Marking My Arch-Rival [Rebirth] - Chapter 4

Monday’s board meeting was enough to give anyone a headache.

Ji Shihuan sat lazily in the chairman’s seat, scrolling through her phone. In front of her, Shu Ni and Dong Zheng argued from opposing sides until both were red in the face.

The Ji family’s shares, combined with the influence Ji Shiqin had left behind, were enough to place Ji Shihuan in the position of CEO. Her greatest disadvantage was that she had no management experience whatsoever.

Dong Zheng seized on that weakness and refused to let go, demanding that everyone present consider Huanji’s future operations and select a more capable person to take charge.

Shu Ni exposed his intentions.

“You make it sound so noble, but you only want the position for yourself!”

“The capable should hold power,” Dong Zheng admitted openly.

He gestured for the others to look at Ji Shihuan.

“Do you truly believe a little girl like her can manage Huanji Technology properly?”

Ji Shihuan yawned.

“Miss Ji.” Dong Zheng approached her by two steps, mockery written across his face. “Sitting through a meeting with us must be terribly boring, isn’t it? There’s really no need for you to force yourself to do something you’re not good at. You’ll only make yourself suffer and drag the rest of us down with you.”

Ji Shihuan sat up slightly.

She was about to rise when Shu Ni pressed her back down.

Most of Shu Ni’s energy had already been spent fighting Dong Zheng, yet she still softened her voice and coaxed Ji Shihuan like a child.

“Ahuan, don’t let him frighten you. Give me some time. I’ll handle it.”

She was extremely satisfied with Ji Shihuan’s detached, unconcerned demeanor. She could already imagine this same conversation repeating countless times over the coming years.

Unfortunately, things did not unfold as she expected.

“I have a proposal.”

Ji Shihuan withdrew her hand, slipped it into her pocket, and slowly stood beneath Shu Ni’s puzzled gaze.

“Since none of us trusts the others, let’s sign a performance-betting agreement.”

Dong Zheng frowned.

“A performance-betting agreement?”

“Mhm.”

Ji Shihuan was tall, with an exceptionally elegant figure. Her eyes were half-lidded as she looked down upon everyone present.

“I will assume the position of Huanji’s CEO. If the company fails to achieve positive profit growth this year, I will immediately resign and accept responsibility.”

Although Huanji had remained profitable over the past several years, pressure and attacks from its competitors had caused profits to decline year after year.

The burden had become so great for Ji Shiqin that he had needed medication to stabilize his emotions.

Dong Zheng frowned.

“You mean the rest of us have to indulge you in playing house for an entire year?”

Ji Shihuan’s lips curved into a cold smile.

The next second, she offered him bait he could not possibly refuse.

“…And I will reduce my holdings in Huanji to forty percent.”

Shu Ni reacted a step too late to stop her.

Dong Zheng immediately slammed his hand onto the table.

“Agreed!”

He gave Ji Shihuan no opportunity to reconsider and ordered his secretary to draw up the contract at once.

That very afternoon, both sides signed and stamped the agreement.

Looking at the conditions written clearly in black and white, Dong Zheng’s grin nearly stretched to his ears.

“Then allow me to wish our young President Ji success in achieving her goals.”

Ji Shihuan’s expression remained indifferent.

“There’s no need to be so hypocritical.”

She looked at Dong Zheng.

“If I achieve my goal, wouldn’t that mean your wishes have failed, Uncle Dong?”

The smile vanished from Dong Zheng’s face.

The other shareholders hurried to smooth things over.

“We all want what’s best for Huanji. If President Ji can make money for us, we’ll be delighted.”

Another voice added, “If I remember correctly, President Jiang of Hongxin Technology was about the same age when she became CEO.

“Perhaps our young President Ji will shine just as brilliantly as she did!”

Dong Zheng could no longer listen.

“President Jiang was an outstanding graduate from a proper business school. Before becoming CEO, she also spent two years working at the lower levels of Hongxin.”

He snorted and glanced sidelong at Ji Shihuan.

“Comparing yourself to President Jiang—isn’t that flattering yourself a little too much?”

Ji Shihuan had already intended to leave, but she stopped when she heard that.

Dong Zheng did not restrain himself and continued with another mocking laugh.

“Truthfully, the only thing you can barely compare with President Jiang is that face.”

Ji Shihuan raised an eyebrow, her tone neither warm nor cold.

“It seems Uncle Dong greatly admires both President Jiang’s methods and her face.”

When immortals fought, the lesser soldiers nearby did not even dare breathe too loudly.

But after Ji Shihuan pointed it out, everyone finally realized that Dong Zheng had been lavishly praising a competitor during Huanji’s own board meeting.

He was clearly boosting the enemy’s prestige while undermining their own.

Dong Zheng also realized his words had been inappropriate. He stammered, unable to explain himself.

“I-I…”

Ji Shihuan stared at him coldly.

