"So she's the mysterious president of Huan Yuan — the one who's never shown her face?"
"Turns out she's a woman."
"And not just any woman — she's gorgeous and cool as hell." A lady in a shimmering evening gown stared dreamily at the staircase where Yuan Xin's figure had long disappeared. "If I were Lin Siya, I wouldn't leave Huan Yuan either. Honestly, I'd mop the floors every day just to see her."
Her companion snorted. "You? You think President Yuan would even look at you?"
"Oh, come on. Back in college, I was our department's beauty queen," the first woman said smugly, lifting her chin. "I doubt she'd mind adding another flower for decoration."
"Ha! That's a good joke," another woman sneered. "You might've been your department's flower, but Lin Siya was the university's number one. You think you can compete with that? She's smarter, more capable, and ten times more stunning. Keep dreaming, sweetheart."
The room erupted in quiet laughter. One of the women sighed, pulling out a compact mirror and inspecting her reflection, only to slump in defeat. "If I'd known, I'd have actually studied harder. Maybe then I'd at least be qualified to be President Yuan's vase."
Meanwhile, in the far corner, Gu Yan, Jian Jia, and little Gu Rui stood apart — unnoticed, unacknowledged.
No one dared to approach them. This was President Qin's banquet; cozying up to a man Qin himself had just cold-shouldered? That would be social suicide.
Jian Jia's eyes were red-rimmed as Gu Yan gently wiped her tears. She could still hear the women's chatter echoing through the hall.
She knew those women — every one of them from a good family, well-educated, accomplished. Not "unpretty," not untalented — just ordinary compared to the dazzling, almost unreachable Lin Siya.
She bit her lip. Coming from a humble background, she'd never had the luxury to pursue higher education or polish her image. She only had a vocational diploma. Back then, it hadn't mattered — love was enough. Or so she'd thought.
But now, watching Gu Yan being deliberately ignored — by the same people who once fawned over them — that old confidence crumbled. Ten minutes ago, she'd been surrounded, envied, flattered. Now she stood invisible, the shift so brutal it made her heart ache.
Even though no one was openly staring, she could feel the derision — subtle smirks, glances that sliced like blades. She tightened her arms around Gu Rui, shielding him from it all.
Her head bowed, her voice trembled. "Yan… can we go home?"
Then, after a pause, she whispered, "Yan, am I the one making things hard for you?"
Her eyes lifted to his — wet and desperate. "She's back, isn't she? Lin Siya… I've heard she's not the same anymore. Maybe…" She swallowed hard, her voice cracking. "Maybe I should take Rui and leave. I don't want him hurt by any of this. He's just a child. I love you, but I love him more. I'm sorry…"
Gu Yan pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "Don't worry," he murmured. "So we lost two deals — it's nothing. Even if Qin and Huan Yuan join forces, they'll think twice before challenging the Gu family. Plenty of people are watching them."
His tone softened. "Jia Jia, don't talk about leaving me. Promise?"
Tears shimmered in her eyes, but the way he looked at her — with that same tenderness that once made her fall — wore down her resistance. She nodded faintly.
"Come on," he said, holding her close. "It's just a banquet. I don't need their approval."
And so, the three of them — husband, wife, and child — slipped quietly out of the glittering hall.
When they were gone, murmurs rippled through the remaining crowd.
"I used to envy Jian Jia," one woman sighed. "She was so ordinary, yet she captured President Gu's heart. Everywhere she went, she glowed. He spoiled her endlessly, spent fortunes on her, loved her so openly. It seemed like the kind of love every woman dreamed of — and they even had that adorable little boy."
"And now?" another asked, swirling her wine.
The first woman smirked. "Now? I'd rather be Lin Siya." Her eyes sparkled. "Gu Yan? Please. He's not even close — not next to my goddess."
"Your goddess?" someone teased.
The woman blushed but declared boldly, "President Yuan, of course! She's my goddess and my god."
The men in the room exchanged embarrassed looks. To think — a single woman had managed to outshine them all.
