Chapter 101: Gentle Strategy in Broad Daylight—No Matter What You Choose, It's Wrong!

“Ding ding ding!”

The bell signaling the end of class rang, finally bringing the massive finance lecture to a close.

Chen Luo packed his books away, considering whether he should stop by Zhou Mei’s studio to check on the latest data.

His phone buzzed.

It was a message from Wen Wan.

[Come to the office after class.]

Huh? So sudden? And so formal?

Damn! I forgot—just now I bumped into Yelena and chatted for a bit, got caught up thinking about the software, and totally forgot to tell Wen Wan!

The thought of Wen Wan’s possessive temperament sent a chill down Chen Luo’s spine.

“No way, I need to get to the office right now. If I’m late, who knows what she’ll do to me tonight.”

“Chen Luo, let’s grab lunch together,” Liu Hao called, grabbing his arm, intent on dragging him to the cafeteria.

“Not today, not today, I really have to go!” Chen Luo snatched up his bag and dashed out.

Liu Hao scratched his head as he watched Chen Luo disappear. “What’s the rush? It’s not like he’s being chased by a dog.”

…

Administration Building, Department Chair’s Office.

“The intelligence team has relayed the information. At present, Yelena intends to use an entanglement strategy for the promotion of Chen Luo’s software, slowly siphoning off the hype around Magnesium Group’s app.”

“Her company is also planning to launch their own software in a month, right when Chen Luo’s app hits its promotional peak.”

Listening to Mo Lan’s report, Wen Wan let out a cold chuckle.

“I’ve heard Yelena excels at subtly eroding her rivals. I didn’t expect her to use the same tactics on Chen Luo. Fine, very well.”

“President Wen, if Yelena launches successfully, I’m afraid Chen Luo’s food delivery app will fall behind, maybe even be overtaken. Should we send in a team to intervene?” Mo Lan asked tentatively. After all, this was no small matter—if Wen Wan intervened, it could spark an all-out conflict between the Wen and Ye families.

“No. If I do that, Chen Luo might resent me.”

“This is his project. If I step in and even if it succeeds, it could still hurt his pride.”

Wen Wan stood up, picked up her phone, and opened the chat with Chen Luo, sending him a message.

Mo Lan was puzzled. If Chen Luo’s project was really crushed by Yelena, wouldn’t that be even worse?

“President Wen, do you mean to let Yelena act freely, so Chen Luo can learn from failure?”

“No. I won’t let anyone hinder Chen Luo’s project, nor will I allow him to suffer from failure!”

At those words, Mo Lan was dumbfounded.

First you say we can’t help him, now you say we can’t let him fail either.

President Wen, what do you want us to do? We’re all at a loss here.

“Then, President Wen, what’s your instruction?”

Wen Wan set her phone down, turning her gaze to the stack of online education project proposals and materials on her desk.

“Mo Lan, how is our online education project progressing?”

Caught off guard by the sudden shift, Mo Lan hesitated. Just moments ago they’d been discussing Chen Luo, and now she’d switched to this project. But years of experience kicked in immediately.

“All preparations are complete. The course recordings, technical support, and teaching staff have all met expectations. We plan to launch officially in one week.”

“Good. Move the launch up to tomorrow night, and make a big splash with the publicity.”

“What?” Mo Lan clapped a hand over her mouth, her mind buzzing as she struggled to follow Wen Wan’s logic.

The launch had been scheduled for next week precisely to allow a final round of testing, minimizing any unforeseen issues at rollout.

Why suddenly rush it to tomorrow?

“President Wen, what’s the reason for moving up the launch?”

“I heard Yelena’s entering the education sector. Fine. I’ll toss this tempting bait out early and see if she bites.”

Mo Lan’s expression cleared in sudden understanding.

“Understood, President Wen. I’ll issue the orders at once.”

So it’s still all for Chen Luo.

If Yelena plans to set a promotional trap for Chen Luo, she’ll have to devote substantial resources and manpower to it.

But the profit potential in food delivery can’t compete with that of online education.

Once Wen Wan’s company launches its online education platform, Yelena will be forced to redirect her focus, reducing her investment in the food delivery project.

It’s a perfectly open strategy—I’m putting my cards on the table.

If you want a piece of the education sector, you must compete with me for market share, inevitably drawing resources away from the food delivery project.

Brilliant, truly brilliant.

Even after all these years, Mo Lan still marveled at Wen Wan’s mastery of open tactics—never resorting to scheming, always waging her battles in the open.

No matter what you choose, I win!

But in the end, it was all for Chen Luo.

To clear the way for his project, Wen Wan was even willing to take on the immense risk of launching the online education initiative ahead of schedule.

At the same time, she was deliberately attracting Yelena’s attention, accelerating the conflict between the Wen and Ye families.

Chen Luo, if you let President Wen’s painstaking efforts go to waste, I’ll haunt you to the grave.

So thinking, Mo Lan opened the door to leave, only for a figure to dash in, colliding with her head-on.

“Bang!”

Mo Lan, quick on her feet, staggered back a few steps and steadied herself, but the other person toppled to the floor.

“Ah! Chen Luo! Are you all right?” Wen Wan, recognizing him, cried out and hurried to help him up.

Chen Luo scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush off the dust. He grabbed Wen Wan’s shoulders, his face full of anxiety.

“Wan’er! Listen to me! I was wrong! There’s nothing going on between me and Yelena!”

What? He’s confessing right off the bat? And mentioning Yelena? Did he really do something he shouldn’t have?

Mo Lan’s expression darkened at once and she stepped outside.

“President Wen, I’ll be waiting outside, ready at any time.”

The implication was clear: If you need me to, I’ll come in and deal with Chen Luo!

Wen Wan, however, looked at Chen Luo with a mischievous glint in her eye, a playful mood rising within her.

She knew all about Chen Luo’s interactions with Yelena—there was nothing to worry about. Still, he must be terrified of making her jealous.

His panicked, flustered look was truly adorable, so much so that she couldn’t resist teasing him a little.

With that in mind, Wen Wan deliberately put on a stern face and stepped closer.

“So, you know why I called you here?”

“Then tell me—how do you plan to make up for your mistake?”

Seeing Wen Wan’s angry expression, Chen Luo’s heart quaked. He looked down at his belt.

Brother, looks like I’ll have to rely on you to get through this!