With the business at Zhugao wrapped up and unable to head back to the office for now, Gu Lingyi drove her car down to the coast.
She lowered the convertible top, slipped on her sunglasses, and took one work call after another from the driver’s seat.
Her soft, light-brown waves shimmered like silk in the sunlight, reflecting the ocean’s surface. Brushing away the stray strands tossed by the sea breeze, her expression remained calm as she spoke with colleagues and business partners in a low, measured tone, coordinating every arrangement with seamless efficiency.
Anyone who worked with Gu Lingyi appreciated her crisp, no-nonsense style.
However, the sheer volume of after-sales tickets for their newest product was higher than she’d anticipated. Checking the time, she decided to visit the factory herself.
“……Director Gu, all the recent feedback coming into customer service traces back to this specific batch.”
The plant manager guided Gu Lingyi through the full sterilization process into the dust-free, smart manufacturing workshop, both of them clad in sterile suits.
Following the manager’s gaze, Gu Lingyi looked toward a stack of massive, unreleased shipping boxes and pulled out a single product box to open.
“The recurring issue is with the vibration sensor,” the plant manager explained. “It’s simply not as responsive as the previous generation, leading to errors in force detection. Take a look.”
She took the freshly unboxed item from Gu Lingyi and placed it onto a testing rig.
It was the very same item Gu Lingyi had seen at Zhugao earlier…the group’s flagship new release: a double-ended vibrator designed for female couples.
The testing machine simulated real-world conditions, including internal pressure, temperature, texture, and muscle contractions. On the digital screen, metrics flickered into life, displaying live readouts for vibration frequency, direction, torque, and temperature.
As the plant manager adjusted the simulated values, she explained, “When the machine simulates an impending orgasm, the dominant partner reduces their speed. At this point, the vibration sensor should detect the signal to slow down and drop its frequency sharply.”
Instead, the frequency ramped up, humming louder and faster…completely defying its intended design.
When she shut the machine off, the frequency readout froze at its maximum value.
They tested a dozen more defective units, and while the specifics varied, every failure stemmed from a malfunctioning vibration sensor. If used in real-world scenarios…
Gu Lingyi pressed a hand to her forehead. How many couples is this going to ruin?
“Based on current service data, the defect rate for this batch sits at one percent.”
That meant one out of every hundred units sold was defective.
Qiyin’s strict quality standard dictated that defect rates couldn’t exceed two-tenths of a percent (0.2%). One percent was absurdly high.
“Hold them here for now,” Gu Lingyi instructed. “I’ll let you know when to destroy them. Pack ten samples for me… and two cleaning kits.”
She had intended to ask for just one cleaning kit, but the word “two” slipped out before she could catch herself.
The plant manager didn’t think twice about it. The entire factory belonged to Director Gu, after all. She nodded in agreement.
Before leaving, Gu Lingyi did a quick walkthrough of the other production lines. As she passed the finger-cot line, her fingers twitched, and on a sudden whim, she snagged a few boxes.
The plant manager watched Director Gu with deep admiration.
Spot checks were a routine duty for any owner visiting a factory floor. Yet once many companies went public, their executives focused solely on high-level resources and stopped inspecting the frontline, leaving room for subordinates to cut corners.
A tiny leak can sink a great ship.
Qiyin’s rise to a dominant industry titan…and its relentless upward momentum…was inextricably tied to Director Gu’s unwavering attention to detail.
The plant manager packed and inventoried the samples, stowing them all inside an expensive leather tote sitting on the passenger seat of the sports car. She then respectfully watched the sports car speed away.
On her way back, Gu Lingyi passed Zhugao again, intentionally easing her speed as she pulled off the main road.
Her eyes caught a commotion near the school gate. One of the men involved looked familiar.
Enable exterior audio monitoring
“On what grounds are you firing me?!”
“You have the nerve to ask? You let the police barge in today…couldn’t even delay them!”
“Zhu Zhenglou didn’t block them either! Why am I the only one getting fired?!”
“Get real. You bear primary responsibility.”
“I’m not leaving!”
“Zhugao isn’t a place for you to throw a tantrum. Get lost!”
Several men hauled the man out, dumped him outside the gates, and locked the entrance behind them, ignoring his furious pounding until campus security police noticed the disturbance and escorted him away.
It was the male security guard from this morning…the one who had trailed her sports car with a crude, slimy stare.
Gu Lingyi hadn’t received a reply after sending the video to Jiang Yanqing earlier, but now she was seeing the fallout firsthand.
With a low roar, the sports car shot forward, leaving only a streak of red behind.
By now, the workday had ended, leaving only the diligent Trustee Jiang and the night security staff inside the Zhu Zheng Building.
On the second floor of the grand conference room, the roar of the red sports car’s engine couldn’t reach the interior. Yet the person standing quietly by the window still heard every word echoing in her ears:
“I don’t like her.”
“How could I ever end up with her?”
Slender fingers rested lightly against the glass, right over a faint palm print that was slightly larger than her own.
Her fingertips contracted subtly, as if making a gripping motion…just in time to frame the distant red silhouette of the sports car in her palm.
A split second later, the car accelerated away, vanishing without a trace.
How could a bird numbly trapped inside a glass cage ever hold onto a spirit so fierce, free, and ablaze with passion?
Arrived at Xiujie Apartments Underground Parking
Gu Lingyi woke up from a quick nap to find that her auto-pilot had navigated straight to Jiang Yanqing’s residential complex.
Who gave my car an underground parking pass for this place, and when?
Well, since she was already here…
Approaching the familiar door, Gu Lingyi took a step forward, only to suddenly feel a heavy pull on her arm. She glanced down: she was carrying a massive leather tote bag.
When did this bag…which was supposed to be sitting safely on the passenger seat…make its way up here with me?
Gu Lingyi was completely baffled.
The moment she remembered what was hidden inside, her scalp went numb. Unable to bear the thought of what would happen if Jiang Yanqing saw the contents, she turned to leave…
Just as she spun around, the door opened.
The beauty had changed out of her professional attire from Zhugao, now wearing a dark green nightgown. The cut was conservative, revealing only the faint outline of her collarbones. The sleeves reached her wrists, and the pant legs brushed against the tops of her feet without dragging on the floor.
She wore a pair of firm, dark wood slippers. As she stepped forward, the wood tapped against the floor with a crisp, pleasing sound…a sound that seemed to strike Gu Lingyi’s heart, pinning her to the spot.
“My blanket and clothes are still at your place. I came to pick them up.”
It was a clumsy excuse, but it worked.
Gu Lingyi was invited inside Jiang Yanqing’s home once again.
“Change your shoes.”
Those were the first words Jiang Yanqing spoke to her.
The beauty leaned down slightly, pulling a pair of clean, simple slide slippers from the shoe cabinet and placing them before Gu Lingyi. Gu Lingyi sat on the low wooden bench in the entryway, setting the oversized tote bag aside, preparing to slip them on herself.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yanqing dropped to her knees before her. The movement was silent, effortless, and entirely natural.
Her back remained straight, her posture as poised and elegant as ever. Her cold, aloof expression remained unchanged, though her eyes were cast down, filled with a reserved yet focused intensity.
Reaching out, her hands gently grasped Gu Lingyi’s ankles. Slowly and tenderly, she slid off the expensive, handcrafted leather shoes, and guided her feet into the house slippers.