Honey, Open The Door. I Want To Give You The Room Key - Chapter 5

As soon as Lou Qingshuang and Bai Wan returned to the company, they immediately called a meeting. The two of them flew into a rage in the conference room, yet they simultaneously regained their composure with extreme speed. They arranged for several trusted subordinates to begin a thorough investigation of the surveillance footage.

“Focus your attention on the period before the patent registration. Look for individuals who entered the laboratory or my office alone, especially during times when both the lab and office were empty,” Bai Wan said sternly with a cold face. She looked around at the four employees. “Work in pairs and put in some overtime; the overtime pay will be calculated at triple the rate.”

“Understood, President Bai!” Hearing the promise of triple overtime pay, the four answered with voices full of vigor.

There was a safe in Bai Wan’s office located within her private rest area. The key to that safe was held only by her and Lou Qingshuang to guard their core data. The laboratory was similarly guarded by security and a front desk; ordinary employees could not enter at all.

This internal cleanup was absolutely necessary—to catch the mole, reclaim their reputation, and, at the same time, begin discussions with other management members on how to counterattack in the public relations war.

“The best way is to make consumers grow tired of the bickering between the two companies, thereby letting the heat die down naturally. Meanwhile, we should create trouble for the Lan Dai Company, forcing them into their own whirlpool of public controversy,” said a woman sitting on the other side of the table, looking up.

She was Qin Nan, the Marketing Director hired by Bai Wan and Lou Qingshuang. Her approach was direct: muddy the waters so that no one could benefit. Lou Qingshuang and Bai Wan thought about it and agreed, giving her full authority to handle the matter.

“We can start today. We need a war of attrition. By leveraging this ‘small vs. large’ traffic, we can garner sympathy. At the same time, we can find cases of hostile takeover attempts and suggest that Lan Dai Company is trying to acquire our company,” Lou Qingshuang added bit by bit with her eyes downcast.

Listening to this, Bai Wan’s eyes lit up.

“We should reach out to marketing accounts—find some neutral ones to speak up,” Bai Wan immediately thought of a plan.

“Neutral isn’t enough; we also need to find some that are particularly controversial,” Qin Nan added.

The three of them went back and forth, supplementing the implementation of the plan and discussing how to respond if Lan Dai Company intensified its efforts. After the discussion concluded, Qin Nan left first, leaving Bai Wan and Lou Qingshuang alone.

Only then did Lou Qingshuang lean her head on her hand and rub her forehead, her face filled with fatigue and anger. “Speak up then—what did Big Boss Liu say to you?”

Bai Wan poured a cup of water and placed it by Lou Qingshuang’s hand. She leaned against the edge of the conference table, slowly sipping the hot water.

“She didn’t say much,” Lou Qingshuang shook her head.

“If she didn’t say much, why did you come out looking so soul-shattered? You don’t actually think you hid it well, do you?” Bai Wan glanced sideways at her best friend.

Lou Qingshuang looked up at her. “Isn’t she your idol?”

“Compared to my best friend, an idol is worth nothing,” Bai Wan rolled her eyes. She merely admired Liu Yu’s professional capabilities. By her own strength alone, Liu Yu had turned the collapsing Liu Group around, seized power from the patriarch, and cultivated so many members of the Liu family to enter various industries.

She had formed a massive power bloc for the Liu family. Few people possessed such spirit and breadth of mind. Furthermore, everyone in the Liu family looked up to her as their leader. Even if she didn’t show her face for ten days or half a month, no one in the Liu family had the slightest desire to usurp her power.

Based on this staggering ability, Liu Yu was the type of child that parents and elders in the upper circles were envious of to the point of turning red-eyed, and she was also someone they deeply feared.

Liu Yu, oh Liu Yu—a true top-tier mogul. If she wanted to do something… Bai Wan instinctively looked at her friend’s face. She reached out to tilt Lou Qingshuang’s chin upward, her eyes sparkling. “She didn’t… take a liking to you, did she?”

Lou Qingshuang tilted her head back slightly, meeting her friend’s gaze with a look of utter despair.

“Holy crap! She’s shameless!” Bai Wan blurted out a curse. “Then, do you have feelings for her?” Bai Wan instantly leaned down and asked with an animated expression.

Lou Qingshuang gave her a dirty look, grabbed her folder, and walked away.

