Guan Mingyu—Do You Even Deserve It?

In the blink of an eye, it was already 4 p.m.

Li Qiao and Shang Yu were still busy working in the chairman's office, each focused on their own tasks.

From time to time, she would glance sideways, her gaze lingering on the man's concentrated, absorbed figure.

Suddenly, the words he had said earlier in the afternoon surfaced in her mind without warning:

—"If you want to earn their recognition, you still have a long way to go."

Li Qiao's eyes flickered slightly as her gaze shifted to the top-right corner of the document on her computer screen.

There, the logo of Yanhuang Group was clearly visible—the very empire he had built from the ground up.

This Southern business prodigy, the man known as "Yan," stood behind a financial power most people couldn't even imagine.

The reason the Four Assistants were seen as his equals was because each of them possessed outstanding capability and influence.

As for her, if she couldn't even win over those four, how could she possibly walk beside him through storms in the future?

She understood the deeper meaning behind Shang Yu's words. Some things didn't need to be spelled out—there was a mutual understanding between them.

Thinking this, Li Qiao lowered her eyes. Her fingers brushed gently across the document, and a faint smile rose in her gaze.

Before 4:30 p.m., she sent off the final email in her inbox, complete with a detailed summary, and then closed her laptop at a relaxed pace.

Her work hours were from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and she was now officially off duty.

Shang Yu had just been called away by Liu Yun, likely to attend a board meeting.

Li Qiao sat at her desk and mulled over something. Then she picked up a sticky note, jotted down a short message, and walked over to his large executive desk to stick it somewhere within easy reach.

With that done, she grabbed her backpack and left the company.

…

At 5 p.m., Li Qiao drove to an old residential block near the Jiangjing Mansion Apartments.

Just one street separated this place from luxury real estate, yet the living standards here were worlds apart.

The area around the tube-style apartment buildings was crowded and noisy. Nearby, the racket of a construction site echoed, disturbing the peace.

She parked by the roadside. According to her research, Guan Mingyu and her brother lived in a basement apartment in one of these buildings.

Li Qiao pulled out her phone to double-check the address. Just as she was about to get out, mocking voices rang out from outside her car window.

"You've got the nerve to sign up for the speech competition looking like that? Even if your speech is flowery and polished, what's the point?"

"Exactly! Guan Mingyu, if I looked like you, I wouldn't even dare show my face in public."

"I'm telling you, Guan Mingyu—you better back out of the speech contest, or I'll make sure you regret it."

Hmm. That name sounded familiar.

Li Qiao slowly rolled down her car window, and through the narrow opening, she caught sight of a group of girls in school uniforms surrounding and ridiculing Guan Mingyu on the sidewalk.

"The homeroom teacher said… everyone's allowed to sign up for the contest," Guan Mingyu timidly tried to defend herself. Her fingers clutched at her coat nervously, determined to stand her ground.

Just then, the girl leading the group suddenly stepped forward and jabbed her finger hard into Guan Mingyu's shoulder.

"You think you can compete with our Yuan-jie for a spot? Guan Mingyu, did you even look in the mirror before signing up?

Do you seriously think you're worthy?"

Ah, this looked like a classic case of school bullying.

From their chattering, Li Qiao had already pieced together the situation.

Guan Mingyu wanted to participate in the speech competition, but these girls—using numbers to their advantage—were trying to scare her into backing out.

As for the reason, Li Qiao didn't bother to overthink it. Either Guan Mingyu's speech was too good and posed a threat, or… they simply enjoyed picking on her.

Li Qiao wasn't exactly overflowing with sympathy, but maybe it was the arrogant tone of those girls that rubbed her the wrong way.

She pushed open the car door and stepped out.

The loud thud of the door slamming shut instantly caught the bullies' attention.