He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

Xia Ruo bit her lip and glanced unconsciously at the audience, where she met Huo Sinian's gaze.

He sat there expressionless, as if it were none of his business.

This CEO Huo... he's so unreliable, is he getting revenge on me...?

"Didn't you know to test it beforehand? Honestly, I still have so many forms to work on, and you're just watching her fix the equipment?"

Sister Su from the operations department turned to her colleague and spoke softly, but clearly enough in the quiet meeting room.

Old Zhou chimed in:

"Exactly, I don't know why they gave the project planning to someone who's only been working for a few days. She looks like a demon, what can she possibly do?"

Xiao Xie from the project team slammed his pen on the table, full of resentment:

"I was originally in charge of this project, and I had almost finished organizing everything, but Zhang Nan told me that the boss had assigned it to Xia Ruo. I'm speechless. It's ridiculous to put someone like that in charge."

There were other people trying to agree, but Zhang Nan, sitting in the front row, suddenly turned her head, glared at them fiercely, and cut off the words they were about to say.

Lin Wanzhi sat in her seat, trembling with anger, her fingers gripping the edge of the notebook so tightly they left marks.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her lips were pressed tightly together.

Zhou Siyan was still fuming about "her giving away the necklace," but when he saw the girl on the stage—

Her ears were bright red, she was frantically patting the little bee, her peach blossom eyes were veiled with a thin layer of water, and the tip of her nose was slightly red...

His heart felt like it had been hit hard with a hammer.

The lingering aura about the necklace vanished instantly, replaced by a deep sense of heartache.

Just as he was about to stand up, he heard the slanderous voices of those people.

His movements stopped, his gaze slowly sweeping over the group of people, his eyes filled with a deathly gloom.

"Look, look, Mr. Huo is angry."

Sister Su glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then lowered her voice and said to Old Zhou, her tone even carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

"With such a major mishap at such a large event, she definitely won't need to come to work tomorrow."

Old Zhou was about to nod—

"I'm done!!!"

Lin Wanzhi slammed her hand on the table, jumping up from her seat. Her chair slid back half a meter before crashing into the partition behind her with a loud bang.

Everyone in the conference room was stunned and turned to look at her.

"What are you guys whispering about?"

"It wasn't Ruoruo's fault the equipment broke! And it's a honeycomb device, how could you expect Ruoruo to test it during everyone's lunch break? Do you even have a brain?"

Her gaze shifted to Xie Feng:

"And you, Xie Feng, this project was originally your responsibility. Don't think I'm clueless just because I'm new here."

I've looked at the projects you've taken on, and not one of them has survived.

If you're not good enough, just study hard, okay?

Instead of wasting time gossiping behind people's backs, why not think about how to clean up the mess you've made?

Xie Feng's face turned a deep purplish-red, and he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Seeing that things were turning sour—that after scolding the other two, the scolding was about to turn on him—Old Zhou angrily spoke first:

Who do you think you are? You have no right to speak in this company!

"How dare this new brat talk to us like that! You got in through connections, so behave yourself! Don't push your luck!"

Just as Lin Wanzhi was about to retaliate, a voice suddenly rang out in the conference room. It wasn't loud, it was very soft, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"That's right."

Old Zhou's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing this.

He straightened his back, raised his chin at Lin Wanzhi, and the wrinkles on his face trembled:

"Did you hear that? Even Mr. Huo said I was right! Hurry up and apologize to me!"

He even pointed a finger in Lin Wanzhi's direction.

Lin Wanzhi did not look at him.

Her gaze passed over Old Zhou and landed on Zhou Siyan's face. His eyes, which were usually always smiling, now held only a cold and stern light.

She didn't say another word.

She bent down to pick up the notebook from the table, walked to the front desk, took Xia Ruo's hand (who was stunned), and turned to face Zhou Siyan:

"Mr. Huo, it seems the company can't tolerate us. We're leaving. If you're going to use the contract to pressure us—"

She raised her chin, her gaze calm and resolute.

"The entire legal department of the Lin Group will fight to the end."

The audience fell silent instantly.

Xia Ruo stood behind Lin Wanzhi, watching her back. This little girl, who usually hid behind her when something happened, was surprisingly tough and protected her today when she saw her being bullied.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but her throat felt like it was blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a single word.

"etc."

Zhou Siyan's voice came from the stage.

Lin Wanzhi stopped in her tracks, but did not turn around.

Zhou Siyan stood up, buttoned the bottom button of his suit jacket, and glanced at Old Zhou's face—Old Zhou was still in that arrogant posture, with a smile that he hadn't had time to take back.

"When I said 'you're right,' I was referring to her," Zhou Siyan said, raising his chin and pointing at Lin Wanzhi.

Old Zhou's smile froze on his face.

"You two sit down first," Zhou Siyan said to Xia Ruo and Lin Wanzhi.

He stepped onto the stage and stood where Xia Ruo had just been standing. The light from the projection screen fell on him, making his features appear cold and sharp.

"I'm new here," he said, his voice not loud, but everyone in the conference room heard him clearly.

"Logically speaking, the company should have held a general meeting long ago."

But I wanted to get to know everyone first, so I didn't rush into a meeting.

Today, I originally wanted to take this opportunity to talk to everyone about my principles for handling things.

He paused, then turned his head to glance at Lin Wanzhi.

"I didn't expect my employees to beat me to it."

No one in the audience dared to speak.

"My company—" Zhou Siyan's voice suddenly turned somber.

"We do not support idlers, those who stir up trouble behind people's backs, or those who slander our colleagues."

His gaze shifted from Old Zhou's face to Sister Su's face, then to Xie Feng's face. The three of them seemed rooted to the spot, completely motionless.

"Manager Zhang."

Zhang Nan stood up: "President Huo."

"You don't need to continue this meeting. Process the dismissals of these three people immediately. I don't want to see them again after the meeting."

He paused, then added, "Also, bring the speakers and microphone from your office."

Zhang Nan nodded, turned around and walked out of the conference room.

The meeting room was so quiet that you could hear the airflow from the air conditioner vents.

Xia Ruo sat next to Lin Wanzhi, looking at the man standing on the stage supporting them—

No, it's about supporting Wanwan.

He just checked Wanwan several times. He also said that his employees beat him to it.

Isn't this obviously taking the blame for Wanwan?

First, praise her for "being right," then take the opportunity to get rid of those gossipy people. This way, you can save face for Wanwan and appear fair and selfless.

Is this what a domineering CEO is like? He spoils her way too much!

Xia Ruo clicked her tongue twice in her mind and couldn't help but glance at Huo Sinian again.

Lin Wanzhi gently tugged at Xia Ruo's sleeve and whispered, "Ruo Ruo, my legs are weak."

Xia Ruo glanced down at Wan Zhi, who had been exuding confidence just a moment ago but was now trembling with fear, and whispered a smile:

"Me too."