The Silent Strategist’s Revenge

At the party, when my boyfriend Gu Huai’an was holding Lin Zhaozhao, his first love, by the hand, I heard the other coworkers whispering beside them, “Shen Yan was still delivering documents in the middle of the night.

She has no shame. Mr.

Gu already has a real girlfriend, and she still keeps clinging to him.” He said we would go public when the time was right, and I waited two years, only to see him tell the whole world that Lin Zhaozhao was his girlfriend.

Lin Zhaozhao paused, and her gaze drifted lightly over the guests below. “Girls should really respect themselves.

Don’t keep thinking about things that don’t belong to you.” The whole room’s eyes landed on me at once.

I tightened my grip on the wine glass until my knuckles turned white, but I said nothing.

The next afternoon, I handed in my resignation, then turned around and called Zhao Mingyuan, the biggest rival of Gu’s Group. “Mr.

Zhao, I wonder if you’d be interested in taking Gu’s Group down.” At the company party, I sat in a corner and watched the perfect couple on stage.

My boyfriend Gu Huai’an was dressed in a suit and tie, while his first love, Lin Zhaozhao, wore a red dress.

They stood under the spotlight with their fingers laced together. “Let me officially introduce everyone to my girlfriend, Lin Zhaozhao.” Gu Huai’an’s voice carried through the entire banquet hall over the speakers, and the room exploded.

I lowered my head and glanced at the Cartier ring on my ring finger. The light hit it and stung my eyes. There was still a birthday engraved on the inside of the ring.

That night, he had personally put it on my finger and told me that when the time was right, we would go public.

Now I understood that the time he meant was the day Lin Zhaozhao returned to the country. “No wonder Mr. Gu has been single all this time.

He was waiting for Miss Lin to come back.” The marketing manager, Ms.

Wang, sitting next to me, gossiping with the coworker beside her in a low voice, sounded like she had suddenly figured everything out. “Exactly.

The daughter of the Lin family and our boss are the perfect match.” On the other side, the intern Xiao Chen leaned over to gossip. “Doesn’t Shen Yan always go to Mr. Gu’s office?

She even delivered documents in the middle of the night. She has no shame.” “No wonder she always has to close the door when she gives reports.

So that’s what she was thinking about.” “Mr. Gu already has a real girlfriend, and she still keeps clinging to him. What is she after?” “Money, obviously.

What else could she be after?” I remembered that just two nights ago, Gu Huai’an was still telling me on the phone, “This quarter’s plan is all riding on you.” So my full effort in their eyes was nothing more than being “after money” and “having no shame.” I tightened my grip on the wine glass in my hand.

For two years, I wrote plans for him, did competitor analysis, negotiated with clients, and drank through social obligations until I was throwing up blood, only to get called “shameless.” And Lin Zhaozhao only had to stand there, loop her arm through his, and she could get everyone’s blessings. “Before I came back to the country, I heard people say Huai’an was very popular at the company.” She paused, and her gaze drifted lightly over the guests below. “Girls should really respect themselves.

Don’t keep thinking about things that don’t belong to you.” The whole room’s eyes landed on me at once.

Some people were sneering, some were whispering, some looked at me with pity, and more had eyes full of contempt and mockery.

I sat there, my fingers tightening until my nails dug into my palm. Gu Huai’an stood on stage, less than ten meters away from me.

His gaze swept across the room, stopped on me for less than a second, then moved away. He didn’t look at me. He never looked at me.

Lin Zhaozhao held his arm and smiled with gentle elegance. Had he ever looked at me that way? I tried hard to remember, but my mind was blank.

He only sent me messages late at night saying, “Revise the plan,” saying, “Sort the client info and send it to me,” saying, “Come to the office early tomorrow.” Occasionally, he would say “Thanks for your hard work,” but he never, ever looked at me for an extra second in the daytime, in front of other people.

I stood up, and as the people around me looked over, I held my wine glass and walked expressionlessly toward the restroom. Whispers came from behind me: “Look at her face.

She’s not going to cry, is she?” “She deserves it. Who told her to have no shame?” I pushed open the restroom door and turned on the faucet.

Cold water rushed over the back of my hand. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Gu Huai’an. “You can leave first.

I’ll come find you later.” I left the chat box and kept my finger hovering over the screen for a long time.

The party hadn’t even ended yet, and I had already left the hotel. In the taxi, the driver glanced at me several times through the rearview mirror.

He probably thought it was strange for a woman in a formal dress to take a cab home alone.

When I got home by taxi, I opened the closet and threw the white dress he liked into the trash. He had said he liked me in white because it looked clean, plain, and understated.

Now I understood that he didn’t like me in white. He liked me lowkey. He liked me invisible. He liked being able to call me whenever he wanted and dismiss me whenever he wanted.

My phone buzzed again.

