Because of that filthy line, Tang Ning ignored Jiang Linye the entire way.
The afternoon CEO summit was held at the Four Seasons Hotel. The opening ceremony included a speech segment, structured like a press conference and broadcast live throughout.
In the car, Tang Ning flipped through the speech draft Jian Wei had prepared for her: “That’s it? Just this much?”
“The opening speech is only ten minutes,” Jian Wei said, cupping Tang Ning’s face to check her makeup. “The panel discussion afterward will be longer—you’ll probably have a lot to talk about with the other CEOs…”
Tang Ning: “No, I don’t.”
She couldn’t even tell who was who right now—exchange what?
Because she’d been worried about the company running into trouble, Tang Ning’s amnesia hadn’t been made public. Only Jian Wei knew the full story inside TJ.
But she wasn’t worried.
After helping her boss finish the final layer of lip gloss, Jian “fangirl” Wei pressed both hands under her chin, eyes sparkling like stars: “It’s fine! President Tang is the absolute best—no matter what happens, you’ll handle it perfectly! With or without your memory, you’re still our most badass fairy President Tang!”
From the side, President Jiang let out a perfectly timed, understated: “Hmph.”
Tang Ning: “…”
She was just about to open her mouth and lecture him when he spoke again, slow and unhurried: “If you’re nervous, pick a fixed point in the front third of the seating area and stare at it without moving.”
Tang Ning: “Ha, why would I be nervous?”
…Okay, maybe a little nervous.
But once they entered the venue, she realized the embarrassing scenario she’d imagined probably wasn’t going to happen. Everyone on the panel had a nameplate in front of them—she wouldn’t have to awkwardly call other presidents by name.
“Should’ve known I didn’t need to memorize their names…”
The opening ceremony officially began. Right before Tang Ning stepped onto the stage in her high heels, that last thought was still looping in her head.
Jian Wei’s prepared speech wasn’t long. Tang Ning was bad at math, but her memory was excellent. One quick scan and she could deliver it off-book.
The room was packed with invited media—almost all the major outlets were there, forming a solid block in the front rows. Flashbulbs exploded like a storm. Standing on stage, Tang Ning instinctively searched for a fixed point. In the front third of the seating…
It was Jiang Linye.
Tang Ning: “…”
She took a deep breath, put on her signature polite CEO smile, gave a brief greeting to the room, and began her speech for the day.
Strangely, the moment she opened her mouth, all the tension and discomfort drained away like receding tide. By the end, the only thing left on camera was her fearless, confident, completely in-control smile.
It felt like she’d done this kind of thing countless times before—even some of the formal phrases sounded eerily familiar. As the words came out, her mind faintly echoed with responses, almost like muscle memory.
But…
After the acknowledgments, facing the thunderous applause, Tang Ning couldn’t help wondering.
In the past… had that spot in the audience always been occupied by Jiang Linye?
“Hello, President Tang. I’m an intern from New Entertainment Media.”
The next second, a reporter’s question yanked her attention back: “You just mentioned that the company will soon launch new products, which might spark a new pet-owning trend—but with the Fu Caicai incident in the past, can you guarantee product safety?”
“We’ve already invited a third-party organization to conduct an investigation. The full results will be publicly released across all media platforms once the investigation is completely finished.” After a brief pause, Tang Ning added, “It should be very soon—just these next few days.”
“Do you believe TJ’s products might have design flaws, as Fu Caicai claimed?”
“There’s no such thing as a perfect product, but there are plenty of owners with imperfect brains.” Tang Ning didn’t understand why this person kept harping on Fu Caicai when there were so many other questions they could ask. “Let’s say—just hypothetically—if Fu Caicai didn’t actually put any food in the feeder at all, then even if the device has a thirty-day battery life without being plugged in, that little dog is still going to leave this beautiful world.”
The entire room erupted.
Tang Ning even heard some laughter that wasn’t malicious.
“Regarding the Fu Caicai incident, do you accept any of the other online criticisms?”
