Chapter 40

“Before the investigation results come out, everyone should focus on their own work,” Shen Siyan said, her knuckles lightly tapping the conference table. “Our efforts won’t be wasted, and the product’s value won’t disappear just because Zhaolan launched first.”

After a tense round of discussion, Shen Siyan finally brought the meeting under control and laid out the next steps:

Deeply analyze the information Zhaolan had already released; identify the flaws and loopholes in it; and at the same time, speed up differentiated improvements to their own product and turn the situation around from behind.

Wei Xiaolu had never experienced a corporate battle on this scale. By the time Shen Siyan left with Legal, she was still shaken, as if a tsunami had just swept through. The waters around her had gone calm, but her chest, still swollen with seawater, seemed to churn with waves.

“I’m done worrying about it,” Qian Longyue said miserably, not even able to keep his eyes open properly. “You guys handle the analysis. Just tell me how to improve the tech in the end.”

The conference room fell silent for nearly half a minute.

“But this was basically copied one-to-one. Is there even any point in analyzing it?”

Once that question was raised, the discussion exploded again.

“Exactly. It feels unnecessary.”

“The problem is there’s basically no room for improvement. If they insist on changing it, they might as well have us build a whole new one.”

“Go online and look; everyone’s praising Zhaolan right now.”

“Hmph. I think analyzing their product isn’t as useful as analyzing their PR. We should learn how they poached our people.”

Good heavens.

Wei Xiaolu shrank her neck. She didn’t dare imagine how ugly things would get if everyone kept arguing like this.

Just as the conversation gradually turned into a boiling mess, with discontent and negativity quietly taking root, a clear, forceful voice cut through the noise and made itself heard.

“I think CEO Shen’s decision is very necessary.”

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Chen Yuran straighten and stand up.

There was almost no expression on her face, but her gaze was focused and firm. She picked up a whiteboard marker from the table and walked to the whiteboard at the front of the room.

“Thinking there’s no need to analyze it just because it looks similar means you’re only seeing the surface,” she said. “Similarity doesn’t mean quality. I think whether Zhaolan built this from scratch or copied it, we still have a chance to improve on it and surpass them.”

She raised her wrist and wrote several feasible angles on the whiteboard.

“Their release was rushed, which means they were chasing speed. That inevitably means there are serious weaknesses in the details,” Chen Yuran said, her pace unhurried but every word weighted. “Our job is to dig those problems out one by one.”

Without waiting for anyone to object, she immediately began laying out the plan:

“We need a few people to carefully study the product demo video from Zhaolan’s launch and list every function point they didn’t explain clearly. We need to estimate how much of it they can actually implement.”

“Also, I think we can treat this as them helping us test the waters. We can contact a few tech review bloggers and quietly get their opinion on Zhaolan’s all-in-one platform, then adjust our product accordingly.”

“Finally, we compare Zhaolan’s published product introduction line by line with our design documents and make a detailed difference analysis report.”

Chen Yuran was organized and decisive. After she finished, the restlessness sparked by the argument seemed to fade.

Everyone understood that the strategy Shen Siyan had just laid out had been broken down by Chen Yuran into concrete, executable tasks.

No one argued anymore. They all quietly watched as Chen Yuran listed the remaining viable options on the whiteboard.

Wei Xiaolu also looked at Chen Yuran, who had entered work mode.

Strong work ability. Very clear thinking.

And yet someone like that—someone who had actively stepped up to take responsibility in a moment of crisis, someone with execution that seemed off the charts—could she really be the leak?

The suspicion in her heart deepened.

“What are you standing there for?” Chen Yuran frowned slightly when no one moved. “We’re short on time. We have to come up with the final analysis framework before CEO Shen gets back.”

Wei Xiaolu snapped back to her senses and hurried to help. “Okay, Sister Chen. I’ll study the demo video.”

“Good.” Chen Yuran called over two more people to help Wei Xiaolu finish the task.

Before long, the whole workgroup was moving. Because there weren’t enough hands, they even pulled more than a dozen people from the department over to help.

Wei Xiaolu and three coworkers were organizing the questionable points in the demo video when a familiar voice suddenly sounded above her head. “Need any help?”

“...” Wei Xiaolu didn’t really want to answer.

But the colleague beside her happily accepted Wang Chen and pulled him in to work together on the conclusions.

Wei Xiaolu quietly shifted two steps to the side to put some distance between herself and Wang Chen.

But just as she took a third step, the conference room door was pushed open, and Shen Siyan walked in with a cold air about her.

The big boss had arrived, and the room went quiet for a moment.

Shen Siyan lifted a hand and pressed it downward, signaling everyone to keep working, then walked to the main seat and sat down. “I’m here with you to face this. If there are any problems, come ask me.”

Wei Xiaolu saw Chen Yuran go over and quietly report something to Shen Siyan.

But Shen Siyan didn’t hide anything. Very openly, she answered with complete candor. “The result of my discussion with Legal wasn’t ideal. They left enough room in their public wording. If we want to take the legal route to defend our rights, the evidence isn’t sufficient. It’ll take a long time, and there are too many variables.”

At Wei Xiaolu’s current distance, she could hear every word clearly.

Dozens of people were in the room; on the surface, they all seemed busy with their own tasks, but as long as you paid attention, it was easy enough to overhear the other group’s conversation.

