"President Pei, why not stay for lunch? I’ve reserved a private room at Riverside Pavilion—we could continue our discussion..." Nan Zhenming was still eagerly extending his invitation.
Pei Songhan withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent. "No need for the trouble, President Nan. I have another engagement at noon, so I won’t linger."
Nan Zhenming’s smile stiffened slightly before he nodded politely. "Of course, of course. President Pei is a busy man. Next time, then."
Pei Songhan bid his farewells courteously. A Rolls-Royce pulled up at the company entrance, and he slid into the backseat.
As the Rolls-Royce glided away, Nan Zhenming stood watching until the car disappeared from sight, his smile finally collapsing.
Nan Sangning was now basking in the limelight—the old man had directly appointed her as project manager, entrusting her with critical tasks, even assigning her bidding projects that he himself had failed to secure!
If she succeeded where he had failed, where would that leave his dignity?
The old man disregarding him was one thing, but even Pei Songhan was doing the same—specifically requesting Nan Sangning to accompany him on factory tours and introductions. He was the president of Precision Manufacturing!
Nan Zhenming felt suffocated. Ever since Nan Sangning joined the company, this sense of humiliation had only intensified.
The Rolls-Royce merged into traffic, passing a black Range Rover. Pei Songhan glanced over, but the Rover’s tinted windows obscured whoever was inside.
His gaze followed the vehicle until it vanished from view.
She had said, "I heard your wedding is next month. Congratulations."
Her tone had been polite and distant, cleanly drawing a line between them.
Lowering his eyes, he suddenly felt an emptiness in his chest, his usually calm mood now restless and irritable.
His phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen—"Dad."
Frowning, he tossed the phone onto the seat beside him.
---
Sangning threw herself back into the hectic preparations for the bidding project. This was her first time independently leading a team, and the stakes were high.
After two weeks of intense work, the day finally arrived. On Wednesday, she led her team to Greetech for the bid presentation.
Sangning personally took the stage for the demo, leveraging Xinghong’s successful deal as a key selling point. She also highlighted Nan Group’s newly launched, technologically advanced production line, addressing Greetech’s pain points with a comprehensive solution.
Unsurprisingly, Nan Group passed the preliminary selection.
The entire team was elated. That evening, Sangning treated everyone to a celebratory dinner at a barbecue restaurant.
By the time the gathering ended, it was nearly 10 p.m.
After saying goodbye to her colleagues, Sangning stepped outside, where the familiar Range Rover was waiting by the curb. She climbed in, her smile still lingering.
He Siyu glanced at her. "This happy over just the preliminaries?"
Sangning lifted her chin. "This is my first major deal leading a team on my own!"
Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, his lips curved slightly. "Just the first round. Confident about the final selection?"
"Absolutely!"
Sangning was determined. "Greetech is a tough nut to crack. If I can pull this off, I’ll be one step closer to taking full control of Precision Manufacturing!"
Her grandfather had assigned her the most challenging projects, but high risks brought high rewards. She welcomed the challenge—success would mean exponential returns.
Once she proved herself, her grandfather would see that Nan Zhenming, despite his position, had accomplished nothing.
With a little maneuvering, given the old man’s profit-driven nature, there’d be no reason to let Nan Zhenming keep coasting.
He Siyu smirked. "Then I’ll wait for your good news."
As usual, he drove her to the intersection near the Nan residence. Leaning over, he pulled her into a long, deep kiss.
By the time he finally released her, Sangning’s lips were tingling. She turned her head slightly. "I should get home."
He lingered, brushing kisses along her cheek, his voice a murmur. "Sangning."
"Hmm?"
His lips tickled her skin, and she shrank back, pushing at his chest—but this time, he didn’t budge.
Puzzled, she turned to meet his dark, unreadable gaze.
Locking eyes with her, he said, "After this bidding round, there’s something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
His throat moved as he stole another kiss near her ear. "I’ll tell you then."
Right now, her mind was consumed by the bid. If he brought it up now, she’d never agree.
She squirmed. "Stop nibbling my ear!"