Tang Ning was now certain—this person was deliberately targeting her.
She felt disgusted: “No, I don’t accept it. The third-party investigation results are already authoritative enough. If people still can’t see that, I suggest these passionate netizens gouge their own eyes out.”
After the Q&A ended, she set down the microphone, gave a very serious bow to the room, then stepped down steadily in her slim high heels, calm and unhurried.
As she left the stage, the applause grew even louder.
“Holy shit hahaha she really said that!”
“How come I never noticed before that little President Tang is this cute? I’m booking her a front-row hot search on Weibo tonight—y’all better keep your comments low-key later, don’t steal her thunder hahahahaha—”
“Is that reporter sick or something? What kind of dumbass question was that? Little Tang just had a car accident recently—if you run into her at the evening banquet, go easy on her.”
“Speaking of which, don’t you guys think TJ’s PR got way sharper after her accident?”
“Seems like they switched teams. Honestly, they should’ve fired the old one ages ago. Have you ever seen a company go three whole days without a statement after something big happens? If it were me, I’d be pissed to death.”
“Oh oh, I know that one. I heard the previous PR person got in through some connection with old President Tang. Ahh, the heavy burdens of generational favors…”
…
The group sitting in the front rows were all young entrepreneurs around Tang Ning’s age. Some were second-generation heirs, others self-made; they competed fiercely but also respected each other.
Jiang Linye sat among them, listening quietly, his emotions unreadable.
Even if he hadn’t shown up, she wouldn’t have had any real problems.
Just like she’d said five years ago—someday, sooner or later, she’d break free from him and no longer need him.
…For some reason, Jiang Linye suddenly felt a strange, subtle mood.
Like certain moments over these past five years, he once again felt things slipping out of his control. Yet she always remained just out of reach, close but untouchable, drifting.
After a moment of silence, he beckoned Chen Liangjun: “Go find out which outlet that reporter is from. Then tell someone to buy something for me… yeah, right now. Have it delivered straight to the house.”
Meanwhile, the Tang Ning that President Jiang was thinking about was currently in the lounge, frantically scrolling on her phone.
…She really had been pushed onto the hot search.
The entire summit opening ceremony was live-streamed across the internet and all major media. The clip of her clapping back at the reporter had been edited and posted to Weibo.
In the short few-minute video, she looked very young on stage—back straight, small in stature but with huge presence, brimming with confidence, full of youthful vigor and ambition. She looked like a teenager.
She opened the top comments, and to her surprise, the section was unexpectedly harmonious:
【Looking at her now, President Tang is actually kinda hot】
【Super A, okay? Look what I just discovered—a literal goddess sister!】
【Wuwuwu even though I can’t afford it, wuli Tangtang’s dress is way too pretty. I wish I could form a cheer squad and promote her all over the world!】
【The last time I fell for President Tang was ten seconds ago!】
【Our boss is the best-looking CEO out of all of them—no one can argue!!】
Tang Ning: “…?”
Seeing that last one, she finally sensed something was off.
She clicked into the rainbow-fart employee group chat. Sure enough, aside from the nonstop rainbow compliments since the afternoon, the pinned group announcement screamed in bold:
President Tang is trending again!! Everyone go control the comments! Charge, sisters!!
Tang Ning: “…”
How pathetic was that! Was the previous PR team really so trash that manager-level employees had to personally jump in and fight the battles themselves?!
“If the new products make money…” She pulled out her little notebook, genuinely moved, and secretly vowed, “I’m definitely doubling everyone’s year-end bonus.”
Knock knock knock—
The lounge door suddenly sounded.
Tang Ning assumed Jian Wei was back. Without looking up, she called out: “Door’s not locked!”
But after a moment, no footsteps followed.
She paused, slightly confused, and lifted her head. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged man accompanied by someone who looked like a secretary. The man wore a formal suit, smiling at her, with a small metal pin bearing the summit logo on his lapel—the one the organizers had given to all the attending bosses before entry.