It was still Gu Huai’an. “Where are you?” “Why did you leave early?” “Shen Yan, don’t make a scene.” I looked at the messages he sent and suddenly found them ridiculous.

For two years, I had never made a scene. When he worked late, I waited. When he stood me up, I endured it. When he pretended not to know me at the company, I played along.

Now I had only left early, and he was saying I was making a scene. I turned off my phone and started packing. This apartment was rented by Gu Huai’an.

He paid the rent, but I handled all the decorating by myself.

I picked the painting on the wall, I chose the sofa, and the set of dishes in the kitchen took me three furniture stores to find. Back then, he said this counted as our little home.

I looked around and suddenly realized that there had never been a place for me here. Even the lease was in his name.

I took out my suitcase and started packing my clothes and personal belongings. My phone rang again. This time it was a call. I didn’t answer.

About twenty minutes later, there was knocking at the door. “Shen Yan, open up.” Gu Huai’an’s voice was impatient. I opened the door.

He was standing outside, his shirt collar slightly open, his hair a little messy. He looked like he had rushed straight over from the party. “What are you doing?

Not answering my calls, and now you’re saying you want to resign?” He frowned. “I said it very clearly.

I’m resigning.” I leaned against the doorframe and didn’t let him in. “Just because of tonight?” He took a step forward, lowering his voice. “Shen Yan, can you please be more mature?” “Zhaozhao just got back to the country.

She doesn’t know anything.

I couldn’t exactly make her look bad in front of the whole company.” I looked at him and suddenly laughed. “Gu Huai’an, when you made me look bad, you never hesitated.” He froze.

I went on, “Two years ago, you told me to be your girlfriend and said we’d go public when the time was right.” “I waited two years, and what I got was you holding another woman’s hand at a party and telling everyone she was your girlfriend.” “That’s different.” His voice softened as he reached out to pull me. “Zhaozhao’s family works with our company.

I can’t afford to offend her.” “Give me a little more time. Once she gets used to life here, I’ll tell her the truth.” I avoided his hand. “Tell her the truth?

Gu Huai’an, are you planning to break up with her, or are you planning to keep me as your secret mistress?” He didn’t say anything. Silence was the answer.

I had known the answer a long time ago. I just hadn’t wanted to admit it before. “Go back.” I closed the door and kept him outside.

He stood outside for a long time, and in the end, he said, “Don’t act on impulse. Think about the resignation again.” His footsteps faded away.

I leaned against the door, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. Resigning wasn’t an impulse, at least not in the instant I hit send.

But before resigning, I was taking everything I had accomplished over the past two years with me.

The next morning, I showed up at the company as usual.

I opened my computer, logged into the internal company system, and started downloading every file I had handled over the past two years.

Business plans, competitor analyses, market research data, client lists, contract terms, unpublished project plans... Every one of those things was written by me.

Every piece of data was organized by me. Every plan was the result of countless allnighters. They didn’t belong to the company. They didn’t belong to Gu Huai’an.

They belonged to me. I knew the system would leave a record, but I couldn’t care less.

While I was downloading, I was also copying files onto a personal USB drive during lunch, and at the same time, I started organizing the chat logs on my phone.

Over these two years, all of Gu Huai’an’s business ideas, his analysis of competitors, and his forecasts for industry trends were all in our latenight chat records.

He trusted me, so he told me everything. He treated me like one of his own, so he never guarded himself around me.

But he had forgotten one thing: treating one of your own like they’re invisible comes at a price. At lunchtime, I ran into Lin Zhaozhao in the elevator.

She was probably there to meet Gu Huai’an for lunch. She was wearing a Chanel set and tencentimeter heels, looking expensive from head to toe.

There were only two of us in the elevator. She glanced at me with a smile on her lips, but her eyes were cold enough to scare me. “Huai’an mentioned you to me.

He said you’re very capable at work.” She looked me up and down. “But being good at work is one thing. Having boundaries is another.

Don’t you think?” The elevator reached the second floor, and I stepped out. “Shen Yan.” She called out to me from behind.

I stopped but didn’t turn around. “I don’t care what relationship you and Huai’an had before.

From today on, stay away from him.” I said nothing and walked straight into the office area. The sound of the elevator doors closing came from behind me.

At two in the afternoon, Gu Huai’an called me into his office. “What did you say to Zhaozhao?” He sat in the boss’s chair, his expression ugly. “I told the truth.” I stood in front of his desk and didn’t sit down.

He stood up and shouted in a low voice, “Shen Yan!

Do you know her father is our biggest investor?” “If you upset her, the whole company will suffer!” “That’s your problem.” He froze. “What exactly do you want?” I looked at him and said, “What I want, you can’t give me.” “So?” “So I don’t want it anymore.” I took a resignation letter from my pocket and placed it on his desk. “I officially resign.

One month handover period, according to labor law.” He lowered his head and looked at the paper, silent for a long time. “Shen Yan, think carefully.

