The press conference proceeded as scheduled.
Grandma Lucy, deserving of the title "Queen of Charm," captured the attention of everyone in the room. Her presence was no less impressive than that of the President of the United States. As for me, the so-called "leading lady," I only showed my face when Lou Feisi announced the engagement between the Bai and Ren families. The rest of the time, I stayed hidden in a corner, chatting with Xiao Zhi.
It's strange to think about it. Ever since Xiao Fu left the company, every encounter between us has been awkward, but with Xiao Zhi, it was as if nothing had changed. Xiao Zhi was still the same, representing the new magazine alongside the boss, her eyes wandering around in search of gossip.
In the end, she took me to the balcony and poured out her grievances.
"Ningning, after I left the company, how are Xiao Zheng, Can Can, Xiao Wei, and you?"
"Well," I nodded, "everyone is still the same, but both Can Can and I plan to resign after this month. The company is in complete decline."
After speaking, Xiao Zhi and I sighed simultaneously, as if by unspoken agreement.
Actually, this is the issue I've been least willing to talk about recently. After all, "Gourmet Food" magazine was a place where I had worked and struggled for over two years. Here, besides knowing Demon King Ren, I had a bunch of good friends like Can Can, Xiao Wei, and Xiao Zhi. Seeing everyone leaving one by one, it's impossible not to feel heartbroken.
Xiao Zhi gulped down her cocktail in frustration, and her words gradually became more composed.
"Ning Ning, I joined the company even earlier than you did. Boss Liu... apart from being a bit stingy, he's actually a very good person. He never throws tantrums for no reason, never insults people inexplicably. He's the best boss I've ever had since I started working in administration. But this time..."
Xiao Zhi choked up, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes as she lowered her head. "I couldn't do it. I really couldn't do what he asked me to do..."
My heart skipped a beat, unsure if I should ask, but Xiao Zhi continued her narrative.
As it turns out, Xiao Fu was right. Besides the existing problems, the company was facing severe financial issues.
Since the financial crisis, consumers have become more rational, and many businesses have been affected. Sales have plummeted, leading many companies to take the first step of downsizing and the second step of reducing external advertising expenses. "Gourmet Food" magazine was also affected, with a significant decrease in advertising clients.
By the start of the year, the company had already been suffering from serious deficits internally, but we had no idea because the boss kept it under wraps. A couple of months ago, during a meeting with top-level executives and shareholders, the decision was made to inform the employees about the company's situation and start a substantial downsizing process.
And what the boss asked Xiao Zhi to do was to release this news first to test the reactions of the employees and give them some preparation.
Xiao Zhi took a deep breath, biting her lower lip. "Boss Liu asked me to gather the names for the layoff list from each department. Perhaps I was too weak, but in the end, I chose to escape and leave the company that I had once devoted all my energy to, following Ziru. Because I didn't want to see each of you leaving one by one."
That night, this matter was confirmed by Demon King Ren himself.
"I vaguely remember the gist of it. It seems to say that the first major shock can alleviate the impact of the second minor shock. For example, if the original housing price of 500,000 yuan increases by 50 or 500 yuan, consumers won't feel a significant difference. But if the price of something originally priced at 25 yuan suddenly jumps to 50 yuan, consumers would likely give up on buying it."
Ren Han nodded. "That's the effect the big boss wants. By first spreading rumors about layoffs and making everyone anxious, fearing they might be laid off themselves, and then ultimately announcing that no one will be fired but only salaries will be cut, employees won't have any resistance. Instead, they'll see the boss as considerate and righteous."
Upon hearing this, I was momentarily speechless. Once again, this incident proved the saying, "A person you can never defeat is the boss."
"Devious merchant! Shameless!" I exclaimed.
Demon King Ren chuckled contentedly, shaking his head. "Darling, thank you for the praise."
I widened my eyes and stared at Ren Han, stuttering, "Y-you..."
Ren Han nodded. "Yes, it was my idea."
I was dumbfounded. Here, I could modify a famous saying: "The person I can never defeat is Demon King Ren." It seemed like I was destined to be oppressed in this lifetime.
---------------
The following events unfolded just as Ren Han had predicted.