A few of the more perceptive underlings shrank their shoulders, trying to reduce their presence while wondering inwardly why the new President Ji felt even more oppressive than the previous one.

Dong Zheng desperately searched for a way to repair the situation, but sweat still appeared across his forehead.

Just as he opened his mouth, he felt a weight on his shoulder.

Ji Shihuan had placed her hand there.

“You…”

“What a coincidence.”

Ji Shihuan smiled faintly, cutting off his excuses.

“So do I.”

So did she what?

Before anyone could react, Ji Shihuan turned and left.

Nie Zheng had been waiting outside. When she emerged, he escorted her toward the office.

Ji Shihuan reviewed the company’s recent projects while Nie Zheng stood nearby, introducing the details and answering questions to help her familiarize herself with the work as quickly as possible.

But soon, Nie Zheng’s initially relaxed expression gradually became grave.

As Ji Shiqin’s trusted aide, he naturally knew that his boss’s younger sister was a genuine art student.

Over the weekend, Nie Zheng had spent two days preparing, hoping to explain the company’s operating mechanisms and the difficult issues within its projects using plain, understandable language.

But he had not expected Ji Shihuan to seem nothing like an outsider.

She read extremely quickly and asked about project scheduling, budgets, and emergency plans. Every question struck directly at a crucial issue.

In barely an hour, Nie Zheng had already wiped sweat from his forehead three times.

Ji Shihuan did not lose her temper with him.

In truth, she had already handled all of this once in her previous life and knew that the company’s current disorder had not developed overnight.

The fact that Nie Zheng possessed a basic understanding of most of the company’s ongoing projects was already commendable.

To ease his tension, she deliberately selected a project proposal that was nearly complete.

They had barely exchanged a few words when someone knocked on the office door.

Impatient, Shu Ni pushed it open without waiting for an answer.

“Shihuan!”

Ji Shihuan’s question was interrupted. She frowned slightly and looked toward her.

When Shu Ni met her gaze, a faint uneasiness arose in her heart.

She quickly changed her expression and approached the desk with reddened eyes.

“You signed a performance-betting agreement with them without discussing it with me first? Do you know that if you lose, the family business your brother fought desperately to protect for all these years will be handed over to someone else?”

Shu Ni was not a shareholder in Huanji.

When discussions regarding the agreement began, Dong Zheng had subtly ordered his people to escort her outside.

Of course, if Ji Shihuan had insisted, Shu Ni could have stayed.

But despite desperately signaling to her at the time, Ji Shihuan had remained as unresponsive as a block of wood.

Ji Shihuan glanced at Nie Zheng.

Understanding immediately, he left the room.

Once the door closed, Ji Shihuan leaned back in her chair.

“Weren’t you the one who said I needed to take office as quickly as possible to avenge my brother?”

“But you still couldn’t use this method!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ji Shihuan twirled a pen absentmindedly, looking exactly like a sheltered and empty-headed rich heiress who had never suffered the cruelties of society.

“You’re going to help me, aren’t you? I won’t lose the agreement.”

“You…”

Shu Ni hesitated.

Ji Shihuan raised her eyes and smiled.

“Is that difficult for you?”

“Of course I’ll do everything I can to help you, but things aren’t as simple as you imagine.”

Shu Ni took a deep breath.

“Besides, I’m only the head of the finance department. When it comes to generating profits…”

Ji Shihuan interrupted her.

“That’s why I’m planning to promote you to vice president.”

“Vice president?”

Once Shu Ni understood, her eyes immediately lit up.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, attempting to appear worried but unable to suppress the curve of her lips.

“…Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? You’ve only just taken office, yet you’re already replacing a vice president. The employees beneath you will object.”

Ji Shihuan raised the file in her hand.

“I have a solution.”

Shu Ni looked at her.

“Zhou Guoquan is already old and will retire soon. I can persuade him to hand this project over to you.”

The project Ji Shihuan referred to was a low-end chip transaction between Huanji and Country D.

As the seller, they had already prepared all the goods. The person in charge only needed to accompany the shipment to Country D, confirm delivery with the purchasing company, and collect the remaining payment.

The business had continued for several years and was considered one of Huanji’s stable sources of income.

“Once you complete the project and return, I’ll transfer into your name the shares my brother originally promised to give you after your marriage.”

“That way, no one will be able to object to you becoming vice president.”

Shu Ni no longer concealed her smile and nodded several times.

She had previously harbored some doubts about Ji Shihuan, wondering whether she might escape her control.

Now that she knew Ji Shihuan had always kept her in mind, all her concerns disappeared.

“I understand… Since Ahuan needs me so much, I definitely won’t disappoint your expectations!”

Ji Shihuan forced the corners of her lips upward in response.

Shu Ni spun around lightly.

“I’ll return to work first. Since you’ve just taken office, the company will hold a grand welcoming banquet for you.”

