After a sleepless night, Shi Yue felt more energetic than usual.
She took a detour to her favorite coffee shop and bought two iced Americanos. She downed one on the spot and held the other in her hand, sipping it slowly.
The barista, who was quite familiar with her, teased, "Pretty lady, are you going to do something big today?"
Shi Yue brushed her hair back and admitted openly, "Yes."
The barista made a V-sign at her, "Victory is yours!"
Shi Yue smiled, "Thank you."
The original protagonist rarely came to the company, so when Shi Yue arrived, the place felt quite unfamiliar to her. She went to the front desk to register her visit, but the receptionist, who was wearing the latest trendy, natural makeup, didn't recognize her. It wasn't until she called the CEO's office to confirm that she realized her mistake and respectfully invited Shi Yue to the elevator.
Inside the conference room, a few shareholders were already waiting. When they saw a young girl walk in, their expressions immediately turned subtle.
A man with a big belly, sitting in an office chair, looked at her sideways, "Xiao Yue, it's been a long time. Come over and greet your uncles."
"Uncles." Shi Yue smiled faintly at him, "After my father's passing, it's thanks to all of you that Shi Nuo has developed into what it is today.
"I thank you on behalf of my father."
These two sentences were full of sarcasm. Anyone who could read a financial report knew that Shi Nuo had been in decline compared to when Shi Yue's father was still around.
Shi Yue curled her lips, her smile impeccably pure. She walked straight to the central chair in the room and sat down on it.
All the shareholders in the room immediately widened their eyes.
Someone reminded her, "That's your uncle's seat."
Shi Yue replied with an "Oh?" and remained seated as steadily as Mount Tai.
Other shareholders trickled in, but Shi Wen was nowhere to be seen. He arrived with his secretary twenty minutes past the scheduled start time. As soon as he entered and saw Shi Yue in the main seat, his face darkened.
"You have no sense of boundaries!"
"Is the report ready?" Shi Yue rested her chin on her hands and glanced at him, then checked the time on her phone, "Mr. Shi, you're already twenty minutes late."
Shi Wen took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and sat down to Shi Yue's right. He gave a signal to his secretary, who immediately stepped forward to prepare the report.
But as the entire report was being read, Shi Yue couldn't help but want to laugh, "Everyone is well aware of the dividends we received last year. Mr. Shi Wen skipped this year's profits altogether and predicted that next year's total revenue would multiply several times.
"I wonder who can swallow that pie."
Shi Wen's face turned ashen, "You're just a little girl who studied design. What do you know about economics or business? If I were you, I'd say less to avoid making a fool of myself."
Shi Yue couldn't be bothered to argue with him, "Shi Wen, it's not that I'm not giving you a chance. The declining income of Shi Nuo over the years has already proven that you're not suitable for this position."
She raised her hand, "With my fifty-eight percent stake in the company, I propose to replace the CEO of Shi Nuo."
All the shareholders present immediately started whispering among themselves.
Shi Wen, however, remained calm, looking at her with a disdainful gaze as if she was of no consequence.
Sure enough, one of his supporters soon stood up and said, "I disagree."
He also looked down on Shi Yue, "Miss Shi Yue, you've never been involved in these matters, so you might not understand how the company operates. If we remove Mr. Shi Wen from his position as CEO, our cotton supplier, who has been working with us for nearly ten years, will not agree.
"If the clothing production lacks raw materials, do you want Shi Nuo to go bankrupt immediately?"
"Oh?" Shi Yue smiled and politely asked, "Are you referring to the Warm Cotton Factory you invested in?"
"Ah?" The man's face stiffened, "How, how did you know?!"
"Warm Cotton had quality issues exposed last year. According to the contract, Shi Nuo can directly terminate the partnership between the two companies." Shi Yue tilted her head slightly, "As for the cotton issue, you don't need to worry. Due to the unstable situation, a major supplier in a northwestern province is actively seeking partners.
"I think this is a great opportunity for the company to upgrade its raw materials. I've already contacted three cotton companies over there to get their pricing and supply plans, and we'll finalize a new supplier soon."
Upon hearing this, the man's face instantly turned pale.
Shi Wen frowned and looked at another person in the meeting.
That person stood up, "Miss Shi Yue, our cooperation with Y Country was strongly promoted by Mr. Shi Wen. I'm sure if you change the CEO at this critical moment, our cooperation with Y Country will come to a halt."
Shi Yue nodded slowly, "To be honest, that's exactly what I hope to see."
She took out a stack of documents from her briefcase, "This is a professional assessment I commissioned from a third-party company. It's a forecast of the final returns for Shi Nuo's overseas expansion plan. Please take a look."
The report was distributed, and each shareholder fell silent after reading the predictions.
