glass and reached out to support her.
"W-what do you think you're doing!" Que Tang suddenly snapped awake, pulling a can of... hair spray out of her bag and pointing it at her.
Wanqi Aotian immediately raised her hands and took a step back in fright. Her pride in her hair wax would not allow her to be touched by even a drop of such heresy as hair spray. "I just wanted to take you home."
"Take... me home?" Que Tang repeated hesitantly. "Take me home... hahaha." She laughed, then her face darkened again. "You think I don't know you just want to take me to a hotel. You rich people think that after taking a girl's virginity, you can just give some money and settle it. I'm not that stupid. I'll go back myself." She waved the hair spray threateningly in front of Wanqi Aotian’s eyes. Seeing her dodge in fear, Que Tang satisfiedly tucked the spray back into her bag. She called the waiter for the bill, grabbed her bag, and walked unsteadily toward the door.
Wanqi Aotian stared at her back, a smile of predatory determination appearing on her face.
Starting the next day, Que Tang would receive a bouquet of flowers at work every morning. After work, no matter the time, she would see Wanqi Aotian waiting for her downstairs. From initial rejection to gradually agreeing to dinner invitations, and then to being picked up and dropped off, she also frequently received warm, caring messages from the other woman.
"Que Tang, you haven't actually fallen for her, have you? Don't forget this is just..." Lan Mi, who originally had doubts about a document, wanted to call Que Tang over to explain. When she looked up and saw her staring at her phone screen with a smile, her heart was immediately flooded with displeasure. She naturally knew what Que Tang was looking at and whose message it was. But hadn't they said this was all just... a means to an end?
"I know, General Manager." Que Tang calmly put away her phone. "Did you need something? Is there a part of the document that isn't clear?" She inquired with a calm expression, as if nothing had just happened. It was as if Lan Mi’s past sweet words had never even existed.
This version of her made Lan Mi furrow her brows in irritation. However, she calmed herself, walked over to Que Tang, and sat on her lap. "Tang... if I could, I really wouldn't want you to do this. I know you feel guilty. I promise you, once the company is through this crisis, I’ll take you away for a vacation."
Que Tang looked down and smiled faintly. "I know this is all for the good of the company, General Manager. You don't need to worry. Please go back to your seat, it wouldn't be good if someone saw us." She offered no reciprocation. This "soft but impenetrable" attitude made Lan Mi even more frustrated.
Unable to even fake the tenderness anymore, Lan Mi walked back to her desk in annoyance, thinking she needed to implement the plan quickly. Even if she didn't love Que Tang, she couldn't stand her "belonging" smiling at Wanqi Aotian.
After putting her phone in the drawer, Que Tang silently wondered who she had offended just by trying to read a novel.
"Tangtang, do you like this restaurant?" Tonight, Wanqi Aotian was sporting a new hair wax style—the "Volcano Eruption." She poured red wine for Que Tang with eyes full of tenderness.
"I like it very much. Thank you, Aotian." Que Tang took the glass and set it down. Her distracted appearance caught Wanqi Aotian’s attention.
"What’s wrong? Did work not go well today?" Wanqi Aotian asked cautiously. Que Tang never talked to her about work, except for that one time she was drunk. Over these past days, as she got closer to Que Tang, she found that this assistant was truly pure and persistent, inside and out.
Despite Lan Mi treating her poorly, she maintained her professional ethics and didn't leak company information. And... she actually insisted on waiting until marriage before going to bed.
Who still insisted on such things these days? Usually, if you liked what you saw, you just went for it. But undeniably, she was starting to find Que Tang more and more pleasing to the eye.
Hesitation appeared on Que Tang’s face. After a moment of silence, she seemed to make up her mind and said, "The company... is holding a board meeting next week to decide on the punishment for the leak of secrets. Because of the leak, the company lost tens of millions... somehow this news got out, and recently foreign investors and institutional shareholders have been dumping the company's stock." She covered her face in dejected helplessness. "What should I do..."
Wanqi Aotian’s smile vanished, and countless thoughts flashed through her mind. The time to topple Lan Mi had come. She gently comforted Que Tang. "It’s okay. If they fire you, come work at my company." She patted her head. "Tangtang, I just remembered something I forgot to handle. I need to make a quick call."
Que Tang nodded obediently. As soon as the other left the table, she immediately sent a text to Lan Mi, telling her that the information had been leaked.
After Wanqi Aotian returned, Que Tang finished dinner gloomily and suggested going home early due to her bad mood. Wanqi Aotian, who was itching to get back to work, happily sent her home and then immediately returned to her own company. She called her special assistant for a meeting: starting tomorrow, they would raid Lan Mi’s company’s stock. If funds were insufficient, they would sell off shares of the Wanqi Group for cash. They had to swallow Lan Mi’s company.
"Today, we have gathered all shareholders for an extraordinary board meeting to decide whether to replace the General Manager." The Chairman presided over the meeting at the front.
Lan Mi sat below without saying a word, her mind entirely on Que Tang beside her. Ever since Que Tang agreed to seduce Wanqi Aotian, the interaction between them had grown less and less, becoming purely that of a superior and subordinate.
Even though this was her own decision, she was simply irritable. Just thinking of Que Tang leaning shyly against Wanqi Aotian’s chest, or walking intimately arm-in-arm on the street... she couldn't stand it.
