After finishing their meal, Liu Yutong and Gao Min strolled around the mall before preparing to head home separately. Yun Cheng had already driven the car to the mall entrance in advance.
Gao Min habitually walked toward the roadside, intending to hail a taxi home. After Liu Yutong got into the car, she waved at Gao Min directly. "Sis, get in. I'll take you back."
Gao Min hesitated for a moment before replying, "No, I'll just take a taxi."
Liu Yutong’s tone left no room for argument as she repeated, "Get in."
Gao Min’s breath hitched, and she obediently pulled open the car door and slipped inside.
But the moment she sat down, regret washed over her. Why was she so quick to follow Liu Yutong’s orders? She didn’t even dare resist her commands.
She was the older sister, after all!
Well, since she was already here, she might as well make the best of it.
The Maybach luxury car was undeniably comfortable—Gao Min had never ridden in such a high-end vehicle before.
Yet, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy, sitting rigidly with no idea where to place her hands or feet.
Just then, Liu Yutong suddenly leaned in, her cool fingers gripping Gao Min’s chin with an unyielding firmness, forcing her to turn her head.
"Sis, you’re not… afraid of me, are you?"
Gao Min’s heartbeat stuttered as she instinctively retorted, "Who’s afraid of you? I just… I just…"
"Just what? Afraid that spending too much time with me will make you soften toward me?" Liu Yutong teased.
Gao Min immediately shot back, "What nonsense! Why would I soften? If I need to arrest you, I’ll do it without hesitation!"
"Then I won’t make things difficult for you."
Liu Yutong’s expression suddenly turned serious. "But remember this—whether you acknowledge me as your sister or not, I’ll always protect you."
Gao Min froze, an inexplicable ache swelling in her chest.
She turned her face away, her voice slightly hoarse. "Who… who needs your protection?"
Liu Yutong didn’t respond further, simply reaching over to gently clasp Gao Min’s hand.
This time, Gao Min didn’t pull away.
She let those fingers envelop her own, slightly chilled ones.
At the same time, an overwhelming surge of emotion rose within her, threatening to spill from her eyes.
The urge to cry didn’t stem from sadness, but from the long-dormant bond of blood buried deep in her heart.
So… she wasn’t alone in this world anymore.
She had family now.
From the very beginning, Liu Yutong had felt an unusual connection to Gao Min—one that went beyond mere blood ties.
Under normal circumstances, even biological sisters who had never met before would struggle to develop any real affection.
But her bond with Gao Min felt like something fated.
The first time she saw Gao Min, Liu Yutong had been struck by an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
The stubbornness in those clear eyes, the resolute set of her lips when pressed together, even the unconscious furrow of her brows when annoyed—it was like looking into a mirror.
Blood might not instantly forge deep familial love, but it had certainly made her pay attention to this woman who shared her lineage.
Of course, if Gao Min’s character had been as despicable as her brother Liu Yushan’s, Liu Yutong wouldn’t have spared her a second glance.
No one had any interest in a lost cause.
It was precisely because of Gao Min’s unyielding integrity and her unwavering pursuit of justice that Liu Yutong found herself drawn to her.
Soon, the car arrived at Gao Min’s residence.
With a complicated expression, Gao Min stepped out.
Liu Yutong rolled down the window and reminded her, "The Righteous Alliance has been restless lately. Be careful, sis. If you run into trouble, don’t try to handle it alone—call me."
Gao Min pressed her lips together before finally giving a small nod. "Mm."
Just as she turned to enter the neighborhood, she hesitated, then glanced back and murmured, "You… you be careful too."
"Little sister."
By the time she uttered the term of endearment, the multimillion-dollar car had already driven off.
She didn’t know if Liu Yutong had heard her.
……………
In the days leading up to the New Year, Liu Yutong quietly set in motion a plan that would shake the entire Wanlong Society to its core.
The preliminary design for the company’s headquarters had been completed and was now posted on the internal network.
To facilitate internal communication and information sharing, Wanlong Society had long ago established a simple intranet.
The site wasn’t particularly sophisticated and had been completed quickly.
When employees suddenly saw the headquarters’ design blueprint pinned at the top of the forum, the entire company erupted in excitement.
