Chapter 45: Ex's Desperation
The early morning sun reflected off the glass towers of the financial district, casting long, sharp shadows across the streets below. Xu Liwei's office, perched at the top of one such tower, felt smaller than ever. Despite the sleek modern design, the panoramic windows, and the quiet hum of air circulation that usually instilled calm, today it felt like a cage. A gilded cage of failure.
Liwei sat behind his expansive mahogany desk, fingers tapping rhythmically against the polished surface, his mind a chaotic storm. For weeks, he had been aware of Liang Yue's subtle interventions: the investors she had wooed, the strategic partnerships she had initiated, the small but calculated maneuvers that now threatened the very foundations of his empire. But until this morning, he hadn't fully grasped the depth of her orchestration.
"Every move, every partnership... she's anticipating everything I do," he muttered under his breath, voice low and rough. "How? How is she always three steps ahead?"
His assistant, Li Wei's right-hand for years, hesitated outside the office door. Finally, she spoke, cautious. "Sir... perhaps it's time to—"
"Time to what?" Liwei barked, rising from his chair, anger flaring in the cold morning light. "Time to admit defeat? Time to hand everything to her? No! That woman... Liang Yue... she's—she's unreal. She doesn't just play the game; she writes the rules."
Li Wei flinched slightly at the rare show of emotion. "Sir, perhaps we can—"
"No, you don't understand. I cannot let her win. Not like this. She's... she's dismantling me without even touching me directly." Xu Liwei's eyes narrowed, dark and stormy, darting to the floor-to-ceiling windows as though they themselves held the answers he sought.
Outside, the city thrummed with life, but for Xu Liwei, it had become a theater of humiliation. Each news report of Liang Yue's latest acquisition, each whisper of investor confidence in her over him, chipped away at his pride. Every failure she engineered—intentionally, effortlessly—was a reminder of the strategic superiority he had underestimated.
Meanwhile, across town, Liang Yue's office was serene. The morning light danced over the gleaming surface of her desk, highlighting a carefully arranged tableau of data reports, stock projections, and investor notes. She sat quietly, sipping her tea, observing the city with her usual composed intensity.
She had been aware of Xu Liwei's panic for some time. The subtle signals—the canceled meetings, the minor frenzies in his investor communications, the thinly veiled attempts to secure capital that had already slipped into her hands—were all clear indicators. And she savored the quiet, almost surgical satisfaction of watching him struggle, powerless to stop her ascent.
"Every chess piece moves exactly as I intended," Liang Yue whispered softly, a faint smile curving her lips. "He believes he is reacting, but in truth, he's dancing to the rhythm I set months ago. And he doesn't even see it yet."
Her assistant, Mei Lan, stepped in, holding the morning briefing. "Miss Liang, the Liwei shareholders are requesting an emergency meeting. They're clearly anxious about recent developments."
Liang Yue tilted her head, gaze unwavering. "Let them come. Let them panic. Every falter he makes, every misstep he believes is his own, reinforces the inevitability of my strategy. Invite them. Make sure the meeting is scheduled promptly—at my discretion, of course."
Back in Xu Liwei's office, the phone rang incessantly, a piercing sound that seemed to echo the chaos in his mind. Each call brought a new wave of bad news, yet none of them were failures he had caused directly; they were consequences of Liang Yue's careful manipulation.
"Liwei Investments is seeing unprecedented withdrawal requests," one voice said, tremulous. "Clients are concerned about long-term stability..."
He slammed the receiver down, muscles tightening with frustration. "Unprecedented? Stability? I am Xu Liwei! How dare she undermine me without stepping into the ring herself?"
He sank into his chair, burying his face in his hands. For the first time, he was genuinely scared. This was not a fleeting challenge—it was a calculated dismantling of everything he had built, executed by the one person he had dismissed as inexperienced, naive, even fragile.
And now, every move he made felt reactive, desperate.
Liang Yue, meanwhile, prepared for her first direct interaction with the investors who had wavered under Xu Liwei's failing projects. Her office hummed with quiet energy as each person entered, greeted by the calm, commanding presence she radiated.
"Good morning," she said, her voice smooth, crisp, authoritative. "Thank you for coming. I understand there are concerns about Xu Liwei's recent decisions. Naturally, I have studied the situation extensively, and I would like to discuss potential alternatives that ensure both security and profit for your investments."
