Finally, order was restored. The noise died down, and the factory compound fell quiet.

I took a step forward, stripping away my usual approachable demeanor. My eyes turned sharp, my tone dropping a few degrees colder.

“Word’s been going around that with Zhou Heng dead, I’m planning to sell Dongfang Technology.”

I slowly scanned the crowd. “So let me ask you all one question: Why on earth would I do that?”

The crowd went dead silent.

“The CFO of this company is my best friend,” I continued, my voice carrying clearly through the crisp air. “The HR Director is a schoolmate I’ve known for over ten years. I personally poached our Tech Director with a massive salary package.”

“I was the one who negotiated our government subsidies. I was the one who spearheaded our core projects. Out of the ten biggest contracts on this company’s books, eight were secured by me.”

A faint, mocking smile touched my lips. “Call it arrogant, but I’m going to say it anyway: Dongfang Technology can function perfectly fine without Zhou Heng. But without Gui Vi? That’s another story entirely.”

Not a single person uttered a sound. Because everyone there knew I wasn’t exaggerating.

In recent years, while Zhou Heng was busy wallowing in angst, missing his ex, and drowning his sorrows in alcohol, the person actually steering the ship from start to finish… was me.

I met the gaze of every worker standing before me, emphasizing each word with total clarity. “I brought Dongfang Technology to where it is today. And I didn’t rely on Zhou Heng to do it.”

“I relied on myself.”

I turned and pointed toward the plant doors. “Anyone who trusts me, go back inside and get to work. Anyone who doesn’t, head straight to HR and file your resignation.”

“As for today’s little riot… I’ll let it slide just this once. Try it again, and you can pack your bags and get out.”

Silence hung over the crowd for a few long seconds. Then, a one-armed worker near the front raised a fist and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ms. Gui! We trust you!”

“That’s right!”

“We trust Ms. Gui!”

“She’s never let us down!”

“Come on! Back to work!”

With someone taking the lead, the rest chimed in. Within minutes, more than half the crowd dispersed and filed back inside.

Watching them leave, I finally let out a long breath of relief. Beside me, Zhou Heng was staring at me so intensely it gave me goosebumps.

“Vivi… I’ve never seen you like this before,” he murmured, his voice laced with awe. “So free. So confident. So captivating.”

Before I could even process his reaction, the System chimed in first.

[Warning: The male lead is deceased. Please maintain a safe distance from the lingering, lovesick spirit to prevent an accidental ‘falling in love all over again’ event.]

Me: “…”

System: [It is strongly recommended to kick him three meters away.]

I wished I could. Unfortunately, the System could only lock him out when I slept—it couldn’t actually launch him out of a five-meter radius during the day.

When I got back to HQ, the receptionist rushed up to me, looking pale.

“Ms. Gui, representatives from the Sheng Corporation are here.”

I let out a cold laugh. They sure move fast. Zhou Heng had been dead for barely two days, the grass hadn’t even sprouted on his grave, and they were already salivating to divide his estate.

“Have security throw them out,” I said plainly.

But I had clearly underestimated the sheer audacity of little princess Ning Luo.

Normal people would leave after being turned away. Ning Luo? She slipped past security when they weren’t looking, swiped an executive elevator card, and rode it straight up to the top floor.

By the time my secretary called to warn me, Ning Luo was already standing right outside my office.

The double doors were shoved open. Ning Luo marched in, looking smug and aggressive, as if she owned the place.

Meanwhile, I sat comfortably behind the executive desk.

“Gui Vi, what is the meaning of this?” she demanded, crossing her arms. “Why are you refusing to see us? You really think running away is going to solve your problems?”

I raised an eyebrow, looking at her with total composure. “Ning Luo, let me give you a piece of advice. Go home and be a good little Mrs. Sheng. Do that, and I might just leave you a way out.”

Ning Luo burst into laughter—a harsh, condescending sound, as if she’d just heard the funniest joke of the year.

“Gui Vi, you’re still playing the tough guy at a time like this? I’m genuinely curious—where do you get off acting so high and mighty in front of me?”

She stepped forward, her chin tilted up arrogantly. “From day one… I’m the one who always wins. You’re the one who always gets trampled underfoot.”

The temperature in the room plummeted.

Standing right beside her, Zhou Heng looked utterly appalled. If he had still been making excuses for Ning Luo earlier, now he couldn’t even manage that. He stared at her as if she were a total stranger, his eyes filled with pure disgust and disillusionment.

“Ning Luo… how many more lies have you told me?” he whispered, his voice trembling. “Behind that innocent, harmless face… what kind of monster were you hiding?”

Unfortunate for him, Ning Luo couldn’t hear a word. But what she said next was more than enough to answer his question.

“Gui Vi, you’re nothing but a maid’s daughter,” Ning Luo scoffed sneeringly. “By all rights, you should be hiding in some dark corner, living an invisible life. You have no business standing in front of me holding your head high.”

