The car started slowly and merged into the congested evening traffic.

Ning Shun thought of what he was originally supposed to do and felt a little annoyed.

He should have gotten off as soon as he realized he had boarded the wrong car. What was he thinking?

However, the strange girl he encountered turned out to be kind-hearted. Despite his abrupt appearance, she didn’t question him and readily agreed to help when asked.

As he thought about it, Ning Shun couldn’t help but frown.

A girl being this accommodating? That was far too careless.

Or perhaps she recognized him?

But Ning Shun waited a while, and aside from the faint hum of the engine, there was no other sound in the car.

He couldn’t help but glance at her.

The driver kept checking him warily through the rearview mirror, but the unfamiliar girl next to him didn’t even look at him.

Sitting relaxed, she was calmly watching the traffic outside.

One look was enough for him to tell her disregard wasn’t an act.

Over the years, he had encountered plenty of women trying to stand out and catch his attention, but none would be as dismissive as she was—giving him not even a sliver of attention, as though he were an insignificant speck of dust in the air.

Ever since his debut, Ning Shun had rarely been treated this way. He felt strangely uneasy and instinctively spoke up: “Excuse me, do you know who I am?”

Jin Yaotiao glanced at him. “Ning Shun.”

Ning Shun: “…That’s me.”

Jin Yaotiao said, “I need to get home, so I can’t be delayed too long. You can get off at the exhibition center up ahead. Call a friend or your manager to pick you up.”

Ning Shun paused for a moment. “…Thank you.”

The driver skillfully stopped the car in a quiet corner and politely got out to open the door. Jin Yaotiao gestured with her eyes for the uninvited guest to get out.

Feeling absurd, Ning Shun got out, but he couldn’t resist circling to the other side of the car and knocking on Jin Yaotiao’s window.

He pulled out his phone. “Leave me your contact information. What’s your name? If we meet again, I’ll repay the favor.”

It was rare for him to ask for someone’s contact.

After all, his private number was kept secret and could easily fetch a high price online.

But the girl in the car stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled. In a low, husky voice that was unforgettable, she replied, “Kiddo, I’m not interested in men younger than me.”

Ning Shun froze as the window mercilessly rolled back up. Her last words floated out through the shrinking gap like silk:

“My name is Jin Yaotiao. Forget about repaying the favor; it’s best if we never meet again.”

The black car quickly disappeared, leaving behind lingering exhaust fumes.

Ning Shun stood in the smoky air, stunned and unmoving for a long while.

—

Inside the car, with no outsiders left, the driver, Uncle Huang, finally spoke up.

He said disapprovingly to Jin Yaotiao, “Miss Yaotiao, how could you let a stranger ride with you so casually? What if he had bad intentions? That’s too dangerous.”

Jin Yaotiao looked out the window and smiled. “Uncle Huang, do you know what I’ve realized after all these years?”

Uncle Huang found the young woman’s mature tone amusing and played along. “What have you realized? Tell me.”

Jin Yaotiao murmured as if talking to herself, “Bad people aren’t scary. What’s scary are bad people with no value to exploit.”

Uncle Huang froze, gripping the steering wheel as he glanced at the rearview mirror.

For some reason, at that moment, the person in the back seat suddenly felt unfamiliar, like someone who could strategize and command just like her boss.

—

At the Mingde building in Linjiang City’s business district, Jin Yaotiao and Jin Jiarui got out of the car. A representative from HR was already waiting for them.

The person from HR, a mid-level leader, wore a polite smile. After introducing himself, he began discreetly sizing up the two young people who had just arrived.

The personnel change was directly ordered from above, which usually meant the newcomers were “parachuted-in” due to connections. Mingde was a traditional family-run enterprise, and with the Jin family’s vast network, this kind of thing happened often. HR had long since learned to remain unfazed.

Most of these “connections” only came to occupy a desk.

As for today’s two newcomers—

The HR manager examined them carefully and found them rather ordinary.

Their car was just a standard Volkswagen, which gave no clues about how important their connections might be.

However, the girl stood out—she was stunning to the point of being eye-catching.