In this industry, without me, you’re nothing.” I laughed. “Gu Huai’an, you’ve got it backward.

These past two years, I made you everything you are.” He looked up, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and a trace of something I couldn’t read. “What do you mean?” “Go back and look through the plans you’ve been able to present these last two years.

Which one of them wasn’t built on the core framework I wrote?” “Then look at those big clients you’re so proud of.

Which one of them wasn’t signed after I stayed up drinking with them until the middle of the night?” I looked at him and said, “Gu Huai’an, over the past two years, I wrote the core framework for those plans.

I negotiated the clients.” “Half the position you have in this office is held up by me. You know that better than anyone.” He said nothing, his fingers clenched white at the joints.

I turned and walked out.

Over the next week, rumors filled the company. In the break room, the elevator, and the restroom, people were talking everywhere.

Some said I had tried to seduce Gu Huai’an, got caught by Lin Zhaozhao, and couldn’t face staying, so I quit.

Some said I stole company trade secrets, got called in by HR, and had no choice but to leave. Others said I had picked up side jobs outside and got poached by a competitor.

People said all kinds of things. I didn’t explain. Every day I came in and left on time, and I did whatever I was supposed to do.

I exported every message Gu Huai’an had sent me over these two years and filed them by category. The workrelated ones went into a separate folder.

The private messages went into another. The chat records where he told me to work until two in the morning.

The chat records where he told me to cancel my vacation and come back for a meeting.

The chat records where he said, “Once things stabilize on Zhaozhao’s end, I’ll break up with her.” I also went through every project I had handled over the past two years and made a detailed list.

Not to get revenge right away.

I just had a vague feeling that these things I had exchanged for my youth and health shouldn’t, after I left, quietly rot on Gu’s Group’s servers without a sound.

They were my trump card, and they were my backup plan. When did it start, who took the lead, who wrote the core plan, who provided the key data, and who negotiated the clients?

On Friday afternoon, HR called me in for a talk. It was a woman in her forties named Liu.

We usually got along okay. “Shen Yan, are you really sure?” She closed the door and lowered her voice. “I heard this is because of Mr.

Gu, and that Lin Zhaozhao isn’t someone to mess with.

Leaving is probably for the best.” “Sister Liu, I know what I’m doing.” She sighed and handed me a document. “Shen Yan, I know you were wronged.

But you’d better take a look at this agreement.

Don’t do something rash.” I took the agreement, flipped through two pages, and laughed. “Three months’ pay as compensation and you want to buy me out for two years?” I looked at her, my tone calm, but every word was clear. “And you’re adding a noncompete agreement to trap me in this industry?” “He’s trying to buy my silence, my future, and every possibility I still have.” “Sister Liu, I’m not signing.” Sister Liu looked at me in a difficult position. “Shen Yan, if you don’t sign, Mr.

Gu’s side...” “Let him come talk to me himself.” I got up and left.

After I returned to my desk, I shoved the agreement into the deepest part of the drawer and kept sorting through the files in front of me.

At eight that night, I was still at my desk organizing files when Gu Huai’an came.

He stood beside my desk, holding a cup of bubble tea, the brand I used to love. “You’re still here?” He set the bubble tea on my desk. “Need something?” He pulled over the chair beside me and sat down, looking at me with a hesitant expression. “Shen Yan, I know you’re angry.

But you’d better sign the resignation agreement. It’s good for you and for the company.” “How is it good for me?” “Three months’ pay, plus noncompete compensation.

Altogether it’s almost a hundred thousand.” “You’ll need time to transition if you go look for another job.

This money is enough for you to get by.” I looked at him and suddenly felt like he was a complete stranger. This man, I had once believed at least liked me.

Even if he didn’t want to go public, at least I thought I mattered to him.

But now I knew that in his eyes, my two years, my youth, and everything I had given were not even worth the price of a bag he bought for Lin Zhaozhao. “Gu Huai’an, do you still remember the night the Xingyao project launched last year?” “I finished the last three pages of the plan in the emergency room hallway of the hospital.” “You said just two words, ‘Thanks for your hard work,’ and then you went off to video call Lin Zhaozhao.” I stared into his eyes. “Do you think that night was worth ten thousand dollars?” His expression became a little unnatural. “And when we won that big order from Dingsheng the year before, you drank two glasses with the client and pretended to be drunk and left.” “I stayed and kept drinking with them until three in the morning, and in the end, I threw up blood in the bathroom.” “Shen Yan...” He tried to interrupt me.

I didn’t stop. “Put your conscience on the table and tell me honestly.

How much of your position at the company is really held up by me?” He was silent. “I’m not signing.” I closed my laptop and stood up. “If you think I’ve done something wrong, sue me.

I’ll be waiting.” I picked up my bag and left, leaving him alone at the desk. When I walked out of the company building, I looked back at the office tower.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.