Click.

As Gu Sheng pushed open the door to Shen Miaomiao’s CEO office—

Right in front of him, he saw Shen Miaomiao sitting upright in her boss chair, holding a phone in her left hand…

And in her right—

Was her “sacred weapon”—a squirt gun.

“Misunderstanding—”

Seeing something was clearly wrong, Gu Sheng quickly tried to explain:

“I was wro—”

PSHHH—!!!

When Shen Miaomiao, without hesitation, pulled the trigger!

Water sprayed all over Gu Sheng’s face, along with Shen Miaomiao’s heartbroken voice—like Emperor Kangxi scolding corrupt ministers:

“You still know you were wrong, huh? Gu Sheng!”

“You’ve really let me down!”

“Me! As the president of this company!”

“I care about employees, look after employees, believe in work-life balance and healthy slacking off!”

“But you! You actually used your slacking time to go flirt with girls in the downstairs café?!”

PSHHH—

She kept talking, and the squirt gun kept spraying!

In no time, Gu Sheng was soaked like a drowned rat.

When the stream finally slowed down, Shen Miaomiao stood up, making dramatic clutching gestures at her chest while furiously pumping the gun:

“I know! You’re now a big shot in the industry! Talented, rich, a rising young star!”

“You’re the sparkling diamond of all your fangirls—the mighty Gu Fifth!”

“But still! You can’t just go around flirting on company time!”

“Hugging and cuddling, and even… even… even that!”

“Tsk tsk tsk!—doing that in public? What about public decency?!”

However!

Before she could keep going—

Gu Sheng shut the door behind him and walked straight up to her.

Then, without warning, he reached out and grabbed her soft, doughy little cheeks.

“Mm?”

Shen Miaomiao’s face was squished, her mouth puffed up in a pout, making a confused noise.

She blinked, looking at Gu Sheng, clearly lost.

“It’s a bad angle. That photo was staged. I was set up,”

Gu Sheng wiped his face and smoothed back his hair, speaking helplessly.

“I didn’t kiss anyone. The hugging wasn’t my idea, OK?”

Even though he’d just been soaked, Shen Miaomiao’s reaction eased his heart.

The fact that she came straight to him for answers instead of silently investigating him proved the sabotage attempt had failed.

What he feared most was her acting like nothing happened—then launching a secret investigation.

That would create distrust between them, and that’s exactly what XunTeng was hoping for.

Now that she came in with a fastball, Gu Sheng would respond with one too.

It was simple—

As long as we don’t waste time second-guessing each other, no one can split us apart.

Hearing this—

Shen Miaomiao paused.

Then her expression clearly softened, even showing a bit of sheepish awkwardness.

“Mm… OK.”

She blinked her big eyes and mumbled:

“Buh eh eel ihi yo ho pih uh ehsh meh…”

(“But I still feel like you disrespected me a little…”)

Gu Sheng let go of her face and spread his hands:

“And now?”

“Much… much better…”

Shen Miaomiao’s cheeks turned a little pink. She grabbed a few tissues from the box beside Fifty and handed them to Gu Sheng.

Then motioned for the drenched Gu Sheng to sit down.

“So… what really happened?”

Now that she’d calmed down, Gu Sheng laid everything out.

As the story unfolded, Shen Miaomiao’s face shifted from red to white, then from white to black.

Poaching.

Again with the poaching.

Rage surged in Shen Miaomiao’s chest.

XunTeng had tried once before—back then, Old Shen blocked it.

This time, they’d gotten smarter. Knowing headhunters were risky, they sent their top secretary to make a direct approach.

As the saying goes, cutting off someone’s money is like killing their parents.

Who is Gu Sheng?

He’s Golden Wind’s director, the backbone of the company—and most importantly—

He’s the person in charge of her system.

Without him, how could she top up her secret stash?

Okay, it hadn’t worked out yet…

But through her repeated efforts, she was definitely on the path to serious money!

Endless poaching attempts. Relentless sabotage!

Unacceptable.

