Chapter 464: Chapter 474: He Thinks, Perhaps He Can Meet Her
Four years later...
In the conference room of the Leng Group Company’s headquarters, the executives hung their heads low, like elementary school students who had made a mistake, silently listening to the reprimand from the big boss, Leng Yixiu.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Leng Yixiu threw the financial report onto the conference table, the coldness on his face even more chilling than the air conditioning in the room.
"What, no one is going to speak up? Do you think by staying silent, everything will be okay?" The man coldly swept his gaze over everyone present, finally landing on the third seat in the right row, "Manager Qi, you’re in charge of software development, shouldn’t you have an explanation for this?"
Being singled out by Leng Yixiu, Manager Qi instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Oh dear, why was he so unlucky? He slowly stood up from his seat, anxiously thinking of how he could explain himself to get through this hurdle and avoid being fired.
"What, cat got your tongue?" The man asked impatiently.
"President Leng... in my opinion, the reason our market share has declined this time is because of the rise of a new company."
"Are you talking about ’Lei Man’?"
"Yes, President Leng. As you know, although Lei Man has been around for less than three years and its scale cannot be compared to Leng’s, before entering the Chinese market, Lei Man already had a good reputation in the United States. Several of their games achieved great success in the U.S." Manager Qi cautiously glanced at Leng Yixiu’s expression, nervously swallowed, and continued, "Therefore, it is somewhat expected that Lei Man’s entry into the Chinese market would impact our company’s sales share. After all, as an industry insider, Lei Man’s products do have considerable appeal."
The man narrowed his eyes dangerously and said coldly, "Manager Qi, are you saying that compared to Lei Man’s products, our products are inferior and at a disadvantage?"
"This..."
Manager Qi was momentarily speechless. He couldn’t openly admit that the company’s products were inferior, especially since he was responsible for product development. Denying the company’s products was equivalent to denying himself. If he dared to say yes, he would probably be kicked out of the company by the big boss immediately.
However, his silence seemed like an admission to Leng Yixiu. The man stared at him intensely, his gaze sharp and cold, making Manager Qi shiver. Just when he thought he was doomed, he heard the man speak in a deep voice.
"Manager Li, do you think collaborating with Lei Man would turn our company’s current situation around?"
Manager Li froze, carefully choosing his words, "President Leng, I’m afraid Lei Man would not be willing to cooperate with us."
"Why?"
"Actually, I considered this plan a few days ago. After all, we are the leading company domestically and have more experience than Lei Man in many aspects. Collaborating with us would be more beneficial than detrimental to Lei Man. However, my investigation revealed that Lei Man had refused numerous cooperation requests from other companies back in the United States. The current CEO of Lei Man is quite a peculiar person who dislikes interacting with others and prefers working independently. Ordinarily, this kind of management style wouldn’t last in the business world, but somehow, Lei Man has not only survived but also thrived over the past three years."
"Lei Man’s current CEO?" The man frowned.
"Yes, her name is Shi Yi. She’s reportedly a Chinese woman who graduated from Carnegie Mellon. Most of the core members of Lei Man’s software development team are her friends from college, and their capabilities are not to be underestimated."
"Shi Yi? Carnegie Mellon?" The man tapped the table carelessly with his fingers, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds, he turned to Assistant Chen behind him, "I want all the information on her."
"Yes, boss."
The next morning, Assistant Chen sent all relevant information about Shi Yi to Leng Yixiu’s email.
The man opened the email and quickly skimmed through the content, then coldly looked at Assistant Chen, "You’ve been investigating all day, and this is all you’ve found? Manager Li already mentioned this in the conference room. What use is this information to me?"
"Boss, Lei Man’s CEO is quite low-key and rarely appears in public. I put in considerable effort, but this is all I could find."
Actually, Assistant Chen felt quite aggrieved. He had indeed searched extensively online and even asked people in the police department to investigate, but found that Lei Man’s CEO seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Information from four years ago was practically non-existent, and over the past four years, she rarely appeared in public. Therefore, after a whole day’s effort, all he discovered was that she graduated from Carnegie Mellon and is a woman, with no other useful information. Even the photos found were blurry.
The man gave Assistant Chen a cold look, seeing that he didn’t seem to be lying. He didn’t pursue the matter further and waved him off, "Alright, I understand. You can go now."
Originally, the slight decline in the company’s quarterly sales had happened before, and with some adjustments and strengthened management, it shouldn’t have been a big issue. Therefore, Leng Yixiu hadn’t taken Lei Man, a small company, seriously.
However, after this incident, he became quite curious about Lei Man’s CEO. What had caused her past to be almost a blank slate, and what had allowed Lei Man to rise so rapidly in just three years, becoming a formidable software development company?
He thought he might want to meet Lei Man’s CEO.
...
After a long day’s journey, Shi Yi finally endured until the plane landed. Looking at the distant view of the city through the window, Shi Yi’s lips curved slightly.
T City, an internationally renowned metropolitan city.
In her memory, she had only stayed here for eight months, but for some reason, gazing at the entire city from the plane, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.
This time, she returned to negotiate an important deal. If successful, the company would reach a new milestone, providing considerable support for its listing in the United States.
"Dear passengers, the plane has safely arrived in T City. The surface temperature is 29 degrees. The plane will taxi for a while. Please remain seated, and be careful when retrieving your luggage..."
The in-flight broadcast announced. Shi Yi removed her headphones, unfastened her seatbelt, took her luggage from the overhead bin, and followed the crowd out of the cabin.
The airport terminal was bustling with people, but even in the crowded terminal, she remained the most noticeable figure.