Tang Ning stood up, a little uncertain: “Uncle Yu?”
—Yu Mingyuan, an old classmate and fellow townsman of old President Tang. He’d made his fortune in real estate early on, but in recent years had successfully shifted his business toward hotels and entertainment.
Tang Ning couldn’t remember the other CEOs, but she remembered him. Back when she used to attend dinners with her father, she’d often run into Yu Mingyuan. She called him Uncle, and he’d pat her head just like her dad did.
“Ningning.” Yu Mingyuan smiled as he walked over. “It’s been so long since I last saw you. Do you still recognize your uncle?”
“Of course I do!” Now certain it was him, Tang Ning instantly lit up with excitement. “How have you been lately, Uncle? I haven’t visited you in ages.”
The secretary quietly closed the door behind him, leaving it slightly ajar. Yu Mingyuan patted her hand: “Uncle’s doing great. I spotted you from outside just now—why are you sitting here all alone?”
The way he patted her hand felt… somehow different from other elders…
Tang Ning frowned briefly, wanting to pull her hand back, but then wondered if she was just being overly sensitive: “I’m a bit tired.”
Her high heels were sky-high, but in an event like this, flats weren’t an option.
Yu Mingyuan couldn’t help but look her over.
Tang Ning was already twenty-five, but in his eyes she was still a little girl. Today she wore a light-colored dress—something between a cocktail dress and everyday elegance, not too flashy. Her swan-like neck and lotus-root-white arms were exposed, the hem falling just to her knees, revealing slender, fair calves.
Apart from the faint mark on her forehead, her entire body was flawless.
She was glowing with beauty.
Yu Mingyuan moved a little closer again: “Even though it’s been many years, Ningning, if you ever need any help, you can still come to your uncle.”
This time Tang Ning decisively pulled her hand out of his grasp: “I have money, a company, and a husband. Which part exactly do I need your help with?”
She wasn’t trying to snap at him, but her sixth sense had always been sharp.
She could smell something uncomfortable in the air.
Yu Mingyuan paused for a second, then actually laughed: “You’re still the same as when you were little.”
The atmosphere lightened up again.
“I’ve got a new senior living project on hand lately. Are you interested at all?”
Tang Ning honestly had zero interest.
The incompetent PR team she’d outsourced to before? That was from Yu Mingyuan’s company. How could she possibly be interested in working with a boss who could produce such brain-dead results?
But out of respect for him being her father’s old friend, she decided to ask one more question: “Senior living home?”
“Yes.” Yu Mingyuan smiled. “We’re developing a new kind of senior living community and want to introduce pet companionship. On one hand, pets really do help soothe elderly emotions and even lower their blood pressure. On the other hand, many seniors live alone in their later years, with their children not around—they have huge emotional gaps…”
He didn’t finish.
A clear, resonant male voice cut in:
“If the emotional gap is that big, you could just open a disco in the nursing home.”
Tang Ning looked up at the sound and saw Jiang Linye pushing the door open expressionlessly, walking in at a leisurely pace until he stood right beside her.
“While they’re alive, you can hire hot girls to do lap dances. After they die, hire a suona band to play ‘Celebrating the Harvest.’ Full one-stop service: funeral, cremation, graveside disco. No waste at all.”
He clearly had no intention of starting a confrontation, yet the air suddenly turned tense. Invisibly, a sharp boundary was drawn right in front of Yu Mingyuan.
Tang Ning froze for a second.
—He had taken her hand.
“Of course, if your project can’t get off the ground anytime soon and you’re in a hurry to move in, feel free to come to me.” Jiang Linye spoke unhurriedly, his voice low, cold, and clear. “My senior living community is about to be handed over. Pre-book now, and you can move in with your bags in three months. Discounts for widowed and childless elderly. I’ll even give you a special friend price—thirty percent off. The nightclub DJ will keep the party going from the day you check into the ICU all the way to your seventh-day memorial.”
“—What do you think, President Yu?”