Cen Yunxiao continued, “Luckily, Junior Sister didn’t give up on herself or let her skills grow rusty. She kept studying while caring for the patient. Junior Sister is incredibly strong. I really admire her.”
Jing Muhan’s brows twitched slightly, but in the blink of an eye, his expression returned to its usual indifference.
Qin Yuexin said indignantly, “President Cen, are you pulling strings for her? She’s been out of the workforce for three years since graduating. You want her to be Technology director—what does she even know?”
Bai Shujun could hardly keep from laughing. Wasn’t Qin Yuexin herself the biggest beneficiary of connections here?
President Jing had brought her here today so she could join Xingshu Technology’s Technology Department and get a bit of prestige on her résumé, giving her more say when she went home to fight over the family fortune.
She hadn’t expected Bai Shujun to get there first. She certainly didn’t want to work under Bai Shujun.
Why did this woman have to compete with her over everything?
Cen Yunxiao looked at her in displeasure and asked, “Are you President Jing’s girlfriend?”
Qin Yuexin immediately introduced herself, answering proudly, “That’s right!”
Bai Shujun glanced at Jing Muhan. He didn’t object to that claim. Instead, he looked at her, too. Their eyes met for just a few seconds before they both looked away.
Cen Yunxiao asked in confusion, “If that’s the case, shouldn’t you go home and enjoy the good life as Mrs. Jing? Why come work at our company? Being a programmer is hard.”
You’ll just get in the way. Can you even handle that kind of hardship? But he swallowed those words, afraid of displeasing the big investor.
Qin Yuexin’s face fell, and she was just about to retort.
Bai Shujun said without expression, “President Jing, hurry up and marry your girlfriend. How can you bear to let such a lovely woman suffer?”
Who knew what was going through his head? He kept putting off divorcing her, yet paraded the woman he had on the side around in public. There was no need to bully someone this way!
Jing Muhan said coldly, “We’ve chatted long enough. Let’s begin the meeting. Yuexin is someone I approve of, and I agree to her attending.”
Today’s meeting wasn’t a shareholders’ meeting. It was just to report to the investors on the recent progress of the company’s projects and its research and development patents.
Jing Muhan insisted that his woman attend. Although Cen Yunxiao wasn’t pleased, he couldn’t very well say anything.
He quietly complained to Bai Shujun from behind, “That woman’s obviously all show. What is President Jing thinking?”
Bai Shujun glanced at the two walking side by side up ahead. A wave of bitterness washed over her, but she said calmly, “True love can overcome anything.”
Everyone had to make way for their love, including her.
Cen Yunxiao suddenly remembered his earlier question and asked in a low voice, “Did your husband pass away?”
“Mm. He’s dead!”
He had died the day Qin Yuexin sent her the DNA test results.
Cen Yunxiao felt sorry for her. Her mother had just died, and now her husband was dead, too. She was truly unfortunate.
“My condolences.”
Bai Shujun feigned nonchalance. “I got over it a long time ago!” Being upset wouldn’t change the painful truth. She just had to keep moving forward.
Even if Jing Muhan held a memorial service, she wouldn’t be the one crying at his funeral. The Jing family had never acknowledged her in public. She knew that, in their eyes, she wasn’t worthy of Jing Muhan.
In the conference room, Bai Shujun opened her laptop and introduced a recent invention patent of hers: a method for adapting to domestically developed computing power.
She had led the effort to connect the entire chain, from underlying hardware to industry-specific models. The company’s senior executives had deemed her an irreplaceable key contributor to the project, and that was how she had secured the Technology director position at Xingshu.
Bai Shujun’s presentation contained no unnecessary chatter; it was all technical. Qin Yuexin struggled to follow the more difficult parts and looked toward Jing Muhan for help, her face twisting into a grimace.
Jing Muhan was considerate enough to interrupt. “Miss Bai, when meeting with investors from now on, you don’t need to discuss technical issues. Just talk about market value.”
Bai Shujun replied crisply, “Understood, President Jing. Next time you have a meeting like this that doesn’t require any brainpower, don’t call me!”
She felt nothing. She was already used to Jing Muhan’s impatience with her.
Jing Muhan, however, seemed displeased with her response and frowned slightly.
But Bai Shujun paid him no mind.
After that, Wei Tianming, the marketing director, explained the patent’s market value: it would let Large Language Models in fields such as healthcare, education, and industry run at low cost on domestically developed computing power, opening up the vertical B2B market—a vast market indeed.
Cen Yunxiao listened with particular pride. In his eyes, Bai Shujun was a genius. Her only flaw was being blind enough to choose a man who had wasted three years of her life.
At least the man was dead. Now he could fight alongside Junior Sister.
The more Qin Yuexin listened, the angrier she became. Hadn’t Bai Shujun always been a housewife at home? When had she become so capable?
Then she lifted her chin and stared at Bai Shujun’s face with undisguised arrogance, as if to say, “No matter how capable you are, you still belong beneath my feet.”
A man like Jing Muhan wouldn’t even spare you a glance.
Bai Shujun could read her meaning perfectly well. She rolled her eyes in response, then ignored her.
After the meeting, Bai Shujun was gathering her things when Qin Yuexin said coyly to Jing Muhan, “Muhan, I want to be Xingshu’s Technology director. You’re an investor, so you should be able to decide.”
Bai Shujun’s hand paused. Jing Muhan noticed, and his eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Although he was an investor, Cen Yunxiao had already put a proper equity structure in place when he founded the company. Even though the founder held only 3% of the shares, he had retained management control.
At most start-ups, the investors called the shots. Bai Shujun didn’t know that this one was different.
She thought she was about to lose her job. Inwardly, she cursed the shameless couple for being sick in the head. An affair wasn’t enough—they had to meddle in her career, too. When you were down on your luck, even drinking water could make you choke.
Jing Muhan had no authority over personnel appointments at Xingshu, but he still spoke to Cen Yunxiao.
His voice was cool and detached. “President Cen, consider Yuexin’s suggestion.”
After he spoke, Qin Yuexin looked at Bai Shujun with a smug expression. Bai Shujun felt as if wire were tightening around her heart, making it hard to breathe.
She wanted to cry, pathetically. She had never been the one anyone chose.
It was fine. At worst, she could find another company. If she truly had nowhere else to turn, leaving this city wasn’t out of the question.
She would just have to file the Divorce Lawsuit, and going back and forth would be a hassle.
She couldn’t compete with people born with a golden key in their mouths. Avoiding them was her only option.
Cen Yunxiao rejected him without the slightest courtesy. “President Jing, since when did you become so unprofessional? The Technology Department is about ability. Code doesn’t just pop out of a computer because someone flaps their lips.”
He left the harsher words unsaid.
Bai Shujun gave Cen Yunxiao a thumbs-up. No wonder her exceptionally talented Senior Brother could even take on the investors.
Qin Yuexin completely lost it. Grabbing the sleeve of Jing Muhan’s shirt, she said, “Muhan, I really want to work at Xingshu.”
Jing Muhan continued, “President Cen, name your price. Yuexin wants to join your company, so let her in.”