Standing next to the car, even a regular Volkswagen seemed to transform into a luxury sports car.

Because of that, while assuming they were likely juniors from the Jin family with little influence, the HR manager was still more polite and approachable than usual.

—

Jin Yaotiao flipped through her work ID while Jin Jiarui followed closely, unwilling to let her outshine him.

This morning, she had been ready to leave when Jin Jiarui showed up unannounced to give her a ride, spouting grandiose words about how one should earn the respect of colleagues through ability.

It all sounded noble, but Jin Yaotiao could see through him at a glance. He was simply afraid she would steal his spotlight.

As if his lingering frustration hadn’t faded, Jin Jiarui couldn’t resist lecturing her: “Yaotiao, work is work, and family is family. Once you’re in the company, you can’t act like a spoiled little sister. Don’t throw your weight around and embarrass Uncle. Keep a low profile.”

Saying that, he started enthusiastically nodding and greeting everyone he saw, as though he were a prince graciously mingling with commoners.

Jin Yaotiao watched him like one would watch a circus performance. “You’re the expert.”

Hearing her compliance, Jin Jiarui finally felt satisfied.

Thinking of how his wife had warned him that Jin Yaotiao was deeply cunning, he dismissed the concern.

Women were just petty.

A small disagreement, and they’d exaggerate the other person into some villainous figure.

It was true—long hair, short insight.

The project team’s office area was quiet and serious during work hours.

After HR handed them over, the team leader brought the two inside to introduce them.

Jin Jiarui rushed to speak first, almost excessively humble. “Hello everyone, starting today…”

While he rambled on, Jin Yaotiao’s phone pinged. She glanced at it and saw a message from her father: “Are you settling in well at the company?”

He had never been so considerate before. Ever since she reached out, her father had started acting like her mother, fussing over her.

Jin Yaotiao smiled and replied with a few words.

Several minutes passed before Jin Jiarui finally finished talking. When it was her turn, Jin Yaotiao just smiled and said—

“I won’t waste everyone’s time; after all, we’ll get to know each other as we spend more time together. This afternoon’s office tea break is on me.”

The colleagues, who were already dizzy from Jin Jiarui’s long-winded onboarding speech, were stunned again upon hearing this. Jin Jiarui frowned and whispered in disapproval, “What’s wrong with you? This is way too high-profile.”

Jin Yaotiao smiled silently. This is high-profile? There’s even more where that came from.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside. The manager turned toward the door and was startled, exclaiming, “Chairman Jin?!”

The glass door opened, and Chairman Jin, with his prominent belly, walked in flanked by two assistants. He scanned the office area with a serious expression.

When his gaze landed on his daughter’s smiling face, his lips twitched slightly before he motioned for her to come over.

“Dad,” Jin Yaotiao called out, then turned to the manager with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Jin Jiarui noticed the reactions of everyone in the room and opened his mouth, realizing something was amiss.

He took a few steps forward, intending to follow, but Chairman Jin didn’t spare him a glance and walked away with Jin Yaotiao.

---

When Jin Yaotiao returned, the atmosphere in the office had completely changed.

The staff whispered among themselves, and even the manager stood cautiously nearby.

As soon as she reappeared, she became the center of attention.

Jin Yaotiao didn’t seem to mind and maintained the same natural demeanor as before.

She clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, let’s vote on what to have for the tea break! Lady M’s mille-feuille cake or Rose’s roll cakes?”

The previously tense office atmosphere immediately relaxed, and many people couldn’t help but laugh.

The manager, seeing that she wasn’t putting on airs, joined in good-naturedly. “I think the mille-feuille sounds good. Let’s all take an hour to relax this afternoon.”

This was clearly an effort to ease the mood, and Jin Yaotiao nodded in appreciation, ignoring the sour expression on the face of the other newcomer.

If you’re already pegged as someone with connections, why bother trying to earn respect through sheer capability? The game’s rigged. The truly respected are those who are both capable and well-connected.

Thinking back on her past, when she built her success from scratch, each step paved with thorns and struggles, she couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of Mingde, now lying at her feet, ripe for the taking.

This is mine. No one’s taking it from me.