The young miss was up to something big again! Without even a hint of prior notice, she’d already finalized the headquarters’ design?
Though it was still a draft subject to revisions, the sheer scale of the project sent waves of exhilaration through Wanlong Society.
Most had imagined the headquarters as nothing more than an impressive office building.
But this blueprint wasn’t just a single structure—it was an entire complex.
The layout followed a triple-ring concentric design.
The innermost ring housed the core office tower, complete with a helipad on the roof and ground level, exuding an air of sophistication.
The middle ring contained the R&D center and data hub, radiating cutting-edge technology.
The outermost ring was reserved for employee recreation areas and an ecological park.
Honestly, the sheer ambition of this headquarters surpassed most people’s expectations.
Typically, only corporations worth tens of billions would invest in such a sprawling, eco-friendly super-campus.
For the young miss to unveil the design now could only mean one thing—this year, Wanlong Society aimed to break into the billion-dollar tier. Anything less would be unworthy of such a grand headquarters.
Of course, not everyone was thrilled.
While the average employee reacted with near-euphoric enthusiasm, already fantasizing about working there, the higher-ups felt the weight of pressure far more than excitement.
Yang Xin, for instance, came running the moment he caught wind of it.
"Young miss, our shopping mall isn’t even finished yet, and now you’re launching the headquarters project? We don’t have the funds for all this!"
He was genuinely terrified.
"Don’t worry about funding. Once Yu Mo’s situation stabilizes, we’ll hand it over to him."
"Young miss, even if Yu Mo handles the construction, we still have to pay him, don’t we?"
"We won’t pay."
"???"
"If Yu Mo runs into cash flow problems, I’ll lend him money to keep things moving. But if he has funds, we’re not paying a cent."
Yang Xin: "…"
Ah, this was the young miss he knew—simple, direct, ruthless, and always finding a way to get something for nothing.
Now he finally understood why she had supported Yu Mo so fervently, even lending him manpower and money while ensuring his father couldn’t return to the country.
What goes around comes around.
Though Yang Xin couldn’t shake the feeling that squeezing Yu Mo dry like this was a bit unscrupulous, he quickly rationalized it—as long as the funds weren’t being siphoned from Wanlong Society’s own reserves, bleeding someone else dry to fuel their ambitions… Well, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all?
Once the headquarters discussion wrapped up, Liu Yutong called Ma Da and the others over.
Once everyone had arrived, they immediately began discussing the survey forms from the annual meeting. Without any preamble, she pulled out several copies and slammed them onto the table with a loud thud.
"I don’t know if any of you here have actually looked at these survey forms," Liu Yutong said sharply. "If you haven’t, read them now!"
"Do you know why I suddenly decided to conduct this survey? That’s right—it was because of the share subscription issue."
"I could understand if it were just regular employees, but I refuse to believe that any of our core members would be unwilling to subscribe. Yet, after all this time, some still haven’t done so—or their subscriptions are far below their eligible quotas. As their direct supervisors, have any of you actually bothered to find out why?"
"Take Zhang Tao, for example. Ma Da, he’s one of the veterans who came with you to join me, isn’t he? How could you not know about the major crisis his family is going through?!"
Ma Da’s expression darkened. "Miss Liu, I truly had no idea! Zhang Tao never mentioned anything to me—"
Liu Yutong cut him off. "He didn’t mention it? And you never thought to ask? When you noticed he hadn’t subscribed to the shares, did it not occur to you to talk to him? Or do you just not care about the well-being of the people under you?"
"Are you brothers, or just superior and subordinate? Since when did the Wanlong Society become such a heartless place?!"
The meeting room fell dead silent. Ma Da and the other executives kept their heads down, not daring to respond.
Liu Yutong reined in her anger, her voice turning icy and stern. "I didn’t call you here today to assign blame. I called you here to remind you that the Wanlong Society didn’t get this far because of rules—it got here because of loyalty."
"Starting now, every department head has one week to personally check in with every member of their team. If anyone is facing hardships at home, the company will advance salaries or provide interest-free loans. For core members, full reimbursement will be granted at the highest standard—streamline the process!"
"Meeting adjourned!"