And seeing how many women nodded in agreement, they couldn't even argue. Some glanced at the door where Yuan Xin had disappeared, remembering that calm, elegant face, that gentle but commanding aura… and found their hearts skip a beat despite themselves.
Later that night, in the car, Gu Rui lay against Jian Jia's lap, looking uncertain.
"Daddy, you're not going to leave me and Mommy for that bad woman, right?"
Gu Yan frowned. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"
The boy hesitated, small hands gripping his knees. "Because… when I was little, it was just Mommy and me. She'd work all day and leave me with neighbors. Everyone used to ask where my daddy was." His voice grew smaller. "I said I didn't have one. And they looked at us funny. Later, I heard them say my daddy left us for another woman. You already left us once. How do I know you won't again?"
The car fell silent. Jian Jia's throat tightened. She hugged him, tears threatening again. "I'm sorry, Rui. Mommy was weak. I didn't protect you. But Daddy never abandoned us — I won't ever say that again."
Gu Yan added softly, "That's right. Daddy won't ever leave you or Mommy again. You just have to make sure Mommy doesn't leave me either, okay?"
The tension broke, replaced by laughter. Gu Rui grinned again, the warmth in his small face returning.
Then, eyes gleaming mischievously, he asked, "Daddy, that bad woman — she seems really strong. What's she doing now?"
Gu Yan sighed and recounted Lin Siya's current achievements, his voice even but tight. Jian Jia listened quietly beside him, her smile dimming. She realized painfully that aside from Gu Yan's heart, she could never truly compete with Lin Siya.
Wherever Lin Siya was, she would always be the one under the spotlight.
Back at the Gu family villa, Gu Rui hopped out of the car.
"Daddy, Mommy, I'm tired. I'm gonna sleep. Don't come in, okay?"
"Alright, sweetheart," Jian Jia said softly, relieved to see him calm again. "Good night."
As soon as he closed the door, though, he locked it, turned on his laptop, and sat up straight — tiny fingers flying across the keyboard, face serious beyond his years.
"I won't let that bad woman steal my daddy again," he muttered.
"President Yuan, you're truly impressive," President Qin said later that night, raising his glass in admiration. "To build something like Huan Yuan Pharmaceuticals in just over a year — that's no small feat. No wonder Miss Lin believes so deeply in your vision."
Yuan Xin smiled lightly. "I just caught a few lucky breaks. Compared to President Qin, I still have much to learn."
"Modest, modest!" he laughed, waving his hand. "If anything, I hope you'll consider me for future collaborations. With Huan Yuan's growth rate, it's only a matter of time before you surpass us all."
"President Qin is an old friend of our company," Yuan Xin replied with calm grace. "Of course we'll continue working together."
Despite her youth — barely thirty — her composure was remarkable. Qin couldn't quite figure her out. Lin Siya, for all her confidence, still carried traces of nervous energy before powerful men. But Yuan Xin? Completely unflappable, as if nothing could touch her.
Their pleasant discussion was interrupted when Yuan Xin's assistant rushed over, whispering something in her ear. She nodded, unbothered, and took the phone.
"Is something wrong?" Qin asked.
"Just a small issue at the company," Yuan Xin said smoothly. "Would you excuse me a moment?"
"Of course. Take your time."
She answered the call. "What happened?"
"President Yuan," Chen Yi's anxious voice came through, "our system's been hacked. The remote surveillance network's been taken over — every screen's displaying a pig's head cartoon!"
He sounded flustered. "We've already contacted some IT experts to help—"
"No need," Yuan Xin interrupted mildly. "I'll handle it."
"You… you have an expert nearby?"
"Yes," she said, smiling faintly. "Me."
…
Within minutes, a laptop was brought to her. Lin Siya and President Qin both watched curiously as Yuan Xin sat down, fingers gliding across the keyboard in rapid rhythm — crisp, precise, almost musical.
Lines of code flooded the screen like a waterfall.
Everyone, even Qin, was stunned.