---

By the end of the tea break, a piece of explosive news spread like wildfire through all of Mingde’s internal communication channels.

—[ALERT! ALERT! The Crown Princess has arrived!]

—[Huh? Which Crown Princess?]

—[Who else? Chairman Jin only has one daughter. Besides her, none of those distant relatives even qualify as royals.]

---

After tea, Jin Yaotiao left her workspace, typing a reminder to her father to leave work early for a medical checkup.

As she walked, she bumped into the HR head accompanied by some administrative staff.

The HR head greeted her warmly. “Miss Jin, I forgot to mention that as a management-level employee, you’re entitled to a private office. But since you started so quickly, the admin team didn’t have time to prepare it this morning. It’ll be ready before the end of the day.”

Jin Yaotiao didn’t seem to doubt that they originally hadn’t planned to provide her an office. She smiled and said, “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

After parting ways with the HR team, she instinctively walked more quietly past the break room. Inside, several employees were chatting in hushed voices over coffee.

“Wow, I didn’t expect it. The Crown Princess has such a good personality—no airs at all.”

“Yeah, I thought rich girls like her would be spoiled and demanding, but she’s so easygoing.”

“Now this is a real heiress. Not like that other one who came in with her today, all fake and pretentious.”

“Who was that guy, anyway? He talked like some undercover emperor. At first, I thought he was royalty or something.”

“Chairman Jin only has one daughter—where would royalty come from? At best, he’s just a relative. The nerve of that guy, trying to outshine the Crown Princess. Unreal.”

Jin Yaotiao glanced toward the workspace. In the corner, her cousin sat at his desk, his face long and sour like an aging cucumber.

---

London.

It was morning. Shen Qiming walked into his office and casually placed the report he was holding onto his desk.

Having just finished a stock market forecast meeting, Jiang Sen slumped onto the sofa, utterly drained. He stared out at the gloomy morning sky with a deep sense of frustration.

Noticing that Shen Qiming still had the energy to sit upright and review the local stock trends, Jiang Sen felt a pang of jealousy and decided to stir things up. “Hey, buddy, can’t you take a break? You should focus on figuring out how to apologize to Yaotiao.”

Shen Qiming turned and looked at him. “Apologize?”

Jiang Sen sighed. “Didn’t she say she wanted to talk to you? It’s obviously about the Ning Meng situation. I’m telling you, bro, it’s going to be a tough fight.”

Shen Qiming replied calmly, “There’s nothing between Ning Meng and me. She’s just my subordinate.”

Jiang Sen rolled his eyes. “Telling me won’t help. The issue is that Yaotiao isn’t happy!”

At this, Shen Qiming finally set his work aside.

After a moment, he rubbed his forehead in frustration. “But why?”

Jiang Sen was taken aback. “What do you mean, why?”

Shen Qiming repeated, “Why is she unhappy?”

Jiang Sen stared at him for a few seconds, then sprang up from the sofa in disbelief. “You still don’t know why she’s upset? Dude, where’s your brain? Look at this—”

He grabbed the computer mouse from the desk and searched for the news site that had covered the gala.

Finding the photo of Shen Qiming and Ning Meng on the red carpet, he slapped the desk dramatically. “Look at this photo and the headline! Now tell me why!”

Shen Qiming glanced at the screen and froze for a moment.

“See? It finally clicked, didn’t it—”

Jiang Sen was mid-sentence when Shen Qiming grabbed the mouse and scrolled to a different image on the sidebar.

“What are you looking at? I told you to look at the photo—” Jiang Sen was puzzled until he saw the page Shen Qiming had opened. He read the headline aloud: “Rising Star Ning Shun Spotted in Linjiang City: Suspected Car Rendezvous with Mystery Beauty…”

“What the heck? Are you fanboying now?”

But Shen Qiming ignored him, staring at the photo on the screen.

It showed a young man in a black hoodie, leaning against a car, speaking to someone through the open window of the back seat.

The interior of the car was too dark to see the occupant, and the license plate had been blurred.

However, Shen Qiming recognized the driver standing next to the car.

It was Yaotiao’s family chauffeur.