In less than a week, news of the company's planned layoffs spread like wildfire. My colleagues were in a state of panic, and I had no interest in staying at the company any longer. I promptly submitted my resignation letter and happily waited for the end of the workday in Demon King Ren's office.
While I enjoyed my leisurely time, Ren Han was busy, rushing around all afternoon attending meetings. Feeling bored, I daringly played games on Ren Han's laptop. Alongside Can Can, we fought fiercely in a dungeon until our characters were on the verge of death. Suddenly, a QQ message popped up with a Word document attached. Without paying much attention, I clicked to accept it and returned to the game, only to find that my character was already lying dead on the ground.
In the chat box, Can Can sent me multiple lines of furious and exasperated messages, saying, "Bai Ning, you idiot!"
So, I smoothly witnessed the team losing their voice. One by one, Can Can and the other teammates fell until only the beefy warrior Xiao Xiao remained to confront the boss. In the final moments, the boss had only a sliver of health left, and Xiao Xiao, filled with deep sorrow, glanced back at the fallen teammates, wiped away a tear of bitterness, and gave up the fight, collapsing to the ground.
In an instant, the team chat channel erupted.
[Team Little Bear Feifei]: Damn it, leader, what are you doing? We all sacrificed ourselves, and you should avenge us!
[Team Starlight Brilliance]: Xiao Xiao, you idiot!
[Team Little Ningzi]: Can Can, besides calling people idiots, what else can you do?
[Team Starlight Brilliance]: Shut up!
[Team Howling XIAO XIAO]: Wife, if you die, I don't want to live either, sob...
Unable to bear their cheesy conversation any longer, I exited the game interface, coincidentally finishing the file transfer on QQ. It was then that I noticed something startling. The sender of the document was our leader, Li Ziru. With my hand resting on the keyboard, I was about to greet him and explain that I wasn't the intended recipient, but he beat me to it and sent a message first.
"Take a look and see if there's anything else that needs to be added. The password for the document is the same as the one you gave me last time."
My hand froze, hesitated for a moment, and then I deleted the words I had typed in the chat box. What kind of information required such secrecy and a password?
...
When Demon King Ren returned from the meeting, he found me sitting stiffly in my seat, staring blankly at the computer screen. He immediately shook his head and teased, "Died again while going at a dungeon?"
As he spoke, Ren Han strode over and, upon seeing the computer screen, his steps abruptly halted. His body involuntarily trembled. On the screen, there was prominently displayed a document titled "Editing Process for 'Guiding the Phoenix to Food'".
If it were someone else, they might not have guessed the password. But as Ren Han's fiancée, it took me less than ten minutes to crack the so-called security lock. And as I looked at the document, I was completely dumbfounded.
No wonder so many elite journalists were convinced to leave, while Ren Han showed no reaction at all.
No wonder Demon King Ren always went to his study whenever he was in the office.
No wonder Xiao Fu said those things to me.
Ren Han has never been a good person, never been a good person... that sentence kept replaying in my mind, lingering and refusing to go away. Demon King Ren didn't stay behind to help the big boss willingly, but rather colluded with Li Ziru.
Seeing me silent, Demon King Ren coughed to ease the tension. "Ziru just became a boss himself, and he wanted someone to help him with certain processes. That's not illegal, is it?"
Staring at Ren Han's smiling face, my heart twisted into a knot, and I coldly replied, "It's not illegal, but I want to ask, why do Slime and the others still email you every day to report their work? And how did those screenshots of client contact lists end up in your possession? Furthermore, why are the articles with the authorship of 'Chen Xi' on your hard drive identical to the ones in the inaugural issue of 'Guiding the Phoenix to Food'?"
Upon hearing these words, Ren Han's eyes gleamed, and he gritted his teeth. "You snooped in my mailbox?"
I sneered, "Yes, I did. I truly wish that I had been suspicious without reason. Ren Han, I should have realized long ago that you ignored the Ren Group and came here as a vice president for what? In reality, you had planned to steal company resources and start your own magazine."
Pausing for a moment, I took a deep breath and continued, "You pretended to be loyal while secretly sending client resources to Li Ziru. Xiao Fu already mentioned it. She left because the big boss suspected her of being an insider. I didn't expect, I didn't expect that person—"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Demon King Ren roared, interrupting me. He checked if the door was closed and, making sure no one could hear, he restrained himself and said, "Ning Ning, things aren't as you think, but I can't explain it to you right now."