Shen Miaomiao took a deep breath.

If this continued—today it’s XunTeng, tomorrow it’s XunMelon, the day after it’s XunTree…

She’d never get a good night’s sleep again.

It was time to shake the mountain and scare the tiger—to make an example out of someone.

Thinking this, she frowned slightly and looked at Gu Sheng:

“Old Gu, what do you think?”

“What else? It’s just dirty competition.”

Gu Sheng shrugged. He honestly hadn’t expected XunTeng to stoop this low.

Clearly, Chen Guangde was someone with no moral bottom line.

“First, they try to poach me. When that fails, they plant a photo to stir up drama.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if by tomorrow—maybe even this afternoon—this photo shows up in gaming news.”

“They’ll aim it right at me, saying I’ve got an improper relationship with XunTeng’s chief secretary.”

“The whole point is to cause doubt, shake your trust in me, slow the project down—and even sway the market's perception of YiYou.”

“After all, if one of the flagship developers for a major title is cozy with the competition’s top secretary—it’s a bad look.”

“Mm…”

Shen Miaomiao nodded. Gu Sheng really was a pro—his analysis covered everything.

“So what’s our plan?”

“Three ways to handle this,”

Gu Sheng held up three fingers. He’d seen this kind of thing a lot in his past life.

“Fundamental play: Get the PR team ready. Once the news drops, immediately issue a clarification and contain the storm.”

“Crude play: Do nothing, ride it out. The internet has no memory. Just lay low until it blows over.”

“As for the brilliant play…”

He grinned.

Shen Miaomiao leaned in, curious: “What’s the brilliant play?”

“The brilliant play is to fight dirty too—use magic to beat magic…”

Gu Sheng shrugged and pointed at the photo on her phone.

“Before they get a chance to go public, we strike first.”

“They’re trying to paint me and their secretary as suspicious, maybe leaking company secrets or considering jumping ship.”

“So we flip it—send the photo to the media ourselves.”

“Say XunTeng’s chief secretary secretly met with me in Binjiang, possibly leaking secrets—or maybe already planning to switch sides.”

HISSS—!!!

Shen Miaomiao gasped!

“You really are shameless, Old Gu…”

“Excuse me? What kind of slander is that?”

Gu Sheng glared.

“I’m sacrificing my good name to protect the company—and you insult me?”

“No, no, no—”

Shen Miaomiao quickly waved her hands, awkwardly laughing:

“I didn’t mean that. I mean… you really can throw away your dignity. You’re truly willing to play dirty…”

Gu Sheng paused for two seconds.

“…I’m leaving. Secretary Zhen probably hasn’t gone far. I’m switching teams.”

“Hey, hey, hey—don’t!”

Hearing that, Shen Miaomiao leapt to her feet and chased after him, yelling toward Gu Sheng’s office:

“Will we meet again, Sheng? Sheng, when we do—be happy!”

“Okay? Be happy, be joyful—really, be joyful!”

“From now on your world won’t have me. That’s okay. Just promise me—you’ll be happy!”

“Sheng, Sheng, how can I live without you, Sheng—!!”

“Take me with you, Gu Sheng, take me with you—WAAAHHH—!!”

As Gu Sheng listened to her fake sobs and watched all the gossip-loving heads pop out from the project team hallway—

He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

So humiliating!

He sped up—faster and faster—until he dashed back to his office and slammed the door shut.

SLAM!

Moments later, laughter erupted from the hallway!

…

Watching Gu Sheng flee, Shen Miaomiao burst into giggles.

She knew the fact that Gu Sheng came straight to her to explain meant he wasn’t leaving.

But!

Just because he wouldn’t leave didn’t mean others wouldn’t keep trying to poach him!

If she handled this soft and weak today—

Then tomorrow it wouldn’t just be XunTeng. Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu—every damn company would take a shot.

Forget sleeping.

Sure, Shen Miaomiao might be a hands-off CEO.

Sure, she might be clueless about the gaming industry.

But that didn’t mean she was a pushover.

