Chapter 146: Your secret? I

Ye Qiuping heard this, pulled out the chair opposite Chen Yansen, and sat down gently.

“I’m curious,” Chen Yansen looked up at Ye Qiuping.

This abrupt, out-of-context remark left Ye Qiuping utterly baffled, unsure what Chen Yansen meant.

But since the new boss had spoken, even though she didn’t understand, she still smiled and asked: “What are you curious about, Boss Chen?”

“You’re clearly from Sichuan, yet last time in Yan Cheng, you claimed to be from Qin Island. Care to explain why?”

Chen Yansen asked with a light laugh.

To Ye Qiuping, these words struck like lightning.

She had slipped into Amazon and JD.com by falsifying her resume—never imagining she’d be exposed by Chen Yansen.

Had he uncovered only her hometown, or other details too?

Her heart tightened, yet she remained calm, smiling sweetly: “I don’t know where you got that information, but I’m a native of Qin Island.”

“And your work history? Entered EachNet’s marketing department in 2005, joined Amazon in 2007, moved to JD.com in 2009—it looks flawless, but you made one fatal mistake.”

Chen Yansen pulled out her resume, casually read two sections, his face laced with mockery.

Her academic credentials were fake; half her work experience was fabricated.

A few years ago, domestic internet companies had weak background-check systems—so long as she could verify her Amazon and JD.com experience, years later, when she switched companies, no one would bother verifying the authenticity of her first job.

First, it was hard to verify; second, it was pointless.

Hiring companies and third-party background agencies only checked the most recent two or three positions.

“Boss Chen, I don’t understand what you mean.”

Ye Qiuping forced composure, but inside she was panicking.

She never expected this job switch would bring her so much trouble.

Chen Yansen is only nineteen—why does he act like a forty-something corporate fox?

I just came to apply for Brand Director—do I really need this much scrutiny?

“Oh, really? Guess what—if I hand this file to Liu Qiangdong, will JD.com’s legal team sue you?”

Chen Yansen pulled out a document and tossed it onto Ye Qiuping’s desk.

Watching her panic, Chen Yansen felt delighted—he’d lived two lives, yet this was the first time he’d seen Ye Qiuping like this.

Usually, except in bed, her face always wore an air of calm confidence.

Ye Qiuping didn’t want to look at the document, but overwhelming unease drove her to reach out and flip open the first page.

In an instant, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head.

Even her academic credentials had been completely exposed.

The investigators Chen Yansen hired had interviewed over forty graduates from the same school and major—all confirmed Beijing Information Science and Technology University did have a student named Ye Qiuping.

But the photo in the investigators’ hands clearly wasn’t the same person.

“What do you want to do, Boss Chen?” Ye Qiuping put down the file, gave a bitter smile, resigned to her fate.

JD.com could at most sue her and reclaim her salary during her tenure.

But if this got out, her hard-earned work history would collapse, and she’d be blacklisted from China’s internet industry.

She’d spent six years climbing to her current position—her life was about to turn around.

And then she ran into Chen Yansen!

“I don’t want to do anything. I just wanted to learn more about my Brand Director.”

Chen Yansen shrugged, indifferent.

But the more casual he was, the more panicked Ye Qiuping became.

She immediately stood, walked to Chen Yansen, and spoke softly: “As long as you don’t expose me, I’ll do anything.”

“Really?”

Chen Yansen smiled, not committing to an answer.

Then he turned left, facing her: “Why are you standing so high?”

Ye Qiuping froze, her mind racing—then gritted her teeth and dropped to her knees before Chen Yansen with a thud.

Her soft hands slowly rose, resting on his waist, sliding inward until they gripped the drawstring of his casual pants.

“You’re very practiced? Have you done this with other men?” Chen Yansen teased.

Ye Qiuping’s face flushed crimson, her neck pink, tears falling heavily onto the floor with a steady drip-drip-drip.

Chen Yansen snorted—this woman was the best actress he’d ever met.

“I’m not as bad as you think. I admit my degree and EachNet marketing experience are fake—but I got into Amazon and JD.com because of my ability!”

Kneeling on the floor, tears streaming, Ye Qiuping lifted her head defiantly to meet Chen Yansen’s gaze.

“Fake is fake—it can never become real.”

Chen Yansen extended his hand before her.

Ye Qiuping hesitated, then placed her hand in his.

Chen Yansen pulled her up, then stood straight, staring directly at her.

He bore her no hatred—in fact, she’d taught him much in both career and bed, including some advanced positions.

But this old book, he had no interest in reopening.

“Boss Chen, then…” Ye Qiuping stammered, waiting for his verdict.

“There’s tissue on the desk. Wipe your tears. Otherwise, people will think I did something to you. The Brand Department is yours—don’t disappoint me.”

Chen Yansen’s hand rested on the document that could decide her fate, his tone grave.

“????”

Ye Qiuping was utterly confused—she’d assumed Chen Yansen investigated her to threaten her, yet he demanded nothing, still entrusted her with Orange Tech’s Brand Department.

“You may leave. Any other questions?”

Chen Yansen returned to his seat, seeing she was still frozen, he urged her.