Ji Shihuan nodded.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Her voice was cold, but Shu Ni was too immersed in the joy of her promotion to notice.

---

One week later, the banquet was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel near Huanji.

In exchange for transferring Zhou Guoquan’s eldest grandson, Zhou Hao, into the core management team, Ji Shihuan persuaded Zhou Guoquan to voluntarily retire early.

Through the proper procedures, she then transferred the chip-trading project to Shu Ni in a perfectly legitimate manner.

The clever ones had already seen through Ji Shihuan’s intention to elevate Shu Ni.

Those who were even more calculating had begun to suspect that Huanji’s true future leader would not bear the surname Ji.

Holding champagne glasses, they crowded around Shu Ni, congratulating her from every direction.

Shu Ni handled them with ease.

She had the server replace her wine with freshly squeezed juice and drank several glasses.

After all, even while Ji Shiqin was alive, he had never mentioned making her vice president.

Yet the moment Ji Shihuan came to power, she immediately began planning wholeheartedly for Shu Ni’s benefit.

Shu Ni swirled the tall-stemmed glass.

Although she had not consumed a drop of alcohol, her gaze appeared slightly hazy, as though intoxicated.

After the banquet, she would depart for Country D.

Once she returned…

Beyond the crowd, Ji Shihuan raised her glass toward her with an innocent expression.

Shu Ni smiled, and the curve of her lips became increasingly sincere.

She thought that once she returned, everything would be different.

What she did not know was that Ji Shihuan thought the same.

Young President Ji had gone onstage earlier and symbolically said a few words to all the employees.

Now, seeing Shu Ni still immersed in her beautiful dream, she lost patience and quietly slipped away to get some air.

When she entered the quiet restroom at the end of the corridor, she immediately removed her false mask.

As she touched up her makeup, she hummed a tuneless melody in a cheerful mood.

At that relaxed moment, her nose twitched.

She suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

She smelled the faint yet unmistakable fragrance of freesia.

It carried an unusual sweetness and was clearly the scent of an Omega’s pheromones.

Ji Shihuan first stepped outside and checked, confirming that she had entered the restroom reserved exclusively for female Alphas.

Only then did she go back inside and search until she found the sole locked stall.

From outside the door, she asked, “Do you need any help?”

The stall remained completely silent.

Ji Shihuan thought for a moment, then turned to leave, intending to find a hotel employee to handle the situation.

But just as she turned away, the stall door opened from within.

Ji Shihuan instinctively looked back and met Jiang Boyan’s eyes directly.

Jiang Boyan wore light makeup that made her already exceptional features appear even more glamorous.

She was dressed in a black halter-neck gown. The fabric wrapped tightly around her neck while leaving both snow-white shoulders exposed.

Ji Shihuan’s gaze drifted downward and settled on the asymmetrical hem of the dress.

Silver rhinestones along its edge formed rippling waves, adding a playful touch to the otherwise somber black gown.

Jiang Boyan acted as though she did not know her and walked straight toward the exit.

As they passed each other, her legs suddenly weakened, and she nearly fell sideways.

Fortunately, Ji Shihuan reacted quickly. She caught Jiang Boyan by the forearm and pulled her into her embrace.

So hot.

Despite having a beauty in her arms, that was Ji Shihuan’s only thought.

The skin beneath her hand was far too warm. She wondered whether Jiang Boyan was running a high fever.

But the other woman quickly pushed her away and accompanied the movement with a vicious glare.

“You…”

Ji Shihuan had barely spoken a single word before Jiang Boyan quickened her pace and reached the sinks.

Ji Shihuan followed behind her, her gaze involuntarily landing on the side of her concealed neck.

She did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but the exposed skin around that area seemed flushed with an unnatural pink hue.

After washing her hands, Jiang Boyan did not leave immediately.

She appeared to have finally organized her words and raised her eyes, offering an explanation that only made her seem more suspicious.

“An Omega who appeared from nowhere pestered me for a while just now.”

Their gazes met in the mirror.

“Oh.”

Ji Shihuan immediately understood.

“You’re saying that’s where the Omega pheromones on you came from?”

Jiang Boyan frowned.

“What else could it be?”

Ji Shihuan shrugged and played along.

“That makes perfect sense.”

“…”

Jiang Boyan could not determine whether she believed her.

After considering it, she adopted a teasing tone to test her.

“With Miss Ji’s beauty capable of sinking fish and felling geese, surely you’ve encountered such an awkward situation before?”

Ji Shihuan genuinely thought about it before shaking her head.

“I’ve never met such an enthusiastic Omega.”

Jiang Boyan secretly bit her lip.

“President Jiang simply allowed a strange Omega to cling to you and rub herself against you?”

Ji Shihuan’s eyes held a smile, her bright gaze appearing to have already seen through everything.

Yet she deliberately refused to expose her and merely teased with a grin,

“You certainly have quite the romantic fortune.”