Gu Zhaoping raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a rare trace of helplessness.
She certainly seemed to have a life of her own.
Perhaps it was time to seek breakthroughs in other areas.
Gu Zhaoye's "Yuanqi Technology," where he served as the executive president, was a core subsidiary of the Gu family conglomerate, specializing in artificial intelligence—a field with immense growth potential and strong policy support. Gu Zhaoping had previously invested in this sector as well.
However, the sheer volume of managerial decisions she had to oversee had prevented her from achieving any significant accomplishments here.
Now, it almost felt like she was trying to make up for lost opportunities.
What made it even more intriguing was that after reviewing some data, she realized the AI development in this world lagged behind that of her previous one. Entering the market now held tremendous potential.
Yet, neither the Gu family nor Gu Zhaoye seemed to have noticed this opportunity.
No one appeared to have caught wind of the trend.
This so-called "renowned" Yuanqi Technology seemed to have only one tangible benefit for Gu Zhaoye—the title of "a rising tech mogul in the business world."
But where was the "rising" part? What had he actually done?
After searching extensively, Gu Zhaoping found no substantial achievements attributed to Gu Zhaoye, leaving her puzzled.
Typing his name into a search engine only yielded tabloid gossip about his romantic entanglements—and the mysterious wealth behind his family name.
Gu Zhaoping had little interest in such matters. With an indifferent expression, she scrolled through the information, habitually assessing this utterly uncompetitive business rival.
She learned who "Ruan Nian" was but remained uninterested. Then she noticed another scandal involving Gu Zhaoye—this time with a rookie actress named Liang Zhiwei. Rumor had it that Liang bore some resemblance to Ruan Nian from certain angles, but anyone who dared call her "the next Ruan Nian" would face relentless backlash and online harassment.
It seemed Liang Zhiwei was merely a substitute Gu Zhaoye had sought after failing to win Ruan Nian’s affection.
Gu Zhaoping downgraded her assessment of Gu Zhaoye’s competitiveness yet again.
To her further disbelief, his most viral moment turned out to be a photo of him smoking on a yacht—accompanied by flowery descriptions of his "deep-set eyes, sharp nose, and thin lips devoid of emotion," his tailored suit barely ruffled by the wind, the glow of his cigarette adding an air of mystery and nobility. The caption mused, "Who could ever be worthy of such a man’s love?"
Gu Zhaoping pressed her fingers against both temples simultaneously.
This was truly… remarkable.
She was someone who could easily identify an opponent’s strengths, yet even she couldn’t find a single redeeming quality in Gu Zhaoye.
Meanwhile, the furious Gu Zhaoye himself, after hanging up on Shen Yifeng and slamming his phone down, finally deigned to glance at the device buzzing incessantly on the table.
Only a fool would dare call him while he was in such a rage—anyone with sense would cower under his oppressive aura.
Hadn’t they realized by now that his prolonged silence signaled his uncharacteristic fury?
Picking it up, he saw it was his assistant.
Gu Zhaoye answered but remained silent, waiting for the other party to speak first, his unspoken dominance permeating the air.
At the same time, he elegantly lifted a glass of water, his slender fingers toying with it as if even the act of drinking were a scene from an oil painting…
"President Gu! President Gu, it’s an emergency!" The assistant sounded close to breaking down. After calling for over an hour, finally getting through to a boss who vanished during critical tasks was a nightmare. "The eldest miss has come to the office!!"
"Pfft—!" Gu Zhaoye spat out his water, drenching the documents on his desk. He shot to his feet, livid. "Why are you only telling me now? What the hell is she doing there?!"
The assistant cursed his boss internally but could only stammer, "I’ve been calling you for the past hour! You didn’t answer! She’s already checked in and gone upstairs!"
Gu Zhaoye choked. How was he supposed to know Gu Zhaoping would show up today? He wasn’t even at the company!
It took him a long moment to calm down, though his anger simmered.
Gu Zhaoping must have guessed he was planning to discipline her, so she’d gone to play the obedient role today.
Damn it. Since when did she get so clever?
Taking a deep breath, Gu Zhaoye steeled himself. Fine. If she wanted to play games, he had his own methods.
"Today’s quarterly financial review meeting—since she’s at the company, she must attend. And she has to give a speech. Tell her that."
Gu Zhaoping held the honorary title of financial consultant. Several major investors with substantial capital would be present at this meeting, which was crucial for preparing the next round of funding.
If Gu Zhaoye successfully secured this round, he could prove to his grandfather that he surpassed both Gu Kaichang and Gu Yingjie—outshining all his cousins.
If Gu Zhaoping wanted to come, then let her.
This was the perfect opportunity to show her that simply showing up wasn’t enough. He’d expose her as a fraud, a useless figurehead who’d humiliate herself in front of key investors. Even their grandfather wouldn’t tolerate such incompetence.
Only he, Gu Zhaoye, could lead Yuanqi Technology to greater heights—and eventually steer the entire Gu family forward.
A cold smirk curled his lips.
Then, abruptly, his thoughts shifted to his grandfather’s words the night before. The unease, resentment, and skepticism he’d forcibly suppressed resurfaced.
Gu Zhaoping played chess? And well enough to earn their grandfather’s favor? It had to be international chess. What right did she have to be recognized by him?
Was she actually skilled at it?