Shi Yue leaned back in her chair, appearing impeccable on the surface, but her mind was full of the image of Leng Yanmi on the other end of the video, staying up late to compile data and analyze reports for her.
Last night's hard work was all for the confidence she now exuded.
Suddenly, a woman with her hair in a bun stood up.
She was the company's design director and had been with Shi Nuo for nearly thirty years. She was a technical backbone who invested in the company. Shi Yue hadn't expected her to also stand by Shi Wen's side, "Miss Shi Yue, if you insist on replacing the CEO, I'm afraid I won't be able to continue working for the company."
Shi Yue paused, her brows furrowing deeply.
Beside her, Shi Wen's secretary added fuel to the fire, "Ah, Director Yu, if you leave, what will happen to the other people in the design department? You brought them up..."
The woman didn't speak, but her chin was raised high, clearly indicating that her departure would take away a large part of the design department's core personnel.
"Sigh—" Shi Yue let out a sigh.
Seeing this, Shi Wen's lips curled into a smug smile.
"Director Yu, don't be in a hurry." Shi Yue stood up and walked over to her, "Aren't you curious about who I'm nominating as the new CEO?"
Yu Zhen said, "Aren't you planning to take over the reins yourself?"
Shi Yue spread her hands, "Of course not."
Yu Zhen looked at Shi Wen behind her in astonishment, showing a shocked expression of being deceived.
Shi Yue didn't care, instead patting her shoulder, "While removing Shi Wen from his position, I nominate Wu Quan..." She turned sideways, pointing to a man in an oversized suit at the conference table who looked somewhat dejected, "Mr. Wu, as the new CEO of Shi Nuo."
This statement caused an uproar. Even Wu Quan, who was named, widened his eyes in disbelief.
Shi Yue walked up to Wu Quan and extended her hand, "Mr. Wu, I'll leave the company's affairs in your hands. I hope you won't let us down."
"I, I..." Wu Quan was at a loss for words.
"Are you willing to give Shi Nuo another chance to regain its glory under your leadership?" Shi Yue asked firmly.
Wu Quan trembled heavily as if suddenly awakened from a deep sleep, "I am willing!"
"I will hand over all my shares to Mr. Wu Quan for proxy management. Does anyone else have any objections?" Shi Yue surveyed the room.
"Bang—" Shi Wen kicked over a chair beside him and stormed out of the meeting room in a fit of rage.
With his departure, his supporters lost their rallying point and stood there, looking dazed.
Shi Yue didn't let them off easily and immediately proceeded to replace the CEO before Shi Wen could stir up any more trouble. She and Wu Quan were so busy they didn't have time to eat, finally wrapping things up around four in the afternoon.
She declined Wu Quan's invitation to dinner, leaving her contact information and telling him to reach out if he encountered any difficulties or problems.
Wu Quan had been an old subordinate of Shi Yue's father. As they parted ways, the middle-aged man even had tears in his eyes, "After your father's passing, my management philosophy differed greatly from Mr. Shi Wen's.
"Thank you for trusting me again. I will do my utmost to put Shi Nuo back on track."
Shi Yue was also gratified, "I fully support you."
As she prepared to leave after saying goodbye to Wu Quan, she noticed a few familiar shareholders gathered at the entrance of Shi Nuo, chatting.
Seeing her approach, they intentionally raised their voices, "What are we going to do without a backbone in the company? I say we should sell our shares to avoid being trapped in the future."
If a large number of Shi Nuo's shares were sold, it would certainly cause market panic and negatively impact the company.
Shi Yue stepped forward, "If you're considering selling Shi Nuo shares, could you think about selling them to me first?"
They sneered, "If you want them so much, just go buy them when the time comes."
"But..." Shi Yue pretended to be worried, frowning, "I'm afraid I won't be able to outbid Leng Group."
"Impossible," someone scoffed, "A big company like Leng Group wouldn't care about such a small share. It's not like they don't know Shi Nuo's current situation."
"Believe it or not, but if you really want to sell, please contact me out of old ties. I will offer you a satisfactory price."
Shi Yue raised her eyebrows, speaking each word firmly.
"Leng, Leng Group is really going to..." someone muttered in a low voice, trying to probe for information.
"Ah, sorry, I have to go." As Shi Yue turned, she happened to see a familiar car outside, "President Leng is waiting for me. Let's chat next time."
As she walked toward the car, Leng Yanmi had just gotten out and was leaning against the car door, waiting for her.
Shi Yue stepped forward, intimately linking her arm with Leng Yanmi's, then lowered her head and sat in the passenger seat.
Behind them, several Shi Nuo shareholders gasped in shock, and their conversations grew increasingly intense and heated.
Shi Yue sank into the wide leather seat and let out a long sigh of exhaustion in front of Leng Yanmi.