I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Su Man sat down on the edge of the bed with great interest, the soft mattress sinking slightly under her weight.

She braced herself on the bed with her hands behind her back, her body stretched out, and the curves beneath her silk shirt became even more breathtaking.

Her phoenix eyes held a hint of amusement as she glanced sideways at Lin Yang.

"If we weren't talking about serious matters, you really would want to stay here with me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yang had already given the most honest answer through his actions.

He nodded frantically, so much so that it was like a spring-loaded ornament around his neck, his eyes filled with undisguised hunger.

Su Man couldn't help but laugh at his impatient manner. She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a suppressed but clear laugh, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"alright."

She suppressed her smile, regaining her cool demeanor, though the warmth in her eyes hadn't completely faded.

"This won't do, let's talk business."

The little flame that had just ignited in Lin Yang's heart was instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

He pursed his lips, a hint of undisguised disappointment creeping onto his brow.

Seeing his expression, Su Man found it amusing, but she quickly composed herself and became serious.

"The group strategy meeting that just took place was very important."

Her voice was exceptionally clear in the small lounge.

"The group is preparing for a major organizational restructuring, dividing it into two parts: the Greater China region and the overseas region."

Su Man paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

"Currently, our group only has three business units with actual sales performance overseas: personal care, cosmetics, and paper products. Therefore, the president of the newly established overseas regional company will most likely be selected from among the directors of our three business units."

Her gaze fell on Lin Yang, as if she were analyzing him, or perhaps reflecting on herself.

"As for the Great Dragon Kingdom region, it will be temporarily filled by Group President Qin. But later, a suitable candidate will definitely be selected from the remaining directors or supervisors to take on the role."

Lin Yang listened attentively, his brain racing, connecting this information with the relationships between the people he had observed at the conference room door earlier.

He began by asking, "Isn't the group considering recruiting senior executives from outside? Or even poaching talent from competitors?"

Su Man shook her head, a self-deprecating smile on her lips.

"Our group's tradition has always been to promote people we've cultivated internally. Don't let the fact that this is a multinational corporation fool you; at its core, it's still a family business. The current group president, Ms. Qin, is the chairman's only daughter, and she rose through the ranks from the lowest sales representative. This is an 'inspirational story' that everyone in our group knows."

When she mentioned the words "inspirational story," there was a hint of pride in her voice, as she herself had reached this position step by step in the same way.

"The chairman himself has long since stepped down from his position and no longer serves as president, retaining only the title of chairman."

Lin Yang silently complained to himself.

I know that. It's clearly printed in the company's promotional brochures; they're practically portraying President Qin as a modern-day business saint.

Su Man seemed lost in some kind of memory, her eyes somewhat unfocused, and she subconsciously twirled the edge of the bed sheet with her fingers.

"My biggest disadvantage is that I haven't been with the company for very long."

She finally voiced her concerns.

"Whether it's the overseas regional president or the future regional president of the Great Dragon Kingdom, it's impossible for me to be chosen."

She raised her head, a sharp glint appearing in her usually cool gaze as she stared directly at Lin Yang.

"But some people don't think that way. President Qin likes to use relatives and friends, and when I first joined the company, I worked under her. You could say that Guo Kaiqi and I were both people she promoted herself."

"The other three business unit directors, Mr. Lu of the Innovation Business Unit, Mr. Lan of the Paper Products Business Unit, and Mr. Huang of the Food Business Unit, are all old subordinates who followed the chairman in building the empire."

In an instant, a clear faction map appeared in Lin Yang's mind.

Qin Zong's faction: Su Man, Guo Kaiqi.

The Chairman's faction: Lu Qingyi, Lan Xinyu, and Huang Qiming.

There are also some board members whose affiliations are unclear.

He blurted out his guess almost without thinking.

"So you suspect that someone got advance notice of the time we got drunk and slept together at the hotel last time, and wanted to strike first and completely ruin your reputation."

His voice was calm, yet carried a chilling quality as if dissecting the facts.

"Once it's confirmed that your private life is chaotic, your chances of being promoted to president of the Great Dragon Country region or overseas region will be reduced to zero. No matter how much President Qin uses relatives and friends, it won't help."

Su Man's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

She hadn't expected Lin Yang to be able to see through the logic behind it so quickly and accurately.

Looking at the young man in front of her, she felt for the first time that he didn't look like a college graduate who had just entered the workforce.

"That's one way to understand it."

She slowly uttered these words, which was tantamount to acknowledging Lin Yang's deduction.

Lin Yang pressed further, "Does the chairman only have one daughter, President Qin?"

Su Man's eyes flickered.

"On the surface, yes. Mr. Qin has only one daughter."

She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice even further.

"However... there have been rumors circulating within the group that the chairman has other children overseas, but none of them live in the country, and he has never publicly acknowledged it. These things are probably only known to his old subordinates. I was promoted by President Qin, so I don't know much about these old stories."

This plot... why does it feel so familiar?

Lin Yang's mind started flooding with comments again, completely out of control.

Family feuds, succession struggles, illegitimate children seizing power...aren't these all overdone plots in Hong Kong TV dramas?

He suppressed these thoughts and raised another crucial question.

"And what about General Manager Guo?"

The image of Guo Kaiqi's alluring figure and her assistant Zhou Qi's pale face flashed through his mind.

"She's also one of President Qin's people, why didn't she get into trouble?"

Upon hearing the name "Guo Kaiqi," Su Man's face revealed an undisguised look of disdain.

"Guo Kaiqi, that little slut, you have no idea how promiscuous she is."

Su Man's voice carried a complex mix of disdain and jealousy.

"Her male assistants changed one after another, and she always chose the kind of handsome young men who were over 180cm tall. But look at those men, they left after less than a year, looking like they had been drained dry, turning from fresh young men into dried-up old meat."

Su Man's words instantly reminded Lin Yang of Zhou Qi's unsteady gait and heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"That little slut's reputation among the company's senior management is already rotten to the core; there's no need for anyone else to smear her."

Su Man sneered.

"However, no one can touch her. The beauty division she controls is the group's fastest-growing cash cow in recent years, with sales that are frighteningly good. As long as the performance speaks for itself, the chairman and President Qin have no choice but to accept her."

"Oh, no wonder Mr. Su is surrounded by female secretaries and assistants. It seems he's still hoping for a promotion. I guess I'd better go back to sales, otherwise I'll ruin Mr. Su's reputation."

Lin Yang started making jokes again.

"Ha, you little man, you're getting jealous."

"How could I dare!"

"Hmph, there's something you wouldn't dare to do..."

Before Su Man could finish speaking, Lin Yang, like a ravenous ghost, pounced on her.