Huang Zhangming stretched his neck like a goose, bobbing his head back and forth, his face filled with a look of unyielding defiance!
Liu Yutong found it utterly speechless.
She felt that this guy was missing a screw somewhere.
Like a complete lunatic!
Then she cast a suspicious glance at Chu Hai.
Cold sweat broke out on Chu Hai’s forehead. “Miss Liu... Chairwoman Liu, my admiration for you is like a mighty river flowing endlessly! How could I ever speak ill of you behind your back?”
Liu Yutong found his words strangely off, but she didn’t dwell on it. She spoke to Huang Zhangming again.
“President Huang, since you don’t want to sell, I won’t force you.”
“But I do want to give you one piece of advice: In business, the most important thing isn’t what you hold in your hands, but who stands by your side.”
Huang Zhangming snorted coldly, about to say something like “thanks for your concern.”
Just then, his phone rang.
He pulled it out impatiently and saw the caller ID was a trusted subordinate from the company. His brow furrowed as a sense of foreboding washed over him.
He gestured to the people in the room and walked to a corner to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“President Huang! It’s bad! Huge trouble!”
Huang Zhangming’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly asked.
“Old Zhou? What’s wrong? Why are you panicking? What happened?”
Old Zhou was his company’s vice president, a loyal confidant who had worked with him for years.
For him to call so frantically, it had to be serious.
“President Huang, a lot of people from our technical team are leaving!”
“What? Leaving? Talk clearly! Who’s leaving?”
“It’s our R&D team, including Engineer Liu from hardware, Engineer Wang from software, Team Leader Li from UI design… many core members. They’ve all been poached!”
“Just now, they submitted their resignations en masse, saying they’re jumping ship to a new company!”
Huang Zhangming’s mind went blank. It was like a bomb went off.
Engineer Liu, Engineer Wang, Team Leader Li… these were the core technical pillars of Meizu!
How could they leave? And why all at once?
“Who? Who poached them?”
“It’s… Long Yao Technology.”
“I looked into it. It’s a newly established company, reportedly backed by a large conglomerate from the eastern region. They’re loaded and throwing money around—offering double salaries plus stock options!”
“And… and they’ve promised Engineer Liu and the others a better R&D platform, greater room for growth, and… a full set of the latest experimental equipment…”
Huang Zhangming stopped listening to what Old Zhou said next. He felt the room spin, darkness closing in.
Long Yao Technology.
Long Yao… Long…
Wait!
He whipped his head around, glaring at Liu Yutong.
Long Yao… Wanlong Society… Liu Yutong… Long…
“You did this, didn’t you?”
Huang Zhangming pointed at Liu Yutong, furious. “Did you poach my people? Long Yao Technology is your company, right?”
Liu Yutong nodded calmly. “It is mine! A few of us are very optimistic about the smartphone market. Since you, President Huang, weren’t willing to sell your company, I had to start my own and poach a few talents along the way. Isn’t that fair enough?”
Huang Zhangming saw her shamelessly admit it, trembling with rage.
He really felt like he’d been made a fool of.
She must have known all along that he wouldn’t accept the acquisition offer. That’s why she asked.
Her real target was his technical team all along.
First, she blocked Lei Yun’s investment, then she tried to acquire Meizu—all just to distract him and enjoy his misery. Finally, she’d pull the rug out from under him!
Having pieced it all together, Huang Zhangming felt a tightness in his chest and a bitter taste in his throat. He nearly spat blood.
“You… you’ve gone too far!”
Seeing his distress, Lei Yun quickly stepped forward to support him. “President Huang, are you okay? Calm down, don’t get worked up!”
Huang Zhangming shook off Lei Yun’s hand, clutching his chest, his eyes locked onto Liu Yutong like he wanted to devour her.
“Fine… just fine, Liu Yutong! Today, I’ve seen what it means to stop at nothing! You’re a corporate bandit! Mafia tactics!”
Liu Yutong frowned at this. “President Huang, I don’t like what you’re saying. What mafia? In business competition, it’s every man for himself. Your people chose to jump ship. I offered more money, better conditions, and they came willingly. What’s the problem?”
“If you want to keep them, it’s simple—raise their pay, give them some equity, stop being so stingy, and they won’t leave.”
“Besides, weren’t you always reluctant to give up control? Now that your people are gone, you can hire a new batch from scratch, train them fresh—all compliant newcomers. That way, control stays firmly in your hands. Isn’t that perfect?”
“I… you…”
Huang Zhangming’s lips quivered, wanting to curse her out, but he held back.
Because he saw the black-suited man behind her, whose fists really were as big as a sack.
“Fine. I’ll remember you!”
Still fuming, he stormed out of the room in a huff.
After Huang Zhangming left, the room went quiet.
Lei Yun, Chu Hai, and Lin Bing stared dumbfounded at the scene.
What just happened?
Huang Zhangming’s core technical team had been poached?
The poacher was Long Yao Technology, and Long Yao Tech was Liu Yutong’s?
Wait, this woman moved fast and hard, didn’t she?
They were just discussing investment and acquisition a moment ago, and right after rejection, his people were gone?
This wasn’t a negotiation—it was outright robbery!
Chu Hai mentally screamed: I knew it! I fucking knew it! The moment she said she wanted to acquire Huang Zhangming’s company, I felt something was off!
And sure enough, she nearly ripped him apart root and branch!
The she-devil strikes again—ruthless, unpredictable, and sharp as a knife!
Lei Yun took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
He looked at Liu Yutong again, a mix of emotions in his eyes—wariness, caution, and a hint of… admiration.
To be honest, he agreed with what Liu Yutong had said earlier.
The biggest problem with Meizu was Huang Zhangming’s narrow vision. If he kept clinging to a king-of-his-own-castle mentality, Meizu would never go far.
Better to let someone with strategic insight take the reins.
But he never expected Liu Yutong to just act on it.
She went ahead and nearly cleaned house!
Still, in business, poaching is common practice.
If your offer is worse, and your people get lured away, it’s your own fault.
Liu Yutong’s methods might rub people the wrong way, but she wasn’t technically in the wrong.
Still… Lei Yun looked at Liu Yutong’s alarmingly young face and a thought crept into his mind.
This woman—was she friend or foe to him?
Her earlier intervention to stop him from investing in Meizu—was it truly for his benefit, or did she have some other scheme?
And her poaching of Meizu's technical team—did she really intend to make phones, or was there a hidden agenda behind it?
Lei Yun kept thinking, and the more he thought, the more unfathomable this woman became.
To be honest, this was the first time he had encountered someone so utterly inscrutable—and a girl nearly twenty years his junior, no less. The whole thing felt absurd!
Since he couldn't figure her out, it was best to keep his distance.
Being around her made him feel transparent, as if he couldn't hide a single thing. It was far too unsettling.
But just as he was about to find an excuse to slip away,
Liu Yutong spoke up first, calling them back.
"Now that President Huang has left, that's perfect timing."
"Presidents Lei, Lin, and Chu, I think we can take this opportunity to discuss the investment in starting a new company."
