After leaving the Yan Corporation building, Ji Ling headed to his own company.
As he entered the office and walked towards his office, he passed through the corridor next to the public office area. Along the way, people greeted him, which was nothing unusual, but everyone seemed to be staring at him.
Some even poked their heads out from the cubicles to watch him.
Ji Ling glanced back suspiciously, but his employees just smiled and said, “Boss, you’re a bit late today.”
Ji Ling never quite understood why they always called him ‘Boss’ instead of ‘President’ or something else. Everyone just kept calling him ‘Boss’ this and ‘Boss that. But, at this point, it didn’t matter.
He vaguely responded that he had been out on business and walked into his office.
Ji Ling was well-known as a workaholic. He treated the office almost like home, arriving early and leaving late, except when he had to go out. Today, he had no plans, so being late must have been due to personal matters.
Once in his office, he first checked the financial news, as usual.
Sure enough, Yan Corporation was up to something. They were undergoing a top-level reshuffle, and they needed to stir things up to boost market confidence. The news mentioned that Yan Corporation had released its next-phase work plan and disclosed a few key points to the media.
Ji Ling read the content carefully, and as he went through it, he suddenly slapped his thigh.
It was like a stroke of luck.
Yan’s real estate subsidiary had announced several projects were about to enter the development phase, especially the development of commercial land. Yan was expanding its chain malls into third- and fourth-tier cities, partnering with local governments for joint business district construction, and recruiting manufacturers to move into the malls.
After finishing the financial report, Ji Ling called Mo Yulan into his office.
Once Mo Yulan entered, Ji Ling didn’t ask about her work progress but instead asked something else.
“What do you think Yan Yili will do now that he’s the vice-chairman?”
Mo Yulan was taken aback by the question. She silently thought to herself, ‘How would I know?’ Although she used to work in Yan’s board office, she couldn’t predict the moves of the higher-ups.
And why was he asking this? Did it have anything to do with their current work?
She had already become Ji Ling’s employee, yet she still had to listen to her boss talk about Yan’s matters.
Mo Yulan knew this was her value, so she braced herself and answered, “I think Mr. Yan Yili will hold off for now. After all, he’s gained a lot of power as the vice-chairman, and there’s no need to stir up conflict during this transition period.”
Ji Ling shook his head. “You’re wrong. Yan Yili knows his strengths and weaknesses very well. Even though he’s just taken office, so has Yan Yixuan. Yan Yixuan is strong in stabilizing the company, and the longer this drags on, the worse it is for Yan Yili. He’ll strike while the iron is hot, taking advantage of the unstable situation.”
Mo Yulan understood and said, “So, he’ll probably try to buy up more stocks to gain more influence?”
“That’s obvious,” Ji Ling replied.
“…” Mo Yulan sighed internally. ‘What exactly does he want from me?’ “Just tell me directly, boss. If I were smarter than you, then I’d be the boss.”
Ji Ling chuckled. “Before Yan Jisheng passed away, Yan Yixuan had already repurchased a lot of secondary market stocks. It’s tough for Yan Yili to gain anything from that. He got to the vice-chairman position by relying on Yan Jisheng’s inheritance. So, his only choice is to target the other major shareholders. He needs to make them see a benefit and win their support.”
Mo Yulan nodded. “Then, he can use the shareholders’ vote to influence the board.”
Ji Ling gave her an approving look. “Exactly. Right now, the majority of board members are from Yan Yixuan’s side. If Yan Yili wants to control the company, he needs to secure more board seats. He might even try to impeach board members through the shareholders’ meeting.”
Mo Yulan replied, “But Yan Yixuan isn’t stupid. He’ll definitely guard against that. Ultimately, the most important thing is to figure out how many shares Yan Yili actually holds. Yan is a family business, and with the board just being reorganized, this information definitely won’t be made public.”
She said this and looked directly at Ji Ling.
“…” Ji Ling understood her implication but couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Mo Yulan couldn’t hold back anymore and directly said, “Actually, I’ve been wanting to say this. Since you’re so concerned about Yan Corporation, why not just ask directly? After all, ‘the closer you are to the water, the sooner you get the moon.'”
Ji Ling thought to himself. He had planned to ask yesterday, but as soon as he saw Yan Yixuan, all thoughts of it flew out of his head. His mind was preoccupied with other intentions, and there was no time to bring up these matters.
Although he and Yan Yixuan had done everything they were supposed to and not supposed to do, he still wasn’t sure if Yan Yixuan would tell him anything.
This was one of the rare times Ji Ling lacked confidence. He didn’t know where he stood in Yan Yixuan’s heart or if he was fully trusted.
He couldn’t tell Mo Yulan these things, but she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and said, “I used to work in the secretary’s office, so I know a lot about Yan Yixuan, even helping him buy gifts for people back then.”
