Chapter 111: The Clumsy Imitator, Doomed to Fail

“Hurry up! What’s going on at Wen Wan’s company?”

The woman in black was one of the assistants Wen Shao had assigned to Tang Xiwei.

“President Tang? Xiwei, you have your own company now! You’re amazing!” Lin Tingting’s eyes sparkled with envy; she had thought Tang Xiwei was merely relying on a wealthy heir, never imagining Xiwei already owned a company.

Tang Xiwei nodded with feigned modesty, though inside she was giddy with delight. The reason the assistants addressed her as ‘President Tang’ was because she had demanded it herself.

The humiliation Wen Wan had inflicted upon her was too much to bear, casting a long, dark shadow in her heart. Wen Wan’s decisive and overpowering presence had left a profound impression on her. Despite her deep hatred, Tang Xiwei couldn’t help but imitate Wen Wan.

First, she fashioned herself as a powerful businesswoman. Although she had no real authority over any company, she insisted on being called President Tang in public.

Yet, such a clumsy act of imitation could only ever be the work of a pretender. Setting aside all other means, even her tone and manner when issuing orders to her assistants lacked anything but a forced severity, tinged with impatience.

Wen Wan’s words, in contrast, carried an undeniable authority and calm that brooked no refusal.

With just one sentence, the gulf between them was as vast as heaven and earth.

Yet Tang Xiwei was thoroughly pleased with herself, utterly oblivious to any shortcomings.

Fortunately, the assistants Wen Shao had provided were consummate professionals; they took Tang Xiwei’s orders in stride, reporting to her with unflinching composure.

“Wen Wan’s company has begun reallocating all its liquid assets. There have also been major changes in personnel—key staff from subsidiary companies are being summoned to Hangzhou.”

“All indications suggest Wen Wan’s company is preparing for significant action—possibly an important new project or even a commercial war with another group.”

“A commercial war? If I recall correctly, in Hangzhou, the only force capable of taking on Wen Wan is the Ye family, isn’t it?”

During her time in Beijing, Tang Xiwei had worked tirelessly to gather intelligence for her revenge against Chen Luo and Wen Wan, memorizing the distribution of all major powers and key players along the southeast coast.

“That’s right. By all reasonable analysis, the only rival Wen Wan would take so seriously—the only opponent she’d consider her equal—would be the Ye family.”

At this, Tang Xiwei’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and she sprang to her feet.

“Excellent, just excellent. I’ve been wracking my brain for a way to deal with Wen Wan and Chen Luo.”

“And now they’ve started fighting the Ye family first. I can fan the flames, make their battle even fiercer.”

“Let them wear each other out, and when they’re both spent, I’ll sweep in and take it all! Hahahaha!”

Tang Xiwei’s sinister laughter echoed through the suite for several long minutes.

(2/3)

(This woman is a bit unhinged. Are we really safe working for her? Feels like disaster is only a matter of time…)

Such was the unspoken thought in the minds of all Wen Shao’s assistants present.

Even Lin Tingting was worried Tang Xiwei might faint from laughing so hard and wanted to go steady her, but at that moment, Tang Xiwei abruptly stopped laughing.

“Now, everyone—keep a close eye on the conflict between those two families. Report any news to me immediately!”

…

That night, at the Ye family villa.

“Ye Linqian! Are you out of your mind? Kneel!”

Ye Linna stood with a cane in hand, glaring angrily at her younger sister.

Bang! Ye Linqian didn’t dare resist; she knelt at once.

There was no way to fight back—her sister had raised her since childhood. No amount of martial skill could overcome the weight of blood ties!

Crack!

The cane smacked sharply across Ye Linqian’s backside, the sound ringing out.

Yet Ye Linqian didn’t even flinch; as someone trained in martial arts, she could easily withstand such a blow.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You reckless, foolish girl!”

Listening to Ye Linna’s furious tirade, Ye Linqian muttered in a small voice,

“Big Sis, I was just worried you’d been deceived…”

“You were shouting Chen Luo’s name in your room—I thought that scoundrel had taken advantage of you!”

Crack!

“And you dare talk back! You barged in without distinguishing right from wrong! Did you even think about what you said to Chen Luo?”

Hearing her sister’s retort, Ye Linna’s face reddened with agitation.

This idiotic girl had gone and told Chen Luo she liked him—how was she ever supposed to face him again?

She hadn’t even planned to confess her feelings yet! But now, thanks to her sister, the secret was out.

Couldn’t she have waited until Linna had actually defeated Wen Wan and won Chen Luo over before letting the truth slip?

No, that’s not right! If she’d already won him, what need would there be for a confession? This girl had turned everything upside down!

(3/3)

Ye Linqian looked up at her sister’s blushing face. No matter how dense she was, she could sense something amiss.

“What? Could Chen Luo really become your husband—my brother-in-law?”

Ye Linqian set her worries aside and leaped to her feet, grabbing Ye Linna by the shoulders.

“Who—who said so!”

“I—I couldn’t possibly like Chen Luo!”

“He’s already been with Wen Wan! Why would I want someone secondhand?”

That familiar, haughty tone—everyone in the room, from the attending assistants to Ye Linqian herself, could hear the false bravado in her words.

“If you like him, that’s easy! I’ll just go kidnap him right now!”

“Then you and I can take Chen Luo back to Beijing, and on the road, you can seal the deal. By the time Dad tries to object, it’ll be too late!”

With that, Ye Linqian cracked her knuckles, ready to dash out the door.

“Come back here!”

Ye Linna hurriedly grabbed Ye Linqian, raising her cane with a furious glare.

“You reckless girl, do you even hear yourself?”

“Do you think the Ye family is a bandit’s den? Kidnap someone and force a marriage?”

“And what’s this nonsense about sealing the deal? Is that any way to talk about your own sister?”

“Kneel properly!”

“For barging into someone’s house and beating up Wen Wan’s bodyguard today—”

“I order you now, come with me to the hospital and apologize!”

Ye Linqian didn’t protest. After all, she was the one who’d injured someone; apologizing was only proper. She’d done this sort of thing plenty of times in Beijing and was long past feeling embarrassed.

Just as Ye Linna was about to drag her sister to the hospital, Assistant Xiao Lin rushed in breathlessly.

“Director Ye, there’s trouble at Magnesium Group’s delivery division!”