Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Ye Wan Lan Never Fights an Unprepared Battle
“Madam is right,” the Zhou steward said with a small smile. “Then let’s hope Miss Ye has some self-awareness.”
Madam Zhou’s fingers paused on her teacup. “I’m still not at ease about President Quan. If He Chen gets a call from Sheng Yun Yi and runs off again, we’ll be finished.”
The steward understood immediately. “I understand, Madam. Sir is still overseas on business. I’ll convey your instructions to the general manager.”
“Go.”
The steward withdrew—and as he left, he heard the sound of a fierce argument from the third-floor study.
He shook his head and quickened his pace.
—
In the study, Xu Lu slammed his palm on the desk. “Zhou He Chen, don’t try to brush me off. If you can’t control your own people, I don’t mind helping you do it.”
“No need for Young Master Xu to worry about my affairs,” Zhou He Chen said with a faint smile. “My people are mine. Of course I’ll handle them.”
He wanted nothing more to do with Ye Wan Lan.
But Xu Lu using her as an excuse to step on him?
That was impossible.
“Handle them?” Xu Lu mocked. “If you could handle them, why is Qin Xian still lying in a hospital bed? Why did she dare storm into my private room today?”
His eyes sharpened. “Zhou He Chen—don’t you care if Yun Yi gets upset?”
Zhou He Chen’s gaze iced over.
He pulled out a bank card and tossed it onto the desk. “One million.”
“Not enough,” Xu Lu said coldly.
Zhou He Chen’s jaw tightened. “The Phoenix City contract is yours.”
Only then did Xu Lu’s smile turn genuine. “Generous, Brother He Chen. Fine. This ends here.”
He leaned back, satisfied. “Don’t worry—I won’t trouble your little lover, and I won’t run my mouth in front of Yun Yi.”
With that, he swaggered out of the Zhou Family residence.
Zhou He Chen lit a cigarette, face cold, and called Ye Wan Lan.
The line connected after two rings.
“Hello.”
Her voice was cool and clean, like fresh snow in early winter.
“How long are you going to keep this up?” Zhou He Chen’s annoyance bled through every word. “I’ve given you enough time. This is how you ‘act out’?”
No response.
He continued, colder now. “Do you realize you keep causing trouble so people come to me, just to get my attention? How childish is that?”
Still nothing.
His temper snapped. “You have nothing to say?”
“I do,” Ye Wan Lan said at last, tone flat. “You have a lot of phone numbers.”
Zhou He Chen froze.
Then the line went dead.
He called again.
No connection.
She’d blocked him.
Xu Li had watched the whole thing with wide eyes. “Brother He Chen… did she really stop chasing after you? That doesn’t make sense…”
The words landed like a dull weight in Zhou He Chen’s chest. He stared at Xu Li, irritation sharpening. “What do you mean?”
Xu Li jolted. “S-sorry, Brother He Chen. I said the wrong thing.”
Zhou He Chen ignored him and called the director at Huang Chi Entertainment, voice turning glacial. “Yes. Stop all her work. Suspend her agent too.”
No work, no income—Ye Wan Lan wouldn’t survive in River City.
She would come back and beg.
—
The next morning, 8:30 a.m., Hui Teng headquarters.
A middle-aged man strode through the entrance with a stormy expression.
The secretary met him at once and lowered his voice. “General Manager Liu, the new director is already here.”
General Manager Liu frowned. “Already?”
“Yes. She arrived at eight. Earlier than all of us.”
“So she really wants to light three fires as the new boss.” General Manager Liu scoffed. “What about the joint resignation letter?”
“It’s been delivered. It’s sitting in the director’s office.”
“That’s what’s strange,” General Manager Liu said, incredulous. “It’s been half an hour. Why hasn’t she made a sound?”
He’d received notice yesterday: Lin Wei Lan had appointed a new director to take over Hui Teng.
Fine.
But it was a girl not yet twenty, without even a high school diploma.
What kind of joke was that?
He’d worked at Hui Teng for ten years—no great glory, but plenty of blood and sweat. Why should he hand it all over to someone who dropped in from nowhere?