She was just a fresh-out-the-box greedy system user trying to get rich fast—quietly, without trouble.

But now you want to ruin my system?

Maybe I can’t kill you, but I’ll sure as hell break your legs!

D**n it!

Ever since Yan Sheng found out she was Shen Wanlin’s daughter, he’d been acting like a docile puppy—not daring to pull any dirty tricks.

So yeah, she hadn’t forgotten that lesson.

What Gu Sheng just said—fundamental, crude, and brilliant play—was solid!

Especially that brilliant one!

Strike first, flip the narrative!

But!

That still wasn’t brilliant enough!

Because whether it’s fundamental, crude, or brilliant—

All those plays operate under the same logic: two sides on equal footing.

But right now—

XunTeng stole her chess piece.

Then don’t blame her for flipping the board and smashing them in the face!

Today, she would show them just how brilliant Shen Miaomiao’s play really was!

(To be continued in next message...)

At that moment—

Shen Miaomiao grabbed her phone, flipped through her contacts, and made a call.

“Hello, Aunt Mei? Are you busy right now?”

“Miaomiao?”

A cultured, gentle woman’s voice came from the other end.

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“How much does it cost to push a story?” Shen Miaomiao got straight to the point.

“Push a story? You want to stir up publicity?”

Wang Chunmei was surprised.

As the editor-in-chief and president of one of the most influential unofficial financial media outlets under Shen Capital, Wang Chunmei had always respected the big boss’s rule: never give the young miss special treatment.

But this time, Miaomiao clearly came prepared—talking price up front.

That wasn’t a violation.

Wang Chunmei nodded to herself.

“Depends on what kind of impact you want. But it can’t be fake news.”

“It’s not fake. It’s very real,”

Shen Miaomiao said.

“Since I took over as CEO, I haven’t saved up much—only a bit over 300,000. With my dividends and this year’s advance salary, I’ve got 1.07 million total.”

“Whatever kind of impact that buys—go big.”

PFFFFT—!!!

Wang Chunmei nearly spat out her tea.

How much?!

1.07 million for one media push?!

Sweetheart, are you launching a nationwide ad campaign or something?!

“What story is this, exactly?” Wang Chunmei asked, stunned.

“Oh, just a kissing photo.”

Shen Miaomiao looked at the image on her phone, eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

“I’ll send it over. Aunt Mei, I’m in a rush—I want immediate impact, as big and fast as possible.”

“As for the headline, just follow my idea—”

“Explosive: XunTeng Tech’s Chief Secretary Caught Secretly Meeting with YiYou Exec—Leaking Secrets? Changing Sides? Is the New Gen Product Already Doomed?”

Within just one hour of the sabotage attempt—

A breaking push notification from Huaxia Headline Finance lit up phones across the country!

Within thirty minutes—

Ding ding ding!

Countless financial media outlets big and small jumped on the bandwagon like wild animals!

“XunTeng Tech Fails First Round—Internal Turmoil Erupts!”

“Top Secretary Switches Sides? What’s Happening at XunTeng?”

“Has the Chief Secretary’s Surrender Signaled the Collapse of XunTeng?”

“What Hidden Message Lies in This One Photo?”

“…”

With a 1.07 million push—

A firestorm swept through the financial world!

That’s right!

Shen Miaomiao didn’t just respond to Gu Sheng’s “dirty play”—she upgraded it!

Let’s not forget—

Both XunTeng and YiYou are publicly listed companies.

They’re the top two sensory cabin manufacturers in Huaguo. Ever since the announcement of their next-gen products, both companies’ stock prices had become major focal points in the tech sector.

Just recently, YiYou’s Titanfall had made a stunning comeback during the first round of promo battles, helping the company’s stock stay on a strong upward climb.

Meanwhile, XunTeng’s stock had slumped.

Now, Shen Miaomiao struck with this one ruthless blow!

XunTeng’s stock, already shaky, plunged even further—a complete free fall!

