Chapter 163 - Tactics for Managing Men

The man was about to lower his head once more to kiss the soft and alluring lips of the woman before him when the elevator door chimed and slid open.

"President Mu, are you alright? I was just planning to visit you at the hospital."

Li Gang stood at the elevator entrance, holding a particularly luxurious fruit basket.

Watching Mu Ran and Gu Beicheng step out, she sidestepped to let them pass.

Ceasing her speech, Li Gang's playful and ambiguous gaze remained locked onto the woman's fair neck. "President Mu, you truly are a sleeping beauty."

Her gaze toward Mu Ran gradually turned teasing, her gossipy eyes wandering back and forth between the couple.

"Here, this fruit basket is for you. All premium fruits."

Mu Ran walked forward leisurely, took the fruit basket, and furrowed her delicate brows slightly. "Why is this so heavy?"

Without answering, Li Gang grinned, flashing her teeth as she stared at the woman's neck. "Shouldn't you use some concealer on your neck? You two are way too reckless."

"What's wrong with my neck?"

Mu Ran placed the fruit basket on the floor, her small hand instinctively reaching up to stroke her own nape, only to have it intercepted and covered by the man standing behind her.

She only heard the man's laughter-laced voice from above. "Nothing's wrong, Ranyan. Let's go into the office first."

"Alright."

Mu Ran bent down to pick up the fruit basket again.

"I'll take it."

Gu Beicheng grasped Mu Ran's small hand with his large palm, taking the basket away.

The warmth of the man's palm stirred Mu Ran's romantic impulses.

Straightening up, the woman glanced around; apart from Li Gang, there were no outsiders in the elevator hallway.

Her cherry-red lips curled up slightly. "Beibei."

Mu Ran's voice was seductive and melodious, the trailing note lingering tantalizingly, as if intentionally or unintentionally provoking the expressionless, immensely powerful man.

"—Ugh—"

Goosebumps broke out all over Li Gang. She snatched the fruit basket from the man's hands and strode toward her own office.

This place was not somewhere she should linger. Staying a moment longer, she feared being suffocated by the sugary sweetness of these two back-and-forth interactions.

Sitting on the sofa in her office with a trace of shyness flashing in her eyes, she took out her phone and made a call.

The recipient was Zhou Muyang.

The call connected.

Zhou Muyang: "What was that about just now?"

Li Gang: "..."

Why did she find that form of address so strange!

What does "just now" even mean?

Li Gang lightly stomped her foot. Thinking of the scene where Mu Ran had provoked Gu Beicheng earlier, a playful glint flashed in her eyes. Hooking the corners of her lips, she purred, "Muyang, I miss you."

Silence reigned on the other end of the line.

Blushing, Li Gang suppressed her shyness and waited for Zhou Muyang to reply.

After a long moment.

The office door was pushed open.

Zhou Muyang, Mu Ran, and Gu Beicheng walked in together.

"Just now, what was that about just now?"

Tossing her phone aside, Li Gang stood up awkwardly, her eyes wide with shock. Her gaze drifted downward, landing on Zhou Muyang's phone.

"No, nothing at all."

The man's phone played back her own voice: *No, nothing at all.*

What was going on? Was it on speakerphone?

"Hang up!" Li Gang raised a hand, her voice dry as she urged Zhou Muyang to end the call.

Indulgently shaking his head, Zhou Muyang hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket.

"I figured you had taken up the post of Vice President at SY, so I came by the company to see you. When I stepped out of the elevator, I ran into Xiaoran and Beicheng, and you..."

This was the first time Zhou Muyang had ever heard Li Gang act so soft and spoiled with him.

It melted his heart completely.

The man walked up to the woman, tousled her soft short hair, and planted a bold kiss on her forehead. "Be good. Just now, I missed you too, and now I've come to see you. After you get off work, we'll go on a date."

Li Gang burrowed into the man's embrace, casting a rather embarrassed glance at Mu Ran not far away.

It was the height of awkwardness.

"I heard you're keeping your hair short for the rest of your life for the artists in your studio?" Zhou Muyang's tone was gentle, yet it carried an underlying hint of danger.

"Nonsense! I was just caught up in the moment!"

Continuing relentlessly, Zhou Muyang let jealousy fill the room. "And you said Ji An is your god?"

Li Gang felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, her body tense. So this man's true intentions lay elsewhere.

He had come to the company to settle scores.

"No, no, no! You are my god! I'm keeping my short hair for you for the rest of my life, just for you! I am your Ganggang, your one and only Ganggang, haha."

"Ganggang?"

Mu Ran's laughter was crisp and pleasant.

"Oh right, Xiaoran, Beicheng, this is my girlfriend Li Gang. Well, I sold her the shares in SY; she didn't want me to tell you two at first, and..."

Li Gang slapped her small hand over Zhou Muyang's mouth. She finally understood: spoiled women have the best fate.

By simply mimicking a fraction of Mu Ran's seductive provocation, she could make Zhou Muyang undergo a complete personality shift.

If she truly mastered Mu Ran's essence, wouldn't Zhou Muyang willingly hand over his life to her?

