In the middle of the executive meeting, Liam’s new assistant dumped an entire venti boba tea on my head in front of everyone. "You're just a slacker who hides in her office playing video games all day. How dare you question my proposal?" "I’m firing you. Get out!" I stood up calmly, wiped the sticky mess off my face, and looked at Liam. He frowned, deliberately avoiding my gaze, and chose silence. I smiled and pulled out my phone. "Dad, did you hear that?" "They told me to get lost." Chapter 1 Monday. I was in the zone, about to clutch a 1v5 in my game, when someone knocked on my office door. "Manager Shen, Tiffany said all managers need to be in the main conference room in ten minutes." It was Jenny from Admin, sounding frantic. I didn't look up. My fingers flew across the keyboard. "Not going. Busy." In the six months I'd worked here, I'd never attended a single meeting. Not because I didn't have to, but because I didn't want to. "But..." Jenny hesitated. "Tiffany emphasized that no one can be absent today. She said it's Mr. Liam's order." My fingers paused. My character got one-shotted by the boss. Seeing the grey screen, I cursed internally and slammed my laptop shut. When I arrived at the conference room, it was already packed. Seeing me, many people whispered, shooting me weird looks. "Why is Manager Shen here?" "Doesn't she skip every meeting?" "Who knows? Probably Tiffany making a power move." "Tiffany's been gunning for her. Today's gonna be a show." ... I ignored the gossip, took the furthest seat in the corner, and pulled out my phone to restart my game. Half an hour later, Liam and Tiffany finally strutted in. Tiffany held a stack of files, beaming like she just won the lottery. "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules." Liam scanned the room. His gaze lingered on me for less than a second before moving on. "Tiffany has an important proposal to announce today." Tiffany cleared her throat and launched into her "revolutionary" marketing plan. I played my game, listening with one ear. The more I heard, the more ridiculous it got. The budget was astronomical, and it completely missed our market positioning. "...So I believe we should immediately invest 12 million dollars to capture the high-end market within three months!" Tiffany concluded passionately. Scattered applause echoed in the room. I couldn't help it. Without looking up, I said, "Spending 12 million on useless exposure? You might as well throw the cash off the roof. At least that would go viral." The room went dead silent. Liam frowned slightly. "What did you say?" Tiffany's voice spiked. I finally looked up, speaking slowly. "I said, your plan is full of holes." "First, your target demographic is wrong." "Second, your channel selection is trash." "Finally, your ROI calculation is basically a fantasy." "Spending that 12 million is like throwing it into the ocean." "Actually, no. At least throwing it in the ocean makes a splash." Tiffany's face turned crimson. She grabbed the boba tea on the table and stormed over to me. "You're just a slacker who hides in her office playing video games all day. How dare you question my proposal?" She practically screamed it. Then— Splash! The entire cup of tea hit my face. Sticky liquid dripped down my cheeks, staining my white dress brown. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone held their breath. "Sarah Shen, as the CEO's assistant, I'm firing you. Get out!" Chapter 2 Tiffany looked down at me, triumphant. I stood up slowly, took a handkerchief from my pocket, and wiped my face. Then I looked at Liam. He frowned, avoided my eyes, and stayed silent. I laughed. I spoke into my phone, which was on speaker. "Dad, did you hear that?" "They told me to get lost." Silence for two seconds. Then a deep, powerful voice replied. "Understood. I'll handle it." I only took this job because of an arranged marriage my grandfather set up. Liam was my fiancé. I hated arranged marriages, but my dad guilt-tripped me with the "filial piety" card until I caved. To "bond," Dad made me join Liam's company, the Fu Group. For six months, I played the slacker gamer. But behind the scenes, I pulled strings to make the company's stock soar. We even went public. The Fu Group became a star enterprise, and Liam made the Forbes list. Despite my help, we barely talked. In our few dates, I realized he only knew me as his fiancée, not my true background. ... I sat back down in the corner and resumed my game. My character respawned. My fingers danced, ignoring the tension in the room. Tiffany turned green. She didn't expect me to ignore her authority. She slammed the table. "Sarah Shen! Where do you think you are?" "Everyone is focused on the meeting, and you're playing games?" I sneered. "I hit my annual KPI. What's wrong with playing a game?" "If you don't get out, I'm calling security!" I didn't look up. "Suit yourself." The executives looked at each other. Some pretended to read files; others peeked at Liam, waiting for his move. Liam finally stood up. He wore a sharp black suit, his expression cold. He looked at me with impatience and indifference. "Sarah, your performance numbers are good." His voice was calm but authoritative. "But this is a workplace, not your living room." "Leave the conference room immediately. Don't disrupt the meeting." My fingers paused. My character died again. I looked up, meeting his gaze with a smirk. "CEO Fu, are you sure you want to kick me out?" Liam frowned, his tone icier. "I won't repeat myself. If you have any professionalism, you should know your place." "And if I don't want to leave?" "Then don't blame me for being ruthless." Seeing Liam take her side, Tiffany got bold. She rushed over and slapped the phone out of my hand. Smack! The phone hit the floor, screen