All thanks to the countless tier-2 and tier-3 financial media outlets Shen Miaomiao had coordinated, going as wild as they dared:

“Insiders reveal: XunTeng’s chief secretary has long been romantically involved with Mr. Gu of YiYou…”

“What motives led the chief secretary to approach Mr. Gu? The implications are hard to ignore…”

“Is the turbulence inside XunTeng so severe that the chief secretary is already jumping ship to a rival executive?”

“Sources claim the two have been cohabiting, and have purchased a love nest in Xiangjiang…”

“Allegedly, Secretary Zhen is already pregnant. The romance has been kept under wraps only because she still needs to gather intel on XunTeng’s next-gen product…”

“…”

One picture, infinite fiction.

If it were just one media outlet, it wouldn’t matter.

But half the financial world was spinning the same tale!

Even Shen Miaomiao herself started to feel something was off.

This kind of scale—

Didn’t feel like something 1.07 million could buy…

She almost wanted to ask if Old Shen had helped from the shadows.

But in the end, she let it go.

If her father wanted to stay quiet, let him.

If he did nudge things along, then it meant he silently approved of how she handled it.

Three days later—

News came from Yan Sheng’s end.

XunTeng’s stock had nosedived for three straight days, evaporating nearly two billion yuan in market value.

Their PR department was in total chaos.

Meanwhile, because of the damage from the rumors, Secretary Zhen Tingmei was dismissed.

Chen Guangde himself was placed under a two-week internal investigation.

XunTeng Game’s VP even wanted to arrange a sit-down with Shen Miaomiao to try and settle the matter.

To that, Shen Miaomiao replied:

“No need for a meeting. Please thank VP Yan on my behalf.”

“XunTeng is a veteran in the gaming industry. They should know better than anyone—you make a mistake, you own it.”

“Look, I carry the Shen name. In a way, I represent Shen Capital.”

“We’re both heavyweight companies in this field. I didn’t want to escalate things like this, but your company just kept pushing and pushing.”

“I had no choice but to go with the nuclear option.”

“That said, I appreciate the offer to talk things out. A meeting isn’t necessary, but I’ll give you face.”

“However, this story is already out—and it’s gonna stay hot for a few more days.”

“I can’t stop that. If you can’t survive it, tough luck.”

“If you can, then we’ll consider it water under the bridge.”

“Life and death are fate. PR is your problem.”

“But no matter what happens, I ask VP Yan to pass along one thing for me—”

“Fair competition is welcome. It drives the market and advances the industry. I support it with both hands.”

“But—”

“Anyone who dares sabotage me again—especially using shady tricks against my director—”

“I’ll fking destroy them.”**

“I don’t bluff.”

Strike hard once—so you don’t have to strike a hundred times.

Shen Miaomiao had never been this dead serious.

Clearly—

This time, she was out for blood.

And this fierce counterattack?

Terrified every developer with even a flicker of ambition toward Golden Wind.

Everyone suddenly understood—

What “A tiger father breeds no weak daughter” really meant.

Loud and clear.

Shake the mountain. Slay the chicken. Scare the monkeys.

Perfect effect.

So much so—

For a long time afterward, the whole industry’s competitive environment became much cleaner.

Sure, minor friction still popped up between companies…

But when it came to Golden Wind?

Everyone played it straight.

And those who still saw Golden Wind as the top dog to beat?

They shifted their focus—

Started studying Gu Sheng’s games.

Analyzing mechanics.

Reviewing models.

Studying data.

Trying to learn, then surpass.

From that point on—

Healthy competition began.

Everyone prepared to take down this rising Supernova Designer in a fair and square duel.

Meanwhile—

Titanfall’s development continued smoothly, with promotional hype growing by the day.

And just like that—

The long, five-and-a-half-month development cycle came to a close.

Titanfall officially announced: development complete!

Three days later—

YiYou x2 announced its first batch of mass-produced units!

Dual blades, drawn!

Golden Wind’s first flagship title—

Its first-ever narrative-driven project—

Titanfall…

IS HERE!!!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com