But, once today was over, all of this could be resolved.
Wanqi Aotian had followed her plan perfectly.
"Therefore, shareholders, please begin voting on whether to allow Miss Lan Mi to continue as General Manager..." Mid-sentence, the meeting room door was suddenly thrown open.
Everyone’s gaze shifted. Wanqi Aotian stood at the door, looking triumphant, her hair wax defying gravity. "How can I, a major shareholder, be absent when the board is meeting?"
Lan Mi stood up and pointed an accusing finger. "Wanqi Aotian, you’re really crossing the line. Do you know what kind of occasion this is? Don't come here to cause trouble."
Wanqi Aotian curled her lip and raised her right hand. "This is the documentation proving I own thirty percent of this company’s equity." She tossed it onto the conference table with a *thwack*. "I have the right to attend the meeting now, don't I?" She pulled over a chair and sat down grandly.
The other shareholders looked at each other.
"Are we deciding on the General Manager now?" Wanqi Aotian spoke up. "Then I propose that, in addition to removing Lan Mi, I nominate myself for the position." As soon as she said this, the room erupted into a frenzy.
"Wanqi Aotian... stop joking around." Lan Mi glared at her.
"Joking? I’m not joking. This is a very serious decision."
Lan Mi took a deep breath and looked at the Chairman. "I’m sorry, can we pause this meeting? Please, shareholders, go outside to rest and have some refreshments. Let me talk to Miss Wanqi."
The Chairman consulted with the secretary for a moment and finally nodded in agreement. Everyone filed out, leaving the meeting room to them. When Que Tang tried to follow, Lan Mi pulled her back.
"You stay," she said coldly.
"Wanqi Aotian, what exactly do you want?" Lan Mi crossed her arms and glared at her.
"What do I want?" Wanqi Aotian twirled a pen playfully. "I want you to beg me to let you come back to my side." She tossed the pen aside, stood up, walked to Lan Mi, and reached out to lift her chin. "Do you know how I found out your company was in trouble? Your good assistant told me." She pointed at Que Tang, who had been standing silently to the side the whole time.
"I want you to know that you can only be mine in this life. Even if I don't want you, you can only stay by my side." She squeezed Lan Mi’s chin hard.
Suddenly, a phone rang.
Lan Mi, who should have been furious, began to laugh eerily. "Wanqi Aotian, do you really think you’ve won?"
Wanqi Aotian raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then it was her phone’s turn to ring. She let go of Lan Mi and answered. Her originally smug expression suddenly sank, turning worse and worse until finally, she slammed her phone onto the floor.
"You set me up!" Wanqi Aotian glared at Lan Mi with savage rage.
"If you weren't so self-righteous and stupid enough to jump into my trap, how could I have set you up?" Lan Mi looked at her with composed ease. "I now own thirty-five percent of the Wanqi Group’s equity. I am the largest shareholder of the Wanqi Group. I have you to thank for selling off your shares at a low price just to get cash." She happily pulled Que Tang into her arms. She had waited a long time for this day.
"You... the two of you..." Wanqi Aotian looked at them in disbelief.
"Que Tang is mine," Lan Mi told her, enunciating every word clearly.
Wanqi Aotian’s eyes bulged with fury. She reached out to grab Lan Mi, but Que Tang stepped in front of her. "Que Tang! Do you think Lan Mi really loves you?"
"Aotian..." Que Tang called her name softly. "It’s over."
"Que Tang! If she can use you to deal with me today, she’ll discard you the same way another day!" Wanqi Aotian violently kicked her chair aside and stormed out.
Lan Mi watched Wanqi Aotian’s defeated back with a beaming smile.
"Meow~ Female supporting character's happiness: 50. Female supporting character's love for the female lead: 50. I'm back! Did the host miss me~?"
"You finally decided to come back!" Que Tang, who had been immersed in her acting, immediately broke character to complain the moment she heard Little Mushroom’s voice. "And that love level... forget it. I really sold my soul this time. Flirting with the female lead on one hand, and seducing the male—uh, lead on the other..."
"Meow~ The host did a great job this time. I was watching your work the whole time I was updating."
"You think this is the cat version of *Maria-sama ga Miteru*...?" Que Tang’s face was lined with exasperation.
"Meow meow meow~ We can catch up later. Host, please continue the mission, meow~"
"Que Tang, now we can finally be together in peace." Lan Mi reached out, wanting to hold Que Tang tightly, but Que Tang dodged her. Lan Mi’s smile froze on her face. "Que Tang!"
"General Manager..." Que Tang looked down, avoiding her gaze. "What you told me... about the company being embezzled for tens of millions... you were lying to me, weren't you?"
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
:--- | :--- | :---
深水炸弹 | Depth Charge | A cocktail where a shot of liquor is dropped into a glass of beer.
定型喷雾 | Hair Spray | Used by Que Tang as a "weapon" against Wanqi Aotian's hair.
万俟集团 | Wanqi Group | The business conglomerate owned by Wanqi Aotian's family.
小香菇 | Little Mushroom | The system entity that guides the protagonist.
小白文 | Cliché Web Novel | Literally "little white text," referring to simple or trope-heavy web novels.