I intercepted Ren Han's words and shook my head. "Ren Han, what you're doing is illegal. You're stealing trade secrets and providing them to another company, no, wait... even Li Ziru has to consult you to write an editing process. You're the secret boss behind 'Guiding the Phoenix to Food,' right?"
I lifted my chin and stared directly into Ren Han's face, his expression on the verge of eruption. His obsidian-like eyes flickered, revealing nothing about what was going on in his mind.
This is the person I sought out.
This is the man I'm about to marry.
A man without principles, without boundaries, who can abandon everything for the sake of personal gain.
"Ren Han, turn yourself in. Perhaps—" Perhaps, I can still forgive you.
After speaking, Ren Han clenched his silver teeth, and after a long silence, I heard him coldly laugh. "Bai Ning, so this is how you've always seen me."
------------ I am a dividing line passing by ------------
That night, Ren Han moved to the study, and he stayed there for almost half a month.
I know he was angry, genuinely angry.
I admit that it was wrong of me to access his email, secretly read his work materials, and harbor suspicions. But there was always a barrier in my heart that I couldn't overcome. Xiao Fu's sudden change of face, the sudden departure of the boss, the collapse of the magazine company—Demon King Ren didn't say a word about any of it, only repeatedly urging me to resign.
I know he was indirectly protecting me, not wanting me to feel heartbroken by seeing colleagues leave, not wanting me to be hurt by any conspiracy. He didn't want me to see the dark side of the workplace. But Ren Han, when have you ever understood my feelings?
To hold each other's hands and grow old together. We are about to become husband and wife. Shouldn't a couple hold each other's hands, face obstacles together, and share the challenges of life? But Demon King Ren only protected me, sheltering me under his wing. Don't you know that this makes me more anxious, more prone to wild thoughts?
These agonizing days continued until the end of the month when the big boss suddenly called me and asked me to come to the company. Although I was confused, I still went to meet the big boss as agreed. Big Boss Liu saw my hesitant appearance and after a while, he said, "Xiao Bai, have you been having a disagreement with Xiao Han lately?"
"No?" The big boss widened his eyes and stood up. "If there's no disagreement, why is he becoming more and more restless day by day, not coming home after work?"
I fell silent, unsure how to answer the big boss's question. And I also started to worry about Demon King Ren. Was the big boss calling me urgently because he had noticed something and wanted to extract information from me?
Ha, it seems that even in this situation, I still protected Demon King Ren.
On the other hand, the big boss also had a hesitant look on his face. After pacing back and forth a few times, he finally said, "Xiao Bai, have you noticed anything? Actually, Xiao Han—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the office door suddenly swung open, and someone entered with an imposing aura. Both the big boss and I froze in place.
Ren Han stood in front of both of us. "Boss Liu."
Big Boss Liu said, "Xiao Han, you've come at the right time. I was just thinking—"
"Boss Liu," Ren Han interrupted the big boss once again. "Bai Ning and I have something going on, so we'll take our leave." After speaking, he grabbed me and left.
He pulled me so tightly that it hurt until we got off the elevator, and only then did Ren Han let go of me. I lowered my head slightly and noticed bruises forming on my wrist. I smiled, "Why are you so guilty? Afraid I'll reveal the truth?"
"Bai Ning!" Ren Han stopped me with a burst of anger. After a moment, he calmed down a bit and said, "One month."
"In just one more month, we're getting married. It so happens that I'll be going on a long business trip soon. You can take this time to think it over... whether or not you want to marry me." He paused, and Demon King Ren lowered his head, gritting his teeth. "If, at the wedding, you don't show up, I won't blame you."
After saying that, Ren Han turned around and walked away with big strides.
Looking at Ren Han's desolate figure, I suddenly had the urge to burst into tears. Demon King Ren, how could you leave me behind and walk away on your own?
Give me an explanation, let us fight side by side. Is it that difficult?
MiraiSaesang's notes: The F* is this drama right now?! So close to the end too... ٩(๑`^´๑)۶