"What do you want his life for?"

Mu Ran's sudden remark startled Li Gang, who was deep in her scheming thoughts.

"Uh... How did you know what I was thinking? Are you a mind reader, woman?!"

Clutching Zhou Muyang's clothes, Li Gang whispered defensively, "I don't want your life, I want your money—no, wait, ah, anyway, you belong to me completely, everything is mine."

Zhou Muyang stroked the tip of Li Gang's nose. "Mn, it's all yours, as long as you stay away from that sister of yours."

Li Shancai was no pushover. When Li Gang first brought her to meet him, he could sense that Li Shancai harbored deep schemes and a calculating mind.

It was only someone as carefree and uninhibited as Li Gang who couldn't see through it.

"Oh, come on, we share the same father, I have to look after her a little bit."

A flash of cunning crossed Li Gang's eyes as she grabbed the man's hand and kissed it.

These were all the tricks she had learned from Mu Ran.

Tactics for subduing men.

"President Mu, what brings you here?"

Li Gang gestured for Mu Ran and Gu Beicheng to sit on the opposite sofa. "Is it about work?"

Mu Ran nodded, her lips curving upward as she restrained herself from reading Li Gang's mind.

Li Gang's mind was currently filled with audio-dramas and boy-love series—some rather "unfit for the eyes."

"The artists joining SY are supposed to sign their contracts today, you know that right?"

Toying with Zhou Muyang's large hand and occasionally bringing it to her nose to sniff or pressing it to her lips for a kiss, Li Gang nodded leisurely. "They've all signed."

"Call them all over, along with the other SY artists. I'm taking them skiing."

Mu Ran instructed Li Gang coolly. "Leave Li Shancai out of it. Let her rest and recuperate properly first."

"Are you the Empress leaving the palace? You need the company artists to accompany you just to go skiing?"

Despite her words, Li Gang's body was thoroughly obedient. She stood up, walked over to her desk, and picked up the phone.

Mu Ran chuckled. First glancing at the silent Gu Beicheng and catching the affirmation in his eyes, she felt entirely at ease.

The skiing competition was hosted by Gu Beicheng, so it was only right that she informed him.

"Whatever you say. As for everything else, I've had an office set up for you at Chengxing. Go check it out whenever you're free."

Sensing the man's warm invitation, Mu Ran curved her eyes into crescent moons, her smile blossoming like a flower, fox-like eyes shimmering with liquid light. "There's really no need. Just find a desk and move it into your office. While you work, I can watch you, or I could be your personal secretary."

The woman intentionally emphasized the word "personal."

Having finished her phone call, Li Gang leaned against the desk with her arms crossed, watching the back-and-forth between Mu Ran and Gu Beicheng—or rather, watching Mu Ran unilaterally teasing Gu Beicheng.

Li Gang shook her head as she watched, clicking her tongue in admiration.

Credit where credit was due, Mu Ran's flirting skills were top-notch; she really needed to study hard.

"Muyang, I want to be your personal assistant too."

Impulsively, Li Gang ran over to Zhou Muyang, clutching his sturdy arm and swaying her body slightly, adopting the same seductive and alluring tone. "Please?"

"Alright."

Zhou Muyang was entirely receptive to this side of Li Gang.

*Knock, knock, knock—*

The office door was rapped.

"Come in."

Li Gang raised her voice to welcome the dozen or so artists waiting outside.

The moment the SY artists stepped into the office, they instinctively lowered their heads to stare at the tips of their shoes just a second later.

The actions of the dozen people were remarkably uniform.

Because they had just seen the company's two top executives nestled in the arms of their respective men.

The entire room was permeated with a pink aura of romance.

Was this really something they were qualified to look at?!

"Here's the deal, everyone. President Mu—no, President Gu—is hosting a skiing competition and has invited top skiing athletes from all over the world. President Mu wants to turn this skiing event into a reality variety show. Who here knows how to ski? Raise your hand, or if you feel you have any other special talent..."

Li Gang straightened her posture, looking solemn and serious.

"Hey, stop looking at me like that, you're making me shy." Li Gang leaned over to Zhou Muyang's face, which was gazing at her with deep affection and doting eyes, and issued a soft warning.

Zhou Muyang nodded and averted his gaze.

"President Mu, you make the selection."

Nodding toward Li Gang, Mu Ran spoke slowly, her voice devoid of any warmth. "I want those who don't know how to ski."

Only artists who couldn't ski would generate the desired comedic and variety show effect for the competition.

The artists exchanged glances in confusion. President Mu's criteria made no sense—shouldn't a skiing variety show feature artists who actually knew how to ski?

Li Gang's tone turned frosty. "What are you staring at? Those who can't ski, step forward! Stop dawdling. What's there to question? Like I just said, elite ski athletes from various countries will be participating. What good would it do for you to know how to ski? Could you possibly compare to professional athletes?"

Seated on the sofas on either side, Gu Beicheng and Zhou Muyang exchanged a glance, pride shining in both pairs of eyes. They seemed to be silently boasting to one another about how formidable their respective women were.

Formidable and decisive in public, yet transforming into seductive little women in private.