It took her only minutes to locate the hacker — represented by a red dot crawling lazily across her tracking interface. Soon, that dot led to an open desktop full of childish icons and simple coding programs.
And then they saw it — the wallpaper: a family portrait.
Qin's expression darkened. "Gu Yan."
Yuan Xin's lips curved faintly. "Not him. His son."
Qin sneered. "Like father, like son. Such parents, such child. Teaching a boy to hack at his age — disgraceful."
"Should I call the police?" he asked. "It'd ruin the Gu family's reputation."
"No," Yuan Xin said softly. "He's just a child. Let's give him the chance to correct himself."
Qin frowned. That serene smile of hers somehow felt colder than ice. He wasn't sure what she meant — but something told him the Gu family wouldn't escape unscathed.
And indeed, after cleaning out the virus, Yuan Xin traced the boy's secret online mentor, erased their connections completely, and replaced his system firewalls — each layer booby-trapped with puzzles: math, physics, chemistry, logic — each harder than the last.
When Lin Siya saw it later, she gaped.
"Xin, you're evil. These problems are insane — elementary to university level? You even graded them by difficulty! Why not just toss in ancient oracle scripts while you're at it?"
President Qin couldn't help laughing. He didn't understand her methods, but he admired the execution. No wonder she built a security empire before moving into medicine.
Meanwhile, back in his room, Gu Rui sat at his laptop again.
The virus he'd unleashed had vanished. Annoyed, he tried to break through the new firewall.
The first layer? An elementary math problem — easy. He solved it in seconds.
The second? Middle-school physics. He frowned, not quite understanding, and had to search online for answers. By the time he cracked it, hours had passed — and another wall appeared, this one filled with chemistry formulas he'd never seen.
He stared blankly. When he tried to message his mysterious "mentor," the chat was gone — erased without a trace.
Panicking, he reopened the secret forum where he'd met them — only to find ten more questions pop up: math, physics, chemistry, logic, all impossibly hard.
For the first time, the boy looked genuinely rattled.
But pride won over fear. "I'll beat you," he muttered, yawning. "Just wait."
He fell asleep on his keyboard before solving a single one.
The next morning, Yuan Xin and President Qin finalized their new partnership, and she left the meeting with Lin Siya beside her.
Their villas stood side by side. As they stepped out of the car, Lin Siya instinctively caught Yuan Xin's hand. "It's dark — don't trip," she said awkwardly, cheeks faintly red in the dim light.
Yuan Xin didn't refuse. Their hands stayed clasped as they walked toward the porch.
"Xin," Lin Siya asked softly, "why didn't you make the hacking incident public? The police would've forced the Gu family to apologize."
"I'm not interested in helping Gu Yan and Jian Jia raise their child," Yuan Xin said mildly.
"…That's it?" Lin Siya blinked.
Yuan Xin's lips quirked. "What else did you think?"
"I thought you were just being merciful."
"Mercy has nothing to do with it," Yuan Xin replied evenly. "Good or evil isn't measured by age. If you harm others, you face consequences — child or adult."
Lin Siya tilted her head. "Then what kind of consequence was that?"
"Do you remember the story The Death of Zhongyong?"
Her tone was serene, but her smile made Lin Siya shiver.
And then she understood — completely.
Gu Rui was talented, yes — too talented for his own good. But untrained brilliance without discipline only led to ruin. Yuan Xin hadn't punished him. She'd quietly buried him under his own pride.
Later that week, while Huan Yuan's success grew, the Gu family boardroom was filled with tension.
"President Gu," the sales director said grimly, "in the last three months, several hospitals have switched suppliers. Huan Yuan's new products are outperforming ours at lower prices. If this continues, our own lines will be obsolete."
Murmurs of agreement followed. The boardroom air grew thick.
Someone added, "I heard their new project — Rebirth — just reached the testing stage."
The mention of that word made Gu Yan's jaw tighten.
Across town, Lin Siya was smiling again — carrying a thermos of soup toward Yuan Xin's office. She was in such a good mood, she didn't notice the elevator door opening in front of her, or the shadow waiting inside…