“Boss Chen, aren’t you going to expose me?” Ye Qiuping couldn’t help asking.

“You’re Orange Tech’s Brand Director—you’re my person. Exposing you benefits me how?”

Chen Yansen raised an eyebrow, speaking softly.

Fuck!

Then why investigate me? Why compile this file?

Just to watch me panic?

Ye Qiuping silently cursed inside, her mind racing: Can I even quit now?

“Do a good job. Your secret? I’ll keep it for life.”

Chen Yansen grinned wickedly.

“I didn’t mean to falsify anything—actually…” Ye Qiuping felt wronged, wanting to explain.

“I’m not interested in that. As long as you build up the Brand Department, when you leave Orange Tech, I’ll return this file to you.”

Chen Yansen waved his hand dismissively.

In his view, Ye Qiuping never told the truth—better to let her get to work and earn money than waste time listening to her lies.

They were, in a way, master and apprentice—Chen Yansen’s habit of lying was shaped by Ye Qiuping herself.

“Yes, Boss Chen.”

Ye Qiuping wiped her tears, her heart cold, forcing a weak smile before turning to leave.

Since Chen Yansen wouldn’t expose her, she’d stay at Orange Tech.

Ye Qiuping’s mental resilience had been hardened over years—any ordinary person might have panicked, fled that very night.

But not her. For this moment, she’d worked over six years—so long as there was a sliver of hope, she wouldn’t give up.

After she left, Chen Yansen fed the file into the shredder, then tossed it into the trash.

He’d never intended to use it to threaten her—only to see her distress, to satisfy a small, lingering wish from his past life.

In the following days.

Ye Qiuping acted as if nothing had happened, quickly integrating into her work, reclaiming the Brand Department’s responsibilities from Wang Teng, advancing everything smoothly.

Even Chen Yansen’s Weibo account was taken over by her—she claimed she’d use his persona to build Orange Tech’s social media presence.

When Chen Yansen heard, he didn’t care.

He knew her capabilities—that’s precisely why he hired her despite knowing she was flawed.

As long as she delivered results, even if she’d only finished elementary school, it was fine.

As for lying?

Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t lie?

On August 28, Orange Tech’s pre-orders surpassed two million units.

Xiaomi’s phone also appeared on the homepage of FoxTao, with mobile boot screens and unskippable PC pop-up ads—making Xiaomi’s ten-million-yuan investment worth every penny.

Lei Yijun, upon hearing this, sighed: “This little brother from Hui’an really knows how to hold up his end.”

They were rivals, yet he still went all out to drive traffic to Xiaomi.

“If only Chen Yansen didn’t make phones.”

Before 10 a.m. on the 28th, Lei Yijun sat in his office, sighing while watching Xiaomi Mall’s backend data.

Lin Bing, Li Wanqiang, and the other founders stood before the giant data screen, nervously awaiting 10 a.m.

Lei Yijun had originally planned to follow Orange Tech’s lead—sell a few hundred engineering units first—but seeing Chen Yansen hand out one phone each to every journalist, fan, and invited Vlogger at the launch,

he copied him, gifting 300 engineering units worth 600,000 yuan at Xiaomi’s launch event.

It’s 10 o’clock!

Li Wanqiang suddenly spoke up.

The numbers on the big screen shifted from 0 to 1, 2, 3…, rolling wildly.

It seemed Xiaomi still had plenty of supporters, thanks to its several million MIUI users.

One hour later, pre-orders reached 13,000 units!

Fourteen hours later, pre-orders surpassed 94,000 units!

Li Wanqiang immediately instructed the branding department to announce that Xiaomi had broken the 100,000-unit pre-order record on its first day.

Though only half of Orange Phone’s sales, it still sparked a cheer in Xiaomi’s executive office.

One hundred thousand units—no Gufu their over a year of hard work!

After the three-day promotional period ended, Xiaomi’s first batch of pre-orders totaled 300,000 units!

This figure confirmed Lei Zong’s words: the 2011 smartphone market was truly a blue ocean—if you gave your users your heart, they would support you with real money.

Chen Yansen paid no attention; at this moment, he sat in the R&D center, reviewing the design submitted by Zhou Ze, nodding slightly in approval.

Quad-SIM quad standby, 3.7-inch screen, 512MB + 8GB memory, 2320mAh battery, running AuroraOS 1.1, with processors and speakers all low-to-mid-range components.

This specification would be dismissed by high school students in China, but in the African market, it was a rare good product.

To open up sales, Chen Yansen specifically upgraded the imaging algorithm and included an extra battery with each phone—after all, power supply in Africa was unstable; an extra battery meant longer endurance.

Far away in Shencheng, Cao Dahua learned that Orange Tech’s next phone was targeting the African market. Confused, he called in Zhou Jin Ling.

“Send me to Africa?”

After hearing Cao Dahua’s explanation, Zhou Jin Ling smiled bitterly, but after some thought, he accepted the new assignment.

Compared to screwing bolts, perhaps going to Africa still offered a chance at a comeback.

To Chen Yansen, everyone had their own strengths—even a piece of toilet paper had its use, let alone a person.

(End of Chapter)