No one would accept Ye Wan Lan’s sudden arrival. That was why there was a joint resignation letter today.
“No movement,” the secretary said with a laugh. “The door’s been shut the whole time. She’s probably panicking and calling for help. With that many people resigning, how could she handle it? She’ll have to leave.”
General Manager Liu sneered. “Good. She’d better understand.”
A woman should stay at home and take care of a family—what was she doing trying to run a company?
He didn’t even go to report to Ye Wan Lan. He returned to his own office.
At nine o’clock, everyone was in.
“I wonder who this new director is.”
“A dropout, right? Not even an MBA…”
—
On the third floor, in the director’s office, Cheng Qing Li’s hands were icy. “Sister Lan, you’ve been sitting here for an hour. We—”
Nearly fifty people had signed the joint resignation letter. Hui Teng only had sixty-five employees total.
Ye Wan Lan leaned back in her chair, composed. “It’s nine. Work starts now.”
She glanced at the list. “Anyone not here gets marked late. And anyone whose name is on that resignation letter gets fired.”
Cheng Qing Li, stunned, wrote frantically.
Ye Wan Lan’s tone didn’t change. “Good. Now we can start the meeting.”
“A meeting?” Cheng Qing Li stared. “But the employees—”
Before she could finish, Ye Wan Lan typed a string of characters into her computer.
It looked like code.
Then she hit Enter.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Across the entire company, computers screamed warnings. Screens went black.
“What the hell? Did we get hacked?”
“Corporate warfare is this advanced now? Isn’t it usually just killing someone’s money tree?”
“Is the power out? Did we get a virus?”
General Manager Liu stared at his own dead screen, frowning. “What is IT doing?”
The secretary swallowed. “I’ll go ask—”
Before he could move, the screens lit up.
Not the desktop.
A face.
Beautiful—so beautiful it was hard to look at. Skin like polished jade, flawless and pale.
But there was nothing soft about her.
She sat in a swivel chair with her hands clasped, and her presence alone pressed down on everyone in the building.
Her blue eyes swept over the offices like a predator choosing prey.
Silence swallowed the company whole.
“I apologize for meeting you like this,” Ye Wan Lan said, calm and measured. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Ye Wan Lan.”
She paused, letting her gaze travel. “Starting today, I am your new director.”
Laughter burst out from different offices—low, high, scattered, mocking.
General Manager Liu pointed at the screen, laughing hard enough to tear up. “She really thinks she’s the director.”
Hui Teng Clothing had lost money for three straight quarters. The Lin Family had long since stopped caring and left it to rot. What could Ye Wan Lan possibly do?
“I understand you don’t believe in me,” Ye Wan Lan said, still smiling. “That’s normal. But you shouldn’t try to threaten me with it.”
Her tone stayed mild. “Now, the people whose names I call—your resignation letters are accepted. Thank you for your contributions. You’ve saved the company a large amount of severance.”
The laughter died.
A cold hush spread.
Ye Wan Lan began reading names.
“Lin Geng. Luo Yin Qiu. Wu Yi…”
She didn’t stop until she’d read more than thirty names.
General Manager Liu’s expression shifted—mockery to shock, shock to fear.
Those names belonged to the worst parasites in the company. The ones who slacked, stole, forged accounts, took kickbacks—especially the finance director.
General Manager Liu knew because he’d been part of it.
How did Ye Wan Lan know?
“And General Manager Liu,” Ye Wan Lan said, lifting a document in her hand, “you are dismissed as of today.”
General Manager Liu shot to his feet, slamming his palms on the desk. “Based on what?! You don’t have that right! You can’t do this!”
Lin Wei Lan had never fired him.
Ye Wan Lan had just taken the position—how could she have the authority?
Fire him without cause and labor law would force the company to pay at least a million.
He bet she didn’t have the guts.
Ye Wan Lan’s voice didn’t rise. “Illegal profit for relatives and friends. Financial fraud. Save your words for the court.”
Because Ye Wan Lan never fought an unprepared battle.