She folded her arms over her chest, her eyes glinting with malice. “The very first time I saw you and Zhou Heng, I hated both of you. I hated how dirt-poor you were yet acted so unbothered. I hated that fearless look in your eyes. I’m the heiress of the Ning family, yet you two looked at me like I was just anybody else. Who gave you the right?”

She let out a bitter laugh. “So that decade-long relationship of yours? I wanted to break it. If I couldn’t tear you two apart, how else was I supposed to prove how irresistible I am?”

“I played the insecure little princess in front of Zhou Heng, and predictable as ever, he bought it hook, line, and sinker. Years ago, when I wanted that luxury handbag, I pretended I didn’t realize he couldn’t afford it. I just wanted to see… how foolish he’d be for my sake.”

Ning Luo’s expression twisted into a triumphant smirk. “And then he went around begging for loans. He even asked his own mother for money. When I found out, I nearly died laughing.”

Beside me, Zhou Heng’s spectral face went completely distorted with rage. His eyes burned blood-red, his spirit trembling violently. If he weren’t already dead, his blood pressure would have sent him straight to the ICU.

“You bitch! You evil, venomous snake!” he shrieked. “I was blind! I was completely blind to ever love a creature like you!”

Sadly, the dead have no voice in the living world. Ning Luo didn’t hear a single word. She just kept twisting the knife into the heart of a broken ghost.

“I even lied to him that Sheng Tianling was gay, told him we hadn’t touched each other once in five years of marriage, just to keep him on the hook,” Ning Luo purred, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “Honestly, I never wanted to be with him anyway. I just couldn’t stand the thought of you having him. Even something I threw in the trash… a person like you isn’t worthy of picking up.”

She looked me up and down, her gaze sweeping over me as if evaluating a clearance-rack item.

“Gui Vi, you really are hopelessly devoted, aren’t you? Playing the backup option for twenty-five whole years. And what did it get you? He’d rather take a married woman like me than choose you. So tell me… where do you get off being so arrogant?”

Zhou Heng seemed to deflate, all the energy draining right out of him. He stopped screaming. He stopped cursing. He just drifted back to my side, eyes red and hollow, his voice a raspy whisper.

“Vivi… I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

“I used to love you so much,” he choked out. “Remember when I bought you those twenty-yuan shoes? I felt so guilty I couldn’t sleep for days. But once I actually had money… all I could think about was buying things for Ning Luo.”

“You treated me so well, and I just used you over and over again. I let you down every single time.”

He let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle. “Turns out Ning Luo and I aren’t so different after all. We’re both absolute garbage. I never deserved you.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw my own brain. Alive, he played the tortured CEO; dead, he pivoted straight into the repenting ex. A day late and a dollar short, buddy.

I turned back to Ning Luo, my lips curving into a sharp, cold smile.

“You want to know where I get off being arrogant? Let me spell it out for you. I get to be arrogant because right now, I am the CEO of Dongfang Technology. I get to be arrogant because even the husband you bend over backward to please has to address me as Ms. Gui.”

“I don’t need to hand over shares to flatter a man, nor do I need to sell myself out to buy a seat at the table. So what if you hold fifty-one percent of the stock? In the end, you still had to hand it over to someone else on a silver platter.”

“As for me? I can take Dongfang Technology public all on my own.”

Before the words had even fully settled, my office doors were shoved open once more.

Sheng Tianling strode in, flanked by an entourage of high-powered corporate lawyers. He looked like an aggressive loan shark coming to collect.

“Take it public?” he sneered. “Ms. Gui, aren’t you underestimating me a bit too much?”

I leaned back smoothly in my leather chair, eyeing the crowd that had just barged in. “Mr. Sheng, bursting into someone’s private office with a whole legal team… don’t you think that’s a bit lacking in basic manners?”

Sheng Tianling gave a faint smile. “Well, this company will bear the Sheng name before long anyway. Why get so hung up on details, Ms. Gui?”

I burst out laughing. “Sounds like my legal team isn’t working fast enough. You haven’t received the court summons yet, have you?”

The smirk on Sheng Tianling’s face froze. “Ms. Gui, you still haven’t given up? That deed of stock gift is entirely legal and binding.”

“I know,” I nodded smoothly. “There’s nothing wrong with the contract. But what I’m suing over… was never the contract in the first place.”

I shifted my eyes straight onto Ning Luo, enunciating every single word with icy precision.

“I am suing her for manslaughter in connection with my late fiancé’s death. Simultaneously, I am filing a civil claim regarding the infringement of the deceased’s right to life and bodily integrity.”

“If the court establishes a legal link between her actions and the transfer of those assets… I will be petitioning for the complete nullification of the gift deed.”

Ning Luo’s face drained of all color in an instant. “Gui Vi! You’re making things up!”

“Am I?” I let out a light laugh. “We’ll let the judge decide.”

I raised a hand and pointed toward the door. “Now. You can either walk out on your own feet, or I can have security and the police escort you out.”

This time, Sheng Tianling and Ning Luo were caught completely off guard. They exchanged a panicked glance, having no choice but to retreat with their legal team in tow.

They looked like a pair of defeated roosters—marching in with their chins up, and slinking out with their tails tucked between their legs.