Gu Zhaoye had wanted to ask yesterday but held back, unwilling to give her the satisfaction.
He’d rather believe it was a misunderstanding than dig into Gu Zhaoping’s hidden talents.
Analyzing the strengths of someone he despised was nauseating. He preferred outright denial—ignoring them, pretending they didn’t exist.
It wasn’t like it affected him anyway. It wasn’t some extraordinary skill.
When the assistant received these instructions, however, he froze.
Wait… was the boss seriously going to make the eldest miss speak at such an important meeting with investors present? Wouldn’t they question the company’s professionalism?
Then again, considering Gu Zhaoye’s ability to control the room, he was probably planning to step in and salvage the situation after Gu Zhaoping embarrassed herself. That thought eased the assistant’s nerves slightly.
This wasn’t just any company. Gu Zhaoye had the Gu name behind him—a family that commanded respect in the business world. Even if something went awry, no investor would dare raise objections, let alone jeopardize the partnership.
Anyone who’d pass up a chance to cozy up to the Gu family heir over a minor hiccup would have to be an idiot.
Relieved, the assistant finally relaxed after a morning of tension and went to notify Gu Zhaoping.
Little Zhao, Gu Zhaoping’s assistant, had just returned from the parking garage when she saw him approaching the office door. "Do you need something from the eldest miss?" she asked.
Regaining his composure as the president’s right-hand man, the assistant replied, "President Gu’s orders. The eldest miss must attend this afternoon’s quarterly financial review meeting—and deliver a speech. Tell her to prepare."
He held a freshly printed document in his hand, still warm, and tossed it into Little Zhao’s grasp.
Little Zhao was instantly dumbfounded, her eyes widening in shock.
Wait, hold on—they want the young mistress to attend the meeting and even speak?
If she doesn’t doze off during the meeting, it’ll already be a miracle. And now they expect her to speak? Is this some kind of class monitor election?
“Wait a minute…”
She wanted to clarify things further on behalf of the young mistress, but Gu Zhaoye’s assistant turned and walked away as if fleeing from a plague, moving faster and faster until he vanished.
Little Zhao was utterly despairing.
She felt like she’d been struck by lightning, dark clouds looming over her head.
When she knocked on the door and heard the young mistress say, “Come in,” she could only brace herself with a sense of doomed resignation, closing her eyes in despair.
“Young Mistress, President Gu sent over a document. He wants you to attend the meeting this afternoon and give a speech…”
Little Zhao’s heart was pounding, terrified that the young mistress would immediately lose her temper or order her to go ask Gu Zhaoye what was going on. If that happened, she might as well check herself into the hospital right then.
Gu Zhaoping did pause for a moment.
But instead of the expected outburst, she raised her hand, as if signaling for the document to be handed over.
That hand was slender yet exuded an undeniable authority.
Little Zhao hesitated, flustered as she passed the file over.
Gu Zhaoping lowered her head and began reading.
The motion seemed so natural, as if it were second nature. No unnecessary words, no questions about whether there were additional instructions.
No breakdown, no fury. As if being asked to speak was the most ordinary, unremarkable thing in the world.
Gu Zhaoping scanned the document—it was the financial report from last quarter. By the end, she was speechless.
They just… handed this to her?
Where was the difficulty?
Where was the challenge?
What about corporate secrets?
Was Gu Zhaoye… out of his mind?
She didn’t dare dwell on it, afraid Gu Zhaoye might actually have some physiological deficiency, and flipped through the pages to continue reviewing the report.
Gu Zhaoping had a sharp eye for numbers—not just from years of experience and intuition, but also because she possessed a rare talent for data. She was a full-blown data fanatic.
Finding a topic for her speech wouldn’t be hard; a couple more reads and she’d have it all mapped out.
At first, Gu Zhaoping remained calm, assuming Gu Zhaoye had simply given her a chance to shine. She was genuinely surprised.
…But then she quickly realized Gu Zhaoye’s surprises didn’t end there.
After spotting the discrepancy, Gu Zhaoping’s hand froze mid-motion, as if she couldn’t believe how easily she’d uncovered a flaw—a leverage point in their corporate rivalry.
And this leverage had practically been handed to her on a silver platter.
The sheer absurdity of it made her frown and let out a baffled chuckle, shaking her head at the report.
Little Zhao’s heart nearly stopped. What kind of expression was that? Was she about to explode?
“Call the head of the finance department. There’s an issue with this report. I need to confirm whether it’s a technical error in the spreadsheet or an accounting mistake.”
Gu Zhaoping set the document down, unscrewed her thermos, and took a sip of water. Noticing Little Zhao’s stunned expression, she arched a brow. “Any objections?”
Little Zhao snapped out of her daze. “N-no, no objections!”
But inwardly, she was screaming.
Seriously, young mistress, you were just supposed to glance at it! Since when did you start nitpicking?
The finance department is full of professionals—not some amateur with a watered-down degree who coasts through work! Are you trying to pick a fight with President Gu? At least consider your own capabilities!
Groaning internally, Little Zhao had no choice but to relay the order.
The finance department was, predictably, stunned.
And they felt an unprecedented level of insult and offense.
“She’s the one raising questions? The young mistress, Gu Zhaoping?”
“She said our report has a glaring, obvious flaw?”
The head of finance laughed in disbelief. “What, did we misalign the page numbers or something?”