“Hey, Shuangshuang, you have to hold your ground!” Bai Wan called out, reaching out a hand like the ‘Erkang’ meme.

Lou Qingshuang rolled her eyes again. She had other matters weighing on her mind that made her feel panicked. Members of the security department were working with the project lead to review the surveillance footage. When Bai Wan finished her work, she would also go over to watch.

“Chairwoman, you were right. Ms. Lou’s company has indeed started to make its move.” Zhu Yan looked at her chairwoman with a face full of admiration, fully utilizing her upward social networking skills.

Liu Yu glanced at her and set down the documents in her hand. “This is only the beginning. I’ve already reviewed these files; they can be sent back to the respective departments.”

Zhu Yan left with a familiar smile. Usually, Liu Yu was quite lenient; one could occasionally make a joke or offer some flattery.

As Liu Yu picked up her pen to continue writing, she thought of Lou Qingshuang. I look forward to our second meeting. A hint of a smile hid in the depths of Liu Yu’s eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly before quickly returning to a neutral expression as she resumed her work.

Lou Qingshuang returned to her own laboratory. Wearing her white coat, she leaned against the cold desk, looking lonely and fragile. For the first time, she felt a sense of exhaustion.

Buzz, buzz, buzz. Lou Qingshuang’s phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw it was a call from her mother.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Lou Qingshuang asked, adjusting her mood.

“Baby, is there a problem with the company?” Lou Qingshuang’s mother asked very gently and cautiously.

Hearing her mother’s voice, Lou Qingshuang’s eyes reddened. She looked up at the white ceiling, forcing back the bitterness in her eyes and suppressing the tremor in her voice. “It’s nothing. Just normal business competition; we can handle it.”

“Then you must tell Mommy if anything happens. I’ll make something delicious for you tonight,” Lou Qingshuang’s mother said, using Lou Qingshuang’s childhood nickname tenderly.

“Mom, I’m twenty-six already. Stop calling me by my nickname,” Lou Qingshuang said helplessly, though a happy smile touched her eyes.

“No matter how old you are, you’re still Mommy’s child. If your Mami were still here, she would be so happy to see how much you’ve grown,” Lou Qingshuang’s mother said softly.

“Mm.” Lou Qingshuang also thought of her Mami, the person who used to shield them from the wind and rain. Unfortunately, she was gone now. The moment she thought of her Mami, Lou Qingshuang could hardly suppress the sting in her eyes.

“Sweetie, work hard. Come home early tonight.” Lou Qingshuang’s mother hung up so as not to disturb her work.

Lou Qingshuang stared at her phone for a moment, then set it down and devoted herself entirely to the inspection of Lan Dai’s products. She needed to detect the ingredients of the new products Lan Dai was currently pushing to see exactly how much similarity there was to their own.

With her hair tied up and wearing goggles and nitrile gloves to prevent any potential contamination of the cosmetic components, the Lou Qingshuang of this moment was efficient, calm, focused, and precise in her movements—becoming even more captivating.

She remained busy in the lab searching for issues, while the torrential floods outside the lab were held back by Bai Wan.

Ultimately, Lou Qingshuang detected that certain core ingredient “DNAs” of the Lan Dai Company had discrepancies from theirs; they were more like the initial version of the ingredient formula she had developed.

Indeed, Lou Qingshuang had kept a complete series of experimental data. Previously, a circuit problem at the company had resulted in some data not being saved. In reality, that original data and the intermediate data had been archived by her in advance. What was lost was only a portion of the data. The original data was the “genetic code” proving the product’s origin and was the most complete evidence that the product was hers, so she had stored it long ago.

Now, Lou Qingshuang began to suspect that the previous data corruption had been intentional. She kept this thought in mind, preparing to inform Bai Wan so they could reinvestigate that previous “accident.”

Liu Yu had said she would add fuel to the fire for Lou Qingshuang, and she did.

Suddenly, the products of the Wanshuang Company were included as partners of the Xinyu Group. In an instant, the tide on the internet began to turn, pushing the traffic of this plagiarism scandal to its absolute peak.

As for whether Lou Qingshuang could seize the opportunity she had given her, that would depend on Lou Qingshuang’s own abilities.

The entire internet was in shock: Why would the hottest cosmetics giant collaborate with Wanshuang Company?!