“Work is work. That’s just how it is.”
Director Liu hurriedly invited the two of them inside to inspect the facility.
They went to the warehouse first. Qiuyun pointed to the area before them. “My idea is to convert this space into a place for printing collectible cards. The other two workshops can be used for cosplay costumes and merchandise.”
Pei Cizhou had no objections. “You have a plan, so I’ll leave it to you.”
“If we’re going to make these changes, each branch factory will need its own supervisor. Since every industry has its own expertise, ideally we should…”
“Qiuyun?!”
A porter in work clothes, his cuffs worn through, walked straight up to them. “Well, if it isn’t you! What are you doing here?”
Director Liu barked at him from the side, “Jiang Yali, this is the new factory director who acquired our plant. Show some respect!”
The new factory director?!
Jiang Yali stared at Qiuyun in disbelief, looking her up and down several times. “The new factory director? You?”
Qiuyun searched through the original owner’s memories and finally remembered him.
They had been middle-school classmates. He had been one of the minor troublemakers in their class, though he and the original owner had never really interacted.
The original owner had been pretty since childhood. Egged on by her parents, she had always been determined to find herself a rich boyfriend and looked down on boys like these dyed-hair punks, who had to pool coins just to buy a cup of milk tea.
To her, people who didn’t matter were not worth remembering.
“Hello.” Qiuyun gave him a polite nod, considering the greeting sufficient, then turned back to Pei Cizhou. “Ideally, we should recruit supervisors with relevant management experience. The clothing factory’s existing management team can remain in place.”
Jiang Yali’s expression darkened.
A pretty girl who had ranked at the bottom of her class—how could she have acquired an entire factory at the age of twenty?
Unless she had done it by sleeping with someone.
What a mistress. How dare she ignore him and embarrass him in front of all his coworkers?
He deliberately raised his voice so the workers nearby could hear. “Tsk, tsk. I only regret that I wasn’t born a woman. Then I could latch on to some rich guy and buy a factory to become the boss! Back in school, I wondered why her boyfriends kept changing one after another. So she was just building up experience. I wonder if her sugar daddy would still pay for her once he finds out she’s been with so many men.”
Pei Cizhou clenched his fist and turned around, ready to hit him.
Qiuyun quickly grabbed him and held him back.
Director Liu’s expression fell. He shouted, “Shut your mouth! Who allowed you to spread rumors here?!”
Jiang Yali was twenty as well, and in the heat of his youth, he was utterly reckless. “Rumors? Who says they’re rumors? I’m her middle-school classmate. Who could know more about her past than I do?”
Director Liu was so furious he could only manage, “You…”
Pei Cizhou’s face darkened, and his knuckles cracked ominously. “Let go. Don’t stop me.”
Qiuyun smiled and placated him. “Young man, do you know that you’re an adult now? Hitting someone after you’ve come of age is against the law.”
Seeing that Miss Qiu still had time to tease him, Pei Cizhou said helplessly, “He’s slandering you. Aren’t you angry?”
“I already said it’s slander. If I get angry, won’t I be falling right into his trap?” Qiuyun called Director Liu over and said lightly, “Fire him.”
Director Liu immediately responded, “Yes. I’ll have Human Resources take care of it right away!”
Fire him?
Jiang Yali flew into a rage out of humiliation. “What do you mean? Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose all the dirty things you used to do to your sugar daddy? Let’s see if he’ll still want you then! How dare you fire me?”
Qiuyun shrugged. “Go ahead, if you can find such a person.”
Director Liu chimed in, “Exactly! Director Qiu is young, accomplished, and perfectly capable on her own. Stop spouting nonsense here!”
Her calm, unconcerned attitude only drove Jiang Yali into an even greater rage. “What are you pretending for, Qiuyun? This factory’s been losing money nonstop. What normal business owner would take over a place like this? Only an idiot like you would turn sleeping with men into something so high-class and suddenly transform yourself into a rising business tycoon!”
Qiuyun folded her arms and smiled faintly at him, raising an eyebrow. “Keep going.”
Jiang Yali gritted his teeth and continued making things up. “Someone like you would spend a whole night drinking with a man just to get a handbag. You got lucky and managed to climb into a rich man’s bed, and now you’re showing off in front of your old classmates. If you really had any ability, you wouldn’t have failed to get into college back then. Don’t think changing your clothes can make you look like some elite!”
She glanced at her watch. “Anything else? Do you have any fresh insults, or is sleeping with men the only thing you know how to say?”
He had exhausted himself, yet she hadn’t even been scratched.
Jiang Yali panted harshly, completely at a loss for words.
Qiuyun remained perfectly composed. “People like you are best at blaming your inability to rise in the world on who someone else slept with, instead of admitting that you’re simply too useless to amount to anything.”
She glanced at the security cameras in the warehouse. “Director Liu, please call the police. And make a copy of the surveillance footage to hand over to them.”
The moment he heard that the police were being called, Jiang Yali turned and ran, not even waiting for his wages for the month.
Something like this had happened right after the new factory director arrived.
Director Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Please rest assured. He can run, but he can’t hide. I guarantee I’ll handle everything properly!”
The rest of the factory inspection went smoothly.
Neither Qiuyun nor Pei Cizhou brought up the incident again.
Director Liu waved a handkerchief as he saw them off, standing behind the car as it drove away. One of his underlings asked, “Director, is our new factory director really some rich man’s mistress?”
“Bullshit!” Director Liu cursed. “Do you know how she bought this factory? Eighty million yuan in cash! What kind of sugar daddy would throw eighty million in cash at his mistress these days? Go clear up the rumors immediately. We absolutely cannot let that vermin Jiang Yali harm the entire factory!”
“Yes, yes! I’ll go right away!”
After parting ways with Pei Cizhou, Qiuyun was on her way to pick up the young miss and return to the estate when she called Assistant Qian.
“Brother Qian, I need your help with something again.”
Assistant Qian immediately replied, “What is it? Just tell me, sis.”
“Find some people through your underworld connections and have them beat someone up.” Qiuyun gave him Jiang Yali’s information. “Pick a secluded back alley. Don’t kill him or leave him crippled.”
“Understood.”
Only after hanging up did Qiuyun let out a breath.
As the new boss, she had to put on an imposing display in front of so many employees. What kind of leader personally stooped to argue with someone like that?
It would only lower her own status.
But Jiang Yali couldn’t spread rumors without paying a price, either.
Half an hour later, Assistant Qian called her back.
“Sis, did this Jiang Yali offend everyone? When my guys found him, he’d already been roughed up in a dead-end alley. Should we still beat him?”
Qiuyun paused before replying, “Forget it. Your men went to the trouble of finding him. I’ll treat them to a late-night meal.”
“If the job wasn’t done, why would we eat? Just let me know next time you need something, sis!”
Before she could refuse, Assistant Qian quickly hung up.
After the call ended, Qiuyun thought for a moment and opened her chat with Pei Cizhou.
She typed a few words, hesitated for a long while, then deleted them.
She would thank him in person the next time they met.
But…
To avoid running into situations like this in the future, she needed to gradually work her way back into her old social circle. Otherwise, the drastic change in her behavior might arouse suspicion.
Yes, she needed to find the right opportunity.
Preferably one that would feel natural.
