Yang Dailu carefully made the family elders think that Liang Chen had flaws, but her son Liang Zixin was her most powerful, if less subtle, tool. Liang Zixin had an undeniable drive, a sharp mind for numbers, and a good-looking but somewhat cold charm. He was Liang Chen's cousin, a lower-level director at Horizon Tech, and completely devoted to his mother's plans for his future. Yang Dailu's veiled whispers were not what Zixin wanted. Instead, he wanted more direct, but still discreet, actions. This was because he felt he deserved to be at the top.
Yang Dailu had complete control over her son. Not only was she his mother, but she also taught him how to navigate the cutthroat world of corporate politics by subtly guiding his every move. Their private talks were less about caring for each other and more about making plans. "Remember, Zixin," she would say in a soft but firm voice, "every time Liang Chen makes a mistake or takes too long, it gives you a chance. You need to make yourself the only trustworthy option. These weren't direct orders to sabotage; they were more like subtle instructions to take advantage of weaknesses and "manage information" in a way that always helped his own image and hurt Liang Chen's.
With these hidden orders, Liang Zixin started to make his own moves at Horizon Tech. He found clever ways to put off important reports that Liang Chen needed for strategic planning, "misplaced" important project files before important meetings, or quietly changed the order of resources so that Liang Chen's projects always seemed to be a little under-resourced. These weren't big, obvious acts of sabotage; they were more like a steady stream of small problems and annoyances that were meant to slow Liang Chen down and make his problems worse.
Liang Zixin watched the subtle chaos unfold, feeling smugly satisfied. He really thought that Liang Chen was just less capable and less aware of the practicalities of management, and that his own quiet interventions were just showing a weakness that was already there. These early, sneaky actions, along with the carefully planted doubts of his mother, started a quiet, sneaky campaign. He didn't see himself as a schemer; instead, he saw himself as a rightful claimant clearing his way to the presidency, brick by brick, from within Liang Chen's own territory.