Wei Xiaolu pricked up her ears.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re helpless. Anyone who breaks the law will be held accountable; I will definitely find the reason and take them to court to the end.” Shen Siyan said.

Nice. She wondered whether Chen Yuran was scared.

Wei Xiaolu stole a glance and discovered that Chen Yuran had completely ignored Shen Siyan’s warning from just now. She pulled the whiteboard over and, while gesturing, began discussing the current action plan with CEO Shen.

In the end, Wei Xiaolu heard one sentence: “CEO Shen, pushing their illegal product out of the market is something you need to do. What we need to focus on now is fully concentrating on how to make our product more solid and more unbeatable.”

Thinking back to Shen Siyan’s earlier analysis of Chen Yuran, Wei Xiaolu started wavering too.

Chen Yuran’s enthusiasm didn’t look fake at all. If it was fake, then her acting would blow away most workplace drama actors.

Could there be someone else leaking information?

Who would it be? She slowly looked around. These coworkers she’d been working with for so long all seemed different now, as if they’d all become two-faced at once. Who was genuine, who was only putting on an act—

“What are you looking at?”

Wang Chen stared at her and asked a second question. “I still have a ton of work. If you’ve got nothing to do, I’m going back?”

She rolled her eyes.

Wei Xiaolu looked back at the computer. “Where were we just now?”

“Fine, fine, looks like you still need me.” Wang Chen got back to work too, though he complained the whole time.

“I’m seriously swamped lately. It’s not just writing code; you have no idea how many bad things I’ve been running into.”

No one asked.

Wei Xiaolu only dared to complain internally; outwardly, she pretended not to hear him and let him grumble away on his own.

“I bought a house recently,” Wang Chen said, getting more and more worked up. “Don’t congratulate me yet. You have no idea; I’m practically being ripped off to death!”

A colleague beside him politely asked, “What happened?”

“The whole wall’s cracked! The balcony leaks like a waterfall,” Wang Chen said. “I went to property management, and they told me to find the developer. I went to the developer, and they told me to go find the construction contractor!”

“Did you get anyone to fix it for you?” someone nearby asked flatly.

Wang Chen was already locked into the momentum of his outrage. His mouse clicked furiously. “No! In the end I went to the contractor—the Hongjian Group. Their attitude was awful, and they wouldn’t help solve the problem at all. In my view, companies like that deserve to go under sooner or later.”

Wei Xiaolu’s heart gave a jolt.

Hongjian Group.

She remembered that name—Zeng Cui had mentioned before that it was the industry under Shen Siyan’s father.

She instinctively turned to look at Shen Siyan. At this moment, CEO Shen wasn’t talking to anyone. Looking at her profile, and the ear exposed where her hair had been swept back, Wei Xiaolu had a bad feeling that she had already heard Wang Chen’s “bold opinion.”

A thin sweat broke out along Wei Xiaolu’s back.

She hurriedly lowered her voice and made faces at Wang Chen, warning him, “Engineer Wang, say less.”

Wang Chen, who was fully at the height of his emotions, didn’t take Wei Xiaolu seriously at all. Being stopped only made him even more worked up. “I’m not making this up. If you don’t believe me, come take a look at my place.”

Wei Xiaolu saw Shen Siyan stand up and walk this way.

All at once, Wei Xiaolu desperately wanted to rip Wang Chen’s mouth off and then cover Shen Siyan’s ears. She couldn’t let this kind of harsh criticism make CEO Shen’s already heavy mood even worse.

“Just building garbage like that and still making black-hearted money from it; they’re not afraid of heaven striking—”

“Wang Chen! Stop talking!” Wei Xiaolu snapped in a low voice.

“Engineer Wang.” Shen Siyan’s voice followed immediately after.

Wang Chen seemed to have been grabbed by the throat; his words cut off abruptly.

The angry flush on his face faded at a rapid pace, leaving only a flustered pallor. He turned around and called timidly, “CEO Shen.”

Shen Siyan nodded and said calmly, “I’ve received your report regarding the quality issues with the Hongjian Group project. Thank you for your feedback.”

The color on Wang Chen’s face was still draining, leaving behind only a pale, frightened look.

“Could you provide the specific project, as well as the building and unit number?” Shen Siyan paused. “That would make it easier for them to conduct an accurate inspection and implement corrections.”

Wang Chen was completely stunned.

“Or,” Shen Siyan seemed to remember something and added, “you can send the detailed information directly to my work email later.”

“Ah... okay, CEO Shen.” Wang Chen answered, voice trembling.

After saying that, Shen Siyan went back to work.

She left behind a dumbstruck Wang Chen, frozen in place.

“What does that mean?” Wang Chen asked the other colleagues in a very small voice. “Why do I feel like something’s not right...”

No one answered him.

“Xiaolu,” Wang Chen called to the good Samaritan who had stopped him just now, “does CEO Shen have some kind of connection with Hongjian Group?”

Wei Xiaolu looked at Wang Chen’s belated realization. The anger that had built up because of him at work suddenly turned into a trace of sardonic cold laughter.

She raised an eyebrow. “Engineer Wang, that’s some real courage. You dared to speak freely in here without knowing anything. Impressive.”