An older investor, the sort who usually spoke with authority, raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Miss Liang, are you suggesting we abandon our positions with Liwei's ventures?"
Liang Yue's gaze held his without hesitation. "I am suggesting we act with precision. Where there is instability, one must ensure alignment with foresight. Capital is influence. Influence is protection. And those who align with calculated strategy secure both."
A ripple of murmurs passed through the room. Investors glanced at each other, weighing every word. The room's energy shifted subtly, gravitating toward her control.
She continued, voice deliberate, words almost hypnotic in their cadence: "Observe his moves. Every desperate attempt to secure capital now creates the very environment that allows for alternative strategies. I am not here to attack him directly—he attacks himself with every ill-considered action. My role is clarity, oversight, and the guidance of resources where stability and foresight are certain."
The words hung in the air like a precise scalpel, cutting through doubt and fear, shaping perception. One by one, heads nodded subtly, investors recognizing not just a strategy, but an unmatched mastery of influence.
Across the city, Xu Liwei's phone buzzed again. His assistant relayed the news: a significant portion of his funding had been quietly redirected, not through confrontation, but by investors approaching Liang Yue voluntarily.
He sank lower into his chair, jaw tight. "She's... she's doing this silently... quietly... without even appearing in my office. How does she—"
Li Wei, who had long known the signs of impending disaster, hesitated. "Sir... perhaps you should—"
"Shut up," Xu Liwei snapped, voice low and dangerous. "Do you think I don't see it? I see it. I see her. She's... she's everywhere, and I... I cannot... control it."
The words faltered, almost a whisper. Panic, that rare and dangerous emotion for a man of his stature, flickered across his eyes. For the first time, he truly realized the breadth of his miscalculation. Liang Yue was not just a competitor; she was a force of nature, operating on a level he had never encountered.
Liang Yue's afternoon continued with seamless efficiency. Each investor was approached, guided, and reassured. Her suggestions were firm but subtle, her insights precise and undeniable. She did not boast of Xu Liwei's failures, nor did she overtly attack him; instead, she allowed perception and evidence to speak for themselves. By the end of the day, every significant investor had either doubled their commitment to her projects or quietly withdrawn support from Liwei's.
Mei Lan, observing with admiration, whispered, "Miss Liang... every move... it's flawless. He doesn't even see it coming."
Liang Yue's eyes glimmered with quiet satisfaction. "Exactly. The greatest victories are those the opponent doesn't realize until it's too late. Observe, anticipate, and act when the environment is already aligned. Let him believe he's making decisions—he's only walking into my strategy."
That evening, as the city lights flickered on one by one, Xu Liwei remained in his office, eyes bloodshot, coffee cold, mind reeling. Every attempt to salvage his empire had been anticipated. Every maneuver had been countered with subtle brilliance. Every investor who could have saved him had already been aligned with Liang Yue.
He stared at the skyline, jaw clenched, teeth grinding. "She... she's untouchable," he whispered. "How can she be... this precise, this... perfect?"
Meanwhile, Liang Yue sat in the quiet of her office, reviewing the day's events. Reports and investor confirmations flickered across her tablet. Each victory was measured, recorded, and already set to influence the next move in the grand strategy she had been cultivating for months.
A soft chime announced a new message from Huo Tianrui:
"She's collapsing beneath the weight of her own miscalculations. Excellent. Your foresight continues to impress. I suggest maintaining the current pace—let him believe he has a chance until it is too late."
Liang Yue typed back:
"Agreed. Every falter, every whisper of panic, every desperate call—it all feeds the momentum. Precision and timing are everything. Let him continue to act. The endgame will be inevitable."
Her lips curved into a subtle, victorious smile. For Xu Liwei, desperation had become his constant companion. For Liang Yue, it had become a quiet, intoxicating satisfaction—the pleasure of watching the past life's mistakes corrected, of witnessing strategy unfold flawlessly, and of knowing the city, the investors, and even her most formidable enemies were falling exactly where she had anticipated.
The chessboard was set. Every piece moved according to her design. And in the quiet of her office, overlooking the city, Liang Yue allowed herself a single, delicate thought: this was only the beginning.