With a deep breath, he reluctantly released her. "Go home, then."
"Mm." She nodded, opened the door, and waved at him through the window before skipping happily toward the house.
From the car, he watched her repeat the same daily farewell ritual, his lips quirking in amusement.
Only after she entered the Nan estate did he drive off.
Meanwhile, another car idled across the intersection. Nan Siya sat inside, watching from a distance as Nan Sangning emerged from the Range Rover and headed home.
Nan Siya frowned suspiciously. Why wasn’t Sangning being driven by Uncle Zhang anymore?
---
Another week passed—final selection day.
Sangning woke up early, arriving at Greetech with her team an hour ahead of schedule.
After three hours of presentations, Greetech announced their decision in the afternoon: the contract would go to Nan Group.
Thrilled, Sangning immediately shared the news with He Siyu and Ji Yan.
Ji Yan responded instantly with twenty celebratory stickers.
[AHHH Ningning you’re amazing! I knew you could do it! Let’s meet this weekend—I’m treating you to a victory celebration!]
He Siyu’s message popped up: [Congratulations.]
Three minutes later, a second text followed: [Saturday. Celebrating.]
Sangning frowned. Could he be any less expressive?
She happily replied to Ji Yan instead.
With Greetech’s hard-won contract secured, the entire team was over the moon.
Though it was only Wednesday, chatter about bonus-funded vacations had already begun.
After a month of relentless overtime, Sangning didn’t begrudge them some slacking off. She even planned her own weekend: Saturday with He Siyu, Sunday with Ji Yan.
---
Saturday.
Sangning slept in—a rare luxury after weeks of sleep deprivation.
By 10 a.m., she was ready to leave.
But as she stepped out, she nearly collided with Aunt Chen.
"Young Mistress," Aunt Chen said nervously, "the master requests your presence in his study."
Sangning narrowed her eyes. Her grandfather wanted to see her now?
Setting down her bag, she nodded. "I’ll go right away."
She headed straight to the study.
The moment she entered, the old man’s grim expression bore into her. "How did you secure the Greetech deal?"
Sangning’s gaze faltered briefly, but her voice remained steady. "Through the standard bidding process. My team worked tirelessly for a month—you saw that yourself, Grandfather."
Nan Zhenming, standing nearby, slammed his hand on the table. "Lies! You sold Precision Manufacturing’s trade secrets to Greetech to secure that contract!"
Nan Sangning lifted her gaze to Nan Zhenming, her eyes gradually turning cold. "I don’t understand what you're implying, Dad."
"Stop pretending! I’ve already uncovered everything! GrayTech got their hands on our confidential technology and was planning to sell it at a premium. Thankfully, I caught it in time and negotiated with them privately to intercept the deal—at a hefty price!"
Nan Sangning’s tone was icy. "So, someone in the company betrayed our core technology. But I’m not the only one with access to Precision Manufacturing’s secrets, am I?"
Nan Zhenming faltered for a moment before jabbing a finger at her. "Who else could it be but you? To secure GrayTech’s big contract, you’ll stop at nothing—scheming, maneuvering, resorting to underhanded tactics! GrayTech would never have chosen Nan Corporation under normal circumstances. You’re so blinded by ambition that you’d even sell out the Nan family for your own promotion!"
The old man’s expression darkened further. "Nan Sangning, after all the trust I’ve placed in you, how could you stoop to something like this?"
Nan Zhenming sneered. "I’ve always said this girl is too ambitious, too cunning! She’s never been disciplined—raised in the mountains with no regard for rules. The moment she joined the company, all she cared about was lining her own pockets. If she’s willing to sell Nan Corporation’s secrets, what won’t she do?"
He glared at Nan Sangning, his voice dripping with venom. "We should’ve kicked her out of the company long ago and married her off to some family. Then none of this would’ve happened!"
Just then, the study door swung open.
Nan Siya walked in, her tone sweetly innocent. "I think Sister has been wanting to get married for a while now. Grandpa, Dad, did you know? She’s even been secretly dating someone behind the family’s back."