shattering into a spiderweb. "Sarah Shen, don't be shameless!" She grabbed my collar and yanked me up. "Mr. Liam spoke. Why are you still here? Get out!" From day one, Tiffany hated me. Once, passing Liam's office, I heard her loud complaining: "Liam, we aren't a charity. Paying a slacker to play games all day is unfair to the other employees." Loud enough for the whole floor to hear. Liam didn't respond. But through the window, I saw him pause while reading documents. Since then, Tiffany got worse. She'd "accidentally" mention my "achievements" in meetings. "Some people take a high salary but don't even show up to meetings. Are they working or on vacation?" Rumors spread. People said I was a nepotism hire, a rich girl coasting, taking bets on when I'd get fired. I knew it all. I just didn't care. Chapter 3 But my indifference only emboldened her. Now, she was crossing the line. I wasn't having it. I grabbed her wrist and twisted. "Ah!" Tiffany screamed, letting go of my collar. She stumbled back, her arm hitting the edge of the conference table. Her watch made a loud crack against the wood. She looked down, face paling. The face of her expensive Patek Philippe had a distinct scratch, glaring under the lights. "You... you..." She trembled, rage exploding in her eyes. "Sarah Shen, do you know how much this watch costs?" "It was a birthday gift from Mr. Liam! It's worth $120,000!" I straightened my collar slowly. "You can't stand steady on your own feet. Who's to blame?" "Sarah!" Liam finally snapped. "That's enough!" "You disrupted the meeting, and now you damaged personal property." "As CEO, I'm officially firing you." "Pack your things and leave. Now!" Tiffany screeched, "Liam, don't let her go! She has to pay for the watch!" The room was dead silent. Everyone looked at me with pity or glee, waiting for the show. "Fine. I'll pay." "$120,000, right?" I picked up my shattered phone. Screen cracked, but it worked. I dialed a number. Before I could speak, Tiffany sneered, "Not 120k. 1.2 million!" I paused and looked at her. "You sure?" "Of course!" Tiffany was arrogant. "A gift from Liam is priceless!" "Charging you 1.2 million is letting you off easy!" "Everyone, am I right?" Tiffany wouldn't let go. She knew my salary. I couldn't afford it. She wanted to humiliate me. The other executives chimed in. "Yeah, you can't put a price on a gift from the CEO," the CFO said, adjusting his glasses. "Manager Shen, just accept it." "We aren't a charity. You break it, you buy it," the Marketing Director scoffed. "But with your salary, you'll be paying it off until retirement." Laughter erupted. They hated the "slacker." They loved kicking me while I was down. Liam stood there, frowning, but didn't stop them. I didn't get angry. I looked at Tiffany. "1.2 million. Final offer?" Tiffany blinked, then laughed. "Sarah, stop acting. You make peanuts. 1.2 million? You'd have to sell a kidney." I ignored her and spoke into the phone. "Get me 1.2 million in cash. Delivered to the Fu Group conference room. ASAP." Tiffany scoffed. "Pfft. Who are you trying to scare with a phone call?" I waited silently. Ten minutes later, the door opened. A man in a sharp suit walked in. Behind him were three bank staff carrying metal briefcases. He walked straight to me and bowed. "Miss Shen, here is the 1.2 million you requested." I nodded. "Thanks. Put it there." The cases opened. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills gleamed under the lights. The room went silent. Eyes were glued to the cash. The air felt thin. Tiffany looked sick. She stared at the money, then at the man in the suit. Suddenly, the CFO turned pale. "Mr... Mr. Lu? The Bank President?!" Chapter 4 Lu Mingyuan. President of the City Bank. A big shot even Liam's grandfather struggled to meet. Yet here he was, bowing to me, calling me "Miss Shen." Liam hesitated, then stepped forward, extending a hand. "President Lu, what brings you here personally?" "My grandfather talks about you often. He'd love to see you." Lu didn't even look at him. He just nodded slightly. Then he turned to me. "Miss Shen, let me know if you need anything else." He left immediately. Efficient. Like staying a second longer was a waste of time. Liam's hand froze in mid-air. His face turned red, then white. Tiffany's arrogance evaporated. Her legs went weak. Sweat beaded on her forehead. I casually pulled a stack of bills from a case and patted her face with it. "Assistant Tiffany. 1.2 million. Not a penny less." "Now, the watch is mine." I ripped the Patek Philippe off her wrist and tossed it into the trash can. "You!" Tiffany looked like she wanted to kill me. I turned to Liam and smiled. "CEO Fu. I paid for the watch." "Now, let's talk about compensation for my phone." Tiffany paused, then laughed scornfully. She crossed her arms. "How much can a Huawei be worth?" I held up one finger. "Not much. Just 15 million dollars." The room exploded. Laughter everywhere. The Marketing Director slammed the table. "15 million? Did the boba tea fry your brain?" The CFO smirked. "Company policy says market value compensation. Your phone isn't even worth a fraction of that." Tiffany gloated. She walked up to me. "Here, I'll be generous. I'll call the psych ward for you." "Delusions need treatment." Liam frowned but stayed silent. I remained calm. "You're right. A normal Huawei isn't worth much." Tiffany snorted. "Glad you know. Stop embarrassing yourself!" "Too bad this isn't a normal Huawei." The door opened again. A middle-aged man in a grey jacket walked in, flanked by eight bodyguards. Howard Huo. Senior VP of Huawei Group. A man who only appeared at global press conferences. Liam's face changed. He rushed over. "Mr. Huo? Why are you here?"
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