Mo Yulan gave him a look that said, ‘You get it,’ and Ji Ling raised an eyebrow.
“When he asked me to come here, I thought it was just another way to please someone new, so I was really resistant. But after that, I never saw anyone else hanging around Yan Yixuan.”
Ji Ling thought to himself, ‘So, I’m the focus for him too. It’s not all in my head.’
Ji Ling knew he had a major flaw—he was overly confident. In terms of emotions, he hadn’t given much thought to things before, so there were moments of hesitation.
Now, with this confirmation from someone else, plus the sweetness from yesterday, Ji Ling felt like he was on top of the world.
But he forced himself to calm down and steadied his emotions, telling Mo Yulan, “I’ll ask him directly if I need the information. How’s the situation on your side?”
Mo Yulan thought to herself, ‘Finally, we’re talking business.’ She replied, “It’s going pretty smoothly, but I still need to do more research before I can finish the proposal. After all, this is our first time stepping into a new field.”
Ji Ling chuckled and said, “How is this a different field? We’re all in the cultural and entertainment industry anyway.”
Mo Yulan gave a wry smile. “It’s not the same. I used to do publicity, dealt with theaters a lot, sure—but actually managing a few cinema chains? That’s a whole different game. There’s a lot to prepare.”
Ji Ling nodded, encouraging her, “Our film and TV marketing side is solid. Income’s stable, and we’ve got Luo Teng’s investment too. It’s time we expand into something new. Just keep working on your plan. Once it’s done, we’ll fill in whatever’s missing—or see if we can poach a good cinema manager.”
Mo Yulan nodded and added, “Right now, working with real estate companies is the best way to run a cinema chain. The Yan Group is a local property developer with lots of shopping malls under its belt. Honestly, they’re the perfect partner… but I’m not sure if they’d even consider working with us.”
Hearing that, Ji Ling pulled up the financial news he’d just been watching and played it for her.
As she watched, Mo Yulan’s expression shifted—she now wore the same gleam Ji Ling had shown earlier. She said, excitedly, “Well, this looks like a real opportunity.”
Smart subordinates really are a blessing—you don’t need to spell everything out for them to get it.
Ji Ling smiled and said, “Leave the tricky stuff to me. You just focus on finishing your proposal.” His gaze drifted out the window as he added, “Don’t forget—Yan Yixuan is one of our shareholders.”
Back then, when Yan Yixuan forced his way into the company, it was Mo Yulan who helped him make it happen.
Who would’ve thought she’d end up being the link between Ji Ling and the Yan Group?
Suddenly, Mo Yulan realized why Ji Ling brought up Yan Yili the moment she stepped into his office.
She’d assumed he just wanted to ride on the Yan Group’s coattails to grow his business. But now, it seemed like he had other ideas too…
Her thoughts spun for a while before she couldn’t hold back any longer. She asked, “Boss, are you planning to get involved in the Yan family feud?”
Ji Ling laughed and said, “They’re fighting, not us. We’re just a tiny company—what business do we have stepping in?” Still calm as ever, he reassured her, “But if we want to board the Yan Group’s ship, we’ve gotta pick a side. Yan Yili’s busy selling dreams to the shareholders, so I’ll just hand Yan Yixuan a boarding pass.”
He didn’t explain much, but his tone was relaxed and confident. Ever since she walked into his office, the two of them had been discussing work, but it felt more like casual banter.
Mo Yulan knew Ji Ling always had backup plans. If he was hinting at taking a side, then there were definitely other things he hadn’t told her yet.
“I’m telling you all this,” he said, “because when you work on the plan, I want you to focus more on how to win over Yan Group while also integrating their commercial layout in third- and fourth-tier cities into the proposal.”
Mo Yulan nodded. Ji Ling’s calm confidence made her feel much more at ease—and filled her with confidence too.
Once he’d said everything that needed saying, Ji Ling sent her back to work.
But just as she was about to leave, Ji Ling suddenly remembered something and called her back. “Why does everyone outside smile at me like an idiot?”
Mo Yulan couldn’t help but laugh, her eyes narrowing with amusement. “It’s not them—it’s you, Boss. Everyone’s been gossiping about what kind of good news you got, walking into the office grinning like you won the lottery.”
Ji Ling coughed to cover up his embarrassment.
“So, Boss, what’s the big happy news?” Mo Yulan grinned and teased.
Ji Ling waved her off. “Nothing. Get back to work.”
After she left, he instinctively reached up to touch his face.
‘Was it that obvious?’
Well, yesterday did put him in a pretty damn good mood.
As he thought back, Ji Ling gently rested his hand on his forehead and let out a low chuckle.
He’d never imagined there’d be someone who could affect his emotions so quietly, so effortlessly.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
I too, also, grinned the whole chapter subconsciously. This couple made me smile the whole time omfg just marry!!!!
couldn’t agree more hehe